Photos
Video
RSS'Battlestar Galactica': Bullet points
Memorial Day leave you feeling like a harbinger of death? The lack of new Battlestar Galactica sure didn't help, considering the dire straits where we left the fleet.
This week, we pick up mere moments later: Six, gut-shot by Sharon, is being wheeled to the operating room. It's too little too late, though, and she dies as Doc Cottle holds her hand. More devastating is the knowledge that she's not close to a resurrection ship. Bye forever, this incarnation of Six. And hey! Cottle has a T in his name! Sure would make sense if Six was reaching out to the last Cylon.
I kid, mostly. I have to keep a sense of humor, because it's hard not to laugh in the face of such a jumpy, disjointed episode. Seriously, entire chunks of plot were either leapt over or covered with exposition. What happened to show, don't tell?
The biggest offender just has to be covered via flashback in the next episode. As the Galactica crew pieces together what happened to Roslin and Baltar last episode, a damaged Raptor jumps in nearby. Racetrack boards it and finds Pike dead. More important, she finds the Raptor's previous coordinates. Once there, the scout wing finds signs of a huge battle, from wrecked Vipers and basestars to evidence that the resurrection hub was destroyed.
Wow. I'm glad we missed that in favor of an hour of politics.
The A-plot, such as it was, concerns Adama's refusal to talk with Tom Zarek, now acting president. Must be that whole terrorist background. Zarek and Apollo agree they need to find a replacement acting president, one to whom Adama would listen, and if you didn't see the end of this one coming a mile away, you need new glasses.
Apollo hires Romo Lampkin (always Badger in my heart) to head the search committee, and Badger stalks about quite a bit, whiteboards like Doc House, possibly kills his cat (or hallucinates a ghost cat -- the time jumps confused me) and talks philosophy with Admiral Adama. In the end, he picks Apollo, of course, and then tries to kill him because Apollo's just too good.
But it's only a test, I think, and suddenly Apollo is sworn in as president and... gives Badger a dog. Ooookay.
In the B-plot, Adama is betrayed by Sharon (by killing Six last episode) and Tigh (by impregnating Caprica Six). Wait, what? We've been told Cylons can't cross-reproduce! So it's either not Tigh's kid, or the Final Five can knock up normal skinjobs. My head hurts.
Anyway, Badger and Adama talk about the point at which a person no longer has the essentials they need to keep living. Adama decides Roslin's absence has removed that essential, so he temporarily steps down and hands Galactica over to... Tigh. Who he knows is frakking a Cylon. Adama would rather sit in a Raptor and wait for Roslin and her basestar to jump back than to soldier on. So he does.
What... the... frak? I know the writers have a lot of ground to cover in this final season, but wow. This felt like watching a Powerpoint bullet list of where they want to start the next episode. What do you think?
Post a comment
Zap2it Twitter Talk 
Yep, the episode, much like Adama, was in a holding pattern.
Let's just hope that there is actual payoff in the next ep.
I'm looking forward to seeing D'Anna again and seeing how they 'unbox' a cylon.
Yeah, this episode had me scratching my head.
For one thing, a little Romo Lampkin goes a LONG way, and he had way too much screen time after so long an absence. Starbuck only had a couple of lines, and she's the frakkin' harbinger of Death.
Also, Bill Adama's hatred of Tom Zarek seemed excessive. After all they'd all been through, it seemed kind of petty.
They could have spent less time on the Leland Joseph Adama For President storyline too. Talk about foregone conclusions.
Seemed very slow, but a lot happened. Natalie died, Bill Adama resigned as Admiral, Tigh (!) took over the Fleet, and Lee became interim president.
Very disappointing episode, but I'm looking forward to the next one, the teaser looks awesome, and D'Anna returns!
It's ironic that this episode was named "Sine Qua Non" because I could have easily done without it. :/
Still my favorite show though. A substandard BSG episode is still better than "Two and a Half Men".
There were a few really well done moments here: The six dying was rendered beautifully, the missing battle pieces were intriguing, the image of Adama waiting alone in the dark with his tattered book was stunning, and Starbuck split back into her military persona instead of greased out nutjob, but so much was just "off".
Of course, when Lee joins the story, things then to get puffed full of air.
We did not need 35 of the 40 minutes of the political struggle. I wanted Adama to airlock the entire quorum- they were so annoying. Tigh and the Six? I don't think so- it was probably a guard or something, but it might bring out the revelation that cylons can't reproduced with each other and he is one of them. Adama stepping down was unbelieveable, and Sharon's story was a waste.
The thing that killed me though was the cat. Can someone tell me if it was a ghost cat or if there was a time jump that I missed. The camera was so focused on it the whole time, but then it kind of got "Sixth Sensed", when you go back and rethink all the scenes with people interacting with it (empty food dish, etc), it might not ave actually been there. Which bothered me he most- because the thought of the last cat in the fleet being murdered disturbs me more than anything else in this very overdrawn episode.
i thought the cat was confusing too---it was just a ghost cat (or only he saw it in his imagination) and i can't get over the fact the Lee is was too young to ever be made president.
I thought the episode was great. I am glad they didn't show us where the President was...it allowed us to really feel the tension in the fleet.
Yeah, the episode was choppy, but I think that is the style of battlestar. The audience does not see every little thing that we need to see in order to fully grasp everything that is going on. They shows gives us some info and we have to fill in the blanks, which sometimes is frustrating, but in this case I think it worked.
The producers have said time and time again that the show is not going to finish with a nice little bow on top. There are going to be loose ends, so people better get used to not having things laid out perfectly for them.
And I am pretty sure that cylons can cross-reproduce seeing as there are two half-cylon, half-human kids on the show.
Gee, Adama doesn't like Zarek and won't recognize him. Apollo says they must find a new president. Zarek didn't like it and tried to keep power by turning public opinion. Then Apollo the guy who started the search committee is named the president at the same time the Admiral says okay I give up. You think the politicians wouldn't have a field day with that. Sure would look from the outside that the Admiral and Apollo performed a coup of their own.
Chris
the question about Cylons reproducing was in regards to past references that Cylon's can't reproduce on their own. They needed humans to have children. Tigh is suppose to be a cylon so how did he knock up Caprica Six.
This show is starting to turn into beginning Season 3 of Lost, where nobody had any frakking clue what was going on, including the writers. If it wasn't the final season of BSG, I'd bet that alot of viewers would be tuning out by now until the season was finished and on DVD.
I mean, don't get me wrong, it's had its moments of brilliance; the season premier, the death of Cally episode, I even like Starbuck's crazy vision-painting and the episode where she met the Hybrid. But everything in between and after has just been a mess, focusing too much on the wrong things (Baltar's church, political bickering) and not enough on what does matter which, IMO, is the Final Five, Starbuck, Opera House etc.
I dunno, maybe they're trying to hit ALL of their marks; to tie up every loose end, no matter how mundane it might seem, in this first half of the season, so they can dedicate the entire second half to all the good stuff.
"so (Adama) temporarily steps down and hands Galactica over to... Tigh. Who he knows is frakking a Cylon"
I'm a little confused Andy. Adama knows Tigh is a Cylon? I admit I've gotton lost a few times this season (and missed the first 5 minutes or so of this episode), but when did Adama find this information out?
lee-ann, reread Andy's sentence...Tigh's frakking a Cylon (Caprica6). Adama doesn't know he's a frakking Cylon yet. lol.