Battlestar Galactica: Last Resorts

Like LOST, it seems that so much and so little have simultaneously occurred on Battlestar Galactica over the last few episodes. The drama that has been building has been, for the most part, very enjoyable, but there are times when I wish that something would would result from the mounting tension. However, with each passing week, the inevitable explosion of temper will be that much more powerful when it happens. And don't get me wrong, the drama is still superb.

Relations are rapidly falling apart on both sides of the war; the humans are tearing themselves apart, and the cylons have begun a civil war that has divided them and threatens to end the entire race. But let's start with the humans (and the people who are posing as human). Apollo's new position as Caprica's representative in the Quorum of Twelve (sort of like the Senate) is driving a wedge deep between himself and his father (nothing new) and President Roslin, who was once considered Apollo as a kind of confidante. Meanwhile, while the Quorum continues to appear as nothing more than argumentative assholes who cannot decide on anything, Roslin, whose health is rapidly declining, appears to becoming somewhat of a fascist. Granted, she has reason to fear Gaius Baltar gaining followers, but she acts as if it is her job to tell the people of the fleet what to think.

The four cylons who "live in secret" are each dealing with their situations differently. Tyrol is having the hardest time, mainly because of what happened to Cally when she found out, while Tory seems to be embracing her nature, and is slowly becoming cold-hearted and calculated. She also is becoming one of Baltar's most faithful acolytes.

And then there's Starbuck. Claiming she knows the way to Earth, Admiral Adama gives her a ship, four raptors, and a skeleton crew, and tells her to see if her theory pans out. Her two months elsewhere have solidified her determination of her "destiny", but have also made her in-fucking-sane. Commanding over Helo, Athena, Gaeta, Anders, Hot Dog, Seelix, and a few others, she rarely comes out of her quarters, but when she does, she gives terse orders that always seem to contradict her previous ones. It isn't hard to understand why a few of her crew members begin to become suspicious of her competency, but the last straw comes when she allows a Number 2 model cylon onboard and decides to form a plan with him.

This brings us what's been happening with the cylons. The Twos, Sixes and Eights (minus Boomer) have taken a stand against the Ones, Fours and Fives over matters of the cylons' place in the universe. The latter group believes that the Twos, Sixes and Eights are having delusions of grandeur and are trying to be more than just machines, and in fact desire to be human. After nearly being destroyed (outside the range of a resurrection ship), the Twos, Sixes and Eights make a desperate move to save themselves by negotiating an alliance with the Colonial fleet. As it turns out, they do desire humanity, but while they understand aspects of humanity that seem to escape us (the Six called Natalie has a very profound theory on the subject of mortality), they also don't seem to understand other sides of the same subject.

Further complicating matters is the matter of trust. Neither side trusts the other (with good reason), but both are also under the allusion that the other side trusts them. In an ironic twist, the rebel cylons actually see themselves as more human than the Colonials, since there is no way the warmongering humans can possibly trust them (trust being a very human attribute).

The most recent thing to happen will certainly complicate the matter of trust, despite the fact neither side was responsible for what happened. And an event I alluded to in my last post on Galactica seems like it will finally occur within the next episode or two.

Things have been pretty bleak this season, and they don't look like they'll be improving for the characters any time soon. And that's why we watch.

Up next: Welcome to the Dollhouse...