Ah, Helo. Once upon a time you were so boring. Enough with this Caprica rubbish, I would say. Let’s get back to the real action! I mean, it’s obvious this poor schmuck is going to die at the end of the season.

How things have changed. I’m sick of racist whiney-boy Lee, and the new hero of the show, as far as I’m concerned, is Karl Agathon. Idealistic, restrained, in control. Well, usually restrained and in control. In one of the show’s patented “Previously, not on Battlestar Galactica” clips, we discover that he got put in charge of housing all the refugees from new Caprica when Tigh got his job back. Not only does the job suck, but he’s starting to suspect that civilian Dr Robert¹ is killing some of his patients.

I’m not normally a fan of stories where your protagonist is accusing someone upstanding of dastardly deeds. If he’s right, then it feels like the obvious resolution, because he’s been going on about it being the case all episode. If he’s wrong, then he’s a moron. It’s lose/lose. But thanks to the interplay between Tigh and Helo, the story becomes about Helo’s place on Galactica more than whether Dr Robert² is killing people or not.

I always enjoy it when Galactica explores the politics of the fleet, but some of the Sagittaron racism seemed a bit over the top this week. No mention of them for ages and then suddenly everyone’s spitting on them every chance they get. When a character asks another how the old phrase went; “aside from a Cylon, is there anything you hate more than a Sagittaron,” it’s not particularly convincing. I’m reliably informed that the really popular and successful racist phrases are the short, punchy ones. That said, I’ll take a slightly clunky exploration of racism over the Lee and Kara Soapie any day of the week.³

And if Tigh gets to continue his nice line in hilarious, bitter barbs, then that’s good too. And to think, back on New Caprica, I was sick of him. He’s really made an impressive recovery. Clearly killing your own wife is good for fixing character flaws.

Bonus Paragraph!

What the hell are these ‘bonus scenes’? Did they happen? Didn’t they? It was alright when they dropped in an unrelated scene with Roslyn and Caprica Six. This week, it’s a few lines of dialogue that fit in the middle of a scene. That’s just irritating. You only get one shot at making a scene. Deal with it!

1. You’re a new and better man / He helps you to understand. ↩
2. He’s a man you must believe / Helping everyone in need. ↩
3. They made eyes at each other briefly this week, but I yelled at the television and they quickly stopped. ↩

This entry was posted by the illustrious Tom Charman on Sunday, February 25th, 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.