Rapture By Luke Hung
What makes a good poker player? Aside from having great cards, making bets that people are too afraid to call. Many people look at the nuking scene as a question of whether or not Adama was bluffing, but that wasn’t the real question. Adama had gone all in, to continue my poker analogy. He was going to nuke the planet. He said it and he had to do it or he could never negotiate with the Cylons again. The real question was if the Cylons were going to call. Well in a series of fairly dramatic shots we learn that they aren’t. There was one particularly majestic shot of the Galactica rolling inverted to launch position. They ultimately order the recall of all their heavy raiders, however the Threes totally defy the Cylon’s consensus and one heavy raider lead by Xena, Baltar, and one Cavil, although you don’t see him until the very end, continue to the planet. The Threes counter that Adama won’t nuke the planet over one ship. Well, that is a huge gamble, but probably true.
In the other Mexican standoff, Sam stands in the command tent making puerile claims of going to rescue his wife despite the fact that a very upset looking sergeant holding a pistol on him. In an effort to appease Anders and his own desires, Apollo orders Dualla to attempt a rescue of Starbuck. Dualla expresses multiple reasons why a rescue is virtually impossible, the Raptor is on fire, there is no cover, its several kilometers away, and the Cylons are between her and the ship, but Apollo isn’t having it. The rescue is on and Dualla is disappointed for more reasons than the rescue attempt being stupid. In a continuation of trifling threats Sam says that he will shoot Apollo if he fails to rescue Kara. Apollo states if he fails to rescue Starbuck he will let him, whatever. This pseudo macho display is very childish and stupid. For all they know, Starbuck could be dead already. A missile shot her down and death by airplane crash is fairly common in that situation. What happens then, does Lee still let Anders kill him?
Indeed Adama decides not to nuke the temple over one ship, and despite their minor victory the Cylons are particularly troubled by this rebellious display and state that they are going to have to do something about Xena. I wonder about that, I mean my sister drives me crazy all the time. She ignores perfectly rational ideas and directions, and even when out voted she still does her own thing, but what can I really do about it. No matter what I do she’ll be around and she’ll still be my sister and still be a pain in the ass. Their situation with the Threes is just like that, just times a million models or so. Helo expresses my frustration with my sister by shooting his wife Athena. Although his motivation was slightly different, after discussing several means of attempting to rescue their daughter they decide that the best option was killing Sharon and hoping she downloads in a position to get near their child.
In the Agathon’s room a number of marines and medical personal are cleaning up what is left of Sharon. Adama and Roslin are asking Helo what happened and he tells them that Sharon begged him to do it. Actually, all in all it’s not a horrible plan, but he’s blubbering like a man who just shot his wife. Come on, she resurrects it’s not that bad. Adama worries about the tactical situation the information Athena has, but Helo nixes that thought saying that he trusts her and Adama trusted her enough to put her in a uniform. Adama is somewhat placated, but Roslin isn’t. However, Helo has the big gun to shut her up with the ‘you stole our baby’ card. It works fairly well, but Roslin can’t just go with her tail between her legs, she has to say I “hope she is worthy of the unconditional trust you have placed in her.” Yeah, whatever, walk away Roslin you don’t have the moral high ground here. In fact the only person you have the moral high ground over is Baltar, which appears to be a fairly common situation for Presidents nowadays.
Athena awakes in the pool of Astroglide. You know it’s a lot less sexy now than it was when Caprica-Six slimed her way back to life. I guess I’m jaded. Serendipitously, it’s Caprica-Six who it in the resurrection chamber with Athena. She asks what happens and Athena states her husband shot her when they determined Adama would not let them see their daughter. She also conveys the impression that she is displeased with the state of affairs in the Colonial fleet, the lies and the danger. Cap-Six, who strikes me as a tad over tanned, conveniently seems to believe her and takes her immediately to her daughter.
On the planet, Apollo has set up an ambush in a ravine, which the Cylons must pass through. He states that they must hold here, failing that they blow the temple regroup in the mountains and wait for a rescue. Anders channels a Klingon and states it’s a good day to die, or something like that. Elsewhere, Dualla and her nameless sergeant scan their line of march and he states “it’s a good day for a walk” stands up and promptly dies. A Cylon sniper popped him right in the face. It a scene straight from Saving Private Ryan. I always complained that the Cylons were crappy shot and as machines they should be better, but damn. Dualla coming under fire herself slides down the hill and backtracks. The Chief stares at the temple pillars hoping for an epiphany and receiving none, at least not yet, orders the personnel to get ready to move. Last but not least, Xena and Baltar stand on a rise close to the temple, how they landed so close without being noticed and without directions is beyond me. Xena seems to have second thoughts she fears insanity like the Hybrid, but Baltar knows just what to say to make her feel good and calls her the chosen one. However, Holo-Six tells him that he is even more chosen than Xena who has gotten close to seeing the face of God. What egos on these guys.
