Battlestar Galactica: "Daybreak Pt. 2"

(My apologies. Family and work responsibilities prevented me from updating this blog, but I have been keeping up with both Galactica and Lost, and I wanted to comment on the Galactica series finale before going back and filling in the holes that I am leaving by "skipping ahead." With that said...)



"Earth is a dream..."

Well what exactly am I supposed to do with that? My instinct is to say that "Daybreak Part 2" (and Part 1, really) is an impeccably directed, terrifically acted, fantastically scored, balls-to-the-wall...piece of dreck. An episode that while technically sound and at times even great, drops so many balls that it hurts, maybe even cripples, the experience of watching the entire run of the show for the last five years.

Too harsh? Perhaps.

But when a show you have been following with so much passion and emotion gives you an ending akin to the very worst treacly, preachy mess you can think of, an ending that actually uses the open-ended, nonsensical nature of the plot points introduced during the show's last three years to point out the "presence of the divine" before failing to explain those same plot points in any kind of satisfying way, what would you call it? I imagine that some of you might just use a stronger word than "dreck". Making matters worse, there can be little doubt after this one that the creators of Galactica are very skilled at the more technical aspects of their craft.

From the opening salvos of the Colony attack to the last moments we get to spend with Adama (note I didn't say the very last minutes of the episode), "Daybreak" is a testament to ambitious television making. But the writers simply didn't give these tremendous actors, directors, and all the other people clearly pouring their hearts and souls into the project something substantial to work with. And that is a real, real pity.

Because this episode takes its dear sweet time in doing anything substantive (long-form flashbacks will do that to a show's momentum (see, for all its greatness, Lost)), I don't think a great deal of plot synopsis is necessary. Suffice it to say, all of the main characters get elaborate Lost-style flashbacks to Caprica before it was nuked, those volunteering to stay with Galactica (including "surprise" volunteer Gaius Baltar) jump to the Colony and rescue Hera, Starbuck leaps Galactica to Earth, our Earth, by playing All Along the Watchtower on the FTL drive, and the characters give up all their technology to live with Neanderthals in our ancient past.

The end.

But even in that short synopsis, the major issues which cripple the finale are apparent.

First, it's difficult for me to see the presence of an Earth-2 as anything short of a complete cop-out. Much of the impact of this season's high-water mark, "Sometimes a Great Notion", was predicated on the idea that the "Earth" the fleet found in that episode (actually the episode prior) was our Earth. That we, the audience, could take lessons from the fact that we were actually Cylons, not colonials. That, like the humans in "Planet of the Apes", we had destroyed ourselves.

These revelations helped give a different perspective to events onboard Galactica. They gave the series added emotional resonance. And they were all lies.

Having the fleet arrive on the "real" Earth (at least the one with an Australia) and having Adama simply name it Earth to reflect the fact that "Earth is a dream" is a cop-out plain and simple. It is, in my opinion, patently unacceptable slight of hand that treats the most dedicated members of the audience(those likely to have been the most vociferous in their support of the low-rated program) with little more than contempt at their dedication.

Unfortunately, this is but one half of the finale's dual dose of ill-conceived plot points. Even more problematic is the methodology the writer's used to get the fleet to Earth 2 in the first place, and just what that methodology means to the meaning of the show.

A couple years back, M. Night Shayamalan (when he could still do no wrong) made a movie with Mel Gibson (when he could still do no wrong) called Signs. In that movie, the presence of God and the divine was established in the way the members of a small rural family, unbeknownst to them, had been providently given the tools to ward off an alien invasion in the coincidental idiosyncrasies of their seemingly insignificant lives. In other words, the plot of Signs eschewed one of writing's golden rules by deliberately using the concept of "coincidence" as a major plot point.

Unfortunately, while it is may make for interesting late night philosophical discussions, the concept of coincidence as the "footprint" of the divine is a fundamentally flawed premise on which to rest a scripted narrative. This is because coincidence on its own is essentially random. That's what makes it "coincidence" rather than "plan". By making random happenstance the thesis on which your story is premised, you can't help but make your audience a bit nihilistic as to the meaning of it all. After all, if the whole point of a story is that "God's plan is mysterious and unknowable" what point is there in trying to suss out any other meaning?

Like Signs, "Daybreak" suffers from these same nihilistic tendencies.

Why was the Colony destroyed? Because a piece of debris happened to kill a Raptor pilot while her missiles were armed, before another piece of debris happened to jostle the dead pilot in such a way as to launch the missiles when it was most beneficial to the colonials.

Why did negotiations between the colonials and the Cylons break down? Because one of the "Five" had killed another of the Five's spouses and that secret was revealed at the perfect time to cause mass mayhem.

How did the fleet find Earth 2? By "playing" All Along the Watchtower on the FTL drive.

Who played that fateful song? The dead (yet strangely corporeal) spirit of Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace.

And how is this all explained? In a wooden soliquily given by the terribly underserved character of Dr. Gaius Baltar, who points out all of these coincidences and strange events (including the presence of the "Head" people), as proof of the existence of the divine.

Unlike Signs, however, Galactica had five full years of back stories and open plot points to make hollow with this feeble attempt at a wrap-up. And the answer to any and every question ever posed by Ron Moore and company was apparently "God."

What are Head Six and Head Baltar? Uh...angels? Demons? Gods?

What is Kara Thrace? Uh...an angel, maybe?

So Kara actually killed herself when she inexplicably flew into the Maelstrom in Season 3? Yup...so it would appear.

And how did she come back? God.

Who gave Starbuck the coordinates to Earth? God.

How did Starbuck originally wind up on Earth (in Maelstrom)? Uh...God's ability to transport matter.

Why didn't God lead Starbuck to Earth 2? Unknown...God's plans are mysterious.

How is Starbuck the "Harbinger of Death" (as foretold by the Hybrid)? Unknown...possibly because she ended Cylon resurrection, though it seems odd that the creators of the show would highlight this portion of the prophecy a few episodes ago if that is the case. Nah...must be God.

Who are "they" in the Hybrid's prophecy and why must they not "follow" Starbuck? Not only do I have no idea on this one, it appears that the producers of the show simply dropped this from the prophecy entirely. Starbuck does little in Season 4 that anyone should not follow. She leads humanity to "its end", but not to its death. Why would humanity not follow her? In truth, I think the prophecy's "they must not follow her" was simply a smokescreen designed to encourage distrust of Starbuck, and the writers felt that they could explain it away as innocuous at some point in the future. That being said, never before have I seen a show so completely ignore a portion of a prophecy that it spent such large amounts of screen time establishing. Even the beleaguered Alias made token efforts to explain the "she will rend the greatest power unto utter desolation" prophecy. Galactica's effort here was a joke.

What is the "truth of the opera house?" No idea. That the Galactica's CIC is the opera house? That Hera is the key to everything? Must be God.

Who is the Dying Leader? You could certainly read that Galactica was the dying leader, given its "death" in this one, but I think Roslin is the more correct answer. She does die before Adama builds his cabin so you could argue that at least this prophecy was fulfilled.

What triggered the Final Five in the nebula? Uh..."All Along the Watchtower", weren't you watching?

Right, but what is "All Along the Watchtower" in the narrative of the show? Uh...a message from God containing the coordinates of Earth 2.

Convenient. And how did Hera get the musical score to "Watchtower" (and was it Dylan's version)? God (and, no, it was McCreary's version, couldn't you tell?).

See what I mean? Like Signs, the entire purpose behind the inexplicable events on the show seems to have been to give form to the show's concept of divine will. And like Signs, that explanation for everything can't help but feel hollow in the end.

So what do I do with this finale? There can be little doubt that Galactica on the whole has given me many more good memories than bad. From debating with a friend the rightness of Roslin's attempts to steal an election she knew she must win, to the raw awesomeness of Galactica falling through the atmosphere of New Caprica before jumping to safety, I can't change the fact that I loved this show. And the action portions of "Daybreak" do more than enough to evoke those fantastic memories. But the plodding flashbacks, the nonsensical narrative, and the (literal) deus ex machina ending, hurt everything that came before.

I guess in many ways it is the age old question of whether it's the journey or the destination. Do the earlier events on Galactica lose some of their luster knowing that, in the end, it was all a function of God's unknowable will? Undoubtedly. But is the impact of those events ruined? Not quite.

In many ways, I feel that the show I thought I had been watching, like the characters' "Earth", was but a dream. Taking Adama's lead, then, I'm simply going to rename things to suit that dream. From now on I will be referring to Lost as "Battlestar Galactica".

