Introduction

“Daybreak” is the three-part series finale of the re-imagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica, and are the 74th (labelled “Daybreak, Part 1” on the DVD) and 75th (labelled “Daybreak, Parts 2 & 3” on the DVD) episodes overall.

The episodes aired on the US Sci Fi Channel and SPACE in Canada respectively on 13 and 20 March 2009.

The second part (“Daybreak, Parts 2 & 3”) is double-length.

The Season 4.5 DVD and Blu-ray releases for Region 1 feature an extended version of the finale, which not only combines all three parts as a single episode, but also integrates it with new scenes not seen in the aired versions of either part.

The survivor count shown in the title sequence for Part 1 is 39,516. The survivor count shown in the title sequence for Part 2 is 39,406.

At the end of Part 2, Admiral Adama announces the survivor population at approximately 38,000.

The episodes portray the Galactica launching a rescue mission to retrieve Hera Agathon from the “colony”, a heavily armed and defended Cylon base located near a black hole. They manage to rescue Hera, and in the end, the fleet finds a new planet to settle on, which they come to call Earth (revealed to be our Earth). The final episodes gave Battlestar Galactica the strongest ratings since its second season, though they received mixed reviews.

Outline of Series 04, Episode 22

In flashback sequences, William Adama and Saul Tigh (Michael Hogan) celebrate their upcoming retirement, where Tigh convinces Adama to take his new job. Later, as Adama is questioned in an interview, he complains that no job is worth questioning his loyalty and decides to rejoin the military. Lee has dinner with Zak and Starbuck again. When Zak passes out, drunk, the sexual tension between Kara and Lee nearly erupts before they are interrupted by a stirring Zak. Back home, Lee again encounters the pigeon, but this time he does not chase it. Roslin meets her blind date, who happens to be a former student of hers. After they go back to her apartment, she has second thoughts and ends the date; she then calls Adar’s campaign, informing them of her intention to join it. Boomer meets Adama and Tigh for the first time, where she is warned that she is on the verge of ending her career due to her inability to land a Raptor. Given one last chance, Boomer gratefully tells the two that unlike other pilots, she will repay Adama one day. Meanwhile, Baltar, believing that Caprica Six is a corporate spy, allows her access to the military defence mainframe. He says that he is not doing this for her employers, but for her.

Back in the present of the series, Baltar decides to join the mission with Caprica Six at the last minute; she later admits to being proud of him for the first time. At that moment it is revealed that Baltar’s Inner Six and Six’s Inner Baltar are aware of each other, and the two real-life counterparts see both of them. Romo Lampkin (Mark Sheppard) is installed as president, and Hoshi (Brad Dryborough) is given command of the fleet while Adama and Galactica set off to rescue Hera. A battalion of the self-aware Cylon Centurions who are aligned with the fleet march down the flight deck – red stripes painted diagonally on their chests to distinguish them from the others.

Galactica jumps right next to the colony, where they are immediately fired upon. Some of the Raptors, which are armed with nuclear weapons, make a short jump into the debris field and fly toward the back of the colony; in the process, Racetrack (Leah Cairns) and Skulls (Collin Lawrence) are killed by an asteroid. Anders has been installed into the CIC computers, and disables the Colony hybrids (Tiffany Lyndall-Knight). Starbuck’s Raptor, carrying Athena and Helo, lands on the Colony – the only Raptor to make it through – and they enter to search for Hera. Galactica rams straight into the colony, where a strike team led by Apollo rappels in from Galactica to search for Hera, eventually meeting with Starbuck’s squad. Hera is rescued by Boomer, who kills Simon (Rick Worthy) and finds Starbuck’s team. Boomer hands Hera over to Athena (Grace Park) and tells her to “tell the old man I owed him one.” After her daughter is returned, Athena kills Boomer.

Galactica is set upon by Cylon boarding parties arriving in “platoon strength”, as reported to Tigh and Adama in the CIC. As Starbuck, Apollo, Athena and Helo return to the battlestar and make their way to CIC, they encounter a boarding party composed of Cavil’s modern Centurions and original Cylon War models. Hera runs away in the confusion. She is spotted by Roslin, who had a vision of her while assisting with triage, and is able to hide her from the Cylons, until she disappears again. While Roslin gives chase, Baltar and Caprica Six also spot Hera and give chase as well. The chase parallels the Opera House vision shared between Athena, Roslin and Caprica Six. The chase ends in the CIC, where Cavil (Dean Stockwell) takes her hostage and demands to leave with Hera so she can be dissected and establish a method for Cylons to reproduce. Inner Six and Inner Baltar again appear jointly to Baltar, inspiring him to make the speech his entire life has led to, saying, among other things, that he sees angels, and that a divine force (“whether God or Gods”) has entwined the destinies of both sides. Tigh provides the final incentive, saying that the Final Five will give the Cylons back resurrection (a solution to the problem of Cylon extinction) if they vow to forever go separate ways from humanity and end their pursuit. Combined, this convinces Cavil and Adama to end the war, Cavil gives Hera back and will let them leave in peace when the Final Five give the technology for resurrection.

Battlestar Galactica TV Series, Films & Webisodes

You can find a full index of Battlestar Galactica TV series, films, and webisodes here.

Trivia

You can read interesting trivia and background details about the BSG franchise here.

Production & Filming Details

• Director: Michael Rymer.
• Writer: Ronald D. Moore.
• Release Date: 20 March 2009 (UK).
• Running Time: 141 minutes (aired), 152 minutes (extended), and 200 minutes (uncut).
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

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