GET NEW POSTS VIA FEED
OR EMAILBattlestar Galactica: The Woman King
Season 3, Episode 14
Battlestar Galactica: The Woman King
Amazon Link
I really liked this episode, as it showed the darker side of humanity, a place that can be reached through prejudice and distorted beliefs. A belief system can be so all-powerful that it obscures the truth and makes us act in self-destructive ways.
Basically the Saggitarons, a religious “tribe” of the Galactica fleet, don’t believe in modern medicine. Unfortunately, there’s a disease spreading among them, and their refusal to get treatment threatens to spread the illness to everyone else in the fleet.
While a lesser show might stop there, BSG goes further, as several of the characters openly voice racist and discriminatory views about how stupid and worthless the Saggitarons are as a people.
Added to the mix is a rogue doctor, who is supposedly treating the infected, but is possibly intentionally killing the sick Saggitarons based on the aforementioned prejudices. His logical excuse is that since they refuse treatment and would die anyhow, why not get them out of the way and save the limited supply of drugs for the healthy? But it’s impossible to deny that this seemingly considered posturing is just a front for blatant discrimination. The truth is kept deliberately vague until the very end, when things boil over, in a satisfying and dramatic way.
So this episode featured a bit of a “whodunit” (largely through the investigations of Helo) combined with some social commentary on our filters of belief which can taint how we view our fellow humans. Nobody is immune to these caustic filters, as the recent book Medical Apartheid documents how racism distorted even the most respected of professions, making the supposedly smart seem all too fallible, inhumane, and stupid.
In other Galactica news, the show has been picked up for a fourth season.
Next Episode: A Day In The Life
Previous Episode: Taking A Break From All Your Worries
Categories: Battlestar Galactica, Television :: Tags: ::
Trackback URL
Front Page
Previous Post: Book Notes: But Wait! There’s More!
Next Post: Ted Stevens And Libraries
Related Posts: Battlestar Galactica: Taking A Break From All Your Worries :: Battlestar Galactica: A Day In The Life :: Battlestar Galactica Site Hacked :: Battlestar Galactica: DVD Movie Plans ::
I wish they would get on with it though. This felt like a filler episode - not unlike Black Market.
Ah, well, that’s a valid complaint. It definitely was lacking any more information about the larger story arc regarding the Cylons, getting to earth, or Baltar.
Maybe it was just because it didn’t have any of the Starbuck / Apollo / Dualla stuff that’s been bugging me as of late.
*covers hands over ears*
I’M NOT LISTENING
*waits until Season 3 is complete to watch it*
Just work under the implication that any post saying “Battlestar Galactica:” is spoiler riddled.
Hate to say it but I agree with Jeff. It was a nice episode for building Helo’s character, but they could have done that with some web shorts…we’ve only got 5 episodes left to finish off the season, lets get on with the main plot!
I really hope they make the DVD movie from the long break
Oh well I guess I’m voted down two to one. That’s okay I like to get different opinions.
Still wondering which crew member is a Cylon, that’s for sure!
I liked it. But them I’m easily amused/pleased.
I also like Helo’s character, though it seems like Helo is becoming the moral conscience of Galactica (hasn’t he stood in the face of mob rule in previous episodes).
Now next week’s episode, that looks like a true filler episode (with the airlock problem).
I find that mid-season Galactica episodes tend to drag. Whereas early season stories complete multi-episode story arcs from the prior season and late season ones initiate new arcs for the season finale cliffhanger, the middle episodes kinda wade in the water a little bit. Oftentimes a single character is featured in a standalone episode that demonstrates some sort of growth (like the ep where Chief built his stealth ship, or the Black Market ep with Apollo), but longer-range threads languish.
Supposedly part of being renewed for a fourth season is less episodes. So maybe there won’t be as many of these “filler” ones.
[...] Episode: The Woman King Previous Episode: Rapture [...]
[...] Next Episode: Dirty Hands Previous Episode: The Woman King [...]