Battlestar Galactica: Season 2 - SciFi US broadcast thread - Page 13

My only qualm with that theory, Peter, is that Six has been portrayed as being in many ways the least human of the humanesque "Spy-lons". Boomer is the most human of the "Spy-lons" with the other models (for instance the black doctor on Caprica) falling somewhere in between. With that in mind, I think DVDverdict had the right take.

Yes and no. I don't think that was the intent, but it was such a departure from her regular look that I actually thought it was Starbuck before the close-up.

On to the review:

In weekly television this heavily serialized, it is rare to get a definitive ending for anything. Take any episode of Smallville that doesn't feature Christopher Reeve and isn't a season premiere or finale and it will have a pretty distinct beginning, middle, and end — the latter of which will return things pretty much without fail to the status quo. By contrast, Battlestar Galactica from week to week never returns to the status quo, and never really comes to a distinctive conclusion. The three-act episode structure will usually be observed either thematically or through a microplot, but I leave each week feeling one step further along the path.
This episode, by contrast, features a definitive conclusion on two levels. The macroplot that has been brewing since since the season one finale finally comes to a close in the last scene as the military and civilian leaders are once again presenting a united front over a united fleet. The series itself also takes a fundemental shift. Since it began, the fleet has taken a fundamentally reactive stance. Their home plants have been destroyed, the enemy's numbers are now far greater than their own, and the Cylon military presence is seeming invincible. Basically, the series has consisted of them getting the hell out of there and staying afloat and united while they bided their time.
As soon as the arrow of Apollo transported them to a grassy secluded field on Earth's northern hemisphere (or atleast a vision of Earth's northern hemisphere), they have a direction and they have a purpose. The series finally takes itself conclusively out of the realm of the scientific and places itself firmly instead into the realm of the supernatural. Previous qualms about the Cylons needing love to take the final step into life and reproduction no longer apply; however much they are guided by our own laws of physics, higher science, and the realities they entail they are also effected and in the presence of something greater than their own. Whether this higher presence is the Christian God of the Cylons, the pagan Zodiac gods of the colonists, or something else entirely remains to be seen. The colonists are clearly meant to journey to Earth, and this vision is the first step on their way.
Now the fleet's leadership can be proactive; they have a clear purpose and a clear goal and the realities that have plagued them since the beginning now become obstacles instead of everything. Any lingering differences between the two leaders are inconsequential when set against that shared experience inside the tomb. Their goals and their purpose are now the same and so the differences in methods don't matter so much anymore.
In the face of this knowledge, the Cylon stake in all of this becomes important. There are basic three options: The pagan religion could be right, in which case Roslin will lead the fleet to Earth and salvation and the Cylons will fall as the Lords of Kobol intend them to. The Cylon religion is right, and the humans will never make it to Kobol. The Cylon religion is right, and the humans and Cylons share a destiny that comes can only come to fruition on Earth. Boomer was motivated more by her devotion to Helo and their child than by any sort of loyalty to her "species," so we can glue out the third option as the definitve Cylon viewpoint. If she is working against her people, than they will take what they need from humanity and then destroy the entire fleet before it reaches Kobol. If she is working in alignment with her people's higher goal, than they as a whole will continue to subtly manipulate human events in order to bring things towards the culmination of God's plan as they approach Earth.
Then there is Baltar. Since their in no chip in his head, his condition can be reduced to three basic causes: he actually is crazy and just intuitive as head, he does have Cylon programming in his head, but it is chemical instead of metallic, or he is an instrument of God directly. Regardless of which it ultimately turns out to be, Baltar cannot be dependably counted on to serve the needs of either side. An insane Baltar would be so off the handle that any actions would be random and subject to his own whims. A Cylon-influenced Baltar would place his loyalty towards his own kind in the face of Cylon control that he has so far had limited success in fighting off. If this is true, that he is a ticking time bomb that could at any minute reveal the location of the fleet to the enemy along with whatever else his mind is tortured into agreeing to. Finally, if the third option is true, then he would be placed on his own side, with decisions and actions based on the benefit to neither the humans nor the Cylons, whose manipulation of each would benefit a higher purpose than either.
Focusing back more on the immediate instead of the overarching, I really loved the character interactions tonight. The sheer emotional power of father and son reunited after such trama easily outshining the lingering differences that led to that parting. The commander and the president finally seeing each other as comrades instead of adversaries. Boomer echoing back the question he asked of mk1's corpse and then later showing her loyalty in the face of emotional and tactical adversity. Zarack showing that after all this time there are still lines he is unwilling to cross. The chief having to face the spitting image of his lost love. Alot of character development and realignment in the face of the imminent end of phase one of the show and anticipation for the next phase of the show.
In short, this episode ranks among those few that followers of the show simply can't afford to miss.

I know I did, and I think others did too. It was a nice creepy little moment but nothing overly huge. Whether she knows it because the transmitter is still working in dead Boomer or if this is just another example of the furthering mysticism of the series - or a simple case of Boomer's cold intellect reading the commander better than the rest of those around him - is almost beside the point. It's a great character moment.

I will concede that I hold true to this as a general concept. If they have a ton of "great character moments" (to use my own words) like this, it will dilute the impact. But as long as they are exceedingly few and far between, I think they merely amp up the mysticism of the Cylons a little bit more. Adam, can you put a blank line between your paragraphs? I enjoy reading your reviews, but the lack of white space takes away a bit of the enjoyment.[/quote]I've never even thought to do this as it's not correct by traditional standards, but since I've noticed it's standard practice in this thread, I'll try to remember for future recaps, though — knowing my memory — I can't make any garantees Thanks for taking the time to consider my opinions thus far, in any event. Maybe Zarek's just more honorable than we all thought.