Survivors:

Air Date: 01/27/2006

Lee is appointed to investigate a black-market operation within the fleet after the Pegasus commander is found murdered in his quarters with a cache of cigarettes, liquor and jewelry. Phelan: Bill Duke. Tom Zarek: Richard Hatch. Shevon: Claudette Mink.

A thriving black market in food, medicine and luxury items has developed within the fleet, serving the rich and depriving the needy of essential goods.

When Pegasus's commanding officer, Commander Jack Fisk, is found brutally murdered in his private quarters surrounded by a cache of cigarettes, liquor and jewelry, Lt. Lee Adama is appointed chief investigator.

Lee discovers that Fisk was fronting a racketeering operation that ostensibly involves other prominent military and civilian authorities. The suspects include Quorum representative Tom Zarek and Vice President Gaius Baltar, who is angered by President Laura Roslin's suggestion that he resign, for the good of the office.

The investigation becomes personal for Lee when a gang of black-market thugs kidnaps Shevon, a prostitute with whom he has developed an intimate relationship, and her young daughter, Paya. The gangsters threaten to kill Shevon unless Lee abandons his investigation.

Intensifying his efforts, Lee tracks the gang's ringleader, Phelan, to the Prometheus, a renegade freighter packed with contraband. During a tense standoff, he brokers a Machiavellian deal with the criminals while gaining unsavory insights into human nature, including the true depth of his own depression and the burden of a guilt he has carried for far too long...

Episode Recap

The new commander of the Pegasus, Jack Fisk, is murdered by black marketeers. Lee Adama is charged with solving the crime.

Roslin seeks to stamp out the black market by introducing new trade regulations.

Remarkable Scenes:

- Apollo scaring Paya.
- Commander Fisk's murder.
- Adama: "He was working the black market." Apollo: "Half the fleet's working it, Fisk was getting greedy."
- Apollo confronting Tigh about his black market trading.
- Phelan confronting Apollo, telling him to drop his investigation.
- Apollo's meeting with Zarek.
- Zarek: "Did you really expect some utopian fantasy to rise from the ashes?"
- Apollo visiting the freighter Prometheus and witnessing the black market.
- Apollo witnessing Paya locked in room with other kids, presumably being sold into sexual slavery.
- Phelan: "Without us, people would have nowhere to turn; the fleet would tear itself apart." Apollo: "And what about those children outside? How are they helping the fleet?" Phelan: "Everyone has needs. Some settle for cigars and liquor. You wanted Shevon. Others are more demanding. It's hard to find the moral high ground when we're all standing in the mud."
- Apollo shooting Phelan.

Problems:

- Why didn't Phelan's thugs kill Apollo when he shot Phelan, or tackle him as soon as he got a gun?
- Who is in command of the Pegasus now? I'm sure it will be answered later, but it should have been answered in this episode.
- The current survivor count is only one less than the previous episode, yet there were at least three bodies seen blown out of the Daru Mozu in the prior episode.
- Why didn't Lee know about the Prometheus and what was going on there when its been made clear that he's been a participant of the black market already? After all, everybody else seems to know about that ship.

Factoids:

- Adama promoted Fisk to commander.
- Survivors, according to the main title: 49597.
- Much of the regular cast, including Starbuck, Helo, Boomer, Gaeta, Tyrol, and Cally are not present in this episode.

Additional Notes

• In a deleted scene, Apollo's girlfriend on Caprica was revealed to be pregnant. Apollo told her he wasn't ready for a child.

• Deleted Scene
  Shevon gives Apollo a locket, telling him it's a family heirloom. He tries to refuse, but she says she'd only wind up selling it on the black market if she kept it. Later when Apollo goes to the Prometheus, he trades it for information about Phelan's location.

• Grace Park and Katee Sackhoff do not appear in this episode.

• In the podcast commentary, Ronald Moore expressed his disappointment with the episode and accepted the blame for its sub-par quality.