BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Season 4 Episode 10
“Revelations”
Written by Bradley Thompson and David Weddle
Directed by Michael Rymer
(WARNING: SPOILERS)

Twelve Cylon models
Seven are known
Four live in secret
One will be revealed

So, not only was the mid-season finale a tense little motherfraker, but it also reduced me to a blubbering idiot, before pole-axing me with that punch-in-the-stomach coda.
Man, if this is what it feels like halfway through the last hurrah, the series finale will be brutal…


So D’Anna takes the lead and announces that she’ll be holding the humans hostage, till she gets the Cylons from the Fleet. Adama and Helo aren’t thrilled by that and there’s a Mexican standoff, till Roslin asks Bill to trust her.
D’Anna then says that Adama will accompany her to the Galactica, but when he says he won’t leave, Laura whispers in his ear that D’Anna cannot be allowed to take the Five, so if things should go sour, that the base ship be destroyed, regardless of who’s on board.


The base ship and Raptor jump back to the Fleet, and when D’Anna and Adama get to the Galactica, D’Anna says she’ll wait for the four Cylons in the Fleet to join them, and only then will she release the hostages.
Toaster Tory, canny little minx, says she should return with D’Anna to the base ship, purportedly so she can bring President Roslin her meds.
Which she does, but when Laura asks her to speak with D’Anna to stand down (after Tory is revealed to indeed be a Cylon), Tory says, I don’t take orders from you anymore. (B!tch.)

Suddenly changing the game plan, D’Anna jettisons a hostage out the airlock, and she threatens to execute a hostage every 15 minutes till the still Secret Cylons turn themselves over.
There’s a hurried idea to draft a rescue plan, during which the four Fleet Cylons again have a “Watchtower” moment, that leads Tigh, Sam, and the Chief, to that apparently brand new Viper Starbuck flew back to Galactica in.
Sam and the Chief are convinced there’s something different about the Viper, something important, so when Sam says Starbuck knows this ship inside and out, Tigh tells him to get her down there, then goes off to do what he knows he has to do (something he admits he should have done from the moment it happened, if only he’d been braver).
What follows is a really great scene where Tigh admits to Adama that he’s a Cylon, and that the only way to get D’Anna to stand down, is to threaten to blow him out the airlock.

But the revelation first leads to one of those scary, volcanic moments when Adama loses his cool and rages. It’s like witnessing some volatile force that makes you terrified to even breathe, lest you trigger any more outbursts that could be directed at you.
Adama then drinks himself blind and is himself a blubbering mess, as Lee lovingly tries to get him to pull himself together.
It’s an emotionally devastating scene, where we see just how important Tigh’s friendship is to Adama. The scene is then made all the more powerful by the genuine caring that Lee shows for his father.
Brokenly, Adama admits that—should it come down to it—he just can’t kill Tigh, so Lee says he’ll take care of it.


What follows is a fraktastic stand-off sequence as D’Anna threatens to execute more hostages, while Baltar tries to talk sense to her.
On board Galactica, Tigh is placed in an airlock, with Lee ready at the button that will suck the poor one-eyed skinjob into outer space.
Lee then asks Tigh who the others are.

Meanwhile, Starbuck can’t understand why Sam and the Chief think there’s something about the Viper, but Sam says, When you had a feeling you knew how to get to Earth, I trusted you, so trust our feeling on this.
The grunts then arrive to arrest Sam and the Chief, who are brought to the airlock to keep Tigh company.
Despite Baltar trying to talk sense to D’Anna, things escalate to the point where the base ship’s weaponry is targeted at the Fleet, and Tigh is alone in the airlock, Lee ready to consign his Toaster a$ into space. Even as we see Starbuck find some reading on a gauge of the Viper (probably one that points to Earth) and start running all the way to the airlock, Tigh demands of Lee, “Well, what are you waiting for?! Do it!”


Starbuck of course arrives before first blood on either side is drawn.
She shows the readings to Lee, who takes a little convincing, before he accepts that Starbuck’s probably right.
And, in a pivotal moment, Lee decides to share the information with the Cylons. There’s another great moment in the episode, as Lee and D’Anna shake on this truce, as they both agree that human and Cylon will journey to Earth, together.

Lee than has a quiet moment with Adama, who we see is clearly broken by the Tigh-is-a-Toaster revelation. When Lee asks if he’s ready to take command again, Adama says, I don’t know.
Laura arrives, asking, What don’t you know?
Laura and Adama then have a nice, tender moment, during which Laura says, I want to see you with that first fistful of Earth.
Rockface then stands to face his immense responsibilities, leaving Laura and Lee to have that Moment I’ve been waiting for.
Lee says, Well, this is the end of the shortest Presidential term in Colonial history.
And Laura responds, You made the right choices in a very difficult situation, and this Fleet will still need that sort of strong leadership in the days to come.
So the rift between the two is on its way to healing (yahoo!), and Adama emerges in his uniform, ready to roll the hard six.


What follows is a tremendously moving sequence as the Fleet and the damaged base ship make that final jump to the coordinates they believe are going to take them to Earth.
The sequence is brilliant, capturing all the hope and bittersweet emotions of this jump to what they have held out will be their salvation.
After poor Felix confirms the stellar coordinates, Adama makes a moving speech over the wireless, and we see faces across Galactica and the Fleet, even the faces of some of the Not-So-Secret-Anymore Cylons, particularly Tigh (who’s alone, getting sloshed) and the Chief, who’s with Nicky, and of course, Cally’s absence is overwhelming.
It’s a sequence both joyous and melancholy, bringing home the point that this is what the Fleet has been striving for since that horrible day the Cylons attacked, while reminding us of what this apparent victory has cost.

Then, as some ships make that Earth entry, and they’re flying through the clouds, I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop, thinking, Okay, we’re here. But when?
Will it be pre-history, and will the Fleet end up being the first humans to populate the planet?
Will it be 2008, and will we suddenly attack the ships, thinking it’s some kind of alien invasion, thus opening up hostilities between Earth and the Fleet, and a new, perhaps even more tragic war, begins?

But when we see Adama pick up that first fistful of earth, and we hear that Geiger counter making that terrible noise, and we see the devastated reactions of all these people we’ve come to love and hate over the course of five years, and we see what at first looks like ancient ruins around them, before it becomes apparent that what we’re looking at are the remains of a bridge, and a city in the distance, we know that the other shoe has most definitely dropped, and we are so not yet at the end of this particular road.

Gods, Moore and Eick (and Thompson and Weddle) are evil.


So, has the Fleet arrived after the planet has already been ruined by humanity’s own raging stupidity?
Or did some other Cylons somehow get to Earth before the Fleet and a war broke out?
Ooooh, where’s that second half?

