The ships couldn’t jump. They were never going to get far enough away from the Raiders to escape. As far as they could have travelled in ten minutes, they would still have been in range of the two fighters that attacked the ships.
Just finished watching the episode, and it was a really different experience this time around. I started watching BSG last fall and saw the first half of Season 3 before I bought the DVD’s for the previous seasons, so my views have changed a lot. The first time, I think I was more shocked and on the edge of my seat than anything else. Only seeing what I’d seen, I thought Jammer was a much more significant character than he actually was (he had a lot more screen time in the first S3 episodes than in the series overall), so I thought it was really a big deal that the Circle killed him, so much so that I remember thinking Gaeta was a goner.
As much fun as it was to watch the show thinking everyone might be in jeopardy, since I didn’t have a good feel for who was too important to kill off and who wasn’t, nor what the typical death toll was on BSG, I enjoyed the episode more now because there’s so much texture and nuance that I missed in the excitement the first time.
For instance, Caprica Six is much more complex than I ever gave her credit for. She loves Baltar, but she doesn’t want to because in her mind that emotion has led her to do horrible things. Is she right? Is Baltar right, that these are essentially growing pains as she becomes a real person?
How ironic is it that the Cylons and the humans are doing essentially the same thing in this episode, deciding whether or not to toss the people they brought along who may not have been loyal to them? Neither group lets the person or persons in question offer a defense. With both groups, the decisions are also as much about the “jurors” as they are about the accused: Caprica Six is considering voting to space Baltar because of how her feelings for him have frakked her up, not because of anything that he’s done, and the Circle members are out for vengeance under the guise of justice, especially Kara and the guy whose son was killed. Add if that wasn’t ironic enough, 2-3 members of the Circle are Cylons.
The back-room deal for the presidency bothers me more this time, too. Though I have to admit, it’s Adama’s (implied) actions that bother me most. So, nobody can be president that Adama doesn’t like now because Adama has all the guns? That’s a bit scary. I guess it’s a reminder that the civilian government is in a precarious position since it depends so heavily on the military.
Yet another bit of irony: Roslin ends up with Zarek as VP, which is exactly the situation she would have been in at the end of S1 if she hadn’t pushed for Baltar to enter politics.
And one of the best lines ever: “Keep jumpin’.” 
One was destoried in the mini-series but atleast one other had an FTL drive is still in the fleet. However it looks like there may not be much left alive there.
See the article
http://en.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/Botanical_Cruiser
On another note shouldn’t there be two pesidental polls in this episode since there are two president in this episode? Roslin did waste any time to make a major change in the fleet.
Now this episode opens with Jammer “on trial” and the Chief has to answer whether Jammer saving Cali mitigates Jammer and the rest of the Human Police after they killed 23 people. This was exactly what Anders wanted Tigh to spare Ellen of, she saved Tigh, but her actions also led to the deaths of multiple soldiers and it would have been Tigh being asked if her actions warrant saving her life, while he’s standing in that circle with Anders, the Chief and all the others.
Even though I love having Roslyn as President, I realized something while watching this episode that never occurred to me. After Baltar won the election and appointed Zarek as VP, Zarek quickly stood up to Baltar after the what happened planet side and was put in detention for his trouble and was later even put on the execution list by the cylons. After the return to formal government, even with Adama not WANTING Zarek to be President, why would he resign, I mean Adama didn’t WANT Baltar to be President, but it didn’t destroy the government, there was no coup from Adama and Zarek, especially this reformed version of Zarek, certainly couldn’t have been worse than Baltar at the job. It would have been interesting if he had been able to remain in power for a time, especially since we find out that he authorized the whole Collaborator’s Circle later in this episode (an organization headed by Tighclops, a man who formerly hated Zarek).
I LOVE Adama’s reaction to his son’s comment about dropping half a stone (7lbs or ~3.2 kilos for those outside the British Isles, Australia and New Zealand, which I must say, after only 3 days post Exodus, from multiple statements in the episode IS quite impressive), he looks up and dryly says “keep jumpin’.”
It was so disturbing, that while Roslyn was making her second inaugural address, we see Tigh unpacking Ellen’s belongings and hanging up her clothes. Something that gets paid off in a later episode.
So, while Roslyn pardons the entire fleet, I forget, is the reason this pardon doesn’t, in the end extend to Baltar, because he wasn’t a member of the fleet at the time of the pardon issue, since he was on the cylon Base Star?