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Battlestar Galactica Season 4 Episode 19

Daybreak, Part 1 (1)

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AIRED: 3/13/09

With Galactica on the verge of falling apart, Admiral Adama readies the ship for what could be its final mission, as Baltar's Six warns that humanity's final chapter is near.

Fan Episode Reviews (19)

Daybreak, Part 1

10

By TrueTvWatcher, Jan 27, 2012

Daybreak, Part 1 was a perfect episode of Battlestar Galactica and I really enjoyed watching because the flashbacks to the characters before the attacks was very revealing, the Admiral wrestles with tough decisions, and a plan to check out the Cylon Colony is under way. In the flashbacks it was interesting to see Roslin sort of baptize herself in the fountain after her family members were killed in an accident. There was a lot of character and plot development. I look forward to watching the next episode!!!!!!!!!moreless
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Filler, flashbacks, "acting"...get ON with it.

3.0

By headtoast, Dec 04, 2011

First review I've put here. I've started to keep the laptop open on Friday nights so I can surf the web when BSG slows down. Lately it's open most of the time. This episode continues with the same filler, flashbacks, "acting" and other crap that we've seen since the Earth encounter. In the effects department, we did get a long shot of Caprica city, but it looked likes an effect to be reused a dozen times in the new Caprica spin-off. (Anyone looking forward to that? Anyone?) We also got a black hole...which looked suspiciously like the one we saw around the end of season three. I even tried to get my near-teenage son to watch a few episodes this season - he said it was too boring. I couldn't disagree.moreless
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The beginning of the end

8.0

By entil2001, Sep 12, 2011

The series finale will encompass a total of three hours. One would think this is more than enough time to wrap up the vast majority of the plot and character threads and give the series proper closure. The previous episode was a slow but steady prelude, which logically should have set the stage well enough for the finale to move things along. That's not quite the case.

The pace of the finale is surprisingly slow and methodical. A good portion of the episode is devoted to the message that we are coming full circle, and the characters are as well. Some have changed, some haven't. But the real question, at least to the viewer, is why it pertains at all to the series finale. Is this important information? Or is this an attempt to be lyrical at the end? This is but the introductory hour of the final tale, so it's hard to know what the purpose is.

What is surprising is how much is still left to be resolved. Has there been any progress since "Someone to Watch Over Me"? We're still no closer to the truth about Kara, her connection to the Final Five and Hera, and the meaning of "All Along the Watchtower". There's still an enormous suicide mission to conduct as well. One would think that this sets the stage for the end of Galactica itself (rather symbolic), but also for the end of the threat of Cavil's faction of the Cylons.

Yet it's premature to say that this hour is somehow wasted. It's the beginning of a process, and there's still two more hours to go before the picture is complete. It could be that the preliminaries are slow-paced to maximize the effect of the final events. Still, this is the endgame, so anything that hampers the ability to wrap things up is going to make fans nervous.

One major aspect of the episode was Baltar's bid for political power. In an interesting change of pace, he's not necessarily asking out of self-interest, even if he does stand to gain if his people want him to represent their desires. As it stands, Baltar could end up with power as a default, if he does in fact stay behind. After all, if Galactica and her volunteer crew fall at the Cylon colony, Adama, Roslin, and Lee would all be there. The resulting power vacuum, and the size of Baltar's following, would place him in a powerful position.

But Baltar seemed to be wavering in his decision, and if the colony turns out to be the Opera House, he'll be going with them to fulfill his role. If the Opera House dream is prophetic, then Caprica and Baltar will end up escaping with Hera to bring back the future to those left behind. This also aligns with Baltar's vision at the end of the first season, and if anyone else dies trying to get to Hera, it would certainly fulfill the prophecy regarding Roslin.

That still leaves open the question of Kara's resurrection, and how that might intersect with the Opera House theory. If there is going to be a last-minute intervention by some greater power, a look back at the series puts the easy money on the Cylon God. It would be very easy to use the Cylon God, or the personification thereof, to resolve a number of outstanding mysteries. For example, as it stands, the revelation of the Final Five doesn't quite match what was mentioned in "Rapture", but there was an apparent reference to the Cylon God at the time. If the writers realized that a "deus ex machina" solution was a necessary evil, then why not deliver an actual "God"?

All of which amounts to the fact that Ron Moore and company could still stick the landing for this series, if they pull together the bulk of the dangling plot threads. (With the exception, of course, of what will be covered in "The Plan".) But after the past two episodes, which did little to move the story forward, there's still potential for disappointment.moreless
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We approach the end of the line, but beware the rose-tinted glasses