Getting back to the here and now though, aside from that “jump to Earth” sequence, I think the most potent bits of this episode were those moments when we see the reactions people have to the Secret Cylon reveals.
There’s Adama, of course, but Starbuck’s reaction to Sam’s being a Cylon was also a great Moment that worked without the sturm und drang of the Tigh-is-a-Toaster plot development.
As is sometimes too often the case with BSG, it killed me that we didn’t have enough time in this episode to get a better sense of how characters were reacting to events, particularly the Cylon revelations.
Well, just some more bits to look forward to in the next half of the season. (I’m particularly looking forward to seeing how Adama and Tigh work through this curveball in their friendship.)

Onward to January 16, 2009, eh?


Parting shot: It seems, at the moment, that the series’ final episode has grown to a 2-hour finale, so I’m hereby re-calibrating the countdown.

COUNTDOWN: 11.

(Images courtesy of twitchfilm.net and ew.com.)

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Season 4 Episode 9
“The Hub”
Written by Jane Espenson
Directed by Paul Edwards
(WARNING: SPOILERS)

Twelve Cylon models
Seven are known
Four live in secret
One will be revealed

So we get to see what became of the damaged base ship and all on board—particularly President Roslin—and it’s a doozy.


It turns out that the Hybrid is panicked, thus her sudden jump (merely the first of several), and it’s revealed shortly that the Hybrid is panicked since she’s detected that Natalie is no longer on-line (if that’s the correct term).
The Eight in the Hybrid’s chamber soon determines that the Hybrid is jumping towards the Resurrection Hub, so the mission still looks like a go.
During each jump though—in the interstice between points in actual physical space—Laura meets the deceased Elosha (I’ve missed her), in an apparently deserted Galactica. She’s then shown that the only people here are the Adamas and Starbuck, gathered around a cancer-ridden Laura on her deathbed.


That alone was such a heart-rending idea: of finding a dying Roslin in an empty Galactica.
Elosha tells her that she doesn’t really love anyone, that she hasn’t, in effect, opened herself up to anyone (a sentiment echoed when Baltar insists that one can communicate with the Hybrid, if one focuses on her, which Roslin seems incapable of doing).
Then, as the Hybrid continues to make repeated jumps, Laura’s tutelage at Elosha’s side unfolds over the course of the episode.


Meanwhile, Helo finds that the Eight in the Hybrid chamber, curious about Athena and her hybrid child, accessed Athena’s memories when she last downloaded. So basically, this Eight has Athena’s memories up to that point, when Helo was forced to shoot her so she could download back to the Cylons, and retrieve Hera.
Later on, there’s some tension between the Galactica pilots and the Cylon pilots, but the pseudo-Athena makes a speech about needing to rely on each other, particularly once the Hub has been destroyed, because at that point, everyone will be in the same boat in the mortality sweepstakes.


Also, Roslin gives Helo express orders to take D’Anna to her (and her alone) once she is retrieved. Helo tries to argue that this isn’t what was agreed upon, and isn’t honest, but Roslin claims that this is about the security of the human race.
Roslin says this is what the Cylons would do, in my place. And Helo counters, No, not all of them. Not the Eights.
Roslin says she can’t afford sentimentality right now, and she can’t afford Helo to be sentimental either (“Captain, you are not married to the entire production line…”).


Over at the Hub, Cavil de-boxes D’Anna himself, telling her of the civil war, and trying to convince her to help end it.
Cavil claims to be uninterested in the identities of the Final Five, as he still firmly believes they aren’t meant to know them.
D’Anna ends up killing Cavil, making Boomer run for the proverbial hills.

The attack on the Hub commences, during which, a number of events take place:

We see the jumping of the dying Pike back to the Fleet (which then of course, led to the Fleet finding the debris of this very battle).


Helo and the pseudo-Athena find D’Anna, taking her back to the base ship.
When they get on board, Helo reveals the change of plans, telling the pseudo-Athena that he may not agree with it, but he’s only following orders.
Disillusioned, pseudo-Athena lets Helo go on his way, with D’Anna.


While preaching/ranting to a Centurion, an explosion wounds Baltar severely, and he’s bleeding heavily when he’s brought to Laura, who tries to attend to his injuries.
Under the morpha haze, Baltar makes mention of his guilt, which has now been lifted from him, by the mercy and love of God. In an amazingly tense scene, Laura asks after the nature of this guilt, and Baltar admits to his culpability in the annihilation of the human race.
Mary McDonnell is amazing here, as she absorbs the shock of what she’s suspected for the longest time: that Baltar is guilty.
Baltar asks her to pray with him, but instead, she undresses the wound and allows it to bleed freely, ignoring Baltar’s pleas.


But the Hybrid jumps again, away from the battle, and Laura is taught one more lesson, as she witnesses her own death, and Adama’s heartbreaking reaction.
Elosha tells Laura that she needs to learn to love, and that even a bad man can feel guilt just as much as a good man. The moment of Laura’s conversion is astounding, as is her desperation when the jump ends and she scrambles to stop Baltar’s bleeding.


Helo arrives with D’Anna, and smartly, acknowledging that she’s the only Three left in the entire universe, uses her knowledge of the Final Five’s identities as leverage for her safety.
She says she won’t divulge the information till she’s safely been transported to the Fleet.
(Though not before a singular fake-out moment of shock as D’Anna makes Laura think that she’s one of the Five. At least, it seems to have been a fake-out. I mean, I was leaning towards Laura being the last, unrevealed Cylon. If it isn’t her, who is? One of the Adamas? Starbuck, after all?)

We then rejoin Adama, on his lone vigil, as the base ship arrives, and the beautiful reunion between Laura and Bill, where Laura finally says, “I love you,” and ol’ Rockface half-jokes, “About time.”


So, great lead-up to the midseason finale, and a big part of why this one works so well is that, unlike Baltar’s conversion, Laura’s feels more genuine, the emotions distinctly more palpable.
And, even though both were presented as arcs that moved through an entire episode, this particular arc seemed more potent, more believable.
I’ll cop to the possibility though that this one works better for me since I’m emotionally invested in Laura and her fate, whereas I still can’t be bothered to give a rat’s a$ about Baltar. (Sorry, Gaius, but as it stands, you’re in better hands with Laura than you are with me…)
And it’s not that I can’t forgive the poor schmuck, but that I still can’t feel any remorse from the sodding bastard. It still feels like he’s leading us on, the way he always has.


Now, it’s not as simple as saying Mary McDonnell is a more genuine performer than James Callis (though I feel an argument could be made for that point).
I think it’s more that Baltar doesn’t seem to be a character made to be sympathetic (at least in the beginning), unlike Laura, who is diagnosed with cancer from the miniseries’ first episode.
But then again, the events of Season 3 made me care for Tigh in a way I’d never have anticipated from BSG’s early days.
Of course, Tigh didn’t cause the deaths of untold millions…
I dunno. I guess I’m still decidedly anti-Gaius.

Oh, and it’s great to see Lucy Lawless back.

