Well, it’s a farm alright. A baby farm.
1. Reproduction
A major theme of this episode deals with questions surrounding a being’s reproductive abilities. In terms of the Cylons, they have no organic way of reproducing; perhaps that’s because they’re not organic, they’re machines, but that doesn’t mean they won’t give organic repro a try. We’ve already seen the Cylons attempt to produce a child through love, as with Caprica Sharon and Helo, but in this episode, things get a bit more sinister. Starbuck is captured during a firefight on Caprica and led to believe she’s being treated at a human hospital, but it soon becomes apparent that is not the case. She’s under lock and key in a Cylon stronghold. During her escape, she stumbles upon a room full of human women, baby makers, and speaks to one of the women who would rather die than live as she is. So Starbuck takes care of business and cuts the power to the facility, killing the babies and their mothers. The doctor did tell Starbuck her reproductive abilities are invaluable, but Starbuck would rather live her life as a Viper pilot, rather than an incubator.
2. Kara Thrace
Or Starbuck. It seems more fitting to use her callsign; she’s a fighter in her Viper and in the rest of her life. And in this episode we get some more details about her past as a victim of abuse, abuse we can assume turned her into the fighter she is today. Each of her fingers were broken. She has multiple broken bones that healed over time. I really wish I remember more details about this series; I feel like I could pick up on more of these early hints and clues regarding Kara like when Sharon tells Starbuck she’s special and that she has a destiny. But why were the other Cylons going to make her a baby machine if they know she’s important? On another front, Starbuck and Anders are a great match; he hides the Arrow of Apollo for her and she leaves to bring it back to Roslin, unaware of the power struggle going on onboard Galactica. Kara is a devout believer in the Gods, which is driving her in her current mission.
3. Roslin on the run
She’s escaped with a small cadre of followers and is currently chilling out in a freezer. Yes, I said it. A literal freezer. Things don’t look so good for the former President. Even one of her most loyal followers, Lee Adama, can’t bring himself to speak out against his father in order to drive the fleet to support Roslin. So she does the only thing she can do and “plays the religious card,’ which is an interesting choice of phrase. Roslin is an astute leader; she knows how to lead, and how to manipulate those she leads. She’s obviously uncomfortable being seen as a religious savior, but is willing to do so in order to do what she believes to be right.
4. Grief
How do you grieve for someone you thought was your friend, your love, your family, when it turns out they were, in fact, someone very different. Perhaps they’re your enemy. This is exactly what Adama has to contend with when he recovers after being shot by Sharon Valerii, a person he treated like family. He confesses to the Chief that he loved Sharon, as a daughter; he doesn’t understand how she could just be a machine, it’s in comprehensible to him. Adama visits Sharon’s body and cries. Mourning for the person he thought she was, but isn’t.
5. Moving forward
The crew of the Galactica is all over the place at this point in time, physically and emotionally. The fleet is breaking in half as 24 ships decide to follow Roslin on her religious journey, which leaves the recovering, and grieving, Adama with just over half the ships in the fleet. Fighting amongst yourselves is the surest way to lose to an enemy, and I assume the Cylons know just that. Starbuck and Helo are still on Caprica, and about to leave, but Starbuck now has a reason to come back: Anders. There was almost no Baltar this episode, which was a relief, except for his sarcastic clapping for Adama when he returned to the CIC. He’s got time to worm his way into the Adama/Roslin rift. Maybe he’ll do just that in the next episode, a two parter. Twice the drama, and hopefully, twice the fun.
