Plot
Having fled the besieged Ragnar Anchorage at the end of the miniseries, the convoy of refugee spaceships is relentlessly pursued and attacked by Cylon Basestars. The colonial fleet must execute a faster-than-light (FTL) jump every 33 minutes to escape the Cylons, who consistently arrive at the new jump coordinates approximately 33 minutes later. After 130.35 hours and 237 jumps, the fleet's crew and passengers, particularly those aboard Galactica, have been operating without sleep while facing the strain of nearly constant military action. Most of the episode focuses on the perils of the constant escape, but the daily business of life is touched upon: citizens trying to re-establish contact with loved ones, the spreading news that Cylons now resemble humans, and the deterioration of crews from stress and fatigue. President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) has conducted a census of survivors and has the sum of 49,998 souls marked on her whiteboard aboard Colonial One.
Meanwhile, on Caprica, Lt. Karl Agathon (Tahmoh Penikett, call sign "Helo") fails to elude Cylon patrols and is captured and taken prisoner by a Number Six. Helo is "rescued" from his Cylon captors by a Number Eight in the guise of his crewmate Lt. Sharon "Boomer" Valerii.
Back at the fleet, the Olympic Carrier, a commercial passenger vessel with 1,345 souls aboard, goes missing during the 238th consecutive jump. With the ship assumed lost to the Cylons, the attacks unexpectedly cease, allowing the fleet some respite. Three hours later however, the Olympic Carrier suddenly rejoins the fleet. Baltar, pushed by his internal Number Six, convinces President Roslin that the ship may have been infiltrated with Cylons and now poses a threat to the fleet's safety. When the Cylon attacks resume 33 minutes after the Olympic Carrier's return, Galactica also detects active nuclear weapons aboard the passenger liner, which has begun to disregard orders from Commander Adama (Edward James Olmos). President Roslin and Commander Adama order Capt. Lee "Apollo" Adama (Jamie Bamber) and Lt. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace (Katee Sackhoff) to destroy it. After hesitating to fire on what is ostensibly a civilian ship, the colonial officers destroy the ship while the rest of the colonial fleet jumps away. Baltar's internal Number Six explains to him that God is looking after his interests, implying that a scientist on the Olympic Carrier, who had tried to contact Roslin, had knowledge of Baltar's unwitting collusion with the Cylon attack on the colonies.
After the fleet's last jump, the Cylons do not return, and the President's survivor whiteboard aboard Colonial One is updated with one additional soul (to 47,973) with the birth of the fleet's first child aboard the Rising Star—a boy.
Read more about this topic: 33 (Battlestar Galactica)
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