Season 2, Episode 06:
Home, Part I
The episode begins with Bill and Tigh trying to decide on a new CAG after Lee's escape. Although Tigh points out that none of the candidates are as capable as Lee, Bill reveals that he's already made his choice—the pilot George Birch. Soon after, he calls Birch up and congratulates him, stating that everyone on Galactica is like a family.
Elsewhere, Baltar has become very paranoid after learning that there are eight Cylon agents in the fleet. Although HeadSix tries to console him, saying that he is not in any danger, Baltar is still bothered with the information.
During a practice run, Birch tries to lead the rest of the pilots, but is not knowledgeable enough or disciplined to lead others. As a result, Kat is nearly killed during a practice run in an asteroid field, and a routine refueling operation almost turns deadly when one of the ships collides with the other.
Near Kobol, on the Astral Queen, Roslin is explaining to members of the Quorum and Lee that they are waiting for Kara to return with the Arrow of Apollo, as she believes it is the key to accessing the Tomb of Athena. Nearby, one of Tom Zarek's men, Meier, is manning the radar when he sees an unidentified ship and requests to have another ship attack. Roslin overhears Meier and Zarek talking about the vessel, and is incensed with their having gone behind her back, but everyone is interrupted by Kara hailing them from the ship, which is the Heavy Raider that's returned from Caprica.
As the Raider docks, Kara disembarks and is surprised by Lee, who kisses her in front of everyone. However, he is shocked a moment later when he sees Sharon exiting the craft with Helo, and draws his weapon on her. Helo subsequently responds by pointing a gun at Lee's head. Roslin tells them both to stand down, then orders Sharon to be put out the airlock. As Helo tries to intervene, Sharon shouts that she knows where the Tomb of Athena is. At Kara's urging, Roslin relents and allows her to stay onboard the ship, but threatens to airlock Helo if she is lying.
Back on Galactica, Bill requests a meeting with Dee, and expresses to her his feelings over the recent events that have occurred in the fleet. Dee states that everyone is fragmented as a result of what's happened, and although he doesn't want to hear it, she states that it's time to make things right.
On the Astral Queen, Roslin realizes that Sharon's intentions are true, and that the latter does believe she is in love with Helo. Nearby, Lee tries to tell Kara that he'll be there for her, he accidentally lets slip that he loves her. Kara is bemused by the response, and says she'll hold him to his word.
Nearby, Zarek and Meier are plotting their next move. Zarek admits that Roslin's leadership skills are needed, but Meier convinces him that they can kill Lee on Kobol and make it look like an accident so that Zarek can take his place as Roslin's right-hand man. Soon after, a group including Roslin, Lee, Elosha, Helo, Sharon, Zarek and Meier leave for the surface of Kobol.
As they arrive on the planet, Sharon shows them the path towards the tomb. The group walks down a ridge and through a graveyard, but are ambushed when the gravestones reveal antipersonnel mines, which shoot up in the air and fragment, killing Elosha and forcing the others to scatter. A firefight ensues with a group of Centurions, during which Helo, Kara and Lee take down two Centurions, while Sharon saves Lee's life by shooting the final Cylon with a grenade launcher as the latter was moving to shoot him. Although Lee thinks Sharon was pointing the weapon at him, she drops the weapon at his feet and offers herself back into custody.
In the aftermath of the battle, Roslin cries over Elosha's body and retrieves the priest's book of scriptures, while on Galactica, Bill walks to the CIC and orders Dee to gather reconnaissance data on Kobol, before announcing that he's going to put the fleet back together.
Tropes
- Between My Legs: Apollo is framed between Sharon's legs after she uses the grenade launcher they were wrestling over to shoot a Centurion that was about to kill him.
- Doppelgänger Gets Same Sentiment: Apollo threatens to shoot Caprica-Sharon because Boomer shot his father.
- Ensign Newbie: George Birch, who is promoted to CAG but quickly shows that he doesn't have the experience necessary to handle the job.
- Handy Cuffs: Sharon is placed in triple-cuffs while on Kobol's surface. It doesn't stop her from helping the group when they are attacked by Centurions.
- Hive Mind: Discussed/subverted. Sharon states that contrary to the group's belief, she is not constantly in contact with a shared Cylon consciousness; rather, she can access a shared base of knowledge instead.
- Idiot Ball: With aspects of Poor Communication Kills. It didn't occur to anyone on the captured Heavy Raider that it might be a good idea to have Sharon hang back until Starbuck and Helo had explained the fact she was with them. Even without knowing that Adama had been shot by Boomer, they should have expected the sight of a second Sharon, making it obvious she was a Cylon, to cause a ruckus. Starbuck does start to say to Apollo that there's something she needs to tell him, but apparently she didn't bother to tell Sharon not to make herself known right away, nor did Sharon think of it on her own despite being pretty bright.
- It's All My Fault: Bill still harbors guilt for what happened with his shooting and the resulting actions taken by the fleet in his absence. Dee snaps him out of the funk by telling him they have to heal the fleet's wounds.
- Killed Off for Real: Elosha.
- Land Mine Goes "Click!": Elosha steps on a land mine and is killed instantly.
- Mandatory Line: Gaius and Six only have one brief scene that's largely disconnected from the rest of the plot.
- Mexican Standoff: Between Lee and Helo after the former tries to kill Sharon on the Astral Queen. It's only defused by Roslin after a few moments.
- The Power of Love: Discussed. Roslin realizes that Sharon is telling the truth about where to find the Tomb of Athena because she truly loves Helo.
- Prison Ship: The Astral Queen, which is Roslin's base of operations after leaving Galactica and Colonial One.
- Red Shirt: The unnamed escort from Zarek's group that dies during the Centurion attack in the Kobol graveyard.
- Sacrificial Lion: Elosha, whose death serves to highlight how dangerous the planet is.
- Sensor Suspense: When the Astral Queen picks up the unidentified vessel heading towards the fleet. Subverted, in that the audience knows that the ship is the captured Heavy Raider, but Meier and Zarek don't.
- Shout-Out: Bill's habit of crushing walnuts during the CAG discussion with Tigh, as well as his reference to Galactica being a family, is a reference to Captain Queeg from the film The Caine Mutiny.
- The Starscream: Zarek wants to kill Apollo so that he'll become Roslin's number two person in his place.
- That Came Out Wrong: Starbuck gleefully teases Lee after he casually makes a Platonic Declaration of Love for her.
- Thrown Out the Airlock: Subverted. Roslin threatens to shove Sharon out one, but doesn't go through with it after the latter says she knows where the tomb is. She uses it as a threat for the rest of the episode, though, telling Sharon that if she plays them false then Helo will go out the airlock.
- Will They or Won't They?: Lee finally admits (albeit unintentionally) that he loves Kara, but she responds by playfully making fun of him.
- With My Hands Tied: Sharon manages to wrestle a grenade launcher away from Lee and fire it at a Centurion all while wearing three sets of handcuffs.
