Ep 21. Razor, Part 1

As the tension-filled third season of Battlestar Galactica nears its conclusion, viewers were treated to a two-part episode titled "Razor." This episode kicks off with an ominous prologue that takes the audience back in time to just after the Cylon rebellion, roughly forty years ago. We witness the first days of the Battlestar Pegasus, a powerful new ship constructed after the start of the Cylon War, and the crew that manned her.

As the episode proper begins, we find Admiral Adama grappling with the fallout from the tragic events of the past few episodes. Morale is at an all-time low, and the Admiral is struggling to hold the fleet together. In an effort to address these issues and to boost morale, he orders the crew of the Galactica to hold a ceremony in honor of the Pegasus. The only problem is that no one knows what happened to the Pegasus or her crew.

As the day of the ceremony approaches, the Galactica receives a distress call from a nearby ship. The fleet jumps to its aid, and in a thrilling sequence, we see a group of Marines from the Galactica board a seemingly abandoned vessel. The ship is revealed to be the Pegasus, and the Marines discover a lone survivor, a mysterious young woman named Kendra Shaw.

The rest of the episode follows Kendra's story, as she relates her experiences on the Pegasus to Lee Adama, who has been tasked with investigating the ship. Kendra's story is told through a series of flashbacks, starting with her first day on the Pegasus. We see her being trained by Admiral Cain, the steely and ruthless commander of the Pegasus, and getting to know the other members of the crew.

As Kendra's story unfolds, we learn that the Pegasus was a very different kind of ship than the Galactica. While the Galactica is a relic from an earlier era, the Pegasus was built specifically to fight the Cylons and is equipped with more advanced technology and weaponry. However, this advanced technology came with a cost. The Pegasus was a harsh and unforgiving ship, where discipline was enforced with an iron fist.

Admiral Cain's single-minded focus on taking out the Cylons at any cost made her a legend among her crew, but also made her feared and despised. As Kendra relates her story, we see how the Admiral's obsession with the Cylons led her to commit acts of moral and ethical compromise. The most notable of these was her decision to fire on a civilian passenger liner that she believed was carrying a Cylon agent. The decision led to the deaths of over a thousand innocent people, and Kendra struggles with the guilt she feels over her involvement in the incident.

The episode ends on a cliffhanger, as Kendra's story comes full circle with the revelation that the distress signal that brought the Galactica to the Pegasus was not a distress signal at all, but a trap. The Cylons have been waiting for the Galactica, and the Pegasus was sent to lead them into a deadly ambush. The episode ends with Kendra warning Lee Adama that the Cylons have a plan, a plan that involves the destruction of the entire human race.

Overall, "Razor, Part 1" is a gripping and intense episode that features some of the best acting and writing of the entire season. The decision to focus on the Pegasus and its crew was a smart one, as it allowed the audience to see the contrast between the more traditional, humanistic values of the Galactica and the more militaristic and utilitarian approach of the Pegasus. The episode also effectively sets up the explosive finale to the season, as the fleet faces its biggest threat yet.