Time Immortal

Well, I have to say that this was one of the best episodes of the current season of Battlestar Galactica to date, and certainly one of the better ones in the whole series. Not only did it take a very reasonable look at the twin concepts of death and dying, but it did so in a way that certainly hammers home just how much of a departure the show’s themes are from what could be called the “traditional” treatment of Religion in science fiction. And unlike Babylon 5, in BSG it seems to be the case, more and more, that God is real and, what is more, that He is actively involved in the Universe.

Barb Nicolosi has an excellent analysis of this and a few other themes, and I will probably borrow some of the structure of her post in my own reflections.

> Theology

I think it’s clear that the producers and writers of Battlestar are attempting to communicate the reality of God within the show; He exists and, what is more, is very personal and present. The theme of “I am with you” resonates throughout the show, with the line being uttered by several different characters (always in relation to death, and in particular in relation to consolation in times of suffering and fear of what lies “beyond”). The experience of God’s “I am with you” is described (by Nana Visitor, who turns in one heck of a guest performance) as being accompanied by a sense of being warm and safe. That same sense resonates at the end of the episode when Samuel Anders consoles the dying Number Eight, and then with the same words.

This also speaks to the agentic actions of God in the series; not only does he address people directly, as in the case of Emily Kowalski, but He speaks through other people (as in the case of Anders). Of course, God’s speaking through other characters had been alluded to in previous episodes, in reference to the Cylon Hybrids, and it serves to note that once again a basestar’s Hybrid serves in a prophetic role. More on that later.

Also, I can’t help but observe that this is another instance in the series in which impending death and the passage between death and life has been abstracted with imagery involving water. In Faith, the imagery involves a ship crossing a river, where lost loved ones await the arrival of the recently deceased with open arms in an air of joy and celebration. (Grace noted that she’d heard a similar analogy of the passage between life and death from a priest at her church in Vermilion.) In Resurrection Ship, Part II, when Lee Adama is slowly dying of oxygen deprivation in the cold of space, the imagery invovles him at first floating, and then slowly sinking, into a dark abyss of water.

And I think that these scenes not only communicate the reality of God and His actions in the Universe in BSG, but also the realities of heaven and hell. One observes that William Adama is an atheist, and certainly Lee Adama has shown no religious sentiments in any episode of the series so far (and in fact, it could be argued that the way in which he discusses sacramentality with Starbuck in this episode demonstrates an “outside looking in” perspective).

The connection is tenuous, I realize, but the sense that one comes away with is that there is a connection between these different bits of visual imagery that relates to the people having them. For the secular Lee, the passage across the water is despairing and doomed. For the religious Emily, it is a time of joy and hopefulness.

At any rate, the existence of both a personal and present God and an afterlife is quite clearly communicated. There is a supernatural dimension to the Universe in BSG, and what is perhaps most impressive about it is that it is being demonstrated, more and more, in such a way that shows that the existence of the supernatural is an idea which is compatible with empirical realities, albeit in ways that at times require understanding things in ways that could be termed “outside the box.”

> Prophecy and Kara Thrace’s destiny

“The destiny” is back with a vengeance in this episode, especially with the Hybrid’s prophecy as she is being disconnected: “Thus will it come to pass. A dying leader will know the truth of the Opera House. The missing Three will give you the Five who come from the home of the Thirteenth. You are the harbinger of death, Kara Thrace. You will lead them all to their end. End of Line.”

The prophecy would seem to start out by referring to Laura Roslin, who has made forays into the Opera House before. In light of Roslin’s experiences with Emily Kowalski in this episode, the “truth” of the Opera House could possibly refer to a future repudiation of the Colonial religion by Roslin (which would mean the claims of Gaius Baltar’s “Head Six” back on Kobol, in which she claimed that the Colonial Scriptures are lies, fabricated to cover up the reality of life on Kobol, which included ritual human sacrifice).

Alternatively, it could mean that Roslin will be the one to whom the identity of the fifth Cylon is first revealed.