COUNTDOWN: 11.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Season 4 Episode 8
“Sine Qua Non”
Written by Michael Taylor
Directed by Rod Hardy
(WARNING: SPOILERS)

Twelve Cylon models
Seven are known
Four live in secret
One will be revealed

“Because I can’t live without her…”
Aww, man, ol’ Rockface just slays me…
By the gods, if the rest of this season continues to get harder and harder to sit through, I’ll end up a quivering, blubbering, whiny puddle of emotional jello by the time the last R&D closer airs.

So the entire episode passes without us knowing what happened to the base ship after its jump, and more to the point, what happened to Roslin, Baltar, and a whole bunch of Galactica pilots, including Helo.
Meanwhile, chaos and panic ripples throughout the Fleet, with Zarek poised to take over the Presidency. A whole lot of other bits take place in this installment, so let’s take ‘em all on, one bit at a time.


Natalie’s rushed to Doc Cottle, but she expires, while having glimpses of some other, forest-y place…
Athena’s arrested, and there’s a really scary scene with Adama, as he fumes and angrily reminds her that she’s betrayed his trust. He then has her thrown in the brig, and later on, mindful of her claim that the Cylons want to take Hera away from her, has Hera sent to the brig as well, so Athena can be with her. (Not sure that thrilled Hera, though; Daddy gets taken away by a jumpy Hybrid, and I get to roost in jail with murderer Mummy. Oh, the joys of childhood.)
What I don’t get though, is why Athena just doesn’t talk to Caprica about her fears regarding Hera. At least that way, she can figure out whether she’s right about that feeling or not.
Of course, it does seem like Caprica may be the very particular Six that wants to take Hera away from her mum, so maybe Athena should just stay as far away from Caprica as Cylon-ly possible. But now that they’re both in the brig…


And speaking of Caprica Six, to try and find out where the base ship jumped to, Adama has Tigh visit her, a subplot that eventually leads to the reveal that, gasp! Caprica’s preggers! With Tigh’s baby!
Okay, I certainly didn’t see that coming. I honestly thought Tigh’s private time with Caprica was largely chatty therapy as he grappled with the whole, “Frak, I’m a toaster!” thing. Turns out Tigh was doing the nasty often enough to put a little, heh, toaster in the oven…
And doesn’t this also present a new evolutionary development as well? Hera (and Nicky) being the half-human/half-Cylon hybrid, and this baby being, what? A new kind of Cylon?
Anyway, Adama’s really ticked off about this development, and the two friends get into some nasty fisticuffs that demolishes (yet again) Adama’s model ship.
The two make peace later on though…


We are treated to some tantalizing hints as to the fates of Roslin and the missing base ship, when a damaged ship jumps back to the Fleet’s coordinates. The pilot (Pike) is dead, but they trace back the ship’s origin point, where they find the debris of a lot of Vipers, and a base ship.
So while some conjecture that, perhaps, this is the debris from the base ship the President was on, Adama would like to think otherwise.
So ol’ Rockface gets fixated on finding the President, putting the entire Fleet in danger as a result.
Adama is made to realize he’s lost his objectivity though, by Romo Lampkin, of all people. (And we’ll get to why he shows up in this installment in a teeny bit…)
And once Adama realizes that he can no longer put the Fleet at risk, but also cannot stop holding out the hope that Laura is still alive, he surrenders command of Galactica (and the Fleet), to… Toaster Tigh!
Not only that, but he also elects to stay behind in a Raptor, to await Roslin’s return to these coordinates, while the Fleet goes off on its merry way!
Both Tigh and Lee try and dissuade him from these actions, but like the man said, he can’t live without her…
And that’s how the episode ends, as Galactica and the Fleet jump off, leaving Adama in his Raptor, the damaged copy of Searider Falcon in his hands.
But there’s still one more important bit…


Even as Zarek attempts to wrest control of the Presidency, Lee sees that his father will never accept Zarek in the seat, and the whole military/government alliance will just crash and burn, taking the Fleet with it.
So Lee aspires to find another interim President, who can shepherd the Colonial government in Roslin’s absence. (You can see where this is going, can’t you?)
Lee gets Lampkin to help him run through possible candidates, and two things were fairly evident in this subplot: a) this was going to end up, however improbably, with Lee taking on the Presidency; and b) there was an undue amount of focus on Lampkin’s cat.


The first did indeed conclude with Lee ending the episode as interim President Leland Joseph Adama, while the second had a curious reveal of Lampkin’s cat actually being dead.
So Lampkin sort’a goes nutzo since the cat’s the only thing he has left of his wife, and though he’s been seeing the cat up and about (and talking to it, mind), it’s actually been dead and rotting in a bag for weeks.
At any rate, once all other candidates have been found wanting, and Lampkin has winnowed out Lee’s “repressed ambition” towards the Presidency, he also determines that Lee needs to die(!), since he would represent something hopeful for the Fleet, and Lampkin firmly believes there can no longer be any hope for the human race.
So Lampkin is holding Lee at gunpoint, but Lee manages to talk his way out of a life and death situation with a possibly certifiable lunatic, and into the office of the President.
Smooth.
Not bad for Mr. Passive-Aggressive Repressed Ambition.
Oh. Sorry. President Passive-Aggressive Repressed Ambition.
And Lee’s apparently first act as President, hand over New Caprica resistance hero Jake, into Lampkin’s possibly certifiable lunatic care.
Sure, let’s let the poor doggy guide Lampkin back towards mental stability…


Now, the bits that really worked for me had to do with Adama and his reactions and decisions in the wake of Laura’s little jaunt to gods-know-where.
The painful clarity of his love for the woman becomes the core of Bill Adama. This is, after all, the woman who taught him of hope, and faith.
So he stays, floating in the middle of nowhere space, her favourite book in his hands, while the Fleet leaves him behind, so he can wait for her to return.


The bits I’m not entirely sold on, were the ones involved in the “let’s make Lee president” subplot. The whole “Lampkin’s cat is dead” thing just seemed a bit too contrived, and like I said, Lee sliding his way into the President’s seat seemed vaguely improbable.
In the wake of it, I just didn’t get the sense that the Old Man was proud of his son’s achievement. (Then again, he was worried about Laura…)
Having said that, it does put a new spin on things, and I am curious to see where the writers take this. Will Lee turn out to be the President the whole Fleet’s been waiting for? Is this his true calling? Or will this—as we’ve seen sometimes happen before where Lee is concerned—all end in tears?
And with Tigh steering the Galactica now, well…

Having mentioned Tigh, I’m also intensely curious where the “Tigh as expectant Toaster father” subplot goes.
And what’s to happen to Hera? I really hope Athena gets to keep her. I certainly don’t condone what she did to poor Natalie, but Athena’s gone through too much to have Hera get taken from her because of some visions.

Crap. Mid-season break’s looming.

