I so miss spoilers. I like to be prepared for traumatic things.

Me, too. What was I thinking, trying to live like those others, out there? Well, actually, I was thinking the spoilers I've been getting around the 'net aren't worth the non-paper they're written on.

But Jess spoilers are the real deal. They're so good, I think they're fattening, and raise both your blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Well, actually, I was thinking the spoilers I've been getting around the 'net aren't worth the non-paper they're written on.

Good point, this.

I meant that in a general way. I think the BSG spoilers at TWoP are solid (if not that well reported), le nubian.

Do anyone else keep obsessively checking this thread to see if Jess has posted?

(Sorry - really busy today, and I'm not good with bullet pointing these things. Here's the first chunk. Haven't quite gotten to the good parts yet.)

Baltar's trial, as it turns out, is mostly about Lee and his SooperSeekrit Deep Pain That Nobody Understands Especially Daddy.

Lee gets over his initial crankiness at being assigned to Lampkin's security detail and decides that he really loves justice and wants to help to protect The System and make sure that Baltar gets a fair trial. Adama is NOT happy. (I think both of those things already happened.)

When the fleet is about 7 jumps from the nebula (where presumably they'll find the next clue on the road to Earth), they discover that the Cylon fleet has been following them. They assume there must have been a tracking device planted while the fleet was on New Caprica, and Roslin suggests asking the Six about it. Lee notices something suspicious about her tea in this scene. (I thought he was noticing that his dad was obviously sleeping with the President, but it's not brought up verbally so I can't be sure if it's in my head or in the subtext.)

Tigh goes to interrogate Six, and she tells him that the tillium refinery ship has a unique radiation signature that they've been following. He tries to get more information out of her, and she initially considers being helpful, but once Head!Baltar steps in and reminds her that no matter what she gives them, they'll still eventually throw her out an airlock, she gets snarky and starts taunting him about Ellen instead (presumably, she knows from Cavil that Ellen was giving them information about the resistance). She also somehow knows that he killed her. They exchange punches and Tigh leaves.

A woman visits Baltar in prison, wanting him to bless her son. He refuses, and then has a conversation with Head!Six where we learn that this has been happening a LOT lately. Apparently a cult has emerged within the fleet which thinks Baltar is some kind of prophet or demigod. He mostly finds them annoying.

Roslin wants the prosecuting attorney to charge Baltar with the original Colonial genocide, so Tori has a meeting with her. The prosecuting attorney basically says "Um yeah, so you want me to put the President on the stand and ask her to testify that she had a drug-induced vision about seeing Baltar with a Six? Sure thing..." So it is agreed that Baltar will only be charged with his New Caprica crimes, since they have some actual evidence for those. Tori looks frelling awful, like she hasn't slept in weeks.

Throughout the ep, there are snippets of a song that can be heard coming out of various radios and microphones. It's very distorted and difficult to understand, and it's clear early on that not everyone can hear it. Tigh, in particular, finds it very distracting, and so does Anders. Anders and Ceelix are either sleeping together, or just very good friends. Anders has signed up for basic flight training and has cut his hair (pity).

Back at the trial, Tigh is put on the stand. He's clearly had a few drinks, and is still hearing that damn song -- he keeps having to ask the prosecutor to repeat her questions. He testifies to being the leader of the resistance, and being in a position to know what Baltar was doing because he saw all of the documents leaked to them by their source on Colonial One. The prosecutor, clearly ignorant of this being a touchy subject, asks him about Ellen (trying to say, look, he lost his wife because of Baltar, don't you feel sorry for him?). Tigh mumbles something about her dying in the exodus from New Caprica, but it's clearly an uncomfortable question, so the prosecutor doesn't pursue it.

Lampkin can see Tigh is hiding something, and he asks Lee what happened to Ellen. Lee doesn't know either, but all Adama can see from the bench is that Lampkin leans over to Lee, Lee answers, and the next thing he knows, his oldest friend is being forced to confess to murdering his wife in front of a mob and the press. (Lampkin drags it out of him.) Tigh is (continued...)

( continues...) now REALLY upset, both because of the Ellen thing and because of that damn music that he doesn't realize only he can hear. Adama takes Tigh back to his quarters and puts him to bed. Poor Tigh.

Roslin is put on the stand, and testifies to being on the death list that Baltar signed. Lampkin asks for a recess before the cross.

He needs information to undermine Roslin's character for Baltar's defense. Baltar is all set to go with the "she's a religious fanatic" angle, but Lee thinks he has something else. He's reluctant to come forward, though, because it's just a suspicion, nothing solid. Lampkin scolds Lee for being sooooooo into "the system" except when he's got information that might help Baltar, so Lee relents.

