For starters, it was nice to see a linear, character-driven episode. I confess I flinched a little when they opened with 'nine months ago' but the flashback sequences only showed the bare minimum required to remind us of how Six and Sharon died, therefore requiring their rebirth. (Although a minor quibble: if the nuclear blast was strong enough to kill Six and Baltar was standing behind her, the idea he somehow survived seems questionable at best.) The look at what it might be like to have lived with the 'enemy' for years, then betray them was well played for both characters. Whether or not Six truly loves Baltar, living for two years among the humans it would only be natural for her to come to appreciate some of their traits even if she had always considered them the enemy before. (One great strength of the show is that neither side is angels or demons alone; there are Cylons who are more human than many humans, and humans who have no more ethical sense than a machine.) So the idea that she might have trouble reconciling her role in the death of billions of humans was very real and added a great deal of depth to the Six character.

Sharon, meanwhile, was still trying to adjust to the knowledge she is a Cylon and possibly murdered her commander, who she deeply respected. Cylon programming or no, she lived her entire life up to that point believing she was human. Finding out you're the thing you've lived your whole life hating/fearing is something almost impossible to cope with.

The use of a virtual Baltar to play out Six's internal dialogue was a cute touch, and James Callis was marvelous in the role. Hard to think of Baltar as anyone's conscience, though. The look into Cylon society was particularly interesting, however, as it seems they are all autonomous, yet very few of them are truly individuals. Six and Sharon are Cylon celebrities for their particular actions, making them distinct from the crowd of regular Cylons. Cylon society appears to be much more collective and intolerant of dissent. The idea that Sharon and Six will be 'boxed' due to their inability or refusal to go along with Cylon doctrine smacks of a high-tech gulag, an important reminder that for all humanity's flaws, they're still the good guys.

There's some dispute over at Jim Henley's regarding the realism of Sharon and Six being so far out of Cylon norms and the idea that the Cylons never considered the morality of their actions until now. I've got to come down on the side of the producers on this one. We know that the war between the Colonies and the Cylons has been over for some 40 years at the start of the show. That means that none of the new model Cylons have any experience with humanity beyond what they've been told. While we're not privy to precisely what the Cylons think of humans, the fact they're trying to exterminate the Colonists suggests they either hate them or fear them greatly. The average Cylon is going to absorb that knowledge with their mother's milk, accepting it without question. Sharon and Six, however, lived with humans and know that the almost-certainly simplistic view of humans held by the average Cylon is inaccurate. For them to question the wisdom of Cylon society, and for Cylon society not to have thought more fully about the ethics of their actions, does not strike me as at all unrealistic. I only hope they continue to explore this aspect of Cylon society in the future.

The baby plot was an interesting sideline. My particular interest was the implication that Roslyn kept Baltar from knowing that the baby is still alive, suggesting she's at least suspicious of his motives and alliances. It is a wise move, and it promises some fascinating intrigue in future episodes.

My one complaint: only two more episodes this season? Bleh.

Posted at February 25, 2006 09:05 AM

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