Time Immortal

That’s about the only way I can really describe the Cylon Resurrection Hub — a critical, single point of failure in the entire Cylon apparatus. As to why the Cylons made resurrection dependent on a single facility that could be destroyed, I don’t really care to speculate — I’d be willing to accept that the process of resurrection is so ludicrously complex to manage that they had not yet thought out a way to develop a distributed solution (the Cylons aren’t gods, after all — at least as far as we know).

The Hub was a great episode, and one that had a reasonably happy ending (something that’s been in short supply this season of BSG). Grace, especially, rather liked it, and I share that view. As expected, the episode happens in parallel with the previous episode, explaining the “other side” of events only briefly glimpsed beforehand. And it ends where the previous episode ended, with the rebel basestar appearing where William Adama’s drifting Raptor is waiting, fulfilling his hope and faith in the president’s survival.

Which, of course, led to what might have been the best scene in the episode (and also the last): Adama and Roslin finally professing their love for one another. In a season as dark as this one has been, that maybe isn’t that much to go on…but it’s still a beautiful thing, and not really something one can categorize using measures and weights.

>> The Resurrection Hub, proper

As I said was probable, the Resurrection Hub has been destroyed — Cylons are mortal now. This will have interesting implications in the future.

Also, the battle sequence was excellent; it was nice to see a good, action-filled episode.

>> Three is back

D’Anna Biers has been unboxed — but only one copy! Still, there is hope that my theory about Anders being the first of the Penultimate Four Cylons to be “outed” might yet pan out. And I still think he’s the one that D’Anna apologized to in her vision last season.

>> My God, but humanity is corrupt

This is specifically in regard to Laura Roslin’s double-cross of the Cylons — she is utterly unable to trust them which, I suspect, stems from her inability to love (the flaw that Elosha, in Roslin’s visions, points out). There is a turnaround at the end, when Roslin belatedly rethinks her decision to let Gaius Baltar die from his wounds after he admits his unknowing complicity in the holocaust of the Twelve Colonies…and yet, she still goes on to demand a first, and then private, audience with D’Anna — Number Three, as the Cylons know her.

At every turn, now, the show goes out of its way to demonstrate that the Colonial understanding of what is just, fair, or justified is, in fact, in error and destructive. Whether it’s “eye for an eye” justice, an inability to trust, or an inability to love or forgive, humanity is at every turn seeming to be in a real rush to destroy itself.

For the first three seasons, Saul Tigh was perhaps the most visibly destructive human in the show — now, in the fourth season, Roslin has taken hold of that mantle. She is so bloody-minded, and harbours such a deep hatred of Cylons (even ones that risked everything — their very immortality given up! — to help her achieve a goal she dearly desired). There’s little doubt left in the viewer’s mind, after each scene in which Roslin speaks, that were it up to her she would see the rebel basestar destroyed and the Final Five airlocked.

D’Anna ultimately calls her out on this, and on her duplicity, in fact. And the Six’s disappointment with Helo after he admits the need to follow the president’s orders is also palpable, scathing…and damning.

This tendency for pretty much every human on the show — even Starbuck, mind — to display irrational hatred of Cylons is another reason I’m inclined to think that Karl Agathon might be a Cylon; he has, consistently, been the one human who has tried to do the right thing, rather than the expedient or advantageous thing, as the series has progressed. His disappointment at what he is forced to do by loyalty to the chain of command is profound.

Almost too profound; Helo is essentially unique among the human characters in his ability to look past the human/Cylon division.

>> Baltar’s evangelism

I have no idea what Baltar was up to in this episode — whatever apparent humility he had displayed previously has been replaced by a mutated form of his customary arrogance, to the point where he thinks himself singularly able to “calm” the basestar’s Hybrid (which provides for a bit of comedy, it must be noted). His evangelism to the Centurion is both interesting and annoying. Interesting, because I think Baltar is right that the (very active, very involved) God of the BSG universe is, in fact, dearly interested in the fate of Centurions. Annoying, because his motive doesn’t seem to be a genuine concern for God’s work or the Centurion as much as it seems to be an attempt to widen the scope of the Centurion rebellion.

