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« Who Decides | Main | Changing Incentives » January 21, 2006Galactica Blogging: EpiphaniesLast night's episode was quite entertaining, taking the show in a different direction that helped to add depth and character to the series. While watching Vipers destroy Cylon raiders can be entertaining, it is ultimately less interesting than the ongoing conflicts in the fleet: not only the Cylons against the humans, but the various factions of humans against one another. Moore's decision to show the human tendency to divide against themselves even in the most dire circumstances makes the show infinitely more interesting to observe. While the conflict against the Cylons has to remain the focus of the show, the subordinate conflicts that threaten the fleet make the difference between a show that simply follows the course of a war and a truly dramatic series. As always, spoiler in the hidden text. I'll start with a few complaints, as I seem wont to do. Starting two episodes in a row with flashbacks seemed to significantly overuse the plot device, although I thought they did a far better job with Roslyn's flashback than Apollo's the week prior. Her memory of seeing Baltar with Six promises to add another layer of intrigue to the ongoing political infighting that haunts the fleet, and I am curious to see what she will choose to do with it. The development of Baltar continues to be fascinating and tragic. While I thought the discovery that Cylon fetal blood could cure Roslyn's cancer smacked of deux ex machina, (and an interesting choice, to illustrate how fetal blood might save lives; simply plot justification, or also a plug for stem cell research?) the humanization of Baltar and the apparent growth he has shown since meeting the corporeal Six has been intriguing to watch. It is clear that Roslyn and Adama are not happy with him, Adama's contemptuous comment "You're about to become President; at least act like you can handle it," being at once amusing to the viewer and a goad to Baltar that quite possibly pressed him to save Roslyn. Baltar's comment to Six that he would not be the instrument that destroys the human race was particularly interesting, implying that perhaps he truly has learned something from his experiences with Six and the destruction of Caprica. And yet, it all seems to have slipped away with Baltar's reaction to Roslyn's letter of succession. Will he come to regret his gift to the terrorists, or has he decided at last which side he is on? The addition of Cylon sympathizers was certainly an interesting touch. One would think such individuals would have a hard time simply surviving in the fleet, given that it's only six months since the Cylons killed billions of Colonists in a sneak attack. Their rationalizations aside, I should think the average survivor would look on such people as little more than a cancer to be destroyed, particularly given their attempts to sabotage the fleet in their quest for peace with the Cylons. One thing that I give Moore particular credit for is that he doesn't offer many easy moral decisions in the show: while it seems evident to me that the viewer's sympathies should lie with the few surviving humans of the fleet, the show does its best to show both sides of all combatants, making it difficult to be certain who is right in the end. Perhaps that is a valuable lesson for all of us, reminding us that every side in a conflict has its heros and villains, and no cause is as simple as it may seem initially. Adama's physical abuse of the representative of the Cylon sympathizers was a perfectly human reaction, as he no doubt lost as much in the attack as anyone, but it was also a reminder that his methods can range well out of bounds for what is considered the appropriate means for handling captives. All in all, a very good episode that does what Galactica does best, asking tough questions without providing easy answers and leaving the viewer quite uncertain as to what will happen next. Posted at January 21, 2006 10:33 AM
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