Written by Carla Robinson
Directed by Rod Hardy
“I’m going to play the religious card.”
I like The Farm very much — in fact, I like BOTH episodes that make up The Farm.
The first episode is the story of Starbuck in the hospital, being experimented upon — forced to incubate human-cylon hybrid babies. It’s a story shot in a wash of gorgeous golden-sepia tones, with very little music, and primarily a two-hander in a single room…allowing Katee Sackhoff another magnificent turn in what could very well be her best dramatic outing to date. We get revelations about her supposedly-abused past…we get revelations about her inner demons, her true belief in the gods, and her icy determination to survive and escape. It’s simply breathtaking to watch.
The second episode isn’t quite so strong, but has equally compelling moments. Roslin’s attempt to gather support against Galactica and martial law forces her into the situation of being a messiah — resulting in a scene of arresting eeriness, as she blesses a group of convicts who drop to their knees the moment they see her!
The remainder of the episode is about shifting emotional loyalties: Lee’s inability to denounce his father; Commander Adama’s discussion with Tyrol about love, and his subsequent breakdown beside Cylon-Boomer’s body in the morgue, the plotting going on in Zarek’s mind — wonderfully conveyed through his eyes by Richard Hatch. The original series Galactica alumnus is showing acting chops far beyond what he demonstrated over 25 years ago.
My main beef with the episode is that TWO episodes — worthy of stand alone glory — have been squished together into a single outing of 45 minutes. It left me incredibly frustrated, as we cut back-and-forth between plot lines…reducing the impact of each one by cutting away at the WORST possible moments. They shouldn’t tease us with such powerful material, and then expect us to re-invest in a second set of powerful material…and then go BACK to the first set!
Therefore, while I’d rate the story elements and character development of The Farm as a 10, the frustrating storytelling logistics of the episode leaves me with the unenviable task of summing up this episode as an…
8
