{"id":595,"date":"2011-09-16T13:00:40","date_gmt":"2011-09-16T20:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=595"},"modified":"2011-09-12T17:52:21","modified_gmt":"2011-09-13T00:52:21","slug":"mark-watches-battlestar-galactica-s02e19-lay-down-your-burdens-part-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2011\/09\/mark-watches-battlestar-galactica-s02e19-lay-down-your-burdens-part-i\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Battlestar Galactica’: S02E19 – Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the nineteenth episode of the second season of Battlestar Galactica<\/em>, presidential elections are underway, and the discovery of a possible habitable planet swings the campaigning into chaos. Also HOLY SHIT. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Battlestar Galactica<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Look, I even knew<\/em> that this episode was the first of two parts BECAUSE IT IS IN THE TITLE, and I still yelled at the screen when it cut to black and said, “To be continued…” That<\/em> is how engrossed I was by the first half of season two’s finale. I was wholly unaware that forty-odd minutes had passed.<\/p>\n

Ronald Moore weaves three inter-connected stories throughout this specific episode, choosing to focus on the rescue mission on Caprica, the upcoming presidential election, and the mental breakdown of Chief Tyrol. For organization’s sake, LET US ALSO DIVIDE THINGS AS SUCH.<\/p>\n

CHIEF TYROL WHAT WHAT WHAT ARE YOU DOING<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Tyrol’s sassy gay friend comes in the form of the mysterious Brother Cavil, a “priest” who sure has a lot to say about the pointlessness of prayer. Tyrol needs this man because “Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I” opens with one of the most uncomfortable scenes in the whole goddamn series: Tyrol being woken up from a nightmare by Cally, and then beating her face in whilst in a trance of rage and confusion. And you know, the violence is<\/em> disturbing to an extent, but I was more bothered by the fact that after the beating, we don’t see Cally at all<\/em>. It is possible she’ll be in Part II, but the beating becomes all about Tyrol and we don’t see the ramifications of his actions. Yet<\/em>. Plus, I really want a Cally-centric story, and soon. THANKS, SHOW.<\/p>\n

But anyway, can I just have Brother Cavil hang around me all the time? Obviously, what intrigues Tyrol and then us is the fact that he’s so abrasive<\/em> as a priest. He tells Tyrol that prayer is a waste of energy, and begins getting to the source of the Chief’s anxiety: a reoccurring nightmare of him committing suicide on the hangar deck. How does Cavil know that Tyrol’s lying? I suppose it is<\/em> pretty obvious, but something about this priest is a bit fishy, but I can’t quite put my finger on what doesn’t match up.<\/p>\n

Still, I suppose that it doesn’t matter, because Cavil helps Tyrol realize why<\/em> he’s feeling this way. Frankly put, Tyrol actually wants<\/em> to commit suicide. In a haunting parallel to the finale of season one, Tyrol has developed the same sense of foreboding guilt that plagued Boomer, who believed she was a Cylon but wasn’t quite sure about it. Tyrol believes himself<\/em> to be one as well. He is plagued by the sensation that something<\/em> awful is coming, and that this unknown, terrible thing will be caused by his own hands. Is he a Cylon who is secretly programmed to be “activated” far into the future? Is his existence a longer can than Boomer’s? Even that<\/em> concept intrigues me, and I would love to see another episode like “Downloaded” that gives us insight into this. How exactly was Boomer’s past created, and was she merely programmed to believe it was real? How is that history verified<\/em>? Wouldn’t other people have to have known her at one point?<\/p>\n

I don’t necessarily like<\/em> the idea that Tyrol might be a Cylon, but it wouldn’t exactly be something that would come out of right field. But Cavil assures Tyrol that he’s not a Cylon with some well-timed sarcasm, and tells him he needs to return to his crew. His message here is so striking to me: this crew is the only family he has, and even if he has fucked up terribly, avoiding them is not going to make it better. They love him, and the best he can do for them is to face what he did and go back to them, especially <\/em>Cally. Though I care more about how Cally feels about this now than Tyrol, but I am intrigued to see where this goes.<\/p>\n

