(S03E08) I remember back when I interviewed Carl Lumbly that he'd mentioned something quickly in passing about making an appearance on Battlestar Galactica, or maybe it was just something I read somewhere later. He'd actually also said that he wanted to take a rest for a while, once Alias was through, though I'd hardly call his appearance on Battlestar taking a rest.
This episode was ... strange. There are definitely some interesting things we come to learn about Adama's command before the Cylons wiped out Caprica, though I feel like much of what was told could have (or should have) been told over several episodes. It's still possible they're going to do this, though.
The notion that Adama may thing (or did think) that he possibly caused the Cylons to go on the offensive seemed rather sudden. It's one of those important factors of his character that I'd have thought we'd see more glimpses of in the past, as though there were this "something" haunting him, making him always question his next move when it came to the Cylons. We did get a moment of that last week, when he passed the buck to the President for signing off on the infect-the-Cylon-resurrection-ship plan, though to me it wasn't enough.
I guess you could say Adama just put professionalism and duty before his emotions all this time, and it took the appearance of Bulldog to make him come to grips with what happened that day Bulldog was captured.
About Bulldog's release and the Cylon's "plan" for him. Did anyone else not think that seemed a weak plan? Three years on a Base Star and that's all they came up with? No mental breakdown to create a spy for their own? Why is it that the Cylons are so hellbent to kill Adama anyway? Would his death really drop morale so much that the humans would simply falter and fade away? I'd actually think that, had a Cylon killed Adama, it would only fuel the rage humans already have for Cylons, and the next time they happened upon some of that virus that makes the Cylons sick, they wouldn't hesitate to use it.
Random observation: Amazing shots of BSG still battered to hell. A commenter mentioned this as well several weeks ago, and it's still nice to see this bit of detail still being used. I know, it's a small thing, but I appreciate it.
Getting back to Adama and him feeling at fault for the Cylon aggression. This episode does seem to tie in well with last week, with the question of what makes us human and what rights we have to destroy a sentient race. It seems the patter of the show continues to slowly lean toward the humans and Cylons possibly understanding one another more, and these past two episodes sort of gave that theme a little jolt.
Random observation #2: Love Tigh's eye patch. I've always thought of Tigh as an old salt sea captain, and all that's missing now is a missing limb.
Speaking of Saul, it seems he's back to being close with the Admiral, which is a good thing, as I'd like to see more of his presence on the show.
And what do you make of the Cylon killing herself and going on about what's "beyond" when she dies?
Not a great action-packed episode, though I think I've pointed out that it seems to be purposeful in showing how that line between the humans and Cylons may be starting to blur more.
Oh, and two weeks until the next episode. Boo!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
11-18-2006 @ 12:30AM
matthew said...
Very conventional episode which makes it odd. Really felt like it could have been cut up as a parallel thread and played against some of the other story-lines and spread across several episodes. I miss the jumping between multiple stories found in the first season and 2.0 through "home." Overall felt like there was a lot of story off-camera but it was good to see Tigh.
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11-18-2006 @ 2:33AM
Akbar Fazil said...
I actually felt this was more of a setup episode. Sure it seemed like the story was all tidied up but I was thinking that perhaps Bulldogs cylon "plan" had not been activated yet. His wanting to kill adama was just a side affect of the brainwashing and his new found hatred of Adama.
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11-18-2006 @ 3:53AM
Smiley said...
What do you mean his guilt has never been mentioned before. Do you not remember in the season premier Athena telling Adama that he needs to learn to forgive himself in order for them to survive. She's a cylon. She knew what he did.
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11-18-2006 @ 4:13AM
futurepastnow said...
Actually, I think this episode advanced the story quite a bit- because I think the whole "god" business is the real arc.
#3 went to the same ancient Kobol "opera house" that Angel-Six took Baltar to, and saw five figures on stage. I think they are the other Cylon models- boxed? Exterminated? There's a lot more going on with this.
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11-18-2006 @ 7:59AM
Arnold said...
Adama’s previous command was on a newer advanced Battlestar called the Valkyrie. I wonder what happened to all that advance technology in the battle with the Cylons. The only ship left is one they call “the bucket” which was on it’s way to the mothball yard before the attack.
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11-18-2006 @ 10:34AM
David said...
They should have stayed on the planet longer.
Ever episode since they left New Caprica has gotten worse and worse. Now we had this one which came out of the blue and was pointless to me. Next week we have a boxing episode? WTF?
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11-18-2006 @ 11:05AM
Dan said...
I agree with David's comment (6)-- there has been a decline in quality. Boxing?? Also, I don't appreciate all the self-blame for the Cylon attack-- I think it's intellectually puerile. Not even the president pointed out that the Cylon's chose to kill billions of humans for their own reasons-- she said something like we did a thousand things, good and bad over 40 years that led to the attack. But the main thing was the Cylon ideology, which she didn't mention. This struck me as inconsistent with her previously expressed views.
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11-18-2006 @ 11:19AM
malren said...
I'm so tired of these glossed-over, thin recaps of BSG. If you are too, check this out. Much better insight into the show and a LOT better writing.
http://tinyurl.com/yh4tba
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11-18-2006 @ 12:01PM
Mike said...
