So what did I think of the follow-up episode of Battlestar Galactica, Six of One?

Did it keep the pace set by the frakking awesome premiere or did it slow like a Battlestar out of a jump?

READ ON!

This episode really rocked. I must say. In a premiere, it is generally expected that the episode has to be awesome, but this really rocked that to the core. It really took what we had from the premiere and escalated it like a thousand feet higher. It was really strong across the board.

The first thing I want to say is regarding another Final Five Cylon. Whereas in the last episode, we had the reaction to the Cylon revelation on the account of Tigh and Anders. But this episode really showed where the Cylon revelation is going to take the character of Tory. Now I must confess that this is the character that I was most interested in learning about. One of the first and foremost reasons for that is because we know zilch about her.

That being said, I do believe with “Final Five Reactions,” the writers are saving the best for last. If in the premiere episode, we got Tigh and Anders, and in this episode we got Tory, I do believe that in the next episode, we will see how the Chief handles being a Cylon. Be very interesting indeed . . .

I found it very interesting that her path as a newly discovered Cylon would lead her directly to Gaius Baltar, whose story also took a giant leap with this episode. But we’ll get to that. I really am interested to see how Tory’s little “fling” with Baltar will springboard how she interacts as a Cylon.

Now to Mr. Baltar. Who cannot say they didn’t jump out of their seat when Virtual Baltar was sitting right across from the real Baltar in the cafeteria? I know I was. It definitely jumped me out of my seat when he just appeared there. A lot of people are speculating that Baltar could be the fifth and final Cylon. I do not believe this. I believe I have had said so before. I do believe that just as we saw Six appear to Baltar to lead people on the path to recognition of the One Cylon God, I do believe that Virtual Baltar appeared to the real Baltar for that same purpose. Virtual Baltar is some sort of a messenger from that Cylon God, a manifestation of the Six-Visions that Baltar has been getting throughout the entire series. It is also interesting to note that this might be the same Virtual Baltar that appeared to Caprica-Six on the fan-favorite Cylon-centric episode in season 2 entitled Downloaded.

I do have one thing to say about the scene with two Baltars. James Callis was amazing in that scene. It really brought back that humor and confusion at seeing someone no one else is seeing that we saw in early season 1 with Baltar. It was nice to see that they are definitely returning to Baltar’s roots and what made him an interesting character in those early episodes. It is these nuances and quirks that Mr. Callis brings to the role that convinces me more and more that Baltar is not the final Cylon. Like I said, I think he is a path and/or conduit to that revelation.

Why do I think he’s a pathway to that? In the bedroom scene with Baltar and Tory, Baltar tells Tory that he is tired of holding in the fact that he believes in the one true God. I believe that with time, Tory will begin to espouse this belief as well, which will obviously put her into quite the conflict with President Roslin and with the rest of the humans.

One thing I do have to say about this episode in regards to the fifth Cylon. Maybe this is just me, but in both of the episodes this season, I have been waiting for them to reveal the fifth Cylon. I sincerely hope that the writers do not wait far too long to reveal that final Cylon. I mean, we have been waiting for an entire year to get this question answered. So, hopefully, we will not have to wait too long.

Another thing this episode focused on was the departure of Lee Adama from the Colonial Fleet to the government. With each passing episode this season, I am beginning to feel that this Apollo in the government will be a nice fit for him. I also think that his new assignment is very intriguing. I cannot wait to see how Lee handles that position in that government, and where it will take him this season.

I mean, I find it very ironic that Lee is actually working under Tom Zarek, one man he initially opposed when they first met on the Astral Queen back in season one. I also think from the viewpoint of Galactica fans, it is hilarious. Basically Apollo is working for Apollo in this aspect. If you recall, Richard Hatch, the actor who portrays Zarek, portrayed Apollo in the original Galactica series. So I actually think that is quite hilarious.

I must say that I was quite moved by the many scenes that illustrated Lee’s departure from the staple that he’s been in for much of the series. I p[particularly enjoyed the farewell scene with the Celtic-like music playing. It has reminded me of many emotional scenes that have played out throughout the series. One that comes to mind is when Chief Tyrol unveils his handmade Viper in Flight of the Phoenix in season 2.