There, that solves everything.

Once again "Battlestar Galactica" is the best show on TV.

Mission Accomplished.

Quick Thoughts:

Caprica - Perhaps I'm just a cynical person, but the flashbacks in this one served so little purpose that I can't help but think they were designed solely to establish Ron Moore's ability to pen his prime-time soap set on pre-nuke Caprica. Another mission accomplished, I suppose.

The Head People - I think in the past I would have spent some time determining whether or not Head Six really wanted Baltar to join the rescue mission at the beginning of this episode. But since I think it's apparent at this point that Ron Moore and company really had no particular plan in mind (divine or otherwise), I don't think I'll waste your time. As far as I'm concerned, the scene towards the beginning of this one with Baltar and Head Six was included purely to add some drama as to whether or not Baltar would stay behind (as if there was ever any doubt).

Quick Forgiveness - Was anyone else bothered by the fact that Chief Tyrol got off so easy for his murder of fellow "Final Five" member Tory? I mean, not only is murder as vengeance generally unacceptable even in the fleet, he also murdered one of the last five members of an entire race (the Earth Cylons certainly seemed significantly different from their colonial counterparts) and jeopardized what, at the time, seemed to be the only chance for a brokered peace for humanity. And his only penalty is being relegated to Scotland to invent prehistoric golf? Doesn't seem right.

The Importance of Being Hera - Ok. So retroactive continuity aside, we are really to believe that the Head people (angels?) were simply maneuvering Baltar and Caprica Six so that they would "save" Hera during the Colony raid (did they actually save her from anything)? That simply does not match up with everything else they have done throughout the history of the series. I mean, why did Baltar need to lead a cult, for just one example. Also, aside from the fact that Hera's running about the ship in the middle of a firefight was as inexplicable as it was frustrating, what makes her so important? I get that she's the future of the races and all, but let's say, worst case scenario, that she were to die. Both Helo and Athena survived. What's to stop them from making another one?

Helo's Resurrection - Okay, so Helo wasn't actually resurrected in this episode (which is apparently more than I can say for other characters on the show), but weren't we to assume in the scene where Athena is applying the tourniquet that Helo would die if she left him to chase after Hera. That's what's implied when she state's "you'll bleed out", right? And then, when we later see Athena and Hera reunited, they are both shaking from the shock of it all, Helo nowhere to be seen. Yet, in the final moments of the episode we see the full family reunited, giving us the only truly happy ending of the entire series. How was Helo saved? I sense a last minute editing change...

Boomer's Redemption - So Boomer works with Cavil to return Ellen and steal Hera, but on the way back to the Colony, Boomer gets a heart (three sizes too big) and becomes attached to her doppelganger's little girl. She then kills a Simon who is working on Hera before returning her to the fleet and dying at the hands of Athena. Really? Boomer changed her mind about the Cylon endgame solely by virtue of her long road trip back to the Colony? I guess Cavil should have parked it a bit closer to the fleet, eh?

The Coward's Way Out - Speaking of Cavil, how anti-climatic is it to have the main bad guy simply blow his own brains out during the climatic final act of a five year marathon? And why did he do it anyway? Surely the Cylons had been in worse positions than the one facing them at the Colony (at least before the nukes). Just anti-climatic.

Coda - Though it doesn't have the sweeping impact of Moore's "God is the answer" initiative, I would be remiss if I didn't point out the huge error that was the "150,000 years later" Coda. I mean, the show had, for all practical purposes, just ended with the majestic shot of Adama at his love's grave with Bear McCreary's drum-fuelled score leading us out the door, when all of a sudden we are in Times Square witnessing a meta-commentary on the state of the world with Head Six and Head Baltar (and, most meta of all, Ron Moore himself) and video clips of toy robots? This is how one of the "best" shows in science fiction history ended? A mistake on all counts.
More after the jump...

Battlestar Galactica: "Deadlock"

"Any mythic revelations? Nope, nothing to report sir."

Well that's perhaps the understatement of the year.

After the monumental answers provided in last week's "No Exit", the show's producers apparently thought that they deserved a week off. I hope that whatever the Canadian equivalent of Atlantic City is was kind to them, because it certainly wasn't as nice to the show. Really guys, I hope you struck it big.

To begin with, practically nothing happens in this episode, "mythic" or otherwise. Sure, Ellen arrives and stirs up trouble (interesting to see that the "real" Ellen so nicely matches the brainwashed human version, though I could have done without the deliberate baby killing), Adama oversees the Cylonification of the Galactica, and Baltar, dear Baltar, finally gets a plot line. Unfortunately, that's about it.

With four episodes remaining, "Deadlock" puts us no closer to anything the show has been building towards. Whether it's the discovery of a "home" for Humanity (and the "good" Cylons), what Starbuck is or how she led the fleet to Earth, the nature of any one of about three prophecies ("Dying Leader", "Truth of the Opera House", "You must not follow her", etc.), the location of Cavil and the endgame between the "good" and "bad" Cylons, how and why the Final Five were "triggered", or anything else, nothing in this episode moves the major plot lines of the show forward at all.

(As a side note to the above, isn't it interesting that the show should have so thoroughly established in this one that we are to see the Six model as "good"? Perhaps it's just me, but I didn't see Cavil holding a gun to any of the other models' heads when they were all doing bad acts on Caprica. Isn't this a bit like forgiving soldiers for war crimes because they were just "following orders." Nobody made Caprica or any of the other models commit the atrocities they did (at least not that we know of), and yet we, like the members of the fleet, are just supposed to forgive and forget. Despite the mutiny arc, not enough attention has been paid to how incredible a request this is and how it is being perceived by the less militaristic members of the fleet. I can't imagine that it's going over well.)

Perhaps the worst thing is that this episode makes me feel that I might have been too strident in my criticism of the "mutiny" plot line. It was Shakespearean in comparison. Had I known at the time that the show's producers felt so good about the number of episodes remaining in the series that they could afford to take an episode off, I wouldn't have made such a big deal about the show "spinning its wheels." If the writers otherwise only had 5 episodes of plot than we could do worse than spending three of the other episodes on a cool little mutiny story line.

But wait, wasn't I just writing about the way in which the information given to us last week seemed rushed (If it seems like I've been complaining about this show a lot lately, it's only because of how much I've enjoyed it over the years. I just want to see it end with a bang.) There were so many "answers" given last week and the method of delivering them was so mechanical and inorganic that I just assumed that the show's writers had so much plot to dispense that they simply had to give us a talking heads episode to "catch us up" to where we needed to be. Given the fact that outside of the death of Caprica Six's baby, nothing of any importance actually occurs in this one, I can't imagine that the real estate of a second hour couldn't have been used to better effect to realize the "answer dump" in a more organic way.

Quite frankly, I have no real desire to delve any further into the minutiae of this one. The whole thing just disappointed me. As always, it was very well acted, with particular credit to the scene in which a tearful Colonel Tigh tries to convince Caprica Six that he loves her, but superior acting alone simply can't cut it when the stakes are so high. Bring on next week, it can't come soon enough.

My Quick Thoughts:

A Blended Population - As a little bit of insult to injury, even the "big points" in this episode had the tendency to fall flat. The ship is blending together, Cylons and Humans. We get it. The real question is why the Admiral hadn't gotten it before the end of the episode. Are we really expected to believe that he didn't understand what the mutiny was all about? The mutineers certainly did. Baltar's incredulity at Adama's obliviousness towards the end of the episode was a nice touch (and stand-in as an audience proxy), but it doesn't explain how Adama could have missed the obviousness of it all in the first place. His arc in this one is completely based on his being less than intelligent, something that we know he's not. As such, it seems completely artificial all the way through the episode's end credits.

"Dying Leader" Report - As mentioned last week, the show's continuing emphasis on what is happening to the ship has only strengthened my belief that the Galactica herself is the "dying leader". Nothing in this one really changed my perception on this one way or the other, except to note that the numerous mentions of the Galactica becoming Cylon does leave the writers with another "out", narratively speaking. If, as was suggested to me by some other fans, there simply is no way to adequately convey that the Galactica is the dying leader (I don't believe this for a second, by the way, given the abilities of the Galactica writing staff) then the whole plot line has to mean something else, and the Cylon transformation may just be that "something".

