Schwarzmarkt

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"Schwarzmarkt" Eine Episode der neu-interpretierten Serie
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Überblick

Captain Lee Adama, der mit den Erinnerungen an eine verschmähte Liebe auf Caprica zu kämpfen hat, sucht den Mörder des neuen Pegasus Commanders Jack Fisk und deckt dabei einen Schwarzmarkt auf, der wichtige Versorgungsgüter für die Flotte zurückhält.

Zusammenfassung

• Die von ihrer Krankheit genesene Präsidentin Laura Roslin diskutiert mit Admiral Adama, Pegasus Commander Fisk und Dr. Baltar über die Möglichkeiten, den Schwarzmarkt in der Flotte in den Griff zu bekommen. Die beiden Kommandeure der Kampfsterne sagen zu, hierzu ihre Möglichkeiten zu nutzen.

• Als der Pegasus Commander Fisk in sein Quartier zurückkehrt, wird er von Schwarzmarkt Händlern erdrosselt. Einer von ihnen trägt die Kleidung eines Geschäftsmannes.

• Lee Adama, noch gezeichnet von seinem Schleudersitz Trauma mit der Blackbird, hat nun auf der Cloud 9 eine Beziehung zu einer Frau namens Shevon, die eine Tochter namens Paya hat.
• In einem "der Morgen danach" Gespräch wird deutlich, dass Lee eine richtige Beziehung wünscht. Shevon antwortet ausweichend und fragt nach 100 weiteren Cubits, weil er die Nacht über geblieben sei.
• In einem Flashback sehen wir Lee und dessen frühere Liebe bei einem Rendevous auf Caprica. Die Szene endet damit, dass das Mädchen fortläuft. Dieses Flashback wiederholt sich während der gesamten Folge, wobei es immer detaillierter und intensiver wird.
• Lee untersucht Fisks Tod und findet in dessen Quartier einige Luxusgüter, darunter Zigarren. Baltar erscheint auf der Bildfläche und Lee macht keinen Hehl daraus, dass er ihn für den mutmaßlichen Empfänger der Zigarren hält.
• Zudem findet er einen goldenen Armreifs mit den Initialen "E.T". Ihm wird klar, dass dieser Ellen Tigh gehört und konfrontiert Col. Tigh damit. Tigh erklärt, er und nicht seine Frau habe es gegen Spirituosen und Früchte getauscht.
• Lee berichtet seinem Vater über das Ergebnis seiner Untersuchungen. Demgemäß war Fisk zutiefst in den Schwarzandel verstrickt und nutzte die Macht des Pegasus Kommandos aus, um massiv Güter abzuzweigen.
• Dr. Cottle nimmt Fisks Autopsie vor und findet in dessen Mund ein goldenes Cubit-Stück und vermutet eine Warnung. Admiral Adama erkennt, dass Fisk vermutlich einen Schwarzmarkt Händler übervorteilte und diese nun Rache genommen hätte.

Lee mit Shevon.

