TV Recap: Battlestar Galactica - Escape Velocity

By Steve West: 2008-04-26 11:40:47

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TV Recap: Battlestar Galactica - Escape Velocity

Perhaps we should pay more attention to the titles of Battlestar Galactica episodes. This may be difficult, as television doesn’t usually follow the format of titling each episode in an obvious way. But “Escape Velocity” has a nice ring to it as you view the changes that are occurring this season. These characters that we’ve loved and known for years are making vast alterations to who they are. As the moments tick down to the finale – whatever it may be – the relationships and bonds formed are not what they once were. Sons no longer stand in the shadow of their father, a man who loved and lost lashes out against his circumstances, and let’s not forget poor Saul Tigh. Most telling of all is Gaius Baltar; onetime genius with atheistic tendencies has given himself over completely to the will of God. Let’s get on with the episode, shall we?

Will The Real Chief Cylon Please Stand Up? Tyrol is at the wake for his wife…or service, I’m not sure what these heathens call it. And while he reads the words on the page it feels a bit odd. No big deal, the man just lost his wife...please don’t read anything into it. From the words exchanged all around the consensus appears to be that Cally offed herself. As Tory is paying her condolences Chief stops her, and then Tigh, who gets pissed and walks away. You’ll notice a pattern of guilty man who wants to be caught syndrome in Chief throughout the episode.

Later the three Cylon amigos meet up, and Tory unleashes what appears to be even more crazy on the world. She tells Chief that he’s perfect as he is. Tigh recognizes the Baltar rhetoric she is spewing, but there’s also a bit of the excitement at being a Cylon in her eyes. I’m intrigued by the positioning of these three characters in the build up to the series finale. The ideals that Tory is following, often touted by Cylons in some form, are interesting. But how in the world will Chief and Tigh’s journey to the same place differ?

After a Raptor goes down due to a malfunction, which I thought was going to be fatal when a Red Shirt appeared on screen; Chief discovers that he forgot to switch out a fuse. A simple job that any rookie should have caught, but he didn’t. Everyone is trying to give him a break, likely due to his wife’s passing, but Tyrol doesn’t want to hear it. He demands to be told it was his fault. No one complies.

When Admiral Adama sits next to Chief at Joe’s Bar, well I’m going to admit that this was one of the more moving scenes for me this season. Yes, it was clear that Chief was doing his damnedest to get kicked off of Galactica. To be driven far away from anything important, because he doesn’t trust himself.

I honestly do not hate him for what he says about Cally. To a degree, what he says is true. Perhaps the bitterness in his words were stronger than the reality, but what Chief tells Adama about the losses they’ve all suffered and what it means to find someone now. Well, that’s just the way it is. And while many are able to go on, make the necessary adjustments, he just can’t. For the first time on the show we address Chief’s loss of Boomer, and it wasn’t until after the scene that I realized this has never happened. Sharon and Helo were together, and Boomer was gone from Galactica. That’s how it was, without question. But we’ve never given a thought to what that really means to Chief. Whatever she ended up being, Boomer was the love of his life.

Of course, all of the yelling and demanding gets Chief exactly what he desires. Admiral Adama orders him off the hangar, and then walks away in a gruff manner. This is the way Adama walks best.

Once, Twice, Six Times A Lady

Wow. Tigh and Six. Just wow. At first I was only interested in how Tigh was going to get a real talk with Six when there are guards and cameras on her at all times. But the way this story went down was just amazing. This might have been Tricia Helfer’s greatest role on the show so far, her “helping” Tigh to begin to understand. When Saul goes to tell Six that her request to visit Hera has been denied he sees Ellen instead. Clearly she is haunting him, and that makes sense since there was recently a funeral. And also, he killed his wife because she betrayed the humans. But now that he knows he’s a Cylon, what does that action really mean? Six just wonders why he insists on seeing her, what it is that he wants.

