Season 4, Episode 2

Battlestar Galactica: Six Of One

Synopsis

Starbuck threatens Roslin at gunpoint, begging for her trust, as she trusted Roslin regarding the Arrow of Apollo. Roslin fires a gun at Starbuck but misses. Tigh and several marines put Starbuck in the brig.

On a Cylon basestar, several human-model Cylons discuss the Final Five Cylons which is a taboo subject. The millions of toasters can’t attack the Galactica fleet because their programming forbids interaction with the Final Five. Cavil wants to “lobotomize” the toasters to limit their awareness of the taboo. Six doesn’t like this. Later, the human-model Cylons vote to control the toasters.

Meanwhile, the “Final Four” Cylons meet in secret aboard Galactica, and decide Starbuck isn’t a Cylon. Chief recalls the algae planet temple, where Baltar and Number 3 had a vision of the “Final Five”. They wonder if Baltar is the fifth of the Final Five. Tori decides to find out, finding Baltar in the mess hall. Evil Head Batlar makes an appearance.

Lee leaves military service to an emotional send off, via a pilot’s party and a military salute, and says farewell to both Starbuck and Dualla in particular.

Roslin and Adama (slightly intoxicated) discuss Starbuck’s fate. Roslin doesn’t trust her, and says Adama wants to believe because everyone around him is leaving.

Six brings in two toasters, who have been given “free will” by the removal of a suppressive device. They gun down everyone in the room.

At the end, Adama finds a way out. Rather than lead the entire fleet to where Starbuck wants to go, he offers Starbuck command of a spaceship (The Demetrius) in the hope she finds a definitive way to Earth.

Thoughts

Starbuck moves to another level, progressively going insane but wanting people to believe her. She is truly crushed when both Adama and Roslin distrust her, as they are surrogate parental figures. I also really liked the scene where Roslin and Adama disagree over Starbuck’s fate. Adama is drunk and says several cruel things to Roslin, and their effect on her is palpable when Adama leaves the room and she holds back tears.

While the core actors are as strong as ever, I’m skeptical about Tory (Rekha Sharma) playing a larger role. I think that actress has some growing to do if featured often - here she was rather insular and dull.

We also saw the impetus for a Cylon rebellion, which suggests the Final Five will bring about the destruction of the Cylons. But this is not through any direct action of theirs, but because their mere existence strikes such paranoia in the Cylon society that they turn on each other and eradicate themselves. Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Armchair philosophy: The toasters are granted “free will” through removal of the suppressive device. It makes an entity more “human” but also results in self-preservation and therefore the ability to murder your own kind. The past three seasons portray the human condition as frustratingly self-destructive, stubborn, and passionate. So it seems the prolonged conflict and exposure to humanity is making the Cylons more human - more like their enemies - and could lead them to self destruct.

And a final thought about the Final Five: We know that humans originally made Cylons, and then during the long peace, the Cylons went ahead and created the human-looking Cylon models on their own. Maybe the “Final Five” were created by the human side as some secret military project to fight the Cylons? Just a wacky thought to add to others.

Next Episode: The Ties That Bind
Previous Episode: He That Believeth In Me

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