nBSG Episode 401: "He That Believeth In Me"

[TimothyC]

Total score - 4/5. The first half held me, but the second didn't. It literally left me wandering (I got up to get some water during the second half).

[The Yosemite Bear]

I swear I'm going to lose my mind if Baltar does something that convinces this gang of idiots that he saved the little kid.

For a moment, I thought Tigh was about to off himself.

And, Gaeta needs to take a pill.

red or blue?

[Anguirus]

That was intense, and a good start to the season. It was slightly disappointing given the intense mindfucking of "Crossraods," but that's almost to be expected.

The battle scene in the nebula was, by far, the best special effects sequence they've ever done. Period. After the first two "standard" shots, they started doing all kinds of cinematic camera moves that they've never tried before and it looked amazing. Their "camera guy in space" is getting more talented, lol. It also looked to me like Apollo's fire led to the destruction of the Pyxis, but they didn't follow up on that. Also, I was SURE they were going to kill Seelix, and very glad when they didn't.

Tigh's crazy showing through in CIC was incredibly intense. On one level, it was a totally cheap scare (and worked as such) but on another, it makes sense since Tigh was there when Boomer was activated and it must be one of his deepest fears as of right now. Speaking of which, I liked how the Finals related themselves to Boomer...it seems like she never gets mentioned on the show anymore.

I've got to agree with the consensus that Baltar's storyline is inherently less interesting than many of the other ones, but I was touched by his prayer to the child. His harebrained followers are at least consistent with his previously-established ability to frak anything that moves and get "God-given" lucky breaks whenever he's really screwed. I also loved the scene with him and Charlie Connors, and I REALLY hope Connors isn't dead.

Minor annoyances:
In the "Starbuck can do anything" file, she can take down a PREPARED Marine. (Also, I noticed that it was the same Marine Roslin talked down in Season 2...nice bit of continuity, but the poor woman never seems to catch a break.)
In the "Cylons are incompetent" file, Galactica's pilots are awesome but I don't see how they can instapwn "200+" Raiders. I was also hoping for some point-blank basestar nuking to happen and even the odds, since we know from "Exodus" that four basestars can crush Galactica in minutes or seconds.
In the "neglected characters" file, how did that show get away with giving Tory and Tyrol about four lines each? Starbuck kind of ate the entire plot.
In the "bad structure" file...this ep was doomed in a way because it was never, ever going to top its own teaser.
In the "we never know what to do with Apollo" file...ok, it's nice that his character is taking a different direction but honestly, the fleet cannot afford to lose his services. Either he and Adama should have stayed estranged, or he should have returned to flight status.

I think the biggest flaw in the entire episode is Roslin, honestly. Their whole quest was to get to the Ionian Nebula, several unexplained and borderline miraculous events happen at that site, and she decides to keep to the same course for no apparent reason? This is the same woman who risked the entire fleet to get the Arrow of Apollo and then send everyone flying in a certain direction based on a "half-assed planetarium show?" So she believes that Starbuck is a Cylon plant to send them in the wrong direction to Earth because the Cylons STOPPED killing them all? It's a flaw in the writing that the woman buys her own logic.

Anyway, I'll give it a 4 but I hope the 2nd episode pays off some of the questions raised here.

[Jadeite]

Perhaps the cluster of three stars that Starbuck says she saw could be Alpha Centauri?

[Vympel]

In the "we never know what to do with Apollo" file...ok, it's nice that his character is taking a different direction but honestly, the fleet cannot afford to lose his services. Either he and Adama should have stayed estranged, or he should have returned to flight status.

Personally I think it sucks that apparently Apollo's going to be mincing about in a suit for the whole fucking season, and not part of the military. Fuck that.

[Anguirus]

^ I agree, it comes off as selfish in the final episode. Maybe he really does want to go do other things now, but fuck him, he's the 2nd or 3rd best Viper pilot and a natural leader.

Oh, and I'm actually quite annoyed that there was no Apollo-Dee scene, and really no Dee scene period.

[CaptainChewbacca]

Not true, you saw the back of Dee's head a few times in the CIC.

