Written by Bradley Thomspon & David Weddle
Directed by Michael Rymer
“What have I done? All of the people I’ve sent to die? For what? For what!”
“For Earth.”
“There is no Earth. It is a frakkin’ joke! There is no Earth!”
For a while, I thought I was watching Battlestar Galactica going all Star Trek. But it did so in its usual Galactica way: simple, straightforward, and grounded in brutal, honest reality.
The first 45 minutes of Revelations is the ultimate game of chicken: EVERYONE revealing their true colours, lettting their emotions loose, and making the final, unequivocal stand-off. It was tense, it was shocking, and once again, it was all down to some exceptional performances. Catharsis at last! I love good catharsis…and the writers clearly relish the chance to take the characters - and the audience - to the finish line.
I swear by all that is holy, if Michael Hogan doesn’t receive an Emmy nomination for his work as Saul Tigh, then there truly is no justice in the universe. Revelations sees the ultimate expression of the man (the Cylon?) he is: fallible, honourable, stoic, terrified, and resigned to his fate. His admission to Adama about who and what he is sent shivers down my spine that could have deep-frozen equatorial Africa…
…and THEN, a moment later, it was actually TOPPED by Edward James Olmos, who finally delivers the emotional breakdown we all know he’s been repressing for so long. Watching the Admiral come apart in his son’s arms could well be the most heartbreaking scene in all of Galactica’s four year history. Again, I’ll invoke the word “Emmy”, but I won’t hold my breath.
But…we’re not through yet, as Sam and Tyrol realize that Kara’s new raptor is pointing the way to Earth…and the discovery leads to the long awaited rapprochment between humans and Cylons (at least, the rebel Cylons…god knows what’s going to happen when we run into the others). I joked that this is very Star Trek, but this alliance is born out of exhaustion, sadness, desperation, weariness, and the faintest glimmer of hope. Everyone just wants to stop searching and find a HOME…and the joy upon reaching Earth is the kind of subdued intensity I was hoping to witness.
Unfortunately, Earth is a radioactive cinder! Something terrible (yet…inevitable?) has occurred…but what? How did this happen? WHAT actually happened? Perhaps the biggest shock isn’t the audience, staring at the TV screen, open-mouthed…it’s the desolate, stunned expressions of our main characters, and the dead eyes of Adams as he simply mutters “Earth”. It was clearly a nod to the conclusion of the original Planet of the Apes…but that film didn’t find such perfection in its desolation.
It’s been quite a tense, mind-shredding ten week run. We now take a long (oh god, SO LONG) pause until January to watch the final 10 episodes (season 4.5) of what is the best American show on television. It has a great deal to live up to…
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