The visits come down to the pivotal moment when Six tries to impart what she has learned to Tigh. After he orders the marines away from the computers, and they comment on what he plans to do to “her,” he goes to have a little heart to heart…or CPU to CPU. Six says she can help him turn off the guilt, that the Cylons designed their own minds to work like a humans. They studied us, and know more than we ever will about how we operate. And it’s pain that can free the mind and give you focus. She then starts punching Tigh, and I don’t mean a little gurly man punch. She straddles him and pummels his face. When she stops, he asks her to continue. Six tells him she has made a mistake, a face pounding isn’t what he needs. So she kisses him.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Quorum

The fleeting moments between Roslin and Adama are going to be the end of me. I have my wary eyes on you, you damn writers. When is the heartbreak of her death going to bring Adama to his knees, and what will the ramifications of that be on mankind? These were the thoughts running around in my mind as Roslin tells her closest companion that she’d like a funeral service just like Cally’s.

Adama goes to visit Roslin again, and while there is disagreement on some ideas it all seems nice and cordial. None of the sharp tones and glances of previous episodes. After Gaius causes a ruckus at a religious ceremony, Adama thinks keeping him in lockup would be a good idea. But Roslin doesn’t want the man to become a martyr. Her sole desire at the moment is to prevent Baltar from gaining a widespread hold on the remaining humans who inhabit the fleet. She decides to go visit Gaius in the brig.

It’s there that she tells Baltar about her current condition. She then informs him that she’ll aggressively pursue the people who attacked him and his people. But it doesn’t stop there, oh no…President Roslin has her own agenda. Apparently in her down time she’s researched death and dying. What is the result of her finding? Quite simply she is going to go down with guns blazing to keep Baltar from gaining a following within the fleet. She’ll do what it takes at all times to oppose him. She has nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

Lee once again is the opposing voice to Roslin on the quorum. When he says they will not allow her rulings about fair assembly being restricted to stand, she implores all of them to look at what that means. Look at what it would mean for Gaius Baltar to gain power, especially religious zealotry, over people. And before putting the option to reestablish fair assembly, remember for a moment what it was like on New Caprica under his rule. Perhaps she’s right about all of this, in fact I’m sure Gaius’ ultimate plan (or more accurately the Cylons’) is not going to benefit mankind. The problem is she is now the dying leader she had hoped to be, and Roslin has lost herself completely to the new order of things.

We Are All Perfect

I’ve heard – from people I find crazier than Tory – that the Gaius Baltar as messiah storyline is not popular with some BSG fans. This means that there were many of you out there who just didn’t like this episode, as each individual arc of storyline centered around the teachings of Baltar. Feel free to comment below if you feel this way, and tell me why. Is it because you think the writers are mocking Christianity? I find this backlash against such an interesting character by a small sliver of the fanbase to be fascinating.

Tory visits Gaius in his sex den and wakes him up by pulling out his hairs. So begins the trend of pain as pleasure and clarity theme of the episode. She discusses with him the idea of being perfect, and so begins Baltar’s first major stand against the established religion. But first a group of thugs come in and start attacking the people living in Baltar’s love cave, vowing to come back for him. It was hard to find Baltar because he was hiding.

During the cleanup Gaius realizes that a radical group called The Sons Of Aries are responsible for the attacks. It is there that he declares they must take a stand, and he storms out. His goal is a religious service where he starts throwing things around and proclaiming Zeus a rapist, and the other gods false. Eventually the gendarmes arrive to arrest Baltar. While in prison he is visited by President Roslin, who releases him.

On his way back home Baltar is stopped by some marines. He is told that there are already 12 people within the room, and according to the decree against public assembly he is not allowed in. Baltar is tired and just wants to lay down. But Head Six tells him to take a stand and he will be protected. Since this line has turned out true in the past, Baltar makes his way towards the room and is put down by the marine. He is then attacked, and when he insists on staying on the ground Head Six picks him up and forces him forward. Yes, that was what happened. I watched the scene four times to make sure it wasn’t just Baltar having a weird posture due to getting a gun to the face. And Head Six was most definitely carrying him. This really has me questioning what Head Six actually is that she can have physical contact with the world.

It’s then that Lee shows up and tells the marine to stand down, the quorum has met and overruled the ban on free assembly. And so Baltar is allowed home. The episode ends with Baltar giving an impassioned speech about how God sees them all as perfect, just as they are. This is done while each character is shown dealing with their problems, and we even get to see our only glimpse of Kara and Anders this week. The episode was really a way to put Baltar firmly upon his path. He is no longer saying what Head Six wants him to. Baltar really appears to believe what he says, and the people around him do as well.

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