Written by Carla Robinson
Directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
“You bite me, I’ll bite you back!”
We come to part 2 of this week’s story, and instead of last week’s quiet, creeping emotion, we get a frantic pace, with a few loud bangs and flashes thrown in for good measure.
THE GOOD
The fleet dynamics are well handled, with the President giving only so much slack on the leash for Adama and Apollo, who indulge their personal feelings and emotional baggage in dictating the length and effort of the search for Starbuck.
Other nice character notes include the opportunity to play with character combos we rarely see, such as Apollo vs. Colonel Tigh, and the President & Tigh, in a very interesting, no nonsense corridor conversation. Mary McDonnell lays down the law hard and fast in this episode, and she does a good job.
Also noteworthy is how well Baltar is able to play all sides, struggling to stay loyal to the fleet, to ensure his own survival, while trying to go toe-to-toe (or should I say, finger-to-finger) with Number Six in the one-upsmanship department.
THE INTERESTING
Helo and Boomer on Caprica, and the Cylon shoot out at the diner. We have some obivous feelings brewing, only to be stopped by a Helo/Cylon throwdown. Helo survives, Boomer disappears…and more interesting questions remain.
THE FRAKING WONDERFUL (note that I figure this is now a four-letter word…)
Starbuck on the moon — desperate, cheeky…and discovering the true nature of the Cylon ships: icky biological cyborgs. Fun with brains, sucking on oxygen veins, squeezing and probing the ship back into an operational condition…it’s a one-handed masterpiece and a hell of a lot of fun to watch. Katee Sackhoff is just so damn watchable…and all she has to work with this week are gooey tentacles!
THE SWEET
FINALLY…a happy ending! Starbuck makes it home in her Cylon raider, via a dogfight/space dance with Apollo’s viper (love the little bump they send to each other!)…and then Starbuck reconciles with Adama, getting his last cigar while sitting in her hospital bed. Simple, straighforward, funny, touching, no over-sugaring of the pot. A nice ending to a hell of a nice episode.
Hope: it comes in small but solid doses on Galactica, and this episode does the show proud.
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