Every Episode of ‘Battlestar Galactica,’ Ranked

It’s widely regarded as the worst episode of the series, and with good reason. It’s messy, ill-thought out, and worst of all, boring. The bad dialogue and nonsensical plot are masked only by a committed performance from Bill Duke.

There are some interesting ideas like showing the initial Cylon attack as the Hybrid hauntingly narrates the destruction, and more time with Dean Stockwell’s Cavil is always great. But really, the mythos of the show concluded with “Daybreak,” so this two-hour movie that aired after the series ended just feels tacked on. It’s well-intentioned and aimed at filling narrative gaps — but they’re gaps that never needed filling to begin with. Consider all that along with some plodding pacing issues, and The Plan is a bit of a mess.

A bit too soap-operatic, with lots of people standing in rooms arguing without a huge amount of engagement. It’s also equally frustrating that Ellen Tigh’s character reverts to pre-“No Exit” form, feeling like a massive setback for her development.

Some nice moments, like the chemistry between Starbuck and Helo, or any scene involving Leobhan and Starbuck — but overall, it’s a forgettable episode, jumping between the Fleet and Starbuck’s mission to find Earth.

A bit of a stinker of an episode, to be honest. The Fleet establishes a tribunal to weed out Cylon collaborators. Tyrol is questioned given his proximity to the water recycling attack from earlier in Season One. Then Adama shuts the tribunal down. It’s going for a big swing both politically and morally, tackling a question about whose right it is to bring justice, and how far we go as people to protect our peers. The execution, however, just isn’t there.

“Sacrifice” offers a fascinating perspective switch, as we consider the events of the series thus far through the eyes of an outsider. Up to this point, we’ve understood everything from the perspective of Adama, or Roslin, or Baltar — but when the viewpoint shifts to someone relying on hearsay and Fleet gossip, it’s quite jarring. Also: Gunmen (led by a character named Abinell) take hostages in a bar, including Apollo, Dee, Billy, and Ellen Tigh. They demand an exchange between them and the imprisoned Sharon aboard Galactica – all for the sake of revenge over the death of Abinell’s husband at the hands of the Cylons. It might have really worked as a two to three episode arc, but packed into 40 minutes of television, it just feels a bit rushed.

The opening of “Act of Contrition” feels a bit slapstick, with a missile falling off a shelf in Galactica’s hangar bay, killing a group of pilots. It’s all quite jarring, made worse by a fumbling non-linear narrative. It does progress Starbuck’s character quite well, as well as our understanding of her relationship with the Adama family. But overall, it’s not a particularly good episode.

Carl Lumbly is incredible whatever he’s doing, and it’s a shame the one episode he’s given in this show is not great. A long-presumed dead Viper pilot from before the Cylon attack on the colonies returns inside a Cylon raider, having been held captive by the Cylons for years. There’s some interesting ideas about the ghosts of our past catching up with us, as Adama was directly involved by the capture of Lumbly’s character, Bulldog. But overall, there’s just too many plot holes for this to deserve a slot any higher.

“The Woman King” could’ve been a special episode about our ability to choose how we govern our own bodies, with even greater relevance in a post-COVID world of vaccinations. Instead, it becomes bogged down in a murder mystery centered around an unscrupulous doctor. A real let down.

There’s a lot going on in “The Ties That Bind” — maybe even too much. Starbuck’s mini crew continues their search for Earth, but their patience wears thin. Cavil wipes out a group of rebels with no resurrection ship present. Apollo becomes the Caprica representative for the Quorum, and Cally and Tyrol’s relationship is exacerbated even further when Cally discovers Tyrol is a Cylon. While Cally’s death at the hands of Tory is pretty tough, the episode overall is just fine.

A strange episode, in that it functions with the sole purpose of setting up Part 2. Essentially, Roslin’s contingent of the Fleet has landed on Kobol to search for the Tomb of Athena, while Adama feels betrayed that Roslin has abandoned him. There is a beautiful scene between Adama and Dualla about the former’s feelings of helplessness that really elevates things, and manages to pull Adama out of his funk.

