Battlestar Galactica is an Emmy Award winning science fiction television program created by Ronald D. Moore that first aired on October 18, 2004 in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Sky One, and January 14, 2005 in the United States on SCI FI. Repeats of episodes have been shown in the United States on SCI FI, NBC, Bravo, and in high definition on Universal HD.
Battlestar Galactica continues from the 2003 mini-series to chronicle the journey of the last surviving humans from the Twelve Colonies of Kobol after their nuclear annihilation by the Cylons. The survivors are led by President Laura Roslin and Commander William Adama in a ragtag fleet of ships with the Battlestar Galactica, a powerful but old warship, as its command ship. Pursued by Cylons intent on wiping out the remnants of the human race, the survivors travel across the galaxy looking for the fabled and long-lost thirteenth colony: Earth.
From the Wikipedia entry for Battlestar Galactica.
It’s been over a year since we had fresh episodes of Battlestar Galactica. It hasn’t helped that because of the WGA strike, we will only be seeing a 8 or 10 episode season this year. The other episodes will air in 2009.
That being said, the end of the last season was spectacular. It was revealed that Colonel Tigh, Sam Anders, the Chief and Tory Foster were four of the five final Cylon models. On top of that, Kara Thrace returned to the fleet with a message from Earth.
I used to think that Thrace was the final Cylon model. I’m no longer sure of this, although her disappearance and reappearance is hard to swallow without thinking about Cylons, I believe that Thrace is the key to Earth. She believes that too. No one else believes this, except Apollo naturally and maybe the Admiral. He’s known her for too long to think that she’s just gone bonkers.
We didn’t see anything about the Cylon Revolution in this episode. It’s too bad. Hopefully the next episode will be filled with juicy details about what exactly happened to Caprica Six and her alliance.
In this episode, Baltar and his followers are persecuted by Roslin and her administration. Thanks to Apollo, it’s quickly stopped, but not before Baltar can show his religious devotion to his followers. I’m amazed really to find out that Inner Six is capable of moving Baltar’s body with some form of exterior force. Even though Baltar doesn’t want to get up at one point, she’s able to force him up. Inner Six actually grabs him and he physically looks like he’s levitating.
Chief Tyrol is maudlin over the death of Cally. He doesn’t know yet that Tory killed her. He gets thrown off the Galactica for making a mistake and for insulting the Admiral when he tries to help him.
Nothing has been said about Starbuck’s search for Earth either.
I thought this episode was excellent. It showed how Roslin is losing touch and is slowly dying. I wonder if her character will actually die in this season. Another important part was that Tigh started seeing Six more often. He sees his dead wife’s face on Six’s body. It’s strange. I’m surprised that Six hasn’t figured out that Tigh is a Cylon. They must be stealth models or something like that. She’ll figure it out eventually. Or she already knows. There is a disturbing scene were she batters Tigh so that he can find clarity. She then kisses him.
Eros/Thanatos.
Love and death, intricately linked. I always love how spiritual Six is. The Cylons are very religious and more than anything, this is a battle of religions more than anything else.
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
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Chief Tyrol is hosting a funeral for Cally. The President liked it. She tells the Admiral. She wants something like this for her own funeral.
Everyone expresses their condolences.
Tigh pays a visit to the captured Six. He sees his wife’s face on Six for a few moments. Tory and Tight pay Tyrol a visit. He hasn’t been taking care of the baby Nicky. They warn him to be careful to not divulge the fact that he is a Cylon. The Chief is maudlin.
Tory pays Baltar a visit. She pulls a few of his hairs out. He realizes something about her. She’s talking a bit like Six. A smoke grenade drops down the stairs of their lair. They are looking for Baltar. They are armed men and they manhandle the women there.
The Chief was working on a Raptor. When Racetrack goes out on it, it malfunctions. They crash land the Raptor into the landing bay.
Baltar reads the graffiti. It’s from the Sons of Ares. Six appears and tells him that the old gods are fighting back. The old gods die hard.
The Chief inspects the wreckage. He finds that it’s his fault. He didn’t install the wrong component. The Chief is losing it.
Baltar makes a speech thanks to Six’s urging. He says that it’s time to make a stand. Baltar goes to an old god service and desecrates it. He gets arrested.
The Admiral meets Roslin. They discuss Baltar and the Sons of Ares. Roslin is going to see him.
Tigh pays Six another visit. He wants to know how it feels like to have billions of human dead on her conscience. Six kind of implies that they are the same. Tigh calls out for weapons. He sees his wife again. He wants to know how she can live with what she’s done. She asks him if he’s asking for forgiveness and absolution. She says that she can give him that. He sends the soldiers away. He leaves.
Roslin pays Baltar a visit. She tells him that she is slipping away from his life very soon. She wants him to have a quiet little life. Since she is dying, morality, rules and regulations can be put aside. She isn’t above putting an end to him.
The Chief is drinking at Joe’s. The Admiral tells him that he can have more shifts or time off, whatever he needs. The Chief hears him say that Cally couldn’t take it, being married to a Cylon and being the mother of a half-breed Cylon. He only heard this in his mind. The Admiral doesn’t understand what Tyrol is talking about.
The Chief says that he settled for Cally. He didn’t pick this life. He’s totally lost. He’s insulting the Admiral. He begs to be demoted. The Admiral complies and has him put off the ship.
At the quorum, Apollo questions the President’s newest legislation. Her legislation stops people from congregating together. She wants to stop Baltar. The other representatives are questioning her decision. Adama demands a vote. Roslin threatens them and reminds them about what Baltar had done in the past with power. Roslin leaves after making her speech.
Tigh is back to see Six. She is sleeping. He still sees his wife. She doesn’t want to turn off the pain, it’s how she learns. She fell in love with a human man. That pain taught her to understand death. Tigh thinks that she was thinking about him. She was talking about Baltar. The illusion fades and he sees Six again. He storms off. He clears out the surveillance teams. He switches off the surveillance gear. He comes back.
Pain is how she learned from guilt. She tells him that their minds were designed from your minds. When you are in pain, that’s when you know who you really are. She can give him the clarity he seeks.
Baltar arrives back at his lair. He can’t get back inside. There are already 12 people inside. Six tells him to make his move. This is the time and the place. He steps forward and gets put down.
In the cell, Six hits Tigh a few times. She asks him if he can feel the clarity in his mind. She continues to hit him.
Six urges Baltar on. She says that the gain will outweigh the cost. The soldiers continue hitting him. Six grasps him and pushes him up. It looks strange, like a puppeteer is controlling Baltar. This more than anything else proves that Six isn’t a figment of Baltar’s imagination. She is actually acting out things that Baltar doesn’t agree with. She is moving his body with her own and Baltar almost appears as he is floating on air. Apollo arrives and tells them that the restriction has been lifted.
Baltar embraces him in a daze.
Roslin isn’t happy with Lee. He’s acting against what she believes has to be done. Apollo is doing the right thing, but he shouldn’t. He’s endangering everyone.
Tigh wants to be hit more. Six says that she’s made a mistake. She kisses him.
Baltar makes another speech to his followers. He admits to his faults. Tyrol is there as well. It’s either that or he’s just looking onto his son in his quarters.
At the Demetrius, Starbuck has fallen asleep on starcharts. She’s sweating and dreaming. Anders looks on. Appollo is at Baltar’s speech as well. He calls everyone perfect. God loves them all.
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It’s actually the Sons of ARES (the god of war), not Aries, the Zodiac sign. Galactica never uses our Zodiacal names (e.g., Aerolon vs. Aries, Tauron vs. Taurus).
Typo, sorry about that. Thanks!