"Galactica is slipping away from you, drop by drop. You are pouringCylon blood into her veins. I see the Cylon pylons -- we all see them!
We all see the Cylon workforce. Where are they going, into the far
recesses of the ship? When are you inviting the Centurions over, to
join in all the fun we're having over here? Of course when you do
that, that very moment, this becomes a blended ship, only
half-human. And right now, I am here to tell you, your people,
your people are not ready for that."
-- Baltar (James Callis)
Spoilers. After last week's confluence of answers concerning the Final Five, "Deadlock" is a more measured affair, focusing on the return of Ellen Tigh (Kate Vernon) to Galactica, having escaped Cavil's ship with Boomer (Grace Park). Melodramatic at times because of its soap-y storyline, but generally an enriching hour.
The arrival of Ellen back to Galactica was momentous -- as Ellen has been presumed dead for 18 months, she's part of the Final Five (with restored memory), and her escort Boomer has a criminal past that's gone unpunished (an assassination attempt on Adama in season 1's finale.) Tigh's certainly thrilled to see his wife's alive, although there's scant apology for poisoning her on New Caprica! Her return soon causes him emotional headaches, too -- as a clear love-triangle forms, seeing as Tigh has got Caprica Six (Tricia Helfer) pregnant.
It's news that shocks Ellen, who clearly views her husband's relationship with "a Six" as tantamount to incest. A hypocritical view, actually, given the fact we know Ellen has slept with her "son" Cavil -- although both Ellen and Saul were unaware of their Cylon status when they bedded their own creations, so we should perhaps cut them some slack. Still, it’s a pity the characters didn't debate the issue in any way. It felt deserving of a juicy conversation.
Ellen's return also means the rest of the Final Five face a tough decision, as Ellen implores them to leave the human fleet and return to their Cylon family -- presumably to end Cavil's reign and restore the kind of harmony they had intended. A majority vote will decide either way. Rather strangely, Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) votes to leave, despite his emotional ties to the fleet (even accepting the loss of his wife and child recently), as does Tory (Rekha Sharma), but Tigh wants to stay, and everyone feels comatose Anders (Michael Trucco) would want to remain with the fleet, too. So, Elen has the casting vote, but decides to think about it more carefully before making her choice...More pressing matters arrive when Caprica Six's pregnancy is threatened, shortly after a heated confrontation with "other woman" Ellen in Caprica's Six's quarters, landing her in hospital to be cared for by Doc Cottle (Donnelly Rhodes) and his medical team. Ellen is guilt-ridden over the turn of events, believing she's to blame for Caprica Six's hospitalization by causing her emotional stress. The heart of the episode is undoubtedly found in these excellent scenes, with Ellen helping her husband get in touch with his feelings and showing the caring, nurturing side we glimpsed last week. It was also something of a shock when the pure-blood Cylon baby actually died -- mainly because the unborn child was so important to Cylon-kind, but also because it's the second "special baby" to be wiped from BSG's mythology in recent weeks. Now, only crossbreed Hera remains.
I have to say, I was disappointed the Cylon-Cylon child appears to have been a narrative dead-end after all the season 4 build-up. There's a part of me that thinks BSG is having to ditch a few ideas and storylines, which it almost certainly wouldn't do if a fifth season was in the pipeline. Still, it did mean we had some fantastic moments of acting from Michael Hogan throughout, especially when he went to see his old friend Adama (Edward James Olmos) after losing the baby he named Liam. Touching stuff.
An enjoyable subplot saw the overdue return of Baltar (James Callis) in the show, after a scattering of small scenes since BSG returned for its last hurrah. Here, Baltar returns to his harem of followers, only to find a pragmatic woman called Paulla (Lara Gilchrist) has usurped his leadership in his absence. Paulla has hoarded food for their group given the scarcity of provisions in the fleet, which Baltar doesn't agree with after he witnesses civilians starving to death. So, Baltar decides to stamp his authority by handing out food -- but his open generosity is immediately taken advantage of by the gun-toting Sons Of Aries, who steal all their supplies. Looking rather foolish, Baltar instead uses the situation to successfully request Adama and Roslin (Mary McDonnell) arm his group with superior firepower, so they can continue their charitable work without being threatened.Overall, "Deadlock" was entertaining and well-acted by the cast, but I was personally disappointed to see Caprica's Six child die -- as it felt like the writers were just snipping a troublesome plot-strand. But, given the rather strange circumstances of Liam's death, is it evidence of the "one true God" aborting the unfortunate misstep? The show is clearly saying that Cylon-Human cooperation is the future for both species -- symbolized by the Cylon goop being used to strengthen Galactica's ageing bulkheads.
Liam's death also coincided with Tigh's love for Caprica Six being weakened thanks to the return of soul mate Ellen, so do Cylon foetuses require a strong emotional bond of love to see them through to birth? Or was that that just coincidence? And why was Ellen unable to give Tigh a child -- given the fact we know the Thirteenth Tribe procreated? Can machines be infertile like humans? And, while we're asking questions, how the hell did Boomer find the fleet? Does this mean Cavil can find Galactica if he really wanted to? Or should we suspend our disbelief where that's concerned?
24 February 2009
Sky1, 9pm
Writer: Jane Espenson
Director: Bob Young
Cast: Grace Park (Boomer), Tricia Helfer (Caprica Six/Number Six), James Callis (Baltar), Jamie Bamber (Lee), Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck), Mary McDonnell (Roslin), Edward James Olmos (Adama), Brad Dryborough (Lt. Hoshi), Kate Vernon (Ellen), Donnelly Rhodes (Doc Cottle), Aaron Douglas (Tyrol), Michael Trucco (Anders), Keegan Connor Tracy (Jeanne), Lara Gilchrist (Paulla Schaffer), Rekha Sharma (Tory), Michael Hogan (Tigh), Bodie Olmos (Hot Dog), Tammy Gillis (Marine #2), Merwin Mondesir (Marine #1), G. Patrick Currie (Enzo) & Rebecca Davis (Naia)
