Battlestar Galactica: "Measure of Salvation"

Six guides Baltar through a tough series of torture by Three, in which they try to get information out of him regarding the infection of the basestar in the previous episode. Again, we see the carnal nature of Baltar’s relationship with Six, and, consequently his understanding of theology—mixing theology with raw, physical/sexual pleasure. In a sense, Baltar lives the Song of Songs. While he is being tortured by Three, he escapes into his psyche with Head Six, who guides him in discussing theology and science with Three.

Baltar denies having anything to do with infecting the basestar, that it was all a coincidence. Three believes that coincidences don’t exist, but all things and events are part of God’s grand plan. In his head, Six tells him to be a scientist and “examine [Three’s] faith.” So, Baltar pushes Three while she pushes him in the interrogation process:

Baltar: I’m a scientist. And as a scientist, I believe that if God exists our knowledge of him is imperfect. Why? Because the stories and myths we have are the products of men. The passage of time. That religion in practice is based on a theory. Impossible to prove. Yet you bestow it with absolutes like, “There is no such thing as coincidence.”
Three: It’s called faith.
Baltar: Absolute belief in God’s will means there’s a reason for everything. Everything! And yet you can’t help ask yourself how God can allow death and destruction and then despise yourself for asking. But the truth is, if we knew God’s will, we’d all be Gods, wouldn’t we? I can see it in your eyes, D’Anna. You’re frustrated. You’re conflicted. Let me help you. Let me help you change. Find a way to reconcile your faith with fact. Find a way towards a rational universe.

Baltar hit a nerve with Three, who we know has had some doubts about her faith, about her God, a nerve that was hit by the oracle Three visited on New Caprica. Baltar tries to distract Three from torturing him by challenging her on her own spiritual journey, challenging her on the meaning she finds in her life. Three, however, doesn’t have any part of his challenges.

In the meantime, while Three sticks a prod in Baltar’s ear, in his psyche, he and Six are consummating their “love.” Head Six tells him to tell her that she should believe in him, believe that he is worth saving. Out loud, in the midst of his screams, Baltar tells Three (and Head Six) “I want you to believe in me. Don’t stop!...You have to believe in me. You’re all I have left.” Three stares at Baltar, confused and moved. Baltar continues speaking to Head Six out loud and says “I love you with all my heart.” Three touches his face and weeps. She has been hurting the one who is offering to help her find her way, help her understand God. In fact, he becomes a Christ-figure in this scene, as he is tortured, he asks her to believe in him, as though he is God, the God he tells her she questions and perhaps doesn’t even believe in anymore.

Battlestar Galactica: “Torn”

We get a broad look into the workings of the basestar in the episode “Torn.” In this look, we have the opportunity to see who closely the Cylons work within their theology, how every decision they make seems to be informed by their understanding of God. In fact, God is at the center of everything on the basestar, a very different approach to leadership compared to Galactica. Some (namely the Leoben models) even believe that the hybrid that drives each basestar is the spokesperson of God and that everything she says means something.

Much theological discussion takes place between Baltar and Six (both Head and Caprica) in this episode. In fact, the episode opens with Baltar and Six on a beach in Baltar’s consciousness. Six explains to him that Cylons choose to see what they want to see and that he chooses to see her. He asks her what she is, if she is somehow connected to the woman he was with on Caprica, or is she a part of his “subconscious struggling for self-expression.” She tells him that she is “an angel of God sent here to help” him. It seems that Baltar is getting more and more caught up in Cylon theology, especially now that he is in their sort of temple of a basestar, completely surrounded by them.

Later, out of Baltar’s head and into the basestar’s hallways, Caprica Six explains the idea and mechanics of projection to Baltar, that it is a means for the Cylons to see what they want to see as their environment, a means to escape the gray, boring walls of the ship and see and be reminded of God’s creation: “Instead of staring at blank walls, I choose to surround myself with a vision of God’s creation.” It seems that the discipline of consciously daydreaming about God’s creation, what God is capable of creating in their universe, serves to remind them of the beautiful things God is capable of doing. It would give them hope in the middle of chaos and potential despair. Such a beautiful scene of the Caprica forest is in stark contrast with the death on the lost basestar they later discover.

When the Cylon scout ship reports that the missing basestar has been infected with some kind of disease, the human cylons discuss their humanity and why and how this disease could affect them, since they are not exactly like the humans. Simon, the more scientifically minded of the group, offers probably the most loaded theological reasoning: “God has chosen this time, this place, to test us. Whether we fail or pass the test is up to us.” It’s a position that’s espoused in so many church circles, especially the more fundamentalist circles, that God tests us, tests our faith, but putting us in situations and watching to see how we will respond. It’s a difficult ideology to fathum, especially when it involves the deaths of others. In this particular situation, this disease may mean the death of the entire Cylon race, if it is uploaded into their resurrection ships. It’s hard to understand how a God that Six keeps reminding us is so loving could also be so (dare I say) cruel that God would kill an entire race by testing them.

Battlestar Galactica: “Exodus,” Part I

During “Exodus,” Three walks along her own spiritual journey after she has a dream about the Cylon/human baby and visiting a human Oracle. We see her walking through the tent city of New Caprica City, where she sees the Oracle tent from her dream and enters. The Oracle recognizes her and invites her in. She tells Three that “Zeus sees all. Sees you, number Three. Sees your pain. Your destiny. All the Gods weep for you….”

Three: There is no Zeus. No other god but God.
Oracle: Well, you don’t
believe that anymore. You don’t know what you believe and that is why you’re
here.
Three: It’s not true. I don’t even know why I’m here. This is the
stupidest thing I ever did.

It seems that Three is searching for something, searching for an understanding of her own destiny, searching for confirmation of the Cylon call to preserve what is yet to come (in the form of Hera), searching for God. She winds her way into the Oracle’s tent, unsure of why she was there, but seemingly looking for answers. The Oracle is aware of these questions Three is haunted by, but when she tells Three that she knows of Three’s more agnostic slant on theology, Three denies it and starts to look for ways out of this conversation, out of this tent. Again, could she deny the Oracles observations because she’s afraid of the Cylon God? Or could she be afraid that admitting she has questions about God would undermine the whole Cylon occupation, which had been set up as an opportunity to bring the word of God to the humans.

The Oracle tells Three that she is aware of her dreams. This catches Three’s attention, who then kneels in front of the Oracle, as though she is in church. When we kneel, we talk with God, often hoping for a message from God. In accordance to this submission, Three receives a message, via the Oracle: “I have a message for you from the one you worship. He speaks through me to you just as he speaks in your dreams. The message is…the fruit born of two peoples is alive. A child named after the wife and sister of the all-knowing Zeus. Hera lives.” Three gently tells the Oracle that she is wrong. The Oracle continues to tell her that she will hold the child in her arms, and “you’ll know for the first time what it is to feel true love. But you’ll lose everything you’ve done here.” This news is as bitter as the camalla the Oracle uses to have these visions, as the Oracle recognizes that Three does not know what it means to love and be loved. The news is also bitter because it means that Sharon’s trust in Adama and Roslin may be in jeopardy.

Later, Three confronts Sharon in the lockbox room as she is performing the launch key heist. Three tries to tell Sharon about her daughter and that she has been betrayed by the very people she is trying to save. Three tells Sharon about her dreams and even acknowledges to her that these dreams made her “question [her] faith. Made [her] question God.” While Three tries to tell Sharon the truth, Sharon speaks over her or interrupts her letting her know that she is not listening, that she doesn’t believe her, and, finally, that Adama would not lie to her. Her faith in Adama, in Zeus, has been unwavering, while Three’s faith in the Cylon God has wavered. It was a human that brought Three back on track with her faith in God.

Battlestar Galactica: "Precipice"

The theological thread is exposed mainly in one scene, the scene with Baltar’s being forced to sign the execution statement of the insurgents. A meeting takes place on Colonial One with several representatives of all of the Cylon models, except for Leoben (interestingly), along with Baltar, where they discuss what to do about the humans, how to discipline the growing problem of insurgents’ terrorism, and how to deter other humans who may think about joining the insurgency. A Number Three throws a document on Baltar’s desk for him to sign, an order to kill all of the detainees, over 200 people. This prompts a reaction within the Cylon group:

Caprica Six: Just because you’ve decided to do this doesn’t mean you need
to drag him into sin with you.
Three #1: Don’t you lecture me about
sin.
Three #2: I’m not the one who committed the first act of
Cylon-on-Cylon violence in our history.
Baltar: What’s she talking
about?
Three #2: She crushed my head in with a rock back on
Caprica. Interesting she didn’t tell you.
Caprica Six: It’s
something I had to do. I’m not proud of it.

