Battlestar Galactica: Season 1-12: Kobol's last Gleaming pt1

The finest episode of Battlestar Galactica to air so far; so finely tuned the it barely misses a beat. This is also the first episode where music is used to its most evocative effect, further lifting the story into the realm of outstanding drama.

From the outset the audience knows it is in for something special; the re-cap of previous episodes so tightly defined, it for once deals with a single strand of the story to date: the Cylons, only opening at the end to reveal the motivating thrust to this episode: the finding of Kobol.

This leads into one of the most beautifully-constructed teasers witnessed in television drama. Evocative, moving – and entirely minimalist in terms of dialogue -, it really is proof that frequently, less really is more. Why waste time with words, when actions and expressions speak so much louder, and music can imbue the underlying emotions.

Battlestar Galactica has not always fared well where music is concerned. The opening theme is one that is either liked or disliked, with little middle ground; incidental music in previous episodes has been sporadic in its ability to act – as music should – as the aural scenery that helps bring the drama to life. Sometimes it has worked, in others – notably the otherwise brilliant The Hand of God – it has been so out of keeping with the atmosphere of the show, it has detracted from the overall enjoyment of the episode.

Here, however, the music is perfect – and it is interesting to see that in immersing the audience into the subtleties of the teaser, the episode uses a “classical” approach through the use of an orchestral sound, rather than the more tribal beats common to Battlestar Galactica.

And the result is remarkable. Utilising the string section in the foreground – violins and cellos slowly building a theme to which is added further instruments as new revelations are made concerning the moods and responses of the various characters; providing an aural tapestry through which everything is linked; the bringing together and the falling apart of relationships; the expression of needs, and emotions.

The music perfectly underpins one of the main thrusts of the teaser: a demonstration of how alive the humans are; how driven by passion and instinct. It was in “Flesh and Bone” that Doral stated his envy of a human’s ability to experience such extremes. Now we’re cleverly shown everything the Cylon’s aspire to experience themselves: passions unbounded by the need for constraint, given form in both the boxing and in Starbuck’s fantasy view of her coupling with Baltar (“Lee”).

Turning to the boxing, it is evident more is going on here than a simple father-and-son sparring match. Aggression and frustration are being dealt with here – as witnessed by the clear satisfaction Lee gets from striking and hurting his father. When he lands his first big punch, he asks, “Are you OK?” not out of concern, but out of satisfaction; it could have so easily been followed by, “Because there’s plenty more where that came from.” Even so, his frustrations are released guardedly, whereas his father’s response is not. He allows himself to enjoy striking his son, giving his instincts the freedom of expression they need.

Another fascinating element of the teaser is the manner in which Boomer’s situation is offset with Valerii on Caprica. As Boomer takes her handgun and prepares to shoot herself, Valerii finds Helo, and tells him to shoot her. Both of them have reached the same point in their existence, both of them because of their entirely human responses – in Boomer’s case fear and in Valerii’s the anguish of lost love. Fear and love – perhaps the strongest of emotions we can experience; and both have driven these instances of Valerii to despair. In doing so, these emotions reveal both the “flaw” within the Valerii model that makes it “weak” in Six’s eyes while also demonstrating the Cylon experiment has succeeded – perhaps in a way the Cylons could not have conceived.

The rest of the episode is no less rich. Roslin’s acceptance of her roll and the reality of the scriptures, though sudden, is entirely in keeping with all that has been shown in recent episodes. The issues arising from this are both immediate and long-term. She has already subverted the strike against the Cylon basestar – putting the entire fleet at risk, as well as the lives of some 8-10 members of the Galactica’s crew stranded on Kobol. Whether Adama be willing to let this go if/when Starbuck returns with the Arrow of Apollo remains to be seen. However, as Billy points out, if she continues to act upon what he sees (and no doubt others will believe) as “drug-induced hallucinations”, then the stability of the entire government within the fleet will be put at risk – possibly well before the scheduled elections.

In a similar way, the flare-up of jealousy and anger between Lee and Starbuck is entirely in keeping with recent events: their potential attraction has been seen in brief flashes throughout, while their frustrations with one another have been witnessed through the likes of “Act of Contrition” and most recently, “The Hand of God”. Beyond that, they have a history together that bonds them from their time at flight school, where Zak Adama initially brought them together as friends through to Lee’s arrival aboard the Galactica. Thus, Lee’s very evident attraction to her during the Colonial Day party, is fully in keeping with what we have seen: but she ends up bedding Baltar.

While this latter point is somewhat surprising given the degree of open contempt she has shown him of late (“Bastille Day”, “Litmus”, “Secrets and Lies”), given the availability of drinks aboard the “Cloud Nine” their coupling could be put down to the effects of alcohol. Certainly, Baltar has never hidden his lust for Starbuck, and it is hard to see him missing the opportunity to take advantage of his new-found position as Vice President and the fact that Six has given her permission to sleep with whoever he likes.

Why did she do it? Probably because, despite his attraction to her, and her to him (hence her orgasm-induced cry) Starbuck sees Lee as unobtainable – possibly because of that same history they share. So in her inebriation, she opts for the closest available target – Baltar. Whatever the reason, her actions are more than enough to both become the perfect catalyst for Baltar’s conflicts with Six and his apparent desire to confound her (as evidenced through his conversation with Boomer), and to act as a catalyst to bring Lee’s jealousy to the surface.

Baltar’s time with Boomer is interesting. Taking heed of Six’s warning concerning the danger the Galactica while face and acting in defiance of her mocking comments in the bunkroom itself, he acts in defiance of her, gently bringing Boomer to the point where she can carry out the attempt on her own life. Through it all, Six is obviously confused by his actions. That Boomer’s Cylon persona more than likely stopped her killing herself, the fact that Baltar was willing to act as he does has a major impact on Six – hence her more gentle reminder to him when the survey of Kobol is being planned.

The episode also can’t be faulted for the standard of performance turned in. Across the board all of the ensemble cast put in sterling performances that serve to ratchet-up “Kobol’s Last Gleaming Part 1” so it stands head and shoulders above what has already been a remarkable first season run. Thus, to single any individual member of the cast out at the expense of the others would be somewhat unfair; everyone appearing on-screen – be it for 40 minutes or 4 – makes their character utterly engrossing to watch.

The final elements that round-out this episode are the writing and direction. With this story, Eick and Moore demonstrate they have a clear vision for where the series will hopefully go (allowing for future renewals), the territories it may cover and the ways in which the various threads can be intertwined and then neatly separated again to build a complex picture of humanity and circumstance. Furthermore, in ramping-up the Roslin arc, they are simultaneously bringing some of the threads that have formed the fabric of this first season to an end, while opening new potential avenues for exploration in future seasons.

Having veteran BSG director Rymer (mini-series, “33”) helm this episode is also a smart move. In both the mini and “33”, Rymer firmly established the look and feel of the finished Galactica product, and here he demonstrates his finesse with the docu-drama style the production has striven for; using the technique to draw the audience into the drama almost as if they are themselves participants.

.Review from Battlestar Wiki

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