An episode of moments that never quite finds a consistent tone. It introduces Ellen Tigh, who will go on to play a pivotal role in the wider mythology of the series, but just doesn’t click in this episode. There’s a lot of suspicion and scheming over who may or may not be a Cylon, and it’s all a bit drab. Tigh’s staunch defense that Adama isn’t a Cylon is a sweet moment, and there are a few other scenes of interest peppered throughout. Just not enough to propel the episode any higher on this list.

A bit of comedown from the chaos of the Pegasus arc, as the show re-focuses on Roslin’s cancer, along with her edict that Sharon’s baby must be terminated. An intervention from Baltar keeps the baby alive, and the child’s blood also pushes Roslin’s cancer into remission. As a whole, it’s okay, but both Mary McDonnell and Tahmoh Penikett are excellent.

A strange episode with the unenviable task of setting up the mammoth three-part series finale (“Daybreak”). There are a lot of emotional moments, with Helo and Athena’s palpable loss over Hera, and Adama and Tigh’s final toast to the soon-to-be decommissioned Galactica. Even Anders being transported into the Hybrid tank and essentially evolving into a different being. But overall, it’s just preparing us for the last few chapters.

A strange episode, in that a lot of what happens here is consequential (Kat’s death, the interactions between Baltar and D’Anna, Starbuck’s evolution as a character, etc.), but it all feels quite muddled. Written by genre stalwart Jane Espenson, “The Passage” revolves around the Colonial Fleet on the brink of starvation before the discovery of an algae that can be used as a food source. The catch: it sits beyond a radioactive star cluster. Ronald D. Moore has stated in the past that the episode is significantly different from the original copy supplied by Espenson, which goes a long way to explain the confused plot.

There’s a fascinating moment in this TV movie where the Cylon Hybrid makes its famous prophecy regarding Starbuck’s destiny: “Kara Thrace will lead the human race to its end. She is the herald of the apocalypse, the harbinger of death. They must not follow her.” It’s spooky and ominous; peel back the layers further, and it’s fascinating to consider why the Hybrid doesn’t want humanity to follow her — this ensuring cycles of violence continue again, and again. Sadly, the rest of Razor is a clunky mess. It chronologically takes place between Seasons One and Two for the most part, but for some reason, it was placed between Seasons Three and Four, which just makes the whole experience that much more jarring. Pair that with the mostly superfluous story, and it’s not a particularly engaging installment. Minus the previously referenced scene, of course.

There’s an extremely tense opening as the Starbuck-led Cylon basestar jumps into range of the Colonial Fleet, leading to a standoff before Tigh’s intuition eases the situation. What follows is the beginnings of unity between humans and Cylons, or at least something resembling a detente. It isn’t all happy-go-lucky, however, as this is the episode that starts to seed the fall of Gaeta. The ending is pretty wild too, with the basestar jumping away with Roslin aboard after she reawakens the hybrid, and Athena shooting Natalie-Six.

Picking up the story straight after “Guess What’s Coming to Dinner?” — with an “abducted” Roslin and Natalie dying at the hands of Athena — this episode packs in a lot of interesting interpersonal moments. See: the brief fight between Tigh and Adama over the former’s affair with Caprica Six, and the latter’s willingness to endanger the Fleet to find Roslin. It all would’ve been served in a better episode. There are some good moments, and the performances are excellent as always, but the show feels like it’s treading water before a big finish.

“Exodus (Part 1)” just feels stunted somehow, spending too much time setting up the second part without stopping to make the first part interesting. There are some interesting moments, sure — like D’Anna’s vision, or Tyrol’s character starting to have a bit more prominence – but it’s all a bit clunky.