We see Caprica Six’s theology come to light, once again. She has demonstrated her beliefs in the Cylon God as a Loving God, one of compassion and forgiveness. She’s willing to stand up for this belief, even if it means showing and telling the others that she’s willing to kill for this position.

Cavil pushing the meeting along, moving the conversation back on track of what to do with the humans. Baltar wonders why they don’t just take care of the situation themselves—why do they need his signature. A Three model explains that they do need his signature, if they are to work as the government they were set up to be, a collective government of Cylons and humans. As the President of this government, Baltar needs to sign every order. Cavil elucidates: “in other words, they’re worried about what ‘God’ might think if they commit murder. They’re covering their existential asses.” It seems that the Cylons are afraid of their god, even if it is violence against the humans. Ironically, even after this admittance, a Doral model tells them that they can find another president and then cocks a gun at Baltar’s head.

Another smaller scene that sheds some light on Cylon perception of God is Leoben, who has demonstrated that he fancies himself a sort of prophet, one who can see the destiny the Cylon god has laid out for him and for others. When he introduces the child to Kara, he describes his observations of the child’s traits: “Although her birth mother died during childbirth, Kacey’s heart never faltered. I guess she gets that will to live from you. I’ve seen her path. It’s difficult, but rewarding. She’ll know the mind of God in this lifetime. She’ll see patterns that others do not see. She probably got such spiritual clarity from me.” Leoben likes to think of himself as a spiritualist, and perhaps he is, especially from some of what we see in later episodes, in addition to what we have already seen in earlier episodes. But, Jim Jones also thought of himself as a spiritualist. Yet, later, when an unconscious Kacey is recovering from her fall, Kara is at her side, praying to the human gods for forgiveness and for Kacey’s recuperation. Leoben stands behind Kara. This would have been an opportunity for Leoben to evangelize to Kara about the Cylon god, but he did not take the opportunity. Perhaps evangelism is not his interest, even if it is to the one he supposedly loves.

Battlestar Galactica: "Occupation"

On Colonial One, the Cylons argue over their purpose with the humans, while Baltar sits at his desk, thumbing over some papers, trying to pretend he’s not in the room. Along with Baltar, we get to evesdrop and hear some of the behind the scenes of the Cylons—what they are thinking, planning, and, most importantly, the fact that they are not all on the same page about how to handle the humans. This conversation is short, but its theological depth gives insight to the Cylons’ leadership structure, that there appear to be factions within the ranks that disagree with each other and they can openly argue their points and they can openly threaten each other. The reasons each gives for their take on what to do with the human population all go back to each model’s interpretation of their scriptures and what God would want them to do.

The conversation is mainly between various models of Cavil, Eight, Six, and Five:

Number Eight: We’re here to find a new way to live in peace, as God wants
us to live!
Cavil: And it’s been a fun ride, so far. But I want
to clarify our objectives. If we’re bringing the world of “God,” then it
follows we should employ any means necessary to do so, any means.
Another
Cavil: Yes. Fear is a key article of faith, as I understand
it. So, perhaps it’s time to instill a little more fear into the people’s
hearts and minds….

We’ve heard Cavil models declare their atheism to humans (Chief Tyrol and Admiral Adama during the last two episodes of Season Two); so, the sarcastic tone in Cavil’s voice is even more pronounced during this bickering. Cavil’s character seems to be based on fear theology—let’s scare God into these sinners. Afterall, in his mind they’ve tried everything else to introduce humanity to God; so, they need to try anything to get the humans to worship God. This theology sounds familiar to the historic church, in its dealings with perceived heretics, wayward Christians, and savages of new worlds who didn’t want to give up their religions. The Number Eight and Number Six models want to demonstrate God’s love and compassion for all, the opposite of Cavil’s position. Their view of evangelism is one that is more inline with mainstream Christianity, where you don’t ram God down people’s throats, force feeding God to the nonbelievers.

Battlestar Galactica: “Lay Down Your Burdens,” Part I

Many plot threads are woven throughout this episode, but one of the more interesting threads takes place between Chief Tyrol and Brother Cavil as they discuss the gods’ roles in Tyrol’s (and humanity’s) life. Chief Tyrol is awakened from a dream by Cally; in the process of waking, he beats her, leaving her a bloody mess. Shocked by his attack on Cally, Tyrol asks for religious counseling, and meets with Brother Cavil, a minister/priest/chaplain in the fleet, who also happens to be Roslin’s religious “advisor,” though we rarely see him in this role, unlike what we saw with Elosha in the first season. Tyrol sits down with Cavil at a table and tells him that he wanted to talk with him, rather than a doctor; he explains that it’s because he doesn’t believe that psychoanalysis works, and he is himself a very religious man. Cavil is somewhat loose and sarcastic in his counseling, leaving Tyrol a little perturbed and confused. Cavil explains to Tyrol the “value” of prayer:

Cavil: Do you know how useless prayer is? Chanting and singing and
mucking about with old, half-remembered lines of bad poetry. And do you
know what it gets you? Exactly nothing.
Tyrol: Are you sure
you’re a priest?
Cavil: I’ve been preaching longer than you’ve been
sucking down oxygen. And in that time, I’ve learned enough to know that
the gods don’t answer prayers.

Cavil tells him that the gods won’t determine anything, but rather Tyrol’s destiny is up to him: “The problem is, you’re screwed up. Heart and mind. You, not the…not the gods or fate or the universe. You”—something Tyrol didn’t expect a minister to say. His statement to Tyrol is two edged. While he proports that the gods will not intervene (a theology that is the opposite of Baltar’s Head Six’s theology), even when someone cries out for intervention, he seems to be saying that a person/Cylon is responsible for their own actions, for their own lives. If that person has a problem, they cannot just sit back and expect someone or some deity to fix it; they need to be proactive.

Cavil and Tyrol discuss what happened between Tyrol and Cally. Cavil wants to know if Tyrol is having reoccurring nightmares or dreams. Tyrol tries to lie, but a finely tuned ministerial Cavil sees right through him and wants Tyrol to tell him about the dreams. Tyrol explains that he slowly climbs some stairs on the hanger deck and then walks along the catwalk when he stops. He climbs up on the railing and jumps. Tyrol tells Cavil that he’s been having the same dream night after night for two weeks. Cavil wants to know if he was having the dream when Cally awakened him. He says that he doesn’t remember. Cavil believes that Tyrol wants to kill himself.

Cavil tells Tyrol that he needs to quit ignoring what is right in front of him. Tyrol is confused. Cavil says that Tyrol thinks that he’s a Cylon. He tells Tyrol that he is worried that he’s just like Sharon, who didn’t know she was a Cylon either. Tyrol says that Sharon knew she was going to do something terrible and tried to stop herself. Tyrol wants to know how Cavil could know that Tyrol is not a Cylon. Cavil makes a joke about being a Cylon himself and never seeing Tyrol at any of the meetings. Cavil says that the gods help those who help each other. Tyrol feels ashamed to go back to the hanger deck crew after the accident, but Cavil assures him that they’re the only family he has left, and they love him, especially Cally.

A sort of throw away line in this episode is one from Dualla when she talks with Gaeta about the new planet they have found. She refers to “rivers of milk and honey,” a common epithet for the promised land in the Torah, appearing in Exodus 3:8, 3:17, 13:5, 33:3, Leviticus 20:24, Numbers 13:27, 14:8, 16:13-14, and Deuteronomy 6:3.

Battlestar Galactica: "Downloaded"

We get a detailed glimpse into the Cylons, from the Cylons’ perspective, in the episode “Downloaded.” We see that the Cylons, in fact, are not completely united within their ranks, that there is some disagreement about their understanding of the Cylon God’s plan, and ultimately some disagreement with what has been done and what to do with the human race. Finally, we see Caprica Six and Sharon become leaders of a new movement that demonstrates God’s love, a new movement not based on fear and murder.

Nine months earlier Number Six died in Baltar’s apartment and downloads into a new body on Caprica. We see several Cylons surrounding her to comfort her. Also, it turns out that she has a Head Baltar, like Baltar has a Head Six on Galactica. Ten weeks later Boomer (aka Sharon) is killed by Cally and is downloaded into a new body on Caprica. When she realizes what happened, she’s freaked out. In the present she still has trouble adjusting to her new life and longs for Galactica. Number Six (aka Caprica Six) is asked to help her readjust.

She talks with Sharon in a café and convinces her to move out of her apartment and live with the rest of the Cylons. Number Three joins Caprica Six and Sharon and head up a stairwell to Sharon’s apartment when a bomb planted by the resistance explodes in the parking garage below the building. The stairwell protects them on the higher floor. While the three sort out their injuries, they discover someone else under some rubble and Number Three clears it off to discover Anders. She takes his gun away and prepares to kill him, but Sharon protests. Caprica Six agrees, but to avoid suspicion from Three, claims pragmatically that they shouldn’t kill him so he can be interrogated.