>> Laura Roslin, Cylon?

Well, it would be ironic and perhaps poetically just were Roslin to turn out to be the last, missing member of the Final Five. But I very much doubt she is — I think the teaser trailer’s red herring presentation of D’Anna’s revelation, coupled with the way that red herring is itself revealed to be another red herring (since D’Anna was evidently just playing a joke on Roslin), has pretty much put Laura Roslin in the clear, as far as Cylon speculation is concerned. It would be painfully contrived for her to be “outed” now.

>>Predictions — mind the spoilers!

1) I’m still convinced that Helo is the last Cylon, more so now in light of D’Anna’s throwaway remark to the Number Six that expresses disappointment in the corridor toward the end of the show. Double-crossing, D’Anna explains, is a human trait. She’s not really addressing Helo with that remark, not by her tone, and it should be noted that Helo himself really doesn’t want to betray his new allies, especially after they’ve spoken at length about the value of shared trust.

It might just be…telling.

2) With the Hub gone, the only way the Cylons can survive is through reproduction — that’s more or less a cut-and-dried fact now. With that in mind, and given that at least one of the Final Five now seems to have demonstrated the ability to reproduce with a fellow Cylon, I’m thinking we’ll see further revelations in this regard in the second half of the season.

3) I’m still convinced — especially since his faith in Roslin has paid off in spades — that Adama won’t end the series as an atheist.

The passage he reads from the detective novel is interesting, too — it is really a sinner’s lament. Taking the form of a description of a man trying to build a garden on the shore of an island that he washed up on, it describes how the fruits of the man’s labours seemed to be but an ugly scar along the face of the beach; a wholly unfitting tribute to the island that had saved the man’s life. That’s certainly a rather apt description of the guilt of sin when sin is understood in light of the perfection of the divine, and how that sin mars the beauty of its creation.

4) As predicted, Galactica made no attempt to engage the Hub. I expect that Adama has the coordinates for where the fleet jumped to stored on his Raptor, and so will be able to guide the rebel basestar back to the Fleet. That, I think, will be the start of the next episode (which will be the mid-season finalé, unfortunately).

5) With the Threes back in action in the form of D’Anna, we can’t be far from seeing some of the Penultimate Four Cylons being outed (I don’t think we’ll get all five before the mid-season break). Some of this is confirmed in the trailer for next week’s episode: Tigh admits being a Cylon to Adama, and Tory apparently elects to return to “her people” aboard the basestar. Also, it appears that at least three of the Four will nearly be executed by Lee Adama, in his capacity as President of the Colonies. But apparently, Starbuck will intervene, claiming that the Cylons in question somehow revealed to her the coordinates for Earth.

6) I’m thinking that the discovery of Earth will have something to do with at least three of the Penultimate Four (Tigh, Samuel Anders, and Galen Tyrol) being summoned to, and perhaps tampering with, Kara Thrace’s Viper — she discovers this later on, and interrupts the execution of the Cylons. As to why the Cylons are to be executed, I’m not sure, but I wonder if perhaps it doesn’t have something to do with Tory, who chooses at some point to board the rebel basestar. Perhaps she continues her progression toward a more anti-human mentality, and in the capacity of a messianic leader elects to go against both the plans of the Cylons to co-operate with the humans, and against the humans themselves. That might be enough to movitave Lee to respond by threatening to execute the other three Cylons.

7) It looks like they find Earth, at least from the trailer. That was kind of expected, according to various rumours floating around; equally, the expectation is that Earth will be abandoned, and perhaps even post-apocalyptic.

I note, from the trailer, that Roslin appears to make it to Earth. This would seem to fly in the face of the idea that she is the dying leader foretold in ancient Colonial prophecy.

9) I still think Anders will be the first Cylon outed, and that this will have something to do with D’Anna’s apology to one of the Final Five in her vision last season, just prior to her being boxed.

