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Battlestar Galactica: The Road Less Traveled

Gaeta: "So now the Cylons want us to rescue them. That's novel."

This week, the Battlestar Galactica production of Mutiny on the Bounty.

Come on. It was inevitable even before Starbuck brought Leoben on board and took him to her quarters. Too many of the crew of the poop ship Demetrius suspected Starbuck of not coming back right. She actually looked nuts, too. Stringy hair, questionable hygiene, crazed stare, not to mention the paint. At one point, she said, "I know that I can find that sound again." Was she talking about "All Along the Watchtower"? Maybe Starbuck really is the Final Cylon.

I think it's fascinating, considering what they've done to each other in the past, that Starbuck and Leoben are becoming allies. I love Leoben, probably because he loves Starbuck. He thinks she's an "angel blazing with the light of God" who will lead them home. He uses Cylon projecting to translate her blows into caresses. (Oh, my. Am I picking up a Buffy/Spike vibe?) I thought during their scene together that Leoben might have known what Anders was. Or maybe Leoben just picked up on the fact that Anders was a receptive audience.

Even though Gaius has lied and prevaricated and played a part in the past, I'm convinced that he is now telling the absolute truth. Wearing a purple robe and looking more like a royal lunatic than a prophet, he somehow managed to rope in Tyrol. At first, Tyrol seemed a lot calmer, like he had made an internal decision but hadn't acted on it yet, and I think he had decided to kill himself. The last thing I expected was for Tyrol to become a Gaius convert, but I guess he was probably prime for some sort of conversion. Tory told Gaius that no one of consequence was following him. That may have just changed. Tyrol, we may recall, was a union organizer and leader of the people.

I've been trying to figure out where season four is going. You're probably all way ahead of me and I know I've brought it up before, but the undercurrents and plot threads all seem to point in one particular direction: human and Cylon coming together, with a common religion and a common destiny. It seems like they can't survive apart any more. Leoben and Starbuck and Gaius all apparently feel this coming, while Cavil and Adama and Roslin do not. The old guard versus the new, perhaps?

Bits and pieces:

— This week's survivor number: 39,676. One more than last week. Was that Leoben? Are the Cylons counting as survivors now?

— Good thing Helo was second in command, or it could have turned into utter chaos. (I guess it still could, since this was just part one.) Helo also dealt pretty with being caught between Starbuck and Athena. No small thing.

— Tyrol shaved his head, which can be construed as a sign of mourning. For Tyrol, probably more of a sign of confusion.

— Gaius has a secret radio ministry. Except that Roslin knows all about it, and doesn't care... according to Tory.

— A commercial clip shown during the episode featured Michael Trucco saying that in his opinion, Anders loves Starbuck no matter what she does to him, and his biggest fear isn't that others will find out what he is – it's that she will.

Quotes:

Tory: "We don't know why these things happen. God does."

Starbuck: "I swear to God. This is not a dream. It's real." Did she say "God," not Gods"?

Anders: "What do you want from Kara?"
Leoben: "The same thing I've always wanted. For her to understand her destiny."

Tyrol: "Tory's got it in her head that we can be the salvation of the human race. All I know is, if there is a god, he's laughing his ass off." Is that what is going on with Tory? I swear, I have no idea what she's trying to do.

Leoben: "You need to go to her, Kara. The Hybrid. She'll tell you things." Huh.

Another interesting outing. Three out of four stars,

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

1 comment:

  1. Well its all getting serious on the poop ship Starbuck huh? Never though Helo would mutiny, but I can understand why he did. Starbuck has been all kinds of crazy since her return and trusting Leoben seems to be one step too far.

    I wish I could tell if Gaius were honestly spiritual now or if he is doing it solely to further his own agenda. He seems like a man at peace and his speech to the Chief was actually quite lovely... I suppose time will tell!

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