Although, I must say that Lee’s departure from the Fleet brings up a very interesting question: who is the new CAG that is taking over in Lee’s stead? In the course of the episode, I suspected that it would be Helo, as he did take over for Lee when he was benched from a cockpit a little bit last season. But, as we saw at the end of the episode, Helo’s path is taking him in a new direction. So who is the new CAG? Maybe it’ll be Dualla. Who knows?

One plotline that carried over from the last episode that continued into this episode was the mystery of Starbuck’s return. I was not expecting any newer answers about Starbuck’s mysterious return from the dead, nor the condition of her Viper to be revealed. I was glad the way this new plotline as handled and carried over to this episode. It focused on the many different character reactions to Starbuck’s return.

The one reaction that surprised me the most was the reaction of Roslin. I would’ve figured Roslin would be the most easily taken by Starbuck’s return. I mean, after all the faith-promoting experiences she’s had, I would’ve figured she would’ve believed it. But that just goes to show you how much the presidency has changed the character of Laura Roslin. She was once this character of great faith and belief and has now become less than that. She has a degree of faith, but the events in the past few seasons have shaped her into an almost new character. I will be amazed to see how she continues to handle the new Starbuck and also her current situation.

About Roslin, though, I must say I am intrigued by her current character arc of dealing with the cancer. This is one thing that we didn’t get to see much of in the premiere. But we got to see a little bit more. In the first season, when Doc Cottle actually suggested to Roslin that she take Dilloxin treatments instead of Chamalla, I confess I don’t think it was truly explained what it was. Maybe it was explained, and I missed it. But here in this episode we really got to see what it was. It is basically the Galactica-equivalent of Chemotherapy. The scene where it really got to me was when Roslin was by herself in Adama’s quarters, and her hair started to fall out. In that scene, I instantly felt that the cancer arc was gonna be much more intense than it was in earlier seasons.

One character that wasn’t particularly affected by Starbuck’s return was Lee Adama. Lee actually seemed strengthened by Starbuck’s return. The scene where this was elaborated a lot more was with him and Starbuck in the jail cell. I really feel that before Starbuck came back, Apollo was a little unsure whether he wanted to pursue a position in the government. But now that she has returned, he seems to have a strengthened resolve. It was also in that scene that really had me wanting Apollo and Starbuck to get together. But after the fiasco from last season, I see that will never be. Now, I almost envision their relationship at this point as sort of a brother-sister relationship. I think that is where it’ll go at this point. There is a deep connection there and you can feel it. That connection is not only there because the characters are so strong, but you really feel a nice chemistry between Jamie Bamber and Katee Sackhoff. I think that is one of the many reasons that Apollo sincerely believes that Starbuck has truly been to Earth and back.

However, it is too bad that Lee’s father doesn’t share the same surety of heart. In the past episode, we saw a little bit of that inner conflict of belief and doubt about Starbuck. But in this episode, it really seemed to come on full force with Adama. There were scenes where you really felt that it was eating him up inside. He sincerely did not know what to do with Starbuck. Throughout the episode, you were hoping and praying that Adama would listen to Starbuck and hear her out. After all, he was the one that initially suggested that the Fleet go to Earth in the miniseries. Although I knew that Starbuck was not going to get killed, I was on the edge of my seat, wondering what Adama was going to do with her.

I think I, and audiences around the world, were very pleased at what we saw as Adama’s final decision. I know I was. I was actually excited about the story prospects for Adama. It is nice to know that Adama still stands behind Roslin, but also his devotion and loyalty to the people that he has termed to be his family is unyielding. I always find that to be a great quality in the character of Adama.

Some other characters that were somewhat negatively affected by Starbuck’s return were Tigh, Anders, Tory, and Tyrol. With the Admiral and the President reacting so negatively to Starbuck possibly being a Cylon, they have realized that they have got to be careful with their new identities as Cylons. If you thought Adama was torn by the information that Starbuck could be a Cylon, imagine how he would react to Tigh who actually is a Cylon.

Now, the character who was probably the centerpiece to this whole revelation with Starbuck was probably Starbuck herself. I really thought Katee Sackhoff really knocked it out of the park with this episode. You really felt the inner conflict within herself to help the Fleet find Earth, while still trying to maintain the relationships that she has maintained throughout the series. If this episode does not win Ms. Sackhoff an Emmy, I don’t know what would. I mean, Sackhoff really sold the pain that Starbuck was going through as the Fleet veered farther and farther away from Earth.

