"Battlestar Galactica" Retro Recap: "You Can't Go Home Again"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

When it comes to Battlestar Galactica, I've always respected how the show made a point to tackle important themes from our every day lives. Be it something that was going on in our world, or simply a slice of daily life this is a show that was more than happy to put our humanity, both good and bad on display. 

But one particular aspect of our world, the value we place on one human life really had not yet been addressed in the show early on in season one. We'd seen grand discussions about the fate of the species and seen plots revolve around that concept, but one man, or woman as the case may be had never taken that all important center stage on the show. That is until the fifth episode, "You Can't Go Home Again" gave us the grand debate around the value of the life of one particular pilot...Starbuck.

Now when we last left the best damn pilot in the galaxy, she was spiraling down toward a barren planet, her soul heavy with her confession to Commander Adama about his son. But all of that left her mind quickly when she ejected and crash landed with only 46 hours of air left in her pack and no way to signal the fleet to her location. As luck would have it, the Cylon Raider she battled crashed here as well...mostly intact and this was where we learned much about Kara's ingenuity as she patches up the Raider and figures out how to get the damn thing to fly so she can get a chance to get off this rock and back to the Galactica.

While she works on her escape plan the fleet begins the search, with Adama ordering flights from the Combat Air Patrol to break off and join the hunt for the missing Starbuck. This is where the debate begins about the value of a single human life because more and more resources continue to be dedicated to the search for Kara, putting Adama at odds with both the President and his own Executive Officer over simply letting go and leaving her behind. It eventually leads to the President ordering the Commander to end the search and abandon Kara and that's when a surprise Raider shows up. But with their resources thin, only Lee can respond and it's a good thing he does, since it's Starbuck inside the Raider, and she knows how Galactica's pilots fly and it ends up saving her life...well that and the giant "STAR BUCK" written under the enemy plane.

She makes it back to the ship and in the end everything is forgiven from the last episode, as expected, but after all was said and done, the whole debate over her life and what it is worth is the part that sticks with me after watching it. I say that because both sides presented sound arguments on why they should keep looking and why they should let it go and oddly enough. Both of them are right. That's where the episode surprises you because you find yourself agreeing with both Adama and Roslin and you are left wondering what you would do in that situation. It's the fact that the show challenges you on a personal level that always allowed it to stand out above other shows, and if I recall right, this is the first, and definitely not the last time it would put our imagination to the test in this fashion. Until next time.

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