In Hindsight – Battlestar Galactica Episode 3-6, "Torn"

Shows

The Raptors home opener was great. They blew out Milwuakee, Charlie Villanueva got a warm welcome back, and we don’t have to suffer through an 0-9 start. A 1-8 start is very real, but I suppose it’s progress. I found it odd that the Raptors used “Renegades of Funk” as their player intro music. Zach de la Rocha must be horrified.

The Cylons
Having ceded the 12 Colonies to Humanity, the Cylons have decided that they now want to live on Earth. We learn a bit more about the Base Star, like how it’s apparently one big ass holodeck for the Cylons, and it’s run by a Hybrid which looks something less than the humanoid models, and something more than them. Also, it sits in a bathtub and really enjoys hyperspace jumps.

Speaking of the humanoid models, I like the way they explained why we never see five of the twelve models. What I don’t like is that it took them six episodes of this season before they did something to explain their absence. Seriously, it took that long to give us a “we don’t talk about them”?

Regardless, Baltar manages to remember all the information he’d gathered on Earth and points the Cylons towards a lion’s head nebula that blinks. Unfortunately it seems like those dastardly humans anticipated something like this, and left behind a used nuke that’s leaking something that kills Cylons. Now call me crazy, but doesn’t it seem kinda stupid to pick up an unknown item and then leave it in the middle of your ship?

The Fleet
Ron D. Moore and David Eick obviously know that many people suspect that Ellen Tigh is one of the five humanoid Cylons that “they don’t talk about”, as he plays with our – and Saul’s – heads by having him “hear” Ellen on board the Galactica.

Tigh and Starbuck, meanwhile, are still just a wee bit bitter about the whole “Fleet abandoning everyone on New Caprica” thing, and aren’t afraid to speak their minds about it. Tigh is probably also upset because he wasn’t immediately reinstated as CIC – Helo is seemingly the only other person besides Adama that managed to keep his job post-Exodus (Apollo is back to CAG, while Kat is now a squadron leader, and Dualla is nowhere to be seen). Starbuck is just pissed off in general. And when Adama comes in to give them the verbal smackdown, Edward James Olmos is brilliant. He doesn’t raise his voice, yet you can feel the intensity in his speech.

This brings us to what I suppose R&D were gunning for – a look at two people at a low point in their lives, with one rising back up and the other spiraling even lower. Kara is apparently ready to fly again, because she cut her hair (with a knife! And somehow, it looks great! And not ragged at all! You gotta love Hollywood Northwest. Or not.) Saul? Well, I suppose it’s just a matter of time before he hooks up with Zarek.

One more point – I’ve got mixed feelings about Sharon’s callsign. Athena was a warrior goddess as well as the goddess of wisdom. Neither of which really apply to Sharon. But on the other hand, Athena wasn’t born in a normal fashion – she was born after Hephaestus cut open Zeus’ head and she emerged, fully grown and in armour. That part seems to fit. And I do like that she’s wasn’t all that enthused about being called Boomer. So I guess I’ll get used to it.

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Kevin has been an Insider since 2003, writing on a variety of topics ranging from The Amazing Race to Mixed Martial Arts. His current hobbies include Fantasy Football, Sporcle, travelling, making liberal use of his DVR and wondering what the heck he's gonna do when his two daughters are old enough to date. You can follow Kevin on Twitter (@starvenger).