Season 3, Episode 18:
The Son Also Rises
Bill is reviewing Kara's personnel file and commendations in the wake of her death. He tears up after reading a birthday card she gave to him years earlier.
A devastated Anders is also trying to drown his sorrows on the flight deck, standing on top of a Viper and drunkenly making an uncanny number of correct coin tosses. Lee is summoned to the deck by Racetrack and tries to talk Anders down, which results in the latter falling off and injuring his leg. As Lee checks him for injuries, Anders asks if Kara's death is just a trick, and Lee sadly responds in the negative. Anders replies that he knows, but wanted to hear Lee confirm it anyway.
On Colonial One, Roslin is drawing random names for the tribunal for Baltar's trial. When Tory draws the final name from a box, both women are shocked—Bill is the last name, and will be summoned to aid the tribunal. Tigh reports this to a shocked Bill in Galactica's CIC.
Racetrack's Raptor lands on Galactica, and she complains about constantly having to ferry Baltar's lawyer, Alan Hughes, to her copilot Skulls. When the ship arrives on the hangar deck, a hidden explosive detonates aboard the Raptor. While Racetrack and Skulls aren't harmed, Hughes is killed.
Roslin holds a press conference after on Colonial One and stresses that terrorist acts won't affect the trial process. At the same time, Lee is still distracted as a result of Kara's death, and excuses himself from a pilot's briefing.
Bill and Roslin bring on new counsel for Baltar, Romo Lampkin, and interview him about his expectations for the job. Lampkin is a paranoid and ethically questionable lawyer who confuses both leaders by mentioning how his cat is in a surly mood, and only requests a cabin on Galactica as payment for his services.
Lee is approached by his father and asked to maintain a security detail for Lampkin. Although Lee tries to counter that he's okay, his father tells him that he's seen his behavior in the wake of Kara's death and knows he needs a change.
Lampkin is given his room and asks to see Baltar, who is escorted to Lee's quarters under heavy Marine guard. Baltar gives the pair some basic information after Lampkin confirms that Lee signed a confidentiality agreement, and says that the tribunal will try to use Caprica-Six against him. Lampkin asks to go to Colonial One, and Lee nearly snaps at him in grief before containing himself.
Lee convinces Captain Kelly to ferry him, Sharon, and Lampkin to Colonial One, but their departure is halted when Lampkin's cat runs out through the Raptor entry hatch. As the deck crew run around looking for it, Tyrol discovers a bomb underneath the Raptor and everyone flees. Bill is furious at his son for disobeying a grounding order, and tells him to be focused because the tribunal needs him.
An investigation is opened afterwards in the wake of the bomb scare. Lee warns Lampkin that someone may be trying to assassinate him, but the latter brushes the threat off. Lampkin also interviews Caprica-Six, and he gives her Baltar's pen to show her how the scientist sacrificed his freedom of expression to bring her a gift.
As he heads to his quarters afterwards, Lampkin is escorted by a Marine who is suspicious as to a recently-delivered box of files. As they go to open the apartment door, the Marine realizes the door was tampered with an explosive and shoves Lampkin out of the way, taking the force of the blast and dying in the process.
Lampkin is only mildly injured in the wake of the assassination attempt. Lee visits him in the infirmary and delivers a bag of his possessions, and Lampkin tells him he is a kleptomaniac. He reveals he took several items from various crew members, including a bomb component that Lee notes is something only specific fleet members would have.
Lee goes to question Captain Kelly, who breaks down and admits that he was the bomber. He warns that he will continue the attacks if left on-duty, and is arrested as a result.
Later, Bill tries to reinstate Lee as CAG. The latter refuses it, declaring that he wants to help Lampkin instead. Bill is furious with his son, but realizes that he can't give him orders anymore. He orders Tigh to remove Lee's name from the pilot board, and tells the crew that his son has more important things to do.
Lee also places Kara's photo on the memorial board. Anders comes by and they begin to cope with her death. Meanwhile, Baltar receives an envelope from Lampkin with his pen and a note that the most powerful ally is a son who has stepped out from his father's shadow…
Tropes:
- Chekhov's Gun: Lampkin's habit of stealing personal effects from various crewmen gives Lee the evidence he needs to confront Captain Kelly, who is revealed to be the bomber.
- Commuting on a Bus: Captain Kelly appears just to be revealed as the bomber, and is presumably removed from active duty/jailed for his actions.
- Continuity Nod:
- Bill's model ship is briefly seen in the background of one shot after he bashed it in the previous episode, and is seen to have suffered damage as a result.
- A one-armed deckhand who was seen two episodes prior helping Tyrol stage the union strike (in "Dirty Hands") can be seen working in the background in the Raptor bomb scene.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Anders, after Kara's death, gets incredibly drunk on the hangar deck.
- Due to the Dead: Lee can't bring himself to put Kara's photograph in memorial hallway as it means admitting that she's gone. He finally does it at the end of the episode after accepting her death.
- Field Promotion: Helo is promoted to CAG after Lee walks away from the fleet to help Lampkin and Baltar.
- The Lost Lenore:
- Lampkin tells Caprica-Six about a woman he loved, who left him after a decade of being together.
- Both Anders and Lee begin to cope with Kara's death.
- Shout-Out:
- The episode title is a play on an Ernest Hemingway novel, The Sun Also Rises.
- One of Lampkin's speeches appears to be a wholescale reworking of a speech made by a character in Life, the Universe and Everything.
- Sticky Fingers: Lampkin is a kleptomaniac, and steals various items from crewmembers to satisfy his needs. The item he lifted from Kelly turns out to be a bomb component, revealing that it's Kelly who's been planting the explosives.
- Taking the Bullet: One of Galactica's guards saves Lampkin from a bomb rigged to a keypad, at the cost of his own life.
- Time Skip: Two weeks have passed since the events of the previous episode.
- Wrong-Name Outburst: Lee accidentally refers to Racetrack as "Starbuck" when she makes a joke during his briefing.
