Recap 04x18: Islanded in a Steam of Stars

[colls]

You know the world is ending when Helo gets upset.

In the beginning of the episode, Hera is moving the Galactica in a position next to the enemy Cylon fleet. Foreshadowing much?

This episode was like a farewell -- to Galactica, to Laura Roslin, to the idea of new possibilities. It's like the beginning of the end of everything -- as indeed, it is. It's also about acceptance - mournful, heartbreaking acceptance.

This is the episode that made me think of Boomer again, that made me remember that I used to like her and feel sorry for her. Before she became Cavil's... er.... ew. Anyway, in this episode you can see she's touched by Hera and conflicted and we're wondering if it's too late for her to redeem herself.









General episode plot (from wiki)
Repairs on Galactica continue, but it seems little headway is being made. The ship's systems are fluctuating, and a major hull breach kills 61 people, 26 of them Cylons.
Ellen Tigh states that if John's plan is to study Hera and learn what made her a successful human-Cylon hybrid, he would take her to "The Colony", which is a large biomechanical structure similar in composition to the Basestars (after the armistice, the Final Five and the Centurions retreated to this "home"). Under protest, Adama allows a heavy raider to be sent to The Colony, not wanting to risk the whole fleet. In their room "Helo" and "Athena" are distraught over the kidnapping of their daughter. Helo asks Adama for a Raptor so that he can go look for Hera, but Adama tells him that the Cylons have already reported back that the Colony has moved.
As Boomer plots several jumps to the Colony in order to deliver Hera to Cavil, Hera begins to whine and cry for her mother. Boomer grabs a needle with a sedative in it, and threatens Hera with it, but finds herself unwilling to forcibly sedate her. Boomer begins to tell Hera about her dream home with Tyrol on Picon, revealing that it was in fact, once her dream and not simply a ruse created to manipulate Galen Tyrol. Hera reaches for Boomer's hand and connects with her, allowing the little girl toproject the dwelling in Boomer's imagination. This is a welcome surprise for Boomer as she knew not whether Hera, who is half Cylon and half human, possessed this ability. Boomer arrives at The Colony with Hera and delivers her to Cavil. Hera becomes upset when she is handed over, and Boomer also seems reluctant to give her up.
Gaius Baltar meets Kara Thrace in one of the ship's heads, where Kara tells him that she discovered her own body on Earth and asks him to analyze her dog tags. Baltar finds blood on the tag that came from a body which was already dead whose DNA matches Starbuck's. At the burial of those lost in the hull breach, Baltar reveals what he has discovered and designates Starbuck an angel. Admiral Adama yells at him to be quiet, and Starbuck slaps him across the face. Later, Apollo meets with Starbuck and offers her his unconditional love and support. Starbuck puts a photo of herself on the memorial wall of the dead.
Samuel Anders has been transferred to a hybrid tank in the hopes it would help him recover, but he remains comatose. Kara visits him and decides to shoot him as an act of mercy, but the still-comatose Sam grabs the gun and begins to speak like the hybrid. Arriving in Anders' room, Tigh is informed that Anders has gotten into the ship's programming. The Cylon biopolymer fluid which repair crews have painted uponGalactica's hull has made possible a connection between Anders' hybrid tank and Galactica's electrical systems. When the Eight states that it is theoretically possible for Anders to gain control of Galactica's FTL drive and jump away, Tigh orders that he be taken offline. Kara visits Sam and says they will work out the meaning of the song ("All Along the Watchtower") together. She plugs Sam back in and he says, "new command".
Adama informs Tigh that he has made a decision: he plans to abandon the ship. Adama orders a stop to the repairs on the ship, and he instructs the crew to begin stripping down Galactica, start offloading civilians, and transfer the crew and weapons to the basestar. When Tigh objects, Adama states that the ship is dying and wants to send her off "in style". Adama and Tigh both salute the damaged Galactica with a drink as the episode ends.



QUESTIONS
- It's nice to see Baltar go back to being a scientist for a moment, since that's how he started before he moved to politician and then religious leader. Do you think it was the creators' way of noting the similarities between the three?
- Three cheers for medical marijuana. Does the fleet have a special hyrdroponics bay for that, or did they steal some from the cylons?
- What were your thoughts about Kara's 'reveal'?

P.S. Many apologies for the long and sporadic delays in this community.