posted by Blade Runner @ 17:27

Boomergirl gives us her thoughts on tonight's "mid-season finale," ep. 4.12 "Revelations."

 

"Hokey religions and ancient weapons...ain't no mystical energy field that controls my destiny."

Sorry, couldn't resist. This episode begged for a couple of quotes from some iconic science fiction movies. And another zinger I'm really dying to release will come later in this review.

But to start: after last week's ending where Adama and Roslin were reunited, a sweetly rendered scene that could satisfy the romantic itch in any Adama/Roslin shipper, the show just couldn't let happy last too long, could they? Let us not forget they're on board a Cylon base ship and the Cylons are apparently now lead by a somewhat scary resurrected Three.

Deanna lays out her demands. She wants, not the Final Five, but the four who are in the fleet. Of course, this leads us to question what's the deal with the fifth one? And how does Deanna know, without even having set foot on Galactica, that only four are on board the ship? Is one of the Final Five on the base star with them? Had one of them died, perhaps during the disastrous exodus from New Caprica? Clearly, this is a question that will not be answered for some time, but something worth pondering. Deanna tells Adama that they'll be going to Galactica together, but she'll hold his crewmembers aboard the base star hostage until the Final Four come back to them. Leoben tries to convince Deanna that they have a common goal and must work together, but having missed a few crucial events in the Cylon civil war, Deanna still adheres to the old party line. "We cooperated on New Caprica, brother. It didn't work out well."

When the Cylon raptor reaches Galactica, Tigh, Tory, Anders and Tyrol are all present, watching the arrival. Deanna scans the deck and smirks, satisfied that she's seen the Four, and that they know she knows. Without naming names, she invites the Four to join her, assuring them that they will be loved. Tory takes advantage of the situation to say that she must be at Roslin's side and that the president needs her medication. She insists on returning with Deanna to the base star.

Of all the four that were revealed in the Season Three finale, Tory has seemed to me to be the most enigmatic and creepy. We know very little about her past and the bits of screen time she had before she learned she was a Cylon showed us that she was capable of being secretive and manipulative, helping Roslin try to steal the election, helping Roslin steal Hera, helping Roslin's covert activities on New Caprica. Throughout, she had appeared to be a loyal lieutenant, but this new self awareness of her true nature seems to have brought out her Machiavellian, self-aggrandizing, and calculating self to its fullest. Using sex for information, the cold-blooded murder of Cally Tyrol, and now, finally, as she steps aboard the Cylon base star and sees the reverence the other Cylons offer her, it appears that she has moved into her own final transformation. "I'm through taking orders from you," she says to Roslin, after she reveals her true nature to her former boss.

While those on board Galactica determine what to do about the situation with the Final Four and how they can save their captured comrades, Deanna decides she's tired of waiting. One of the humans is shown the airlock, and Deanna promises Adama that she will space more unless she gets the Final Four.

The music starts again, the same crackly radio signal that so plagued the Final Four at the end of Season Three when they discovered their true identities. Unable to resist the call, Tigh, Tyrol and Anders convene on the hangar deck where Kara's inexplicably shiny, mint-condition Viper sits, all convinced that the Viper holds some vital information that eludes them. Tigh orders Anders and Tyrol to find Kara who might be able to help, while he goes to the Old Man and makes the confession that he is one of the Five.

Understandably, Adama has a hard time believing this. He points out that he knew Tigh since the Colonel had hair. How is it possible that Tigh could be a Cylon? Tigh points out that there was plenty they didn't know about the Cylons, and reminds Adama of what's at stake. He can be used as leverage against Deanna and her demands.

The knowledge that his oldest and best friend, his most loyal XO has been hiding such a momentous secret is too much for Adama. Not for Laura Roslin, for Kara Thrace's supposed death, or even for the supposed death of Lee back in the miniseries had Adama ever broken down the way he does when he discovers that the last man in the universe he would have suspected has turned out to be one of Them. Lee tries to comfort his father, promises he'll make things right, and then proceeds to the airlock to interrogate Tigh, demanding the names of the other three Cylons.

