I’ve lately been engrossed in novels and films about the British Naval Service during the Napoleanic Wars — multiple viewings of Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World led into re-readings of C.S. Forrestor’s Horatio Hornblower novels, which in turn led to Netflixing the DVDs of the BBC adaptations, which in turn led to winning an eBay auction on most of the Patrick O’Brian Aubrey/Mataurin novels. I fell asleep last night reading #1 in the series, Master & Commander, and awoke early in the morning to distant boomings. My sleep addled brain had me convinced that were I took with the urge to look out the bedroom window, I would see a pair of Man-o’-Wars exchanging broadsides with each other.

In reality, Mother Nature decided she wanted to make some things crack, and what cracks better than thunder?

How dissapointing.

Which was my one thought when the episode was over. I was hoping for a glorious confrontation on the decks of Galactica, when Fisk would reject Cain’s methods and order his Marines to stand down. I was hoping Cain’s crew would relieve her of command.

The episode wasn’t dissapointing because it didn’t do what I thought it would — most of Galactica’s episodes are great because when you think you know what they’re going to do and how they’re going to do it, they take everything in a totally new direction. Not so much in this case.

The eulogy for Cain was strange. I can see Fisk getting all weepy-eyed over Cain — I guess — but I don’t really get where Starbuck was coming from. The fleet would be safer with her? Sometimes I wonder what Kara smokes. Cain left her own fleet behind and most likely would’ve done the same to Galactica’s at the earliest convenience. Not to mention her strong and unwavering belief in summary executions, gang rape, and a nearly suicidal desire to attack the enemy at all opportunities.

Back to Fisk — his character seemed to do a 180 here. In the last two episodes he’s always been wary of Cain, and in his drunken stupors with Tigh, seemed very regretful of some of the actions he’d witnessed and participated in since the attack (particularly the execution of civilian members of Pegasus‘ first fleet). He’s got his sympathetic moments — he intervenes when a couple of deck-scrubbers are giving Tyrol and Helo a special brand of “justice” (a bar of soap wrapped in a towel) — but he certainly seems more to the character of Thorne than himself.

The best part of the episode is Bill Adama’s realization of why it would be wrong to order Starbuck to follow through with the assassination of Admiral Cain. During the miniseries, at the decomissioning of Galactica, he ignores the speech he wrote and just “goes with it”, questioning the Cylon Wars, and wondering what the human race had done to deserve to survive — “After all,” he says, “we still kill each other over petty disputes.” He concludes that “it isn’t enough to survive … we have to be worthy of survival.” Talking with the Cylon, Sharon II, about the motives for the Cylons’ animosity towards humanity, recalling the speech, Adama also terminates his earlier orders to Starbuck.

The episode opens with Lee Adama drifting in a big lake. We cut to find him floating in space, having ejected from the exploding Blackbird, and losing oxygen with cuts in his flight suit. Frankly, the thought of Lee dying didn’t exactly seem to me a bad thing — the character’s got like nothing going for him and isn’t all that interesting. “Oh, look at me, I’m the commander’s son and I’m going to lead a revolt against him!” Yeah, nice cry for attention, Lee, but that’s in the past so go back to moping in the cockpit again so you can wreck Chief Tyrol’s pretty little plane, hmm?

One thing to be implicated in the destruction of your homeworld and allow your imaginary Cylon to blackmail you into doing a lot of bad things on her behalf, but that imaginary Cylon was long gone when you conspired with Gina to kill the Marine guard — guess what, Doc Baltar? That makes you accessory to Cain’s murder. (And for that, personally, I’d give you a medal).

Notes:

–Roslin looks bad. How much you wanna bet next week they find a miracle cure?
– Woah! Adama! Next time you gonna use some tongue there, eh? And taking advantage of a sick woman like that!!!
– Billy’s alive!
– Why is Dualla hanging around outside of pilots’ quarters? Ain’t that officer territory?