Sine Qua Non, that would be, the episode of Battlestar Galactica that aired not last night, but a week prior. Yes, this review is coming a bit later than one might expect, but I am at the mercy of those who tape the episodes for me, and either their ability to deliver the episodes to me or my ability to pick the episodes up from them.

Strangely, both vectors failed this week, until yesterday.

But be that as it may, this will be a fairly short review (by comparison, at any rate).

First, a bit of a note. Although the episode wasn’t structured according to a rigid understanding of this theme, the trinitarian issue of “faith, hope, and love” seemed to percolate through the narrative, popping up in the oddest of places (and faces). This was especially true in the case of William Adama, who displayed ample amounts of all three qualities in the wake of Laura Roslin’s abduction by the Cylon hybrid.

That’s not to say, of course, that Admiral Atheus suddenly found Religion, but it’s evident that he has tremendous faith in Laura Roslin personally, and in her ability to lead the people to Earth. Indeed, he believes that Earth can be found solely because of her, and her sudden abduction is a massive shock to his system. That he loves her is plainly obvious — he outright states that he “can’t live without her.”

It’s Adama’s sense of hope — something he hasn’t had much of lately — that really stands out, though. Faced with evidence of a mighty battle, nuclear detonations, and basestar wreckage (along with the wreckage of several of the Colonial vessels loaned to the rebel Cylon faction), he nevertheless persists in his hope that Roslin is alive, even going to the extraordinary step of ordering the fleet to leave him behind at the pre-arranged rendezvous point that Galactica and the rebels had agreed to; the episode ends with a scene of his Raptor aimlessly drifting in space.

Hope and faith also appear, visibly, in the person of Lee Adama, who even is threatened with murder at one point because he represents the best hope for the fleet’s leadership — with his attacker wanting to kill him because “hope is the last thing [the fleet] needs.” Lee’s rejoinder to the charge is that it’s all a choice — one can either choose to give up, or have faith that things will work out; his choice is to struggle with his every breath to see that they do…and it’s this conviction, this love for the flawed creation called humanity, that saves his life and sees him sworn in as interim president of the Colonies.

Anyhow, some other notes:

>> The Final Five

One of two things is now possible: either the Cylons can actually reproduce, or only the Final Five are capable of reproducing with other Cylons, either from within their own number or with members of the Significant Seven. At any rate, Saul Tigh and Caprica Six have created another child, ostensibly the first Cylon-Cylon child (although I have an obvious doubt about this).

One interesting theory I tripped over — sorry, no link — was that the Final Five were like the original Cylon attempts at assuming human form, but that the five models ended up being somehow “too human” and so were mind-wiped and, in effect, exiled to the Colonies. There’s some merit to the theory, although it seems somewhat dubious to think that, in a span of less than forty years, such a comprehensive mythology could have emerged concerning the Five. This is especially true given that there haven’t exactly been a few subsequent generations of Cylons that have passed on between the creation of the Final Five and the creation of the Significant Seven — that makes it rather difficult for any sort of mythos to take shape, since a key component of such a thing is the way it is shaped as it is handed down from one generation to the next.

Also, the Cylons have shared databases, not oral traditions, which makes the formation of a mythology in almost any span of time improbably.

Personally, I think it comes back to love again. Tigh’s visions of Ellen when speaking with Caprica Six are, I think, significant here, in that Tigh learned how to genuinely love Ellen at some point (perhaps only after losing her to his own hand?). Perhaps the issue is not that the Final Five are somehow “more human,” but that by virtue of their ignorance of their nature were somehow able to…come to understand love on its own terms, through the relationships they formed.

This goes back, then, to something I said before: if love is such a necessary component of Cylon procreation, it stands to reason that it makes rather a lot of sense why the “in the lab” results of procreation experiments amongst the Cylons all came up negative. When one is reduced to taking a clinical approach to such things, or when one acts out of fear that by not acting one is committing a sin, one’s actions are not motivated by love. Guilt? Yes, probably. Inquiry and curiosity? Most assuredly. But love? No, probably not.

