‘Battlestar Galactica’: Robert Frost is no Cylon

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Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth

Robert Frost was obviously thinking of Starbuck and Chief Tyrol when he wrote of the road ‘less traveled by’ in his famous poem. ‘The Road Less Traveled’ is coincidentally also the name of the last episode. Starbuck’s headstrong quest is causing more than questioning glances among her crew, and Tyrol’s determined hunt for the truth behind his wife’s death are both paths that others dissuade these characters from trodding upon.

When I said to spend more time with Starbuck and Helo and the rest on the Demetrius, I didn’t mean the whole episode. But the break from action on Galactica actually was pretty dramatic, even if it didn’t really get us closer to any particular goals.

We knew the mutiny was coming. It was inevitable from the first time they showed the crew vocalizing doubts about Starbuck’s mental state and finger-painting ability. She’s graduated to brushes now, but we can’t say much about the mental state. Her pacing and hair-grabbing only got more intense when they discovered Cylon Leoben Conoy, or Number 2, out in space. Conveniently. The same guy whom Starbuck killed over and over again on Caprica, and who used a little girl to make Starbuck think that she had a child, just happened to be the one Cylon in that sector of space with a damaged vehicle. Spouting stuff about a truce, nonetheless. I’m as skeptical as the crew.

And speaking of skeptical, Tyrol also got a spotlight this episode. He’s working through both Cylon and dead-wife issues. We’ll be happy to see what happens when he finds out that Tory airlocked Cally. It’s gonna happen. And his handshake with Baltar is questionable. Is he trying to get in good with Baltar as part of his investigation, or is it a genuine forgiveness and reconciliation? Those tricky Cylons.

Back to Starbuck. You have to wonder how much of a fight she’s going to put up as she’s ousted from power, and will anyone else get killed on her quest. Helo and the crew can take her out safely, and I’m still waiting on Anders to Cylon out somehow. Seabucks rule!

Lastly, lets stop showing Baltar having sex constantly. Now, please. Should we pity these women, hate Baltar’s manipulative ways ... or is Baltar just that good? That’s about as far as we should take that since this is a PG-rated blog, but you can comment below.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads diverged in a wood
And I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference

-- Jevon Phillips

Photo: SciFi.com