COUNTDOWN: 12.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Season 4 Episode 7
“Guess What’s Coming To Dinner?”
Written by Michael Angeli
Directed by Wayne Rose
(WARNING: SPOILERS)

Twelve Cylon models
Seven are known
Four live in secret
One will be revealed

“In our civil war, we've seen death. We watched our people die. Gone forever.
“As terrible as it was, beyond the reach of the Resurrection Ships, something began to change. We could feel a sense of time. As if each moment held its own significance.
“We began to realize that for our existence to hold any value it must end. To live meaningful lives we must die, and not return.
“The one human flaw, that you spend your lifetimes distressing over—mortality—is the one thing... well, it's the one thing that makes you whole.”
-- Natalie

With “Gaeta’s Lament” running through much of this episode, this one’s yet another toughie, opening with a great, tense little sequence as the Demetrius and the damaged base star jump to the Fleet’s coordinates, only to experience a glitch, causing the Demetrius to fail to successfully make the jump, leaving the base star all by its lonesome, in the middle of the Fleet!
The civilian ships jump, Galactica scrambles its Vipers, and Starbuck and Athena and everyone else on board the base star look to be toast (as they have no wireless to communicate with Galactica).
Adama’s just ordered to open fire on the base star, when Tigh counters that order, and the Demetrius finally shows up.
Whew!


Natalie puts the plan before the Fleet bigwigs: go over to the Resurrection Hub, and unbox D’Anna, so she can properly identify the Final Five, then destroy the Hub, thus eliminating the Cylons’ ability to download. The Five, who Natalie clarifies have been to Earth (and are not necessarily from Earth, as I’d understood from the previous episode), are then to be handed over to the Cylons, once the destruction of the Hub is achieved, and the Cylons go off on their merry Toaster way.
Simple (and brutal) enough plan, but neither side trusts the other, so Roslin (to bridge the “let’s trust the Cylons” and “let’s just frak everything, including the Boxing facility” factions—the latter led by Tigh, who’s clearly hesitant to have his Toaster ID revealed) suggests keeping the Final Five to themselves till they’ve reached Earth, then hand them over to the Rebel Cylons.
Meanwhile, Natalie and the Rebel Toasters (nifty garage band, that), plan to get the Centurions to take the base star over and to hold the humans who happen to be on-board hostage, following the Hub’s destruction, to force the Fleet to hand over the Final Five.


On other fronts, Felix indeed gets his leg amputated by Doc Cottle, and, while recuperating in the infirmary, takes to singing the “Lament” to help him through the pain and the trauma.
It’s a sad, sad song, and opera-trained Alessandro Juliani sings it heartbreakingly well. Hats off to Juliani, episode writer Michael Angeli, and Bear McCreary for that.


Baltar, on the other hand, reveals in one of his broadcasts, that Roslin is sharing her visions with Athena and Caprica Six (as we’ve already seen in the past). Lee tries to convince Roslin that she needs to address the Fleet, to deal with the issue, but they’re at loggerheads, and clearly still on semi-antagonistic terms (admittedly, most of the acrimony coming from Roslin).
The President does pursue the matter though, and speaks with Toaster Tory, telling her that, a) I know you’re sleeping with Baltar, and b) I don’t care how you do it, but I want you to find out who’s been telling Baltar these “lies.”
Funny thing is, I actually felt sorry for Toaster Tory at that moment, as she claims to have truly valued Roslin’s friendship and trust, but that she admits that she’s come to believe in what Baltar’s preaching.
Roslin will have none of it and just tells her she has a job to do. (Later on, she tells Lee that Toaster Tory should be “horse-whipped.”)
When Toaster Tory tearily wheedles the information out of Baltar, he claims that Caprica Six told him about it during his trial. (Did she, now?)

Later on, when the mission to the Resurrection Hub is set, the Quorum are none too happy that they weren’t even consulted, so Lee goes back to Roslin, and asks her to at least speak with the Quorum, to allay their fears, to “put a face to this mission,” perhaps even to let the Quorum hear the Rebels’ words.
So Roslin has Natalie speak before the Quorum, and Natalie tells them that she’s willing to sentence her race to mortality since this is the one aspect of the human condition that makes them whole, and that, for any life to have value, it must be finite.
Ironically, after speaking before the Quorum and feeling the hatred and the animosity, Natalie realizes she’s not as evolved as she thought she was, and that the whole “let’s hold some humans hostage to get our way” plan is the wrong thing to do.
But the plan’s already in motion, and if they tell the humans they had this underhanded scheme in the first place, they’ll never be trusted again.
So Leoben says, Just stall them, I’ll deal with the Centurions.


Roslin then has another vision, a vision in which she sees Baltar at the Opera House. We also then get the suspicion confirmed that Hera is also sharing in these communal visions. (In a chilling moment, she says “Bye-bye” to Athena; in the Opera House, of course, Hera is taken away by Caprica Six…)
Starbuck then reveals to Roslin what the Hybrid said (well, the bit about the Dying Leader and the Opera House, that is; the whole Kara Thrace, Harbinger of Death thing, she tactfully leaves unsaid), propelling Roslin to get to the bottom of the visions.
So Roslin has Baltar brought along to the base star, where she plans to have a little talk with the Hybrid.
And even as they ready to plug the Hybrid back in, Athena sees that Hera’s been drawing lots and lots and lots of Caprica Sixes in her kiddie sketch book. Hera then wanders off, and when a distraught Athena finds the tot, she’s found her way into the arms of Natalie, who’s being escorted by Tigh and some soldiers.
Athena points a gun at Natalie, and has Tyrol take little Hera away.
Athena then vows, You won’t take my daughter.
And even though Natalie assures her they aren’t trying to take Hera, Athena shoots Natalie!
Then, when the Hybrid is plugged back in, the Hybrid tells the base star to jump.
And it does.

And Felix sings us out of yet another excellent BSG installment.

COUNTDOWN: 13.

(Images courtesy of SCIFI Channel, twitchfilm.net, and bearmccreary.com.)

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Season 4 Episode 6
“Faith” (Part 2 of 2)
Written by Seamus Kevin Fahey
Directed by Michael Nankin
(WARNING: SPOILERS)

Twelve Cylon models
Seven are known
Four live in secret
One will be revealed

“Thus will it come to pass.
“The Dying Leader will know the truth of the Opera House.
“The missing Three will give you the Five, who have come from the home of the Thirteenth.
“You are the harbinger of death, Kara Thrace. You will lead them all to their end.
“End of line.”

Okay, another tough one to get through. Whoo!
This one’s divided into two major subplots, the Demetrius mission, and President Roslin’s cancer.


