{"id":491,"date":"2011-08-03T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-08-03T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=491"},"modified":"2012-12-21T00:33:13","modified_gmt":"2012-12-21T08:33:13","slug":"mark-watches-battlestar-galactica-s01e04-act-of-contrition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2011\/08\/mark-watches-battlestar-galactica-s01e04-act-of-contrition\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Battlestar Galactica’: S01E04 – Act of Contrition"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the fourth episode of the first season of Battlestar Galactica<\/em>, a tragic accident forces Starbuck to take up flight training to gather new pilots. In the process, she lashes out at the new cadets to atone for a mistake she made years ago. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Battlestar Galactica<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I was curious to see when we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d get a much more Starbuck-based episode from Battlestar Galactica<\/em> because, frankly, I think she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been underused so far. It makes more sense now why the writers waited to give us this episode, and in doing so, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re shown a stunning story about guilt and contrition.<\/p>\n

It seems that from episode-to-episode, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re seeing the crew of the Galactica<\/em> grow, change, and adapt to the harsh reality of a life in eternal pursuit. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even comprehend personally; even though I have moved a lot<\/em>, I still have some semblance of a stationary home, especially these days. (No, seriously, in the past eleven years, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve lived at over twenty different addresses. The life of a runaway is so ~glamorous~.) While dealing with the discomfort of living in close quarters (which most seem to manage well), the cold open of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Act of Contrition\u00e2\u20ac\u009d gives us both an in media res<\/em> story, concerning Starbuck, and the unfortunate existence of fatal accidents. And maybe this is something I just missed<\/em> about what the purpose of this re-imagined series was supposed to do, but this might be the least<\/em> \u00e2\u20ac\u0153sci-fi\u00e2\u20ac\u009d science fiction show I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever seen. (Firefly <\/em>is close behind, for what it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s worth.) I was totally floored that the death of thirteen pilots wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t because of sabotage from Boomer. It was an accident. The end! In fact, every episode of the first season sort of concerns itself with logistics: how to avoid the Cylons; how to get water after sabotage; how to deal with prisoners; and now, what to do when there is a need for new pilots. Obviously, this is a fantastical series, but as I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve said before, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no need to make realism mutually exclusive to the idea, and this might be the best example of how fantastical narratives can be grounded in a sobering realism.<\/p>\n

For the record, I have avoided looking up anything<\/em> regarding this show, including any background interviews, and now I realize I might sound rather repetitive or unoriginal, as it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s entirely within the realm of possibility that this show was created to specifically<\/em> address this, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll look a bit like a fool. But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s okay! The whole point of Mark Watches is to experience these shows in the best self-constructed vacuum that I can pull off, and if this show was meant to act just as I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d said, then that just means it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s written really well<\/em>. (FYI, as long as you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t spoil me for anything to come, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s totally okay to give me the context for what Ron Moore intended for this show. Again, though, please think through what you drop in the comments because I hate having mods delete them!)<\/p>\n

In terms of the way that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Act of Contrition\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is edited, I was impressed with how well Starbuck\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s flashback\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s to Zak\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s funeral were integrated into the story. By having these flashes appear in a jarring manner, switching in between the funeral, laying in bed with Zak, and the first time Starbuck met Commander Adama, gave me the appearance of how thought actually works. Hell, it was sort of like we were viewing a daydream in real-time, as if Starbuck\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mind couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t focus on a single memory, jumping between connected thoughts and relating them to the present. And being a huge fan of LOST<\/em>, that means I personally adore flashbacks used to give context to the present time, and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Act of Contrition\u00e2\u20ac\u009d succeeds in giving us some much-needed information about Starbuck. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s striking to me that in her flashbacks, she seems far less abrasive than she is here in the present, and it leads me to wonder if Zak\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death and her subsequent guilt over it is related to how she developed her sassy attitude. I mean, I do believe that Starbuck naturally has a great sense of humor, but even in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Act of Contrition,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d it partially feels like a defense mechanism, as a way for her to mask the terror she feels in her heart.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s obvious that when Adama asks her to teach new pilots that Starbuck still hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t gotten over the emotional baggage of what she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d done years ago. But this is Starbuck we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re talking about! If there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s anyone who can push through pain, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s her. However, it becomes clear that this is not just about giving a tough appearance. The problem she has with her own conscience is a lot stronger than she anticipated. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a neat narrative trick, though, that gives a later scene a lot of power. Adama was smart to point out that he knows Starbuck might have problems teaching because of Zak\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death, and this is when Starbuck flashes back to telling Zak he passed flight training, even though he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. When it cuts back to Adama, he says that Zak\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death is not her fault. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so seamless that I believed we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d seen one of those moments where the flashback was told to another character, but we just saw the flashback itself. So I believed that Adama had just brushed off Starbuck\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s concerns over inadvertently leading to Zak\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death.<\/p>\n