The Final Five have learned to love, something which was missing before. Perhaps, in the future (especially if the Resurrection Hub is actually destroyed at some point), the other Cylons will learn to love as well…and if so, it will be interesting to see what results (assuming Ron Moore will take us to that future).

> Returning characters

It was good to see Romo Lampkin again, although it’s a pity about his cat. Then too, he’s provided a home for Jake the dog (Hero of the Resistance!), so at least he’ll “have a new animal to loathe.”

I’ve a feeling we’ll be seeing Romo again in later episodes, but I’d just like to state here and now that I don’t think he’s the final Cylon; to those that are speculating that he might be, I can only say “red herring.”

>> The Quorum of Twelve

Can’t we just airlock them all? None of them is the Cylon, but their endless bickering is about as helpful to the people of the Colonies as a Cylon nuclear strike would be — and is far more agonizing given that at least the nuke would kill people quickly. Talk about presenting, by way of example, a convincing case for military rule.

>> Saul Tigh, father?

Grace threw up her hands at the revelation. On one hand, it wasn’t surprising — though the show didn’t really ever show a scene of Tigh and Caprica Six sleeping together, it was pretty much assumed that this was the case. I admit that the news of the pregnancy came as a bit of a surprise, although in retrospect I wonder if it should have.

At any rate, Grace was rather perturbed at the idea of Tigh abusing his power over a prisoner that way, and complained that he should have had self-control. I certainly don’t disagree. Sex does seem to be the biggest moral weakness of the characters on this show, which I suppose is reflective of the real world more than most of its other allusions.

One other note: Grace felt that the revelation of the pregnancy strenghtened the case for Helo — Karl Agathon — being the final Cylon. Certainly, my guess that the final Cylon would in some way be related to the issue of Cylon reproduction hasn’t yet been borne out, although I observe that I certainly wasn’t far off the mark (even if I am ultimately wrong): Cylon reproduction has re-appeared as an issue, and the Final Five (at least) seem to have some involvement with that plot aspect.

>> Saul Tigh, admiral?

I think Tigh put it best himself: the promotion to command didn’t work out very well last time around. What was Adama thinking?

Then too, Tigh’s expression was classic when Adama noted that Tigh was a different man than he was a couple years ago. This is…true, certainly, and perhaps Tigh won’t make a hash of things this go-round, especially since Ellen Tigh isn’t there to goad him on.

>> God

Natalie — the Number Six shot by Sharon Agathon — dies in this episode, and as she does she first envisions a forest, and then a progressively brighter light as she passes away. As to whether she resurrects, I’m not sure, although I imagine that she’s gone for good.

Which is interesting, because again we get to see the moment of death from the perspective of the dying character, and again it appears that the God of the BSG universe is very real, and that there is a definite crossing between life and death…and that death is quite a lot more than the nothingness that atheism posits waits for us all beyond the veil.

I might also note that as she is being wheeled to the operating room, Natalie prays a Cylon prayer, the same one used last season on the diseased baseship. It’s nice to see reverent faith get a half-decent treatment in a show on television these days.

>> Without which it could not be

The episode title, Sine Qua Non doesn’t appear to be an allusion to Andrew Jackson in any meaningful way, so I assume it can be taken on its literal meaning instead. And indeed, the whole episode focuses on those things which, for various people in the show, life isn’t worth living (or, at least, living well).

For Romo, it was his family and the cat, which was his only connection to that past. Lee Adama resolves this by giving him the dog, severing Romo’s ties to history and anchoring him in the present (and hope for the future) instead.

For Adama, it was Roslin. She was abducted, and he all but came unglued.

For Sharon, it was little Hera Agathon, and Adama realizes this in reflecting on his own actions. His last order, before he departs in his Raptor (using his old callsign, I might add), is for that family to be re-united, in spite of his previous declaration that the brig “is no place for a little girl.”

