Battlestar Galactica (2003)/You Can't Go Home Again (2)

You Can’t Go Home Again
Season 1, Episode 5
Airdate	• November 15, 2004 (UK) • February 4, 2005 (USA)
Written by	Carla Robinson
Directed by	Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
← 1x04 Act of Contrition (1)	1x06 → Litmus
Battlestar Galactica (2003) — Season One

You Can’t Go Home Again is the fifth episode of the first season of Battlestar Galactica.

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 Tyrol), Tahmoh Penikett (Helo), Kandyse McClure (PO Dualla), Paul Campbell (Billy Keikeya), Alessandro Juliani (Lt. Gaeta), Sam Witwer (Crashdown)

Guest Star: Donnelly Rhodes (Dr. Cottle)

Cast: Alonso Oyarzun (Socinus), Bodie Olmos (Constanza/Hot Dog)

Plot Summary

When Kara is hit by enemy fire and goes missing, Lee and Adama stir controversy by conducting a search that uses the fleet’s precious resources.

Arc Advancement

Galactica

• Adama and Apollo are determined to find Starbuck, even over the objections of President Roslin about how much of the fleet’s resources they're using in the search. The two present a unified front to Roslin, probably the first time they've done anything together voluntarily in quite some time.

Happenings

• Raiders are revealed to be alive and bio-mechanical with meat and organs inside the metallic frame.

• Centurions find Helo and Sharon. After shoot-out, Helo is knocked out and awakens to find Sharon missing.

Characters

• Kara injures her knee while on the moon.

• The Adamas have effectively patched up the rift between them as they both desperately try to find Kara.

• Kara figures out how to fly the downed Raider and gets it off the moon where Lee identifies her and both are brought into Galactica.

• Adama visits Kara in sick bay, making it clear he has forgiven her concerning Zak and are back on good terms.

Trivia

Allusions and References

• The chrome toaster in the restaurant was a visual gag referring to Baltar’s comment in the miniseries that the original Cylons looked like "walking chrome toasters".

• The title of the episode, "You Can't Go Home Again", refers to a 1940 novel by Thomas Wolfe of the same title. In the novel, the adult protagonist returns to the small town where he grew up only to find that everything has changed since his childhood.

Quotes

• Boomer: Galactica, Boomer. Hot Dog's aboard.

Crashdown: Yeah. So is his lunch. Look, take it easy, Hot Dog. You're not the first to lose it in combat. You won't be the last.

• Kara: Lords, it's Kara Thrace. I'm runnin'... runnin' a little low on O2 and I could use a lucky break. No? OK, just thought I'd mention it.

• (a panel on the Raider opens to reveal its meaty innards)

Kara: Frak me. Are you... alive?

• Kara: (to the Raider) You stink, but you are one hell of a flying machine!

• Lee: I want you to know, I think she’s wrong. I think we have come to terms with what happened to Zak.

Adama: I haven't.

Lee: I need to know something. Why did you do this? Why did we do this? Is it for Kara? For Zak? For what?

Adama: Kara was family. You do whatever you have to do. Sometimes you break the rules.

Lee: And if it was me down there instead?

Adama: You don't have to ask that.

Lee: Are you sure?

Adama: If it were you, we'd never leave.

• Kara: Like my new toy?

Lee: Boy, when you take a souvenir, you don't screw around.