“Fragged” gets pretty philosophical on a lot of things, with the episode tackling humanity’s legacy of killing its own kind — something the Cylons insist they won’t revert to, despite essentially learning at the feet of their creators. It’s all in keeping with the show’s commentary on cycles of violence over time. Meanwhile, within the Fleet, Tigh’s drinking and lack of political skill cause his command to slip. He soon declares martial law to control the situation and keep power away from Roslin and the Quorum. The show will continually raise the question about what a society can and should do when faced with external threats, and how far is far enough to go to protect your way of life.

One of Battlestar Galactica’s sweetest, most gentle episodes focused on Adama’s prior marriage as he works through his tendency to put duty before relationships. With the bubbling intimacy of him and Roslin in the background, it’s much quieter than almost any other episode in the series which gives it a nice twist, but it won’t be mistaken for a masterpiece.

“No Exit” is a huge download episode as we head towards the conclusion of the series. We see Ellen’s resurrection and learn about her history, while also getting more information about the other Cylons and the missing “Daniel” model. Anders provides more information about the Final Five and their role on Earth as researchers trying to recreate ancient resurrection technology — after the Cylons spent so long naturally procreating that they lost the original tech. Bonus: Kate Vernon delivers a magnificent performance as Ellen Tigh. Like, really magnificent.

A real strange one. It serves as a reminder that there’s a whole other Battlestar within the Fleet now — something the past few episodes haven’t particularly acknowledged. But it also introduces a commander (Cmdr. Garner) and asks us to be invested in his character and the relationships he has to other people without ever taking any time to invest in him. The episode’s second storyline, dealing with a stowaway from one of the religious fundamentalist colonies looking to get an abortion against the backdrop of the upcoming election, is much more impressive. It raises the moral questions of abortion in the face of extinction, or the slippery slope to fascism when society is under threat from external forces. It’s a good episode that could’ve been stronger had it focused solely on its secondary plot.

A real insight into the casual fascism that can creep into society when they’re faced with a threat. Adama and Roslin push for a war crime — and it’s pretty fucking bleak. Following the Fleet’s discovery of the infected basestar at the end of the prior episode, the two leaders advocate for killing their prisoners who will go on to infect the Cylon Resurrection Ship, in turn infecting all other Cylon models. Thankfully, Helo demonstrates a moral compass and seemingly kills the prisoners before they’re in range of the Resurrection Ship, and the plan fails. Elsewhere, there’s a lot going on with Baltar, Six and D’Anna – but the episode is just dragged down by sympathetic characters pushing for genocide.

A good meta-textual episode about contemporary politics, the emphasis of politics over survival, and the wider influence of the media on societal opinion. “Colonial Day” sees Roslin reinstate the Quorum of Twelve — a congress-like body of government — and Zarek vie for the role of Vice President, which eventually goes to Baltar. It would rank higher on the list if it wasn’t for a dreadful and unnecessary assassination subplot that goes nowhere.

A more character-centric episode, mostly revolving around Boomer aboard Galactica and her own fear about potentially being a Cylon. It’s an episode dripping with paranoia, which is further heightened when the ship’s water supplies are sabotaged. Boomer’s fears stemming from her blackouts and her own possible involvement in the sabotage give us a good, if not great, episode.

Following on from the events of “Water,” “Bastille Day” sees the series dive deep into political commentary, looking here at the prison industrial complex. With Galactica’s water recycling systems sabotaged, the Fleet faces civil unrest until they can mine a nearby ice planet for more water. To do so, they plan on using a prison ship’s inmates for slave labor to resupply the Fleet. This being Battlestar Galactica, however, things naturally go wrong. The show introduces political prisoner/terrorist Tom Zarek, who refuses to engage in any Fleet support until an election is held. It raises an interesting moral question, contrasting the myopic worldview of Zarek (and his prioritizing of elections over the very real threat to humanity) versus the importance of maintaining those systems in the face of external threats that likely supersede the importance of democracy.

