Written by Joel Anderson Thompson, Epiphanies first aired on 20 January, 2006.

President Roslin’s (Mary McDonnell) health continues to decline. She believes death may be imminent, and she has become convinced that Boomer’s (Grace Park) child, the human/cylon hybrid she is carrying, has to die. Cottle (Donnelly Rhodes) reports that there are odd traits developing in the fetus.

Roslin is having flashbacks to her time on Caprica. Included is a glimpse of Baltar (James Callis) meeting with a woman, Six (Tricia Helfer), who she now knows is a Cylon. But will she live to act on it, or will Baltar become the new president?

We also see that President Adar (Colm Feore) had a relationship with Roslin, but wasn’t above using her for his own political ends, something she learned just before the events of the mini-series.

And Sharon/Boomer begins to harm herself when Helo (Tahmoh Peniket) reveals the plan for their child.

But the fetus, as a hybrid, may be able to help stave Roslin’s illness.

Meanwhile, there is a terrorist group within the fleet that wants to pursue peace negotiations with the Cylons. Oh, and one of the leaders of the terrorist group? The Pegasus Six who escaped into the fleet after killing Cain.

We’re also seeing some friction growing between Viper pilot Kat (Luciana Carro) and her new captain, Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff). We also learn that someone has sabotaged the fleet’s Viper ammunition; this is where the reveal of a terrorist group comes into play.

And learning what Roslin truly thinks of him, Baltar begins a new alliance with the terrorist group and gives them a nuclear device…

This is a well-crafted, heavily character-driven episode that moves the series narrative forward, setting up new arcs and changes.

Black Market first aired on 27 January, 2006. It was written by Mark Verheiden and is arguably the weakest show of the series to date, but it’s still solid.

Roslin knows that Baltar is associated with the Cylons, but is unsure if he’s a Cylon himself. And Apollo, well, he’s been having a rough time since the decision his father made to kill Cain. And this episode documents the fallout of that, as well as some of his feelings for Starbuck. And Dualla’s (Kandyse McClure) developing feelings for him.

He’s been spending his free time on Cloud 9, a recreational ship, where he has been seeing a prostitute, Shevon (Claudette Mink). And he’s determined to save her from the black market that has sprung up in the fleet, which seems to be run by Phelan (Bill Duke).

Phelan is beginning to cause enough trouble that he’s finally caught Admiral Adama’s attention. He killed Fisk (Graham Beckel), and Adama puts Apollo in charge of the investigation, which involves Tom Zarek (Richard Hatch), leading the pair to a violent confrontation.

But to move forward, he’s not only going to have to deal with the dilemmas he’s currently facing, but also with past mistakes as well.

It’s not a bad episode, and I absolutely agree that a black market would spring up, because, for some reason, there are always deals to be made, and people will always exploit others for their own gain.

There are so many story threads that could have been explored, and better ways to follow up on the Apollo story. There are great moments throughout the series, and while there’s a great moment between Dualla and Apollo in this episode, it just doesn’t have the impact, themes and character work that we’ve come to expect. It ends up being just a fairly standard and familiar story.

The series, as we’ve seen, can do so much better.