He That Believeth in Me

Infobox Television episode
Title =He That Believeth in Me


Caption =No image yet available
Series =Battlestar Galactica
Season =4
Episode =3
Airdate =April 4, 2008
Production =403
Writer =Bradley Thompson
David Weddle
Director =Michael Rymer
Guests =Rekha Sharma
Episode list =Episode chronology
Prev =
Next =Six of One "He That Believeth in Me" is the third episode in the fourth season, (as the two-hour movie special "Razor" was made first and also as a double-episode, part of the fourth season), of the science fiction television series "Battlestar Galactica". It aired on April 4th, 2008.

Plot

Survivor Count: 39,698

The episode begins immediately after the final events of "Crossroads, Part II". After encountering Starbuck in the Ionian Nebula, Apollo is called to the defense of the fleet against the rapidly closing Cylon forces.

On "Galactica", only minutes after discovering their true identities, the four Cylons Colonel Tigh, Tory Foster, Samuel Anders, and Galen Tyrol, suffer anxiety over what they might do. On the bridge, Tigh imagines assassinating Admiral Adama much as Boomer had attempted to do two years earlier.

In the hangar, nugget Viper pilot Samuel Anders worries about turning against his own wingmen when he and the other reserves are scrambled, but Chief Tyrol urges him to stay focused and launch. Athena approaches the two but doesn't seem to recognize them as fellow Cylons.

The Colonial fleet begins taking heavy losses as Cylon Raiders and missile volleys begin to pierce "Galactica"'s perimeter. The civilian ship "Pyxis" is destroyed with 600 aboard and other ships are badly damaged. Anders finds his guns unresponsive when he tries to fire on a Cylon Raider. Anders appears momentarily paralyzed as the Raider swings around to face him, making direct eye contact. Anders' eye momentarily flashes with a red glow, like that of a Raider or Centurion, and suddenly, the Raider disengages followed in turn by the rest of the Cylon fleet.

After Starbuck lands in "Galactica"'s hangar, she is bewildered when everyone looks suspiciously at her. She claims to have been gone for only six hours, but the crew believes her to have been dead for two months. Her Viper's tail number matches the one she was flying when Apollo saw her explode, but the craft itself appears to be brand new. While her gun camera has recorded images that appear to match the descriptions of Earth given in the Scroll of Pythia, the craft's navigational computer is blank with no records of her route back to the fleet.

Starbuck describes having a feeling of how to get to Earth, but that feeling begins to fade as the fleet makes a faster-than-light jump away from the Ionian Nebula. Starbuck appears to experience head pain when the fleet jumps, and she urges Admiral Adama to change course. He refuses stating he will continue on the path stipulated by President Laura Roslin – which in turn is the direction pointed to by the Eye of Jupiter.

Meanwhile, Gaius Baltar is received warmly by a cult that has erected a shrine to him in an unused compartment of "Galactica." As the others leave, one of the young women stays behind with Baltar; she is fascinated by the way he appears to be praying with his hands clasped, although Baltar is really responding to Head Six. At the suggestion of Six, Baltar affirms for the young woman that there is only one God. She is overjoyed to have her beliefs confirmed and the two have sex. Shortly afterwards, the woman who came to Baltar in his prison cell earlier, returns from the infirmary with her son who is very sick and near death. Once the cult members have gone to sleep Baltar prays softly to the one God to spare the child's life and take his instead. However, the child's mother is not asleep and overhears the prayer.

Baltar and a woman from the cult are later ambushed by two men, one of whom is Charlie Connor, who blames Baltar for his son's death on New Caprica. As Connor holds a razor to Baltar's throat, Baltar speaks aloud to Imaginary Six, reiterating his desire to die in the sick child's place. Connor is stunned and the woman from the cult then overcomes both assailants. Upon returning to shrine, Baltar finds the sick child has been miraculously cured.

Later, Adama, Apollo, Roslin, and Tigh discuss Starbuck's return from the dead. Apollo suggests that Starbuck's reappearance could in fact be their next clue to finding Earth, but Roslin believes it is another Cylon trick. On the bridge, Gaeta and Helo try to narrow down the location of Earth from clues in Starbuck's gun camera. Starbuck grows increasingly desperate as the fleet jumps further away from the Ionian Nebula, fearing she will lose her perception of Earth completely.

Later, Starbuck and Anders share a moment in front of her picture on "Memorial Highway" which is still hanging among the dead and missing. Starbuck wonders if Roslin's suspicions are right and that she could in fact be a Cylon, or a clone – bringing up her mysterious surgery back on Cylon occupied Caprica. Anders says that if she is a Cylon, then she has always been one. He tells her that if she were, he would still love her anyway. Starbuck lauds his devotion, but says that if Anders were a Cylon she would kill him without hesitation.

After another jump, Starbuck experiences more pain, and decides that the only way to turn the fleet around is to confront President Roslin. She overcomes two guards tasked to follow her and subdues two marines outside Admiral Adama's quarters where Roslin is staying. Roslin awakens to find Starbuck pointing a gun at her face.

Ratings

In the United States, the episode did a 1.3 household rating and a 2.0 share, with a 1.1 household rating and 3.0 share in the 18-to-49 year-old target demographic. [http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/04/07/no-nielsen-ratings-glory-for-bsg-season-four-premiere/3230 Robert Seidman, "No Nielsen Ratings Glory for BSG Season Four Premiere," "TV By The Numbers," April 7, 2008.] ] The episode had 2.138 million viewers, making it the third most-watched primetime cable program on Friday, April 4, 2008, the fourth most-watched program in the 18-to-49 year-old demographic, and the most-watched show in the coveted 25-to-54 year-old demographic. The episode was the show's best performance in the 18-to-49 year-old demographic since "Resurrection Ship, Part 2" aired in the United States on January 13, 2006. It was the show's best performance in the 25-to-54 year-old demographic since "Occupation" aired in the United States on October 6, 2006 (the series' Season 3 premiere). Forty-three percent of the episode's 18-to-49 viewership in the U.S. was female.

When viewers watching the show on DVRs over the seven days following the episode's initial airing were included, the episode's ratings rose to a 1.9 household rating, with 1.8 million viewers aged 18-49, 1.9 millions viewers aged 25-54, and 2.6 million total viewers. [http://www.nbcumv.com/scifi/release_detail.nbc/scifi-20080422000000-039doctorwho03.html "'Doctor Who' Returns to Sci Fi With Best Season Premiere Since Season 1." Press release. NBC Universal. April 22, 2008.] ] This was the series' best performance in all three key demographic categories since the season two premiere in July 2005. This also made "He That Believeth in Me" the most-watched cable program for the day in both the 18-to-49-year-old and 25-to-54-year-old demographic categories.

References

External links

* at the Battlestar Wiki