In this scenario, the Galactica was never the "dying leader". The cracks were simply a plot device to get Adama to authorize the Cylonification of the ship: a transformation that, in the most literary sense, could serve as a mirror for the transformation occurring in the composition of the ship's crew. While this is a fairly clean reading of the plot line, it still seems too trifling for the show's producers to have spent this much time establishing. Still, the existence of an inconsequential hour like "Deadlock" gives me pause. If the show's writers can waste so much time on this nothing, who's to say that they couldn't have created the whole "cracks in Galactica" plot line simply to point out the transformation that was obvious to everyone in the fleet (save for Bill Adama, see above) weeks ago.

A Love to Last Forever - Perhaps it's just me, but the major problem I had with the Caprica Six baby story line is that I never bought into the fact that Colonel Tigh loved Caprica, and certainly not to the extent that he loved Ellen. Knowing that the audience was aware that Cylon women could only conceive in love (as was established in the Athena/Helo plot lines many years ago), I think that the mere fact of conception was used as a bit of a proxy by the show's writers for the love that Tigh was supposed to feel for his knocked-up Cylon girlfriend. In Hollywood parlance, the whole relationship seemed to me to be a case of the writers "telling" rather than "showing." "Tigh must love Caprica," they seem to be saying, "otherwise he never would have conceived a child with her". Never mind that outside of a few tearful scenes in this one (all practically post-baby), we never felt like we really got to see Tigh internalize that love.

After Ellen - As mentioned above, it was really interesting to see Ellen return to her "human" ways as a conniving, manipulative, ahem...witch. The Ellen in "No Exit" seemed almost calm and aloof by comparison, sparring with Cavil as she did. One could be forgiven for thinking after watching "No Exit" that the mind wipe voodoo worked on the Final Five by Cavil changed their personalities in fundamental ways, but the return of Ellen as Galactica's own Lady Macbeth pretty quickly dispels that notion. Apparently even the brain washed Final Five were still inherently themselves, they just thought that they were human. As I said, interesting.

Wall of Shame - Maybe it's just me, but I thought that having the Cylons put pictures of dead "skinjobs" on the wall of memory was far too distasteful. And this coming from a guy who hasn't even had 99.5% of his species exterminated less than five years ago by the very "people" that now seek to remember their fallen comrades. Perhaps more to the point in terms of fleet dynamics, are we even on the same ship that almost rose up to take control from Adama for being too much a Cylon-sympathizer? You mean to tell me that no angry Galacticans tore those pictures off the wall? It's one thing to ask Humanity to silently and graciously move past the differences that define the species. It's quite another to ask them to allow their own memorial to be co-opted by pictures of the very people that required them to create it in the first place.

More after the jump...

Battlestar Galactica: "No Exit"

"It's in her bones, Admiral. Her bones are rotten."

And so the final season begins in earnest.

As I said last week, while the "mutiny" arc was rousing good fun, I couldn't help but view those episodes with the eye of a terminally ill hospital patient: things that would have seemed so important just a few short months ago simply weren't when faced with the encroaching certainty of the end. I hyperbolize, but it's nonetheless difficult to imagine an episode that could be more different from the mutiny arc than "No Exit."

To begin with, "No Exit" features virtually no action of any kind. Where the halls of the Galactica had just recently been filled with the sounds of small arms fire, here the only sounds are those of Chief Tyrol and his crew inspecting the creaking innards of the once proud ship. The rest of the episode's "plot" is essentially relayed in the form of two stories: one being told by the injured Anders, whose brain trauma has apparently allowed him to remember his life as a Cylon before the war, the other being told as the interplay between a near-psychotic Cavil and the newly-revived Ellen Tigh over the course of the 18 months after she was murdered by her husband, Saul.

As a result of the lack of action, "No Exit" can best be thought of as what I call an "answer dump" episode. We've seen these before, whether as an attempt to appease mystified network executives (Season 3 of Alias), or as an attempt to appease a dwindling and confused fan base (Season 6 of X-Files). (While I'm sure that there are more examples of the form, these were simply the first two that sprang to mind. Interesting side note: both episodes share the same name, "Full Disclosure".) While Galactica certainly doesn't have to worry about either of these factors this late in its run, it has to worry about something else - expediency. Otherwise there really is no reason to have an entire episode of television devoted to background exposition, but with the end looming, I imagine the producers of Galactica felt as if they had no other choice.

Fortunately, the questions themselves are interesting enough that the show can survive an hour-long stint of mere talking heads. Here's a quick summary of what I think we know after this episode (please feel free to correct me in the comments if you think I missed or mischaracterized anything):

- In the beginning, the Humans lived on Kobol.

- They invented the race of Cylons.

- The Cylons rebelled ("All this has happened before...").

- The Kobol Cylons invented resurrection (but not faster than light travel).

- Humans and Cylons went their separate ways after the war, Cylons to Earth and Humans to the 12 colonies.

- At some point, the Humans begin referring to their rebellious Cylon children as the "13th Tribe."

- Earth Cylons then learned how to procreate without resurrection. The secrets of resurrection were lost to them.

- Earth Cylons invented a new race of AI.

- The new race of AI rebelled (The results of this rebellion are the remains of Earth that we see in "Sometimes A Great Notion").

- Prior to the Earth AI rebellion, Tigh, Ellen, Tyrol, Tory, and Anders were tipped off that a revolution was coming. They began work to restore the resurrection program and prepared themselves to be resurrected in a ship orbiting Earth once the bombs fell.

- After the destruction of Earth (2,000 years before the beginning of Galactica), the Final Five traveled to the colonies at sublight speed to tell Humanity to be respectful of any AI progeny it created. They arrived after the first Cylon war, too late to prevent any rebellion.

- The Final Five then elected to counsel the centurions, themselves having developed a religious belief in one true god. Thinking that this belief was critical to preventing the cycle of war, Ellen and the rest of the Five became leaders of the Cylon people, creating 8 model "skinjobs" to move the Cylons towards humanity and religious salvation. "John" Cavil was the first.

- Cavil, resentful of being created with the limitations of a human and jealous of Ellen's love for the other models, "poisoned" the DNA of model number 7, Daniel, who, we are led to believe, never came online as a Cylon (I do suspect, however, that the show has at least one last secret in store for us on this score.)

- After the "poisoning" Cavil takes command of the Cylon people and "boxes" the Final Five, removing their memories and forcing them to live among the 12 colonies as Humans.

- The Galactica mini-series begins.

- The Colony at which the Five produced the skinjobs remains "still there."

As you can see, there is a lot to take in from "No Exit", and that's skipping any description of the limited "action" that makes up the episode (namely Tyrol's convincing Adama to make the Galactica part Cylon, Anders becoming brain dead after having the bullet in his head removed, and Boomer freeing Ellen from the clutches of the vile gangster John Cavill). While this is exactly the kind of thing I've been looking forward to ever since the show raised so many mythology-based questions in "Sometimes a Great Notion", I still can't help but think that there was a better way to get all of this information across, one that didn't involve a full third of the season being used to tell a pretty traditional coup narrative.

That being said, an "answer dump" episode really lives and dies on the answers which it provides. Though I will always believe that there was a more organic way for Ron Moore and company to present the information, I can't deny that the answers themselves are incredibly thought-provoking and have me ready and raring to go to see next week's episode.

Some Quick Thoughts:

A Dying Leader - I almost did this as a separate post last week, but given the fact that, in my view, the hypothesis was only strengthened in "No Exit", I thought I would mention that my thoughts on the Galactica as "dying leader" where certainly received very differently by certain members of the fan base, particularly on Alan Sepinwall's blog.

Here are a few excerpts:

Anonymous said...

"How could Galactica be the dying leader if the "dying leader will know the truth of the opera house"? The hybrid is clearly talking about Laura Roslin."

I said...

"Judging from the five figures waiting in the wings in those scenes, I think one could argue that the "truth" was in fact the identity of the final five Cylons. If that is the case, who knew better than Galactica the identity of those five? All five were on Galactica for significant periods of time, and perhaps more importantly, remember what the trigger for the final five was: a song coming from within the ship.

Looking at it from that perspective, I think it's more than plausible that Galactica "knew" the truth of the opera house and conveyed that truth in the nebula at the end of season 3.

It may not be the most obvious reading of the "opera house" prophecy, but in my experience the most obvious reading is usually not the right one. (For instance, I don't think that Starbuck will be leading humanity to its "end" in the most literal way (death). Instead I think she will lead them home.)"

This analysis went over well with some people...

"Richard Hoeg - though I'm not entirely convinced they are going in that direction or would be able to play out that metaphor for mass consumption easily enough, you do present one of the best theories about how/why Galactica being the dying leader would be the case."

