Sine Qua Non

Battlestar Galactica - Episode 4.08

This week's episode of BSG was kind of odd. After an landscape altering episode with an exciting cliffhanger and two weeks to mull it over, we get another set up story. Strangely, some very significant moments transpire over the hour.

Bill Adama's feelings for President Laura Roslin are made completely transparent this week. They've become very close this season, and now Adama has made it known to those close to him that he loves her. This relationship has been allowed to grow and evolve over the past three seasons, so this doesn't feel forced. Also, Eddie Olmos is such a great actor that he's completely able to sell the believability of the emotions welling up in the Admiral.

Adama's feelings for Roslin cause him to do some pretty careless things. First, he takes the Galactica after the missing Baseship, leaving the fleet defenseless. Then he refuses to acknowledge Vice President Tom Zarak's authority. This all comes to a head when he gets into a shouting match turned fist fight with his best friend and XO, Col. Tigh. Luckily, despite his flaws Bill is able to see that his emotions are getting in the way of his command decisions, so he takes a leave of absence, give Tigh command of the military, and takes a Raptor to wait for the Basestar with Laura to comeback. It was a treat to see Bill Adama in a flight suit for once and using his old Viper call sign.

As for the guy left in charge of Galactica, Saul Tigh has his own interesting personal developments. Apparently, his cell meetings with Caprica Six have been conjugal in nature. She's pregnant which means we've got the first Cylon/Cylon baby on the way. This is big step for the Cylons, since "natural" reproduction has been one of their major goals. Also, Saul has been given the chance to command Galactica again, but this time he's a more seasoned leader thanks to his time with the New Caprica resistance.

I have a hard time believing that Tom Zarak would have rolled over and let someone else take over as President after Admiral Adama continued to ignore him. This guy used to be a terrorist! He would have taken a stronger stance. We did get a brief glance of the old Zarak overheard on a radio interview in the background. This was one of two things about this episode that just seemed wrong.

The other moment involved Romo Lampkin's pulling a gun on Lee Adama and threatening to kill the junior Quorum member. I really enjoyed Lampkin and the part he played during the end of season three, but I don't think enough had been established with the character for the writers to pull this kind of trick. Was it a trick? Was Romo bluffing so that Lee would realize that he was the best person to fill in as President of the Twelve Colonies, or are we to take what he said at face value? Had Romo become a man that had lost hope and decided that the rest of humanity was undeserving of a leader that could provide it?

The material involving Romo's cat probably went over alot of viewers' heads. The key clue was when Lee kicked the empty, overturned food bowl and commented on where the cat was. However, are we to believe that the cat has been dead since we first met Romo, or is this a post Trial of Baltar development? This was all handled awkwardly and ended up being a bit confusing.

Lee Adama filling in as the President was telegraphed a mile away, but this should be a pretty interesting development for the character. I just hope they don't play him up too much as a JFK type of character. That would be too obvious. I believe Lee is supposed to become a great leader, but I hope they don't make it too easy for him.

I was disappointed that we only got to see the fallout of the Resurrection Hub battle. However, it appears that we'll possibly get the chance to go back and witness this spectacle next episode. Speaking of which, Sci Fi channel better be throwing us off with the "reveal" in the preview. I would hope they wouldn't spoil a major plot point in commercial, but you never know.

6 out of 10