WRITER: Michael Angeli DIRECTOR: Michael Rymer
CAST: Edward James Olmos (Adama), Tahmoh Penikett (Helo), Bruce Davison (Dr Michael Robert), Gabrielle Rose (Mrs King), Michael Hogan (Tigh), Donnelly Rhodes (Dr Cottle), Grace Park (Athena), Leah Cairns (Racetrack), Mary McDonnell (Roslin), Richard Hatch (Zarek), Jamie Bamber (Lee), Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck), Kandyse McClure (Dee), Aaron Douglas (Chief Tyrol), Tricia Helfer (Number 6/Caprica), James Callis (Baltar), Bodie Olmos (Hotdog), Colin Lawrence (Skulls), Lily Duong-Walton (Hera) & Rekha Sharma (Tory Foster)
A disease breaks out, causing a problem for the refugee Sagitarron population who don't believe in medicine for religious reasons...When BSG isn't blowing up spaceships or indulging its spirituality it can usually be found moralizing. The show is very adept as transposing modern issues into a sci-fi setting and The Woman King tackles the dilemma of religious beliefs conflicting with modern science.
Here we meet the marginalized Sagitarron's, a "root-sucking" group of people whose backward attitudes to medicine look set to condemn them to early graves. Bruce Davison guest stars as Michael Robert, a civilian doctor who works to convince the science-wary Sagitarrons to accept his help in fighting a fatal, but easily curable, disease.
Tahmoh Penikett takes centre stage as Helo, given a desk job in the bowels of the ship to process the Sagitarron refugees. Helo's conscience is pricked by the arrival of Mrs King (Gabrielle Rose), a woman convinced that Dr Robert is killing Sagitarrons...
So we have clear parallels to contemporary issues (Jehova's Witnesses routinely allow family to die instead of receiving blood transfusions), while also touching upon "Death Doctors", the most famous in the UK being Harold Shipman, the G.P who murdered over 100 old people during his career.
Heady stuff, handled well by writer Michael Angeli, particularly well acted by Penikett and Davison and a commendale premise for a sci-fi series. However, while its heart's in the right place, the outcome is never really in doubt and the storyline rarely surprises. The fact Bruce Davison often plays misguided nice guys (X-Men) works against the episode's central "did he do it?" mystery.
Looking at the wider picture, BSG is becoming fixated on presenting its characters in poor light. It's true that people are flawed, but BSG continually takes delight in showing its characters as racist, abusive, bullying or ignorant. It's about time we saw the good in these people, as only Helo retains his principles and keeps a level-head. I'm not suggesting BSG's characters become clones of those from Star Trek The Next Generation, but I just want to see their good sides more often.
Elsewhere, The Woman King touches on the captive Caprica Six (Tricia Helfer) who is visited by fellow Cylon defector Athena. This scene is most notable for the return of Six's hallucinatory Baltar. One of the biggest surprises last year was the realization that Baltar and Six both have secret visions of one another, whispering into their ears. What does it mean? Does this prove Gaius is a Cylon after all? Is it somehow related to the Final Five Cylons? Is there some other reason for this strange bond? Perhaps we'll find out soon, as this episode also marks the first time Six is witnessed "talking to herself" and kissing thin air. Maybe they'll witness Baltar doing the same (finally!) and realize the connection? We'll see.
Overall, The Woman King (pointless title aside) is a worthy examination of social issues we can recognise from our own lives. This is exactly what science-fiction was always designed to do -- shed light on the present from the "comfort zone" of fiction.
Unfortunately, the execution is competent but uninspired, with every story beat quite predictable and the prejudices becoming annoying instead of edgy (particularly Tigh and Dr Cottle). Penikett continues his strong work in this series and Davison is an enjoyable guest star, but it's all pretty forgettable.
Oh, and there's another "bonus scene" that lasts about 10 seconds yet contains an important admittance from Helo. I still have no idea why these scenes aren't in the full episodes, but there you go...
