{"id":536,"date":"2011-08-18T13:00:11","date_gmt":"2011-08-18T20:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=536"},"modified":"2011-08-15T19:08:26","modified_gmt":"2011-08-16T02:08:26","slug":"mark-watches-battlestar-galactica-s02e01-scattered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2011\/08\/mark-watches-battlestar-galactica-s02e01-scattered\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Battlestar Galactica’: S02E01 – Scattered"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the season two opener of Battlestar Galactica<\/em>, Mark discovers just how WRONG he was about pretty much every theory he had for this show. Oh well. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re intrigued, then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to start watching season two of Battlestar Galactica<\/em>.<\/p>\n

WELL. SHIT. I guess I was nowhere near the mark, was I?<\/p>\n

I think that describing the season two opener as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153exciting\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is not even all that accurate. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s A COMPLETE VISUAL DISASTER<\/em>, but in the best way possible. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even name a single thing aside from the location of the fleet at the end that inspired any relief or joy in me. There are bad decisions, short tempers, and a gigantic dose of chaos. No, seriously, this is fucked up<\/em>. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no resolution from the events at the end of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Kobol\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Last Gleaming,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nothing to make us feel better. Essentially, this show never wants us to feel good things ever again and Ronald Moore will stomp on a puppy to ensure this.<\/p>\n

The bulk of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Scattered\u00e2\u20ac\u009d deals with this very concept: everyone is scattered about the universe, from those on Kobol, to Boomer, Helo, and Starbuck, to the colossal mistake that sticks the Galactica<\/em> in the middle of space, entirely by themselves. Now<\/em> I think that for a good portion of season two, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re instead going to deal with how<\/em> the Galactica<\/em> is to get all of these people back in one location. Well…even that<\/em> is based on an assumption. What if they can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t? What if they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Pretty much every main and secondary character gets some screen time. Even Ellen Tigh and some of the secondary crew on Kobol spend time on camera. I totally missed at the end of season one that Socinus got out of the brig. Was that not shown? Because I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remember it in the slightest, but there he is, fluid filling his lungs, dying on Kobol. Hell, did anyone else pick out Tarn for death the second he opened his mouth? Dude could\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been wearing a red shirt the entire time as far as I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m concerned. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even recall Seelix as being part of this, but I probably just wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t paying attention. I suppose it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really matter, and if there was any opportunity to introduce some new characters, this was as good as any, even if they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re introduced in one of the more tense and chaotic ways possible.<\/p>\n

And really now. Everything that happens on Kobol is just so gutting and intense. Even from the beginning, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m bewildered and shocked by what happens. We jump right back to Baltar and Six in the vision of the opera house, and I find out I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m COMPLETELY WRONG. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not Boomer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s child in that crib. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S THE ONE THAT BELONGS TO BALTAR AND SIX<\/em>. What the fuck<\/em>? How is that possible? She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a hallucination! Right? OH GOD, WHAT IF SHE IS NOT. I still<\/em> don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand how this is the future, or why this is part of some plan of God. What does a Cylon and human hybrid create? Why is it so important?<\/p>\n

Back at the crash site, we are given a story that is highly realistic and difficult to watch. Overwhelmed by the situation, the deaths of their crewmates, and the impossibility of rescue, mistakes are made, ones that lead to the death of Tarn and the inevitable death of Socinus. (I mean, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not going to survive, is he?) Watching Tarn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death is both obvious and shocking at the same time. As soon as he stood with his back to the forest, I thought, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153OH, YOU\u00e2\u20ac\u2122RE TOTALLY GOING TO DIE SOON.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d And even knowing that, it still wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t any easier to watch the shots rip through his body, to see Tyrol try so hard to save him, despite how impossible it proved to be. Poor Tyrol, by the way. He hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even learned of what happened with Boomer, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s already a wreck.<\/p>\n

We do manage to get more of Tigh\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s backstory throughout the episode, as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Scattered\u00e2\u20ac\u009d focuses a bit more on him than anyone else. The sight of a mustache-wearing, ready-to-smile Adama sure is a bizarre thing, but it suggests that there was a time when he had a complete family, and he still had a lot more hope for the future. Did the death of his son do this to him? Also, why can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t I remember anything about Adama\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wife? Has she even been mentioned? Regardless, those days on the freighter were not positive memories for Tigh, who was a much worse alcoholic than he is now, and we see how much the future is tied to those days.<\/p>\n

