(S04E16) We've reached "The Final Five" on a few levels. Ellen Tigh is back, and it's good to know that despite being part of a species with a potentially infinite lifespan, she still gets jealous when her husband has a baby with someone else.The minute Ellen came back, I knew the baby would miscarry. I believe it was Tigh, as one of the Cylon progenitors, that was keeping the unborn Liam alive (if the Cylons do in fact need love to survive). Once Ellen came back, it caused conflicting feelings and the baby was done for. I wonder if Caprica Six will try to exact revenge as a result and we'll see a Cylon catfight.
Ellen Tigh seemed so enlightened with regards to her people and purpose in last week's episode. Upon returning to Saul and learning of his infidelity, that turned around quickly and she became petty and vindictive. I call that the "high school reunion" syndrome, in which people, when in the presence of other certain people, revert to certain behaviors. Despite the longevity of their marriage, the Tighs don't strike me as having the healthiest of relationships.
Even with its concentration on the Tighs, the episode also focused on Caprica Six (in more ways than one. The Six model appeared in each of the three opening scenes). One forgets that each of the Cylon models are supposed to be stronger than humans. Six reminded us of this by taking out the anti-Cylon colonials in the beginning.
Boomer's return will likely mean her execution (she did try to kill the Admiral a few seasons ago), but will it lead to a romantic rekindling between her and Tyrol? Now that we know both are Cylons, there won't be any concern about intermarriage or racial purity.
Of course, racial cross-breeding was one of the major themes of the episode. It was hammered into our heads every time we watched Adama looking grim as Galactica got a Cylon paint job. No wonder he was taking pills with his booze.
Both Baltar and Caprica Six were acting very naive this episode: Baltar with his handling of the food and Six with her handling of the baby situation. I wonder if their psychic link had anything to do with their similar behaviors.
I enjoyed seeing once again the manipulative Six that exists within Baltar's head, although I wonder if we'll ever get an explanation for her existence. Baltar proves once again that he's good for two things: womanizing and surviving, Arming Baltar's cult seems like a colossally stupid idea. Giving pissed-off women some heavy armaments doesn't strike me as a way of creating peace within the human colonists.
The episode was good, but it was about the same level as last week and definitely a step down from the insurrection episodes. There was too much Baby Mama drama for my liking. I look forward to seeing what Anders says when he awakens (my guess is he'll forget what he said when he had the bullet lodged in his brain and want to leave the fleet) and what exactly is going on with Starbuck.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
2-21-2009 @ 4:57AM
Benjh said...
That was a weiiiiird episode. I mean, it was like BSG meets "Days of our lives". So soapy!!!! The only thing that happened was the death of the baby, after being told he didn't matter anyway, being a pure cylon.
Seriously, waist of an episode. It feels like some of the information from last week's should have been diluted in this one, but wasn't for some reason (keep the narrative arc of Ellen's flashbacks?).
Now that you think about it, if Ellen's on the ship, what was so urgent about having Sam say everything last week? She could have done the job.
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2-21-2009 @ 5:02AM
HD said...
Holy Frak this episode was boring. I enjoy BSG, and generally not obsessive about every detail or canon, but for an episode this close to the endgame it was way below par IMHO.
No action and a recycled plot from "All My Children" as far as I can tell.
It's time to get it out of park and slam down the gas petal and scream non-stop to one big satisfying motherfrakkin' ending...or just order some onion rings and fade to black, you know, whatever.
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2-21-2009 @ 5:34AM
GG59 said...
Oh for gods sake, stop complaining.
The episode was a little soapy for my liking, but there were still important messages within the soap. The whole episode was about racial integration, and the choice between going off on your own and staying with those you know, and the lase scene epitomised that quite nicely.
If you only enjoy the show for the action and the revelations, then I suggest you go back to watching free-to-air tv. It was by no means the best episode, but it certainly wasn't boring.
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2-21-2009 @ 12:50PM
pumpkinhead said...
And, the interactions between Ellen, Tigh, and C6 emphasized how the cylons are exhibiting behavior that is more human all the time.
I do really hope we're going to get an explanation as to how Baltar's Head-six lifted him off the ground last year.
2-21-2009 @ 7:52AM
chris said...
