TV Recap: Battlestar Galactica - Six Of One

We pick back up where things left off in the premiere. Tigh and Helo take some marines to go help the president, who is held captive by Starbuck. Now there are times when I can take or leave Kara Thrace, and this was one of her shining moments on the series. Starbuck tells Roslin that she had trusted her. Kara risked her life to get the Arrow of Apollo, they followed Roslin’s crazy visions and set on a path for Earth. “I want to hate you so much,” Starbuck tells the President. And then to prove that all this Earth talk is for real, Starbuck hands her gun to Roslin. “If you think I’m a Cylon, then I’m your enemy.” Roslin takes the gun and shoots a hole in the wall next to Kara. Perhaps it was the cancer medicine that affected her aim, but I think that was all too intentional.

Tigh and Helo finally show up, conveniently after the shot has been fired, and place Kara under arrest. Starbuck continues to plead with everyone to listen to her, that they are going the wrong way. She admits to losing her mind, and her feeling of Earth is half what it was before. Another jump and she’ll lose it forever.

I’ve been looking forward to getting into the Cylon culture a bit more since the show went on break a year ago. This episode did not disappoint me. On a Basestar the Hybrid is doing her normal – or abnormal I guess it would actually be – ramblings. Leoben, Six and Eight believe that the Hybrid is talking about the Final Five being within the human fleet. An occurrence that Cavil is vehemently opposed to, even getting upset that they’re talking about it. Whoever programmed him really stuck this whole “don’t talk about the Final Five” idea deep within his mechanical psyche. Six tells him that the Raiders had a fundamental change, turning away from the enemy fleet. Six, Leoben and Eight believe that it’s because the Final Five are nearby.

Cavil argues that all of the different models are just copies. All the Eight’s look the same, all the Sixes looks the same and so on. They are just mechanical copies. He then says that since the Raiders have exceeded their programming, and are incapable of correcting it, they’ll have to do it for them. In essence he wants to lobotomize the Raiders. Six challenges him, saying that he has no authority without a vote. Cavil agrees to a vote. But he still doesn't want to talk about the Final Five. Don’t forget, he was the one who boxed Three last season for her attempts to find out more on the Final Five. What is his true motive here?

The Final Foursome meet to discuss who might be the final Cylon, and Tyrol has an inkling that Baltar could know something. He remembers seeing Gaius with Three at the Temple on the algae planet. Tigh succinctly sums up Gaius: “He is accomplished at two things: lying in a cell, and lying in a woman.” And so Tory is tasked to get whatever info she can out of Baltar.

Adama comes to visit Kara in the brig, and he’s all fired up like an angry father. He asks her what she was thinking. Her answer is the same: “I saw Earth.” She is so insistent on this point, and you know that Adama is not having an easy time wrestling between his desire to trust her and knowing that something weird is going on. The fate of mankind could rest on Kara for all he knows. Adama tells Starbuck that she has betrayed her one ally and now has nothing. She didn’t have the strength, or guts as he puts it, to hold on a little longer. Rather than cowering, in typical Starbuck fashion, the old man is told that he’s the President’s wet nurse. This causes Adama to lash out, but it proves that he is listening to her. Despite the struggle and his tough talk, Adama is listening.

Back on the Basestar the Fours and Fives have joined with the Ones to lobotomize the Raiders, but they are opposed by the other three models. So it’s a deadlock. And then…dun dun dun! Boomer walks in on Cavil’s side, saying they need a way to protect themselves. Which makes sense…but uh, holy shit. One of the Eights has gone against her model, something that has never happened before. Cavil sure is taking this whole changing of protocol issue calmly, especially in light of his outbursts earlier. Perhaps it’s not the traditions of the past he’d like to keep. The Ones have a plan.

Back on Galactica Lee and the crew are getting drunk, celebrating his leaving the service. It’s a rowdy good time, and what we’ve come to expect. In the mess hall Baltar notices that Tory is looking at him, so he goes to talk with her. Accusing her of spying he is about to get the mega Tory sex charm turned against his weak willed ways when someone unexpected shows up. Gaius Baltar, complete with Caprica smart striped suit, appears before him. So now Gaius has his very own Head Gaius. Considering the Leoben in Kara’s head admitted to not really being him, and this same force or entity being assumed to reside in Gaius’ head….does this mean Baltar is over Six? The presence in his head has always taken the form of Six, a creature of beauty that he has coveted…now that she’s so far removed from him perhaps Baltar is falling back in love with just himself.