Even as Laura has completely lost all of her hair, she’s left a large amount of her office’s responsibility in the hands of Toaster Tory.
And while Gods know what that murdering cyberslut is up to, Laura takes some rough rounds of treatment in the infirmary, where she strikes up a friendship with Emily Kowalski (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Nana Visitor, who is also set to appear as Jason’s mum, Mrs. Voorhees, in the upcoming Friday the 13th remake), also stricken with cancer.
Laura engages Emily in a debate on religion, sparked by Emily’s listening to Baltar’s pirate broadcasts.
What emerges from the discussion:
If this is indeed the One True God that Baltar is preaching about, then He is a God for everyone, not just the Cylons.
Laura actually still thinks of the gods as metaphors (though how she can reconcile metaphors and her belief in the prophecies, I’d like to hear).
In an incredibly moving scene, Laura talks about her mother, also a teacher, also taken by cancer, who firmly believed in the gods.
We are also told that Emily had a dream about being on a boat, on a river, and about seeing her deceased loved ones, waiting for her on the shore. (A river that, incidentally, Baltar preaches about, the river that separates life from death.)

Later on, Laura has the same dream, and she first sees Emily join her loved ones on the shore, then sees her own mother and her own loved ones, likewise waiting for her, though she tells them, I’m not yet ready.
Waking from the dream, Laura finds Emily’s bed empty, the teeny radio transmitting Baltar’s words to no one.
She then has a conversation with Adama, where she professes there may be something to Baltar’s preaching. Adama begins to despair of all he has lost, and all he may still stand to lose (the Demetrius is overdue).
In one of those great tender Roslin-Adama moments, Laura tells him, I’m here. And we’re going to find Earth. Together.
Adama muses that at the beginning, Earth was just a carrot he dangled in front of the fleet, to give everyone a sense of purpose. Now, though, it’s a reality, and it’s because of Laura’s belief that Adama has changed his mind.

Meanwhile, on board the Demetrius, the Helo-led mutiny is short-lived, as Sam ends up shooting Gaeta in the leg. The serious injury makes Starbuck realize she would be putting everyone in danger if Leoben turned out to be a big fat lying Toaster.
She decides to let the Demetrius return to the fleet, while she takes Leoben on a Raptor to jump to the coordinates of the allegedly damaged base star. Sam volunteers to go with Kara, who also needs Athena, since she’s walking into Toaster territory. Helo doesn’t like it, but Athena says she’ll go. Also along for the ride, Barolay (Alisen Down), who’s apparently always been a firm Starbuck believer.
Helo ends up giving Starbuck and crew 15 hours before he has to jump back to the fleet. This, however, puts Felix in a very iffy position: the longer he goes without serious medical attention, the bigger the chances that when they do get back to the fleet, he’ll wind up losing his leg. (Felix makes Helo promise not to let Doc Cottle take his leg…)


Starbuck and crew make the jump, and find the floating debris of base stars, corroborating Leoben’s tale of civil war.
When they spot the base star, it turns out to be the comet in Kara’s vision.
On board the base star, there’s understandably a whole lotta tension.
Natalie disapproves of allowing Starbuck access to the Hybrid, but Kara shoots back with, You want an alliance, I get to see the Hybrid.
Athena is also approached by the Eights, who—looking on her as the first to have ever gone against the Cylon Plan—actually ask her to lead them in a revolt against the Sixes (who they feel have made one mistake after another). Fairly disgusted by this turn of events, Athena tells them, “… you pick your side and you stick! You don't cut and run when things get ugly. Otherwise you'll never have anything. No love, no family, no life to call your own!”

Meanwhile, plans are made to link the base star to the Raptor, so they can all make the jump, but that would require unplugging the Hybrid.
There’s also a couple of violent deaths, as one Six kills Barolay, who apparently murdered her back on New Caprica. Incensed, Sam holds a gun to the Six’s head, refusing to stand down as Starbuck is ordering.
Realizing they’re at a stalemate, and with time running out, Natalie takes matters into her own hands. Understanding, the Six tells Natalie, I’m glad it’s you, before being given a kiss, and getting shot in the head as Natalie squeezes the trigger for Sam.

And at the Hybrid’s chamber, Starbuck listens to the endless stream of prattle, completely unable to decipher its meaning.
Finally, it’s time to unplug the Hybrid so the jump can be made, but even as an Eight is doing so, the Hybrid screams, and the nearby Centurion shoots the Eight. As the Eight’s blood seeps into the Hybrid’s bath (sorry, not entirely sure what they call that gunk), Starbuck asks, What do you want from me?
And she is treated to the quote above.
A quote that, if the on-screen analysis is spot-on, seems to say, that they do need to unbox the Threes, as D’Anna can identify the Final Five, who, gasp, come from Earth!
Laura will also apparently discover the significance of her Opera House dream (a dream she shared with both Athena, Caprica Six, and Hera).
Oh, and Kara will lead everyone to their doom.
(Which makes me wonder though, if the Cylons present heard the Hybrid talk about “the missing Three” and “the Five,” didn’t they also hear the part about Starbuck being “the harbinger of death”?)

There’s also a bit with the dying Eight, who reaches out for Athena, who very nearly takes her hand, but in the end, doesn’t, letting it fall to Secret Cylon Sam to be there for the poor Eight as she died for the very last time…
(Secret Cylon Sam also tried to interface with the base star at one point, but was interrupted by Kara…)

Back at the Demetrius, the clock is running down, and it looks like they’ll have to make the jump back to the fleet, leaving Starbuck and her crew behind, but even as the clock runs over, the Raptor and the damaged base star appear…


So faith and mortality loom large in this episode, not just because of the cancer subplot, but also on board the base star, as the Cylons, isolated from the Resurrection Ship, are facing true deaths, and we lose a Six and an Eight.
But what really intrigues me though, as far as the base star goings-on are concerned, is the Hybrid’s apparent claim that the Final Five originated from Earth.
Does that mean they’re the true humans? Or does that mean they were created on Earth, which would then mean that the Earth is already at a point in history where technology allows the creation of advanced life forms. (One of the big questions, of course, about Galactica’s imminent Earthfall is, what year will it be on Earth when the fleet gets there?)

And, having mentioned the fleet, I’m still not completely sold on Baltar’s conversion, and thus, his message is still suspect to me.
I do love the fact, however, that here, in this episode, we see the old Laura, the one before the “I’m above petty laws and conventional morality now ‘cause I’m dying and can’t be bothered by all that” Roslin. This is the Laura I know, the Laura I’ve come to care about.
So why am I being convinced now, more than ever, that the Final Secret Cylon will turn out to be Laura? She did have that Vulcan mind-meld with Caprica Six and Athena. And why else did she respond so well to the blood transfusion from Hera?
Honestly, at this point, I’m not entirely sure how I feel if this turns out to be the case.
Cylon or no, all I do know is, I’m so not looking forward to a Roslin death scene…
After everything she’s gone through, I just want her to see Earth. I want that bit of the prophecy to be wrong…

COUNTDOWN: 14.

(Images courtesy of SCIFI Channel and twitchfilm.net.)

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Season 4 Episode 5
“The Road Less Traveled” (1)
Written by Mark Verheiden
Directed by Michael Rymer
(WARNING: SPOILERS)

Twelve Cylon models
Seven are known
Four live in secret
One will be revealed

Is it possible to love a show and yet despair of its characters, to fear and feel anxiety over the very dark places its characters find themselves in? To enjoy and not enjoy a show simultaneously?
I guess it is, ‘cause that’s the way I feel right now, after having seen this episode.
Bad enough to witness the changes in President Roslin, but now we get Skinhead Chief and Loony Kara.