For someone who is so insistent on being so strict and commanding, I find it fascinating that Tigh himself actually doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to be in command. He prefers being second in charge, and with Adama immobilized in the sick bay, near death, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s quickly becoming Tigh\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own personal nightmare. Unfortunately, I wish he could see just how talented he is during the course of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Scattered,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d but I know that self esteem doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t work that. He perceives himself as being less efficient compared to Adama. His commander–his friend, really–is so much braver than he is. At least in his mind, that is true. And as much as I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like the way that Tigh acts with Starbuck, that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean he isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a good leader. Yes, he doubts himself multiple times in this episode, but who wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/em> when this situation is thrust into your life? Your best friend was just shot in front of you, one of your pilots went off on a mission against orders, and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a group of INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT crew members crashed on a mysterious planet. Yeah, I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s perfectly fine to be overwhelmed, but Tigh measures himself against the solid nature of Adama. Adama is so stoic and wavering, and since Adama took him along all those years ago, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all that he knows. He doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have another system to look up to, so when he hesitates to make decisions, he views that as a weakness.<\/p>\n

But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not. It genuinely isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. And by the end of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Scattered,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d we see that Tigh made the right<\/em> decisions, enabling Gaeta to locate the location of the fleet and block out the impending Cylon virus penetrating the firewalls he set up. He trusts Gaeta (certainly more than Baltar, apparently), and he goes with what he knows. So that leaves me wondering how Tigh will deal with an uncertain future. We know from the end scene in the sick bay that Tigh doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want<\/em> this position, but will he continue to act so uncertain in the future?<\/p>\n

To be fair, though, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to paint Tigh as some perfect character, because he does make one horrifically terrible decision: to confront Boomer by herself. I cringed so badly when he struck her wound. I just can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/em> even imagine how painful that would be. I mean…I get it. Boomer shot his best friend. Boomer is a Cylon. Boomer has betrayed everyone. I get the rage! But it is<\/em> a poor decision to confront her the way that he does, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s even worse when he asks for a sidearm to attack her. WHAT ARE YOU DOING, SIR? Ah, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re acting on the most base emotions that you possess, and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re lashing out at her for inherently causing what you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been forced into.<\/p>\n

God, what an awful situation. Even worse, I can’t figure out what’s going to happen with Lee. He’s temporarily let out of the brig to help out, but is Tigh committed to keeping him under lock and key? How much longer can he continue this with Adama unconscious?<\/p>\n

Is anyone surprised, though, that the one story I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m drawn to more than any of the others belongs to Starbuck? Look, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help it<\/em>. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s such a well-written and well-defined character! I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m intrigued by her tough exterior because I want to know what else she is hiding. I want to see her interact with the world because it makes me smile. But I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m also deeply fascinated to see just how Helo and Starbuck will deal with the reality of Boomer being a Cylon. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen just how human these new models are, and it seems that Boomer is one of the earlier ones, more human than other Cylon models. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s interesting watching this because we know that Cylons can feel genuine human emotions, but the human survivors have a much more limited experience with these beings. To them, they simply look<\/em> like humans, but they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re still the machines from years ago.<\/p>\n

As it stands, only Helo and Baltar really truly know what these new Cylons are like, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why Starbuck is so resistant to the idea that Helo could fall for Boomer. Obviously, Starbuck has also seen just how much chaos and destruction the Cylons have delivered to the humans, certainly more so than Helo. But it also seems that both assume that there is a real<\/em> Boomer somewhere, and that the Cylons just made copies of the original. But thinking about that scene in the basestar…I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the case. I think the Boomer from Galactica<\/em> has been a plant for years. No one ever knew<\/em> the original Boomer because there wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t one<\/em>. I think we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get an episode that confirms this in the future.<\/p>\n

For now, though, Starbuck is offended and repulsed by Boomer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s desire to help them. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s figured out that the Boomer on board the Galactica<\/em> is probably a Cylon, too, and she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in a volatile state of mind. She fires on Boomer, but Helo manages to block it, and he reveals to Starbuck the real reason why he trusts her: she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pregnant with his child. Well, that stops Starbuck real<\/em> quick. I imagine that these two are going to have<\/em> to address this sooner rather than later, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure Starbuck isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to be easy on Helo. Still, I hope she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not too harsh on him, but she might be, considering that Boomer steals the Cylon raider<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Scattered\u00e2\u20ac\u009d does a fantastic job of introducing a number of plot threads to keep up the intensity of season two, and I am expecting that the energy is going to let up as we continue further into this story. Surely there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nothing more intense than the fact that Cylons have infiltrated the Galactica<\/em>, right? HOLY SHIT IT IS ALREADY GETTING SO REAL IN JUST A SINGLE EPISODE.<\/em><\/p>\n

This show is a treat, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"