Das Opfer

Diese Seite enthält mögliche Spoiler Informationen! Diese Seite enthält Spoiler zu einer noch nicht ausgestrahlten Episode oder einem noch nicht veröffentlichten Werk. Wenn Sie nichts über deren Inhalte wissen möchten, lesen Sie nicht weiter.

Vorlage:Episode Data

Überblick

Der Salon der der Cloud 9 ist von vier Terroristen besetzt, die die Auslieferung von Sharon Valerii fordern. Die Führerin des Quartetts Sesha Abinell will Ellen Tigh, Anastasia Dualla, Lee Adama, Billy Keikeya und andere erschießen, wenn ihrer Forderung keine Folge geleistet wird.

Zusammenfassung

• Billy Keikeya macht Anastasia Dualla einen Heiratsantrag, bekommt aber von ihr einen Korb. Später diskutiert sie den Vorfall mit Lee. Die Beiden begeben sich an Bord der Cloud 9, eines der Schiffe mit Restaurants und Kneipen.

• Keikeya, der sich ebenfalls an Bord der Cloud 9, befindet, trifft dort Dualla. Heikel wird es, als er bemerkt, dass sie sich in der Begleitung von Lee Adama befindet. Damit sich die beiden aussprechen können, geht Lee hinüber zur Bar und trifft dort Ellen Tigh, die mit ihm flirtet.

• Eine Frau namens Sesha Abinell und drei Männer besetzen den Salon, nehmen die Gäste als Geisel und riegeln den Raum hermetisch ab. Abinells Mann wurde vor zehn Wochen an Bord der Greenleaf bei einem Zylonen Angriff getötet und sie schwört nun auf Rache.

• Doch schon vor der Besatzung fielen Lee einige Ungereimtheiten auf und er bittet Ellen, mit ihm in die Toilette zu gehen. Erfreut über das vermutete Stelldichein folgt Ellen. Nachdem sich nun Lees Befürchtungen bewahrheiteten, manipuliert er mit Hilfe des Nebels von Ellens Trockeneis Drink den Sauerstoffsensor. Zwischenzeitlich hat Ellen die Toilette verlassen und macht sich lautstark bei den Terroristen bemerkbar.

Sesha Abinell.

• Abinell fordert von Admiral Adama und President Roslin die Auslieferung der Zylonin Galactica Sharon, um den Tod Ihres Mannes zu sühnen. Sie ist außer sich vor Wut, dass Admiral Adama and Roslin den größten Feind, wenn auch im Gefängnis, unter sich dulden. Für sie ist Sharon eine Gefahr für die Sicherheit der Flotte. Schon der zylonische Holocaust sei nur aufgrund der Infiltration des Militärs zustande gekommen.

• Abinell schickt einen ihrer Männer in die Toilette um dort nach eventuell übersehenen Personen zu suchen. Lee überwältigt ihn und führt ihn mit der erbeuteten vorgehaltenen Waffe zurück. Er droht mit Erschießung, wenn die Geiselnahme nicht beendet würde. Im Gegenzug droht Abinell ihm, Dualla zu erschießen, falls er nicht aufgebe, was Lee angesichts seiner leeren Drohung auch tut.

• Inzwischen hat der Trockeneisnebel den Sauerstoffsensor eingehüllt und der Alarm geht los. Die Terroristen erzwingen darauf hin eine "Reparatur".

• Kara Thrace ist schon mit einer Mannschaft von Marines vor Ort. Schnell plant man eine Mission. Kara verkleidet sich als Techniker, um das Luft-System zu "reparieren". Sie soll die Situation auskundschaften und die Details berichten.

• Karas Tarnung fliegt auf, als Ellen sie als eine der Glactica Piloten erkennt. Kara zieht zwei Pistolen und schießt auf die Terroristen, bald darauf unterstützt von den Marines. Zwie Marines und einer der Geiselnehmer werden getötet. Unglücklicherweise trifft ein Schuss Karas in die Brust von Lee. Sie zieht sich mit den verbleibenden Marines zurück. Die Situation hat sich durch diese Aktion nur verschlimmert.

• Die Situation veranlasst Adama zu einem Gespräch mit Caprica-Sharon. Sie erinnert ihn daran, dass sie die Flotte schon fünf- oder sechsmal gerettet habe. DIe Frage ob sie die zyloninischen Agenten in der Flotte verraten würde, verneint sie.