• (nur in der englischen Version:) Auf der Colonial One resumiert Präsident Roslin ihre Nahtod Erscheinungen auf Caprica. Ihr wird klar, dass Baltar sich vor dem Holocaust mit einer zylonischen Agentin getroffen hat, die sie auch als als "Shelly Godfrey" and "Gina" kennt.
• Roslin lädt Baltar zu einem Gespräch und fordert ihn offen dazu auf, als Vizepräsident abzudanken. Aus reiner Trotzreaktion weist er dies zurück. Roslin erklärt ihm, dass sie solch ein Angebot kein zweites Mal mache, aber er läßt sie stehen.
• Als Lee Adama im Fitnessraum seinem Workout nachgeht, fragt Anastasia Dualla ihn, ob der Flirt zwischen ihnen zu etwas führe. Als Lee dann herumdruckst, versteht sie, dass dem wohl nicht so ist.
• Nachdem er von ihr einen Notfall Anruf erhalten hat, ist Lee sofort bei Shevon zur Stelle. Sie und Paya wurden überfallen. Daher will er sie zu ihrem Schutz mit auf die Galactica nehmen. Plötzlich dringen Gangstern in die Wohnung ein, die ihn mit einer Saite fast erdrosseln. Noch im Würgegriff und dem Tode nahe spricht ihn der schon vom Fisk Mord bekannte zigarrenrauchende "Businessman" an und warnt ihn vor weiteren Ermittlungen in Sachen Fisk und Schwarzmarkt. Schließlich bleibt Lee bewußtlos liegen.
• Als er erwacht, entdeckt er den Mörder Fisks, der mit einem tödlichen Stirnschuss neben ihm liegt. Plötzlich erscheint Tom Zarek an der Tür. Dieser ist der Meinung, dass der Schwarzmarkt unvermeidlich sei. Dennoch nennt er den Namen des "Businessman", nämlich Phelan und verrät Lee weiter, dass ein gewisser Frachter namens Prometheus den Dreh- und Angelpunkt des Schwarzmarktes darstelle. Zuletzt macht er Lee klar, dass man ihm den Mörder Fisks hier bewußt ausliefere. Lee habe damit den Fall aufgeklärt und könne ihn hochoffiziell zu den Akten legen.
• Lee sucht die Prometheus auf und findet Paya zusammen mit anderen Kindern in einem Verließ eingesperrt. Sichtlich schockiert und aufgebracht setzt er seine Ermittlungen nun noch energischer fort.
• In der Bar des Schffes findet Lee schließlich Phelan. Er droht, die Galactica würde das Schiff in die Luft jagen, wenn man ihm nicht Shevon and Paya herausgäbe und den Schwarzmart beenden würde. Phelan erwidert, die Flotte bräuchte den Schwarzmarkt. Dieser sei das Ventil, das einspringe, wenn ein Versorgungsschiff ausfalle. Dort gäbe es alles, was man bräuchte, auch Kinder Prostitution.
• Lee ist schockiert. Zumal man nun auch noch Shevon hereinschleift und er erfahren muss, dass er von ihr ausgehorcht wurde. Es gelingt ihm, einem seiner Bewacher die Waffe zu entreißen. Er bedroht Phelan, aber dieser meint, Lee sei nicht wie er und würde nicht schießen. Doch nach einigen Flashbacks an das Caprica Mädchen schießt Lee ihm tödlich in die Brust.
• Lee wendet sich nun an die noch geschockte Leibgarde Phelans. Die Sache sei beendet, der Schwarzmarkt würde gebraucht und gehe weiter, ob es ihm selbst nun gefalle oder nicht. Aber er würde die Sache im Auge behalten. Es solle sich niemand wagen, in Zukunft die Grenzen zu überschreiten, nämlich zu morden, Medikamente zurückzuhalten oder gar Kinder zu prostituieren.
• Als Lee Shevon mitnehmen will, weist sie ihn zurück und macht ihm klar, dass er in ihr nur das Mädchen gesehen habe, das er auf Caprica verlassen habe.
• Zurück auf der Colonial One berichten die beiden Adamas der Präsidentin. Roslin ist eingeschnappt, weil Lee dem Schwarzmarkt nicht das Ende bereiten will. Lee entgegnet, kein System dei perfekt und einen Schwarzmarkt werde es immer geben.

