I'm not altogether certain what I thought of tonight's Battlestar Galactica.
Regardless, it certainly had some great moments. Adama telling Baltar to start acting like he's ready to be president. Tigh's little hint of enjoyment in watching Adama choke the protester. Sharon's shocking rage when Helo informed her of the plans for their child.
But... I think this may have been my least favorite episode of the season so far. Possibly even the series.
Here's the problem. On the one hand, I think Mary McDonnell's acting is pretty incredible. I have loved watching her on the show. I was not at all looking forward to the prospect of cancer killing off her character. I did not want her to die.
However... every step of the way, this incarnation of Battlestar Galactica has brought us harsh, often gruesome truth. It has seldom taken the easy way out of anything. So the notion that they would suddenly find a "miracle cure" for her cancer frankly feels to me like it has undermined the entire reality and tone of the series. And doubly so for them finding it and employing it all within the span of a single episode. There were no hints leading up to this revelation. It was a completely unearned reprieve for Roslin's terminal disease.
And, it would appear to have had no consequences. Dr. Cottle said she'd make a full recovery. She's not going to be weakened, crippled, or in any way compromised by her bout with cancer. She's just going to be up and at 'em again within a few episodes. Boo.
Now, I'm willing to cut a little slack here, for the writers have rarely slipped in the past, and I would hope that there in fact will be some consequences to this cure that we have not seen. A friend of mine opined that just as Adama's opinions of Cylons changed after his brush with death, the same might happen for Roslin. Perhaps there will be political side effects to her cure. Perhaps this will damage her credibility as a "religious-mythic" figure. There ought to be something.
So, like I said... I didn't want Roslin to die, in my heart of hearts. But the fact that she didn't felt like a cop-out, a sad moment in which Battlestar Galactica became like a standard episode of any other sci-fi show on television where "everything works out right in the end."
6 comments:
I agree with what you said. However, it seems that Moore wants more than anything to take this show where we don't think it's going to go. As a result, we had been told for a long time that Roslin was going to die. I was ready to watch that, accept it, and move on. When he DIDN'T do that, he surprised me again.
There has already been signs that Roslin is "toughening up," and if it turns out that her character is reshaped because of this ordeal, I think I can forgive them the silly idea that Cylon blood cures cancer. I think.
oh you KNOW something will happen because of the cylon blood.
one of the comercials during the episode tipped me off that they weren't going to kill the baby though :(
It also leads me to think that there willbe all sorts of things happening around the baby - maybe even mythical things because of it's healing abilities.
There were two obvious consequences so far. First, Baltar, now spared being kicked upstairs, has started his journey down the path of a true betrayer of humanity. Second, Roslin, through a vision of a memory, has realized that Baltar was with Six/Godfrey on Caprica. (Although this second consequence didn't pan out after she awoke and looked at Baltar in terror.)
I agree this episode felt like the worst of those Star Trek "wrap-up" episodes, but we do now that "weeks" passed between Kane's assassination and Roslin's "death". I'm certain had the writers one more episode to spare this season, they would have stuck it in between these two. Clearly, they have juicier things to give us.
I too was kinda disappointed for the lack of payoff on the impending doom of the cancer. but I think they added more by saving her (the way they did) than by letting her go. and I'm cool with that. it did address the problem of why would they let the half-cylon baby be born in the first place (something that probably should have been brought up a lot earlier)
what really bothered me was how the new Six was being "hidden" in some kind of nutcase faction. they showed the "known cylons" folder and her picture was right there on the top! shouldn't those faces be posted everywhere with big warning lights around them?
I'm going to have to start recording the Stargates and watch them after BSG, the constant previews were driving me crazy! every commercial break, argh!
the mole
Am I the only one rooting for the Cylons now? I mean, I don't want Starbuck or Apollo to die, but:
Robots FTW!
The best moment for me was Roslin's gesture to Baltar when she came around again. She remembers what she saw in her flashback! I liked this episode a lot but I'd seen this post before and had prepared for the worst.
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