First stop, the Demetrius.
The two-month window Adama gave Kara is almost up, and the grumblings on board the creaky tub are being heard, long and loud. It’s really probably only Helo who’s still covering Kara’s a$$, while everyone else, including Athena, are voting for chucking all this insanity in and heading back to the Fleet.
Things get even hairier when they come across a Leoben in a damaged Raider, a Leoben who Kara ends up consulting, to try and make sense of how she can find Earth again.
Needless to say, this consultation pisses everyone off, particularly Sam. And after finding out that Kara was housing Leoben in her quarters, Sam has the Toaster thrown out and locked up.
Leoben eventually tells Sam that Cylon civil war has broken out, and that the others he left on the damaged base star (presumably Natalie and her crew of dissenters) need Kara’s help, but not as much as she needs theirs. Leoben claims that the Hybrid can help Kara find Earth.
Everyone except Kara is, understandably, leery of Leoben’s claims, and even Kara whales on him when Sgt. Mathias gets killed in what could (or could not have been) an accident involving Leoben’s damaged Raider.
After a hasty memorial for Mathias though, everyone thinks Kara will realize they should at least rendezvous with the fleet first, before pursuing the coordinates on Leoben’s Raider which will take them to the purportedly damaged base star, but Kara insists they need to make the jump now.
Helo tries his level best to continue to follow orders, but after a final push from Athena, he opts to join everyone else (except Sam, perhaps) in a mutiny against Kara…
Hoo-boy!


Next stop, the fleet, and three of the four Secret Cylons.
Though we do get to see Tigh once, and a little more of Toaster Tory, who’s still frakking the hell outta Baltar, and trying to convert Tyrol to Baltar’s monotheistic creed, it’s Skinhead Chief we see the most of in this installment.
Aaron Douglas is having a hell of a time acting up a scary, unsettling storm as he continues to weather the immense amount of grief he’s feeling in the wake of Cally’s “suicide.” (Damn you, Toaster Tory!!!)
And while Tigh calls Skinhead Chief on his duty-slacking (as per the previous episode, where was he re-assigned to, anyway?), Skinhead Chief calls Tigh on his visits to Caprica Six.
Then Baltar gets on the “let’s convert the heathen” train and starts to make religious advances on Skinhead Chief. When his first attempt—underscored by an annoyingly presumptious “this is what Cally would have wanted” plea—is greeted by Skinhead Chief with an angry neck-throttle and a strangled roar of “You didn’t know her!”, Baltar makes a house call to Skinhead Chief’s quarters, and proceeds to have a heart-to-heart that succeeds in at least getting Skinhead Chief to take Baltar’s hand.
In friendship? In common religious belief?
Who knows at this point?


I, for one though, am still dubious about Baltar the Holy.
I still honestly don’t completely buy his conversion, his self-professed attempt to redeem himself of all his past sins.
Somehow, I still see the smarmy little sh!t he’s always been, and it still feels like he’s stringing all these people along, with his pirate broadcasts and his services and his frak sessions with Toaster Tory.
And as I stated last episode, his preaching has basically given Toaster Tory license to be the superior being she believes herself to be, without apology or remorse.
And if that handclasp means Skinhead Chief is going along for the Baltar the Holy ride, yeeesh!
I appreciate the stress Skinhead Chief’s psyche is undergoing, what with the “Watchtower” epiphany, and then Cally’s “suicide,” but I don’t, at the moment, see what he apparently saw in Baltar’s demeanour that would make him take that sniveling, would-be evangelist’s hand.
Or is it just me and I can’t see past Baltar’s sins?

COUNTDOWN: 15.

(Images courtesy of SCIFI Channel and twitchfilm.net.)

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Season 4 Episode 4
“Escape Velocity”
Written by Jane Espenson
Directed by Edward James Olmos
(WARNING: SPOILERS)

Twelve Cylon models
Seven are known
Four live in secret
One will be revealed

All right. A particularly dark and weighty installment here, so let’s get to it.


After the first truly shocking moment of the season (Cally’s murder at the hands of Toaster Tory), we see the descent of a number of characters into darkness and despair.
Obviously, the Chief, who blames himself for Cally’s “suicide,” so he starts to frak up on the job. Poor guy can’t even turn to Toasters Anonymous for help and support, since, after all, they need to stay anonymous to the rest of the fleet.
Finally, bitter and disillusioned, he stars to rant and mouth off to Adama at the bar. Angrily, he claims to have settled for Cally, “… because the ones we really wanted, the really loved, were dead, or dying, or turned out to be Cylons and they didn’t know it.”
He basically spits on the memory of Cally, and pushes Adama to the point where ol’ Rockface pulls the Chief off flight deck duty and orders him up for reassignment.
Poor Chief.


Then there’s Tigh, who’s taken to paying Caprica Six daily visits. Trying to find answers to questions he can’t really voice, Tigh begins to see Ellen in Caprica Six’s place, mouthing her words.
Tigh needs to know if there’s a switch that turns off all the pain and the guilt, but Caprica Six reassures him that she is just like any human, and that she likes the pain, because that’s how she learns. She also uses the pain as a focus, and when Tigh seems desperate for some kind of absolution, or at the very least some respite from the guilt and the confusion, Caprica Six starts to whale on Tigh (after he’s dismissed the guards on monitor duty, so he’s all alone with Caprica).
Eventually, Caprica stops, and though Tigh asks her to go on, she realizes pain is not what he needs.
And she kisses him.
I’d say “Poor Tigh,” ‘cause he’s so tortured and all, but hey, we left him in a liplock with Tricia Helfer! Ain’t nuthin’ “poor” ‘bout that!


Then there’s the President, who is reacting to her impending death with a growing disregard for the rules and conventional morality.
In dealing with the religious persecution going on against Baltar’s cult (more on that later), she passes a law that prohibits them from assembling more than a dozen individuals at once, thus effectively keeping them from holding services, and also keeping most of them out of their own home (since only 12 can be in there at any given time).
And to be fair, Roslin has a point: given what happened on New Caprica under Baltar’s leadership, who can say what will happen when he’s at the head of a group of blind, religious zealots?
Propelled by Lee however, the Quorum votes, and overturns Roslin’s law, allowing Baltar to continue preaching and conducting services. (Lee attends the episode’s climactic service, where Baltar reassures his faithful, God loves you exactly as you are, for you are all perfect. His followers are enraptured by Baltar’s words; Lee seems a lot less so.)
Poor President Roslin, wearing a wig and becoming more acclimated to being above everything now that her days are numbered. (Yes, she’s really scary right now, but I still feel for her…)


