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I was looking forward to seeing Caprica Six kick Tigh’s ass in this episode. She doesn’t get the chance, as the MP’s would have shot her down if she made a second strike back (it’s fair to say he provoked it). However, she gives him a good psychological beating by bringing up his dead wife, the one he poisoned for her collaboration with the Cylons back on New Caprica. She knows from personal experience how love hurts, and she in turn has a more potent weapon than her fists. It’s an interesting turn in the past few episodes for Caprica Six, handling herself with cunning. While this is not out of character, a lot of emphasis in the past has been on her vulnerability (for this specific Six).

For Saul Tigh, the effects of his visit to Caprica’s jail cell doesn’t end there. Being an alcoholic, he lapses into drinking heavily before he’s called to the stand during Baltar’s trial, showing up drunk and losing credibility as a witness as he reveals he killed his wife for collaborating with the Cylons. While Ellen Tigh was essentially a victim of the Cylons by being forced to collaborate and give up information, resulting in the resistance’s need to eliminate a risk, Tigh finds himself backed into the corner by Baltar’s attorney. He should have shared this information with the prosecutor, who doesn’t seem to be prepared for this.

Others seem to have a credibility problem as well. Lee Adama clashes with his father over the trial, and resigns his commission. But that is only the beginning of his problems. Lee’s idealism does little to prepare him for the ramifications of being a defense attorney. Showing up in a civilian suit, Lee brashly takes the floor and uses one thing he knows about President Roslin to further the case. He does badly when it comes to questioning Roslin as a witness, where she first shames him to prevent him from asking the question and, when that fails, pushes him to seek the logical end of his question when it isn’t convenient for the case. Lee’s attempt to do the right thing isn’t met with enthusiasm by anyone close to him, especially as his wife leaves him. Since he no longer has a military rank, isn’t officially an attorney, where can he go after the trial is over? Lampkin has little to lose; he is simply doing his job as an attorney. Lampkin can go back to his ship, whatever that is. Lee needs to shop out his resume to the other ships (which may not be enthusiastic about having someone who gave up his military rank in order to defend the most hated man in the fleet). Roslin, the casualty of Lee’s zeal, must now deal with the press about her chamala use and her revelation that her cancer’s come back. While the drug may not be illegal in the fleet, the image of the President as a drug user can be damaging. Also, the press is concerned that her health may once again be an issue regarding her ability to do her job as President.

Both Baltar and Caprica Six deal with their inner lovers in this episode. It tends to be limited to one or the other. When Baltar is confronted with a “fan” who wants a blessing, his inner Six appeals to his desire for glory speaking of that immortality that comes with that kind of adoration after death. Caprica’s inner Baltar helps her handle Tigh and kick his ass mentally. Given that both of them have these manifestations in their mind, there has never been any clear explanations of how it happened, though Baltar’s inner Six enjoyed toying with him early on, at one time suggesting the Cylons implanted a chip.

Caprica Six still looks great and Baltar seems to have gotten a black shirt from somewhere. Caprica somehow seems to be able to do her make-up without a mirror and her clothes look none the worse for the wear. And, is she wearing high heels? Those are potential weapons. Baltar has this knack for arriving on a ship with only the clothes on his back, but he somehow manages to get more clothes. He only had his suit and white shirt when Tyrol brought him aboard a month ago, but now he has a black shirt. I don’t think he had it tucked away in his pocket, issued from the Cylons. Those Brave New Worlders seem to like to keep their trendy gear to themselves.

Where is Tom Zarek? This guy seemed to have gone into hiding after he warned Roslin the trial was a bad idea. The trial itself is born out of Roslin’s desire for Baltar to recieve justice through due process, which now seems more like an ideal than ever. Others, such as Adama, find it expedient to simply execute Baltar. A few episodes ago, Adama offers to make Baltar disappear, but Roslin insists on him recieving a fair trial. Given that Zarek was an opponent of Roslin’s early on, he has become one of her strongest supporters up to the point of being willing to do the dirty work to keep Roslin’s hands clean. Being a former terrorist, Zarek has no illusions about the ideals of government and justice. He does, however, seem to recognize that others have them, especially towards Roslin. So he may have been trying to protect her with that warning. But, there may some dirt on him he’s afraid will come out during Baltar’s trial.

Next week is disappointingly the season finale. The trial continues, and then I’ll experience the withdrawal symptoms. I may just check everything out on Netflix again.

I told my brother my addiction to Battlestar Galactica was like methadone for Star Trek. I was an avid fan for many years, watching that show religiously. My brother offered that it wasn’t methadone at all, but a more powerful and grittier kind of drug. I hate to admit it, but he might be right.

Gotta love a man in shades, especially when he wears them indoors. Baltar’s new attorney, Lampkin, has that aloof kind of cool, reminiscent of Agent Smith from The Matrix. Actually, it’s more than that. His dark, casual attire suggests a post-modern chic, and he’s more arrogant than Baltar ever was. Baltar has affected humility; this man has none at all. He’s extremely manipulative, and among his quirks are that he carries around a cat and he’s a kleptomaniac. He’s not interested in defending Baltar for the good of giving a man a fair shot at justice; instead, it’s for glory.

Baltar’s previous lawyer was definitely an ephemeral presence. He’s not really missed when a bomb goes off in the raptor he boards, and his death comes across as an inconvenience to the process of Baltar’s trial. His characterization of whispering is supplied by Racetrack, the pilot assigned to ferry him. He did, however, make Baltar’s version of Mein Kampf possible.

This is one of those episodes that brings attention to how the Fleet tries to hold onto institutions that barely exist. The laws are no longer bound to the lands where they were written. The schools and associations that provide lawyers and other professionals with their credentials are gone forever. Naturally, lawyers, doctors, and other skilled people were on the transports when the Fleet came together to pool resources to protect themselves from the Cylons. The question is, who will replace these people when the time comes? Whenver Battlestar Galactica touches upon infrastructure in the Fleet, it’s fascinating.

When Adama tells his son he’s not an attorney to stop him from further helping Lampkin, Lee protests that he gave him his grandfather’s law books. Essentially, the only way to educate new lawyers now is to have them read what law books are left. Plus, these books are an extremely valuable commodity since there are a few of them. Lee seems to be more an intellectual than a soldier, so he’s better suited for this. However the real reason is that Adama doesn’t want to see him on the other side of the hearing. This trial has already began to divide father and son again.

It’s been a while since terrorism have been around in the Galactica milieu. Of course, what the resistance did on New Caprica was considered terrorism by the Cylons, but one of Galactica’s officers is exposed here as a culprit, attempting to bypass Baltar’s fair trial by killing off his attorneys. It would be more logical to go after Baltar himself, but security is tighter at his cell, so the attorneys are the next best target. Killing attorneys would dry up the prospects of anyone volunteering to represent Baltar, perhaps making it more expedient to execute him.

Since Tom Zarek’s warning about trying Baltar to Laura Roslin was featured in the recap, I had some expectation of seeing him in this episode. Did he know this type of terrorism would happen? Or was there something in it for him that frightened him? Zarek’s fears and concerns aren’t fully explored yet, but there needs to be some payoff.

For someone who’s been in a jail cell for the past few weeks, Caprica Six looks great. Her hair looks no different from any other episode, and she looks well made up. Plus, that black outfit held up very well. She’s smart enough not to fall for Lampkin’s ploy with Baltar’s pen, but she’s vulnerable when he wears her down interviewing her about her love for Baltar. She hits Saul Tigh next week – an ass kicking by her is something to look forward to.