Written by Michael Angeli
Directed by Bill Eagles
“They always seem to be coming after one of us…”
A Measure of Salvation wasn’t what I was expecting…and it wasn’t quite up to the strength of Torn…but it continues the trend of building new plot lines and new relationships for season three, and in some interesting and unexpected ways.
Surprise number one: Helo. His new responsibilities on the Galactica have given him an interesting new perspective on humanity. Some might say it’s come out of left-field, but the more I think about it, the more Helo’s experiences – his on-the-run life on Caprica, his love for Sharon – seem to have led him to his moment of choosing to sabotage the mission to infect the Cylons with the virus. As the harsh realities of once more being on the run crash down around the President and the crew of Galactica, Helo’s stand as a lone-wolf idealist is both touching and tragic. Someone has to speak for the soul of humanity, and NOT stare into the abyss…and it’s equally interesting that Adama realizes what has happened in the end, and accepts it without official consequences. He shares the very same feelings that Helo does, and he realizes that he must act as the balance between such idealism, and the pragmatic realism of Roslin and Lee.
Surprise number two: Baltar. The torture sequence isn’t necessarily anything that we haven’t seen before, but the side-effects are compelling. Baltar being helped by his mental-Six to project away the pain opens up even more fascinating questions about who and what this woman actually is! She protects him…she’s jealous of his relations with the Caprica-Six…she seems to have her own personal plan for the two of them…it’s verging on the mind-boggling. Of all the plot threads, I hope THIS is the one the writers don’t mess up, because it’s becoming a journey in which I’m investing myself more and more.
But it doesn’t end there. Baltar’s words to D’Anna, while he is projecting, provoke a rather interesting reaction. Is she in love with Baltar? Is she not the cold-hearted Cylon patriot she claims to be? Is she jealous of Caprica-Six’s relationship with Baltar? Again…there is something incredibly deep to be mined within this plot thread…and I hope it leads to something worthy of Galactica’s potential.
Surrounding these plot machinations, like a warm blanket, is a juicy amount of spectacle: the squishy interior of the dying base ship & the aborted attack on the Cylon fleet. Just enough of a break to keep us satisfied, and not too overwhelmed by the rather philosophical content of this episode. A Measure of Salvation doesn’t have the intensity of Torn, but instead of living up to the previous episode, it takes a different path by successfully sets down another goal post for the third season: a race between the fleet & the Cylons to find Earth.
A race I intend to see to its conclusion…
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