'Battlestar Galactica' Retro Recap: 'Resurrection Ship (Part 1)'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

It would seem that the prevailing theme of season two of Battlestar Galactica is finding common ground for the fleet to work with and rally behind. Because for the most part this season, we've seen grave divisions amongst the last remnant of mankind and only a hint of unity in recent episodes with the renewed quest to find Earth, but the arrival of the Battlestar Pegasus has completely and utterly shattered the fragile peace that the fleet was enjoying.

After all, it's obvious that Admiral Cain is all about fighting the enemy and maintaining a sense of order through fear and when we last left the story, ​Pegasus and Galactica were ready to go to war over such views. But thankfully a secret run by Starbuck in the stealth ship resulted in giving the fleet the temporary common ground it needs by way of fighting the Cylons and dealing a devastating blow their way, but 'Resurrection Ship (Part 1)' went above and beyond becoming a story that only focused on making plans for war...it also became quite the character study in what can happen when stress and disaster completely and utterly shatter a human being's psyche, to the point where they potentially have no hope of functioning in society.

That microscope was more or less focused on Admiral Cain who basically scoffed at the President when she sat both Cain and Adama down to discuss their little standoff and the lack in leadership that came with it and that was merely the beginning of Roslin and Adama's problems with Cain in this episode because Laura quickly recognized a particular streak of anger in the Admiral that made her nervous and she put the idea in Bill's mind that there was a fair chance that she was dangerous and needed to be removed from power by way of lethal force. It was a notion that surprised Adama at first but as the episode wore on and we learned more about Cain's legacy after the fall of the Colonies, what was discovered about her 'leadership' in a time of crisis was downright terrifying enough to help him understand the President's way of thinking.

It turns out that at one point, Pegasus shared a common trait with the Galactica in that she too had a civilian fleet under her protection. But Cain's obsession with attacking the enemy led to a dismantling of said fleet, and outright carnage since the Admiral also forced anyone worth while into service aboard her ship through violence and murder and the fate of the poor people that weren't 'drafted'...was that they were left abandoned by Pegasus to fend for themselves and after learning this, Adama makes the tough call. After the operation to destroy the Resurrection Ship is completed, Starbuck is to head to the CIC aboard the Pegasus and put a bullet in Cain's skull and while it seems as though the Commander is finally a step ahead, Cain makes similar plans with her first officer, once again putting these two leaders on a collision course.

Granted, looking at that plot in quick fashion, it does seem as though common ground is not much of a theme here, but it just so happens to be present in a more subtle fashion. For Adama, getting the Admiral and her totalitarian tendencies out of the way is in the best interest of the future of the fleet, so survival and keeping the quest for Earth alive is the common ground he's searching for and the only peace he can make with the Admiral is by way of their shared interest in destroying the Resurrection Ship, and that's sadly the only thing these two can agree upon. But when all is said and done, wow...this one was just as intense as 'Pegasus' and oddly enough, darker as well. Kara makes a point of the fact that they kill people for a living but an assassination like this is just out of left field. But, as a viewer, it does makes sense, which is chilling as well because sadly, Cain is lost. She is obsessed with revenge, obsessed with bloodshed and she will clearly sacrifice whomever and whatever is necessary to satisfy that vendetta and it should be interesting to see where these plans for assassination go in the next episode. Until next time.

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