Then there’s Tory, who’s taking Baltar’s words to her evil little Toaster heart, as she’s basically become drunk on the possibilities of who she knows she is now, a Cylon, better than human, and, if Baltar is to be believed, perfect, and still loved by God, exactly as she is.
Now, this skin job, I have absolutely no sympathy for. The woman’s a dangerous sociopath that needs to be put down like the rabid dog that she is.
And you know, things might not have been so bad were it not for Baltar’s preaching, which sounds, really, on a certain level, as justification for all the evil he’s done—consciously or otherwise.
It’s all right. I’m a bad, bad person, but it’s all right. God still loves me. Because I am perfect, flaws and sins and all. (I’m paraphrasing, but that’s the gist of Baltar’s climactic teaching.)
I’m sorry, but isn’t that just the sinner giving himself leave to sin because, in the end, he is still perfect in the eyes of God? Because God still sees the inherent worth in the lowliest of scum?
Not sure if I nodded off during the service, Gaius, but where’s the personal responsibility? Where’s the need for atonement?
Don’t we need to prove ourselves worthy of God’s love? Don’t we need to strive for the perfection God sees, instead of telling ourselves that we already are perfect?


See? What did I say about this episode being weighty?
And the thing is, above and beyond my questions concerning Baltar the Holy’s doctrines, one really must ask, Are we really going to fall under the sway of a deranged, clearly frakked-up lunatic? I mean, come on! This is a man who’s allowing Head Six to jerk him around like a marionette!
I honestly used to think, Okay, maybe there is something to this Baltar the Holy, Divine Instrument of the One God thing (let’s face it, Head Six could sell ice to an Eskimo), but lately, Baltar’s just looking really loony, like this is the only way he’s had to deal with being culpable in the near-extinction of the human race. By believing he is the chosen of the One God.
And of course, Lee’s just doing what he believes is the right thing to do (allowing the people freedom of religion), but letting this madman stand at the pulpit, and preach to a collective desperate for answers?
Like I said, as scary as Prez Roslin is at the moment, I understand—and agree—with her point. Having said that, I don’t necessarily subscribe to suppressing Baltar’s right to whatever the frak religion he chooses, either. So we’re still stuck with a volatile loony at the head of a growing army of zealots-in-training. (Thank the Gods I’m not in charge.)

So while we have the episode’s main conflict of religious freedom vs. religious persecution, we also have characters acclimating to their new situations, either by continuing to fight for what they believe is right (as with Lee) or by re-aligning their mindsets to the new contexts they find themselves in (as with Tigh, the Prez, and Toaster Tory).
Hoo-boy! Things are definitely getting hairier…

COUNTDOWN: 16.

(Images courtesy of SCIFI Channel and twitchfilm.net.)

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Season 4 Episode 3
“The Ties That Bind”
Written by Michael Taylor
Directed by Michael Nankin
(WARNING: SPOILERS)

Twelve Cylon models
Seven are known
Four live in secret
One will be revealed

Lords of Kobol, this one had some pretty evil reversals in its climax…

The Road to Earth.
It turns out that amongst the crew of the Demetrius (on its 22nd day of transit), are Helo, Athena, Toaster Sam, Seelix, and Gaeta.
All is not well on the creaky, smelly ride though, as Kara seems to be flailing about trying to get her bearings and find the correct course to Earth. Most of the others are beginning to doubt and grumble, though Sam ends up having a bout of anger-turned-into-passionate-sex (you know the type) with Kara…

West Wing in Space.
So President Roslin is covering for the Demetrius’ absence while having to deal with her cancer treatments.
And apparently, turning into a tyrant…
VP Zarek hands a Classified file to newly appointed Quorum member, Lee, which seems to indicate that Roslin is laying down the architecture for a government that will be beholden to the power of its President, namely her.
It also quickly becomes apparent that she hasn’t forgiven Lee one bit for his betrayal of her during Baltar’s trial (thus making my hope for a Roslin-Lee Moment last episode naively premature).
Man, she’s turning out to be a cold-hearted hard-a$$ this season, though I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt and hoping this is all fallout from the cancer (and not Toaster Tory manipulating her somehow; see later).
At any rate, Lee ends up blowing the whistle on the Classified file’s contents in front of the entire Quorum, forcing Roslin’s hand in making the proposal common knowledge, as well as pissing her off real good.

Cylon Coup.
When Cavil returns in a new body, he opens up talks with Natalie, and is apparently willing to listen to their demands now, if only to restore unity.
The demand to stop the Raider lobotomies is accepted, though the move to de-box the Threes is put to a vote.
At first, Cavil claims that the vote passed, but later on, when the ships make a jump, the Resurrection Ship doesn’t. A number of the base ships led by Cavil’s then open fire on the ships containing Natalie and the other dissidents.
Cavil tells Boomer (who he’s apparently being really chummy with these days; the topless dancing last episode was just the start!), Remember, they started this.
Boomer of course, emphasizes the consequences of the Resurrection Ship’s absence: if Natalie and the rest of the Sixes, and the Eights, and the Twos die, they’re dead for good…

The Secret Cylons.
With Toaster Tyrol’s frequent absences recently, Cally hasn’t been getting much rest or sleep, having to take care of Nicky all by her lonesome.
Fatigue and anti-depressants do not, a pretty mix make, and when she catches the Chief and Toaster Tory (let’s call her T2) at a table in Joe’s Bar, she conjures up a non-existent affair. (Though to be fair, T2 did seem to have turned into CyberSlut, which is, I suppose, what you get when you have the pain in the a$$ epiphany that you’re a Cylon and you’re made to sleep with Baltar. Anyway, T2 was stroking Toaster Chief’s elbow. Or was that all in Cally’s head?)
Convinced her husband is boinking the President’s assistant, Cally’s futzing around their quarters, gathering up her meds, and I’m thinking, Okay, crazy, drugged-up woman’s about to off herself, isn’t she?
But, she inadvertently finds a message for the Chief which indicates a place and time. Thinking it’s from her husband’s floozy, she shows up there and sees Tigh, Tory, and the Chief gather for some secret rendezvous. (What did she think? There was gonna be a threesome?)
Cally eavesdrops and hears something she really shouldn’t have: these three are Cylons!
Poor woman probably sailed right off the edge at that point.
Cally makes a little racket from her hiding place, but the only one to notice something amiss is Toaster Tory.