There’s a two beautifully mirrored shots in ‘Resistance’, centered around a drop of blood hitting the floor. The first belongs to Tyrol after he is beaten during an interrogation by Tigh; the second is from Boomer after she’s shot and killed by Cally. It’s a neat and thoughtful representation of the differences between humans and Cylons, and what it really means to be human. This episode also introduces us to Samuel T. Anders, and while he will go on to play a pivotal role in the mythos of the show, it’s easy to forget how electric his early chemistry with Starbuck is. All the credit to Katee Sackhoff and Michael Trucco for making that relationship feel so organic.

One of the more interesting aspects of Season Four’s earlier episodes is seeing how each of the Final Five react to their newfound identity. In particular, how Tory responds by almost immediately embracing it and viewing herself as superior, while Anders, Tigh and Tyrol struggle much more, burdened by guilt and fear. There’s also an interesting move here where Tigh turns to Caprica Six for companionship, almost like a Proxy-Ellen. It’s quite charming in a way to see him turn to someone who for so long he’s viewed as an enemy, although it does lay a little too much groundwork for the reveal of Ellen being the last member of the Final Five.

A divisive episode that succeeds as much as it fails. The introduction of D’Anna Biers (played by the incomparable Lucy Lawless) is excellent, as is the revelation of her Cylon identity, and the exploration of wartime propaganda is an intriguing one. “Final Cut” gets bogged down with death threats and an assassination attempt on Col. Tigh though, which ultimately makes the episode a frustrating experience.

Michael Hogan continues his stellar run on the show, as Tigh has firmly fallen into a figure driven by rage and revenge. But Alessandro Juliani matches him beat-for-beat as Lt. Gaeta — a man who lost a part of himself on New Caprica. There’s a strong theme of social trauma in “Collaborators,” and what a civilian body is willing to do in both self-preservation, and in dealing out justice – with the Circle, a shadow organisation established by Zarek, acting as judge, jury and executioner for those suspected of collaborating with the Cylons on New Caprica.

As the tension ramps up within the Fleet due to the new Cylon presence and the bleak situation of Earth, Gaeta’s character evolves into a man of immense frustration at a system and society he feels has forgotten about him. His scenes with Zarek, as they begin to craft their mutiny, along with his interactions with Starbuck in the mess hall, are crackling. He’s a character that never fully got enough time to flex his muscles, but on the occasions where he could, they were always memorable.

So many shows depict grief in different ways. And while ‘The Son Also Rises’ isn’t on par with, say, “The Body” from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it’s still a nice depiction of how varied mourning can be, from Adama looking over Starbuck’s personal effects to Apollo’s inability to pin her picture to Galactica’s wall of fallen soldiers. The issue with the episode though, is that aside from those two moments, Starbuck’s death is mostly glossed over in favor of Baltar’s upcoming trial, and Apollo’s decision to join his legal team. Overall, as an episode dealing with the aftermath of a shocking “death,” it falls a little flat. As an episode about the conflict between Adama and Apollo, it works much better.

‘Crossroads’ is an apt title for the Season Three finale, in that while the Fleet has a single path to follow, the characters themselves are diverging from each other with speed. The first half of this two-parter offers subtle teases of the Final Five’s identity, but this strong courtroom-drama episode mainly focuses on Baltar’s trial and the testimony of Roslin and Tigh, and specifically, the efforts to discredit them as unreliable witnesses.

We continue Tigh’s run as Acting Commander of Galactica, and he’s a real throwback to a lot of historical figures. He thrives as a battle commander, and demonstrates why Adama places so much faith in him. But as we see, Tigh doesn’t have the know-how to maneuver himself without a crisis at hand to focus on, however. “Valley of Darkness” also brings some great action to the show, with Centurions onboard Galactica, lurking around every corner like monsters in the dark. The tight corridors of the ship give the sequences a great sense of claustrophobia, perfectly counter-balancing the dogfights in space we’re accustomed to.

