Advertisement

‘Battlestar Galactica’: Final five reunited, and it feels so weird

Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Apparently, poor judgment carries over when a Cylon is regenerated, and even after thousands of years, Ellen Tigh is still annoying on ‘Battlestar Galactica.’

Ellen, the final Cylon, a maternal model who says that the eight models of Cylons are the children of the final five, touches down on Galactica, bringing trouble with her. First up is Boomer, who is not supposed to be on Galactica after trying to kill Adama and is quickly put in the brig. More on her next episode. Then there’s sexy time with Saul Tigh. Come on, Tigh! You’ve got a new woman and a baby, and sex on tables in interrogation rooms can only lead to trouble.

Advertisement

So, the final five are reunited. Joy! Except that Sam Anders is in a coma and a jealous Ellen destroys the harmony with pettiness once she finds out Caprica Six is pregnant. It is a little creepy to make the father-daughter / creator-created connection between Tigh and Caprica, and Ellen is not subtle about it. As the back-and-forth between them goes on, the other Cylons (Tory, Galen, another Six and another Sharon) have decided to leave and jump away from the fleet if the final five will go with them. Caprica/Six, Tory and Galen (which really surprised me) want to go. They believe comatose Anders wouldn’t, and Saul vehemently doesn’t want to go. Ellen’s not sure what to do, and eventually votes to leave the humans. It’s so distressing that Caprica’s emotional state causes her to have complications with the baby.

Despite Tigh’s and Ellen’s bedside support -- though Ellen did visit Caprica with a childish ‘I-sexed-your-man’ chat -- Caprica loses the child. Saul seeks comfort at his best bud’s spot, and he and Bill Adama share a tender-but-manly hug moment. These guys are good.

Speaking of Adama, he’s having a hard time reconciling with the fact that his ship is falling apart and that he needs Cylon technology to fix it up. Touring the ship’s bowels surrounded by groups of Cylon workers (hmmm, Cylons as day laborers. What could go wrong with that?!), the realization has hit him. And apparently made him a bit soft in the heart AND head when it comes to Baltar.

So Crazy Gaius Baltar, who is back to seeing a subliminal Six in his head, returns to his flock of female followers only to find that they’ve gotten along fine without him. Well, we can’t have that! In an altruistic move, he convinces them to hand out their food supply to those in need. They have guns for protection, but the Sons of Ares have more for raiding. Like a kid who is picked on and decides to bring a knife to school, Gaius runs to Adama for help ... and bigger guns. Somehow, Adama is convinced that arming civilians against other civilians is a good thing. We’ll see how that works out.

Other character mini-updates during the episode included Starbuck (drinking away the pain of loving Sam the Cylon, and carrying around the bullet that was in his brain), Laura Roslin (awkward question about the importance of Caprica’s baby), and Anders (there’s movement in the brain).

The integration of the human-Cylon cultures is tough, but it grudgingly goes on. Ellen Tigh’s switch from a cool character last episode to the old Ellen -- probably spurred by her being back on Galactica and in Saul’s presence -- was disconcerting. The change was just SO light-switch quick, though she did have one of the best lines of the show as she told Saul, ‘Do not tell me I was your mental porn. That’s just sad.’ (Hot Dog’s ‘How many dead chicks are out there?’ was the best, though.) The fact that she is so annoying is a credit to the writers (like Jane Espenson, who was interviewed about this episode over at The Watcher) and actress Kate Vernon, but now that little Liam is lost, I wonder how the dynamic between she and Caprica will play out.

Advertisement

Everything seems to be taking its time, but there’s only a few episodes left to sort out Cylon reproduction, unravel the mythology of Earth, bring Cavil and the other Cylons back into the fold, and explain how or if humanity can be saved.

-- Jevon Phillips

-- Cylon detector for your iPhone
-- Jane Espenson and the ‘Buffy’ connection
-- Kate Vernon has a Cylon secret
-- Michael Hogan, surprised to be a Cylon
-- ‘Caprica’s’ coming in 2010

Photos: Sci Fi Channel

Advertisement