[JME2]

Well, that was a good evening. Ribs, steak fries, and of course scotch. So, I thought this was a decent start to the final season. Interesting revelations regarding Starbuck, though I'm afraid that the the crazy element will be overplayed. I'm also in danger of losing interest in Baltar; I loved him during Seasons 1 and 2, but he's been going downhill since Season 3 and I'm afraid of how this cult storyline may make things worse. So, in conclusion, great dogfight in the nebula, great fake-out with Tigh, and hopefully a good indication of how the final season will unfold.

4/5

[Aeolus]

so any guesses on what the Cylon God is ?

Clearly, it's Count Iblis.

I gave that episode a 3. The first half hour of the show? Pretty damn awesome. Loved the battle sequence, good set up. The last half hour? Kind of lame. I don't like they dusted off the old chestnut of having a character appear crazy and claim something completely without evidence when it's clear they are going to end up being vindicated. I'm also not liking them making Baltar magic.

Remember Razor if they follow Kara they are doomed.

[Vympel]

Wow, looks like Galactica lost one of it's dorsal side, forward main guns.

[phongn]

Remember Razor if they follow Kara they are doomed.

We don't actually know that.

[Anguirus]

Remember Razor if they follow Kara they are doomed.

...according to the old Hybrid. Who knows what his motivations were? He was about to be killed by the humans, maybe he was trying to fuck them over.

Wow, looks like Galactica lost one of it's dorsal side, forward main guns.

I missed that...but it makes sense. I'm surprised the Cylons don't seem to target them, as I doubt very much they have the ability to repair them.

[CaptJodan]

Personally I think it sucks that apparently Apollo's going to be mincing about in a suit for the whole fucking season, and not part of the military. Fuck that.

From his holding up of his hand in front of a bunch of people in one of the previews in a suit, I'm guessing he may eventually become President after Roslin dies (the great leader who doesn't make it to Earth, though that could be anyone from Adama to Starbuck at this point).

[Gandalf]

I liked the idea of the Baltar cult. Perhaps they see the Cylons as some sort of divine force, and that makes Baltar a prophet.

Also, I think Lee could make a good politician. The pilot plots tend to be the least interesting, so seeing Lee moved into the leadership section of the show might be pretty good.

[Gil Hamilton]

Perhaps the cluster of three stars that Starbuck says she saw could be Alpha Centauri?

Probably not. If she was going visually, she wouldn't be able to tell it was a binary, let alone a trinary system, and it wouldn't be particularly special if she could.

I'm thinking the three bright stars she say, assuming this didn't go down in her head, were whatever picked her up and were doing things. Something recovered her. That something also fabricated a new one, presumably because her old Viper blew up. However, I'm thinking it was the Heavy Raider we saw, but one NOT working for the current group of Cylons that are chasing them.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

I liked the idea of the Baltar cult. Perhaps they see the Cylons as some sort of divine force, and that makes Baltar a prophet.

I don't think it has anything to do with the Cylons.

[Raesene]

Personally I think it sucks that apparently Apollo's going to be mincing about in a suit for the whole fucking season, and not part of the military. Fuck that.

From his holding up of his hand in front of a bunch of people in one of the previews in a suit, I'm guessing he may eventually become President after Roslin dies (the great leader who doesn't make it to Earth, though that could be anyone from Adama to Starbuck at this point).

I thought of him becoming vice president when he mentioned entering government. Is the post available, or did Zarek accept the post ?

[Ohma]

I think Zerek is still VP. I could be wrong though.

Anyone else kinda' wince a bit when the Pixis bit it? They've been losing an awful lot of ships lately.

[Deathstalker]

I'm glad they lose ships. In oBSG, they never lost anything but the occasional red shirt Viper. Or Voyager, where any damage was magically fixed by the next episode.

This ep was worth it just for the opening scene. I know spit all about astronomy, but when Starbuck said she'd been to Earth and back in six hours, and then mentioned a planet with rings, my first thought is she found a wormhole, with one entrance on the planet she "died" on, and the exit on Jupiter.

[JME2]

I'm glad they lose ships. In oBSG, they never lost anything but the occasional red shirt Viper. Or Voyager, where any damage was magically fixed by the next episode.