The first part of Battlestar Galactica’s epic series finale is a strong set up, putting all of the pieces in place for the rescue mission of Hera. Simultaneously, the episode indulges in flashbacks of various characters back on Caprica, prior to the Cylon attack that put all of this in motion. They provide some wonderful character development, which is no mean feat so late in a series’ run. Baltar’s fractured relationship with his father is particularly poignant, and it isn’t hard to see how Gaius could have become so damaged over time. There’s a beautiful moment at the end where we see just how many people are still willing to cross the line and support Adama, even after everything that has happened to our beleaguered Fleet. It’s a great reminder of what a titanic figure he is, and what a father he is to his crew.

There’s some lovely moments in “Six of One,” led by Apollo’s farewell from Galactica as he transitions into politics. The score we’ve come to associate with hope, family and love playing over the top of seeing him hug Dualla is rewarding. The rest of the episode revolves firmly around Starbuck’s return and the lack of trust directed at her from Roslin and co. It’s not a standout episode, but it propels the bigger-picture story forward.

A mightily consequential episode for the series, as D’Anna’s entire line is “boxed”; Helo kills Athena so she can resurrect and rescue Hera; and Baltar is re-captured by Galactica. There’s a visually arresting sequence as the Nebula collapses, D’Anna’s vision of the Final Five begins, and Galactica escapes from the system. “Rapture” smoothly ties up a lot of loose ends while resetting the board for subsequent arcs.

One of the show’s most memorable episodes, despite not being close to its best. Starbuck befriends the Galactica bar’s piano player, played by Roark Critchlow, and together they reconstruct a song Kara remembers from her childhood — the very same song that awakened the four Galactica members of the Final Five. It’s touching and mysterious in equal measure, never answering the question of who or what Starbuck really is, but engaging you nonetheless. 

With Baltar now captured/a guest of the Cylons, the show essentially splits itself into two for a time, following both the Colonial Fleet and the Cylon Fleet. “Torn” follows Baltar from the end of the New Caprica occupation to now, all aboard a Cylon basestar. It’s wonderfully disorientating, as each frame bleeds into the next, all the while jumping back and forth between sterile Cylon corridors and Baltar’s vivid imagination. You get a window into the near-fractured state of Baltar’s psyche, torn between two worlds and his own desires.

The opening fills in the gaps over what happened with Roslin after the basestar jumped away, again and again, while also diving a little into her psyche after each jump. Then the majority of the episode is given over to the uneasy alliance between the Fleet and the Cylon rebels as they look to destroy the Resurrection Hub, ensuring Cylons have one life to live moving forward. Pair the high stakes with the excellent return of D’Anna Biers, and the iconic reunion between Adama and Roslin (“I love you”… “Bout time”), and “The Hub” is a huge improvement on the season’s previous few episodes.

A dark, uncomfortable episode. Starbuck finds herself kidnapped by Cylons, waking up in a breeding facility with the goal of creating human/Cylon hybrids. As one of Battlestar Galactica’s many real-world allegories, it feels like a distinct commentary on the religious fundamentalist view on a woman’s body — something solely for breeding purposes — and the masculine tendency to dictate a woman’s right to choose for herself. Having said that, it’s an incredible episode for Starbuck’s character, and really serves to highlight a lot of the ways her character subverts genre norms. She’s childless, freely sexual with partners of her choosing, and a soldier in a male-dominated field, while also subverting the damsel-in-distress trope as she promises to rescue Anders at the end.

A real relentless season opener. Adama lies broken after the cliffhanger of Season One, and an ill-equipped Tigh takes command of Galactica. It’s a fascinating dissection of the latter’s character, and who he is without Adama by his side to fall back on. We also get great tension between Tyrol and Crashdown on Kobol as the group fights for survival, and a strong showcase for Lt. Gaeta as his bold plan of briefly networking the computers helps reunite the fleet.

A good follow-on episode from Season Three’s opener (“Occupation”), led by strong performances from Katee Sackhoff, James Callis and Aaron Douglas. It meditates on both the radicalization of the environment and the people within it, but also how that affects the relationships of our core characters. Some aim to get by and resist by fostering education and growth. Others want to blow the world up for their own revenge.