Back at their quarters, Toaster Tyrol is telling her once again that there is no affair going on, and that he’s really gonna try and be there for her and Nicky.
But Cally’s lost it and swings a wrench at Toaster Tyrol’s noggin, knocking him out. She takes Nicky and a key from her husband’s pocket…
As Cally makes her way to an outer hatch, I’m thinking, Oh, no, not with the kid. I’m thinking, No wonder Moore and Eick and company were saying in interviews that they may not be able to get around to exploring Nicky’s half-human/half-Cylon heritage. ‘Cause the poor kid’s gonna get snuffed by his crazy-a$$ momma!
And I’m thinking, Holy crap. They’re really gonna kill the kid?! And I recall that in the original mini-series—was it the first episode?—they actually did kill a baby, when Caprica Six snapped its neck. Damn you baby killers!!!
But who should show up but Toaster Tory, who seems to want to talk Cally down from her suicidal urges. T2 is even apparently willing to risk her life to try and save Cally from doing this awful, awful thing.
And I think to myself, Huh. T2 may not be so bad after all.
Which is basically what T2 says to Cally, as she takes little Nicky from his crazy-a$$ momma, that she may be a Cylon, but she’s still the same person she’s always been. That she isn’t evil.
Right before she backhands Cally and leaves her in the airlock. Before she uses the key and jettisons poor Cally into outer space.

Damn you, Moore and Eick (and Michael Taylor, for writing this evil and oh-so-effective reversal)!
I’ve never really warmed to Tory (thus the reveal that she was a Secret Cylon didn’t really have the same sort of impact as with the other three), but this just sealed the hate, people.
As much as this reminds me of Lost and Michael shooting Ana-Lucia and Libby, this is, in many ways, so much worse, as Tory really does seem to be a cold-hearted b!tch (as opposed to Michael’s dunder-headedness).
Ugh. The woman is evil. All Cally ever really wanted was to be a dentist! Now I feel stupid for feeling sorry for Toaster Tory when she was made to sleep with Baltar.
Go, evil toaster! Sleep and cry with that deluded egomaniac!
Go! And get your stinking hands off the Chief!
(And yes, I realize she’s actually a skin job, but calling the Secret Cylons “toasters” is so much more fun!)

This does beg the question though.
If Tory is capable of this heinous act, are the other three Secret Cylons also potentially murderous toasters?
Or is there truth to her claims to Cally, that she really still is the same woman she was before the epiphany? That she has been, all this time, a murderous harridan?
Or was that the pressure and anxiety of the possibility of being caught out? That she felt she couldn’t let Cally live, since Cally knew the truth about her?

Also, the episode closes with a broken-up Toaster Tyrol in his quarters with Adama. There’s no sign of little Nicky.
Could T2 have spirited Nicky away, and made it seem as if Cally committed hari-kiri along with her baby? I hope not…

I say again, Damn you, Moore and Eick!
Gods, can this show get any better?

R.I.P. Specialist Callandra Henderson Tyrol

COUNTDOWN: 17.

(Images courtesy of SCIFI Channel, twitchfilm.net, and chron.com [Cally].)

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Season 4 Episode 2
“Six of One”
Written by Michael Angeli
Directed by Anthony Hemingway
(WARNING: SPOILERS)

Twelve Cylon models
Seven are known
Four live in secret
One will be revealed

“They will not harm their own. End of line. Limiting diffusions to two dimensions increases the number of evolutionary jumps within the species. Rise and measure the Temple of the Five. Transformation is the goal. They will not harm their own.”
-- The Hybrid

Man, this was a difficult episode to sit through, and I imagine it’ll only get tougher as we get further into this final season.

A lot of this episode’s moving bits came from the “Apollo musters out” subplot, as he takes his leave of the cockpit and prepares to take that government position (Caprica’s representative on the Quorum of Twelve).
There’s a rowdy pilot’s party, with toasts aplenty, as well as a full parade dress event on the flight deck, where we have a great Moment between Lee and Dualla (“Looks like you get the house,” he says, as he prepares to leave Galactica).
I only wish he’d had a Moment with the President, and truly hope that ended up as a deleted scene which will find its way onto DVD…
There’s even Lee’s solitary Moment in the Briefing Room, where snatches and echoes of the past ring out.
Hey, sorry for all the Season 3 trash talk, dude. You’re a decent enough guy, when your head’s on straight…

Then there’s the Secret Cylon subplot, which sees Toasters Anonymous trying to divine who the Fifth is, and in attempting to get at that truth, they enlist Tory to seduce Baltar, who may know something, given his presence at the Temple on the Algae Planet, and his… errrr… dealings with D’Anna.
And though Tigh tells Tory, You don’t have to end up on your back, she does so anyway… while crying…
Sigh.
Ah, well. Baltar’s presence in this though makes this overlap with the Baltar the Holy subplot, which as I’ve said before, I’m still iffy about, so I’ll wait and see…
Oh, and apparently, Baltar now has a Head Baltar. Gods, the man is certifiable…

Starbuck’s Resurrection, meanwhile, also affords Katee Sackhoff some great scenes, one of which is her face-off with the President, and her subsequent arrest, where it was truly startling to see Kara in a way she’s never been before.
Good stuff.
Within this subplot, there’s also a fantastic scene between Adama and Roslin, as they come to loggerheads about Kara: Roslin is still convinced it’s some kind of trap; Adama is arguing for, What if she’s telling the truth?
Miracles and faith (and Adama’s atheism) come into the conversation, certain hard and harsh things are said (Adama certainly is a mean drunk), and the President’s hair starts falling out.
Graaaah!!! This episode slays me.
Of course, it takes them all of this episode before Adama comes to the conclusion I posited last time: he gives Starbuck a sewage treatment ship (the Demetrius) and she’s to go off with a crew and find Earth. (At this point, I’m not sure if Adama meant that Helo would accompany Kara, so I’ll just have to wait till next episode to see if Karl is along for the smelly ride.)

Meanwhile, over on the Cylon front, the Sixes, Eights, and Twos sense what the Raiders determined: that the Final Five are in the fleet.
The Ones will hear no such nonsense. As far as Cavil and the rest of the Ones are concerned, the Raiders aren’t fulfilling their programming, and need to be fixed. This proposed lobotomy of the Raiders becomes the bone of contention within the ranks of the Cylons.
With the Fours and Fives on the Ones’ side, the issue is deadlocked, until Boomer makes the unprecedented move of voting against all the other Eights and coming down on the “lobotomize the damn Raiders” side.
Backed into a corner and convinced the sentience of the Raiders, along with the Final Fives’ presence (and Boomer’s decision as well) means there’s some kind of massive change taking place, a Six called “Natalie” takes it upon herself to remove the inhibitor which suppresses higher functions in the Centurions.
And when the Centurions are told that the Raiders have been sentenced to lobotomies, they side with Natalie and voila, Cylon coup d’etat.

It’s here, in this subplot, where a lot of the heady stuff lies: even as Four of the Final Five are allowed their epiphanies and awakened to their true natures, the Cylon race is experiencing some kind of evolutionary surge.
Sentience—and the free will that comes along with it—becomes an issue which fractures the union of the race.
It’s interesting that the Cylons are still continually progressing to becoming, for lack of better terms, more human. And with all that Hybrid prattle about not harming their own, could this be where BSG is headed?
Some ultimate union of both species, a mutual recognition that they are all one and the same after all, equal, in the eyes of God/the gods?

COUNTDOWN: 18.

(Images courtesy of SCIFI Channel and twitchfilm.net.)