I agree, I am a die-hard BSG fan and this episode was soooooo dull. You would think with Ellen coming back to the fleet it would be amazing, but it was extremely boring.
One of the only good parts of this episode was the brief interaction between Caprica and President Rosylin. I started screaming at the tv, "No, don't leave, come back, we need you to keep talking!"
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2-21-2009 @ 8:29AM
Thunder Jones said...
The giant gaping hole was how did Boomer and Ellen find the fleet? No one really asked her how they found the fleet.
If it's that easy, why hasn't Cavil come and blown them all to pieces?
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2-21-2009 @ 9:16AM
Sho said...
"The giant gaping hole was how did Boomer and Ellen find the fleet? No one really asked her how they found the fleet."
A guess: It's possible Cavil and the other Cylons already know where Galactica is, but are just hesitant to do anything about it without having resurrection capability.
(Have there been any major Cylon attacks since the resurrection hub was destroyed?)
2-21-2009 @ 1:39PM
Ro said...
I agree with all of you...the ep was boring...as usual the acting was great, but it's not like we were really invested in the Tigh and Caprica having a baby storyline...
Also, in regards to holes in the story...I guess the writers can claim that the reason the bad Silons haven't caught and attacked the fleet is because maybe they want to try and re-invent resurrection before they attack so they don't have to lose their lives in battle.
So Ellen dies on New Caprica, then is resurrected, then hangs out in that room for like a year? Hmmm...
I'm glad we're going to finally get some insight as to what Starbuck's story is next week!
2-21-2009 @ 8:00AM
F said...
I agree with those that feel that this episode was boring. It's really surprising that one of the final five (heh-heh) episodes could so easily be described as a "filler" episode. There was basically nothing to move the story forward in terms of what the Galactica fleet will be doing next, where it will go, etc. There were no other mysteries solved either.
Here's a question, though: If it was so easy for Ellen and Boomer to find the Galactica fleet, why haven't the non-rebel Cylons under Cavil done the same and attacked?
Also, you would think that there would have been at least one scene exhibiting Cavil's reaction to Ellen's escape and a discussion of what to do in response.
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2-21-2009 @ 9:17AM
Hank said...
while the episode wasn't as action packed and exciting as many it did advance the story line and made what is probably an important clarification. the oft repeated mantra has been that this has all happened before and will all happen again. the it being the creation of Cylon life and the conflict that develops between humans and Cylons and between Cylons themselves (based on their level of technological advancement perhaps). It always resolves in conflict and destruction. Well in the scene where the five are debating leaving the ship Tigh comes straight out and says it clearly for the first time. Pure humans and pure Cylons have led to the ongoing conflict. Alone each of theirs inherent failings lead to the conflicts. The clear direction of Tigh's comments is that the only way to breaking the cycle of destruction is for humans and cylons to combine. This is why Caprica and Tigh's pure Cylon baby is not important but Hera who is a true mixed child is important to the future. The back story of the repair of Galactica with Cylon technology and the drama about how various humans will respond to the greater inclusion points in that way as well.
So this episode finally said clearly where the show is going in the final episodes. For both humans and Cylons to survive they need to integrate and learn to tolerate and live with each other. If not it will all happen again.
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2-21-2009 @ 10:04AM
Tim-1 said...
Glorious Boomer, like a child coming home, lifted my heart as she climbed out of that raptor. So it is, my journey with Boomer has come full circle. For it was when Boomer climbed out of a raptor far back in the mini-series, that I beheld for the first time, Grace Park in all her splendor and beauty. How brief was my elation, for like precision clockwork, the writers were loyal to their obsession for punishing Boomer, so naturally they had her thrown in the brig. Now melancholy is a guest in my house again, because I fear terrible things is in store for our unhappy Boomer. I don't want to think anymore about that.
I am not sure I understood the rhythm of this episode. As episodes go it was fine. It had moments of humor, attention-getting drama, and tear-wrenching sorrow. What was curious to me was the the episode did not seem to propel the epic material along. With the few episodes remaining, I expected greater plot movement. I felt the time spent with the Baltar/ power-struggle and the prolonged bickering of Saul and Ellen could have been better used for more crucial areas in the story. From last weeks episode, the impression I got from Ellen was that she was going to be the all-wise, sagacious fence-mender....a stabalizing influence on the factions. She was supposed to be a scientific mind, not the petty disrupter that she displayed here.