We see the cruelty and potential for violence these human Cylon models are capable of when we see the actions of Three. We also know that not all of these human models are on the same page regarding how to treat the humans. Three cruelly toys with Anders, putting his gun on the ground and daring him to take it. When Sharon asks her to stop, Three retorts that Sharon is a broken machine that thinks she’s human, but isn’t. Sharon states she has a conscience, but Three counters that Sharon is a murderer. Six realizes that murder and the genocide of the human race cannot be the path of their loving God.

The division within these human models is realized by Six, who knows that Three wanted her and Sharon boxed: they are celebrities in a culture based on uniformity. Three knows that these heroes had a different perspective on the war. Because of their celebrity status as Cylon heroes, they could actually cause a change the Cylons view about their conflict with the humans, upsetting the status quo which Number Three upholds so dearly. Number Three says that Six and Sharon are a waste, corrupted by their experiences. Caprica Six explains to Sharon that this is why Three wanted to get rid of them, because Six and Sharon understand that murder, vengeance, and genocide are sins in the eyes of God. Sharon realizes that their knowledge could convince other Cylons that the slaughter of humanity was a mistake:

Caprica Six: Genocide, murder, vengeance. They’re all sins in the
eyes of God. That’s what you and I know. That’s what they don’t want
to hear.
Sharon: Because then, they’d have to rethink what they’re
doing! They’d have to consider that maybe the slaughter of mankind was a
mistake!

As the building’s rubble shifts while the Cylons outside try to clear their way to the survivors, Anders grabs his gun and tries to escape, shooting at Number Three before Sharon knocks the gun out of his hands. The gun lands near Number Three. As Three is about to shoot Anders, she tells Anders “God loves me.” Caprica Six appears behind her and hits her over her head with a large rock, then bashes Three, again, killing her.

Caprica Six and Sharon believe that there is sufficient time to start a new beginning for the Cylons before Number Three is downloaded into a new body and tells the rest of the Cylons what happened to her. They want to lead the Cylons on a way to live in God’s love, without hate or lies. Together, the two heroes of the Cylons agree to a new plan as their rescuers arrive.

Battlestar Galactica: "The Captain's Hand"

“The Captain’s Hand” faces religious fundamentalism head-on as a pregnant teen seeks asylum, as well as an abortion, aboard the Galactica. Admiral Adama meets with Roslin on Colonial One to discuss the matter of the pregnant girl. Roslin stands by her pro-choice beliefs, saying that she has fought her whole life for a woman’s right to choose, but Adama tells her that the number of survivors in the fleet doesn’t go up very often and he reminds her of her earlier statement that the fleet “needs to start making babies” in order for the human race to survive. Roslin goes to Baltar’s lab to ask him about the fleet’s population and he tells her that at the current rate humanity will be come extinct in 18 years. This analysis later forces her to act against her previous beliefs on the rights of women. Later, Roslin allows the girl’s abortion and grants her asylum, but subsequently issues an executive decree making abortion a capital crime, citing “current circumstances” that make reproduction vital to humanity’s survival.

The Gemenon delegate sees abortion as a theological issue and approaches Roslin as soon as she finds out about the girl on board Galactica and as soon as she learns that the girl has not been returned to her parents, in spite of Roslin’s decision to criminalize abortion. The Gemenon delegate seems to want to make this government into a theocracy and is a staunch supporter of Roslin when she embodies their scriptural ideals, but is her enemy (not willing to negotiate) when Roslin goes against her fundamentalist beliefs. Their last conversation ends with an infuriated delegate, enraged that the girl had her abortion because the procedure was begun just before Roslin announced her decision. Roslin steely tells her “you have your pound of flesh,” so let it be. Roslin’s reply is a reference to the debt owed Shylock by Antonio in one of my favorite Shakespearean plays The Merchant of Venice. The phrase is used a lot and has come to mean a debt that a creditor insists on collecting regardless of how much suffering it might cause the debtor.

I find it interesting that now that Roslin no longer seems to be dying of a “wasting disease,” a key characteristic of the leader according to scriptures, there has not been very much mention of theology in the last few episodes—not much mention by neither Roslin nor Baltar and Head Six. Is Roslin no longer a scriptural figure? Regardless of if she thinks of herself as a scriptural figure, she does not seem to regard scripture as holding infallibility, that not all of its commands should be followed, that there are certain scriptural commands that may have been contextual to scriptural times; perhaps those passages were answers to certain problems confronted by those ancient peoples—perhaps those ancient peoples were confronted with dwindling populations much like Roslin’s dwindling people and were desperate to grow their population numbers for survival.

Battlestar Galactica: “Epiphanies”

Laura Roslin is losing ground in her battle with breast cancer. During her in-and-out of consciousness spells, she has flashbacks to the day before the Cylon attacks, the day she left for Galactica. We see her leadership style back in the colonies is one as a negotiator, a different tactic than President Adar’s, who saw any budging on a decision he had already made as a sign of weakness and a possible threat to his administration. The episode ends with her first task out of her deathbed as negotiating with the spokesperson for the Cylon sympathizers in the fleet.

There are just a couple of small scenes that hold theological importance. While Roslin is losing ground, her situation is dire, Dr. Cottle orders an aide to notify the Admiral. Adama then makes a speech over the P.A.: “This is Admiral Adama. As you know, President Roslin has been aboard Galactica for the last few days. She’s a fighter. But as of this moment, her prognosis is grave. I know that many of you believe in the power of prayer. If that is your way, then I urge you to pray for our President. As for the others, I hope you will join me in keeping her in our thoughts.” Adama acknowledges prayer and encourages those who believe in its power to use it. I’m not sure if he would have said this before he knew Roslin, knew her faith.

Earlier, on board Colonial One, Billy gives Baltar a tour and hands him a list of Cylon agent suspects. Baltar looks at the whiteboard and Billy says, “That number means everything to her. Represents hope, that’s our future.” Baltar responds with a slight eye roll. Billy gives him the letter Roslin wrote to be given to him upon her death. Baltar takes it and tells Billy, “Well, let’s just pray that she gets better.” Baltar’s response it interesting given his faith journey on the path to the Cylon God. He, a scientist, suggests prayer. Also, it is interesting to note that in a deleted scene from “Home,” part II, Billy tells Roslin that he is an atheist, yet he agrees with Baltar that they should pray that Roslin gets better. He could be agreeing that they should pray, or he may be hoping that she gets better so that Baltar won’t become President.

Battlestar Galactica: “Resurrection Ship,” Parts I and II

At the beginning of Part II of “Resurrection Ship,” the battle begins as the Colonials attack the Cylons and their resurrection ship, the place where the programming mind of a destroyed Cylon is uploaded into a new body and then is reintegrated back into the Cylon fleet. While the space battle ensues, while Apollo is floating through space with a suit leaking oxygen, while tension rises in the CIC’s of both Galactica and Pegasus, a battle of a different sort is going on in Number Six’s cell on Pegasus. This battle is between Baltar and Head Six as he tries to sort out the theology of forgiveness according to the Cylons. His two sources are Number Six and Head Six (who I believe is actually part of Baltar’s psyche).

Basically, the discussion of forgiveness is between one whose actions led to the destruction of a world and one who wants to die in order to go to God. Head Six tells Baltar, “Tens of thousands of Cylons are about to die. Tens of thousands, Gaius. God will not forgive this sin.” If Head Six is indeed part of Baltar’s psyche, then it would seem that Baltar is grappling with his own issues of forgiveness; after all, he’s dealing with his own emotions of being the one who let a Cylon have access to the defense mainframe in Caprica that opened his world to attacks and genocide. He asks Prisoner Number Six, “Do you think God will forgive this?” “God forgives all,” she replies. Immediately, Baltar’s Head Six jumps in, “Don’t listen to her. You think she can help you? You think that that broken woman can offer you even a fraction of what I can? I know God’s plan for you. I know how to help you fulfill your destiny.” Baltar’s doubts keep hounding him, speaking at the very least at the back of his conscience.

Ultimately Baltar pushes Head Six to the back of his mind and out of the conversation and he chooses to follow Prisoner Number Six. She is, after all, real, in the flesh and he is a carnal kind of guy; also, her theology of forgiveness offers him hope. While she offers him hope, he doesn’t follow through with what she wants from him, which is for him to kill her. After the resurrection ship is destroyed (she seems to sense this), she begs Baltar, “I’m ready to die. Send my soul to God. Please.” But Baltar refuses, suggesting that what she really wants is justice—justice for all that she has been through since being put in the Pegasus brig. Maintaining his carnality, he offers her hope for her future with humanity, rather than offering her the eternal life she seeks with God.

