Battlestar Galactica (2003)/Final Cut

Final Cut
Season 2, Episode 8
Airdate	September 9, 2005
Written by	Mark Verheiden
Directed by	Robert Young
Nielsen Rating	2.0
Fleet Survivors	47,853
← 2x07 Home (2)	2x09 → Flight of the Phoenix
Battlestar Galactica (2003) — Season Two

Final Cut is the eighth episode of the second season of Battlestar Galactica, and is the twenty-first episode overall.

Edward James Olmos (Commander William Adama), Mary McDonnell (Laura Roslin), Katee Sackhoff (Lt. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace), Jamie Bamber (Captain Lee "Apollo" Adama), James Callis (Dr. Gaius Baltar), Tricia Helfer (Number Six), Grace Park (Lt. Sharon "Boomer" Valerii)

Michael Hogan (Colonel Saul Tigh), Aaron Douglas (Chief Galen Tyrol), Tahmoh Penikett (Helo), Paul Campbell (Billy Keikeya), Alessandro Juliani (Lt. Gaeta), Kandyse McClure (PO Dualla)

Guest Star: Kate Vernon (Ellen Tigh)

Guest Star: Donnelly Rhodes (Dr. Cottle)

Guest Star: Matthew Bennett (Aaron Doral)

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

Cast: Luciana Carro Louann "Kat" Katraine), Bodie Olmos (Brendan "Hotdog" Costanza), Flick Harrison (Bell), Kevan Kase (Pvt. Scott Kelso), Yee Jee Tso (Staffer), Curtis Hicks (Marine Sergeant), Aleks Paunovic (Marine Sgt. Fischer), Ty Olsson (Capt. Aaron Kelly), Leah Cairns (Racetrack), Jeremy Guilbaut (Lt. Joe "Hammerhead" Palladino)

Uncredited: Leo Chiang (Tattooed pilot)

Plot Summary

Documentary

D'Anna Biers, a vocally anti-military reporter, is tasked by President Roslin and Commander Adama to film a documentary on Galactica, with the intention of showing the fleet the human element of the military and head off some of the hostilities that have been brewing for some time. Biers accepts the assignment and goes to Galactica with the apparent intention of doing a hatchet job on the Galactica crew. As the episode progresses, she eventually changes her mind and does an optimistic report which shows the military crew of Galactica as simply everyday people like those in the rest of the fleet, which seems likely to help the fleet's opinion of their protectors on Galactica.

As the episode ends, we see the report being watched on a large screen by Cylon models Aaron Doral, Number Six, and Sharon Valerii. They comment on the fact that the pregnant Boomer is alive on the fleet, and it is revealed that D'Anna Biers is with them - she is a Cylon.

Tigh

Tigh receives a death threat in the form of a line of poetry ("From the darkness, you must fall") scrawled across the mirror in his quarters in what looks like blood. It turns out that the death threat came from Lieutenant Palladino, the pilot that was in charge of the Marines on the Gideon when they opened fire and killed four civilians. Palladino attempts to kill Tigh but can't go through with it, and is taken into custody.

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Adama and Roslin task reporter D'Anna Biers with producing a documentary to repair the military's image following recent events. It's broadcast presumably accomplishes this.

• Palladino targets Tigh after being haunted by the events on the Gideon. He is discovered and arrested.

• The Cylons learn about the status of Sharon and her baby.

• A new Cylon is revealed: D'Anna Biers. However, this remains unknown to anyone in the fleet.

Characters

• Kat has been overdosing on stims to stay alert. When this is discovered, she is taken away for medical attention.

• Sharon experiences some trouble with her pregnancy, but after some medical attention, her baby is safe.

Referbacks

• Baltar mentions to D'Anna his time on Kobol, which she brings up the several casualties during that time.

Trivia

Names

As of this episode, the first names of several recurring characters have been revealed as captions during D'Anna Biers' recordings.