"First, I agree with all of Richard Hoeg's post"

And not so well with others...

"And to Richard Hoeg: keep your blog to yourself. You are wrong."

"Richard Hoeg: are you being obtuse on purpose? Kara Thrace is the harbinger of death! Not some nice happy "end."Galactica is not a dying leader. It is not a cylon. It is antiquated old battleship. Get off it - if the writers meant what you are suggesting, the show would be completely stupid."

I had the last word (but only because I took it.)

"First, with respect to Kara's "harbinger" prophecy. I know that the way it's presented implies that Starbuck is bad business, but let's look at each statement individually.

"Kara Thrace will lead the human race to its end."

As I've already stated, this doesn't mean anything independently. She might be leading them to death or to their final home. Could go either way.

"She is the herald of the apocalypse."

One reading: Following Starbuck will destroy the fleet. Second reading: Starbuck led the fleet to Earth, a planet that had most definitely experienced an apocalypse.

"The harbinger of death."

As I stated before, she enabled the fleet to end Cylon immortality forever. In a very real way she was the harbinger of death. The prophecy was even highlighted during this episode. (In the alternative, as mentioned above, she also was mainly responsible for bringing the fleet to Earth, where the Colonials, including Starbuck, found little else but death.)

"They must not follow her."

Admittedly, I don't know what to do with this one except to note how the statement specifically uses two general pronouns to hide its true meaning. Who are "they?" The Colonials? The Cylons? Who is her? Starbuck? Perhaps, but remember we have just been introduced to a new Cylon who is expected to "claw toward the light". Could the "her" be Ellen? I'm sure we'll find out.

Finally with respect to Galactica as "dying leader" I note only two things. First, there is no reason to believe that the category of "leader" is limited to living beings. Think of "loss leaders", or "leading economic indicators" (so often in the news today) for examples of when leadership is not specific to a given individual. Second, note that the concept of dying is also not limited to the living. "My car just died." In a universe with a "disease" that affects only machines (Cylons), it seems odd to limit the definition of "dying leader" in the way you suggest."

Suffice it to say, I feel that my positions were only strengthened by the lengthy scenes in "No Exit" discussing the deteriorating integrity of the Galactica. Look at the quote at the start of this post. Tyrol twice refers to the Galactica as female and discusses with Adama the fact that "her" bones are rotten. Some might even say "wasting" away. I think the facts speak for themselves.

New Intro - I loved the new intro with all of its focus on Ellen and the fact that "all of this has happened before." I just wanted to point out to all those that suggested that the "mutiny" arc didn't involve at least some amount of stalling for time, that the presence of a brand new introduction to a show with only six episodes remaining is a highly unusual step for the show's producers to take, and one which I think reflects the added importance of this episode and the episodes to come. As always, these comments are not intended to overly critique what I thought was a very good trilogy of episodes. My intent is simply to point out what I believe is becoming ever more obvious, that the true "final episodes" skipped straight from "Sometimes A Great Notion" to "No Exit" with nary a stop in between.

Said another way, I have absolutely no problem imagining a scenario in which Tyrol hears something funny in Galactica and Anders has an unexplained stroke in a hypothetical episode immediately following the events of "Sometimes a Great Notion." Would anything in "No Exit" really have to change to accommodate this revised scenario? The scene in the dead quorum's chambers, sure, but anything else?

Cavil Knows Best - If you're anything like me you had long assumed that the reason the "skinjobs" were not permitted to think of the Final Five (though we saw how effective that programming was) was because the Five themselves had programmed the skinjobs that way (or, in the alternative, the skinjobs had placed the block in their programming out of an extreme sense of piety). In this episode, we find out (though induction rather than by exposition), that Cavil must have been the one to program the other skinjobs to not think about the Five.

The show's producers really took a number of steps in this episode to personify Cavil as the evil that had previously been attributable to all Cylons, but the realization that Cavil knew who the Five were all along has to be one of the most significant (particularly since we have no present connection to the murdered Number 7). As Ellen points out, Cavil knew their identities and still he tortured Tigh on New Caprica, still he took advantage of Ellen, and still he hunted Anders. Cavil is the very definition of evil and a useful antagonist for the end run of the series. I wonder, however, whether or not his evil sufficiently absolves the rest of the Cylons for their part in the genocide of Humanity, though it certainly seems to be the producers' intent.

Boomer's Gambit - The fact that Cavil introduces a resurrected Ellen to Sharon "Boomer" Valeri well before the events of this episode casts an entirely new light on the Cylon rebellion which occurred during the first half of this season (or last season depending on your point of view). During that rebellion, the deciding vote to "lobotomize" the Cylon raiders was made by Boomer, marking the first time that an individual Cylon had ever voted against their model number.

Of course, what we now know is that Boomer was given significant information that the rest of her line didn't have when she was introduced to and got to speak with a resurrected Ellen Tigh. The rest of the Eights wanted to prevent the lobotomization because they didn't want the raiders to fire on a member of the revered Final Five. Boomer, on the other hand, had a name to put with at least one of their faces, and when Ellen refused to apologize for the hurt that she had inflicted on Cavil, the die was cast. Boomer would eventually change her mind in this one, but not before starting a full scale civil war.

Humans Only - It was a small moment but an interesting one when Adama ordered Tyrol to fix his ship with a crew that was "humans only." Despite his willingness to work with both Tyrol and Tigh, it's clear that Adama doesn't really think of the two as Cylons. In contrast, the look on Tyrol's face was perfect, telling us all we needed to know about just how aware Tyrol is of his new status, as well as his thoughts on the inherent "racism" of the Admiral's request.

I'm a PC - Just as an interesting type-casting aside, I felt it necessary to note that the brain surgeon who was assigned to work on Anders was none other than the "PC" from Apple's famous "I'm a Mac" ads. I guess we can assume that the Cylons aren't running Leopard. Perhaps they prefer Linux?

Glowing - Really good staging in the scene where Anders sees all of the people at his bedside as glowing angels. It was easy to see that everyone the producers put in the scene was a known Cylon except for Starbuck. Does the glowing aura around Starbuck indicate that she too has a Cylon secret to share? Or was the glowing simply a side effect of Anders having a bullet lodged in his skull? You can read the scene either way, though I think the fact that Anders didn't have any information to give Starbuck in this episode tacks away from the theory that she is a Cylon. It's all too obvious an answer at this point.

The Leeward side - Perhaps one of the more cloying and artificial plot lines on the show has always been Lee Adama's. The show's producers never really seem to know what to do with him, and this episode is no exception. So when, in his one significant scene, he has a heart-to-heart with President Roslin in which she tells him that he will essentially be serving as president of the colonies because he was always "the one", pardon me if I gag a little. While I certainly have enjoyed many of Apollo's scenes throughout the years he has been fighter pilot, lawyer, presidential wannabe, quorum delegate, "john", husband, philanderer, mutineer (so often forgotten in the excitement of the past few weeks), and basically everything except for "the one." Just seems a bit too pat to me.

No Baltar - Nothing much to say here, just noting that a character who had seemed so important as few as five episodes ago once again got short shrift in this one (He didn't even appear). Oh well.

More after the jump...

Battlestar Galactica: "Blood on the Scales"

"This was a hell of a ship, once."

Ladies and Gentlemen, I was wrong.

Not about the show's overall lack of forward momentum mind you, but about something a bit more significant, at least to the show's overall mythology. But more on that later. First let's discuss my overall sense of "Blood on the Scales", the final episode of the civil war/mutiny arc started in "A Disquiet Follows My Soul" and continued in "The Oath." As last week's episode showed quite clearly, Ron Moore and company certainly know how to stage a rousing action sequence. This week's episode is no different, and, if possible, the action continues at an even more furious pace.

With the mutineers in control of both the military and civilian governments as the episode begins, much of the early conflict relies on the difference in philosophy between head mutineers Felix Gaeta and Tom Zarek. While Zarek sees the coup for what it is, a power grab, Gaeta sees the mutiny as a means to pursue the much more elusive concept of "justice". This difference is most apparent in the way the two men deal with their enemies. Whereas Gaeta seeks to justify his actions by trying Adama for "war crimes", Zarek delivers his message to the Quorum through the more definitive method of summary execution. Though Gaeta's "trial" is nothing but a sham, it does give the show's producers the opportunity to bring back fan-favorite (and lover of phantom cats) Romo Lampkin as Adama's defense counsel. Unfortunately the appearance is largely wasted save for one scene where the character (as is becoming habit in the Galactica universe) gets to prove the old adage that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword (or assault rifle as the case may be).