>> Predictions, of varying sort — do be mindful of possible spoilers

1) I still think Karl Agathon — Helo — is the final Cylon, obviously. I also would like to note one addendum to my theory: since the identity of the last Cylon is tied, in some way, to an act of great suffering, I wonder if there is any significance to the fact that in Colonial prophecy, the goddess Athena — whose tomb was discovered by, and whose probable place of suicide was noted by, Sharon Agathon (callsign: Athena) — despairs and commits suicide some time between the point of the twelve tribes arriving at “the home of the gods” and the arrival of the people of the colonies at their destinations?

We’ve already seen Helo’s agony at Sharon’s death even when he knew she’d be resurrected, after all. And now she’s betrayed Adama’s trust and has landed herself in the brig again. Added to what is happening with Hera, might she have cause for despair?

2) I still think the identity of the final Cylon is in some way tied up with Cylon reproduction, as the Final Five certainly seem to have something to do with that. The Resurrection Hub has probably been destroyed — there was a lot of wreckage in the one scene, more than one would think a single basestar was capable of being reduced to.

3) I still think Adama will not end the series an atheist.

Also, it’s interesting how reckless Adama is willing to be — and then with the fate of what’s left of humanity! — when someone close to him disappears.

4) The issue of Roslin’s cancer came under discussion, echoing my previous musings on the matter: Firstly, Roslin herself is in the end stages of her cancer; that far from the Galactica and its doctor, she may end up in very dire straits in the coming episodes. But given that Adama has now left to wait for her, I can’t see the writers not affording them an opportunity to meet again. I very much doubt that Roslin will die “out there” without making it back to Galactica.

Of course, if Roslin is the dying leader, she is supposed to pass on (pace Moses) before entering into the “promised land” (Earth?). Given that Earth is supposed to appear in another couple of episodes (according to rumour), this either means that Roslin a) will die rather soon, or b) might not be the dying leader at all.

5) With Adama sending the fleet off to find Earth again, I very much doubt that Galactica will attempt its own attack on the Resurrection Hub (especially since they don’t know where it is, by all accounts).

Grace and I sat down to watch the latest episode of Battlestar Galactica last night. Being that we don’t get Space Channel as part of our cable package, the arrangement that we have in place involves me getting my younger brother to tape the episodes for us (which reminds me: I need to lend him the second season of Deep Space Nine at some point).

Guess What’s Coming to Dinner was, I thought, just a great episode. It wasn’t as theologically deep as the previous episode, but it was a nice return to the methodical, paced, straightforward and tense drama that has been such a hallmark of the show. It moved rapidly, fluidly, from scene to scene, and kept a good pace.

Some observations I took away from the episode follow.

>> The Final Five

The Colonials now know that the Final Five are in the fleet, that it was the Raiders that discovered this fact, and that it was their discovery — and subsequent refusal to fight — that was the impetus behind the Cylon retreat from the Ionian Nebula. Colonel Tigh doesn’t appear to have made the connection between this revelation and what Samuel Anders had to say about the events of the nebula battle.

>> Justice and morality

Once again, the tension is there between human and Cylon concepts of justice and Morality, and the Cylons in particular seem to be struggling mightily to move away from “eye for an eye” justice. Intially, the stage is set with basically back-to-back scenes of first the humans (Laura Roslin, Saul Tigh, and William Adama) plotting to in effect double-cross their newfound Cylon allies by withholding the Final Five once they are revealed, then of the Cylons planning to hold the human crew aboard the basestar hostage until the Final Five are turned over. Both plans hinge on re-activating the Number Threes.

Natalie goes back on the plan, though. While her initial argument was that while the Cylons may have changed, the humans haven’t, her follow-up argument is basically that it is more important that the Cylons have changed, and that this reality needs to be demonstrated. Again, the message is clear: the cycle of tit-for-tat has to end in order for both races to progress.

(This is interesting for another reason: assuming my prediction is right about the series being, essentially, eschatological in nature, and given my guessing that the end of the show hinges, in part, on the idea of breaking the cycle of history that has so far driven the backstory of the show, coult it perhaps be the case that the attempt by the Cylons to break out of the cycle of blood for blood and betrayal for betrayal is a hint of things to come?)

