Summing Up: Battlestar Galactica

I stopped reviewing this show less than halfway into the season, so I have a lot of catching up to do here. I don’t actually have that much to say about the majority of the episodes, but here goes. Episode five (“The Road Less Traveled”) was a very plodding hour, trying to emphasize the subsequent mental breakdowns of both Tyrol and Starbuck. The ending felt very contrived, with the “I’m removing you of command” coming from Helo right after Starbuck just removed him from command. I get lost just thinking about it. Why would Adama have put her in charge? It makes much more sense for Helo to have been put in charge, considering his wealth of experience, his higher rank, and the fact that he’s not under suspicion of being a Cylon/hearing voices in his head telling him which way to Earth. The follow-up episode, on the other hand, was a good deal better. Mary McDonnell turns in a good performance in her Emmy-submitted episode, but it’s the Cylons I’m much more excited about here. The idea of an alliance between the humans and the Cylons is entirely cool and interesting. I was intrigued from the beginning, and now that the season has had its chance to play out, I’m glad they went with it. “Guess What’s Coming to Dinner” was a pretty great episode, chosen by many of the performers, including the excellent Tricia Helfer, playing so many different roles. Gaeta’s singing provided a nice dramatic feel for the episode. The ending was by far the best part, with the shocking instant jump executed by the just-activated hybrid.

The next episode, “Sine Qua Non” was really just filler, and quite dull at that. Edward James Olmos chose it as his Emmy submission, and in a season of sparse material, I can see why, especially given the ending where he opts to stay behind by himself in a raptor (spelling?). That was the only truly great part of the episode, as I could really care less about deciding who will become president (Lee = shocker? No!). Mark Sheppard’s fun to watch as the wacky attorney but he overplays the role just a bit in my mind. When this episode aired, all I wanted to know about was what happened on the other ship. This just wasn’t terribly interesting. Again, filler. The following episode, this season’s penultimate installment, made up for this one for sure. The destruction of the resurrection hub was a bit underplayed, but how significant! It’s fascinating to hear the Cylons talk about how they don’t want immortality so that their lives can have meaning. The entire episode was really solid, and seeing the human pilots and the Cylons about to fly together was cool. Of course, the most exciting aspect of this episode was the reactivation of D’Anna, certainly the most anticipated character return I’ve ever personally experienced. And what a way to come back – complaining right away then killing Cavil. Her telling the President that she was the final Cylon and then laughing was a relief – I thought that the previews had given away the surprise of the century. Much as I would love for everything to work out, I suppose it’s only fair that she wants to save her own skin by bartering a bit first. Gaius was quite entertaining in this episode as well, trying to convince the centurion that it should be entitled to more in life. It was a good moment between the President and Gaius when he finally comes clean, even though that was a LONG time coming. Great that she almost let him die and then changed her mind.

Now on to the finale. I may have been too excited for it (it’s possible) but regardless of the hype I gave it, it still felt like an episode that just existed to move things along like this season’s weak installments “He That Believeth in Me”, “The Road Less Traveled”, and “Sine Qua Non”. It was a fair deal better than those episodes, but the action was all very rushed, too much too fast. After a season which built up questions and anticipated momentous events, everything seemed to dissipate too quickly. Much like season one of “Heroes”, the episode before the finale was the one that really got things flowing, injecting some much-needed adrenaline into the show and getting everyone pumped for the next episode (I would also submit the final two episodes of “The Sopranos” here). D’Anna’s move to execute hostages seemed to come out of nowhere, and was happened rather early on in the negotiations process. They did, however, circumvent the far-too-often-used plotline of killing off all the cast members who aren’t regulars first by not ever revealing who was executed (it was one of those guys, though – I promise). Tigh giving himself up was a bit of a letdown, as was Starbuck’s pretty much nonexistent reaction to Anders or Tyrol being Cylons. After an entire season of keeping their identities secret, the only one who really made an impact was Tory, in a brief moment of defiance to the President and pledging allegiance to her newfound family/race. Adama breaking down was significant, but I would have liked to see more of a reaction from anyone and everyone.

Watching the finale and many of the episodes leading up to it, I realized how strange the hierarchies and chains of command seem. Both Adama and Dualla address Lee stoically as Mr. President, even though he is son and ex-husband to each of them, respectively. Perhaps it’s a lack of familiarity with military conduct or life, but the whole system feels very inbred. Starbuck especially fits in, as far as her relationship with Anders, Lee, Adama, and Helo are concerned. I’m not saying it’s a huge problem – it just might not hurt the show to branch out a bit. Introducing a host of new characters might not help, but maybe let Gaius or Tom Zarek have a chance to shine in the political arena or give the other Cylons more of a place in the chain of command, especially given the recent direction of things. Going from executing hostages one minute to a steady alliance the next seems like quite a jump, but it should be nice to see what things are like next season on that front, especially for Tory who wants to be with the Cylons and the other three who aren’t ready to leave their supposedly human lives behind (yet).

So they found Earth. I guess it makes sense in the grand scheme of things given where things were left off at the end of last season with Starbuck declaring that she knows the way there and such. But does it have to be over in five or so minutes? Everyone’s cheering and so excited to get there, even though it was accomplished simply by some weird Cylon sixth sense or maybe even just luck. Did anyone else see Lee leap up and jump on to something in the CIC? Anyway, Earth is not the paradise everyone thought it would be, and appears to have been devastated by nuclear war. Next season should be really good, but I would rather have not left off this way. The big revelation at the end of this finale should have been the final Cylon, not Earth. The direction of the show has to change in a major way now that one of the driving forces has been resolved, or rather reshaped. I’m sure it will be great, but at this point I’m feeling a bit disappointed. The season as a whole was uneven, but did have some sparkling episodes (“Six of One”, “Guess What’s Coming to Dinner”, “The Hub”). I watched the first three seasons in marathon form on DVD, so I’m not sure I was ever convinced that this show was entirely excellent or that those seasons were any better. What I can say for certain is that I do really like this show and since I started watching the mini-series, I am officially hooked. It’s a great show as a concept and when you look at it as an entire series, there are just some nooks and crannies along the way that need a little cleaning out. Season four’s second half doesn’t begin until January 2009 at the very earliest, but the good news is that there may be an eleven installment tacked on to the previously announced ten final episodes.

Season grade: B
Season finale: B
Season MVP: Tricia Helfer