The larger conflict takes up much of the episode's second half, with virtually every major character taking at least some small part in taking back the ship. From Lee and Starbuck's military invasion, to Chief Tyrol's "Die Hard"-esque run to the Galactica's FTL drive, the show does a good job in giving everyone a role to play. (The sole exception to this is Baltar, who I discuss in greater detail below). Even Roslin gets to convey her rage while lamenting the thought of losing her dear Adama. Though this is the sole note that she's been allowed to play over the last two episodes, it's a note she plays well.

And all this plays out like the conclusion to a great action movie. Unfortunately, in some ways it's an action movie that we've all seen before. The execution fake out, the freeing of captives, the deadly writing utensil, heck, even the lead "bad guy" having a crisis of conscience right before the end. But the episode does deliver. As an action piece separate from anything else in the series, I would have to say that the "Oath"/"Blood" combination ranks right up there with the best the show has to offer. That being said, I am most definitely of two minds on this one.

On the one hand, everything I said above is true. The episode is a standout both in action and in tension, and the beats played by both Zarek and Gaeta seem true to the characters we have come to know over the years. On the other hand, however, my concern that the show was using this "civil war" arc to effectively stall for time seems to have been vindicated. As I stated last week, the show could have avoided this sense of stalling by making sure that there was a real impact to be felt from the mutiny. While one could argue that this episode features just such an impact with the loss of Gaeta, Zarek, and the Quorum, I feel quite differently.

In the middle of this episode, there is a scene where Roslin manages to communicate with the fleet and tells them not to spin up their FTL drives but instead to stay with the Cylon baseship. We are told that 10 of the 35 remaining ships in the fleet follow Roslin's instructions and are prepared to stay behind. Gaeta's response to this is essentially to say "good riddance" and leave the problem ships for dead. Aha, I thought. This is the impact I have been seeking. This mutiny is going to split the fleet, and the world of Galactica will never be the same. Humanity will be down to it's last, precious few, and the stakes will be higher than ever. Alas, Chief Tyrol made sure that that was not to be.

So what effect did all this have? None really. Roslin and Adama maintain their positions of power. The fleet remains the same. Sure, we're down one political body, but I suspect that it will be easily replaced. At the end of the day, the mutiny arc served exactly the purpose I had feared. It certainly feels like the fleet is in exactly the same position it was in at the end of the stellar "Sometimes a Great Notion." Next week, play this little game as you watch. Outside of a few instances which I would expect will address the events of these past few episodes, see if you can't imagine the episode taking place immediately after the Ellen reveal at the end of "Sometimes." My bet is that it won't be that hard.

So at the end of the day, Galactica delivered a tremendously fun and exciting mutiny plot line that didn't advance the plot of the show much if at all. Was it worth it? I strongly suspect that Ron Moore and company wanted to pay off the civilian/military plot lines that had been simmering for the entire run of the show, and they felt that now was the only time they had to do it. Truth be told, they might just be right. I just wish that they could have made the arc seem less like treading water. In my humble and completely un-expert opinion an opportunity was missed by not having the events of these past few episodes bear a greater impact on the fleet or any of the main characters.

Now, didn't I say something about being wrong...

Quick Thoughts:

A Dying Leader - "And the lords anointed a leader to guide the Caravan of the Heavens to their new homeland...the new leader suffered a wasting disease and would not live to enter the new land." Back in my review of "Disquiet", I made reference to the fact that I have never believed that Laura Roslin was the "dying leader" foretold in prophecy to lead her people to the promised land. She was just too easy an answer. For the last little while I had believed that leader to be Baltar, a religious man who would be persecuted and killed just before leading his people home. With the new emphasis on Baltar being a fraud (more on that below), he would seem to be out of the running. So who is the leader? Or should I say, what is?

First, a step back. Over the course of the summer and winter, many Galactica fans were having fun with the question of just who was the final Cylon. Names like Gaeta, Cottle, Zarek, and, yes, even Ellen were bandied about in an effort to identify a secondary character who could serve the role. One of the more interesting hypotheses during this time, at least to me, was the notion that perhaps Galactica herself was the final Cylon. No one could really make the theory fit, of course. The Galactica, after all, is just a big aircraft carrier in space, but the symbolism of having the title "character" of the show serve such an important function stuck with me. As it turns out, the symbolism was right, it was just applied in the wrong place.

The Galactica herself has always been "a leader" guiding the caravan of the heavens (the fleet) towards it new homeland, but it wasn't until this episode that we had any inkling that it might also be suffering from a "wasting disease." After Chief Tyrol succeeds in disabling the ship's FTL drives in this episode, he notices something. In one of the episode's stranger moments, the camera pans up the side of a wall torn to pieces. The shot lingers for more than a few meaningful seconds before cutting away with no further explanation given. What are we to take from this? I don't know for certain, but I think it's a good bet that whatever caused those cracks in the engine room evidence a "wasting disease" that will ultimately bring her down. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have our dying leader. Expect to see her lost before the end.

A View from Afar - It's interesting to think about the perspective that the average ship of the fleet must have had on the events of these past three episodes. As I pointed out last week, I didn't think that Roslin's appeal was all that persuasive to a miner floating between the Galactica and a Cylon baseship. In this episode, that same miner gets hit with multiple wireless calls from Galactica and the baseship with the leadership of the fleet coming apart at the seams. What's happening, and why? It can't be clear on the average ship. I would have liked to see the show deal with this angle a bit more, but admittedly the more important action was taking place on Galactica.

Loyalists - The scene where Adama is freed from his executioners is an interesting one, as is the scene where he takes command back from Gaeta and Zarek. Both scenes feature "mutineers" who knowingly went along with the coup because they felt that Adama was leading the fleet into danger. What should Adama do with these people? He can't rightly depend on them to follow his orders, particularly when he instructs them to escort the Cylons around the fleet. But he can't summarily execute all of them either. It's a quandary, and one that I suspect is a very real one in our world where these kinds of transitions of power occur. I would love to see how this is handled by Adama and the senior crew, but I expect that this will fall somewhere in the cracks between this episode and the next.

An Army of His Own - Now, far be if for me to criticize a really cool set piece scene like the one where Adama and his army of loyal followers take back command of the Galactica, but where in the world did these people come from? All through "The Oath" the show's producers made special effort to show that Adama was essentially on his own. In fact, his solo escorting of Roslin and Baltar with only Tigh, Starbuck, and Lee makes no sense if he has this much support on the ship. Even if I accept that this support existed, which I am willing to grant for a little bit of TV magic, how did these people find out exactly when Adama was "taking back the night." We didn't see any scenes in which any of the main cast were tasked with drumming up support across the ship, so how did these people know? Ah well, I'm just nitpicking. It was a cool scene.

Baltar, Baltar, Baltar - Well, this was not the direction that I had hoped the powers that be would take my beloved Baltar. He was faking his religious devotion the whole time? Really? Like when he offered to give his life to God if that random cultist's boy might live? Like then? Oh well, perhaps Baltar's desire to stop running in this episode evidences some real growth for the character. Growth that actually does result in him believing his religious teachings. I just don't know what to do with him anymore (and I don't think that the show runners do either).

Frantic Roslin - I know that many out there will praise Mary McDonnell's performance in this one, so I may have to be the lone voice of dissent. Outside of the very end of the episode, I found her shrill, almost frantic portrayal of Laura Roslin to be verging on the edge of hysterical. This was not at all the strong female president that she had embodied over the past four years. Instead, it was a frantic woman on the verge of losing her man. The problem is that I just don't think that's the way the part was written. When Roslin tells the Cylons to move their ship into the fleet, and later when she talks about Adama, these are scenes in which she should be conveying all of the vast reservoir of strength that we know that her character possesses. Instead, her line reading of "Do It!" when trying to convince the Cylons to move their baseship exhibits nothing but hysteria.

Whither Anders? - Now, this might have gotten left on the cutting room floor, but didn't anyone else find it odd that with as much time as was spent on the fact that Anders got shot, we didn't see him ultimately rescued or killed? It just seemed to be an odd editing artifact in an otherwise really well produced episode. I suppose we can assume that he was rescued when Romo went back to help Starbuck, but that seems like an odd assumption to make. Since the rest of the plot lines of the episode were pretty neatly resolved with the execution of Gaeta and Zarek, it seems unlikely that we'll ever see Anders' trip from that hallway to Doc Cottle's. Oh well.

