Season 1, Episode 13 & Thoughts on Season 1

Episode 13: Kobol’s Last Gleaming, Part 2

Highlights/Moments of Revelation

• What a perfect mission for Boomer to pretend to be a Cylon agent. I thought she would kill herself.
• Caprica Sharon pregnant! The first Cylon/Human baby?
• Number 6 really loves Gaius. I hadn’t quite realised how much before this episode.
• I loved how Commander Adama and the President were negotiating through Dee and Billy and how they were whispering to each other.
• In the scene when Starbuck shoots the glass case containing the Arrow of Apollo on Caprica, there is quite clearly a camera man in a red t-shirt standing on the other side of it.
• The way the Sharon duplicates (models?) said that they loved her on the Cylon base ship was weird. Also, one of them lovingly stroked the warhead that she left behind like it was a gift. But, cool explosion.
• Starbuck’s reaction to seeing Sharon on Caprica and realising she’s a Cylon was not really what I expected.
• I almost jumped out of my seat when Sharon shot Adama. There was NO WAY that I could have seen that coming. That’s what I love about this show!

Questions

• When Number 6 showed Gaius what I guess was Caprica Sharon’s baby in the cot in the opera house on Kobol, did he think it was his?
• Are the Number 6s on Caprica of the same consciousness as the one in Gaius’ head? I don’t think that one’s just a figment of his imagination, but could it be cut off from the others? They seem to have different motives and objectives.
• Did the Sharons on the Cylon base ship (re-)program Boomer to shoot Adama?

Season 1: Thoughts

Basically, I'm in love with this show. Everything from the dialogue, characters and story to the music, visuals and themes just grab me and compel me to watch. I really enjoy the fact that there is a big over-arching story throughout the series and that it really needs to be watched in order and that it relies on you having paid attention to stuff that happened previously (which, I know, are recapped in the "previously on Battlestar Galactica" clips at the beginning of each episode, but I don't watch) and drops bombs in your lap when you least expect it.

I just love how diverse, effective and well-placed the music in this show has been so far. Within the first few episodes, I was already noticing themes for different characters, and it is quite obvious that a lot of thought went in to the production and editing of the music. I really appreciate that the music for this show is not just incidental and forgettable, but integral to the storytelling and memorable and I often find myself humming the Cylon/Number 6’s theme!

There are just so many great characters here, and I care about and am emotionally invested in all of their stories. My favourite character is probably Gaius Baltar, with Starbuck and Laura Roslin tying in a close second place. I'm also really compelled by Number 6 (at least the one in Gaius' head) and am enjoying trying to figure her out. The only character I don't really care about yet is Tom Zarek, though that's probably simply due to his limited screen time in season 1. I did enjoying discovering from watching the extras, however, that that actor played the character of Apollo in the original BSG series!

I'm really excited about starting season 2 and getting further invested in this story, its characters and their world, but I'm going to take a week's break before releasing a post for the first two episodes of season 2. I predict that Commander Adama is not dead, however, or that if he is, he will be revived somehow. Perhaps with the help of the Cylons? See you in two weeks, when I find out.

Thanks for reading!