Battlestar Galactica: “Flight of the Phoenix”

While there are not any overt theological statements about the Cylon God or the humans’ pantheistic god system, this entire episode is simply about faith and the hope it brings, which is really what the series is about—the difficulties of keeping faith and finding hope in the grittiness of survival. The building of the Blackbird raises Tigh’s eire as he doesn’t seem to get that the project gives some of the crew a diversion from their everyday monotonous tasks and eventually gives the crew the esteem that they can survive. The project starts with Chief and spreads throughout the crew as it seems about everyone wants to be a part of building this monument of hope, and the Blackbird comes to symbolize the hope the crew has of survival.

The project climaxes at the christening ceremony at the end of the episode. Roslin and Chief each recognize that it has been an honor to complete the project. After Roslin compliments Chief on the Blackbird, he tells her that it’s “just a ship.” She explains to him and the rest of the crew, “Oh, you’re much too modest. After what we’ve been through, it would be very easy to give up, to lose hope. But not here. Not today. This is more than a ship, Chief. This is an act of faith. It is proof that despite all we’ve lost, we keep trying. And we will get through this, all of us, together. I promise.” By building the ship, the crew recognizes and plans on being around to fly it eventually—they are preparing for the future.

Chief unveils the name of the ship: “Laura.” This, of course, brings Roslin to the brink of tears. After all, earlier in the episode, she received her death sentence from Cottle; she will die in a few weeks. But she now knows that her name will live on through this symbol of hope and faith. She has been a symbol of hope for the fleet, as she has led them on the path to Earth, to the Promised Land.

Battlestar Galactica: "Home," Part II

I think that “Home,” Parts 1 and 2, are about the best Battlestar Galactica has to offer. The writing, acting, music, and cinematography are all stellar and captivating. There’s so much material to think and write about, it’s hard to narrow it down to bit-sized chunks for a blog. So, please forgive me if I don’t talk about a thread that may be your favorite. If there is something you see as being important or interesting in these episodes, please leave it in the comment section at the end of this or any other blog entry.

Part 2 opens with Roslin’s group climbing up a steep, rainy ravine on her faith quest/journey and Adama’s group reasoning where Roslin’s crew might be heading. Interestingly, while Tigh and Gaeta chuckle at the mention of Roslin’s visions, Adama defends her and her beliefs. He clearly is taking this mission seriously, taking the importance of unity seriously.

Roslin’s group finally reaches the summit. Sharon tells Starbuck, “There’s a formation of twin rocks ahead. I think those are the Gates of Hera. I’m putting together a lot of pieces from a lot of sources beyond your scriptures. If I’m right, that’s the spot where your god supposedly stood and watched Athena throw herself down onto the rocks below out of despair over the exodus of the Thirteen Tribes.” Zarek asks, “Supposedly? I thought that the Cylons believed in the gods.” Starbuck answers, “Yeah, don’t get her started. They believe in one true god or something like that.” “And we don’t worship false idols.” Lee remarks, “You were quick enough to come on this mission. Lead us all to some tomb only actually mentioned in our false scriptures.” “We know more about your religion than you do. Athena’s Tomb, whoever, and whatever she really was, is probably up there. That part is true.” Sharon seems to approach the scripture as many mainstream Christians, realizing that some of Scripture is historically, contemporaneously, written to answer a particular society’s questions or dilemmas, while other parts of Scripture holds certain Truths that are timeless. Now, the question is how does Sharon know what parts are “true” in the scriptures she refers to.

After their two groups finally meet, Adama and Roslin have a heart to heart talk:

Adama: You interfered with a military mission, and you broke your word to me.
Roslin: It’s the second part that really bothers you, isn’t it?
Adama: Laura, I forgive you.
Roslin: Thank you, Bill. I didn’t ask for your forgiveness.
Adama: You, you have it anyway.

Adama, playing a God-like (before now he has been referred to as Zeus) role, offers Roslin forgiveness, something she didn’t ask for. Regardless of whether or not she thinks she wants his forgiveness, he gives it to her anyway. She offended him, overstepped his military line and their budding friendship, and he forgives her. Interestingly, she doesn’t offer her forgiveness of him, of his not taking her beliefs seriously, of overstepping his command and putting his superior in the brig, of staging a military coup. Also, this is the first time in the series that they have used their first names, demonstrating a new intimacy in their relationship, truly showing that they are putting certain distancing formalities and relational transgressions behind them.

Roslin brings up what Starbuck told her about what’s happening on Caprica:

Roslin: They’re fighting for their homes. Does it give you pause? Maybe your impulse the day the Cylons attacked was right. Maybe we should have stayed and fought for our homes. Maybe the President of the Colonies should have stayed with her people.
Adama: I didn’t come here to navel gaze. Or to catalog our mistakes. We made a
decision to leave the Colonies after the attack. We made the decision. It was the right one then; it’s the right one now. ’Cause every moment of every day since then is a gift.
Roslin: From the gods.
Adama: No, from you. For convincing me that I should go on. I would be dead. My son would be dead. Whatever else the cost, I won’t second guess that outcome.

Roslin didn’t seem to understand the first part of the conversation, that Adama was prepared to move on from their past. Instead, she second guesses her decisions. When Adama thanks her for her leadership, she places the laurels on the gods. However, he points out that she was the one who spurred him to lead the fleet away from danger; she made the choice to push him to leave. With his thanking her, he gives her back her mantle, her book of scriptures, and tells her that they will look for the Tomb together. He has at last reunited the fleet.

Toward the end of this episode, Adama reintroduces Roslin to a large group of assembled people in one of the hanger bays by quoting scripture: “We have struggled since the attacks, trying to rely on one another. Our strength and our only hope as a people is to remain undivided. We haven’t always done all we could to insure that. Many people believe that the scriptures, the letters from the gods, will lead us to salvation. Maybe they will. But the gods shall lift those who lift each other. And so, to lift all of us, let me present once again, the President of the Colonies, Laura Roslin.” This scene echoes one from the mini-series when Adama rallies the Galactica, after the Cylon attacks and after they had lost so many of their crew, when he refers to Elosha in front of the crowd about the existence of Earth. Here, instead of referring to Elosha, he seems to have in a small part taken up the mantle she left for Roslin, as he himself refers to scripture and lays the passages on Roslin’s shoulders by way of her introduction. Adama then leads them in a unified clapping that results in cheering and sustained applause for their President and ultimately for the unity of the fleet.

While I’ve grown to really enjoy watching the relationship between Adama and Roslin, between reason and faith, grow in this series, I can’t completely ignore the scenes between Baltar and Head Six in this episode. Batlar begins to wonder if the Six he’s seeing is the result of a chip planted in his head or psychosis. Head Six tells him to “wake up and smell the psychosis already. There is no Cylon chip implanted in your brain. I’m not real. You’re not really getting secret messages from the Cylons. You’re just crazy….You helped the Cylons commit genocide against your own people and your fragile little mind couldn’t handle it. So poof, I appear and start telling you how special you are, how God has chosen you.” Later she reminds him that he’s always had a little voice helping him through rough times; however, Baltar tells her he doesn’t believe her and that God has a plan for him. Tests show that there are no unidentifiable objects in Baltar’s head, which seems to verify Head Six’s assertion that Baltar is psychotic. Maybe he is, or maybe somehow the Cylons’ evangelism style is to continue to test Baltar’s faith in the Cylon God, as Head Six did in season one episodes getting him to confess his faith in the Cylon God and to seek forgiveness for his sins. The question would be a pragmatic one—how would the Cylons be capable of communicating with Baltar like this? I’m inclined to believe the psychosis theory.

Battlestar Galactica: "Home," Part I

Finally, away from Commander Adama, the prophet Laura Roslin finds herself confronted by the political structure of the civilian fleet, as the Quorum of Twelve and she, along with Zarek, discuss the issue of returning to Kobol, whether this was the right choice or a suicidal decision. Roslin weighs in: “At this point, it’s my firm belief that Commander Adama has let us go. Lieutenant Thrace will return. She will have the Arrow of Apollo. And it will help us find our way to Earth.” Roslin speaks the words of faith—faith in Starbuck’s ability to retrieve the Arrow, faith in the scriptures’ leading them to the Tomb of Athena, faith in the existence of Earth. As Quorum members become anxious to get started looking for the Tomb, Elosha reminds them that the scriptures “tell us that any return to Kobol carries with it a cost in blood.” Roslin continues speaking the words of faith as she acknowledges that there are a lot of unanswered questions, but she “refuse[s] to lose sight of what this has always been about—our mission to save humanity….But it is our foretold destiny.” She offers an out for those who do not “have the stomach for this mission,” who do not believe what the scriptures have said, by suggesting that they rejoin Adama’s fleet, rejoin the world of reason, rejoin the world that seems safe and more predictable. However, we don’t see anyone run for the door when she makes this offer.