The end of the Hybrid’s prophecy, though, directly concerns Starbuck, and I have to admit that I’ve been tossing around a certain idea in this regard for a while now.

The rumours concerning what will transpire later on in the season suggest that the Colonials will attempt to destroy the Cylon Resurrection Hub, without which no Cylon will be able to resurrect even if a Resurrection Ship is present. I’m beginning to wonder if perhaps the repeated warnings that Kara Thrace is the harbinger of the apocalypse might be an indication that if the Colonials follow her, she will lead the Cylons to their end, if not humanity.

Then too, I suppose it depends on what one means by “apocalypse” in the first place. In its modern meaning, it is an eschatological term, but in the more classic sense it refers not so much to an end of all things as it does to special revelation from a divine source.

This distinction is noted at BattlestarWiki:

In popular usage, the term “apocalypse” has incorrectly come to suggest the end of the world through a great way between good and evil forces. A more correct meaning is “revelation”, defined as an uncovering or disclosure via communication from a previously hidden or unknown divine source that could not be known apart from the very moment of the source’s time of unveiling itself. The babble of the Hybrid to Baltar also refers to the “five lights of the apocalypse,” presumably the Final Five and/or the five priests.

If this stricter definition of apocalypse/revelation is used, Thrace’s destiny may lead to an encounter with the Lords of Kobol, the Cylon god, or another divine source — an event that neither side may be prepared to do as of the conclusion of Season 3, based on previous events where both Colonials and Cylons have denied the existence or divinity (and, in short, the validity) of the Lords of Kobol and/or the Cylon god.

An example of a real “apocalypse” is something like the Book of Revelation — the book itself is the special revelation, the apocalypse. The events it describes should more properly be called the eschaton.

And to be fair, God does seem to be stepping out of the shadows more and more as the series progresses, moving from manipulating events in and around Baltar’s personal life, to ordering events in such a way as to defy any classification of them as mere coincidence, to healing a sick child and (possibly) resurrecting Kara Thrace, to speaking directly to some people and offering potent visions of the supernatural reality.

While Ron Moore said, early on, that it was his instinct to avoid moving the story in the direct of the Ship of Lights from the original series, one does note that the damaged Cylon basestar in Faith did bear more than a passing resemblance to that ship, and perhaps this can be taken as a subtle clue as to the direction the series is going.

Could Kara’s special destiny, the apocalypse of which she is a harbinger, be to guide humanity into the revelation of some transcendent divinity? I said, previously, that I thought that BSG was an eschatological myth for our times, and I feel more and more that this is what is shaping up — sort of a sci-fi equivalent of Aslan rolling up all of Narnia at the end of The Last Battle.

> The Final Five

It would see that both Tory Foster (as demonstrated in previous episodes) and Anders (as demonstrated in this episode, especially) are coming to terms with their newfound Cylon identities faster than are Saul Tigh or Galen Tyrol. But whereas Foster seems to be embarking on a journey driven by a false notion of perfection that is leading her, slowly but measurably, to turn on both her own former human nature and the whole of humanity (which she seems to see as being weak, flawed, and “beneath” her), Anders seems to be trying to actively reconcile his “Cylonity” and his “humanity” in a syncretic sort of way. He understands that the Number Eight is “looking past” the others around her as she dies, and notes that he has seen the same thing in the eyes of many, many men and women — all humans. He consoles the Eight, reaches out to nearly touch the basestar’s data font, and demonstrates a hint of rapport with Leoben Conoy in the Raptor.

There is an interesting correlation here: the two Cylons who are most comfortable with, or who are most actively exploring, their natures are also the two Cylons (I am limiting the pool of consideration, here, to only the Final Five) who are closely associated with prophetic leaders. In the case of Foster, she is the aide to Laura Roslin, who seems to be filling the role of the foretold “dying leader” who will lead the people to the promised land. In the case of Anders, he is the husband of Starbuck, who seems to have been resurrected as a guide for humanity — in fact, she seems almost to be an avatar of Aurora, although I don’t think it’s any of the Lords of Kobol who are ultimately guiding her.