Seriously, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like I purposely make<\/em> myself unprepared.<\/p>\n

I even initially believed that Starbuck was being harsh on the cadets because Tigh had chastised her for being so lax and humorous the last time she led a meeting of the pilots. I expected Tigh to walk in and be impressed. (That would come later, actually. So I was like…25% right!) But it became clear to me that Starbuck was bordering on being both insulting and patronizing, far too strict to pilots who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d never flown a Viper before in their lives. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s overcompensating, I thought, but oh lord, was I underestimating her guilt! (Also, I was so distracted by her calling them \u00e2\u20ac\u0153nuggets.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d That word is forever associated with the word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153chicken\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in front of it, and then I got a craving for them. Damn it.)<\/p>\n

Guilt isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t solely for Starbuck in this episode, though. Roslin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first visit to the doctor on board the Galactica<\/em> isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t devoid of some guilt either. We learn just how serious the cancer is and that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s suffering from breast cancer specifically. (Was that mentioned earlier? I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remember when I think back. Maybe it was implied?) Roslin takes offense at the doctor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s invasive question about why she waited so long for a breast cancer screening, but you can hear the guilt in her voice when she admits she was \u00e2\u20ac\u0153busy.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s even worse when she later confesses that she watched her own mother suffer through treatment for two years before dying. The truth is\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.well, Roslin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s outlook is pretty grim. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still the hope that maybe<\/em> the Chamalla treatment might work, but with a limited human populace, there might not even be<\/em> any Chamalla extract to help her. PLEASE LET HER BE OKAY.<\/p>\n

Still, the bulk of what \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Act of Contrition\u00e2\u20ac\u009d deals with focuses on Starbuck, and I did like that aside from another brief glimpse of the situation on Caprica, Katee Sackhoff is the star of the whole story. God, I already want<\/em> more episodes with her running the show, and this episode is evidence that she can carry the dramatic weight of an entire episode on her shoulders. Seriously, her performance during the painfully awkward card game with Baltar is one of many to show Sackhoff\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s range as an actress. From this, we watch her train the pilots on their first day flying the Vipers, and she is uncompromising and brutal, failing all<\/em> of them on their very first day, masking her guilt instead with disgust at these recruits. I honestly felt bad for Starbuck; her fear of repeating the mistake she made with Zak has caused her to refuse to give any of these students a chance. Thankfully, though, her actions could not be more obvious to Lee, who can read through this the second he finds out she washed out all of the pilots. Of course, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dismissive of Lee\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s concerns, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear she just refuses to face the fact that she is overcompensating because of what she did before.<\/p>\n

When Lee takes his concerns to his father and is unable to convince him that something is wrong, I realize I was completely fooled by the flashback during Adama and Starbuck\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s conversation about this very issue. As soon as Lee mentioned what Starbuck had done for Zak, I could see in Adama\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s face that Starbuck had not<\/em> told him what she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d done. SHIT. JUST. GOT. REAL.<\/p>\n

I know that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m deep into my eighth review and I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t found much to complain about (THAT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S A GOOD THING!!!), and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m seriously trying<\/em> to. I am! Yet, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not going to complain about anything right now. Instead, I am going to heap a mountain of praise on Katee Sackhoff and Edward James Olmos for the confrontation scene. That<\/em> is some of the best acting I have ever seen on a television show. And I intend every bit of that hyperbole, by the way. As talkative as Sackhoff is, so much of what makes that scene is entirely unspoken, from facial expressions to eyes brimming with tears, and Olmos\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s silent rage and pursed lips tell us so much more than words ever could. I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even experienced enough of this show to have an emotional investment in these characters, and I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help but tear up during this scene. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not easy to watch, especially Adama\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s final line warning Starbuck to leave the cabin while she still can<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Holy shit, that is some good television.<\/p>\n

This scene informs what happens when Starbuck takes the pilots out for a training session and Cylon raiders arrive unexpectedly. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing that when the Cylons show up, Starbuck feels a need to prove herself to Adama, choosing to face all eight raiders entirely on her own. Unfortunately, Hot Dog decides to stick with her (I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M SORRY, BEST NICK NAME EVER<\/em>), and his amateur fighting gets her thrown into the orbit of a nearby moon or planet. The images we saw from the cold open are finally given their full context: Starbuck, in a need to prove herself as a good pilot, is now plummeting towards some mysterious world, completely alone.<\/p>\n

AND THEN THERE IS A GODDAMN \u00e2\u20ac\u0153TO BE CONTINUED\u00e2\u20ac\u009d SCREEN<\/strong>. What the hell??? I DIDN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T KNOW THIS WAS A TWO-PARTER. oh god OH GOD WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON.<\/p>\n

THOUGHTS<\/strong><\/p>\n