Michael Angeli wrote Guess What’s Coming to Dinner, which first aired on 16 May, 2008.
The opening of this episode is awesome; it sees the rebel Cylon baseship and the Demetrius jumping into the fleet, but the Demetrius arrives late, and tensions are insanely high. Tigh (Michael Hogan) orders a weapons hold before the Demetrius arrives, however, and Adama (Edward James Olmos) looks at him in a different way.
But is there a chance for an uneasy peace between humans and Cylons? If they can learn the identities of the Final Five, they could all find a way to Earth!
The shaky alliance between the Colonial Fleet and the rebel Cylons has its first challenge when they agree to combine forces to take on a Resurrection Hub. The Cylons agree to share the location of the Hub if the Colonials will agree to help unbox the D’Anna (Lucy Lawless) models. If a deal is made, will either side stick to it?
While all this is going on, Gaeta (Alessandro Juliani) is under Cottle’s (Donnelly Rhodes) knife, and unfortunately loses his leg after being shot by Anders (Michael Trucco) two episodes back.
There is trouble for Athena (Grace Park) when her daughter, Hera, seems drawn to one of the Sixs (Tricia Helfer) known as Natalie, previously Caprica Six. And I can guarantee that isn’t going to end well.
There is some great stuff between Lee (Jamie Bamber) and Roslin (Mary McDonnell) as they discuss Baltar’s (James Callis) broadcasts and the information he shares through them – about the shared visions of the Opera House. Lee confronts her constantly, even delivering news of an upcoming vote of no confidence, and Roslin uses Tory (Rekha Sharma) to get info from inside Baltar’s camp.
Politics, betrayals, discoveries, secrets- there is a lot going on throughout the series and the episode, and it just keeps coming. Roslin and Baltar go aboard the Cylon baseship, and reactivate the Hybrid (Tiffany Lyndell-Knight) in the hopes of getting some answers about the shared visions, but as soon as she’s reconnected, the baseship jumps!
Man, the show does not let up.
Sine Qua Non was written by Michael Taylor and debuted on 30 May, 2008.
Tensions are high in the fleet. With Roslin and Baltar on the cylon baseship that has jumped away, political upheaval throws more than a wrench into things. Zarek (Richard Hatch) assumes the role of president in the interim, but Adama refuses to deal with him.
To help maintain a bit of peace, Lee and Romo (Mark Sheppard) try to find a better candidate for president. Romo believes it should be Lee, and that could cause more problems. Will he do it?
But the fallout of the murder of Natalie is also causing problems; Adama throws Athena in the brig. He asks Tigh to speak with their Cylon prisoner to see if she can provide any insight as to where the baseship may have gone.
That causes more problems. Tigh is having visions of Ellen (Kate Vernon) and Adama learns that during his visits to the brig, Tigh has been turning off the cameras and sending the guards away… and the Cylon is pregnant. Can it be Tigh’s?
And when Adama realizes he’s putting his desire to get Roslin back is blurring his abilities to command, he resigns. He takes a Raptor and lets the fleet continue on its way, and begins his own search, and wait for Roslin.
A damn fine episode, and I love seeing Olmos in flight gear. The series continues to go in interesting and character-driven directions. It’s smart, emotional, and engaging. Man, I love this show, and I don’t remember as much of season four as I do the rest of the series, so a lot of this feels brand new, and the emotional impacts are real kicks.
