Maelstrom is a Starbuck (Katee Sachoff) heavy episode written by David Weddle and Bradley Thompson. It first aired on 4 March, 2007.
Adama (Edward James Olmos) has to consider grounding Starbuck as she seems increasingly on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Her captivity by Leoben (Callum Keith Rennie) on New Caprica, her painting of the mandala, which also appeared in the Temple, and, of course, her childhood, when she was told she had a capital- D Destiny by her physically and verbally abusive mother (Dorothy Lyman).
Things get particularly dire when she begins to see Cylon raiders while on patrol, and there are none to be found by the rest of the patrol, but she does see a mandala and has other visions until… Apollo (Jamie Bamber) orders her to disengage and return to Galactica.
Everyone is concerned, but Starbuck seems set on a self-destructive path that even she can’t turn away from as she finally starts to crack. There are lots of painful and poignant moments as Starbuck realizes she’s breaking and that no matter what is going to happen, she knows it’s coming.
Apollo is the one who sees it all happen, and what happens is heartbreaking… and she’s guided by Not Leoben, who shows her that what is coming for her isn’t to be feared. It can be beautiful.
And just like that… Kara ‘Starbuck’ Thrace is gone.
It’s a gut-punch, and the series doesn’t turn away from it. It embraces the moment, and we have to say goodbye to Kara…
And Adama’s grief almost cost the production a tidy sum, as Olmos improvised a brilliant moment of grief.
The Son Also Rises debuted on 11 March, 2007. It was written by Michael Angeli, and it sees Mark Sheppard joining the cast as Baltar’s (James Callis) lawyer.
The crew is still reeling from Kara’s death, but they have other duties to perform. They have to provide security for Baltar’s trial and his lawyer, after the first one turns up dead.
A tribunal is being gathered for the trial; five names are selected, including Adama. At the same time, Apollo, Adama, Anders (Michael Trucco) and others mourn Starbuck. Adama pulls Apollo from his CAG role and assigns him as Romo Lampkin’s (Sheppard) security.
But is Apollo up to the task as he struggles with his grief?
Romo is particularly good at his job, smirking behind his sunglasses. He knows what he’s doing, manipulating everyone and everything in order to give Baltar his best defence. What Romo does in the end is inspire Apollo to do more and try something different, because Romo knew Apollo’s grandfather, who was an amazing trial lawyer. But will Adama be able to handle it?
And thanks to Romo’s minor kleptomania, Apollo is able to discover who killed the first lawyer and who has been gunning for Romo.
Next time, we finish season three with the two-part conclusion titled Crossroads. Where is the season ending up, and what are they going to set up for the fourth and final season?