PRESIDENTS AND SHIT<\/strong><\/p>\n

Holy awkward. I mean, Roslin’s own Vice President is running against her. It appears that Baltar is not going to resign from his position in the interim, so that just means Awful 24\/7<\/em>. It also doesn’t help that Baltar has chosen Tom Zarek as his campaign manager. I love any chance to see more of Zarek, of course! BUT SERIOUSLY. Roslin! Look at your competitor!<\/p>\n

Thankfully (at first), Roslin absolutely crushes Baltar in their first public debate. Part of me wished to see<\/em> this, but I understand why we skipped out on it. I agree that it was much more fascinating to see both candidates with their managers before the debate itself. Baltar, with Zarek, is giving in to the panic he rightly deserves to feel. He’s declared his candidacy without any solid platform and is hoping to ride out on the coattails of popularity. On top of that, he’s inexperienced. And that’s more important than he thinks! Even if Roslin has never run for president before, we see her rehearsal techniques as she prepares for the debate in Adama’s quarters. (I AM GOING TO IMAGINE ROMANTIC THINGS HAPPENING THERE BEFORE THE CAMERA SHOWED UP. DO NOT JUDGE ME<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

I know that most of “Lay Down Your Burdens” is all DOOM and GLOOM, and it’s why the Roslin giggle fit is just so perfect<\/em>. Obviously, I ship Roslin\/Adama harder than any ship in the history of ships, but it’s such a great contrast to the stress of the situation, and it feels so natural<\/em> between them. I think that’s why I enjoy their relationship and the small moments between them. They don’t force things, and they can share these things with one another, and it just feels right<\/em>.<\/p>\n

So I’m feeling pretty darn smug about Roslin winning the election, thinking that this finale is all going to be about Baltar realizing that this is not the path for him, and why am I doing that thing where I have hope again? Silly Mark, haven’t you learned<\/em> by now not to do this? Because of an error in navigational coordinates, Racetrack’s Raptor ends up accidentally discovering a habitable planet<\/em>. Oh, this finale was specifically made for me, wasn’t it? Season-long parallels, haunted by inner demons, emotional rescue missions, shocking plot twists….SERIOUSLY. ARE YOU IN MY HEAD, RONALD MOORE?<\/p>\n

And with that discovery, the elections change dramatically<\/em>. Suddenly, Zarek and Six help Baltar realize he has a campaign focus<\/em>. Even if the planet they’ve found is only livable around a certain geographical location on the equator, effectively rendering about 80% of it inhabitable, Zarek and Six find a way to make it work, and it’s a doozy. Brilliantly so, Zarek suggests that Baltar run on the idea that they should seek permanent<\/em> settlement on this unnamed planet.<\/p>\n

At first glance, I reacted in an identical manner as Roslin, though I laughed out loud. Seriously???<\/em> I thought. Who would want to settle on a planet that isn’t entirely welcoming to humans, so soon after the last Cylon attack? NO ONE WILL SUPPORT THIS!<\/p>\n

Oh, how wrong I was. Once you think about it, it’s not even that it becomes a better idea than before. (If anything, it becomes worse<\/em>. Seriously, it’s a terrible idea.) But it is appealing<\/em>. It’s appealing to people who have spent month after month on board ships, in confined spaces, sleeping in bunks, and surround by metal and steel. It’s appealing to people who are tired, tired of being<\/em> tired, tired of fear, and tired of the extended cat-and-mouse game that is the Cylons. And I love that the episode essentially paints Roslin as being right<\/em> about her intuition, giving us reasons why this plan makes no sense, but then showing us that this is an election. That does not matter<\/em>. The message is more important than the substance, and during the final debate, which ISN’T EVEN A LANDSLIDE WIN FOR ANYBODY, it seems that Baltar’s message of “hope,” however misguided it might be, is winning.<\/p>\n

