Written by David Weddle & Bradley Thompson
Directed by Felix Alcala
“What would you have us do, Gaius?”
“Leave. Pack up your centurions, and go. Please…go…”
“And then what? What would you do if we really just left you here? You’d live out your lives in peace and never trouble yourselves with thoughts of us again? Or would you raise your children with stories of the Cylon, the mechanical slaves who once did your bidding, only to turn against you? Killers who committed genocide against your race, the occupiers of this city until we just ran away? Would you tell them to tell the story to their children, and to their childrens’ children, and nurse a dream of vengeance down through the years so that one day they could just go out into the stars and hunt the Cylon once more?”
“Blood for blood…has to stop one day.”
Well, that was nothing short of magnificent…
Part 1 moves the plot along - it’s just a giant character chess machine, in the vein of past episodes such as Home-Part 1 and Resurrection Ship-Part 1. With subtlety, artistry, and giant dollops of terror and foreboding, Exodus-Part 1 feels like the day before the apocalypse: fulls of goodbyes, plans, counter-plans, and people resigned to the fact that they’re about to walk freely into the valley of death. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before, but it’s done with the skill and precision we’ve come to expect from Battlestar Galactica.
What spices the episode up is the focus on Sharon. Our Cylon-human wannabe seems to have come a long way. She’s confident, pragmatic, determined, and utterly sure of herself…a far cry from the caged, embittered prisoner of season two. Watching as she completes her mission, knowing that there are those who still don’t trust her, we see the walking incarnation of everything the Cylons are trying to achieve: becoming human. There are Cylons who would kill to have Sharon’s development, and she’s breathtaking to watch as she embraces her reclaimed humanity.
But it’s Part 2 that steals the show. Part 2 that is the creme de la creme of Galactica’s occupation arc. Here are SEVERAL things to LOVE UNCONDITIONALLY about Part 2:
(1) The battle!!! See Galactica jump into atmosphere, burn like the sun, and jump away like the barge of the gods! See Pegasus arrive to save the day and take out THREE base stars, in both life and in its fiery, apocalyptic death! The dog fights against a clear blue sky! The take offs and escapes of the civilian fleet. It’s enough movie-quality CGI mastery to make ANYONE happy!
(2) Michael Hogan. His character of Colonel Tigh has never been an easy character to love, but here he walks away with the acting honours…
…which is quite a feat, considering the astonishing pedigree of acting that exists on this show. He’s been compelling since the season opener, but here he rises to an entirely new level. As he listens to his wife apologize, knowing what’s about to happen to her, Hogan manages to convey a powerful range of emotions with NO lines, and the use of only one eye! It’s a tragic, terrible, heart-wrenching scene…in fact, it’s so powerful that it makes you actually feel sorry for Ellen. The bitch queen of the universe, dead because of her treacherous actions…and we’re sad to see her go. That’s what I call investment in character!
(3) Callum Keith Rennie, who takes the honours of officially becoming Galactica’s creepiest, most repulsive character ever! The scene where he holds Starbuck’s “daughter” hostage, and receives his just rewards, is simply the most ugly-yet-compelling scene I’ve seen on television in some considerable time…and that’s including what happened in Occupation! I felt nothing but satisfaction at watching him die…yet I also shuddered, knowing that it won’t be the last time we see him.
(4) Speaking of Starbuck, it’s her final scene that sells the impact of what’s happened to her over the last four months. Realizing Casey isn’t her child…trying desperately to hold back the pain of that realization…one single, silent scene…enough to bring tears to your eyes.
(5) The climax in general. The reassembly of the humanity inside Galactica’s hangar deck…the reunions…the dawning of the terrible consequences that will soon manifest themselves…the gorgeous, operatic music that accompanies it…and then Adama, shaving off his moustache, and returning to a re-staffed CiC…a new chapter, a fresh start.
Exodus-Part 2 is, without a doubt, the most triumphant episode of Battlestar Galactica to date. It makes you pay for that triumph with pain and heartache on a scale that is huge, even by Galactica’s standards…but it’s an experience that is entirely worth it.
Part 1 8.5
Part 2 10