It's my Deus in a Box - What was the box Leoben used to break the wireless blocking? Were we supposed to recognize it? The show certainly seemed to be highlighting it in a way to indicate recognition, but if I've seen it before I certainly don't remember it.

Risk of death - This is almost certainly a function of the fact that we know that the show only has a certain number of episodes remaining, but wasn't the sense of tension in this one palpable? I mean, I spent the middle section of this episode trying to determine whether the show could finish its run without Admiral Adama. The strange part is that I came to the conclusion that it could. With only six episodes remaining, I could totally envision an Adama funeral, the rise to power of Lee (or perhaps more symbolically, Tigh), and the impact that such a death would have on the fleet. In my opinion, this just further establishes the benefits of having a set time frame for a show.

For a long time I have been espousing the adoption of the kind of short-form series that is so popular in Europe and Japan. These shows tell a complete story over one or two seasons, and if they continue it is usually with "sequel" seasons taken place with entirely new characters in the same universe. This has many advantages including allowing the producers of the show to tell a complete story, and the one we see here, allowing the producers to make the audience feel that even main characters are in mortal peril. With they manner in which Galactica was "canceled", and the deal ABC struck with Lost, I think we are beginning to realize some of those advantages here in America. It's been a long time coming, I say.
More after the jump...

Battlestar Galactica: "The Oath"

"Madame President, we are in danger of losing this ship."

As expected, "The Oath" picks up almost exactly where last week's episode left off, with the fleet on the brink of civil war. As Adama, Tigh, and Roslin struggle to stave off the growing civilian unrest spurred by the Quorum's anti-Cylon resolution, Gaeta and his growing military insurrection move to take over the Galactica, first by freeing Zarek from the brig, then by taking Adama and Tigh prisoner. There's shooting, there's danger, there's intrigue. And at the end of it all there's the apparent death of Adama and Tigh. What more could you ask?

Not a lot really. The episode definitively returns Galactica to its more action oriented roots, foregoing the big questions just as last week's did. Unlike last week's anti-climax, however, this episode has the benefit of being nothing but climax, a rousing action adventure featuring the return of the potent Lee/Starbuck and Adama/Tigh combinations that had been so energizing in the past. Even Roslin steps up in this one (albeit only after being spurned into action at the thought of losing her new boyfriend to an onslaught of mutineers), commandeering Baltar's pirate signal to deliver her message of Cylon hope and change to the whole of the fleet.

While neither this episode nor the last actually bothers to conclude a given storyline, at least in this one the producers of the show were kind enough to realize that fact, gracing us with the old "To be continued..." in the process. As I mentioned last week, I think that the producers of Galactica, now untethered to a need for ratings or easy marketing ploys, likely crafted the final ten episodes of the show as one big collective. As such, I strongly suspect that most if not all of the remaining episodes will either have an explicit or an implied "To be Continued" aspect to them. While this is to be expected in a serialized show of this type (just look at Lost or 24), it does make it difficult to watch outside the framework of DVD.

All that being said, "The Oath" is an excellent action piece that delivers on many of the things that have made Galactica great over the years. If the show can't give me the answers that I want, than this will definitely do.

Other things to think about:

Time Keeps on Tickin' - I don't want to harp on this every week, but the plain fact of the matter is that we are now down to seven episodes left in Galactica's run. The question remains: When do we start moving towards a finale? The producers of the show made an interesting call in having the fleet discover Earth so early in the season, but the result of that call is that these post-Earth episodes lack focus, a reason for being. What I like about that is that it makes us, as the audience, feel a bit more like the crew of the Galactica themselves. They, after all, are also wandering in the desert, if you will. The difference, however, is that we know exactly how long their wandering will last (or at least how long we get to witness it). This makes it much more difficult to sit idly by while plot lines torn from the first season of the show take center stage.

Oaths - The word "oath" is used in this episode at least twice and both in the service of the mutineers. First, when Zarek baits Lee by playing up the conflict between his father and the oath he swore to be the representative of Caprica. Second, during the opening minutes of Gaeta's mutiny, as he and Adama argue about which is truly upholding their oath to protect the people of the fleet. One of the best things about Galactica throughout its run has been it's ability to craft difficult situations and place it's characters into moral quandaries. While definitely not as potent as earlier season scenarios regarding abortion or suicide bombings, this episode does create an interesting dilemma by allowing Zarek and Gaeta to put forth such strong arguments. Despite our unique perspective on events (knowing what we do about the Final Four/Five), to the members of the fleet these "people" killed billions of humans, and it is only because of them that humanity was relegated to fleeing across the stars. There is very good reason to follow Zarek and Gaeta in this episode, and it is not at all surprising that they are able to recruit so many to their cause. Given the same facts, I can't honestly say that I wouldn't have been a part of Gaeta's revolution, and that's one of the things that makes Galactica so great.

Making Sense out of Mutiny - Last week I complained that the insurrection plot line felt too much like the show was simply stalling for time before tackling the big questions. Since then, I've been trying to figure out just how Galactica's producers could tie this revolution into the greater themes of the show. My best guess goes back to something I said when I wrote about "Sometimes a Great Notion", that the series endgame must be based around the unification of the human and Cylon nations. If that guess is correct, then this little rebellion could determine the fate of two civilizations, a fact that will only become more apparent in hindsight. Look at it from an outside perspective. If there really has been a third party bringing the two sides together (as I think is likely given the events of "Maelstrom", and the presence of the in-head people), then this plotline is where all those efforts are most at risk of falling apart. In other words, it's possible that the importance of this plot line (which, incidentally, will take up at least three episodes of the show's final ten) and the danger it presents to the show's endgame may wind up being properly felt only once we have a better understanding of what that endgame actually is.

Death Wish - It's fun to see the transition both the writers and Katie Sackhoff are making with the character of Starbuck. Seeing Starbuck save Lee simply by indescriminately shooting at the mutineers reminded me of just how bad ass and uncomprimising Starbuck used to be, before the great softening of the Lee/Anders era. Now that she thinks that she is essentially playing with house money (seeing yourself dead in a field will do that to you), she is reckless and bold and more than a little agressive. It's like seeing the old Starbuck again. While I think her "death" has forced her to teeter on the edge of sanity, it is nice to revist an old friend.

Seriously, What's the Plan with Baltar? - After this week's episode and last's I'm beginning to rethink my feelings on the importance of Baltar within the framework of the show. This week, once again, Baltar is essentially relegated to one or two scenes mostly related to the fact that he has apparently all but given up his religious crusade. Throw in a pirate wireless signal, and "bam" you've got the entirety of the Baltar storyline. I can't honestly say that I have any idea what the creators of the show have in mind for our favorite destroyer of worlds at this point, of whether they have anything in mind at all.

Unspeakable Losses? -During Roslin's speech to the fleet, she implores humanity to recognize the similarities between the Cylons and the human race. One of the things she references is that both sides have "suffered unspeakable losses." Okay, one side definitely had their race just about exerminated, but what did the other side lose. The resurrection hub? Seriously, I think Roslin has some good points to make here, but equating the loss of Cylon immortality to the killing of billions of people wouldn't convince me to join the alliance if I were floating on some random ship of the fleet. The moral equivalence is disturbing.

Specialization of Labor - Just a minor point, but we see in this episode that the Galactica has the ability to cut off the pirate signal which Baltar had been using to broadcast his religious messages to the fleet. First, why was this never used before, particularly in those episodes in the first half of the season where Baltar's "cult" was seen as a real threat to the safety of those on board the Galactica. Second, if you're Gaeta, and you're really the only one who knows how to "isolate the signal" in order to turn off the pirate broadcast, why do you stand in the middle of the command center rather than manning your original post? The oversight allows Roslin to speak to her people, and it could prove a costly one for our young, legless mutineer.

Time Cards - If it seems like I've been talking about the use of time cards a lot lately (like, here and here), it's because the shows that I have watched have been using them in interesting ways. Whereas a show like Lost needed timecards in its premiere (and arguably still needs them) to give the audience any hope of keeping the timeline of events on that show straight, the producers of Galactica instead use explictly denoted (06:20, 10:27) timecards in this episode to create an almost documentary catalog of the hours leading up to the insurrection. This serves a dual purpose, as it both allows the producers to show that the alarming chain of events portrayed in this episode is happening over the course of hours, not days, and it allows them to create a sense of tension during the proceedings (24, of course, being your go-to source for ticking clock tension). I'm trying to recall if the show has ever used this device before, but I'm not having any luck. Let me know if you can think of one.