I think I always followed BSG in terms of the journey rather than the destination. While I always loved the storylines and plot twists, it was the character developements that championed my interests. It was the "search in the mirror" of how we relate and feel with the characters. This episode was very heart-wrenching. To see Saul crying in Adama's arms after what happened will be one of those memorable moments for me. It was at that moment that Saul became the total character. He became the complete man. My heart went out to Caprica six as well. Caprica six and Saul has proven yet again that the line between cylon and human is becoming less and less recognizible.
The power of the intellect is the great divider between man and oblivion. But it is the heart that gives legitimacy to the reign of awareness. Machines can be created to surpass man in the rapidity of the calculations and retrieval of data. But it is the soul that imparts the cries of sorrow and joys of laughter that gives existence to the equation of humanity.
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2-21-2009 @ 10:48AM
Jimmy said...
I was really getting bored with this episode, which I'm OK with -- they can't all be action packed -- but then in the last 10 minutes Michael Hogan just blew me away. He has been on fire in this last season. Tight has always been one of those characters that we all knew was there but was mostly in the background. Since the events of New Caprica Tigh, and Michael Hogan, have been exceptional. Yeah, it was little soapy when Tigh said he could fill the whole frakking room with his feelings of love but had difficulty saying it, but it was real in the context of the character. I expected the baby to miscarry, as well, but it was so abrupt when Liam's heart stopped beating that I was still a little shocked.
I'm also finding Adama's conflicting emotions interesting. Deep down I think he hates Cylons but he feels it's necessary to utilize them and their technology to save his ship. He and Tigh have a total bromance, but I think part of him refuses to acknowledge the fact that Tigh is a Cylon; one of the five people who created the human-form Cylons, which ultimately led to the destruction of the twelve colonies. I'm not sure he can reconcile that, which will lead to his breakdown.
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2-21-2009 @ 11:03AM
LeoJD said...
apparently everyone missed that Starbuck was foreshadowed as the "damaged cylon" she said that watching Ellen and Cy kiss was like watching her parents make-out and Ellen kept referring to cylons they made as her children which is why she was crept out in way that Colonel was sleeping with their daughter
2-21-2009 @ 11:04AM
Jimmy said...
Oh, and did everyone catch that remark Starbuck made to Tyrol? That watching Ellen and Saul make out was like watching her parents! Heavy-handed foreshadowing or red herring? I guess we'll find out more in next week's episode.
2-21-2009 @ 11:03AM
Frank Wrench said...
Why did Tyrol want to leave the Fleet?
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2-21-2009 @ 4:28PM
Joshua said...
Yeah that one caught me by surprise, I just assumed they needed suspense with whether or not the cylons would leave or not.
2-21-2009 @ 4:53PM
Tom said...
Obviously the writers needed to set up a 2-2-1 scenario, and Tyrol drew the short straw in the writer's meeting. Weak.
2-21-2009 @ 12:12PM
Melissa said...
Crappy ep IMHO. How many more times do they have to show Adama looking at the repairs? I agree with an opinion here of why they wasted last week's ep on Anders explaining everything when Ellen's arrival could of provided the info. The most irritating part is the idea of just GIVING Baltar weapons...that is not Adama. This ep was ALL over the place...poorly done.
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2-21-2009 @ 1:38PM
Lisa said...
I really like BSG but this episode was way to soapy for me. I got so tired of Ellen and her behavior. I wanted to scream at the TV "but he thought you were dead!!!" So why shouldn't Saul move on?! I really got tired of Ellen's behavior. I felt so sorry for Caprica 6. I wanted the baby to survive
And for the record I truly think Starbuck is a cylon. I don't think she like Caprica or Boomer. I am wondering if she is one of the final survivors and the others have forgotten. That would explain why her body was on the planet.
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2-21-2009 @ 6:01PM
Smithee said...
If Starbuck's survival/duplication stems from her being resurrected, where did the duplicate Viper come from? (The one she returned to Galactica in -- not identical to the one she left in.) My vote: whether Starbuck is Cylon or not, there is going to be a wormhole to a different timeline and/or parallel universe before we are done.