Questions

• How were the black market gangsters able to penetrate Pegasus' security, causing the death of its second commanding officer in a short period?
  • It is likely that Pegasus draconian command structure allows for abuse, and Fisk's own use of the market led to tacit protection of it, including its figurehead, Phelan.
• At the end of the episode, Zarek is seen walking in a crowd on the Prometheus, with one of Phelan's old men nearby. Is Zarek going to try to fill the power vacuum left in the wake of Phelan's death? Was it just showing how everyone needs to use the black market, even someone like Tom Zarek who claims to wash his hands of involvement with it?
  • Did Zarek somehow set up the entire incident to get Apollo to kill Phelan for him, allowing him to take over control of the black market?
    • It's possible that Zarek is going to fill the gap with his own agents and use it as political leverage against President Roslin at some future point in time. This is just speculative however, more evidence would be required to prove Zarek's hand in the Black Market.
• The woman that William Adama (father) discusses with Lee Adama (son). Is it Shevon, the prostitute (the obvious, close-at-hand issue)? Or, is it the girl back on Caprica (the deeper-seated, much more affecting issue)?
  • Could very easily be both, though it is probably the latter of the two choices. If Admiral Adama's relationship with his son was strained before the attacks, he might not know about his son's prior bedroom activities.
• Why hasn't Roslin openly accused Baltar of collaborating with the Cylons after "Epiphanies"?
  • Possibly it is because she has no actual "evidence", and she remembered seeing him when her mind was in shambles dying of cancer, so she may not feel confident enough in this revelation to act on it more openly. However, it does seem to have influenced her to the point that unofficially, she no longer trusts Baltar.
    • She didn't entirely trust him before, given the contents of her letter, but now Roslin does not trust him in any capacity.
• Did Apollo's pregnant former love on Caprica actually die, or is she perhaps one of the handful of survivors? Or worse, a prisoner in one of the Cylon Farms?
• Who will take command of Pegasus following Fisk's death? (Answer)
• Where does the Black Market get all their goods, given the finite supplies on the fleet?
  • Possibly from freighters that were en route at the time of the attack. Non perishable goods such as medical supplies, liquor, cigarettes and fumarellos could have become a currency they could negotiate with.

Analysis

• Ron D. Moore admits in his podcast that this episode did not live up to his expectations. The long complaint about failed goals he made in his blog was actually about this episode, and not "Downloaded", as speculated by other unofficial sources.
• It may be that Moore was attempting to work the story as a detective mystery, but fell short of the goal.
• This is the third episode to use a "Flash Forward" introduction to the storyline as a hook (in medias res); this was also used just two episodes previous in Resurrection Ship, Part II. Moore has said that the device was added after he was disappointed with initial cuts of the episode to try to add suspense. The narrative technique also appeared in "Act of Contrition".
• Apollo's recent angst may appear to some viewers as rather hastily added to the character, much like the issues involving Laura Roslin's miraculously fast recovery from her cancer in the previous episode.
  • Then again, it was rather addressed in Resurrection Ship, Part II when Lee admits to Kara, "I didn't wanna come back alive."
• The Apollo-Dualla relationship, a story thread running since "Resistance", appears to have been stopped very abruptly, with only Adama's angst as an excuse in ending their flirtation. The manner in which Dualla and Adama speak to each other appeared out of character. Dualla later appears with Billy Keikeya, where he says little, and Dualla appears ready to give Adama up and continue things more seriously with Billy. Actor Paul Campbell (Billy) has been filming a lot of TV pilots and other projects, so he hasn't had much to do this season. But, in comparison to Cally or Kat, who now seem better developed, Billy's character appears underused.
  • The relationship between Apollo and Dualla may have been a contingency plan in case Campbell left the series.
    • Actually, RDM said it was introduced because they thought it would make an interesting love triangle.
• Much of the regular cast, including Kara Thrace, Sharon Valerii, Helo, Felix Gaeta, Galen Tyrol, and Cally do not appear in this episode. Baltar's virtual Number Six is seen in what some may feel was a distracting appearance, taunting Baltar on Pegasus and in the meeting with Roslin.
• Col. Tigh is merely a person to be interviewed in Apollo's investigation. Dr. Cottle's screen time has increased in the last two episodes, although his character's contribution may be too short for some.
• Like many "pulp" murder mysteries, the episode appeared without a special point or purpose other than to unravel the mystery. Perhaps the writers were attempting to stress the realism of living in a "Rag Tag Fugitive Fleet" of civilians; yes, there would probably be gangsters carving out fiefdoms who would run drug, medicine, and prostitution rackets. The show took a really dark turn when it made mention of child prostitution. Once again, this isn't anything that several police-dramas airing at the same time of night as BSG haven't done, and nothing is "shown"; a character just mentions in dialog that he runs a ring of this, and the "good guy" promptly kills him and shuts it down. However, the entire idea of the drug rings, etc. is a little disturbing, even if entirely logical.
• The storyline of Apollo's pregnant girlfriend on Caprica was unusual in that this episode is the first mention of such a crucial backstory thread. Considering the extent to which the memory seems to weigh Lee down, it seems contrived to introduce it so late in the series, especially when there have been many circumstances in earlier episodes during which such reflection would have been considerably more apt. In addition, confusion arose concerning Shevon's line about Adama's old flame "want(ing) to give you a child." That is, many viewers may not have understood that Adama's old love was actually already pregnant. Further, the incessant repetition of the flashback, which did not vary, did little to advance the plot.
• Jack Fisk being killed as easily as Cain was implausible. Admiral Adama is now escorted by marines at all times. With Cain's killer still on the loose, it would rational for Fisk to have some paranoia.
  • Phelan and his men clearly had access to Fisk already, so it may not be all that implausible.
  • Considering that an attempt on Adama's life has already happened once, marines should have been escorting him from the very beginning. With Fisk and Cain now both dead, there may be a standing Fleet or Colonial military order in place that automatically activates, similar to such real-world orders in the US military.
• The scene between Baltar and Roslin was interesting in its scripting and acting. Roslin is determined to be extremely polite, forceful, and cheery despite the fact that she's making a power play and now knows Baltar has something to do with the fall of the Colonies. Viewers should probably expect this revelation to come to a head at the close of season 2.