Another interesting discussion takes place when Meier conspires with Zarek against Lee and Roslin. Zarek dismisses him because the people who are with them believe Roslin will lead them to Earth. Meier reminds Zarek that Roslin is a fraud and asks him if he believes her. Zarek responds, “No, but I believe in the power of myth. I’m not interested in risking our lives any more than you are, but she’s clearly not gonna be talked out of this. And in the end, President or not, it doesn’t really matter. She still needs a commander, a man in charge of the fleet. The man with the guns makes the rules.” It seems that Zarek hasn’t had a change of heart and that Roslin is rightly reluctant to trust him. He is somewhat similar to Roslin, in that he understands that there is a “religious card” (to use her earlier phrase) to be played, that this card has certain power over people with it. However, Roslin is much further on the path of a spiritual journey, while Meier and Zarek are still starring at the signpost. When Meier reminds him that Lee is Roslin’s right hand and would be the more likely candidate for Commander and they recall the scriptures saying that some will die on Kobol—“one man in particular.” They seem to be sarcastic in citing scripture to support their own ambitions for power.

The small landing group arrives on Kobol in the Galleon Meadow Forest, where Elosha quotes scripture: “And the blaze pursued them. And the people of Kobol had a choice, to board the great ship or to take the high road through the rocky ridge, and the body of each tribe’s leader…” Sharon continues reciting the passage: “…was offered to the gods in the Tomb of Athena.” She explains that the ship took the founders of the Thirteen Colonies to their destiny and those who didn’t board the ship took the rocky ridge of a high road leading to the Tomb. Elosha points out that this path is supposed to be marked by gravestones. When she finds a stone, she inadvertently steps on a landmine, is thrown into the air, and is killed, along with a few others who are killed by Cylon centurions. It turns out that the blood that is spilled on Kobol is the priestess, herself. This leaves Roslin in an interesting position. Elosha had been her font for spiritual leadership, her resource of how to be a religious leader; now that Elosha is gone, Roslin picks up Elosha’s book of scriptures herself, taking on the true mantle of spiritual leadership, and she is now the primary religious leader without the aid or lens of an interpreter of the spiritual texts.

Another scene in this episode struck me, not because its particular theological assertions (there aren’t any), but as an excellent sermon illustration. Adama meets with Dualla in his quarters:

Adama: It’s interesting. Betrayal has such a powerful grip on the
mind. It’s almost like a python. It can squeeze out all other
thought. Suffocate all other emotion until everything is dead except for
rage. I’m not talking about anger. I can feel it. Right here.
[He points to his heart.] Like it’s gonna burst. Feel like I wanna
scream. Right now, matter of fact.
Dualla: If I may say
something?
Adama: Speak your mind, Dee.
Dualla: I don’t think
the problem is that you’ve been betrayed. I think it’s that you feel
helpless. You were shot, you were injured. You couldn’t do
anything.
Adama: Don’t make excuses for me.
Dualla: And when
you finally had a chance to do something…you let us down. You made a
promise to all of us, to find Earth, to find us a home. Together. It
doesn’t matter what the President did or even what Lee did, because every day we
remain a part is a day that you’ve broken your promise. The people aboard
those ships made their own decisions.
Adama: It was their decision, not
mine. Thank you, petty officer. You may leave now.
Dualla:
You asked to talk to me, sir. Maybe, because you think that I don’t have
anything to say. But I do. It’s time to heal the wounds,
Commander.

With this conversation still stinging, Adama heads to the CIC and announces that they are going to Kobol to put the family back together. This is an excellent scene as it shows Adama in a rage, feeling betrayed, but he is able to get past these feelings, get past his stubbornness, and sees what is truly important, that is pulling the fleet/family back together.

Battlestar Galactica: “The Farm”

This episode is loaded with a ton of political and social themes, a ton, that I could write pages and pages, especially the theme regarding women’s rights and fertility, the Cylons’ preoccupation with reproduction, and the realization that the only time procreation has happened involving a Cylon has also involved love. But, I’m going to try to stay true to the over-arching theme of this blog and consider the theological implications of this episode, specifically regarding Roslin’s continued journey as a spiritual leader.

We find Lee, Roslin, and Elosha freezing in a meat locker with Tom Zarek, who tells Roslin, “I have communicated your latest message to the Quorum of Twelve. They have decided the question of openly supporting you needs more…deliberation.” Also, Zarek tells them that “Zeus has returned to Olympus. Adama is back in command.” Everyone seems relieved, the god-figure of the fleet has returned. Unfortunately, Zarek chooses this time to suggest that Lee’s denouncing his father, denouncing Zeus/God, would help galvanize the fleet. Lee’s still caught up in the emotions of knowing that his father has survived and, naturally, he cannot speak out against his father. Roslin steps up and says that she’s going to “play the religious card.”

So, now we’re back to dueling positions about Kobol and it seems that Adama, or Zeus, is laying out his thoughts about Roslin’s religious positions more publicly. Adama reads a transcription of Roslin’s broadcast in CIC. “It’s religious crap!” Roslin stated, “It seems I have been chosen to help lead you to the promised land of Earth. I will not question that choice. I’ll simply try to play my part of the plan. Therefore, at the appointed hour, I will give the signal to the fleet. All those wishing to honor the gods and walk the paths of destiny will follow me back to Kobol. It is there we will meet the gods’ servant with the Arrow of Apollo.” Adama slams the clipboard with her message against a console, breaking it in half, just as it appears (from his point of view) that Roslin attempts to break the fleet in half. He believes that no one will follow her, that “no one’s gonna believe this crap. No one’s this stupid.”

On the Astral Queen, Elosha encourages Roslin to give the passengers her blessing. The passengers kneel before her, as though they were kneeling before God or, at the very least, a prophet. Roslin hesitates, saying simply that she cannot do this—it isn’t right. Elosha whispers, “Laura, this is your path. The one that the gods picked for you! The one you picked for yourself.” Roslin had decided as a political tactic to play the religious card, to embrace the path of being a prophet, and she has realized that the scriptures do actually hold some literal truths in them, and now she publicly embraces that role, calling people to follow her banner in the name of their faith. This results in the people looking at her very differently from being merely their political leader, that is their President; this results in the people asking Roslin for her blessing, as they look at her as a prophet, a spokeswoman for the gods. It’s very interesting for me, as an ordained minister, to see how she navigates through various issues in later episodes as a political leader and a spiritual leader, trying to maintain what she truly believes in, trying to lead others according to her beliefs, while not alienating them.

Battlestar Galactica: "Fragged"

The main characters continue on their separate journeys in “Fragged,” continuing the arc set up at the end of Season One. There are a couple of significant theological discussions in this episode, that are rich for the series.

On Kobol, Crashdown, the leader of the raptor team stranded on the planet, says a prayer over the makeshift grave for Socinus and Tarn: “Lords of Kobol, take these brave men into your arms. Take upon your arms the spirits of our fallen friends, so that they may share in the everlasting life that awaits us all beyond the vale of tears. So say we all.” Head Six comes up next to Baltar at this ceremony and tells him that “nothing awaits them. No eternal life, no damnation, only oblivion.” “Because they haven’t seen the face of God, I take it,” Baltar responds. “Because they died here…on Kobol.” While Baltar acknowledges with a simple “I see,” as though he fully understands, I’m left with questions about the meaning of her statement. It is interesting that they won’t go to the eternal life because of where they died, not because they do not know the Cylon God, not because they have not converted to the Cylon religion. Baltar could be still reacting to the horrors of the skulls he saw in the previous episode, that these soldiers have died in a place where atrocities have taken place, that these soldiers were some how tainted by what has happened in the past on this planet, even though they did not have a hand in what occurred those thousands of years ago. Baltar is clearly unnerved by these thoughts, as he reacts strongly to being called “Doc” by Tyrol. He exclaims to him that a “dock is a platform for loading and unloading material. My title is doctor, or Mr. Vice President, if you don’t mind.” His title gives him some implied power in this situation, some control in a situation in which he is not the leader, has no experience, and is scared out of his mind. In a later conversation, we hear more about why those who die on Kobol will not see an afterlife, as Head Six explains to Baltar that “God turned his back on Kobol. Turned his back on man and the false gods he worshipped. What happens on Kobol is not his will.” It seems that this planet is cursed. In fact, the medieval philosophy of Hell as being where God is not would imply that Kobol is, in fact, Hell. This is an interesting concept—Kobol was at one time the home of the gods and humanity, a sort of paradise, and now it is a Hell.

