Battlestar Galactica: “No Exit”
Correction Appended
The mutiny only left 39,556 survivors. Is Anders one of those survivors? Let’s find out! Here’s what happened on this week’s episode of Battlestar Galactica: “No Exit.”
Warning! Spoiler Alert!
Before I start, I must warn you that parts of this episode were semi-confusing, making the summary that much harder to write. I strongly encourage readers’ input on parts I may have missed/didn’t understand.
18 months ago: Ellen resurrects. She freaks out but calms down within a couple of seconds. She meets with Cavil and calls him John. They bicker for a while but Ellen is happy the entire time saying that John is the same petulant boy she loved and had high hopes for long ago.
12 months ago: Ellen tries to convince John it was a good thing that she gave the humanoid cylon models human traits and the centurion belief in a one true God. John is still pissed. He wants to kills humans for enslaving the centurions. He leaves and tells Boomer to have a heart to heart with Ellen.
10 months ago: John shows Ellen pictures of the supernova near the Temple of Hopes. She remembers that the temple was built 3,000 years ago by the 13th tribe when they left Kobol and found Earth. John informs Ellen that De’Anna uncovered the trick in the temple that revealed the final five and so he boxed her. Ellen tells him the trick must have been the work of God. John gets angry and goes on another rant about he hates being human and storms off. Ellen explains to Boomer that she created her children (the humanoid cylons) to be like humans so they could have free will and the ability to love.
4 months ago: John tells Ellen the resurrection hub was blown up. He wants her to help them rebuild it but she says she can’t do it alone – she needs the rest of the five. John doesn’t believe her and decides he’s going to cut her head open and poke around in her brain until he stimulates the right memory. Ellen tears up.
Two days ago: Ellen is sketching Tigh when John informs her that the Simons are prepping for her surgery. She gets into an argument with John and calls him a sadist and a murderer because he killed “seven.” John reminds her it’s her fault for creating a mistake. Ellen tells him he’s not a mistake and that she still loves him, but John leaves for the surgical room. Boomer tells Ellen she’s taking her to the surgical room but actually takes her to a raptor. Ellen jumps away from the baseship.
Present day: Tyrol shows Adama the cracks in the ship and tells him they won’t be able to jump without the ship exploding. Adama makes Tyrol the Chief again and tells him to fix Galactica. The Chief discovers that there are hairline fractures in the entire ship and tells Adama that he can fix it – if he uses cylon technology. Adama refuses to use it. He later changes his mind when he sees a huge crack in one of the beams in his room and he fully realizes/acknowledges the severity of the problem.
Roslin is on Colonial One looking at pictures of the dead quorum members. Lee tells her a new quorum should be based on the ships that are part of the fleet rather than the former colonies. Roslin likes the idea and tells Lee that she’s only going to be president in name – Lee will take care of all the rest.
Anders is in the hospital. He is mumbling incoherently and is having flashbacks of his former life. When he regains consciousness he tells Starbuck, Tigh, Tory and the Chief everything he remembers. But he passes out during the middle of his history lesson.
It turns out the bullet is in a critical part of Anders’ brain and caused a seizure. The doctors want to operate immediately but Anders is afraid he’ll lose his memory. In the end Starbuck decides for him and tells the doctors to operate. Anders is taken away for surgery begging Starbuck to change her mind. He tells Tigh, Tory and the Chief to stay with the fleet. Once the surgery is over Starbuck she quietly reassures an unconscious Anders. One of the nurses tells her it’s useless – there are no signs of any brain activity.
Quote of the Week: I’m a machine and I can know much more but I’m trapped in this absurd body and why? Because my five creators thought that God wanted it that way. – John “Cavil”
Opinion: Great episode, great writing… but like I said, I was a little confused about a few parts concerning the history of the five.
Next Week: Ellen lands on Galactica. She’s talking to Six, Tory and Athena. Six and Tory want to jump away from fleet and be like the original 13th tribe. They take a vote.
When originally published, this blog incorrectly identified the title of the episode as “Not Exit” instead of “No Exit” and misspelled “Kobol” as “Cobalt.” Thanks again to Bald Jason for the corrections.
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The name of the episode isn’t “Not Exit”; it’s “No Exit”.
It’s not spelled “Cobalt”; it’s “Kobol” as in “Kobol’s Last Gleaming”, the finale of Season 1.
Also, I don’t think Ellen is talking to Athena in the trailer; I think it’s probably Boomer. I could be wrong on that one though.
Other than that, you covered it well enough I think. ;-0)
Bald Jason
February 16, 2009 at 4:40 am
You missed the part where Anders explains that on Earth in their former lives, the 5 were “re-discovering” the downloading/resurrection process. This was originally brought by the 13th Colony, but forgotten over time. They were researching it because they were aware of the threat to their civilization. When their holocaust occurred, they downloaded to a ship in orbit around the Earth and set off for Kobol in the hopes of breaking the cycle
They backtracked the journey of the 13th Colony – back to the temple on the algae planet. When they arrived at the 12 colonies, they convinced the Centurions then at war with the humans to stop fighting. This was the real reason why the first Cylon war ended
During the break between the war, the Final 5 build “John” (Cavill) and the other skinjob models.
Gus
February 18, 2009 at 10:55 am
Interesting:-
1) Humans on Kobol create the Cylons (skin jobs or, initially, Centurions?).
2) The Cylons (maybe the Lords of Kobol?) nearly destroy Kobol.
3) Some humans escape to found the Twelve Colonies. The Cylon Skin Jobs escape in the opposite direction and found the Thirteenth Colony; Earth.
4) The humans reestablish a spacefaring culture over the next several thousand years. The Cylons on Earth abandon resurrection technology in favor of procreation, and become . . . US !
5) The Cylons on Earth create Cylon Centurions of their own, who eventually rebel, and Earth’s civilization is destroyed. Before this occures, the Final Five rediscover resurrection technology and save themselves.
6) 2000 years later, the humans of the Twelve Colonies create their own Centurions, who rebel. The Final Five arrive in time to end the war, and create skin jobs for the Centurions.
A loose end:- The Twelve Colonies knew the Thirteenth Tribe left for Earth, and the temple on Kobol revealed, in detail, the starry sky of Earth via hologram. The Twelve Colonies are named, in fact, for constellations only visible from Earth. Given the Kobol civilization’s familiarity with Earth, could it be that the humans of Kobol originally came from Earth, and that the Kobol Cylons were mearly going home? If that is the case, then we 21st-century humans AREN’T Cylons after all. Kobol, the Twelve Colonies and the Cylon colonization of Earth would be in the distant future.
Mike DeMarco
February 19, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Still some open questions but mainly this one.
If Starbuck was killed and that was her body that she found and burned in the I believe 14th episode? Who or what is she and where did the new fighter come from and how is she the menace of the human race?
Michael A Horton
February 20, 2009 at 2:53 pm