A palate cleanser of sorts after the intensity of the Eye of Jupiter arc, this episode centers around the interrogation of Gaius Baltar, now back aboard Galactica. James Callis is in superior form as the broken Baltar, as his drug-induced anxiety during the questioning leads to his confession of guilt regarding the Cylon attack on the colony. It’s heartbreaking to hear his admission that he wishes he was a Cylon, just to make his collusion more palatable to himself. We experience such highs and lows with Baltar — but there isn’t really a lower point than this.

The mutiny angle in “The Road Less Traveled” was really boring, but it gets a major shot of adrenaline in this episode once Anders shoots Gaeta to keep the mission going. The plan goes ahead as they infiltrate a Cylon basestar looking for a marker for Earth, before jumping back to the Fleet with the Cylon rebels in tow. Starbuck finally hears a version of her prophecy from the Hybrid, along with some beautifully spiritual conversations between Roslin and a fellow cancer patient about notions of the afterlife. “Faith” isn’t a gamechanger, but it is a good episode.

If Part 1 of “Daybreak” is the setup, and Part 3 is the coda, then Part 2 is the action-packed culmination centered around the rescue of Hera. From the moment Galactica jumps into range of the Cylon base of operations, it’s relentless television. Humans and Centurions fight their way through, side by side, providing an incredible visual. The Opera House vision of Roslin, Caprica Six and Athena comes full circle and plays out before us as they all follow Hera. There’s a wonderful acknowledgment of Baltar and Caprica Six’s relationship, and their “Head” counterparts — star crossed lovers in a way, tied together by a force greater than we can fathom. It climaxes with a standoff in the CIC, Cavil holding Hera, bargaining with her life if he can play God to Cylons before Tigh offers resurrection in exchange for Hera. There’s also a brief ceasefire between Adama and Cavil, albeit one that will prove shockingly short-lived.

The peace between the Fleet and Cavil is short-lived thanks to the Final Five’s ceremony to pass on resurrection. A shared consciousness leads to Tyrol learning Cally’s killer, abandoning the procedure and killing her in revenge, throwing everything into chaos. Tiny twists of fate like a deceased Racetrack launching a missile send Galactica careening towards a singularity, only for Starbuck to use the song that has dominated her mind for so long to jump Galactica away to Earth — our Earth — thereby fulfilling her ultimate destiny. There’s so much ill-will towards the ending of this show, but seeing Adama, Tigh, Cottle, Hoshi and Baltar look on at early human life, and contemplate the divine hand at work for their circumstances, is deeply touching. The show gives everyone their moment to say goodbye: Helo, Athena and Hera get their family; Apollo recognises the need to break the cycle; Anders leads the Fleet into the Sun; Adama and Roslin share a final moment of peace before her passing; Starbuck’s divine duty is fulfilled and she vanishes; Tyrol leaves to find peace; Baltar returns to his roots, arm-in-arm with Caprica Six. Even the Centurions are given the power to control their own destiny. It’s not a flawless finale. But it is a strong ending for a spectacular show.

Within five minutes of the opening, you know you’re in for something good. There’s an elegant score playing over characters planning rescue missions or fretting over presidential debates — or in Cally’s case, walk blindly towards disaster. It feels fitting for a season finale, but the pervasive sense of intense dread is really something to behold. It’s hard to place it too much higher on the list, as so much of it is set up for the second part, but this is still an excellent episode of television.

Following “Act of Contrition,” Starbuck is marooned on a barren moon, needing to find her way back to the Fleet. Apollo frantically searches for her, while Adama comes to terms with both her importance to Galactica and, personally, to himself. While the prior episode is your standard set-up, the payoff here is excellent. We get so much more character understanding for Starbuck in this episode. Her relentless will to survive, her ingenuity and her courage, they’re all on display. As is the pseudo-father/daughter relationship between her and Adama, which never fails to feel completely organic and beautifully tender.