The Galactica has found water on a nearby ice planet. Now they have to get it to the fleet. The idea of using the prisoners aboard the Astral Queen is floated, and problems ensue in Bastille Day.

Written by Toni Graphia this episode was first broadcast on 21 January, 2005. The episode features some of the best stunt casting ever as the chosen leader of the prisoners is Tom Zarek, played by the original BSG’s Richard Hatch!

Zarek is a political prisoner, and he uses the opportunity to take hostages and uses his new platform to question the legitimacy of Roslin’s (Mary McDonnell) government and demands that free elections take place according to Colonial law. Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) leads a rescue team to free the hostages, and I’m sure that’s going tot go well.

Against this backdrop, individual character arcs continue, Tigh (Michael Hogan) is drinking again, Adama (Edward James Olmos) and Apollo (Jamie Bamber) are clashing over where Adama believes his son’s loyalties lie. And Adama follows up with Baltar (James Callis) about the creation of the Cylon detector, and Adama isn’t completely sold on the doctor. Then there’s Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) and Boomer (Grace Park) trying to keep her secret about the detonators.

And on Caprica, Helo (Tahmoh Penikett) and Boomer continue to grow closer as they work to find a way off planet and elude Cylons.

Zarek brings forth great arguments and he has some fantastic scenes with Apollo, and while there are lots of great sequences in the episode, there are some solid themes at work as well, something the series already excels at.

Act of Contrition was written by David Weddle and Bradley Thompson. It first aired on 28 January, 2005.

After a disastrous incident on the flight deck leaves thirteen pilots dead, Adama assigns Starbuck to train a batch of new recruits. Still haunted by the rules she bent for her fiancee, Zak Adama(Tobias Mehler) and his subsequent death, she’s not sure she can do the job.

But boy, do I love watching Vipers in the black.

She quits after the first day. And in an emotionally brutal scene, she reveals to Adama that she’s the reason why Zak is dead, and leads to her actions for the rest of the episode, which seems almost to be pursuing a death wish. It’s one of my favourite scenes in the series, as you see what the confession and the response do to both of them.

Intercut with all of this is a flash forward that sees Starbuck losing control of her Viper, and spiralling in towards a planet.

And that sequence begins to play out when Starbuck is out training the nuggets, and a squad of Raiders show up. She works to protect them and get them home, but she’s not going to. She’s going down. And we’ll have to see how that plays out in the next episode!

And on Caprica, it seems Boomer and Helo have found a safe place to hide out for a while.

The series introduces the Galactica’s medical doctor in this episode, Cottle (the wonderful Donnelly Rhodes).