Analysis
Jacob Clifton of Television Without Pity, Jason Davis of Mania, and Jen Segrest of TV Squad each compare the Galactica crew to the Pegasus crew. Because they have chosen to guard a vast civilian fleet, the Galactica has lost some discipline but maintained its humanity. The Pegasus crew has lost some of its humanity, as demonstrated by their brutal treatment of their Cylon prisoner. Clifton compares the Pegasus crew to the barbaric Reavers from the television series Firefly.
John Ip considers the depiction of torture in "Pegasus". He contrasts the Galactica crew's relatively generous treatment of Sharon with the Pegasus crew's treatment of Gina and Starbuck's treatment of Leoben Conoy in the first-season episode "Flesh and Bone". Noting that Sharon has provided the humans with useful intelligence, where Gina and Leoben have not, Ip characterizes "Pegasus" as "an allegorical critique of the Bush Administration’s treatment of terrorist detainees." Ip also sees parallels between the way the Pegasus crew talks about the captive Cylons as subhuman and Bush administration rhetoric surrounding such detainees. Roz Kaveney considers the humans' simultaneous insistence on the inhumanity of the Cylons and use of torture and rape against them "paradoxical". Overall, Ip contrasts what he considers a "skeptical" portrayal of the effectiveness of torture as an interrogation method in "Pegasus" with what he views as a more sympathetic treatment in the television series 24. Tung Yin also invokes 24, calling the Pegasus interrogator a more realistic "professional torturer" than Jack Bauer, the 24 protagonist.
Clifton notes that the Pegasus crew who celebrate raping Gina and look forward to raping Sharon are all men, and the female Galactica crew react negatively. He questions whether Cally is truly concerned about Sharon, recalling Cally's sexual assault in the first-season episode "Bastille Day". Clifton further suggests a homoerotic element to the men's enthusiasm and compares the situation to a frat party.
Amanda Keith of Los Angeles Newspaper Group's Film Cannon considers Cain's verdict against Helo and Tyrol. Keith notes Cain is in the right legally: Helo and Tyrol broke their oaths as members of the Colonial Fleet. However, Keith argues that Cain has a moral responsibility to spare them to preserve what human life still remains. Clifton argues that Cain's decision is correct and that the audience's prejudices in favor of the two men do not apply to her character because she does not know them.
Davis compares Adama's defiance of Cain to Apollo's mutiny in "Kobol's Last Gleaming".
Eick notes a practice of actor Edward James Olmos (Adama) going back to his role in Miami Vice: his character avoids eye contact with other characters he doesn't respect. Eick says the amount Adama looks at Cain in "Pegasus" indicates that he respects her.
According to Clifton, the ways in which Apollo and Starbuck protest their transfer orders reflect their characters: Apollo points out the detrimental effects of shuffling personnel ahead of an operation, and Starbuck insults Cain and the Pegasus CAG.
Read more about this topic: Pegasus (Battlestar Galactica)
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