On the hangar deck, Anders and Tyrol try to convince Kara that there's something different about the Viper she flew back, but are interrupted by a squad of Marines who take Anders and Tyrol away, informing Kara that, like the XO, these two are Cylons. (I may be in a minority here, but I thought Michael Trucco deserved an Emmy for the expression on his face when his character realized the game was up, and that his worst fears had come to pass). Too shocked upon learning that her husband is a Cylon, Kara can say nothing, but she has the wits to remember that she was summoned to the hangar deck for a reason. She decides to investigate the Viper.

Back at the airlock, Lee and Deanna proceed to play a dangerous game of poker. Deanna had herded her hostages to the base star airlock, and called to demand the remaining Cylons. Lee responded by threatening to space Tigh, putting both sides into detente. Once Anders and Tyrol join Tigh in the airlock, Lee calls Deanna to let her know that the game is up. He has all the remaining Cylons. Still unwilling to back down, Deanna responds by putting a weapons lock on the civilian fleet.

Kara discovers the Viper's secret and races through the Galactica toward the airlock, stopping Lee just as he is about to turn the key to space Tigh. Breathlessly, she announces that the Four have given them Earth. (Just as an aside, Kara believes that 'something or someone' wants them to find Earth. But who? Is Earth sending out the signal, or does it come from something or someone else? What mystical energy field controls their des-oops, sorry, wrong story.)

Lee investigates the signal on the Viper, and then makes a revolutionary decision. He invites Deanna aboard to share the information. He reminds her that the fleet could have jumped away to find Earth on their own, leaving the Cylons behind but that this would only have lead to another confrontation. "All this has happened before," Deanna says. "But it doesn't have to happen again," Lee responds, stepping forward to offer a truce to the Cylons.

And Deanna shakes his hand.

With this first true cooperation between human and Cylon in place, the pieces seem to have come together, and it appears the puzzle of Earth is almost solved. The coordinates are set for the final jump, and Adama offers Roslin the chance to give the historic order. Shades of the Roslin who was once so full of hope á la "33" appear as her voice quavers and she says, "Take us to Earth."

The jump is accomplished and Gaeta confirms that the constellations line up. Adama makes the jubilant announcement to the fleet that after three turbulent years, they have finally found Earth. A joyful montage of celebrations across the fleet appears, a sense of relief and hope rising like mist before the sun.

But wait, my clock shows a few minutes left to go. Which leads me to my next quote:

"You blew it up! Damn you! Damn you all to hell!"

Yes. The "Earth" they find is a radioactive wasteland. The soil sends the Geiger counters clicking away, and all around, in the gray filtered light, humans and Cylons alike wander shell shocked through the devastated landscape they've discovered. The wreckage shows evidence of a civilization destroyed through some nuclear catastrophe. But where are they? Is this the Earth of the present? Earth of the future? A parallel Earth? Or perhaps a planet that isn't really Earth at all? Where are they and what has happened?

We'll find out in 2009.

posted by Gooby Rastor @ 09:26

Cinema Blend

Tonight's episode of Battlestar Galatica seemed to come to a boil right around the halfway point. We haven't seen Kara take a jog through Galactica like she did tonight since the miniseries. But before we get to all of that, let's talk about the random moments. Like Gaeta looking totally washed out and trying to get around the CIC sans half a leg. Add that to the looks of concern on Dualla's face (hey D, where've you been?!). Just filler or is this the start of something? And what about Kara talking to the picture of Kat on the memorial wall? Was that just a reminder of what was lost or is there a specific reason we're being reminded of Kat? And that brings me to one of the few things left unrevealed to us in this episode, appropriately titled, "Revelations."

"Four. There are four in your fleet." - D'Anna

"Four? Where's the fifth?" - Roslin

Good question, Laura! Where is the fifth? D'Anna could be lying but what if she's not? If the fifth Cylon isn't with the fleet, then who is it and where are they? At present Adama, Baltar, Helo and Roslin are on the baseship so it could technically be one of them. Or perhaps it's someone who died already. In addition to Kat, there's Billy, Cain, Kendra Shaw... The list goes on. My only question there would be how could D'Anna know this person is dead and thus, not with the fleet? Ok, that's not my only question and we have months to go over this stuff until we've shredded every possible scenario so let's just get on with it.