Now, I have said that Starbuck will be on a warpath to discover who she really is. I think this episode really set her off on that path. At the conclusion of the episode, we saw that Starbuck is on a ship called the Demetrius that Helo and herself are using to get to Earth. I can suspect that, in typical BSG fashion, there will be roadblocks and detours along the way on this little journey that will reveal more about Starbuck and her interesting new situation.

I do have to say though; I am excited about the prospect of another Starbuck-Helo teamup. Earlier in this review, I stated that there was a close bond and connection between Apollo and Starbuck. I honestly think that the bond between Starbuck and Helo is just as strong. It was one of the strengths of season 2, I believe. I really enjoyed seeing Starbuck and Helo work together to stay alive throughout that season. As I’ve said, I think Starbuck’s journey on the Demetrius will have her discovering new things about herself and the conclusive journey to Earth. I think having Helo there as somewhat of a partner on that journey is smart writing. As Starbuck’s journey of self-discovery continues, her world is bound to be rocked in ways she never thought possible. I think Helo will be Starbuck’s rock through that journey. So it’ll be very interesting as those two characters go in one direction towards Earth and the Fleet heads in another.

I don’t think we can talk about this episode without talking about with what seemed to be what this episode was driving at: The dissention of Cylons. In the past season, when D’Anna (AKA Cylon No. 3) went in search of the Final Five, you really felt a dissention within the Cylons. With the discovery of the Final Five even more prominent than it was last season, there was more inner brewing within the Cylon ranks. These dissentions were very interesting to watch.

One interesting reveal that we had in this episode was some more of the Cylon model numbers were revealed. In past episodes, we have had the model numbers for Six, Five (Doral), Three (D’Anna Biers), Eight (Sharon “Boomer/Athena” Valerii), but in this episode we had revealed that Cylon model no. 1 was Cavill, No. 2 was Leoben, and No. 4 was Simon (ther most underused Cylon in the show, in my opinion). So that was a nice little reveal. But this leaves the question, where do the Final Five Cylons factor into this? What are their model numbers?

In this episode, we also learned how things are decided within Cylons. There is obviously a Cylon hierarchal government that kind of decides things. I thought it very interesting that Cylons decided things by a somewhat democratic vote. But it seems that the revelation of the Final Five has caused some model voting to be dissented.

This just brings the question of the Final Five. What makes them so different from the other Cylons? Are they what the Cylons wanted to be and was a failed experiment? More and more questions to be answered.

Anyways, this sort of Cylon revolution was kind of interesting to watch unfold onscreen. It almost seems that No. 6 was sort of the instigator of this. From interviews with Tricia Helfer, we can assume that this is Natalie. I think this will be very interesting to see how Natalie’s story arc will be handled in the coming season, and how her little Cylon insurgence will affect the grand scheme of the Cylons’ grand plan.

It just seems very interesting that Cavill would suggest lobotomizing the Raiders to get back on track. It is something that the Cylons would not have originally thought of in the beginning, as that is why the Cylons originally defected and rebelled against the humans. It is so interesting that the Cylons are now taking the path of the humans. It seems that the Cylons are no better than the humans that created them.

This whole Cylon resurgence leads me to believe that this is going to be a Cylon-heavy season. With Natalie’s resurgence from the other Cylons, whilst enlisting the Raiders and Centurions, I almost wonder if Natalie is going to end up allying herself with the Colonial Fleet as she knows that the Final Five are in there somewhere. She just does not know where at this time. That could be another path to which the Final Cylon is revealed. But that is pure speculation at this point, and I could be dead wrong.

All in all, this episode really moved the storyline of the season. Instead of building slowly to an end, things are really going at a fast pace. I am amazed with how packed this episode was, and it is only the second episode of the season. If the season continues to carry this massive pace, things just might explode. Like I said, season premieres tend to be amazing, but I always tend to be a little nervous about the second episodes of the season. I always hope that those episodes carry the pace set by the premiere. This episode did that and more. I do think that this may be the best season of Battlestar Galactica yet, if it keeps up.

RATING: 9/10