8.0

By zerbleflip, Sep 12, 2011

Daybreak 1 was good. Make no mistake. Once again, BSG delivers strong drama and very, very, powerful portrayals. On its own, it is what brings BSG up to the level of that other (for the most part) magnificent space operas, Babylon 5. We're in the home stretch now, and Daybreak Part one is pivotal in moving us to the final confrontation and revelations. We see a simmering build-up as Adama comes to realise that rescuing Hera *is* important; and quite possibly not only because of her potential significance. His walk along the corridor of remembrance was possibly the most evocative moment of this episode. Not only did it serve to bring his focus down onto the girl - it served, without the need for dialogue, to remind us - to remind him - of a long standing promise he had made: to save and protect the people thrust into his care. Standing among the photographs of those lost, we saw through his eyes everything he'd sworn and fought to uphold: not just the right for humanity to survive, but for *people* to continue to live and grow. And "people" includes one solitary little girl, every bit as important to him as Kara Thrace, once stranded on an alien world after a dogfight with a raider. In coming to that realisation, Adama not only saw the importance of going after the girl, he rediscovered his centre; and from that came the dedication and determination that have previously marked him as a natural leader. Not everyone might be convinced of his goal - but this discovery of the inner man was strong enough to demonstrate to enough of the crew that he really is still a man worth following - even to death itself. And the revelations aren't just confined to Adama; in confronting Lee Adama, Baltar is forced to contend with his own nature. His lack of substance. All that has gone before not only has brought him to this point, it has left him without any real convinction. For all his postured - and quite possibly genuine - belief in the "one true God", he can no longer avoid the fact that he himself is, in the final analysis, an empty vessel. And, as anyone with an once of religious reading will know, it is only once that point has been reached, can true redemption begin. It is no coincidence that his Head Six informs him it is time for him to lead humanity in its final chapter shortly before he meets Lee Adama. At the time he couldn't understand her words - even from her expression - but now, confronted by the naked truth, he can no-longer hide. "Daybreak 1" is a dramatic episode. Even the flashbacks are beautifully drawn and executed. They provide something of a further depth to the characters they touch, and they are far from being misplaced or "out of character" as some reviewers here suggest. But - and there is a "but" here - nor are they as fulfilling or as fabulous as those heaping praise upon praise for this episode imply. Yes, the flashbacks do fit with the rest of the story but do they actually contribute anything we really need to know about the characters concerned?. Sorry, but the answer here is no; at least, not at this point in time. True, if the flashbacks continue and lead to a final moment of understand and/or revelation, then they will have worked and worked well. But if they don't....well, when one puts aside the rose-tinted glasses, it will be apparent that in terms of the *story* and the *characters* they actually reveal very little that we didn't already know - other than perhaps Baltar, where his realtionship with his father points to much of the reason as to why his became the man he is. One only hopes these new threads, woven in the form of flashbacks do have meaning and resolution in the final double episode, because then the 10s awarded this segment would be justified. But with so much to still to be played out, one feels that Daybreak 2 runs equal risk of pleasing and frustrating the audience by equal measure.moreless
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The beginning of the end..

8.0

By Cheeky_chappy, Sep 12, 2011

At first I agreed with the posts that BSG didn't need an episode like this but then I changed me mind. Yes we don't know the full reason why Moore needs to tell us about some of the characters back story, some of it makes sense and connects with the main story (Baltar's father and being an overall empty vessel) and some of it doesn't...yet. What this episode was trying to do was make the viewer get to know a side of the characters that we hadn;t seen before so when the story eventually plays out, we feel an emotional loss. Its clear that these characters play a pivotal role in the final episode but Daybreak part 1 was a good episode and as others point out, its part 1 of 3, not a standalone.

How I think things will play out.

The Black hole which is defending the cyclon colony is the same black hole that Starbuck dissappeared into back at the end of season 3, this black hole also connects to Earth. Throughout the series, Starbuck has been referred to by the hybrids (and now her husband) as the Harbinger of Death and will lead Humanity to its doom. Starbuck will lead a portion of the galactica army to the cyclon colony which will eventually lead to both sides destruction. To complete the cycle, some of the characters will survive the 'end' and go through the black hole to earth, the earth of the past, ie 2000 years ago. The survivors will most likely be in a raptor around Orbit and will warn the Earth cyclons of what has occured. These 'Angels' will warn the Final Five of Earths past and set things in motion. One of the 'Angels' will be Baltar, he has done nothing selfless his entire life, this will be his reincarnation, ironically as the one true god he has been pilgrimming since exhile.

All this has happenned before, and will happen again.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Edward James Olmos	William Adama
Mary McDonnell	Laura Roslin
Katee Sackhoff	Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
Jamie Bamber	Lee "Apollo" Adama
James Callis	Gaius Baltar
Tricia Helfer	Caprica Six

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Darcy Laurie	Dealino	Guest Star
Iliana Gomez-Martinez	Hera Agathon	Guest Star
Tobias Mehler	Zak Adama	Guest Star
Kate Vernon	Ellen Tigh	Recurring Role
Donnelly Rhodes	Doc Cottle	Recurring Role
Aaron Douglas	Galen Tyrol	Recurring Role

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Episode Photos

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Katee Sackhoff and Kate Vernon of Battle...

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Edward James Olmos of Battlestar Galacti...

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (1)
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- Doc Cottle's first name is finally revealed to be Sherman.
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QUOTES (2)
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- Anders: Spins and turns. Angles and curves. The shape of dreams half-remembered. Slip the surly bonds of Earth and touch the face of perfection. A perfect face. Perfect lace. Find the perfect world for the end of Kara Thrace. End of line.
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- Anders: What matters to me is the perfect throw. Making the perfect catch. The perfect step and block. It's perfection. That's what it's about. It's about those moments when you can feel the perfection of creation. The beauty of physics. The wonder of mathematics, you know. The elation of action and reaction. And that is the kind of perfection I want to be connected to.
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NOTES (4)
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- Tobias Mehler plays the role of Zak Adama again, appearing in the series for the first time since the Season 1 episode "Act of Contrition" (1).
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- There are 39,516 survivors in the Colonial fleet as shown in the main title sequence, 5 fewer than at the beginning of the previous episode.
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- Edward James Olmos read the "Previously on Battlestar Galactica" line for this episode.
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- This is the first episode to have a credits sequence without teasers.
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ALLUSIONS (0)
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