The episode starts up with the rebel Cylons breaking up Adama and Roslin's hug. D'Anna's clearly running the show here. She talks about her vision, tells them that there are four cylons in the fleet and she wants them. Leoben suggests they (the cylons) cooperate. D'Anna says they tried cooperating on New Caprica and it didn't work. Seriously? Does she really think what happened on New Caprica was a valid attempt at a peaceful coexistence?

D'Anna's plan is to keep Roslin hostage on the baseship along with the rest of the humans that were unfortunate enough to be there (including Baltar), bring Adama back to Galactica and tell the fleet that they can't have their president back unless they get the final four. And if they take too long giving up the final four, they'll start offing people. Adama only agrees to go along with it after Roslin gives him another hug and whispers to him that the final four are the way to earth and not to give them up, even if it means nuking the baseship with her in it.

When D'Anna and Adama arrive on Galactica, D'Anna gets down to business. She tells everyone on the crowded hanger, which includes all four of the final-fivers as well as Lee and Kara that all she and her fellow rebel cylons want are the final four. She doesn't out her cylon brethren, though. Instead, she exchanges lots of eye contact with Tory and Tigh, both of which are feet away from her. They could tell by the look she gave them that she knows. She knows that they know and they know she knows they know. Anders and Tyrol weren't a part of the brief eye-contact exchange as they were up in the rafters watching the scene from above but they had things pretty much figured out.

Tory uses Roslin's illness as an excuse to get on the baseship. She's got Roslin's pills and it's true that the president does need them but we all know Tory's done with this act and ready to come out of the cylon closet. Tigh knows what's up and tries to stop her. There's people around, including Adama and he can't say anything too obvious so she gets past him and boards the ship. Once D'Anna gets Tory into the basestar, all pretenses are dropped. The Cylons on board seem surprised to learn that Tory is one of them. There's a buzz of what seems like a mix of excitement and shock among the Cylons but no one really says much. Instead, Tory just smiles in a forced, awkward way. Or maybe I'm just not used to her smiling.

I'm done taking orders from you

Elsewhere on the baseship, Roslin's helping re-bandage Baltar. He thanks her for not murdering him, which is a surprising acknowledgement of his little confession last episode about his role in the attack on the colonies. For some reason I half-expected Baltar to try and pretend it never happened. I think Roslin might've thought the same thing, considering she didn't try to bring it up before he did. Baltar tells her that he loves living and thanks her for saving his life.

Tory comes in to see Roslin. Laura's so relieved to see her and to have her medicine that she barely has the chance to express her gratitude before Tory tells her she's here to be with her people. Baltar realizes right away that Tory's one of the five. He says he knew it. Well, not really knew it on a conscious level but he says he always knew there was something. Maybe it was the way her spine glowed when they were doing it? Tory acts coldly to both Roslin and Baltar and goes to leave. Roslin quickly recovers from the shock and tries to stop her, asking if she might try to convince D'Anna to back down and not kill the hostages. Tory's response, "I'm done taking orders from you." Way to be a bitch about it, Tor.

Meanwhile, back on Galactica they're trying to figure out a way to save the president and the other humans being held hostage. They need to have their vipers out there with their nukes "cocked and locked," according to Kara. It's weird hearing Adama calling Lee "Mr. President." While Adama seems worn out and unsure, Tigh looks pensive. Then we see him, Anders, Tyrol and Tory all responding to a sound no one else seems to hear. It's happening again. This time the sound is like feedback with some music. Tory's on the baseship so she doesn't follow it but Anders, Tigh and Tyrol do and it takes them to the viper that Kara returned in.

I'm one of the final five

The three know something is up with the viper and it's important but they don't know what. Tigh tells Anders and Tyrol to get Kara. Maybe she knows something or can figure it out since she's the one that brought the thing back from wherever she was. Tigh leaves the two of them and goes to Adama to confess his deepest, darkest secret. He starts with the "frakkin' music," explaining that what he heard back at the nebula was a signal. It switched him on, like Boomer. "I'm one of the five." You can practically see Adama's heartbeat speeding up. There's a mix of subdued anger and fear on his face but he's not ready to believe it yet.