Lee then goes to talk to his father. He wants Adama to remove himself as a judge due to a conflict of interest. Adama agrees that he hates Baltar and thinks he's a traitorous cowardly piece of garbage, but he won't step down. He wants Lee to step down as assistant defense counsel, which Lee won't do because he thinks everyone deserves a fair trial. Their argument escalates until Lee removes his uniform insignia and says "I won't serve under a man who questions my integrity." Adama takes the pin without blinking and responds "And I won't have an officer under my command who doesn't have any." (Yes, you read that right...Lee has quit the military.)

Do anyone else keep obsessively checking this thread to see if Jess has posted?

Who me?

Poor Tigh.

You think you know... /Tara

Jess, your spoilers beat all spoilers. Thank you so much for writing this up. I can't wait for more.

Back in court, Lee is wearing a suit instead of his dress uniform. He looks strangely younger. He also asks permission to cross-examine Roslin. Baltar is REALLY against this idea, as he doesn't think Lee has any clue what the fuck he's doing, which is absolutely true. (And I have to say, Bamber gives a great performance here. Lee is very eager and very earnest, and has obviously been doing a lot of reading and seen a lot of L&O, but has not even the slightest idea about how to be a real lawyer.) Nevertheless, Lee gets to do the cross. Baltar's eyes are HILARIOUS in this moment, if you find DesperatelyWantingToLive!Baltar as funny as I do.

Lee starts out with some straightforward easy questions because he thinks that's what lawyers do. Eventually, he gets to the point, which is, when you were dying of cancer, Baltar saved your life. Also during that time, you were taking camala root extract, which caused you to hallucinate. He then builds to...are you taking camala root now? After some minor squabbling over the relevance of this question, Roslin answers yes, yes she is. Lee has no further questions, but Roslin says "Don't you want to know why?" Lee doesn't, the judges (Adama) do. And it turns out that Roslin's cancer has returned, which is why she's back on her hallucinatory meds. And is also a big reason why Adama's been so edgy lately, though that's not explicitly stated.

After Roslin's testimony, there is a press conference on Colonial One regarding the announcement of her cancer. Tori is looking really bad, clearly exhausted and under an immense amount of stress. At one point she loses her temper with the press and Roslin has to send her out of the room.

The whole time the trial has been going on, the rest of the Galactica crew has been busy trying to lose the Cylons AND keep jumping to the nebula. The Chief can be heard humming the same song that's been in Tigh's head while he works on keeping the Vipers and Raptors flying. Racetrack is also leading a class in avionics with the new nuggets, including Anders and Ceelix (Ceelix, presumably, knows more about avionics than Racetrack does, but she has to take the class anyway). Anders overhears the Chief humming and goes to ask him about it, since he's been hearing the same song all day. Neither of them can quite hear it completely, just little snatches, and when they try to remember where they've heard it before, it's gone. "Like something from childhood." Before they can talk further (and what is there to say, other than, "this is really fracking weird"?) Racetrack pulls Anders back into class, and the Chief gets back to work, still humming. Occasionally he adds the phrase "There must be some way out of here." (For people paying very close attention, this is wher DH's ears perked up and he started to put things together. So when you watch the ep, really listen to the music, because it's important.)

The intercutting in the second half of this two-parter is REALLY complex, and I'm probably not going to be able to recap everything in the right order. Just FYI.

In Lampkin's quarters, Lee thinks they should aim for a mistrial based on Adama's having already decided the verdict in advance. He reads a line from one of his grandfather's books about how a mistrial can be good for the defense because the prosecution will have already laid out their case and the defense can be better prepared for the next time. Baltar is dead set against this plan, though, because it would mean going through the whole thing again, which he doesn't think he can take. (His poor nerves!)

Anders and Tori run into each other in the bathroom, just washing up, during the recess. They both look like shit, but wind up making out. It's unclear whether this means they've been having an affair since Starbuck died (or before?) or if this is a new thing, or if either of them is even really aware of what they're doing. The song comes back on, and Tori says something like "There's that damn song again" and they (continued...)

( continues...) both realize that the other can hear it too. Which is weird, but they keep making out anyway instead of talking about it. A knock on the door snaps them out of it and Anders says "There's too much confusion" and leaves Tori alone. (Anyone got the reference yet?) On the way out, he gets a nasty look from Ceelix, which is why I think he might also be sleeping with her. Or maybe not.