• Anastasia "Dee" Dualla
• Felix Gaeta
• Louanne "Kat" Katraine
• Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson

• Lucy Lawless uses her natural accent as D'Anna Biers. However, the copy on Caprica and all those subsequently seen do not have the same accent.

Behind the Scenes

• Luciana Carro shot all of her scenes in one day.

Allusions and References

• As Biers' documentary ends, the Battlestar Galactica original series theme is played. This theme was also heard in the miniseries as a Colonial anthem.

Memorable Moments

• Baltar "subtly" trying to get D'Anna's attention.

Goofs

• After Lee has D'Anna and her cameraman leave the pilot's duty locker, Kara can be seen sitting upright about to put on one of her socks. But in the very next shot, she's leaning forward, as if she had already finished.

• When Ellen is talking to Saul, her position by the locker mirror changes between shots.

Quotes

• (after Kat moons the camera)

Lee: Kat, you want to tell me what the hell you think you were doing?

Kat: Um, I was - I was just saying hi to some of my buddies on the - on the fleet, sir.

Lee: Right. So you were literally talking out of your ass.

• D'Anna Biers: You seem to think that your pilots deserve special consideration.

Lee: Actually, I do. Like everyone else, my pilots have lost their families, their friends, everyone they ever cared about; but on top of that they're asked to put their lives on the line every single day, for a fleet that seems more interested in what they do wrong than in what they do right. They're not asking for your pity, but they damn well deserve your respect.

• D'Anna Biers: Are you afraid when you go into combat?

Racetrack: First thing they tell you is to assume you're already dead.

D'Anna Biers: Well, that sounds ghoulish.

Racetrack: Yeah, maybe, but dead men don't get scared and freeze up under fire. Me, I'm just worried that Hell's gonna be a lonely place, and I'm gonna fill it up with every toaster son of a bitch I find.

• D'Anna Biers: So what do you look for in a new recruit?

Kara: Coordination, good reflexes, total commitment, and most of all, someone crazy enough to follow me into combat.

• D'Anna Biers: (after meeting Baltar for the first time) What a strange little man.

• Kara: We just finished a fifteen hour rotation.

Lee: Yeah, well, you better get used to it. We're gonna be short on pilots until the rest of the fleet pulls the stick out of its collective fat ass.

Kara: We're fallout from Tigh's moment of glory?

Lee: You heard about his death threat?

Kara: Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. I just can't believe that I haven't been called in for questioning yet.

Lee: Oh, you were the top of the list. But don't worry, I told Tigh that you wouldn't recognize Caprican poetry if it was hot-soldered across your helmet.

Kara: "From the darkness, you must fall/Failed and weak, to darkness all." Kataris. Not one of his best. Can I be a suspect again? Please?

• (interviewing Gaeta who's smoking a cigarette)

D'Anna Biers: Does that help you cope with the stress?

Gaeta: Not really. Look, um, all that I ever wanted was to be an officer on a battlestar, okay? I trained my whole life, I trained harder than anyone in my unit. Basically, I put my life on hold until I was assigned to Galactica. Then the Cylons hit and I realized that this is all that I know: tech manuals, commands, and tactics, you know? I'm not saying that I'm unhappy...I'm just wondering if there's something more.

D'Anna Biers: And what have you discovered?

Gaeta: (takes a long drag and coughs) I hate cigarettes. Ambrosia's good with a chaser. And, if you have enough ambrosia... (Gaeta pulls back his shirt, revealing a tattoo of a tiger on his upper right chest) it don't really hurt that much.

• D'Anna Biers: So level with me. Why is Colonel Tigh not being charged in the Gideon incident?

Adama: We're at war against an enemy with a vastly superior force. I will not sacrifice the few people we have left o­n the altar of public outrage.

D'Anna Biers: So four civilians are dead, and Tigh and the shooters take a walk.

Adama: Nobody takes a walk. We all gotta live with it.