A little later, Baltar is still pondering the cruelness of the world around him and he escapes back to his home in Caprica with Head Six. He argues with her about cyclical violence:

Baltar: It’s all so pointless. We kill them. And they kill
us. So we kill more of them. They kill more of us. What’s the
point anymore?
Six: You and your race invented murder. Invented
killing for sport, greed, envy. It’s man’s one true art
form.
Baltar: You’ve done some killing of your own, I
think.
Six: Yes, well, we’re your children. You taught us
well.
Baltar: Why does God want to bring a child into this kind of
world anyway?
Six: Because, despite everything, despite all of it, he
still wants to offer you salvation. Our child will bring that salvation,
but only if you accept your role as her father. And her
guardian.
Baltar: I’m not ready for that. Alright? I’m not
a father, I’m not a guardian. I’m not a moral leader capable of leading
anyone, let alone a baby.
Six: Be a man, Gaius. Whatever else you
are, you are that. The time is coming when you’ll have to act like
one.

So often I have heard that question asked by young couples—why should they have children, bring them into a world of wars, random acts of violence, hate, and egocentrism. I’ve even wondered that myself, especially as a mother to young children. But my hope is that with each new baby, there is the potential for someone to lead us out of this cycle of hatred, that each new child has the potential to do good and lead others out of despair and anger into hope and love. Each child brings with her/him salvific potential for individuals and for the human race.

Back on the ship, Roslin seems to have things going on in her head, like Baltar. She’s been having religious visions and continues to talk to herself in the brig. Venner, the marine guard, hears her say “I have been given the opportunity to perceive the scriptures more clearly. Anything that impedes that I have to view as contrary to the survival of the human species.” It turns out that Venner is from Geminon, where its inhabitants believe in the infallibility of the scriptures. He is very familiar with the scrolls of Pythia and immediately recognizes that Roslin is quoting the prophet. She has been reading the scriptures and sees the pieces falling together and now sees and accepts her role in these passages. Ron Moore one time discussed Roslin’s understanding of scriptures: “I think she just goes, ‘Well, I don’t know why this all works but it sure seems to work, so we should do this because it looks like it’s going to help us all survive.’ She kind of approaches [scripture] more practically” (Now Playing, 9/16/2005).

When the Quorum of Twelve sees her, she tells them what she has been called to do: “Everything I’ve done is consistent and logical. We have found Kobol, we have found the city of the gods, and when we retrieve the arrow, we will open the Tomb of Athena and we will find the road to Earth.” Sarah Porter, the Quorum representative from Geminon, asks her if she is familiar with the Scrolls of Pythia, and Roslin tells her that she has carefully read them many times and that she believes she is fulfilling the role of the Leader. She then reveals that she has terminal breast cancer, with a few months left to live, and “in that time, I will lead the people to salvation. It is my sole purpose.” Porter and other Quorum members recognize Roslin’s Scriptural authority and kneel by the bars and try to touch her, thus undermining Tigh’s political authority. “Praise be to the gods. Here is our salvation.”

So, we are left with dueling positions of salvation and dueling interpretations of scripture—Baltar believes that the baby will be salvation and the “shape of things to come”; Roslin and others in the fleet believe that Roslin is salvation.

Battlestar Galactica: “Valley of Darkness”

On Kobol, Baltar has another waking dream/vision in which he encounters Adama, who asks Baltar about the bundle in his arms. “Well, it’s a child obviously.” Adama asks to hold the baby. As he holds it, he looks at it closely and asks Baltar, “Is this the shape of things to come?” Baltar says yes. “Only one thing for it then,” Adama tells him as he walks toward the stream they are near. Baltar becomes frantic, chasing after Adama and the baby. Adama takes the baby and drowns it in the stream, leaving the body at the bottom and Baltar hysterically looking for it in the murky water. Later in the forest Baltar discusses this dream with Head Six: “He killed our baby….Adama. I saw him drown the baby. Why would anyone want to drown a baby?” Head Six explains to him that the answer he is seeking is all around him. As he sees countless human skulls surrounding him, Head Six tells him that human sacrifice took place in this forest—“not the fairy tales your scriptures would have you believe.” He is stunned by his surroundings:

Baltar: I thought Kobol was supposed to be a paradise or something.
Some place where the gods live with the human in harmony, or…
Head Six:
For a time, perhaps. Then your true nature asserted itself. Your
brutality, your depravity, your barbarism.
Baltar: So, the scriptures
are all a lie. It’s all just a lie, just a cover-up for all
this…savagery.
Head Six: Exactly. All of this has happened
before, Gaius. And all of it will happen again. Mankind’s true
nature will always assert itself.
Baltar: Adama. So he will try
and kill our baby.
Head Six: Only if you let him, Gaius.

Water in the Judeo-Christian Scripture is often a sign of salvific cleansing. A great flood is described as having cleansed the earth of sin. Divided sea waters allowed the escaped Israelites a faster route to their homes, while they crushed the pursuant Pharaoh’s army. Demons in the form of pigs were cast off a cliff and into waters. And, as one of the most important sacraments of the Christian faith, baptism with water is a means to cleanse a person of their sins, leaving their sins in the water, and demonstrate their commitment to following Christ. Water was a means of keeping some biblical characters safe. On the other hand, future leader of the Israelites, Moses, was kept safe in a basket in the water.

While the over-arching image of water in Scripture is convoluted, so is Baltar’s vision of water. Unfortunately, there are references to leaders in the Scriptures who kill babies and children out of fear that among them there will be one who will rise up and become more powerful than that leader. So, it would seem Baltar’s vision of Adama would show that Adama would be intimidated by this baby, especially since Adama asks Baltar if “this is the shape of things to come.” In Baltar’s head, Adama doesn’t like this threat to his power, so he becomes a sort of Pharaoh of Exodus or King Herod, who attempt to kill babies of the Israelites, the Chosen People. We have to remember that this is all in Baltar’s head and he seems to be beginning to believe that not only are the Cylons are the chosen children, but he has a significant role in leading this race. This water image is in a way perverted, as the protagonist Adama, the one we have been rooting for throughout the series, becomes the bad guy, the antagonist, when he aligns himself with the Scriptural Judeo-Christian antagonists. But, again, this is in Baltar’s head, and in Baltar’s head Adama appears to be the bad guy.

The directors of previous episodes have been having fun with the cameras and playing around with these sorts of symbols before now, as they’ve shown Baltar splayed with his arms out as a crucifix-like image—an image of him laying on the ground on Kobol and an image of him in the first season when he first learned he was to be an instrument of God he leans back on the railing of the balcony of his home with his arms stretched out. If these images are meant to show him as a Christ-like figure, then in order for him to be fulfill this role, he would have to sacrifice himself for the chosen children, for the Cylons. I’m not sure if the true character of Baltar would be capable of doing this, as he seems to be, at the most base level, too ego-centric.

Battlestar Galactica: “Scattered”

This episode opens season two of Battlestar Galactica. Rather than having a unified fleet, we see that all of the key characters have been propelled into their own sort of journeys. Adama is on an operating table, being cut open by a medic. Tigh is now the fleet’s leader and Galactica gets separated from the fleet during a jump—he’s not handling his new role well and begs the unconscious Adama to come back and retake his position. The technologically savvy Gaeta networks the computer system to get Galactica back with the fleet, something Adama in all likelihood would not have condoned. Baltar and the rest of the crashed raptor’s team are running for their lives on Kobol; all the while, he has conversations with Head Six about his call to protect a new child. Roslin remains incarcerated, but guides Lee Adama back into the fleet leadership, thus allowing herself to have at least some voice outside of the cell bars.

There is one scene, however, that continues the overt theological tones of the series. The Galactica launches vipers to defend against incoming Cylons, including a heavy raider bearing on Galactica. The unstable power on the ship forces the medical team to make use of battery units. Adama’s heart stops and the medic asks for a knife. Meanwhile, the Cylons have begun hacking into the network and attempt to access its gateway. The tension is high, all of the characters are at the climax of the plot and the audience is on the edge of their seats—it’s time for prayer. In the brig, Corporal Venner asks Roslin to pray with him. “Help us, Lords of Kobol. Help your prophet Laura guide us to the path of righteousness. That we might destroy our enemies. Let us walk the parth of righteousness and lift our faces unto your goodness. Help us turn away from the calls of the wicked and show us the knowledge of your certain salvation. We offer this prayer.”

