By Kenn Gold
When last we saw the Colonial fleet and their newfound Cylon allies they had just discovered Earth. But the planet is a nuclear wasteland, destroyed a very long time ago and now uninhabitable. The season 4.5 opener begins the last 10 episodes of the series with the crew of Galactica exploring their surroundings on the dead planet, and discovering some startling truths and very dark revelations for at least one character that will truly shock, and leave the audience wondering if anything we think we know is going to turn out the way we think it will.
It is difficult to imagine that anyone who even remotely cares about this show will not be tuning in to these final chapters to see how things turn out, much in the way a giant mystery novel, that the reader has been digging into for the past 6 years could not be set aside without reading the final chapter.
And it is difficult to write a review of an episode with some of the more significant revelations of the series while being forbidden to mention them, though intending to remind people the show is back, and tease them into watching. So this article won’t contain any reference to a goodbye for a character who has been beloved since the mini but won’t survive this episode, or the sudden and disturbing way that person leaves. It will also not talk about the various things found on the planet, some of which seem very familiar, even Earth-like (ours). Though one of those things found begins unraveling one of the largest mysteries left on the show, but opens up way more questions than it answers at this point. Though the sequence did satisfy, and almost felt like the expected completion to the original series’ Pegasus arc that was never quite shown.
It will also not delve into the memories of a past that couldn’t have happened, but seems to have for some of the characters, though it should be impossible for those things to have happened to these people. And it won’t even begin to discuss the nature of the former inhabitants of that planet, which are at the very core of a major revelation about those ancient colonists who left Kobol. Though there is a light scene, involving Michael Trucco’s Anders which is a classic moment that brings a smile in the middle of a very dark chapter, and begins tying up a mystery of the final four’s awakening.
Much of the opening episode is similar to when the Colonials found Kobol, including revelations of about the very nature of the human and Cylon races. It’s going to be amazing fun to see how this all settles out with the upcoming spin-off series Caprica in terms of those natures and origins. Though perhaps that is why Caprica is not coming out for nearly another year.
That largely leaves as fair game a discussion of the Colonial leadership, and the devastation and loss that those who believed the most would necessarily find when they think all is lost, even when it means disappointing those who have come to count on them for everything. In the third season, it was disturbing to see Adm. Adama, especially, going down the path of desolation and self pity, and burying himself in a bottle of booze when he was most needed. That continues to new extremes, but this time he isn’t the only leader giving in to those moments of weakness. Though we get perhaps a closer look into just how far Adama has fallen, and how difficult it is for him to find his way back, though that process maybe begins with oddly enough, a parable about foxes.
Battlestar Galactica is a show that never ceases to amaze, and really is a study into both the greatest and, at times, the darkest aspects of human nature. Right from the start it had a 9/11 post apocalyptic feel, but the leaders of the human race found a common goal and were able to restore hope. In these last episodes we will perhaps get to see what happens when even hope is taken away. And this episode, perhaps the darkest next to the death sequence with Callie, is a definite start towards moving in that direction.
It should be noted that the press screener that was sent out has an ominous blank spot, with one secret too juicy to be revealed until air, lest the DVD find its way into the wrong hands. The blank spot is seated in the midst of an intense discussion between Tigh and Adama, though on second viewing, and looking at who comes back next in sequence, it could be something involving Starbuck, with an entire cut away scene. And that might have just been a commercial break awkwardly edited. The press release apologizes for removing the sequence, but says that it was done to maintain the secrecy of an extremely sensitive reveal. Could this be the last Cylon already? And as a fan of the show, I can only think that SCI FI learned lessons with the final sequence of season two concerning Starbuck’s return, leaking out ahead of time. So thank you SCI FI for thinking of your fans with that decision.