This ep was worth it just for the opening scene. I know spit all about astronomy, but when Starbuck said she'd been to Earth and back in six hours, and then mentioned a planet with rings, my first thought is she found a wormhole, with one entrance on the planet she "died" on, and the exit on Jupiter.

So the great Red Eye is in fact an intergalactic gateway? Quick, somebody tell Virgin Airlines or NASA...

[Gil Hamilton]

This ep was worth it just for the opening scene. I know spit all about astronomy, but when Starbuck said she'd been to Earth and back in six hours, and then mentioned a planet with rings, my first thought is she found a wormhole, with one entrance on the planet she "died" on, and the exit on Jupiter.

Probably Saturn actually, since Jupiter's ring system isn't that impressive. And chances are she wouldn't have too much fun given the righteous amounts of radiation Jupiter gives off.

[Uraniun235]

Positives:

- The "Tigh shot Adama!" twist. Damn.

- The opening battle was pretty awesome. Most of the scenes gave a good impression that this was an extremely desperate, pitched battle.

- People remembering that Starbuck could really be a Cylon. Also, going into the "oh hey this Viper is brand-new" thing.

- Baltar getting rid of that dumb hobo beard.

- Adama & Adama talking in the briefing room.


Negatives:

- For being so grossly outnumbered, the Colonials managed to hold off the Cylons incredibly effectively for as long as they did. I would have expected a massive missile swarm right off the bat.

- This was looking to be the destruction of the Fleet, yet nuclear weapons are still not deployed or even mentioned.

- A raider crashes into one of the civilian ships, and the entire ship promptly explodes. In this episode we learn that Leah Brahms has a Colonial counterpart.

- The entire Baltar cult experience. Why is there a cult around Baltar? Plus, I'm just not finding it terribly interesting. It almost feels like the writers didn't know what else to do with him now that everyone else basically hates him.

- Starbuck complains that every jump Galactica takes is drawing her away. Adama and Roslin respond that without more proof they're not going to risk taking the Fleet into what could be a trap. Why does nobody even suggest sending her off on a Raptor? (Answer: If we did that, we wouldn't be able to have her bust in and pull a gun on Roslin. This way, we get to draw it out over the course of another episode.)



Potential negative: Nobody brought up the "simultaneous shutdown" of the entire Fleet again. This is an incredibly serious vulnerability and nobody wonders if it was somehow caused by the Cylons? Alternately, how did it even happen? (This may be answered later in the season, in which case it's not really a negative.)


Someone else already mentioned that the first half of the episode was awesome, and the second episode dragged. I'm inclined to concur. While this episode had some awesome moments, awesome moments do not by themselves make for an awesome episode; on the whole I rate it 3/5.

[DPDarkPrimus]

Baltar has been writing a bunch of manifestos while he was imprisoned. Whatever he was writing obviously had some sort of philosophical underpinnings, if it's led to people revering him.

[xerex]

This was looking to be the destruction of the Fleet, yet nuclear weapons are still not deployed or even mentioned.

I cant recall if it was the beginning of this ep or the ending of the finale. but while the main focus was on Tigh the background chatter had Adama ordering Gaeta to ready nuclear weapons.

[Thanas]

Personally I think it sucks that apparently Apollo's going to be mincing about in a suit for the whole fucking season, and not part of the military. Fuck that.

From his holding up of his hand in front of a bunch of people in one of the previews in a suit, I'm guessing he may eventually become President after Roslin dies (the great leader who doesn't make it to Earth, though that could be anyone from Adama to Starbuck at this point).

Or it might be the episode where Romo Lampkin makes his appearance once again....and he is a lawyer after all, so I vote for courtroom


Anyway, this was a solid episode. Baltar as usual is funny as hell, the action was outstanding and Tigh was off the scale in this episode. So this gets a 4.

In the "Cylons are incompetent" file, Galactica's pilots are awesome but I don't see how they can instapwn "200+" Raiders. I was also hoping for some point-blank basestar nuking to happen and even the odds, since we know from "Exodus" that four basestars can crush Galactica in minutes or seconds.

They didn't stop them. What happened is that Galactica put up a flak barrier and the raiders broke formation to avoid that flak barrier. And if Anders wasn't scanned, the fleet would be toast.