When the Corporal offers this prayer, he demonstrates that he recognizes Roslin’s role as a prophet. He comes to symbolize those in the fleet who are devout to their faith, that they could and would also be devout to Roslin as their leader. Her leadership is deeper than merely political leadership, but she serves as a spiritual guide, as well.

Battlestar Galactica: “Kobol’s Last Gleaming,” Part II

In the first part of this season finale, we see six people, six leaders, converge around a table in Commander Adama’s quarters to discuss how the fleet should approach Kobol, the birthplace of the gods and humanity, the fallen Paradise; in the second part, these six people are propelled and scattered into their own respective faith journeys. After they gathered around the table, they divided, each going their separate ways.

Baltar crashes into the surface after his raptor is struck by the Cylons, leaving him and the rest of the raptor’s crew to survive against the foreign terrain and Cylon occupants, facing that fear and having an epiphany with Head Six. She awakens Baltar and tells him, "You wondered why you were chosen? Why God chose you, above all other humans, to survive and serve his purpose.” She leads him into the Opera House and further explains “life has a melody, Gaius. A rhythm of notes that become your existence once played in harmony with God's plan. It's time to do your part and realize your destiny….You are the guardian and protector of the new generation of God's children. The first member of our family will be with us soon, Gaius. It's time to make your choice." When she shows him the baby in the crib, she tells him that this is the “face of the shape of things to come.” Being the carnal person he is, Gaius seems to accept this role with his kissing Head Six.

Roslin is incarcerated for her beliefs, which resulted in Starbuck’s disobeying Adama’s orders and going back to Caprica for the Arrow of Apollo. She believes that the Temple of Athena, a sign post to Earth, is on Kobol and the Arrow is its key. When Adama finds out that Roslin is behind coercing and turning one of his crew against him, he throws her in the brig.

Elosha does her ministerial duties of praying with Roslin, as the marines cut through Colonial One’s hull to arrest Roslin.

Gaeta, like Elosha, continues to do his regular job; however, it seems he whispers something into Sharon’s ear, just before she shoots Adama. This could be a sort of plot ferret, leading the audience along the wrong tracks believing Gaeta is a Cylon, as it seems that he may have whispered a trigger word that activates Sharon.

Adama is shot by Sharon and his situation looks grave, as the season leaves him splayed on the command table in CIC, the place where he ironically orchestrates attacks. His spiritual journey will be that of one who has tasted their own mortality.

With Adama incapacitated, Tigh will be in charge, the first time we’ve seen him command a ship, much less the fleet.

Season One ends with all these and more balls up in the air and it looks like they will all land in very different places. What they all have in common is that they are in some way connected to Kobol. Now, the story will be about their journeys and how they can/will end up together, again.

Battlestar Galactica: "Kobol's Last Gleaming," Part I

As a minister serving an active congregation, everyday I was reminded of my faith, reminded why I believe in not only God, but also in God’s interaction with humanity—God doesn’t just sit back and let the world go on its own. I’ve come to believe that, as illustrated in the Gospel, God is among us, God is with us, and that God will actually offer compassion, teaching, and guidance.

“Kobol’s Last Gleaming, Part I” is the first of two parts that will end Season One of Battlestar Galactica and the threads of Roslin’s growing faith in the scriptures continues, despite her being handed her six-month death sentence by Dr. Cottle—her cancer has spread aggressively into her lymphatic system. She shares this news with Elosha, who has an epiphany about her own faith, as she tells Roslin that she believes Roslin is the fulfillment of ancient prophecy: “You made a true believer out of me…. I know you’re the one to lead us to our salvation. You are going to guide us to Earth.” Her faith has been embodied in Laura Roslin and renews her faith in the scriptures. She also takes this opportunity to try to convince Roslin that the scriptures she has shared with Roslin are in fact real and, consequently, are being fulfilled.

In the meantime, it appears that the fleet has discovered the planet of Kobol, the fallen Edenic planet that at one time was home of gods and humans, who coexisted in happiness. There isn’t much more information shared about what precipitated the fall and drove the humans away, but we have heard that something is on the planet that could guide the fleet towards Earth. Billy reports the findings of Kobol and some preliminary surveillance photos to Roslin and Elosha aboard Colonial One. While Billy and Elosha talk about the photos, how they show ancient ruins of a city that seems to have been built some 2000 years ago, around when the thirteen tribes first left Kobol, Roslin looks at the photo of the abandoned city, seeing what the buildings actually looked like before they fell to ruin. She explains to them that she sees a “domelike structure with six roads leading out of it, like spokes. With something around it like columns, like the forum on Caprica.” This vision was followed by another flash, that of the Arrow of Apollo. She explains that “it’s real. The scriptures, the myths, the prophecies—they’re all real.”

Roslin, Elosha, and Baltar, the three key followers of their faiths, take this information to Adama, Tigh, and Gaeta, three key followers of reason, products of the age of enlightenment. This scene was staged perfectly, with the three representatives of each side seated or standing in a sort of face-off position on either side of a table. The pragmatic Adama immediately suggests considering permanent settlement and ignores the three faithful.

Everyone leaves Adama’s quarters, except for Roslin and Adama, allowing them to discuss the issue of Kobol. During this conversation Adama observes that Roslin has become very “religious,” and that “it’s…different.” He seems surprised by it and tries to remind her that “these stories, about Kobol, gods, the Arrow of Apollo, they’re just stories, legends, myths” and that they can blind her to reality, distract her from what they are facing. While Roslin wants to use the raider Starbuck brought home a few episodes ago to jump back to Caprica for the Arrow of Apollo, Adama wants the raider because it’s a “military asset.” Again, it seems it’s faith against reason, not aligning themselves together.

Without the support of the reasonable Adama, Roslin reaches out into the fleet, specifically to one of the closest personal people to Adama, the one who is like a daughter to him. She shares her plan with Starbuck, who we have seen to be religious, praying to religious idols. At first, Starbuck thinks that Roslin is out of line asking her to do take the raider back to Caprica:

Starbuck: You can’t be serious.
Roslin: “All of this has happened before and all of this will happen again.” The cylon you interrogated, he quoted that bit of scripture. He also said we would find Kobol, and Kobol would show us the way, did he not?
Starbuck: Yes, he did.
Roslin: Well, we have found Kobol. Do you believe in the gods, Lieutenant?
//
Roslin: If you believe in the gods, then you believe in the cycle of time. That we are all playing our parts in a story that is told again and again and again throughout eternity.
Starbuck: That’s the way I was raised. But that doesn’t mean that my part of the
story is to go off on some crazy-ass mission against orders.

While trying to persuade Starbuck, Roslin explains her role in this story, that she is dying, and that this confession has been made to only three other people, thus building a sort of trust between her and Starbuck. She suggests to Starbuck: “If you go back to Caprica and bring me the arrow, I will show us the way.” Starbuck lifts up Adama as being the one to lead humanity to Earth, that he knows the way. Roslin explains to her that Adama has no idea where Earth is, that he made up the story to give the people hope. She then pushes Starbuck to speak with him, which she does and finds his answers to her questions about Earth evasive. Feeling betrayed by Adama and showing that her religious practices supercede all else, she realizes that she has been following a sort of false prophet and the episode ends with her demonstrating her new allegiance to Roslin over Adama, as she jumps back to Caprica in the raider.

Battlestar Galactica: "The Hand of God"

The episode “The Hand of God” really helps to illustrate some of the various feelings a person can feel when they are thrust into a leadership position they were not seeking or had no intention of accepting. The three main characters we’ve seen thrust into leadership positions during this episode are Laura Roslin, Starbuck, and Baltar (whose storyline is really an extension of previous episodes).

We saw Roslin nervously accept the role of President of the Twelve Colonies at the beginning of the Battlestar Galactica series and now we see her having to be educated about another role she has been thrust into—that of a religious leader. This new calling came to a head during a press conference when she hallucinated some twelve snakes wrapped around the podium and her hands. Following the press conference, she met with the Priestess Elosha. “I’ve been taking chamalla for a medical condition,” she tells her and she explains that she had dreams of Leoben, before they captured him:

Roslin: The images were…
Elosha: Prescient?
Roslin: Uncanny. And now I’m seeing things while I’m awake….There were snakes crawling all over my podium during the press conference.
Elosha: How many?
Roslin: About a dozen.
Elosha: You’re kidding me, right? You read Pythia and now you’re having me on?
Roslin: No. Who is Pythia?
Elosha: One of the oracles in the sacred scrolls 3600 years ago, Pythia wrote about the exile and rebirth of the human race: ‘and the Lords anointed a leader to guide the caravan of the heavens to their new homeland, and unto the leader they have a vision of serpents numbering two and ten as a sign of things to come.’ She also wrote the new leader suffered a wasting disease and would not live to enter the new land. But you’re not dying, are you?

