WRITERS: Bradley Thompson & David Weddle DIRECTOR: Michael Rymer
CAST: Edward James Olmos (Adama), Jamie Bamber (Lee), Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck), Lucy Lawless (D'Anna/Number 3), James Callis (Baltar), Tricia Helfer (Number 6/Caprica), Mary McDonnell (Roslin), Tahmoh Penikett (Helo), Michael Hogan (Tigh), Alessandro Juliani (Gaeta), Kandyse McClure (Dee), Grace Park (Athena), Nicki Clyne (Cally), Aaron Douglas (Chief Tyrol), Alisen Down (Jean Barolay), Michael Trucco (Anders), Dean Stockwell (Brother Cavil) & Callum Keith Rennie (Leoben Conoy)
D'Anna and Baltar descend to the Algae Planet, convinced they'll find answers to their questions. On the surface, the crew defend the Temple from Cylon forces, hoping Chief Tyrol can decypher the inscriptions in time...The conclusion to The Eye Of Jupiter is entertaining, although it suffers from some weak subplots and the storyline is fairly predictable. Rapture finds the humans and Cylons still caught in a tense stand-off over the Algae Planet, where an ancient temple could point the way to Earth.
The episode is divided into various strands, the most intriguing being D'Anna and Baltar's plot to see the "Final Five" (the unseen Cylon models), with Baltar anxious to discover if he himself is one of them. This relatively fresh element to BSG is enjoyable and mystical but also a confusing. Why are the Final Five only accessible this way? Aren't they just machines as well? Theyre treated as God-like deities by D'Anna, but it's already established that the Cylons only worship a singular God.
I hope clarification is forthcoming...
Another subplot is the attempt by Athena and Helo to retrieve their captive daughter from the Cylon Basestar. The crossbreed baby has been a running thread in the show since season 2 and it's nice to see this plot returned to. Their unauthorised rescue plan is interesting, although given Hera's supposed importance to the Cylons, it's strange how easy the child's retrieval from the enemy is! This wanton hopping around Basestars and the increased knowledge of Cylon society has destroyed some of the villain's mystique this season.
Elsewhere, Dee gets a minor plot as she rescues Starbuck from her crashed Raptor. Kandyse McClure remains the most underutilized character on the show, along with Alessandro Juliani's Mr Gaeta, and this problems rests on the shoulders of the writing team. Truth is, Dee is a boring character who is occassionally "sexed up" in various ways (girlfriend to Lee being the latest idea) but is never given anything interesting to do. If I were the actress, I'd be making tracks before my career passes me by...
Dullard Chief Tyrol agonizes over some ancient text on a Temple column, while Anders and Apollo use guerilla tactics to fend off some Cylon "toasters", in the type of ground assault ambushes that are becoming overfamiliar to the show.
The finale is a great excuse for the fx crew to show-off their talents, with a few awesome apocalyptic shots. It's a shame their good work doesn't stretch to the Cylon Centurions, who are basdly composited into the real-world scenery this time.
But the main flaw to Rapture is with the writing. The outcome to the whole story was painfully obvious from watching part one, so part two's reveal is predictable and unexciting. I was hoping there would be a clever twist to keep viewers on their toes, but no... it all pans out exactly as you were expecting it to.
Still, Rapture does end with the unmissable swansong for a character, plus an intriguing discovery for Starbuck...