The quiet and passionate moments between Roslin and Adama don’t happen enough for me. I mean these quiet conversations where they share so much with the way they say things, rather than with just what is said. They are trying to figure out what to do with Starbuck, and Adama is clearly trying to feel out a way to broach believing Kara to Roslin. Adama asks her what if Kara is telling the truth. Even though he can’t explain what happened, it’s still possible Starbuck’s seen Earth. Roslin can’t believe what he’s saying. “Go ahead and grab your piece of the Arrow. I want to hear Admiral Atheist say that a miracle happened,” Roslin responds. She tells him that whatever is going on things have led them here to this point. Call it whatever you want, but now she’s dying and they are close to finding Earth. Adama gives her a little jab saying that perhaps she’s afraid to not be the dying leader she believed herself to be long ago. He leaves as we see Roslin pull at a piece of hair, as she has done in the past, and a lock comes out in her hand.

Back at Starbuck’s cell Lee stops in to say goodbye. They speak about destiny and after a handshake and "Good Luck," Lee goes to leave but not before he and Kara suck a little face. You know…because those two having an awkward goodbye of inappropriateness is just expected. He tells her that he believes her and then makes his way to the hangar to disembark from Galactica, but is greeted by the entire crew. Celtic music plays as Lee is saluted for the final time. And it really feels final, which I’m glad for. Lee’s leaving of the service will only be a good thing for this show. So it was nice to see such a formal and final send off for Apollo.

Meanwhile, even though Tigh said she didn’t have to get on her back Tory has done just that. Except that Tory is crying, which she tells Baltar is just something she does during sex. While this sounds weird, Baltar takes a tactful approach and says it means she’s full of emotion. I wonder how much of this he believes, and how much it’s dependent on his getting off. In any case, Baltar helps to reconfirm Tory’s humanity. He helps her to not just be a machine, which is something I’m sure all of the revealed four are trying to cope with.

And then we find out just how frakkin’ badass Six can be. She comes in to request Cavil and the others stop lobotomizing the Raiders. He doesn’t want them to have free will, and besides the votes are against Six. She gives Cavil one last chance to stop what he’s doing, and his response is a slow-mo “no.” Six calls in a couple Centurions. “Centurions can’t vote, Six.” Too bad they are not there to vote, and they lock and load for action. Cavil tries to order the Centurions to stop, but they do not respond.

“The Talon’s phallic inhibitor that restricts higher functions in the Centurions? We had them removed,” Six responds when Cavil asks why he can’t command them. The Leobens, Sixes and Sharons did this on their own. Cavil says that they can’t do anything without a vote. “No, we can’t do anything with one. So we’re finished voting,” Six says. And then Cavil, Simon and Doral are blown away by the Centurions. Now we have a frakkin’ Cylon War on our hands.

As the fleet jumps again Starbuck freaks out. She’s brought to the hangar, where Adama tells her she’s getting a crew to go look for Earth. He’s giving her a sewage reclamation ship, which is nice. Although it does cause one to wonder what you would want to reclaim from sewage. But this confirms that Adama still loves and trusts Starbuck. "I'm tired of turning away from the things that I want to believe in. And I believe you when you say that you'll die before you stop trying. And I wont lose you again. No go - Find a way to earth," he tells her. Perhaps she’ll screw the entire human race up and bring them to slaughter. But as long as there’s some shred of hope, Adama is ready to put his faith in Kara.

Damn fine episode, but next week is looking to be killer. Literally as the preview makes it appear that Tory (who was holding Nicky) airlocks Callie. And over in Toasterville the civil war is heating up. For a brief moment we see Six running from something, and earlier she says “please” after a request to a Centurion just a moment too late. So, it’s possible that the now free-willed Centurions are going to turn against their masters. Kind of like the Cylons did to the humans. After all, this has all happened before and it will happen again.