I don’t know what, if anything, this correlation means, but I do find it interesting. I’m thinking that if the series comes to a point wherein Starbuck’s directions come into direct conflict with Roslin’s, battle lines will be drawn amongst the known four of the Final Five, with Anders and Foster being both the source of, and sharpest examples of, the division.

Also, the group in the Hybrid’s chamber all seem to assume that this prophecy refers, in its last sentences, to the fact that the Final Five came from Earth and the Thirteenth Tribe. I’m less sure on this point given that this episode also reveals that we cannot take at face value the clues that the writers of the show are giving to us: one observes that the system that the wrecked Cylon basestars were drifting in was not Earth’s solar system, and yet the gas giant from Starbuck’s journey was present. Also, the comet she had seen is revealed to be the surviving rebel Cylon basestar, trailing gas and debris behind it.

I think, especially given Chief Tyrol’s discovery of the Temple of Five last season, that the “Thirteenth” to which the Hybrid is referring is more likely to end up being more closely associated with the deity worshipped by the priests of the Temple of Five, the One Whose Name Cannot Be Spoken. Whether this is the “jealous god” of Colonial mythology or the Cylon God (it is possible that these two beings are one in the same, with the negative portrayal of the jealous god being reflective of anti-monotheistic propaganda on the part of the Colonial religious scholars and authors) is unknown, but I expect that the topic will be revisited before too long.

This ties back to what I noted regarding Starbuck’s destiny — if the Final Five are “of” the Thirteenth, and if the Thirteenth is God, then the series could be shaping up for one heck of an eschatological ending.

> Morality

The scene in which the Number Six kills Jean Barolay, and is in turn executed by Natalie (through the use of Anders’ gun) seems to be a repudiation of “eye for an eye” justice. In fact, the dialogue in the scene hammers this point home, with even the Cylon Sharon Agathon, fully embracing her choice to side with the humans, demands blood for blood. And to be sure, Natalie grants the request — but her remark to Starbuck about “human justice” communicates her disgust at having done so.

And I found that the disgust resonated with me, as well, because it was unjust that the offending Six was shot. Yes, she had killed Barolay just moments before, but the follow-up dialogue made it clear that psychological trauma was as much to blame as was malice. In this instance, “human justice” — “eye for an eye” — was wrong, as it always is. I hope that this is the start of something in terms of the message of the story — it would be interesting to see a good treatment of the concept of merciful justice (i.e. God’s justice).

> Predictions, various and sundry

1) I still think that Karl Agathon — Helo — is the final Cylon

2) I still think that the identity of the final Cylon is in some way tied up with Cylon reproduction

3) I am less sure, now, that Cally Tyrol is the final Cylon — there has been an awful lot of discussion concerning the lack of resurrection capabilities in the shows of late, and it stands to reason that the Colonial fleet is probably out of “resurrection range” of Cavil’s forces. That said, then, I think the final Cylon still has to be alive, which would discount Cally from consideration.

The possible workaround here, though, is that I’m wrong about “the Thirteenth” and that the Hybrid was referring to Earth. If the Final Five are “of” Earth, I will grant that it is certainly possible that Earth Cylons may be able to resurrect over longer ranges.

Would I be alone, though, in thinking that outcome to be rather contrived?

4) I still think that Anders will be the first one “outed” as a member of the Final Five. The scenario I posited has to be modified somewhat — Starbuck and Leoben did meet again, but as yet the Number Threes remain dormant — but the basic reasoning I employed is still, I think, sound.

5) This is a bit of a long shot, but I get the sense that before the end of the series, we will see Admiral Adama renounce his atheism. Little by little, his ability to preserve his disbelief is being strained, and his latest admission to Roslin is perhaps the most poignant demonstration of this we’ve yet had.

For added “out there”-ness, I’m thinking that if some kind of supernatural revelation is being lined up, said revelation will not be the source of Adama’s faith, but its confirmation.