Back to the ambush, Apollo and the Apollo-ettes spot a scouting contingent of three Cylons moving though the ravine and into the kill zone. They slow as they approach and seem to spot the explosives hidden along their path. This forces the Colonials to prematurely detonate their mines, the Cylons open fire in random directions flushing out the humans. One Cylon gets its legs blown off as all three continue to fire. The two mobile Centurions fall back after killing one civilian and the damaged one is eventually destroyed after taking a tremendous amount of fire including a shot from what appeared to be a glorified RPG. Apollo is displeased, without the ambush their position isn’t very strong and when the Cylons return en masse they will be over run.
In the Raptor, Starbuck is moaning and whimpering like a wounded cat. Her hands are pretty well burned and she is trying to pull what appears to be burned on gloves with her teeth. Failing at that, she reaches for the med pack and fumbles with it for a few moments. Starbuck hears an unexpected rustling outside and she spins towards the busted open door with an unstable pistol. Fortunately it’s just Dee who almost gets shot for being too stealthy. Dee helps her with the med pack and gives her a shot for the pain. Starbuck is somewhat surprised at the rescue and Dee responses with my husband sent me into harms way to save his mistress. Just as an aside, I think Starbuck is cute, but Dee is way hotter than her. Isn’t the mistress supposed to be better looking than the wife? Mine is! No honey stop hitting me, that’s just a joke. Seriously, honey, give me my cell phone back; do not look at the phone numbers.
Now back to the Basestar, Athena reaches her child and sees Boomer tending to her. Athena reaches for the child calling herself mommy and the child responds positively. Boomer virtually spits out that the child isn’t responding to anything they do (subtext: her). Cap-Six decides to rub it in a little adding that the baby knows it mother despite the fact that they are biologically identical, and that Athena is in a new body now. Boomer spits some venom in Athena and Hera’s direction and says she’s done with them and humans and cylons shouldn’t try to co-exist. Opps, Cap-Six has lost another ally. I almost feel as bad for her as I do Boomer who just got hosed from episode one. Adding insult to injury Athena notes that Hera’s intestine is blocked after holding her for about two seconds. She decides that Hera needs to see a human doctor. Boomer smells a rat, “She planned this all along,” yeah, maybe not the blocked intestine, but the going back to Galactica definitely. Boomer leans over the baby and threatens to break her neck. Well that’s just petty and pretty much a mirror image of what Cap-Six did to the baby in the mini-series. Athena starts to beg for her daughter’s life and Boomer just stares at her. Fortunately, Cap-Six is faster or just less interested in talking than both of them and breaks Boomer’s neck. Ouchies.
On the planet the battle does not go well. The Centurions have returned in force and are pushing the Colonials back. They attack from two points over a rise and rush at the Colonials. Apollo radios Tyrol and asks for a final situation report. In the midst of his reply he tosses a live grenade to Anders who then tosses it at some on rushing Centurions. Umm, stupid, you don’t toss live ordinance around for any reason. Yeah it made for a nice television sequence, but please. Tyrol says he’s close but still has no answers. Ohh, well, Lee calls it a day and orders him to detonate the temple. Tyrol and his people scurry out of the temple and he hooks the wires together and does nothing. What, nothing another soldier who can’t follow fucking orders. Blow it man.
In the Raptor, Dualla is jury-rigging the avionics. Between shots of morphia, glorious mind-altering morphia, and technical specifications Starbuck gets some verbal diarrhea and tells Dualla that Lee won’t cheat. Well aside from that time on the planet. Dualla correctly determines that Starbuck would however. Kara babbles about her screwed up love life and her cheating and promptly passes out, which earns her a slap from Dee. Nice, I would have hit her harder. Starbuck comes to, but she is too whacked out on drugs and too injured to fly.
The Baltar, Xena, and Cavil party enter the temple and immediately start disarming the bombs. I keep waiting for the classic pulling the last detonator out, will it or will it not explode scene, which really doesn’t show up. Apollo keeps yelling at Tyrol to blow the temple and he just can’t. Lee rushes up, pulls the detonator from him and flicks the switch and nothing happens. The Cylons have already disarmed the whole system earning an anguished scream from Apollo. Lee starts choking Tyrol much like Homer chokes Bart but the Gods intervene. Looking up the sun starts doing a funky pulsing, exploding cloud thing.
