Lay Down Your Burdens, Pt. 1

S2, E19: Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) has devised a daring plan to save the humans trapped on Caprica by using Sharon’s (Grace Park) knowledge of Cylon navigational technology to jump a rescue mission past the Cylon defenses. On the first jump, however, one ship goes missing. The stray ship ends up floating above a blue planet that shows every sign of being able to support life. When this news reaches Galactica, it has a profound effect on the presidential race, which Baltar (James Callis) is losing badly. In a debate with President Roslin (Mary McDonnell), he goes on the offensive, using the possibility of a new home planet other than earth to attack her as a fear-monger who relies too much on religious scriptures and doesn’t care about people’s need to have solid land under their feet. Meanwhile, on the flight deck, Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) is wracked with regret after he reflexively and brutally attacks Cally (Nicki Clyne) when she wakes him from a recurrent nightmare. He consults Brother Cavil (Dean Stockwell), who divines the problem: Tyrol dreams of killing himself because he fears he is a Cylon. On Caprica, the rescue mission has found the last survivors. But even as Starbuck and Anders (Michael Trucco) embrace in a passionate reunion, the Cylons are closing in.