Notes

• Survivor count for this episode was 49,597. That's one less than last week's episode, "Epiphanies" in which a suicide bomber attacked the tylium refinery. However, bodies are seen blasted into space, and Adama actually says in dialog "people are dead", so more than one should have died. However, this number is occasionally offset by new babies born in the Fleet, which can account for some small discrepancies.
• Zarek notes that he is the representative of the Astral Queen, although in "Colonial Day", he was elected to represent the colony of Sagittaron. Given the nature of the conversation, however, he may have been speaking of his status as de facto leader of the Astral Queen.
• Central characters Starbuck and Sharon Valerii do not appear in this episode.
• Fisk, Phelan, and Apollo all use the term "cigar" in this episode. The use of the term "cigar", as opposed to the normal term of fumarello, was a curious find in the episode. Like the mistaken use of "RADAR" instead of DRADIS in a past episode, this is likely a problem involving writers who apparently missed doing their homework on terminology from the series bible and past episodes.
• As seen in Final Cut, there are occasionally meetings of all the ships in the fleet.
• Bill Duke (Phelan) also appeared in the scifi film Predator, and will play Bolivar Trask in the upcoming X-Men 3.
• Helo does not appear in this episode. This is only the second episode that he has not appeared in; the other was "Fragged".
• Tyrol does not appear in this episode. This is only the second episode he has not appeared in; the first was "Home, Part I".
• Prostitution was apparently legal in the Twelve Colonies.
• Apollo pilots a Raptor alone to get to the Prometheus; as we've seen in "Pegasus" and "Resurrection Ship, Part I", he is qualified to fly both Vipers and Raptors.
• The "R&D Animation" skit during the credits is a parody of the scifi film "The Thing": David Eick transforms into a horrific multi-tentacled monster from the film and attacks Ron Moore.
• This episode had the lowest Nielsen Ratings figure that an episode of the Re-Imagined Series ever received, at the time this episode aired.

Noteworthy Dialogue

• "You're not gonna shoot. You're not like me. You're not gonna--(Apollo shoots him in the chest midsentence)--Uhuhhh..."

—The last words of Phelan

Official Statements

• In an interview in issue #197 of TV Zone, James Callis (Dr. Gaius Baltar) said: "Mary and I had a great deal of fun doing a scene where the President tells Baltar in no uncertain terms that she doesn’t like him and wants him to resign. He’s not very happy about that."

Guest stars

• Richard Hatch as Tom Zarek
• Claudette Mink as Shevon)
• Bill Duke as Phelan
• Hayley Guiel as Paya
• Unknown (Weller)
• Unknown (Beach)
• Graham Beckel as Commander Jack Fisk
• Leah Cairns as Lt. Margaret "Racetrack" Edmonson
• Amy Lalonde as Gianne
• John Mann as Linden
• Brad Mann as Pegasus Marine
• James Ashcroft as Security Officer
• Gustavo Febres as Herbalist