Battlstar Galacticqa
Fridays on SciFi, 10PM
“Six of One”
Written by Michael Angeli
Directed by Anthony Hemingway
Warning: this review contains some spoilers. If you’d rather not know what the story is going to involve, bookmark this page and read it after viewing.
This episode of BSG was one of reversals; things we thought we knew were turned around.
Where once, Adama was the paragon of rationality (a battle-tested mind who could be counted on to always come to the logical decision) while Roslin was the illogical or emotional one (following her visions, and trusting in prophecies), this time they’ve traded roles. Roslin is adamant that, since Starbuck’s return is so inexplicable, she is not to be trusted, and Roslin ignores even Starbuck’s appeal to her religious side (I followed your vision down to that planet full of toasters, Starbuck says, I followed your vision to return for the arrow, and we found the tomb). Adama, on the other hand, is so torn up over Starbuck’s return and his paternal love of her, that he can’t see the danger inherent in following her vision to Earth, and he must rely on Roslin’s hard-headedness.
In another storyline, Lee was the paragon of a military man: always following the rules, a stand-up guy who could be relied on to always answer the call of duty. Starbuck, on the other hand, was a colossal screw-up in everything she did, everything she thought about doing. Tonight, however, Lee made good on his decision to retire from the military and go into politics (which some might say is the seat of all colossal screw-ups), while Starbuck stands fast to her resolve and discipline, knowing that she has the answer to the fleet’s salvation (heck, she even threatens the President in order to make her see reason, knowing full well that she won’t shoot, and instead offering the President, her ultimate authority figure, the gun).
The four recently revealed Cylons are struggling to find their way. They’ve come to accept the fact that they are Cylons, but now they go about investigating their new situation. Tigh responds with the military discipline he’s always had (when sober), reasoning out a course of action that will bring them closer to the answers they seek while (hopefully) not endangering them too much. And Tory, the President’s aide, who always seems calm, cool, and collected, is tasked with being passionate and emotional, seducing Gaius (not that he requires much seduction) in the hopes that he’ll tell something more than they already know.
On the Cylon base stars, another reversal is under way: dissension and disunity. It starts with a taboo discussion of the Final Five, which Cavil is adamant can not be talked about. But that discussion follows from, and leads to, talking about the anomalous behavior of the Raiders in the last episode. The Raiders, it seems, are developing free will, and the more conservative models (personified and led by Cavil) vote to lobotomize the Raiders, to keep them as the efficient, predictable tools they’ve always been. Those of a more exploratory nature (notably the females) are much more interested in figuring out who the Final Five are, learning why the Raiders have done something new, and changing the status quo. The vote is tied, three to three, the Ones, Fours, and Fives voting to modify the Raiders, the Twos, Sixes, and Eights voting to allow them to grow. Ah, the problems they now have with boxing the D’Anna model; their tie-breaking odd number is no more. But wait, another reversal. Something unique (or so they claim) happens, when one of the Eights votes to lobotomize the Raiders. It seems that, for the first time, a model number is not of one mind (though they’ve already known this difficulty, with the Sharon model now known as Athena opting to serve the human fleet). This is one of several points where characters seem dumber than they have been, only for the sake of advancing the story. At any rate, it’s no longer a stand-off, as the dissenting Eight is enough to carry the discussion, and we see clips of opened Raiders being operated on.
But then Six comes back to the conference room, asking the Ones, Fours, and Fives to reconsider. Three times she asks, and is three times denied. So she calls in two Centurions. And then she reveals that tit-for-tat happens within the harmonious Cylon society. Without telling the others, the Twos, Sixes, and Eights have removed the inhibitor module from the Centurions, giving them free will. And the newly uplifted Centurions are apparently not happy with the thought that the Raiders, formerly their equivalent cyborgish slaves, are being sliced down to size. These two Centurions are so not happy that they shoot up the Ones, Fours, and Fives. It’s a bit messy, but then, we know they’ll be back. (And thus, the teaser for next week’s episode, more on which next week.) This is another instance of character stupidity for the sake of story: why were the Centurions built with the capacity for free will, if it was to be denied them in the first place? Foolishness.
Lee’s retirement party is an appropriately raucous affair, but for Lee’s ritual toasts (“To the Galactica; to the men and women of the Galactica; to Admiral Adama; to our sweethearts, spouses, and loves; and to absent friends”), which are properly received and echoed. I did wonder, though, at the seeming ritual of the six shot glasses filled for Lee’s toasts, and why we only got to hear five of them.
After the party, Lee is piped off the ship with full honors, all the officers and enlisted in dress uniform on the flight deck to honor his departure (where is he going? Earlier, in her cell, he told Kara that Tom Zarek has nominated him for a vacant seat on the Council of Twelve. Then he kissed her goodbye, and it wasn’t a regulation peck on the cheek—there’s something new between them, apparently). He recognizes and takes his leave from Helo, Dee (and apparently, he’s divorced her somehow—though we didn’t get to see it—but she hands him a plaque honoring his service, and says “You got the house”), his father, several others, but he pointedly (and obviously), avoids Tigh. Again, I wonder if something will come of this.
Finally, finally, in the last five minutes, Starbuck is taken to the flight deck, where Helo and Adama are waiting. Freed from her handcuffs (and the guards stepping out of the room), Adama tells her he’s stopped being stupid. Well, no, actually he tells her they’ve shaken loose a ship and put together a crew with which Starbuck will try to retrace her path to find Earth. Great relief from Starbuck; “aha, he really does believe from the audience,” and “Why the hell didn’t this happen at the end of the previous episode, rather than making Adama so pig-headedly stupid that he gave Starbuck time to do something equally stupid?” There was absolutely no reason for Adama to not offer her at least a Raptor at the end of the previous episode. “I don’t know if I believe you or not. The president doesn’t, but the military is mine to command. So go. Take a Raptor, and see if you can find Earth. If you succeed, come back for us. And if you don’t, come back anyway.” Simple, decent, not without precedent, and this episode would have been 30 minutes short. Grrr.
The interplay between Adama and Roslin is nice, and now she’s apparently living with him (not sharing a bed, or so we believe, just quarters while she’s treated for terminal stage cancer, and since her own ship was destroyed). Tigh seems to have become even more upright as an officer since discovering he’s a Cylon. And we’ll see how long it takes Lee to become Vice President, and then succeed to the presidency when Roslin dies.
As for the brewing Cylon civil war, we’ll no doubt see more next week, as Cavil is downloaded into a new body, and the search continues for the Final Five or the elusive twelfth (depending on which group you’re lurking with). Though I do have to wonder why there are four female models and seven males. This, of course, again leads me to question whether in fact the four recently revealed Cylons really are Cylons. But again, we’ll see when the writers figure it all out.
Oh, and as an aside, nice CGI work with the ship repair work. Props to the graphics team.
Edited 17 April 2008: There’s a one-minute video recap of the program available on this page.