I wonder where they shipped Bulldog off to at the end of the episode. Isn't he a crack pilot, and don't they need pilots on Galactica? Sure he's been driven half-mad, but it's not like he's any less fit for duty than Starbuck.
Also I didn't buy Adama's sudden belief that he caused the Cylon invasion three years ago either. More and more, the writers are moving the characters around like chess pieces for plot purposes. Let's colonize a planet. Okay, let's have all 40,000 colonists escape the planet in one battle. Let's make Lee fat! Okay, now this week lets make him thin again.
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11-18-2006 @ 12:04PM
Keith McDuffee said...
malren -- The episode coverage here is *review* coverage, not recap. If you want recaps go elsewhere.
Seriously, though -- I'd like to know what you guys think of these reviews, though in a civil and constructive manner (i.e., not simply "they suck"). I want to do right by you and this show, and I hope I'm doing an OK job of that.
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11-18-2006 @ 1:09PM
Fuzzball said...
malren -- I disagree with you, on TWO counts. One, this TV Squad is a review, not a recap. Two, the BEST recaps for BSG are done by Jacob on Television Without Pity.
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11-18-2006 @ 2:31PM
malren said...
Keith, my opinion is that you miss a lot of important detail in the show. I don't think you remember from week to week or season to season what happens and worst of all, you have absolutely no insight into most of the characters. I don't think you actually get what is going on, you just think the show is cool.
That's *my* opinion. I truly think that you are doing this show a disservice with these reviews that are little more than recap.
Hey - you asked.
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11-18-2006 @ 2:40PM
malren said...
Fuzzball - good call on the TWOP site. Thanks!
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11-18-2006 @ 2:44PM
Keith McDuffee said...
malren -- What details am I missing? Give me an example please. The last comment I see from you on a BSG post, you say I missed a detail and I explained that you totally misread what I was getting at. Also, what recap? I'm *not* recapping at all, which is entirely the point of these *reviews*.
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11-18-2006 @ 5:17PM
Muneeb Siddiqui said...
I think you write decent reviews. I would prefer a more in depth analysis, but your quick analysis works fine as a compromise given that you upload your review within a few hours. Besides, all the people in the comments cover most of the questions posed anyways...which works just fine too.
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11-18-2006 @ 10:34PM
SJ said...
I enjoyed the episode. It was about time they focused on Adama's story a bit more. Making a decision to kill one of your own pilots is a hard one which will definitely haunt you forever, though it was a bit much that Adama thought he started the war. Great to see Tigh coming back to his old self.
As for D'Annas story, it seems as if she's going to "die" soon. I've noticed that Lucy Lawless is listed as a "special guest actress" in all of the episodes so far. And Gauis is one lucky bastard.
Btw, has anyone else noticed that they never mention Adama's dead son? It was a big part of season one but he hasn't been mentioned once. People do move on but you can't really forgot a son (in the case of Adama), brother (Lee), and lover (Starbuck).
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11-18-2006 @ 11:35PM
LC said...
"I wonder what happened to all that advance technology in the battle with the Cylons."
It was most likely destroyed with all the other advanced Battlestars. Once the Cylons gained access to the Colonial defenses, they were able to disable all the more advanced ships. Galactica was "low tech" and they weren't able to gain control and shut their systems down.
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11-18-2006 @ 11:35PM
LC said...
Keith,
I don't think Adama felt himself responsible until after he found out Bulldog was alive. Before that, he probably thought that he killed him and the Cylons where none the wiser. It wasn't until after he found out he was captured that he felt he may have been the cause of the war.
I also don't think the Cylons may have had a weak plan. It was probably their only plan. A lot of people talk about their brainwashing Bulldog, but to tell the truth, I don't think they may be capable of this. They are certainly more technologically advanced, but they still seem to be struggling with human emotion. While Lioban(sp?) seemed to do a good job on Starbuck, the rest seem to be befuddled on what motivates humans, or what love even is, so without this knowledge I don't think they would be able to tinker with someone's mind and make them do anything that they don't already want to do.
Just my two cents.
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11-19-2006 @ 12:05AM
Scott H said...
This was a bizarre, confused episode that I didn't buy at all. All of the sudden there's this huge, poorly-thought-out backstory for all this supposed guilt that Adama's apparently been carrying around for "all those years" (ummm, THREE). This felt like this year's "Black Market". The Cylon storyline made very little sense, too. Lumbly is a good actor, but all he had to do here was play "crazed". Even Laura was not believable this week--the performances all seemed off, like they knew the storyline made no sense, and just tried to ignore it.
And boxing next week? Ugh. I guess after so many good eps this season, it was time for some stinkers.
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11-19-2006 @ 1:35AM
Dave said...
Why hasn't anyone commented on the 3some that they alluded to when Lucy Lawless gets out of bed. :)
On a serious note, I think we need to take a step back and realize that this is still the best show on television and there is no way that you can make every episode better than the next. In a show that doesn't wrap everything up every week, you can't always top the previous week. Lighten up everyone.
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