Fragged (Battlestar Galactica)

Infobox Television episode
Title = Fragged


Caption = Saul Tigh treats the Quorum of Twelve dissmisively
Series = Battlestar Galactica
Season = 2
Episode = 3
Airdate = July 29, 2005
Production = 203
Writer = Dawn Prestwich & Nicole Yorkin
Director = Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
Guests =
Episode list = Episode chronology
Prev = Valley of Darkness
Next = Resistance

"Fragged" is an episode of the reimagined "Battlestar Galactica" television series. It is the first episode in which Starbuck makes no appearance.

Plot

Survivor Count: 47,862

Awaiting rescue, the survey team struggles to survive on Kobol. Lt. Crashdown decides to lead an assault against a Cylon anti-aircraft emplacement that they have observed Cylon Centurions building. This will surely be used to attack any rescuers from "Galactica". Number Six tells Baltar that one of the party will turn against the others.

Chief Tyrol and the other party members come to believe that the planned attack on the Cylons is suicidal but Crashdown refuses to change it whatsoever despite the fact that they are poorly armed and many of their members have no combat experience in the field. As Crashdown loses control of the party (and himself), he threatens to kill Cally if she does not follow his orders. Tyrol pulls his own weapon on his lieutenant, but Baltar unexpectedly "frags" Crashdown by shooting him in the back, thus fulfilling Six's prediction. The gunfire attracts the attention of the nearby Centurions, which attack.

The Colonial Raptors arrive just as their position is about to be overrun. The Kobol survey team is rescued, and they decide to keep quiet about Baltar killing Lt. Crashdown; Baltar himself says that Crashdown died "leading the charge" and "in the finest tradition of the service".

Meanwhile, back in "Galactica"'s brig, President Roslin experiences symptoms of severe withdrawal without her cancer medication and she begins talking delirious nonsense. Colonel Tigh is struggling with the many demands of being acting "Galactica" captain and allows the Quorum of Twelve access to her in her cell, believing that it will undermine her position to let them see her in this weakened condition. This plan backfires when the prison guard smuggles some medication to Roslin and she recovers enough to reassert her authority over the Quorum. She also convinces at least some of them that she is the "Chosen One" who will lead them to Kobol and Earth, as predicted in the Sacred Scrolls of the Colonies.

Egged on by his ambitious and scheming wife Ellen, Tigh declares martial law upon the fleet, dissolving the civilian government, which further angers the civilian population and the Quorum. This closing scene marks the first appearance of Tigh's theme, notable as one of the few musical cues in "Battlestar Galactica" that are performed using orchestral brass, and inspired by present-day military hymns.

External links

* at the Battlestar Wiki