I know we are only three episodes in, but already I’m getting impatient. This episode is called ‘Exodus, Part 1’ but it feels like ‘Occupation, Part 3’. And not just because the last two episodes ended on cliffhangers and lacked any sort of contained plot. Well actually, exactly for that reason.

This episode isn’t bad — far from it. It’s just when put in context with the season it makes for a slow start. But as Tom points out, that can be okay if the pay-off is worth it. Since I’m reviewing this episode ten weeks late, I can tell you that it is. It just doesn’t happen this episode, and for some reason I was expecting it to.

So here we are. D’anna is having dreams. Cavel is bitching and claiming moral high ground he doesn’t actually have. Starbuck is bonding with some freaky looking kid. Lard-boy Lee is crying like a little girl, and Tyrol somehow manages to temporally displace himself and appear in last weeks ending just in time to save Cally.

Yes, I’m afraid it’s one of those cliffhanger resolutions. The kind where they actually change what the cliffhanger was. It’s cheating and feels a little lazy, but if it helps us get to the Galactica falling from the sky quicker then I’m all for it.

The one aspect of BSG I’ve never really been comfortable with is the whole mystical element. After years of exposure, I’ve developed a knee-jerk reaction to words like “prophecy” and “chosen one”. Fortunately, to date it’s been something I’ve been able to ignore like Adama does. This season, it seems that is going to be hard to do.

Apparently, Roslyn should have been sensitive to the possibility that the existence of Hera would be given away in a dream, and that some human mystic would confirm this information to the Cylons. Awesome. Seriously, I don’t know what the humans are supposed to do. If there is a God, he should consider giving them a break. Or you know, the writers could stop being lazy.

I’m distressed now — I’m going to be spending the rest of the season fretting about the day Sharon finds out about it. I’m not looking forward to it. In the meantime though, she gets to shoot D’anna in the knees, which is cool and satisfying in ways the rest of the episode isn’t. It’s a moment that’s worth the price of admission. Or at least the bandwidth.

So Galactica is coming. Joy. I can’t wait. Rest assured, once it gets here you’ll forget how bored you were getting. Until of course, someone makes you review an episode two months later.

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This entry was posted by the illustrious Jackson Kearney on Wednesday, January 3rd, 2007. It concerns such pressing issues as Battlestar Galactica, tv. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.