Adama stands up and points out what many of us questioned when we learned that Tigh's a Cylon. He says, "When I met you, you had hair. I never heard of a Cylon aging." Tigh says, "Doesn't mean they don't. Before the attack on the colonies, we didn't know skinjobs existed. Turns out there's another kind of Cylon we didn't know about and I'm one of them." Adama theorizes that the Cylons might've done something to him on New Caprica to make him think he's a Cylon. Tigh assures him this is for real and says that if he had the guts he would've airlocked himself. He then goes on to say that being one of the final five, D'Anna would be willing to back down if he threatens to flush him out of an airlock. Whether it's because he doesn't want to be used by the Cylons, because he's sick of lying or because now that D'Anna's back, he knows it's a matter of time before he's called out, Tigh has admitted who/what he is to Adama and is willing to die. There's no turning back now.

Adama has Tigh taken away and once alone, he proceeds to have a total breakdown. The scene showing Adama being upset over Kara's death last season was nothing compared to this. He screams, trashes his office, smashes a mirror and chugs a bottle of liquor. Lee shows up and, finding his father on the floor, pulls Adama into a sitting position, then holds him the way a father would hold a hysterical child (except in this case, that's obviously reversed). Adama cries and continues to fall apart, saying there's no earth, it's a frakkin' joke and that he can't kill Tigh. Finding out that his best and oldest friend is and has always been a Cylon is just too much, on top of everything else that's happened. Lee says he'll take care of it and leaves.

He finds Tigh cuffed and standing near the hanger door, ready to be airlocked. He punches Tigh in the face and demands to know who the others are. D'Anna gets on the radio and Lee tells her that they'll flush Tigh out the airlock if she doesn't give them back the president. The power has shifted but D'Anna's not ready to give up.

Meanwhile, Kara's with Tyrol and Anders near the mystery-viper. She doesn't get why they want her to examine the thing. While she's arguing with them, a bunch of military people show up and arrest Anders and Tyrol. They tell Kara that they're both Cylons. Kara eyes bulge and her brow crinkles in that "what the frak is going on" expression. Anders tells Kara that it's true and she doesn't get the chance to respond before they get dragged off to the airlock to stand with Tigh. Once the three are standing together, Tigh tells them they should've confessed when they first found out. All three seem resigned to their fate. No begging or threats. They seem ready to die. Not happy about it, but ready.

Kara shelves her shock over finding out her husband is a Cylon for the moment and climbs into the viper. She turns it on and notices something strange on one of the screens. While this is going on, Baltar and Roslin, still on the baseship, realize something is happening. Leoben comes in and tells them people are going to be executed. He seems concerned for their safety. Baltar goes to talk to D'Anna. He and she got pretty close (to put it mildly) prior to her being boxed and he was with her when she discovered who the final five were.

This is where things get crazy. Lee and D'Anna have another argument over the radio and it's time to take action. D'Anna now knows that Anders, Tigh and Tyrol are outed, so she orders the baseship's nukes be pointed at the fleet. Lee orders everyone out of the tube besides Tigh. Tigh looks up at Lee, who is viewing the tube area from the window above. He gives him the kind of "what the frak are you lookin' at" stink-eye that only a man like Tigh could pull off with one eye. As the gate closes, Tyrol gives Tigh a nod of respect. Meanwhile, Baltar's doing his best to appeal to D'Anna. He reminds her that blunt force didn't work for her on New Caprica or the Algae planet, so why does she think it's going to work now.

Kara's running through Galactica for what seems like an eternity. Never did the ship seem so big. Tigh's ready to die and barks at Lee to just get on with it already. Lee is about to push the button when Kara bursts through the door and tells him the Cylons gave them the way earth. Now I'm not going to lie. For a second there, I thought there was a chance that Tigh might get sucked out of the airlock. Why? Well, there are three other final-fivers so it's not like they couldn't continue that arc without him.

