Before starting, let’s give Jamie Bamber a round of applause for his American accent. It’s a great one.
1. Ellen Tigh
My oh my, Ellen Tigh. All we’ve seen of Ellen so far this season is her ability to push her husband, push him to drink, and push him to make poor decisions he’s not into. She’s hitting all the Lady Macbeth notes this season with her unspecified desire to drive her husband into the command position on Galactica; a position currently held by his best friend, Adama. She basically steals Lady Macbeth’s lines when she accuses her husband of being less than a man if he doesn’t stand up to the other fleet ships that refuse to supply the Galactica after Tigh declares martial law. And she doesn’t let up. Tigh listens to his wife, and in this episode that listening appears to be his tragic flaw, as her ideas begin to lead to his downfall in “Resistance.”
2. Cally
Cally loves the Chief. It’s been obvious since 2003. And by the end of this episode, Cally is convinced that Boomer is the cause of all the Chief’s problems. So she shoots, and kills, Boomer, who dies in the Chief’s arms. He’s not happy, he’s distraught. Cally is one of those minor characters that fights her way into a leading role within this series. She’s appeared in most episodes so far this season and she spends most of this one fighting the wrong people as she threatens Baltar and gets into a physical altercation with another crewman, all in the name of helping the Chief. It’s easy for her to then focus all her hate on the prescribed enemy, Boomer, the Cylon, who just happens to bleed red blood onto the deck of Galactica after she’s shot – no different than if she were human. However, the most important piece of information in this episode escapes from Boomer’s lips at the start of the episode as she’s being interrogated by Baltar; she reveals that there are 8 Cylon models….and she couldn’t have revealed that information to a more untrustworthy guy.
3. Resistance
The title of this episode. By the end it seems as if all of Galactica is willing to resist Tigh and his dictatorial decision making. But while it takes many small acts of resistance to free President Roslin from the brig, Apollo takes the biggest risk in his resistance, as he is a pilot and as he is the son of the Commander. The President has many supporters out there and Apollo recognizes this; he’s smart, and he takes command of the escape plan for the President. Interestingly, when they’re about to board their escape vessel, Billy refuses to go with Roslin as he knows how this action will divide the fleet, and possibly even lead to multiple deaths. It’s a line he will not cross, despite his reverence for the President and his role in getting her off the Galactica. We see various personal levels of resistance in this episode, not everyone is willing to go to the same lengths to fight the power, and it’s these decisions that are important in a moment of crisis. It makes us think about what we would do in a similar situation if our backs were up against a wall. Would we fight for what we believe is right, even if it means leaving those we love and respect?
4. Space Games!
When it comes to world building, sci-fi shows love to create new games: three-dimensional chess, dejarik, and in this series, a game called pyramid. But I get ahead of myself. Starbuck and Helo are still stranded on Caprica, trying to find a way back to Galactica. Unfortunately, they’re taken to be Cylons by a group of humans still on the planet, humans attempting to eradicate the Cylons, one at a time. There’s a face off between the groups, and it’s during this time that Starbuck and Helo come to realize that the group is, in reality, a pyramid team, led by a guy named Samuel T. Anders. Anders takes the two to their home base and Starbuck and Helo are more than happy to find a group to spend time with as they attempt to make it back home. But not before Starbuck and Anders get involved in an intense game of 1-on-1 pyramid, which leads us to believe it will lead to more 1-on-1 action. (It does)
5. We’re still building
Last season, I spent some time discussing how BSG really takes the time to build the world we’re immersing ourselves in over the course of 15 or so episodes, and I had forgotten how season two continues to build that world, with purpose. Too frequently it seems shows just dive in head first in terms of plot and action and special effects, but here, that’s not the case. Maybe the budget was small, maybe it was 15 years ago, but we get to see the game of pyramid, and it’s not pretty. We get to see the Chief mourn for Boomer, and it’s not pretty. We get to see Apollo abandon his father, and it’s not pretty. And, finally, we get to see Adama confront Tigh when he wakes up at the end of this episode, and it’s not pretty. Tigh is the best man he can be when he’s with Adama; without Adama, he’s a dictator everyone hates. Their relationship is constantly evolving, and here we see Adama treat this man we’ve come to hate over the course of two episodes with love and understanding. And this is one of the only times we see Tigh remorseful for his actions, and owning up to them. He postures with everyone else. With Adama, he’s his true self.
