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FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!
Astonishing. Just...wow. So. Much. Brilliance.
We find ourselves actually caring about the Cylons. The things which have just been unstoppable killing machines the entire series, just about. And yet, it works. When Pegasus Six reaches out to take the food, we feel like cheering. And this isn't Boomer, who we've been subtly conditioned to think of as the Good Cylon for most of the series, this is Six the Nietzschean Uber-Infiltrator who believes humans must be wiped out. And our sympathies are with her, and not the humans. Amazing.
There was just so much to like about this episode. Adama's unthinking support for the Admiral at first ('I've been taking orders my whole life, it's as simple as that.'), followed by his principled rebellion. The slow revelation of what the Pegasus crew have been doing to their captured Cylon. Baltar admitting his love for Six. Helo and the Chief coming to the rescue and, as Flyboy points out, the deep sense of satisfaction when the interrogator hits the wall. Starbuck and Appolo resisting the attempts of the Pegasus troops to wear 'em down. The mysterious Cylon death star. The interaction between Tigh and the other XO (is it me, or is this going to be an important feature of the next episode? Tigh's counterpart doesn't seem too happy with the Admiral's actions. Will he rebel, too?). And the end, with Adama going all Battleship Potemkin on the Admiral's ass. Amazing.
The music was out of the ballpark this episode too, with the exception of the cheesy soft rock when they found the Pegasus. That theme at the end where the tension mounts was really, really nailbiting stuff.
And it will be interesting to see Starbuck's take on the actions of the Pegasi towards the Cylons, given that she knows about the farms on Caprica. I see her as still being dead against it, of course, but it's interesting, again, to see the good guys/bad guys dialectic being problematized at every opportunity in this series. My only hope is that we don't find the Interrogator was just another infiltrator model, and the whole thing was designed to fuck with the humans' heads as part of the Cylons' masterplan, because that would be teh suck. It's much more interesting to see humans every bit as bad as the Cylons, and throws Adama and his crew's insistence on trying to keep some sense of morality into sharper relief.
And, of course, as well as all this deep social commentary stuff, next week we get a big spaceship battle, too! With Baltar and Six IN PERIL on the enemy ship too, yet. God, this show is just the best, damn it. I mean I'll always have a soft spot for B5, but as of this episode I have officially kicked Sheridan's paunchy ass to the kerb and am tying my colours to Doctor Baltar's mast.
As long as Six doesn't mind, of course. |
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