Battlestar Galactica 3.2: "Precipice"
Written by Ron Moore
Directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
If the season premire was all about introducing the new status quo to new and long-time viewers alike, then this is the beginning of the real story. As originally aired in the United States, this was the second hour of a two-hour premiere. This worked well because the first episode was stuffed with necessary exposition. No matter how well it was handled, the audience was left wanting more, some sense of where the story would logically progress.
As it happens, this second episode also introduces some expository elements, but they are targeted and precise. Most notably, the captive Kara finds herself under manipulation when her supposed daughter is brought into her cell. According to Leoben, Kara’s ovary (extracted in “The Farm”) was used to create, using his genetic material, a hybrid child. This child, especially once injured by Kara’s negligence, rips through her defenses and leaves her vulnerable, Stockholm Syndrome style. (Of course, I have my suspicions that Kara may still be playing for time to escape.)
Another major development is the rounding up of certain insurgents, including Callie. It appears that the Cylons have plenty of collaborators among the humans, and they know a lot about the resistance. Ellen Tigh becomes a far more important character than ever expected as a result. Callie was probably chosen to send a message to the rest of the population, along with visible targets like Roslin and Zarek. I like the fact that they now respect each other a little more, though the adversarial nature of the relationship remains. All of this serves to expose Gaeda as the insurgency’s mole in the government, which cannot go well for him.
One very impressive aspect to all of this is the use of Jammer and Duck, featured heavily in the “webisodes” released in the US before the season began. Duck, of course, was the first suicide bomber in the premiere, and Jammer finds himself in a tough situation as one of the first members of the New Caprica Police. This gives the “webisodes” a lot of weight, and I appreciate the fact that such content was relevant to the overall story.
On the other side of the equation, the in-fighting within the Cylon regime is becoming violent. The “new way” of the Cylon was introduced by Caprica-Six and Boomer in “Downloaded”, but time seems to have tempered the enthusiasm of the Cylon for this twist on God’s intentions. If they continue to press their reforms, the hardliners among the Cylon could simply decide to get rid of the “liberal influence” and return to their genocidal tendencies.
That could, if handled well, resolve one of the major questions of the series: what is the Cylon agenda? So far, this season has done much to flesh out (no pun intended) that side of the conflict, but there’s a lot more to be revealed and explored. How will the Cylons respond when they discover that Sharon is now an officer for the Colonials? Adama was willing to trust one Cylon, but will that become the exception that proves the rule?
On top of all of that, there’s some progress for Lee and his restoration. For all his apparent softness and loss of edge, he does have a very good point. Even if they fight, humanity must be preserved, even if it’s just a few thousand souls. No matter what his reasons, Adama cannot be certain that Sharon can be trusted, and it may be a disaster for Galactica to return to New Caprica. If it does go badly, Adama can do everything possible to keep the Cylons busy while Lee leads the remaining fleet as far away as possible.
As with all good episodes of “Galactica”, there’s more to discuss and debate than a simple review can hope to cover. While Tigh’s insurgency brings up interesting question about Iraq, there are obvious parallels to occupied Europe in the 1940s. In essence, the writers continue to delve into history, psychology, and philosophy as inspirations.
(As a sidenote: I also have a podcast associated with my various reviews called “Dispatches from Tuzenor”. Current episodes cover “Battlestar: Galactica”, so it might be something of interest. Go to http://entil2001.libsyn.com if you want to listen!)
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4
Final Rating: 9/10
Directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
If the season premire was all about introducing the new status quo to new and long-time viewers alike, then this is the beginning of the real story. As originally aired in the United States, this was the second hour of a two-hour premiere. This worked well because the first episode was stuffed with necessary exposition. No matter how well it was handled, the audience was left wanting more, some sense of where the story would logically progress.
As it happens, this second episode also introduces some expository elements, but they are targeted and precise. Most notably, the captive Kara finds herself under manipulation when her supposed daughter is brought into her cell. According to Leoben, Kara’s ovary (extracted in “The Farm”) was used to create, using his genetic material, a hybrid child. This child, especially once injured by Kara’s negligence, rips through her defenses and leaves her vulnerable, Stockholm Syndrome style. (Of course, I have my suspicions that Kara may still be playing for time to escape.)
Another major development is the rounding up of certain insurgents, including Callie. It appears that the Cylons have plenty of collaborators among the humans, and they know a lot about the resistance. Ellen Tigh becomes a far more important character than ever expected as a result. Callie was probably chosen to send a message to the rest of the population, along with visible targets like Roslin and Zarek. I like the fact that they now respect each other a little more, though the adversarial nature of the relationship remains. All of this serves to expose Gaeda as the insurgency’s mole in the government, which cannot go well for him.
One very impressive aspect to all of this is the use of Jammer and Duck, featured heavily in the “webisodes” released in the US before the season began. Duck, of course, was the first suicide bomber in the premiere, and Jammer finds himself in a tough situation as one of the first members of the New Caprica Police. This gives the “webisodes” a lot of weight, and I appreciate the fact that such content was relevant to the overall story.
On the other side of the equation, the in-fighting within the Cylon regime is becoming violent. The “new way” of the Cylon was introduced by Caprica-Six and Boomer in “Downloaded”, but time seems to have tempered the enthusiasm of the Cylon for this twist on God’s intentions. If they continue to press their reforms, the hardliners among the Cylon could simply decide to get rid of the “liberal influence” and return to their genocidal tendencies.
That could, if handled well, resolve one of the major questions of the series: what is the Cylon agenda? So far, this season has done much to flesh out (no pun intended) that side of the conflict, but there’s a lot more to be revealed and explored. How will the Cylons respond when they discover that Sharon is now an officer for the Colonials? Adama was willing to trust one Cylon, but will that become the exception that proves the rule?
On top of all of that, there’s some progress for Lee and his restoration. For all his apparent softness and loss of edge, he does have a very good point. Even if they fight, humanity must be preserved, even if it’s just a few thousand souls. No matter what his reasons, Adama cannot be certain that Sharon can be trusted, and it may be a disaster for Galactica to return to New Caprica. If it does go badly, Adama can do everything possible to keep the Cylons busy while Lee leads the remaining fleet as far away as possible.
As with all good episodes of “Galactica”, there’s more to discuss and debate than a simple review can hope to cover. While Tigh’s insurgency brings up interesting question about Iraq, there are obvious parallels to occupied Europe in the 1940s. In essence, the writers continue to delve into history, psychology, and philosophy as inspirations.
(As a sidenote: I also have a podcast associated with my various reviews called “Dispatches from Tuzenor”. Current episodes cover “Battlestar: Galactica”, so it might be something of interest. Go to http://entil2001.libsyn.com if you want to listen!)
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4
Final Rating: 9/10
posted by John Keegan | 18:25
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