• Admiral Adama einigt sich mit den Terroristen, die tote Sharon Valerii gegen die Geiseln auszutauschen. Er verschweigt dabei, dass es sich dabei um die bereits vor langer Zeit getötete Galactica Sharon handelt. Als der Schwindel auffliegt, befiehlt Sesha dem Terroristen Vinson, Anastasia Dualla zu töten. Billy Keikeya gelingt es, einem der Terroristen die Waffe zu entreissen und Vinson zu töten, wird aber selbst tödlich von dessen Feuer getroffen, als Marines den Salon stürmen. Abinell wird von den Marines getötet.

• Dualla verspricht Lee auf der Krankenstation, nicht von seiner Seite zu weichen, bis er aufwache. Sie bemerkt nicht, dass Kara dies mitbekommt. Laura Roslin trauert um Keikeya, der für sie so etwas wie ein Sohn gewesen sei.

Questions

• Who leaked out the information that Valerii was on Galactica?
  • Given that Caprica-Valerii has been taken to the middle of CIC, to Adama's quarters, to sickbay, and transferred through open hallways, it could have been just any random crewmen by this point.
  • Now that this information has been confirmed, thanks to the actions of Abinell and her conspirators, what kind of backlash should Roslin and Adama expect to face?
  • Sesha seemed to have some conspiracy theory leaflets suspecting Cylon reproduction programs, etc. but whether these were substantiated or based on pure rumor is unclear. Rumor could possibly have spread from guards, personnel, etc. who can see that she is now pregnant.
  • As noted in previous episodes, it it likely that Admiral Adama had a blanket order to all crewmembers not to discuss the existence of the second Valerii to civilians. However, with the introduction of Pegasus, the fog of rumor that may have kept Valerii's existence vague likely dissipated.
• How did Abinell know that a Cylon agent infiltrated the Ministry of Defenses on Caprica?
  • Baltar was openly accused of this in "Six Degrees of Separation", and Roslin even had a Fleet-wide press conference to exhonerate him of these charges.
• Who will become Roslin's new assistant? (Answer) Was there a replacement groomed for the position at all previous to the events in this episode?
  • During early episodes of season 1, nameless aides with no dialog can be seen trailing Roslin and Billy. In the DVD commentary for these episodes, RDM and Eick explain how they gradually just stopped using an entourage of aides with Roslin, and mulled over the idea of eventually working them back into the show. Perhaps this could be used to compensate for Billy's removal.
• Where did Abinell and her people get the weapons? Were they purchased from the Black Market?
• What were Ellen Tigh intentions? (She practically gives away Thrace's cover and announces that she is the wife of Galactica's XO.) What was the purpose? Was there one at all, or was Ellen Tigh just being an idiot again?
  • Based on her demeanor, it would be safe to say that she was looking out for her interests, knowing that her position (being the colonel's wife) would keep her relatively safe.
• Is the relationship between Apollo and Dee against military protocol in the same way that Tyrol and Valerii's relationship was, or have the rules on Colonial officers and NCO fraternization been relaxed?
  • Just how far does the non-association protocol even extend anymore? What is the exact nature of the non-association protocol? Is it against officers having relationships with enlisted crewmen, or even enlisted crewmen having relationships with other enlisted crewmen (i.e. preventing Tyrol and Cally from having a relationship)? In "Litmus," Tyrol was willing to lie under oath (and all of his deckhands were willing to lie under oath) rather than let Tyrol face the punishment associated with continuing his relationship. Apollo and Dualla are in the same position as Boomer and Tyrol; one is an officer having a relationship with an enlisted crewman. Apollo and Dualla have an even greater gap between them, as Apollo is among the highest-ranking officers on Galactica, and Dualla is a lower-ranking enlisted crewman than Tyrol was.
    • In "Litmus", Sergeant Hadrian questions Commander Adama: "Sir, isn't it true that you knew that Lt. Valerii and Chief Tyrol were having an illicit relationship, in violation of regulations?" The expressions on Tyrol's deck crew and others aboard Galactica (Miniseries) as Tyrol and Valerii (poorly) attempt to cover their intentions indicate many members of the ship were quite aware of their affair. The rules on fraternization are likely very similar to those found in the US Army regulations that prohibit business or personal relationships only between an officer and an enlisted crewmember. (Chief Tyrol, while among the highest ranking members of Galactica's crew, is still a non-commissioned officer.) However, with the near-annihilation of humanity and the need for population growth, the rules are likely relaxed, with command staff monitoring the situation on a case-by-case basis (note Admiral Adama's last statement to his son at the end of the episode, "Black Market," indicating that the admiral, too, has his sources of information about the personal affairs of his officers).
      • Given the growing closeness between Adama and Roslin (which, even if not an actually romantic relationship, has some hints of it), and the decidedly morally-ambiguous idea of a relationship between a head of state and her military chief, Adama may have concluded that he had little room for pointing fingers at Lee and Dualla.
• Saul Tigh's prejudices were fully and repeatedly exposed in relation to Caprica-Valerii (eg. describing her as a thing, objecting to William Adama's reflexively referring to the prisoner by her assumed name). Will this begin to affect the close relationship between these two in future episodes? Will it deteriorate to a point where the XO will be relieved again in relation to a decision made by Adama as he once was in You Can't Go Home Again?

