Warning! Spoilers abound!
I’m not going to write a proper post, but here are some images from my favorite moments this episode, with brief captions.
Why is this frakking horrible woman back on my show? Why? I ask you.
Anders explains Earth-Cylon history. If only someone had been shot in the head before now!
Chief Tyrol discovers Galactica's vagina.
Bloody quorum placard. I still can't frakkin BELIEVE Tom Zarek. TOM FRAKKING ZAREK.
Ellen (sigh), Cavil, and Boomer in the beautiful Chamber of Mysteries.
In possibly the best monologue EVER on this show, Cavil explains how he witnessed a supernova with those ridiculous gelatinous orbs in his skull.
John Hodgman, Brain Guy explains aphasia, aka "word salad."
Adama is popping pills, drinking whiskey, and giving the go-ahead on converting Galactica into an organic, part-cylonized machine.
What did you think? FRAKKING INSANELY GOOD EPISODE, RIGHT???
Raveling Out 
Bwahahaha–Galactica’s vagina! Too funny!
Dude, it totally looks like one, doesn’t it? I thought about that last week, but there was too much else going on and I forgot to grab the image. Good thing they showed it again so as I could get mah joke in.
Also, Chief’s plan to repair the ship with organic material makes this idea less funny, more ooky.
Okay, here is my spoiler-filled, likely rambling attempt to turn a wtf into something sensible.
Anders mentions that the final five (FINAL FIVE?) were warned of the attack on Earth, so there is something deep and god-like going on. Pink Floyd, is that you?
Anders gains memories after being shot in the head. This means (probably) that, despite the fact that the resurrection ship was destroyed, the final five must have their memories stashed somewhere else. This is supported, I think, by the fact that Anders is “not in there” at the end of the ep–I reckon he downloaded (likely to Ellen’s equipment at “the colony” that John mentions?). Anders also says a bunch of word salad type shit about the part of the brain that the bullet was in, and since he recovered memories from it, this part of the brain must have something to do with resurrection/downloading?
Ellen says that the 13th colony built the temple with the giant supernova thingy in it, then says that the final five found it while they were “tracing the path of their ancestors” or something to that effect. (I guess that this must have happened while going from Earth to Kobol to the 12 Colonies, except if you’re going at nearly light speed, you don’t really stop to pray at a temple. Just sayin’.) So the final five must have been at least part of the 13th colony, perhaps as Cylons? Or else some other kind of crazy shit I can’t fathom at this point. Maybe as three-toed sloths?
Ellen (or maybe Anders–shit, I have to watch the damn ep again!) mentions that resurrection technology came to Earth with the 13th colony. So were they all Cylons? Or just some of them? Or else wtf?
Also, I think Saul and the Six’s baby is totally Daniel. Or else Daniel is Baltar. Or someone else on the show.
And, finally, my totally out on a limb prediction: “all of this has happened before” refers not to humans creating Cylons, but humans creating Cylons, who in turn create humans (skin jobs), who create Cylons, who create humans, etc. THIS IS PART OF GODSPLAN (this last bit is totally true, and not a prediction). Everyone’s all “ooh, dude, the grass is TOTALLY greener over there!” and they get fucked by their creation, who are then all “ooh, dude…” etc., ad nauseum, until they learn their lesson and except GODSLOVE.
I went out on a limb when I watched this, and mentioned to the hubby that perhaps when Ol’ John (oh, I mean Cavil) went and contaminated Daniel’s growing medium, messing with the DNA (as explained), he went and made a girl. A Starbuck shaped girl. Because that is really the only answer to why there was a body in her Raptor on Earth. And why Leoben was so freaked out.
I’m actually quite liking Ellen Tigh now…
Thoughts:
Cavill makes the best angry face ever.
I was okay with Ellen in this episode because she was being all motherly and empathetic, but then she goes back to being old Ellen in the latest episode and I got sick of her again. Thank god Zarek is dead. I would not be able to handle the both of them in the same episode.
I like how they finally explained why there’s a missing Cylon, since number 7 was always unaccounted for.
As I mentioned on the phone to vague, I feel so vindicated that there is a lost 13th Cylon to mirror the lost 13th Tribe, which I have been saying for, like, ever!
I was also going to post something super nerdy on here about speeds and jump distances and locations of the 12 Colonies, but that might be a little much. I will say, though, that I was happy with the discussion of “relativistic but sub-luminal speeds” (which is kind of redundant, but anyway), since it gives some idea of the amount of space involved between Earth and the 12 Colonies, which is probably about 8,000-10,000 light years max, which makes me much happier with them not being able to find a habitable planet, since it is such a tiny volume (the Milky Way has a diameter of about 100,000 light years).
[end uber-nerd time]