Battlestar Galactica 4×21: Daybreak, Part 1

We are near the end of the journey for television’s best hour of television.  Battlestar Galactica, which has been one hell of a frakkin ride these last few years…

Well, I’ll save the reflection for next week.
This week, we got the first of the three hour series finale.  And while it may not have been the hour many expected or even wanted, it was a beautiful set-up for next week’s sure to be explosive, emotional, gripping send off.

For this recap, I thought I’d post my stream of conciousness-y recap that I was clumsily typing during the episode. With a show like BSG, writing a recap without missing the details would be like writing a paper for me without the benefit of multiple viewings first.

But overall for this episode, while we didn’t get things blowing up in space (or on Caprica as it turned out), we got some Lost-style flashbacks to life before the fall of the colonies.  It was a pleasant surprise seeing our favorite characters in life back on solid ground.  It was backstory that while not completely important to have had sprinkled throughout the series, gives us a nice perspective now as we head into the final two hours.  We’ve gotten to see these characters from so many different angles that anything more now is just icing on the cake.

Beautiful… that seems to be the perfect word to describe the scenes on Caprica.  Not just because they served a great contrast to the dull, muted colors of Galactica and the other ships, but also because we saw our characters having fun, enjoying life, or just dealing with life as the case may be, but dealing with things other than needing the right coordinates to jump or finding Earth or trying to stay alive against Centurions.

We get to see Zak Adama and Kara actually up and about, not just in bed.  We learn Laura Roslin had two sisters and a father.  We meet Gaius Baltar’s father.  We find out Sam played Pyramid for some team called the Seabucks.  (Was that ever mentioned before?)

Some great moments on Caprica, but also on board the ol’ girl before it goes on one last mission.  Two MaGMC (Make a Grown Man Cry) scenes, both involving ol’ Bill.  First, he tells Kara she’ll always be his daughter and second when “Madame President” comes limping through the crowd with Adama meeting her in the middle on top of the red “With us or not” line.  Damn.

BSG BSG

And now, they’re planning to save Hera and it’s most likely a “one way trip,” especially now that they find out the Cylon colony is sitting on top of a “singularity” or black hole in a field of asteroids with the only parking spot right on top of that colony.  Going to be lots of action next week all the while the “truth will be revealed.”

So here it is…

Last week, Adama ordered abandoning of Galactica and we got that parting shot of Adama and Tigh toasting the ship.
After the recap we go straight to opening credits without episode preview which already signals this is going to be a full episode.

We get the 12 colonies… zoom into…

We begin with drops of water in some sort of puddle.

Laura Roslin looking so young and free in a sundress or something.  A blue tubetop dress I guess, with her little sisters after a baby shower.

Kara is cooking and at the door is Lee who I’m guessing are meeting for the first time.
Out comes a very alive Zak and they get ready for a nice family dinner.

Baltar is in a limo with Six and he gets call.  They head over to a home where a homecare is leaving and Baltar’s father is in a wheelchair.
“This the one you’re banging?”
“The stupid bastard actually changed his accent!”

Police come to visit Laura.
There’s been an accident.  Her sisters and father have been all killed by a drunk driver.
The driver is in stable condition, he sideswiped.

Laura goes outside in her nightgown and robe with people and kids having fun in a park.
She stands at some reflecting pool or something and gets in.  People stare.
She goes to the middle of the pool where the geysers are shooting up around a stone sculpture/mass.  She sits and gets soaked.

We reutrn to the drops of water, now we know what it is.

Cut to Laura in the hospital bed.

On the deck, Lee is overloking the crew taking apart the ship.

Bill Adama is in his quarters, packing up.

Baltar will write the final chapter of the human race says Six.

We’re back in Caprica.
Caprica Six has found a new home for Papa Baltar.

Chief is in the brig.  He has a talk with Helo.

Cavill wants to get a feeding tube in little Hera.  He isn’t impressed with the dots she’s drawing.  The drill gets powered up, no idea what happens after.

THE LAST FRAKKING SPECIAL – Monday at 10pm

Hot Dog and his baby are walking the halls, they run into Adama.
The photos of the deceased have been taken off the wall.

The music plays as Adama takes the photo of Athena and Sharon.  Beautiful scene.

Adama goes to visit Kara and Sam.  Adama says she is his daughter, “don’t you forget it.”
Kara plugs Sam in.  No clue what happens after.

Flash to Sam looking like a football player… or pyramid player really.
Seabucks.  Heh.
What matters to him is the perfect throw, perfect catch, perfect step and block, perfection, not about the game.
Perfection of creation, physics, mathematics.
Speaking like a Cylon.

On Caprica, Lee is drunk and trying to get a pigeon out of his apartment.

On the deck, adama and Kara make a red line on the floor with some duct tape.  Adama calls for volunteers for one last mission, to save Hera.

“One way trip.”

Those who want to volunteer on one side, those who don’t on the other.

Heading starboard, Lee, Hot Dog, Cottle…

Doc Cottle wants to go, but Adam stops him saying they need a doctor in the fleet.  Good point.  We see Caprica?Six and Sharon and the final 5 cross over.

And through the crowd comes Laura.

Okay… I’m tearing up.

Raptor 279 Recon Mission
The colony is right on top of a black hole, a singularity, and in an asteroid field.  It’s crazy, but they’re going to do it anyway.

TO BE CONTINUED!

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