Spoilers. Things go from bad to worse aboard Galactica this week: Boomer (Grace Park) has kidnapped Hera, leaving Helo (Tahmoh Penikett) to quietly fume that Adama (Edward James Olmos) won't give him a Raptor to try and find his daughter; the Cylon goop is having little effect on maintaining the integrity of the ship's fractured hull, forcing Adama to consider abandoning Galactica outright; Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) confides in Baltar (James Callis) about her belief she's not human, only to be "outed" by him once he confirms the blood on her dog-tags came from a dead body; Anders (Michael Trucco) is hooked up to Cylon data-streams like a Hybrid, to likewise babble dialogue to "harbinger of death" Starbuck; and Roslin (Mary McDonnell) is now bedridden as her cancer enters its final stages...Considering we're within touching distance of the finishing line, it's a little disheartening that season 4 is stuck in a sequence of holding patterns, each one answering a few questions, and nudging the story along incrementally, but all without a driving focus. The search for Earth now over, there's a slight sense of hanging around until the Cylons launch their inevitable final attack. Fortunately, there are always some strong character moments and intriguing developments in even the slowest, most deliberate episode.
"Islanded In A Stream Of Stars" benefits from Sackhoff's sterling work as Starbuck, now choosing to accept her own death (by pinning a photo of herself on a memorial bulkhead) and just embrace the here-and-now. She possibly even intended to have Baltar spill the beans about her "undead" nature all along, just to unburden herself. We're still no closer to discovering who or what she is, though -- although it should be interesting to see further interaction with Baltar, as he firmly believes she's an "angel", but clearly not of the type he considers Head Six (Tricia Helfer) to be.
Edward James Olmos directed this episode (his fourth for the show) and definitely delivers some attractive new angles on old sets, and slick transition fades. But, more notably, he seems to bring out the best in his fellow actors. Sackhoff and McDonnell we expect to be good (and they were), but I also found Jamie Bamber raised his game in a brief scene trying to maintain order at a meeting where fleet captains argued over salvage rights to the failing battlestar. Olmos himself was great in a scene with McDonnell, where Roslin revealed she knows he'll always favour the ship over her, deep down -- but it's becoming a terrible cliché for the show when Adama collapses into anguished weeping behind closed doors; here, collapsed on the floor and covered in paint left in his quarters. Speaking of which, are we to believe he'd really be expected to paint his walls magnolia? Have they run out of grey emulsion along with last week's toothpaste?
Some of the best scenes focused on Boomer and Hera aboard their Raptor, as Boomer's initially tough, cruel and frosty attitude to the stolen child eventually softened and they formed a bond. It was especially nice when Boomer realized Hera also has the Cylon ability to "project" their imagination, and showed her the fantasy home she's constructed in her mind's eye. Quite why Hera's Cylon mother never bothered, is anyone's guess. Boomer's plan is to deliver Hera to "The Colony" (a brand new locale for Cylon-kind, essentially their new homeworld, brilliantly conceived by the FX team), where Cavil (Dean Stockwell) is waiting. But what does he have planned for her? It can't be to simply murder her for being a crossbreed abomination. And he mentions she'll soon have lots of "playmates", so is he going to manufacturer more Cylons using her as model? But why, if he abhors "skinjobs" like himself?
Overall, this was a decent episode that provoked questions and aligned pieces in preparation for the three-part finale next week. In one excellent scene, Adama tells the astonished Tigh (Michael Hogan) that he's decided to let Galactica die a noble death, Galactica's crew will likely to be transferred to a former enemy Baseship, Cavil now has Hera, Boomer will probably ditch her evil ways and help Hera, and Starbuck arrives at Anders' side determined to crack the riddle of her identity and the bizarre song her father taught her, that reawakened the Final Five...
10 March 2009
Sky1, 9pm
Writer: Michael Taylor
Director: Edward James Olmos
Cast: Edward James Olmos (Adama), Mary McDonnell (Roslin), Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck), Jamie Bamber (Lee), Tricia Helfer (Number Six/Caprica Six), Grace Park (Boomer/Athena), James Callis (Gaius Baltar), Kate Vernon (Ellen), Tahmoh Penikett (Helo), Michael Hogan (Tigh), Michael Trucco (Anders), Donnelly Rhodes (Doc Cottle), Rekha Sharma (Tory) & Dean Stockwell (John Cavil)