This shift appears in another place. Natalie, perhaps correctly guessing at Roslin’s apparent bloody-mindedness where Cylons are concerned, initially offers the possibility of an attack on the Resurrection Hub as a method by which humanity might get some vengeance. But it is made clear later that she doesn’t actually believe this: for Natalie, the issue is not one of revenge, but of development and meaning. Her speech to the Quorum of Twelve reflects this:

In our civil war, we’ve seen death. We watched our people die. Gone forever. As terrible as it was, beyond the reach of the Resurrection Ships, something began to change. We could feel a sense of time. As if each moment held its own significance. We began to realize that for our existence to hold any value it must end. To live meaningful lives we must die, and not return. The one human flaw, that you spend your lifetimes distressing over — mortality — is the one thing…well, it’s the one thing that makes you whole.

It’s almost as if she’s moved past the whole issue of fighting the civil war at this point; her desire seems to be for the Cylons to, in her words, become “whole.” She desires that her brothers and sisters be able to live “meaningful lives,” and she realizes that another cycle must be broken for this to happen: the cycle of Cylon resurrection.

>> Kara Thrace and her special destiny

It really does sound like the name of a bad cover band, doesn’t it?

At any rate, Starbuck’s destiny begins to move in a potentially different direction with this episode, and both Grace and I sat up a bit straighter during the rather well-edited sequence of Natalie giving her speech to the Quorum. Inter-cut with that sequence are a series of momentary flashbacks that Kara Thrace (watching the speech from a few feet away) has of the Cylon Hybrid professing to her that she is the “harbinger of death” who will “lead them all to their end.”

I think Grace realized it first, actually. “I thought of that too,” she remarked, meaning the possible implication that Starbuck would be the “harbinger of death” for the Cylons. I kind of talked about the idea when discussing the previous episode, Faith: 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.

>> Hera

Little Hera Agathon basically is the last act of the episode, and while she only gets a few minutes of screen time (and even fewer lines of dialogue), she is back in a big way after being essentially ignored since the previous season. From her cryptic, spooky “Bye bye!” that she says to Sharon Agathon after the latter awakes from another opera house dream, to the scribbler full of sixes (and Sixes!), the fact that Hera is significant in a way that Nicholas Tyrol is not is very evident.

>> The Hybrid and the President

Starting with Razor, and now with the events of this episode, little hints are beginning to develop that the Hybrids may have their own agenda that is at cross-purposes with the intentions of the Cylons and the humans. Laura Roslin’s decision to visit the Hybrid on the basestar, in the wake of Starbuck revealing that the Hybrid has intimate knowledge of the content of Roslin’s visions, is foolhardy at best, and demonstrates an almost hubristic impulsiveness that may well be her undoing.

I have no idea what the Hybrid’s motives might be in abducting the President, if in fact that was “her” intent (Possible spoiler: episode summaries released to various television guides specifically mention that the Hybrid has abducted Roslin). I expect it ties in to the bit about the “dying leader” coming to know the “truth of the opera house,” although that’s hardly a certainty either.

>> Predictions, various and sundry

1) I still think Karl Agathon — Helo — is the final Cylon, especially in light of the attention (and the nature thereof) given to Hera in this episode.

2) I still think the identity of the final Cylon is in some way tied up with Cylon reproduction, especially in light of what is shaping up to be a major mission to destroy the ability of all Cylons, everywhere, to resurrect. If in fact the Cylons are to survive as a species, in the wake of the Hub’s destruction (which is by no means a certainty, although it probably will happen), then they will need to be able to reproduce.

3) I’m almost certain, now, that Cally Tyrol is not the final Cylon, especially if the unboxing of the Number Threes is to coincide with the destruction of the Resurrection Hub. It would be hard for the Threes to reveal the identity of the last Cylon if, in fact, there was no means by which that last Cylon could be introduced back into the narrative.