Of course, we all know the answer to that question and we now know that not only was Roslin thrown into the political role of President leading her people to safety, she has been thrown into the theological role of leading her people to the Promised Land. It seems just as she has become fairly comfortable with the political role, a role she at least has observed President Adar filling in Caprica, she has a completely new role thrown onto her shoulders, one that she does not seem to be at all familiar with, as she was unfamiliar with the Pythian prophecies, literature we find out later that was apparently common enough that Baltar read while in the sixth grade.

Similarly, Starbuck is thrown into a new role as a military strategist, coming up with a new, fresh, “out-of-the-box” perspective on battlefield tactics as they decide to do a surprise attack on the Cylon controlled tylium enriched asteroid, a resource that would give them fuel and ammunition for the next couple of years. The Galactica launches their strike force heading towards the base. Starbuck all along has struggled with wanting to be in the cockpit, rather than working behind the scenes with the Commander. However, her knee injury prevents her from flying a viper. During the strike, she still wishes she were with the other viper pilots in the field. Adama tells her, “I had to go through the same transition. When you’re in the cockpit, you’re in control. It’s hard to give it up.” She replied, “I never wanted this kind of responsibility.” “The Cylons never asked what we wanted. Welcome to the big leagues,” is Adama’s consolation. Starbuck’s struggle is with releasing control. While she admits that she “lives outside of the box,” she also wants to be the one fulfilling the orders. She stands with one foot in leadership and one foot in being a follower—it’s up to her to decide where to put her weight and right now it seems that she is trying to shift it to being a follower, being in the cockpit, instead of calling the shots for the fleet.

Baltar, on the other hand, seems to seek leadership; rather, he seems to seek the fame and prosperity that can come with leadership. In his seeking, he has been thrown into a religious position, a new recruit in the Church of the Cylon God, a position that holds certain responsibilities to the Cylon God. Once again, Baltar has interesting conversations throughout the episode with Six about God. He questions why the Cylon God would help him destroy the Cylon base. Six explains that “God doesn’t take sides. He only wants your love. Open your heart to him and he will show you the way….You must remember to surrender your ego. Remain humble.” As discussed in previous episodes, these divine attributes of the Cylon God sound very similar to those described about the Christian God in the Gospels. It seems that Six understands Baltar’s hubris and warns him that it can/will get in the way of a relationship with God, a trap that some hypocritical religious leaders in the Second Testament got in trouble for.

At the end of the episode, Baltar imagines he’s back on Caprica and the Pythian prophecy is further discussed:

Six: Have you read the Pythian prophecy, Gaius?
Baltar: Not since the sixth grad. I can’t say ancient history was my favorite subject.
Six: Six: You should have paid closer attention....”All of this has happened before. All of this will happen again.’
Baltar: Everyone knows that verse. What are you getting at?
Six: Remember this one? “Led by serpents numbering two and ten.”
Baltar: The Vipers! They’re the serpents.
Six: There’s a later verse, Gaius. You should read it. “Though the outcome favored the few, it led to a confrontation at the home of the gods.”
Baltar: Are you telling me that God guided my finger to that target for some arcane scriptural purpose?
Six: You did well. You gave yourself over to him.
Baltar: Yes, I suppose I did. Yes, there’s really no other logical explanation for I was…
Six: Am…
Baltar: …I am an instrument of God.

Baltar and Six discuss the same passage Roslin and Elosha discussed toward the beginning of the episode. However, each couple comes to a different interpretation of the same passage, each thinking s/he is the leader described in the passage. Sometimes Scripture can be interpreted in various ways to suit the situation or interpretation the reader wants. This is why Scripture should be read in context of itself—try to let Scripture interpret itself. How do certain images play out throughout Scripture and how can those other instances inform the passage in question. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the series. The part of the passage that Six does not mention that we did hear earlier in the episode is that this “instrument of God” is supposedly dying of a wasting disease. Roslin is dying of terminal breast cancer; we do not know of anything Baltar is afflicted with (other than hallucinations).

Battlestar Galactica: "Flesh and Bone"

The theme of evangelism continues in “Flesh and Bone,” as Leoben Conoy and Starbuck discuss the nature of God(s) and what it means to be human. While in the previous episode, “Six Degrees of Separation,” we see bedroom evangelism, the tactics of evangelism change in this episode by taking place in an interrogation room. At base level, however, the Cylons’ attempts at evangelism are the same—meet the humans where they are, meet them where they feel comfortable. Baltar’s comfortable place is in his bedroom; Starbuck’s comfortable place is in a military setting where she feels more in control. The Cylons demonstrate that in order to evangelize, we should know the other person, have a relationship with that person. Six knows that Baltar responds to physical relationship and it seems that Six is almost desperate for physical contact and relationship. Leoben knows Starbuck’s past and knows that she is faithful to the human polytheistic religion. Both Six and Leoben are able to evangelize by appealing to the growing relationships with their human counterparts.

After hiding for some time, Leoben Conoy, a duplicate Cylon of the one Adama encountered and fought on Ragnar Anchorage, is caught. Starbuck is called to interrogate him. After observing how human Leoben seems at first glance, Starbuck enters the interrogation chamber:

Starbuck: Sleeping?
Leoben: Praying.
Starbuck: I don’t think the gods
answer the prayers of toaster.
Leoben: God answers everyone’s prayers.

Leoben begins his relationship with Starbuck through a discussion of faith. Their discussions further show that the Cylons believe in a monotheistic religion, while the humans believe in a pantheon. An all-loving, all encompassing God seems very much like how God is described of the Gospels.

Later, Leoben tries to play mind games with Starbuck, and she is unsuccessful in getting information from him, he gives more information about the Cylon God:

Leoben: It’s funny, isn’t it? We’re all God, Starbuck. I see love that bonds
everything together.
Starbuck: Love? You don’t even know that the word
means.
Leoben: I know that God loved you more than all other living
creatures and you repaid his divine love with sin, with hate, corruption, evil,
so then he decided to create the Cylons.
Starbuck: The gods had nothing to
do with it. We created you. Us. It was a stupid and fracked up decision, and we
are paying for it. You destroyed my entire race! That is sin! That is what you
are.

Leoben wants to not only educate Starbuck about the god he believes in, but wants to convert her to believe in his god, as well. Interestingly, it seems that the Cylon race is very similar to paths that some Christian groups have taken. While Christians have read the Gospels, have read some of the Pauline letters, have heard that God loves humanity, that God forgives, that God is compassionate, there are still some Christians that attempt genocide through brute mob mentality and force, while other Christians will harm on a more personal level through one-on-one violence, gestures, and words. In this view, it seems that the Cylons are allegoric for the Nazis and other Christian groups, even the historic Church, who sought to destroy others who did not believe the way they did.

Leoben continues to compare his monotheistic faith to Starbuck’s polytheistic faith:

Leoben: See, our faiths are similar but I look to one god, not to many.
Starbuck: I don’t give a damn what you believe.
Leoben: To know the face
of god is to know madness. I see the universe. I see the patterns. I see the
foreshadowing that precedes every moment of every day. It’s all there. I see it
and you don’t. And I have a surprise for you. I have something to tell you about
the future.
Starbuck: Is that so?
Leoben: It is. But we have to see this
through to the end. What is the most basic article of faith? This is not all
that we are. See, the difference between you and me is, I know what that means
and you don’t. I know that I’m more than this body, more than this
consciousness. A part of me swims in the stream but in truth, I’m standing on
the shore. The current never takes me downstream.

Moses’ encounter with Yahweh on Mount Sinai reveals that God will not show humanity God’s face. Moses asks God: “Show me your glory, I beg you.” God replies, among other things: “You shall see the back of me, but my face is not to be seen.” Interestingly, studies have been done of epileptic and schizophrenic patients and it seems that God appears to them face to face, and the patient describes God, Jesus, or the Virgin Mary in intimate detail, inevitably in an everyday setting. Such studies track with Leoben’s understanding of God.

Just before President Roslin comes to interrupt the interrogation, Leoben gives Starbuck a “gift.” He tells her that “each of us plays a role; each time a different role. Maybe the last time I was the interrogator and you were the prisoner. The players change, the story remains the same. And this time—this time—your role is to deliver my soul unto God. Do it for me. It’s your destiny. And mine.” He continues to tell her that she will find Kobol, birthplace of the Gods and the map to Earth. It is interesting that he, a Cylon android, believes that he not only has a soul, but that he will go to God, though he has admitted that when his body is destroyed, his consciousness will simply be uploaded into another body someplace else. The Cylons have added a mystical, faithful layer on top of the logical hard wiring of their make-up, deifying their upload and download processes.