Battlestar Galactica: Flesh and Bone

Leoben: "I'm more than you could ever imagine. I am God."

This is one of those irritating episodes that is very intriguing, but you're not really sure what the hell happened when it's over.

I thought at first that Starbuck wouldn't be the one I'd pick to interrogate a Cylon. But then, I thought about everyone else in the cast (that we know, anyway), and thought, maybe she was the best one. She did a fine job, tough as nails, although I'm not sure we learned much of anything. What did we learn?

That either Laura has some psychic ability, or the Cylons can plant thoughts in human minds.

That Cylons can probably turn off pain.

That Sharon has another name, and that she doesn't play well with the other Cylons: she's too human.

That, according to Leoben's predictions, humans would find Kobol and it would lead them to Earth. And that "all this has happened before, and all of it will happen again."

That Starbuck suffered serious abuse as a child, at the hands of her mother. (Which may explain a little why she feels comfortable in the more traditionally masculine arenas.)

However, we still don't know much about the Cylons and their strange monotheism, which has to be the key to something – I just don't know what it is. Dan told me something that resonated; he thinks the Cylons are acting like homicidal teenagers. They believe in their own superiority and invulnerability, and they need to destroy their parents.

That last thing – Leoben's last bon mot about Adama being a Cylon – I just don't believe it. Adama has a past and a family; we've never gotten any indication that Cylons can duplicate existing humans. If the Cylons wanted to destroy humanity (that's supposedly what they want, after all), Adama is one of the few people who could easily do it in about five minutes. Sure, they could wait until Adama located Earth and destroy them, too, but Adama just doesn't feel like a Cylon. I'm positive Leoben did it solely to cause a rift between Roslin and Adama.

Bits and pieces:

— Sharon says she is from Troy, and lost her family in a mining accident. We still don't know why her call sign is Boomer. I'm curious about that one, too.

— Two references to Starbuck's mother: Leoben: "I know you. You're damaged. You were born to a woman who believed suffering was good for the soul. So you suffered." and Adama: "He's gonna try to get into your head." Starbuck: "Mom always said there was nothing in there, anyway." Poor Starbuck.

— I'm sort of keeping track of the fleet ship names, so add "Geminon Traveler" to the list.

— Sharon: "I'm a Cylon." Chief: "You know, that's not even funny."

— Leoben: "To know the face of God is to know madness." Huh?

Confusing, but good. Three out of four stars,

Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

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