Although, having said that, I suppose there might be a certain dramatic validity to the revelation that one of the Final Five is permanently gone.

4) There’s a lot of nervousness in Anders, and I’m still fairly certain that he’ll end up being “outed” first. His nervousness was played up a lot in this episode, and if the Threes do not out him at once I’m almost certain he’ll do something to out himself.

5) I still think Adama will not end the series an atheist.

6) An interesting situation has developed with the abduction of Roslin by the rebel Hybrid. Firstly, Roslin herself is in the end stages of her cancer; that far from the Galactica and its doctor, she may end up in very dire straits in the coming episodes. Indeed, it’s certainly possible that she won’t make it back to the fleet alive. Another issue that crops up is the issue of the attack on the Hub itself; will Galactica make the attempt on her own, with what Vipers and pilots remain?

7) Did anyone else notice that the camera lingered on a very nervous-looking Leoben Conoy after he told Natalie to stall for time while he dealt with the Centurions? Obviously, the Hybrid’s actions change everything, but I wonder if perhaps he’ll end up getting killed off permanently — especially since we know that the Leoben that Kara interrogated way back in Flesh and Bone did manage to resurrect, and yet nevertheless told Kara that her destiny would be to send his soul off to God.

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.
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polyeggman writes in with his thoughts on this article, my initial final Cylon theory.

You’ve convinced me! It’s been bugging me that Hera is seen as special considering Tyrol’s baby is also a half and half. And, in all my final-Cylon ponderings, I never once considered Helo. That makes him the perfect dark horse. Thanks for the article!

polyeggman is quite welcome! It’s good to hear that he found the theory useful.

In fairness, Ron Moore threw us a bit of a curve ball this season by focusing more closely on Nicholas Tyrol in the last few episodes. From the way that Tory Foster went out of her way to safely secure baby Nicholas before airlocking Cally Tyrol, to the way that Gaius Baltar’s broadcast seemed to soothe Nicholas while the Chief was exercising, there’s been more than a little screen time devoted to the other apparently half-human, half-Cylon child.

And to be equally fair, I did concede that Cally is my second bet for who the last Cylon might be. Whether Nicholas or Hera Agathon, I think the final Cylon will in some way be related to the theme of Cylon reproduction that has permeated the entire series.

And it serves, also, to note that we really haven’t seen much of Hera in this latest, and final, season of Battlestar Galactica.

Personally, though, I think that Nicholas is being served up as a red herring. All of the third season of BSG was devoted to making Hera out to be “special” — to the point, indeed, that Laura Roslin, Sharon Agathon, and Caprica Six were all running through the same dream state in a desperate attempt to protect the child (from what is not yet known).

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Possible spoilers ahead — skip to the end if need be!

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I expect that Cylon reproduction will come into very sharp focus if, as is currently rumoured, one of the last episodes of the first half of the fourth and final season of BSG will deal with the destruction of the Cylon Resurrection Hub, without which no Cylon can resurrect even if a Resurrection Ship is present (in essence, the Cylons would be rendered “mortal”).

Cylon reproduction hasn’t been visited, as a topic, for a few episodes now, but things seem to be shaping up in such a way that the topic may indeed be re-opened with a new and drastic sense of urgency, if in fact the Colonial fleet succeeds in destroying the Hub.

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End of spoilers.

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At any rate, O Reader, at the end of it all, I think various plot threads will converge in the revelation of the last “toaster.” The hunt for the final Cylon is on. The Cylons desire to be able to reproduce. The Cylon civil war is raging, and the split has pitted three models against another three — one side has already demonstrated its willingness to use denial of resurrection capability as a battle tactic, and it stands to reason that before the end of the war both sides will have attempted to turn the issue of resurrection to their tactical advantage.

And in a sense, Karl Agathon is already in the middle of it, as both he and Athena are a part of Starbuck’s crew on the Demetrius — which, the Reader may recall, just met up with a representative of the rebel Cylon faction.