"It's been an honor to have served with you my friend." - One of the last things Adama says in the episode, this short statement gives us just a brief insight into the emotions he still feels towards his old friend and comrade Saul Tigh. The growing acceptance of the Cylons (particularly the Final Four/Five) among the senior members of the fleet, as a matter of fact, seems to be leading the show towards the answer to one of its greatest questions. What's the difference between a Cylon and a human? It doesn't matter. As Tigh said in the Season 3 finale, he'll be the man he wants to be until the day he dies. Seems Adama has accepted that, and that in short course we will be asked to do the same...
More after the jump...

Battlestar Galactica: "A Disquiet Follows My Soul"

Well, they can't all be winners right? Truth be told, the second episode of Galactica's final ten had the near impossible task of moving the plot of the show towards its multi-episode endgame while simultaneously servicing the deep emotion of its characters. The resulting "A Disquiet that Follows My Soul", unfortunately, winds up being the worst of both worlds. A show with very little characterization dedicated to the service of very little plot.

There are really only three things at issue in "Disquiet": The rising power of Tom Zarek in the face of a Roslin/Adama administration that has all but completely lost the will to fight; The growing antipathy of Felix Gaeta given the crew of Galactica's willingness to join forces with the Cylon race; and the surprising paternity of ex-Deck Chief Tyrol little baby Nicky. While this last bit of plot is an interesting curiosity, particularly with respect to the Hera question (more on that below), the bulk of the show is really focused on establishing Zarek's rise, Roslin's fall, and Gaeta's state of mind (i.e. the opposite of pro-toaster).

The set up for this likely civil war is the proposal by the rebel Cylons (Six's, Leoben's, and Eights) to give superior FTL technology to the fleet in exchange for a seat on the Quorum (a 13th seat...fitting I would say). While Adama and Roslin are inclined to agree to the offer, Zarek uses his position as de-facto head of the Quorum to characterize Adama/Roslin's endorsement as a desperate attempt to hold on to power after the failure that was the journey to Earth. In so doing, he foments the passage of a Quorum Resolution limiting the ability of Cylons to board the ships of the fleet unless the captain and crew of the ships in question agree to the boarding.

Roslin, now off her chemo-equivalent and basically unwilling to lead, chooses not to deal with the rising tension. Adama, on the other hand, chooses the military approach, ordering his marines to escort the Cylons to the ships of the fleet regardless of any lack of permission. When the fleet's only (?) remaining fuel ship mutinies, Adama sends Athena and some Vipers to establish Galactica's authority over the matter. Galactica then picks up a message from one Tom Zarek authorizing the fuel ship to resist Galactica's advances, and the fuel ship jumps to parts unknown. Adama, now without a target, orders Athena and her troops to arrest Zarek.

As a brief aside, though Adama authorizes deadly force in the arrest, we never get to see this confrontational scene. Instead, we cut to seeing Zarek already in Galactica's brig. Why a dramatic arrest scene didn't make the script or the cut is beyond me, but perhaps budgetary concerns played a role.

Now under his control, Adama "convinces" Zarek to part with the coordinates of the fuel ship, and Athena and her troop bring the wayward ship home. Though it is later revealed that Adama was bluffing the existence of a file on Zarek's dirty politics in order to induce Zarek's confession, the scene plays out strangely even without the reveal of the bluff. The plain fact of the matter is that Zarek gives up the fuel ship's location without too much of a fight at all.

Now its possible that time constraints prevented the Galactica writers from writing anything that was too drawn out on this score. In my view, though, it's far more likely that being put in the brig and forced to disclose the location of the fuel ship was Zarek's plan all along. I mean, how does this look to the rest of the fleet? The Quorum resolution on its face seems pretty reasonable. If Cylons are going to be allowed on your ship then you have to agree to their presence. Pretty democratic. By forcing Adama to violate the resolution, Zarek has positioned himself to make Adama's moves look like those of a military dictator (this has always, quite frankly, been Zarek's opinion of the Adama's since all the way back in Season 1). I think we are going to see some real fireworks next week as the fleet responds to Adama's actions.

Unfortunately, while the episode features all of this excellent build-up and rising tension, it doesn't have a true climax. The episode ends roughly where my summary above does, with the sole exception that we get to see Zarek talking "revolution" with an increasingly irritated Felix Gaeta, and Adama and a very bald Roslin taking their place in the newly appointed Admiral's love lounge. While the acting, as always, is excellent (particularly Mary McDonnell's continued portrayal of a broken Laura Roslin), the whole thing feels like a middle of the day episode from 24: no real beginning (handled by the far superior "Sometimes a Great Notion" last week), and no real end (presumably to be handled next week).

My guess is that "Disquiet", like an episode of 24, will play quite a bit better when it is put in context with the rest of the final ten episodes. Either way, I think it's clear that the producers of Galactica no longer feel constrained by the usual strictures of episodic television making. As a result, we may be getting one long eight-hour movie over the next two months. While this is likely a good thing in the long run (read: on DVD), on a week to week basis this means that we could very often wind up as we did this week-watching half a movie with no climax and no discernable independent reason for being.

Other Interesting Things:

Echoes of the Stand-Early in the episode we see Tigh and the captured Six enjoy the wonders of ultrasound with personal favorite Dr. Cottle. In looking at their Cylon love child, Six explains to the more human among us that the mere birth of this child will herald the saving of the Cylon race. This, she further explians, is because no cylon/cylon pairing has ever produced any offspring. While a bit of a stretch, when watching this scene I couldn't help but be reminded of the plight of Frannie and Stu's baby in Steven King's materwork The Stand. In that book, the population of the Earth has been wiped out by a super virus with only a small portion of the human race having immunity. One of the major beats of the story's climax relates to whether or not the baby of two such immune people (Frannie and Stu) will be likewise immune once born. If the baby is not immune, then the survivors of the virus will be the last humans to walk the Earth. If the baby is immune then it will survive and the race will live on. The very act of being born and surviving is the miracle. Much like little baby Tigh.

Tigh's Honesty- Since "Sometimes A Great Notion" ended with Tigh's realization that Ellen was the final Cylon, we didn't know until Lee's slip-up whether or not Tigh would reveal that fact to his "friends" in the fleet. With Lee's press conference blunder (telling the press that the fleet brass believed that "she" died some time ago), we now know that Tigh told at least Adama about Ellen. That says something interesting about the relationship Tigh and Adama still share. It also explains at least some of Adama's apparently growing ease with working with his Cylon XO. Finally, it raises the question of whether Starbuck knows that all 12 Cylon models have now been identified. To be sure, the presence of a whole planet of different models opens the door for Starbuck (or anyone else in the fleet) to still be a Cylon, but has no reason to know that. If she knows about Ellen, then her sense of self must be even more off-kilter than it was before. That could be something interesting to explore in the coming episodes.

What's the buzz, Baltar?- Now, I have thought from the introduction of the "dying leader" prophecy that Roslin was not its subject (more on that below). My nominee for this position was always Baltar, and his rise as the almost Christ-like figure of the first half of Season 4 buoyed my beliefs on this front. In this epsiode, however, Baltar gets only one scene, and in that scene, while he is certainly still the leader of his "cult", it is a very different kind of leadership than it was before the discovery of Earth. Baltar, you see, has turned against even the "One True God" espoused by his in-head friends, and is fomenting rebellion against such god in his sermons. I am more than willing to admit at this point that I have no idea what the writers intend to do with this character. As a religious leader, I still think there is a strong chance that he is the dying leader prophesized in Pithia, but I simply don't know what this rebellion against god is intended to portray. And where were his ultra-religious in-head friends for this little rebellion? I hope the writers know what they're doing here.

The Hera Question-One of the problems that people had with the reveal of Cylon Tyrol at the end of Season 3 was that his baby with wife Callie was necessarily half-Cylon. While this isn't a problem in and of itself, the show had made quite a big deal of the first half-Cylon child, Helo and Athena's baby Hera, during the show's first few seasons. By backdooring the introduction of another half-Cylon baby, many fans thought that entire swaths of the action in Seasons 1 and 2 had been completely devalued. Adding to complaints, much of the action in the first half of Season 4 revolved around Tyrol's lack of love for his "shrew" wife. Since the earlier seasons had established that "love" was a necessary ingredient for human/Cylon procreation, Tyrol's apparent lack of love for Callie was all the more distressing. So the producers of the show did a bit of a retcon (retroactive continuity change) here, and established that Tyrol was not, in fact, the father of baby Nicky. This gave Tyrol some wonderful scenes to play and nicely answered the Hera Question to the benefit of all. I approve.

