Battlestar Galactica: The Passage

December 10th, 2006

Season 3, Episode 10

Battlestar Galactica: The Passage

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After the odd boxing episode last week, this episode was somewhat a return to form, but still with some mid-season, “self-contained episode” problems. There was a good mix of space action, Cylon mysteries, and reminders of the terrible odds the fleet is up against as they navigate through deep space towards earth.

Unfortunately, much of the show was centered around Kat, one of my least favorite characters. Her rivalry with Starbuck always seemed rather petty to me, and she always seemed pissed and annoyed. Anyhow, we learn that the pilot with a chip on her shoulder as big as a Cylon basestar had a nefarious past as a drug-runner.

Anyhow, the fleet has a contaminated food supply (recalling the first season water shortage episode). Sharon finds a planet with an algae food source, which unfortunately is behind some sort of radiation storm that would prove deadly to humans after prolonged exposure. Therefore, it’s impossible to send ships to load up with algae and bring it back to the fleet. The only option is to bring the ships to the food, a few at a time, through space jumps, using military craft as guiding shepherds.

As the dangerous mission proceeds, we’re treated to some tense scenes of craft jumping through the sight-obscuring radiation, and the pilots returning back to Galactica with swollen faces and sick stomachs due to the radiation.

On the last jump, already suffering from radiation exposure, Kat misses the order to jump. At the last moment she locates the ship she was guiding and escapes. Overexposed to radiation, she ends up directly in sick bay, and dies. Starbuck (as well as Adama and the rest of the Galactica crew) feels remorse after observing Kat’s dedication to the mission.

So although this turn of events was exciting and I found myself getting caught up, I have some issues with how it played out. First, I thought it was a bit weak to “flesh out” a relatively minor and spiky character with back-story to make them sympathetic and more noble than they previously appeared, just before killing them off. One thing that Galactica has tried to do more than any other sci-fi series is be realistic, so I found it a bit manipulative plus a stretch to give a previously disliked character a noble and heroic exit. Not everybody dies a pariah or martyr.

Meanwhile on the Cylon front, Baltar finds out Number Three has been killing herself and exploring the netherworld between life and death each time she is resurrected. He finds this curious and wonders if she has some clues to his destiny. There might be a link between the Cylons and humans in the afterlife. Batlar puts his hand into a navigator’s pool to probe this mystery, resulting in some prophetic Cylon babbling. Baltar and Number Three interpret the navigator’s words to learn of a planet in a cluster of stars that will lead them to the eye of Jupiter (and hence Earth). This planet is undoubtedly the very algae planet the Galactica fleet is headed towards.

I’m pretty intrigued by the Baltar and the Cylons story line. The show is giving us a little bit of information here and there, but not so much that it gets hokey. The mystique is a big part of the fear regarding the robot race and to illuminate their inner workings too much would make them less threatening a foe.

So all in all, I enjoyed this episode, but it still hasn’t hit the peak of Battlestar excitement I’ve grown to expect. Maybe the awesomeness of the four episode season opener spoiled me. I’m still holding out hope that the next episodes before the mid-season break will be incredible - and this above average episode bolsters that hopeful feeling.

Next Episode: The Eye of Jupiter (1)
Previous Episode: Unfinished Business

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