Seriously, Baltar’s not going to win<\/em>, is he?<\/p>\n

STARBUCK IS A BOSS<\/strong><\/p>\n

FINALLY<\/em>, Starbuck gets the approval of Admiral Adama to run a rescue mission to Caprica in order to save the rebels who were stranded there. What better time than a season finale? That only means shit will get real<\/em>. But it’s a matter of which<\/em> of these three story lines is going to explode into chaos, isn’t it? Oh, who am I kidding? I don’t expect any of them to end well. This is Battlestar Galactica<\/em> I’m talking about!<\/p>\n

My guess is that the season-ending cliffhanger will be the worst for Starbuck because her story has the most variables that could go absolutely and horribly wrong. Her mission to return to Caprica<\/em> is ruthlessly complicated, risky, and dangerous to an absurd degree. Even before Sharon is brought into the room, you can see the look of absolute NOPE NOT GONNA on every pilot’s face. And did I believe for a second that anyone would face the scorn of turning down an official mission and walk out of that room?<\/p>\n

Ten FTL jumps right into the atmosphere of Caprica seemed bad enough, but the pilots look like they’re about a second away from a riot at any given time when Starbuck reveals her secret weapon: Sharon is going to hook herself up directly to the Heavy Raider through a fiber optic cable in her arm (like in “Flight of the Phoenix”) in order to make the ten jumps successfully. So everyone<\/em> will have to trust a Cylon in order to do this safely. Look, I’ll just say it: IF SHE DOES THIS, WILL YOU FINALLY TRUST THAT SHE IS ON YOUR SIDE?<\/em> I don’t know what else it’s going to take. Granted, both Admiral Adama and Starbuck have opened up to the possibility that they’re wrong about Cylons, specifically Sharon. But she has genuinely saved them all! Multiple times! WHY AM I YELLING AT FICTIONAL CHARACTERS!<\/p>\n

Perhaps it’s because there’s no story here that fills me with more anxiety than this. Lee is not quick to offer a ton of positive moral support to Starbuck. Look, save your conflicted feelings for later and just tell her that she will be fine and awesome and everything will work out. THEN MAKE OUT WITH HER. Er….okay, WHATEVER. And then! AND THEN! <\/em>In a unsettling parallel to Tyrol’s moral crisis, Sharon, who is still absolutely gutted by the loss of her daughter, makes a strange statement to Helo: something bad is going to happen. Not on Caprica, but something else.<\/p>\n

WTF WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME. YOU KNOW I’M GOING TO BELIEVE IT. Oh good lord, this is not going to end well. It doesn’t even start<\/em> well for Starbuck. Even though we know that Racetrack getting lost is actually a positive for the fleet, Starbuck believes otherwise. They’ve set out with a mistake. But it seems everything is fine when they don’t lose anyone nine jumps later. However, even that falls apart: one of the Raptors jumped into the middle of a goddamn mountain<\/em>. You in danger, Starbuck.<\/p>\n

I think my biggest fear going into this was that Starbuck wouldn’t get to see Anders again, so I expected each development to end in tragedy. Movement in the forest on Caprica? It’s Cylons, who have killed all the humans. Okay, so the humans survived, and Helo calls out for Anders. I expected them to say he died. Oh, wait, he’s alive? Then as he and Starbuck rush to meet one another, he gets shot and killed.<\/p>\n

BUT IT DIDN’T HAPPEN THAT WAY! Holy shit, they actually<\/em> get to have a reunion! And it’s just as cute and touching as I hoped! Oh god, this is actually quite wonderful!<\/p>\n

WHAT THE SHIT THERE ARE BOMBS EVERYWHERE AND PEOPLE ARE GETTING SHOT AND WHAT THE HOLY FUCK IS GOING ON OH MY GOD CYLONS ARE HERE AND THEY CAN’T ESCAPE AND THEN\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

…to be continued<\/em><\/p>\n

OH, FUCK YOU. FUCK YOU<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"