Giaus Baltar receives the worst form of rejection from Kara Thrace--and at the worst possible time--when she cries out Lee’s name while making love to him. This rattles Baltar’s cage to the point where he has such a nervous breakdown that Number Six has to snap him out of it by slamming his head into a mirror. It’s important that she has Baltar’s full attention, because Number Six has a warning for him: something is about to happen where remaining aboard the Galactica would no longer safe for him. Meanwhile, on long-range patrol in a search for supplies, Boomer and Crashdown almost literally bump into a planet when they come out of an FTL jump. With its vast oceans and sprawling forests teeming with plant life, Boomer and Crashdown think it might be Earth. But when Laura views recon photos of the planet’s surface taken by Boomer’s Raptor, she sees thriving cities where the others only see ruins. The cities that Laura describe turn out to be a perfect match for those found on Kobol, the legendary planet of the ancients where the human race originated, which means that the Galactica and the fleet inadvertently found the home of the gods.

According to the ancient scriptures, the way to Earth can be found on Kobol by using the Arrow Of Apollo, which is located in a museum back on the shattered Caprica. Laura tries to convince Adama to use the captured Cylon fighter--which has its own FTL drive--on a mission to retrieve the Arrow Of Apollo, but he flatly refuses. When three Raptors sent to Kobol on a survey mission encounter a Cylon basestar, one of them is blown out of the sky, another retreats back to Galactica, and the third--with Chief Tyrol, Cally, Dr. Baltar and Crashdown aboard--gets shot down and crash-lands on Kobol. With the presence of the basestar hampering any rescue operations, Adama formulates a plan to use the captured Cylon raider to blow it up by sneaking a nuke aboard the basestar. But this plan is dashed when Starbuck, following Laura’s personal request, steals the raider and heads back to Caprica on her own.

Kobol’s Last Gleaming: Parts One and Two bring the first season to an effective, and shocking, end. It’s a sprawling, epic story that splits up the large cast of characters into several different storylines--all of which are fascinating by themselves. Old alliances are tested, new alliances are forged, and the very survival of the entire fleet, as well as the individual characters themselves, is in question. Ron Moore, who wrote these episodes, even deftly manages to raise the stakes with Helo and Boomer on Caprica, turning what was an interesting ‘B’ storyline that ran throughout the season into a gripping climax that’s equal to the other plot threads. You’ll want to make sure you have the Battlestar Galactica: Season 2.0 DVD on hand right after you view the stunning cliffhanger.