A Dying Leader-As I mentioned in my thoughts on Baltar above, it has always seemed too easy for me that the creators of Galactica introduced a prophecy plotline regarding a dying leader into a show with a president we knew to be dying of cancer at the time. Narratively speaking, it's far more common for a show (or movie or book or play) to introduce a prophecy angle expressly for the purpose of having that prophecy be misinterpreted by the main characters. When it is later revealed that the prophecy actually applies in a different way then originally assumed, both the characters and the audience can be surprised. To me, Roslin has always fit too perfectly and exactly into the role of the "dying leader". As such, I have often looked to other characters to see who could fulfill this role "unexpectedly" at the end of the series. In this episode, we are treated to a throw-away line made by Colonel Tigh to Adama about just how bad Adama looks. Now Adama has been through a lot at this point, but could this be a sign that he is in fact dying and will ultimately be considered to be the prophesized dying leader? My guess is still "no", but that's both because I still like Baltar for the role and because I think that through all the darkness and despair, the producers of Galactica are building up to a happy ending for Adama and Laura. Either way, we shall see soon enough.

Looking for Home-The opening titles have replaced the search for "Earth" with a search for "Home." Too true...

Spinning its Wheels-One of the things that really bugged me about this episode is just how little it did to move the plot forward; not with respect to a civil war plotline (which was nicely advanced), but rather with respect to what I view as the existential questions remaining for Galactica to answer (Who are the in-head people? What is Starbuck? Where is the 13th tribe? What is the role of the Earth Cylons? etc.) While perhaps unfair, it's worth noting that after this episode we only have eight episodes of Galactica left. If we aren't moving towards the endgame then we aren't moving at all. My fear, perhaps unwarranted, is that this whole civil war plotline is a mere distraction. That we will wind-up after episode four or so in the same place that we were at the start of this epiosde only with a mere six episode's remaining instead of nine. Adding to this fear is the fear that we have already pretty throughly explored the concept of a fleet civil war in the brilliant Pegasus arc of Season 2. If this plotline neither advances the main arc of the story nor shows us anything new, than I will be quite disappointed. Still, the writers have earned our trust to this point, and so I will put my faith in them. I just hope that the show isn't spinning its wheels instead of beginning the final push.

Well those are my thoughts, what are yours?
More after the jump...

Battlestar Galactica: "Sometimes a Great Notion"

Sometimes I live in the country
Sometimes I live in the town
Sometimes I get a great notion
To jump into the river an’ drown

"Goodnight, Irene"-American Folk Song

Despair. Anguish. Sorrow. Rage. Rarely does television attempt to tackle the full depth of human emotion. But tackled it is in the first of Battlestar Galactica's final ten episodes. Often quite difficult to watch, "Sometimes a Great Notion" is that rare hour of television focused almost solely on characterization rather than on plot. We, the audience, have journeyed with these characters for four years (longer if the mini-series is included). We've seen them grapple with impossible decisions and long odds, robot rulers and alien prophecies. But always with one goal in mind: to find Earth.

So what does one do when all of that is cruelly taken away? Do you forego your faith? Your friends? Your life? For the crew of the Galactica, the discovery of an irradiated Earth forces them to grapple with these existential questions, and seeing such strong people reach that depth of despair is an absolutely devastating experience.

From President Roslin's anguished scripture burning to Admiral Adama's long walk past a crushed crew, "Sometimes a Great Notion" is filled with moments where we see the fleet coming apart at the seams. Only one person that we are privy to, the long underused Dualla, takes the ultimate step, but many more walk right up to the edge. And it is heartbreaking. If ever there was a better "genre" performance than that delivered by Olmos's Adama here, then I haven't seen it. His performance is the lynchpin of the episode, if only because his is the strength that we (and the crew) have borne witness to for years. Even though it is Dualla that dies, it is only when we realize that the superhuman Admiral has gone to his old friend not for vengeance but for suicide by Cylon, that we truly begin to understand the toll that these events must be having on the less superhuman among the crew.

In short, this is one of the best episodes of any show I have ever seen. It is so full of real human emotion that I am loathe to delve too much further into its nuanced portrayals in this summary form. If you haven't seen the episode yet, then watch it (especially before reading below). If you haven't seen the show yet, then buy it. Ron Moore and his team have been crafting this opus for four years, and if this is the level of emotion at which it concludes, than there is no question that it will have been well worth the wait.

Other things I liked:

We are all Cylons now-By far my favorite revelation of the episode, the reveal that the 13th tribe of "humanity" was in fact a Cylon tribe explains so much for the rest of the series. All of a sudden, the use of "All Along the Watchtower" as a Cylon triggering device makes sense. The differences between the "final five" and the remainder of the Cylon race make sense. At least, in a way. As best I can guess, the Final Five were Earth Cylons who somehow worked with the Cylon race to create the "skinjobs" before programming those same "skinjobs" to forget their identities. Why the Earth Cylons then moved into the colonies remains a mystery, but one I'm confident will be answered in the remaining nine episodes (see more on that below). And of course, the reveal that the 13th tribe was a tribe of Cylons has the bonus effect of incorporating the audience in a truly interesting way. In Galactica's mythology after all, that Cylon planet is not some random piece of rock. It is Earth. We are the 13th tribe. We are Cylons.

Death and Displacement-While the Earth Cylons were busy flashing back to their lives 2,000 years ago, Starbuck was off with Leoben tracking down the source of the mysterious signal which had led the fleet to Earth. What she found there, however, was as disturbing as it was mysterious: her dead body. Now, we know that Starbuck blew up in a "maelstrom" some months ago while talking with a Leoben-shaped entity which was not Leoben. We also know that the Earth Cylons apparently died in the final attack on Earth, but were somehow reborn and displaced some thousands of light years to become members of the colonies. There is most certainly a greater force at work here. Whether its aliens, the Cylon god, the human gods, the 13th tribe, or something else remains to be seen, but the journey of discovery should be an intriguing one.

This has all happened before, and it will happen again-The destruction of Earth calls back to one of the oldest running continuing statements made by Cylons throughout the series: This has all happened before and it will happen again. Despite being Cylons, the 13th tribe apparently made the same or similar mistakes as their human counterparts in the colonies, just 2,000 years earlier. My best guess is that a later episode will reveal to us that the Earth Cylons, in an effort to create life, were working with genetics and created "humanity" which then rebelled and destroyed their race (the symmetry would be excellent). Faced with this extinction event, certain members of the Earth race of Cylons (the five) joined the colony-created Cylons and programmed an advancement, the "skinjob", which carried with it an understanding of the mistakes of the past. The unification of the species was thought by the Earth Cylons to be the only way to end the cycle, and thus they made such unification the number one priority (though a subconscious one) of the new Cylon race. "They have a plan", after all...

The Fifth of the Five-"It's okay. It's okay. Everything's in place. We'll be reborn. Again. Together." Now, I suspect that many will be disappointed with the fact that the 5th and final (?) Cylon was revealed in this episode to be a bit player and a long deceased one at that. And to the extent the producers of Galactica chose to highlight the identity of the final Cylon, I completely understand their disappointment (see more on this below). That being said, if the fifth was always going to be someone who didn't matter to the present narrative, I can't think of a better choice than Ellen Tigh. Not only does it add an air of mystery to the proceedings (what does "Everything's in place" or "We'll be reborn. Again." mean, anyway), it also nicely mirrors the displacement questions being asked by the rest of the Earth Cylons. It appears now that the five knew each other on Earth (Tory and Anders' discussion regarding love songs), but whether or not they were part of some elaborate resurrection project or something else remains to be seen.

Things I didn't:

Marketing-The opening sequence of Galactica has gone through many transformations, but the most recent highlighted the fact that the identity of but one Cylon out of the twelve promised in the earliest episodes of the series was still unknown. While I stated above that I think the reveal of Ellen Tigh as the fifth Cylon was a good one, the fact that she is dead and gone limits her importance (at least in the short term) quite substantially. Unfortunately, this limited role for the final Cylon stands in direct opposition to the apparent importance given to her in the opening. As such, while I am thankful that the producers of Galactica did not drag out the reveal past this episode, I question their original decision to make her identity seem so significant to begin with. Without the opening used last year, I don't think there would be much issue. With it, I think the producers have turned an interesting reveal into a disappointing one.




More after the jump...