Baltar apparently got through to D'Anna because just as Lee doesn't airlock Tigh, D'Anna doesn't nuke the fleet. Everyone's still alive. Kara shows Lee the viper and points out that it's picking up a signal on an empty channel. This is the way to earth. She goes on to say that everything's happening the way the hybrid said it would and maybe there's some higher power guiding them. Maybe the cylons and the humans are supposed to find earth together.

All this has happened before... but it doesn't have to happen again

Lee calls an impromptu meeting in Galactica's hanger. He, Kara, the final-four (including Tory) and D'Anna are all present. Lee shares the information they have about the Viper openly with D'Anna and they talk of re-allying and going to earth together. D'Anna realizes this is the only way and agrees to release the crew. The final four have been granted amnesty. Lee and D'Anna shake hands. Everyone's friends again (right.).

Lee sits with a robed Adama and goes over the plan to head to earth. Adama is sober but tired. Roslin approaches him from behind and for a minute I wondered if she was a head-Roslin (like the Six Baltar sometimes sees). There's something about the affectionate way she's behaving towards him and the soothing way she talks to him that seems off. Maybe it's just unfamiliar. She's real though and her words are just what he needs to hear to get him up and off to get dressed. When Roslin has a minute alone with Lee she expresses admiration for how he handled the crisis and tells him the fleet is going to need that kind of leadership in the future. Adama returns, suited up and mostly back to normal now. He says they can't take their time getting to earth. They can't afford for the alliance with the Cylons to fall apart again. It's time to roll the hard six. Earth or bust.

Take us to Earth

In the CIC, they spool up the FTL drive and prepare to make the big jump to earth. Roslin gives the order and off they go. They jump and Gaeta confirms that the constellations are a match. We see the fleet (and one banged-up looking baseship) hovering outside earth's atmosphere. Adama informs the fleet that they've arrived at earth. Everyone cheers. Hugs are exchanged. Lee jumps up onto a table, tears off his jacket and screams in joy. Crew members are hugging and clapping. Tyrol is in his room with Nicky. Tigh's by himself staring at a bottle, looking sad. Athena and Helo are with Hera and they all hug. Baltar and his cult join hands and look like they're thanking God. Kara is at the memorial wall. She looks at the picture of Kat and says, "We made it kid." Anders walks up behind her and just looks at her. After hugging Adama, Roslin cries.

Earth.

The celebration doesn't last though. They get down to earth and what do they find? A welcoming parade? A high-tech world filled with cloud-cities and flying cars? A bunch of people sit around singing "All along the Watchtower?" No. They find nothing. Earth appears to be deserted. It looks like everything has been destroyed as there's charred looking debris scattered all about.

Some things to note from this final scene. Pretty much all of the key characters are present. They're all standing around, staring at what's become of this planet that was/is supposed to be their new home. Tory walks up to Anders and reaches out to touch his arm or take his hand but he moves away from her. A Six (I'm assuming it's Caprica) walks up behind Tigh and touches him, he doesn't respond. Others like Dualla, Kara, Leoben, Baltar and Lee are either standing or otherwise wandering aimlessly.

Where do we go from here?

So they found earth and it sucks - now what? Where are all the humans? Is earth even habitable anymore? The weather wasn't looking too good there. It looked even worse there than it did on New Caprica. Was there some kind of nuclear war that wiped everyone out? Was the debris they were standing near once the Temple of Aurora?

In addition to the new question of "what now?" we also have a number of old questions still yet to be answered. We still don't know who the fifth is. And we haven't been told what the deal is with Hera. Where are the rest of the Cylons? The hub was destroyed but there are surely still plenty of non-rebels out there, including Boomer (who as far as we know, isn't confirmed dead). As for the drama: Will Kara and Anders reconcile? What about Adama and Tigh? Will Adama and Roslin have time to enjoy their budding romance before Roslin's cancer gets worse? And a few people showed their cards tonight. While Leoben expressed genuine concern for Roslin and Baltar's wellbeing, Tory proved that if she had to choose a side, her loyalty lies with "her people."