Analysis

• Sesha Abinell's husband Ray was killed during a Cylon attack ten weeks prior to this episode. The only change in the survivor count which remains unaccounted for was between "Home, Part I" and "Home, Part II", however, those episodes must have taken place well before Ray Abinell's death ten weeks prior to this episode. Other possibilities include Ray's death during the Battle of the Resurrection Ship, although Greenleaf would have been far from the site of combat; or his death being offset by a birth in between episodes.
  • One of David Eick's Video Blogs is devoted to discussing the scene where Ray Abinell dies. Apparently, although in the final version it's a dialog-less flashback, originally it was supposed to be Ray talking on the phone to Sesha, then seeing the Raider coming. He then says goodbye, hangs up, and runs down the hallway. This might feature in a deleted scene.
• The final scene recalls that of Resurrection Ship Part II, except that Starbuck and Dee's roles are reversed.

Notes

• Continuing from "Scar", this is the second episode in a row that Dr. Gaius Baltar and Number Six have not appeared in.

Noteworthy Dialogue

• Saul Tigh observing Sharon Valerii's exit from William Adama's office:

Saul Tigh: You know, if people knew how much you've relied on that thing's so called intelligence, they'd be scared out of their wits.

William Adama: What about you, Saul? Are you afraid of her?

Saul Tigh: You know, the truth is I don't like the way it's gotten under your skin.

• After a bout of negotiations with Sesha Abinell, leader of the Cloud 9 terrorists, Adama briefly confers with Tigh:

William Adama: Saul, we can't give her Sharon. I hope you know that, right?

Saul Tigh: I know that. Against our dealing with the terrorists... if we start now, it'll open the floodgates; and it will never stop. And by the way, it's not Sharon. It's a frakking Cylon.

William Adama: You don't think I know that?

Saul Tigh: I think there's part of you that looks into that thing's eyes and still sees that young girl that reported aboard two years ago as a rook pilot. Well, it's not. It never was. Bill, it's a machine.

• Crisis conference between the President, the Admiral and the XO regarding how the terrorists demands should ultimately be dealt with:

Saul Tigh: What if they're right? What if Sharon has been playing us all, plotting our destruction with every passing day? What if the terrorists are right?

Laura Roslin: This isn't about Sharon. It's about something much bigger than that. It's about the long term survival of the Fleet. It's about the way we conduct ourselves in all of this.

Official Statements

Paul Campbell discusses the decision surrounding Billy Keikeya's death:

It was kind of my choice in a way. I was kind of given an ultimatum eventually because in between the end of season one and the beginning of season two I had actually gone to LA and booked a pilot. Because Battlestar production didn’t have me under contract, I was free to go and do that. And it was their loss if the show got picked up and I wasn’t able to come back for season two. I think that was a problem they had with a few of the cast members, that everyone was a free agent after season 1, and I think that scared them a little bit. They could have potentially lost half their cast after season 1, and I think after that, they pretty much ended up signing everyone to a contract. But I’d already been cast in another show and decided to go off on my own and see if it worked. As it turned out it didn’t work, and I ended up having a two episode hiatus after episode 4. I was gone for 5 and 6, then came back for Home Pt. 1, I think it was. Or Home Pt 2, I came back for. So after that kind of gave me the ultimatum and said sign a contract for 5 years, or we kind of need to go our separate ways. And I kind of put it off and put it off, then eventually they just said “Look, we can tell your not really committed to the show, and we can’t write story lines. So we’ve decided to kill the character. It wasn’t really a surprise, but I wasn’t expecting it to happen when it did. But I certainly wasn’t surprised that they had to do that.[1]

Guest Stars

• Kate Vernon as Ellen Tigh
• Unknown as Chu
• Unknown as Vinson
• Unknown as Page
• Michael Ryan as Ray Abinell
• Adrien Hughes as Lt. Terry Burrell
• Erica Carroll as Civilian
• James Upton as Environmental Specialist
• Georgia Hacche as Petty Officer Sion