Battlestar Galactica 2.19: "Lay Down Your Burdens: Part I"
Written by Ronald D. Moore
Directed by Michael Rymer
In which the discovery of a habitable planet has a profound effect on the presidential election, while Tyrol suffers a psychotic break and Starbuck leads a rescue mission to Caprica…
This being “Battlestar: Galactica”, reviewing this first part of the finale is not particularly simple. It’s a given that this is only a prelude to a much larger story, much like “Kobol’s Last Gleaming: Part I” and “Pegasus” before it. The point of the episode is pure setup, moving the pieces into final position before the next endgame. So the question is: how well does it serve that function?
I would argue that a series like “BSG” has it a bit easier than a series with a more episodic format, like the “Stargate” shows. The prelude to the finale actually began with “Epiphanies”, and a number of plot threads addressed in this episode trace back at least to that point (if not earlier). There’s no need to generate a completely new crisis; a simple trigger can force the existing plot threads into a more active phase. In this episode, two things take place that will inevitably trigger something far more.
Tyrol’s mental state has been degrading for quite some time, going back to the beginning of the season, but it wasn’t until “Resurrection Ship” that he attempted to sublimate his emotions regarding Sharon. All it took from there was a series of nightmares and the escalation of his fears stemming from his close relationship to Boomer to toss him over the edge into psychosis.
While it’s not entirely clear how Tyrol’s psychological issues will factor into the second part of the finale, it’s a given that Brother Cavil, played perfectly by Dean Stockwell, will be the one pushing him in that direction. There’s a lot of reason to suspect that Cavil is a Cylon, just by the fact that his words echo Six from the mini-series from time to time, but that could be a bit of misdirection. Tyrol’s role in the next episode, after all, hinges on where his damaged psyche takes him, and that’s still far from clear.
What this serves to accomplish, however, is the resurrection of the paranoia that the series had in the first season, when the identity of the hidden Cylons was a prominent plot point. It’s become progressively easier to ignore that, and the humans have almost become comfortable with their assumptions. They remember that other Cylons are hidden in the fleet, but they don’t seem to suspect each other as openly or frequently, and that could be costly.
The more obvious trigger, however, is the discovery of the habitable planet. It provides Baltar with the issue he needs to win popular support for his campaign. I was hoping for a more in-depth dissection of Roslin’s previous claims as a religious prophet, since it could have been challenged on a number of grounds, but it didn’t really come up beyond a general mention here and there.
There’s still plenty of reason to assume that the Cylons know about the planet and are waiting in the wings (perhaps some of those unexplored barren areas), and there’s the little question of whether or not they would want the humans to stay there or continue towards Earth. I was under the impression that the Cylons wanted Baltar in change so that he could lead them to Earth and help them achieve their agenda, but the previous episode made it seem as though Six is a figment of Baltar’s own mind, so I’m not sure that assumption still holds.
Whatever the case, as usual, this episode covers a lot of ground, and I’m betting that a ton of material had to be cut for time. Moore mentions that the means of returning to Caprica was a victim of budget and time, so there’s some hand-waving going on in that plot thread, but the point was getting Starbuck back with Anders, however it happened. I wasn’t surprised by the notion that the Cylons waited for the two camps to come together before attacking, but after the previous episode, I’m sure that there’s more to it.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4
Final Rating: 9/10
Directed by Michael Rymer
In which the discovery of a habitable planet has a profound effect on the presidential election, while Tyrol suffers a psychotic break and Starbuck leads a rescue mission to Caprica…
This being “Battlestar: Galactica”, reviewing this first part of the finale is not particularly simple. It’s a given that this is only a prelude to a much larger story, much like “Kobol’s Last Gleaming: Part I” and “Pegasus” before it. The point of the episode is pure setup, moving the pieces into final position before the next endgame. So the question is: how well does it serve that function?
I would argue that a series like “BSG” has it a bit easier than a series with a more episodic format, like the “Stargate” shows. The prelude to the finale actually began with “Epiphanies”, and a number of plot threads addressed in this episode trace back at least to that point (if not earlier). There’s no need to generate a completely new crisis; a simple trigger can force the existing plot threads into a more active phase. In this episode, two things take place that will inevitably trigger something far more.
Tyrol’s mental state has been degrading for quite some time, going back to the beginning of the season, but it wasn’t until “Resurrection Ship” that he attempted to sublimate his emotions regarding Sharon. All it took from there was a series of nightmares and the escalation of his fears stemming from his close relationship to Boomer to toss him over the edge into psychosis.
While it’s not entirely clear how Tyrol’s psychological issues will factor into the second part of the finale, it’s a given that Brother Cavil, played perfectly by Dean Stockwell, will be the one pushing him in that direction. There’s a lot of reason to suspect that Cavil is a Cylon, just by the fact that his words echo Six from the mini-series from time to time, but that could be a bit of misdirection. Tyrol’s role in the next episode, after all, hinges on where his damaged psyche takes him, and that’s still far from clear.
What this serves to accomplish, however, is the resurrection of the paranoia that the series had in the first season, when the identity of the hidden Cylons was a prominent plot point. It’s become progressively easier to ignore that, and the humans have almost become comfortable with their assumptions. They remember that other Cylons are hidden in the fleet, but they don’t seem to suspect each other as openly or frequently, and that could be costly.
The more obvious trigger, however, is the discovery of the habitable planet. It provides Baltar with the issue he needs to win popular support for his campaign. I was hoping for a more in-depth dissection of Roslin’s previous claims as a religious prophet, since it could have been challenged on a number of grounds, but it didn’t really come up beyond a general mention here and there.
There’s still plenty of reason to assume that the Cylons know about the planet and are waiting in the wings (perhaps some of those unexplored barren areas), and there’s the little question of whether or not they would want the humans to stay there or continue towards Earth. I was under the impression that the Cylons wanted Baltar in change so that he could lead them to Earth and help them achieve their agenda, but the previous episode made it seem as though Six is a figment of Baltar’s own mind, so I’m not sure that assumption still holds.
Whatever the case, as usual, this episode covers a lot of ground, and I’m betting that a ton of material had to be cut for time. Moore mentions that the means of returning to Caprica was a victim of budget and time, so there’s some hand-waving going on in that plot thread, but the point was getting Starbuck back with Anders, however it happened. I wasn’t surprised by the notion that the Cylons waited for the two camps to come together before attacking, but after the previous episode, I’m sure that there’s more to it.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4
Final Rating: 9/10
posted by John Keegan | 12:11
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