Battlestar Galactica (2003)/A Measure of Salvation (2)

A Measure of Salvation (2)
Season 3, Episode 7
Airdate	November 10, 2006
Written by	Michael Angeli
Directed by	Bill Eagles
Fleet Survivors	41,420
← 3x06 Torn (1)	3x08 → Hero
Battlestar Galactica (2003) — Season Three

A Measure of Salvation (2) is the seventh episode of the third season of Battlestar Galactica, and the fortieth episode overall. It is the second part of a two-part episode, including Torn (1).

Edward James Olmos (Admiral William Adama), Mary McDonnell (Laura Roslin), Katee Sackhoff (Kara "Starbuck" Thrace), Jamie Bamber (Major Lee "Apollo" Adama), James Callis (Dr. Gaius Baltar), Tricia Helfer (Number Six), Grace Park (Lieutenant Sharon "Athena" Agathon)

Aaron Douglas (Chief Galen Tyrol), Tahmoh Penikett (Captain Karl "Helo" Agathon), Alessandro Juliani (Lt. Felix Gaeta), Kandyse McClure (Lieutenant Anastasia "Dee" Dualla)

Special Guest Star: Lucy Lawless (D'Anna Biers)

Guest Star: Rick Worthy (Simon)

Guest Star: Callum Keith Rennie (Leoben Conoy)

Guest Stars: Donnelly Rhodes (Dr. Cottle), Matthew Bennett (Aaron Doral)

Cast: Bodie Olmos (Hotdog), Leah Cairns (Racetrack), Eileen Pedde (Mathias), Tiffany Lyndall-Knight (Hybrid) (credit only)

Plot Overview

After learning about the virus infecting the Cylons, Galactica weighs the moral implications of using it as a biological weapon to eradicate the entirety of the Cylons.

Number Three interrogates Baltar to find out what connection he may have to the Beacon and the virus.

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Galactica discovers that Baltar is alive and that he's helping the Cylons find Earth.

• The virus is revealed to be lymphocytic encephalitis, which humans developed immunity to a couple of hundred years ago. It also matches the one reported 3000 years ago, about the time the Thirteenth Tribe left Kobol. Cottle concludes it was likely an accidental contamination.

• After learning why the Cylons abandoned the infected basestar, Lee comes up with the plan that will spread the virus by luring a resurrection ship and killing the captive infected. However, they die before this can be achieved.

Characters

• Baltar finally admits to knowing about the beacon when they Cylons admit to knowing it and believe he sent them there to become infected deliberately. He is then interrogated by Three. Number Six attempt to refocus his body from the torture with sex in order to free his mind against Three. He then tells her that he believes in her and loves her with all this heart. This moves Three to stop the torture.

• Adama has hesitation about carrying the plan to infect the Cylons and even puts the burden on Roslin to authorise the use of a biological weapon.

• Helo is incredibly resistant against the idea of wiping out the Cylons and sabotages the air in the cell, which suffocates the Cylons before the resurrection ship jumps into range. While Roslin points to the two likely suspects, he doesn't push for an investigation.

• Athena doesn't seem to like the plan to wipe out the Cylons, but stands by her decision to wear a uniform and prove that she's a person.

Trivia

Behind the Scenes

• Katee Sackhoff has only a single brief appearance in this episode. Deleted scenes feature Kara being cleared for flight status along with other grounded pilots and her talking with the Cylon prisoners, including taking some revenge on Leoben.

• This is the first episode without Michael Hogan, leaving Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell as the only actors to have appeared in every episode until Season 4. There was a scripted scene featuring Tigh, but Hogan requested it be cut because despite being a great scene, he felt that it didn't make sense given the context of Tigh's comments in the previous episode.

Quotes

• Hotdog: Feel anything yet?

Racetrack: Yeah, I feel sick... sick of you bugging me!

Hotdog: You didn't touch any infected skinjobs.

Racetrack: It's not my fault you're clumsy.

Hotdog: You can kiss my infected ass.

Cottle: Well, you can kiss it, but it's not infected.

• Adama: What the hell's so funny?

Lee: I think I just thought of a way to solve all of our problems. To get rid of the Cylon threat for once and for all. We can wipe them out. We can destroy the entire Cylon race.

• Helo: Genocide? So that's what we're about now.

Lee: They're not human. They were built, not born. No fathers, no mothers, no sons, no daughters.

Helo: I had a daughter. I held her in my arms.

Lee: But she was half human. These are things, dangerous things. This is our one chance to be rid of them.

Helo: You can rationalise it anyway you want. We do this, we wipe out their race, then we're no different than they are.

Roslin: Captain, I respectfully disagree. The Cylons struck first in this war. And not being content with the annihilation of billions of human beings they pursued us relentlessly through the galaxies, determined to wipe us out.

Helo: They tried to live with us on New Caprica.

Roslin: What did you say?

Helo: They tried to live with us on New Caprica.

Roslin: You weren't on New Caprica. To my recollection you didn't set foot there, so out of the respect for the hundreds of men and women on your crew who suffered through that snake pit, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that.

• Helo: They're a race of people. Wiping them out with a biological weapon is a crime against... is a crime against humanity.

• Adama: Posterity really doesn't look too kindly on genocide.

Roslin: You're making an assumption that posterity will define this as genocide. If they do, at least there'll be someone alive to hate us for it.