Revelations lives up to its title in how many things are revealed during the course of the episode, such as the final four Cylons--Tigh, Tory, Anders and Tyrol--being exposed for what they truly are to the Colonials. With Adama deciding to launch a risky rescue mission to save the captured members of Galactica (with Roslyn included among their ranks) aboard the rebel Cylon base ship, Tigh finally decides to man up and admit that he’s a Cylon to his close friend, in the hopes that Adama might be able to use him as a bargaining chip against the awakened Cylon leader D’anna. The scene where Tigh confronts Adama, a close and lifelong buddy, with the fact that he’s a Cylon is electrifying to watch, and Michael Hogan and Edward Olmos knock it out of the ballpark with their brilliant acting.

The order to arrest Tigh is the last straw that breaks Adama completely. Thirty years of friendship with a man who turns out to be the enemy is just too much for the Old Man to take, and Lee--who’s been elected interim president--steps up to the plate to deal with the scheming D’anna in a nerve-wracking confrontation that recalls some of the best cold war-era thrillers. But a potential resolution might be found in the oddest of places: Starbuck’s Viper, which begins emitting a mysterious signal that only the final four Cylons can hear. Starbuck frantically tries to decipher the signal before Lee decides to airlock Tigh, Anders and Tyrol in a power play against D’anna, who’s threatening to do the same with her Colonial hostages.

This dazzling confrontation is the culmination of the first half of season four. All of the episodes before lead right up to this moment, and director Michael Rymer does a marvelous job in ratcheting up the tension to the point where the viewer thinks they will simply explode. And, up to this moment, Revelations is already a classic, epic episode that's fraught with plenty of 'edge of your seat' suspense. But what happens in the final, shocking scene, where the crew of both the Galactica and the Cylon base ship are all standing around stunned on the shores of a devastated Earth, is simply a monumental achievement that is rarely seen on TV. There’s not even a mere glimmer of hope to be seen here; the despair both seen and felt in this final scene is absolute.

Using a blend of location shooting and CGI, Rymer expertly choreographs this final scene in one long, continuous take--using the entire BSG cast, who are all dazed and heartbroken as they face the destruction of not just earth, but of their dream; a dream that had kept them going since their civilization was savagely destroyed by the Cylons. And despite the reality that, all along, BSG was so nihilistic enough for people to really be expecting something like this, the fact that it’s still a shocking ending is a testament to the talent of the BSG creative team--both in front of, and behind, the cameras.