This week’s episode was actually not all that bad, in fact it was pretty good, but compared to the pant-wettingly brilliant instalments the previous two weeks it felt like a bit of a let down. It’s ridiculous, of course, almost like complaining about the lobster because I’ve been spoon-fed foie-gras for the last few weeks. We quickly learn she was the leader of the final five and the driving force behind their escape from Earth and journey to the colonies. There’s also a very interesting conflict set up between her and John with some superb lines of dialogue exchanged between the town as he laments his biological form and strives for machine-like perfection whilst she extols the beauties of human life from creative to compassion and love. I think in these two, the lines are being drawn for the final battle and the fact that the conflict between humanity and hardware could interestingly be played out by Cylons rather than humans. There is also a neat bit of explanation as we learn the vindictive John is responsible for boxing the final five models and scattering them amongst the humans as a form of petty revenge, neatly wrapping up their integration with the fleet. Finally, back on Galactica, their continued flight from the Cylons continues to take its toll: the wounded line the corridors outside of the medical bay, the president laments over the loss of the Corum and all but gives up power to Apollo, and the ship itself is rotten to its very core. The scars of battle are inescapable and it is perhaps telling that Adama must cast off his own fears to find a Cylon solution to a human problem, injecting the machines into the bones of the Galactica, for so long the final bastion of human hope. As I’ve already said, it’s a good episode, but not great and I must admit I’m starting to get a little nervous that there is still so much left for this show to say in such a short space of time.
