Someone to Watch Over Me

Battlestar Galactica - Episode 4.17

This week's episode could be seen as the anti-thesis of last week's show. While "Deadlock" dealt with the fallout of Ellen Tigh's return and the what was revealed about the origin of the Cylons, "Someone to Watch Over Me" was an hour that acted as a major set up for the final push of episodes towards the series finale.

Since Tyrol and Boomer's relationship was introduced during the original mini-series, having them reunited is an interesting way to bookend the series. Both characters have undergone various transformations over four seasons. Sadly, the chief gets played with horrifying consequences.

Boomer may still have feelings for Galen, but she hates Athena and the life she has been able to live on Galactica. After Boomer's assassination attempt on Adama and murder by Cally, Athena was able to come in and take over her roll as a valued Raptor pilot and an officer. Also, Athena was able to find love and have a child. This episode we see Boomer maliciously try to take it all from her.

First Boomer beats Athena and ties her up, yet she doesn't kill her. It's as if she wants Athena to live with what being taken from.her. Even more sinister is Boomer's duping of Helo and having sex with him will a gagged and bloody Athena is powerless to do anything but watch. The hits keep on coming when Boomer's true objective, the kidnapping of Hera for Cavil, is finally revealed.

Hera's importance has always been that she is the first offspring of Cylon/Human procreation. This may not be the case, if what is hinted about Starbuck is true.

Kara spends most of the episode talking about her musician father, who abandoned her and her mother when she was a little girl, with a piano player in Joe's Bar. It becomes fairly obvious that Slick is some sort of ghost or memory loop or something otherworldly that only Kara can see. The big payoff is Kara's playing of notes given to her by Hera that end up being a song she would play with her father: "All Along the Watchtower". Conveniently, a few of the Final Five are in the bar when she starts banging it out and they react immediately.

This all but confirms that Starbuck is half Cylon and her father is the missing Seven whose model line was destoyed by Cavil. Could Kara Thrace being the harbinger of death really mean the death of the humans and Cylons living separately? Could this mean by being the first child of a Cylon and human, she is an indicator of what is to come and that the only hope for everybody is the melding of the two races into one society?

While this episode went a long way at cluing us in on Kara's true nature, the question of how Starbuck got to Earth and the nature of her apparent death and resurrection remain unanswered. To tell you the truth, I wonder if those questions will ever be answered. The speculation is fascinating, though.

9 out of 10