Battlestar Galactica

We are now halfway through the Battlestar Galactica episodes we will be able to see in 2008, and things are really moving.  Friday’s episode, “Faith,” was one of the vocally loud and visually soft episodes to date.  Click below if you have seen the episode, or if you do not mind being spoiled a bit.  If you have not seen the episode, feel free to watch the embedded version above.

It was nice to see Alisen Down again, as it has been a while since her harsh and feral face has been on the screen.  Unfortunately, we are not likely to see her again as she died … and in one of the more dramatic moments of the show, so did the Six who killed her.  Setting aside the head explosions of the thousands of fan boys who were blown away by watching two Sixes smooch, this was a great glimpse into the psychology of Natalie (the Six leader).  She has an fervent sense of righteousness, and as I watched the episode I could not help but think of the Last Supper photo and the way she is pointing at Sharon and Helo.

Speaking of shooting, I don’t understand what the hell is going on with the Demetrius.  Perhaps the past few years of constant violence is making them feel numbed to the fact that one of their crew SHOT another one, but I still don’t understand why Anders is walking around after shooting Gaeta instead of being locked in some sort of quarters area.  Perhaps this is a sign of how far things have gone, or how forgiving a society can become when they have less than 40,000 people and no hope for finding more on the horizon … but as this season progresses, the fleet officers are acting less like trained military officers and more like characters in a Western.

Call me superficial, but I really hope Starbuck takes a shower soon.  I am sure the people with her would like that as well … if her hair is any indication, she probably does not smell too good.  Speaking of hair, I loved loved loved seeing Roslin bald, and it was a nice set up for the scarf she wore the rest of the episode.  Am I the only one who thought that gave her a vaguely religious look, like a nun?  There were certain moments, along with her talk of her mother, that made me think the writers were setting us up for Caprica.

I think this may be, vocally, one of the loudest episodes to date.  There were so many scenes of people shouting and then people shooting and the resulting confusion.  It was also one of the fuzziest, visually.  There were also many scenes of people coming in and out of consciousness and having visions that were not clear.  Some of it was predictable (the minute you saw the Cylon in the hybrid room you knew someone was going to die) and some of it was just crazy (I still can’t believe Anders shot Gaeta).  People are really losing their minds, and I suppose that makes them more hysterical.

The scenes with Roslin the sickbay were long, but like any good journey the pay off was worth it.  Her second spiritual awakening, along with the nice scene with Adama at the end, was a good reminder of why we fell in love with the character in the first place.  It was also a nice change of pace from the harsh Roslin who has been stalking the Galactica for the past few episodes.  Once again, I am not sure what she is going to do next on her spiritual journey … when she knocked on the door at the end and said “I need to speak to you,” for a second I thought she was talking to Baltar.

One of the creepiest moments for me was watching the blood of the Eight cloud the water of the hybrid’s pool.  It was so horrible and frightening, and it made me think of Nicky Tyrol and Hera.  They are also hybrids, but they seem like a much different type of hybrid than the spooky hybrids that run the Cylon ships.