Inside the temple, Holo-Six directs Baltar who then directs Xena to the pedestal before the pillars. Yeah I know that wasn’t so clear, but don’t be lazy and watch the episode. Xena moves towards it and Cavil intercepts her. He surmises that she isn’t looking for Earth she wants something else. True, but that is one hell of a leap. The Chief now divines that the nova is the Eye of Jupiter, which is all well and good since the Cylons now have the temple. Apollo hasn’t quite given up on blowing the temple and orders his remaining troops to return to site. On the Galactica Gaeta informs them that they have an hour before the shock wave vaporizes the planet.
Long story short, Dualla flies the Raptor in space hoping that the Galactica will be able to recover them. For a non-pilot she does fairly well. In the temple, Cavil tries to stop Xena from looking at the face of the final five but instead earns a bullet to the back of the head courtesy of Baltar. That’s two people Baltar shot in the back by the way. The supernova coupled with some weird temple Indiana Jones shit makes a pillar of light form on the pedestal. Xena steps into the light and sees the faces of the final five. She walks up to one and apologizes. She then returns from her vision and collapses, dying on the floor. Baltar demands to know who are the final five and if he is one of them, but she expires before she can say anything useful. Baltar discards Xena and stands on the pedestal, but the light and the visions have stopped.
He doesn’t have much time to be upset as Tyrol has returned and whacks him over the head with a pistol while saying, “Welcome back Mr. President.” Hee, Hee. In orbit, Adama orders a rescue mission as the Baseships wink out. I guess the Cylons don’t have a problem leaving their people behind seeing as they resurrect and all. In a spectacular but illogical scene we see the Galactica steaming away from the planet and the supernova as the Raptors ‘crash land’ on her docking bays before she jumps out. Now that makes a great picture, but considering the shock wave is faster than the Galactica. The best plan would have been to get the Galactica as close to the planet as possible so the Raptors would have to travel the minimum possible distance or better yet just let the Raptors jump out of the planets atmosphere on their own without wasting time on making orbit and the landing procedure.
On the Galactica Lee and Anders look at each other in mutual respect and there are a bunch of reunions, Starbuck and Anders, Apollo and Dee, Helo, Athena, and Hera. Also Tyrol uses a body bag to sneak Baltar on the ship. He and Tigh gripe that Baltar still lives. Cap-Six has returned with Athena and is promptly taken prisoner. I can’t seem to muster any positive feelings for her even though she saved the baby she is the individual most responsible for the destruction of the colonies. After the reunions the Galactica brain trust is still trying to figure out the message. Tigh just pours his bitter juice on everyone saying if you’ve seen one nova you’ve seen them all. Which prompt Gaeta to infer that perhaps the thirteenth tribe did. He notes 4,000 years ago the Ionian Nebula was formed by a nova and Adama theorizes that should be their next waypoint. Helo, later, visits a bandaged Starbuck and asks for some pictures of her apartment. Inside a cigar box he finds a picture of a painting she drew several years prior that looks amazingly similar to the pedestal icon. As a side note this is an actual painting by Sackhoff that they put in ‘Starbuck’s’ apartment, in season two long before this episode was conceived. Cool huh.
On the Basestar, Xena resurrects and Cavil is waiting for her. He tells her resurrection is hard but this is the last time she will have to go through it. He and the other models have decided given her pathological refusal to comply with directives and her repeated attempts to see the ‘face of God’ her entire model is flawed. They have decided to box her and all like her, ouch. Xena seems unafraid and says it’s not a flaw to seek one’s purpose. Cavil says nothing and pushes a button shutting her off. As he walks away you see hundreds of tanks, presumably filled with Threes.
Overall the episode was a B +
Acting: B, See ya, Lucy Lawless we knew a lot of ya. While I find it surprising that there wasn’t some sort of civil war with the Threes going into revolt as opposed to being collectively boxed for Xena’s defiance the performances were pretty good. I think I had a hard time with Lucy as her character was a combination of sinister master calculator and holy roller. Those two orientations don’t normally go together. McClure was good and everyone else was solid.
Plot: B+, Again a nice episode. There wasn’t as much development here as in the prior episode as this one needed to wrap up loose ends but I liked it. There also was a whole bunch of parallels to earlier episodes, I’m going to assume it was intentional and give them credit for it. It’s clear the writers, like the Cylons, have a plan.
Action/Episode Energy: B+, Nice action packed episode that didn’t seem forced. The scenes were visually spectacular although a little disjointed. The tension was there but could have been built higher. I suspect some of this was due to the fact that they were doing a ton of cutting, as the principle filming was way long.
