Written by Ronald D. Moore
Directed by Michael Rymer
Written by Ann Cofell Saunders & Mark Verheiden
Directed by Michael Rymer
“There comes a time when you realize that the engine you built with your blood and your sweat and your tears is being used for something so foul, so…perverted, that it makes you sick in your heart. And it’s then that you must throw your body on the gears, and on the levers, and on the machine itself, and make it stop! And you have to show the people who run it, the people who control it, that unless we’re free, that machine will be prevented from working at all!”
I’ve been a little disappointed with the second half of Battlestar Galactica’s sophomore year. Aside from Scar and Downloaded, the run of episodes that followed the Pegasus arc have been run-of-the-mill stories that would have worked on Star Trek-Voyager…and that is something Galactica shouldn’t be striving to emulate.
For three-quarters of its running time, both episodes of Lay Down Your Burdens left me with the same, continuous feeling of “same old, same old”. Yes, it was beautifully directed, yes it was full of some nice moments (the debate prep, Tyrol’s therapy session with Brother Cavill)…but it didn’t knock my socks off.
The entire election debacle was well thought out, but in the end, it didn’t leave me feeling particularly disgusted or elated. It was interesting — plot machinations, schemes, and power games — obviously setting up things for the third season, but I’d be lying if I wasn’t stifling a yawn in some places. Certainly, it was a complete waste of Tom Zarek’s character — a man given far more interesting and fun moments of Machiavellian glee in previous episodes. Richard Hatch looked as bored as I felt.
And then…Gina-Six makes her move with the nuclear warhead given to her by Baltar?and HOLY FRAK, do we enter new territory!
One Year Later: bloody hell, it deserved its own hour! A wicked, shocking, stunning shake up of the status quo, as the rag-tag fleet attempts to settle on a less-than-hospitable planet…and it’s all seemingly gone into the shite-hole!
Characters with unspoken back stories…new relationship dynamics (Tyrol & Cally married, Starbuck positively knocking over Tigh with a hug, Roslin teaching…and Tory still by her side), and some tragic consequences, ranging from the bleak (the half-empty remains of the orbiting fleet, Anders with pneumonia) to the utterly reprehensible (the womanizing, alcohol-swilling Baltar, off his rocker). It’s like having a bucket of the chilliest ice water thrown in your face — the sea change is positively breathtaking.
But when the Cylons arrive in force —and the fleet abandons New Caprica — to ensure its surviva…that’s when things REALLY get interesting.
What will happen during this twisted Cylon occupation of mankind? What will be the new relationship dynamic between Baltar and Caprica-Six? When will the resistance to the new government begin to take shape? Will there be Vichy-style collaborators? How will Adama Senior and Junior pull together enough resources to return as a fighting force? And WHY is Cylon Leoben Conoy back and looking for Starbuck??
This final, glorious half-hour saves an otherwise dull and grey episode from fading into obscurity. It sets up an amazing, convoluted, complex situation for season three, and manages to sign-post a new direction for the series. It takes some wading through heavy muck to reach this gemstone, but in the end…it’s worth it. Out with the old, and in with the new…and where it’s going to end, I haven’t a clue.
But that’s the fun of being a fan of Battlestar Galactica. You never know what you’re going to get. The series was in danger of losing that unpredictable quality over the last six weeks…thank goodness it managed to find it once more, leading to ratings of…
Part One: 7
Part Two: 8
