Survivors: 50298 (Billy's statements about how there were "some over counts" make this number's accuracy questionable.)
Basically, this episode is about endurance, surviving on no sleep. The Cylons appear every thirty three minutes to attack the fleet; the fleet is prepared to spin up their FTL drives and runs away before the Cylons can destroy them; the clocks are then reset for thirty three minutes, when the Cylons will appear and the cycle starts over, again. So, no one is getting any rest, as everyone is on high alert to engage their enemy every 33 minutes.
On board Colonial One, Gaius Baltar has waking dreams of Number Six back at his house on Caprica. It’s these dreams that are loaded with theological baggage, that gave me pause and I had to sit back and think about them. “God has a plan for you, Gaius. He has a plan for everything and everyone.” What a statement! Something that I hear over and over from some who do not understand the ramifications of what they are saying. It’s something that at times I wish I could believe—it would be easy to blame God if something doesn’t go the way I hoped it would, easy to find refuge in an organized plan in a seemingly irrational universe; but, this is a statement I have seen destroy some who cannot understand why God would “take” their child who drowned in the family pool, or the young, brilliant mother who died from cancer and left her four children , or the baby who was shot in his mother’s arms in a drive-by shooting, or the earthquake that buried thousands of people in Central America, or the tsunami that wiped away whole towns, or the hurricane that destroyed several cities, not to mention human against human atrocities, such as the Holocaust—how can we explain that these terrible things were part of God’s plan, according to the Christian Gospel?
Baltar tells Number Six that he believes in a world he can understand, “a rational universe, explained through rational means.” Number Six then tells Baltar, “I love you. That’s not rational.” “No, but you’re not rational. You’re also not really here. Neither am I.” Baltar takes the opposite view of Number Six. Being the scientist, his “god” is reason, a collection of theorems and equations that all balance together and make sense of the universe. Isn’t this what we look for in our world? When things don’t go as we think they should go, when we’re fired from our job of 40 years, when we’re stuck in a traffic jam, when our child dies, when we hit financial crisis, we try to find some solace in a rationalization of why these terrible things happen to us and around us. So often there are no rationalizations that can explain these events. And it doesn’t seem right that a compassionate, loving God would make such horrible things part of a divine plan.
After the next jump, Baltar experiences another waking dream with Number Six. “Do you want children, Gaius? Procreation is one of God’s commandments. I want us to have a child.” He wakes up from this dream/hallucination when he hears Billy mention the name Dr. Amarak. Billy says Amarak has “uncovered important information regarding how the Cylons were able to defeat Colonial defenses.” An alarmed Baltar says that he used to work with him at the Ministry of Defense. He is noticeably worried and suggests that he speak to him instead of Billy, but Billy replies, “I think he wanted to speak directly with the President. Sounded urgent.” Roslin instructs Billy to bring him on board after the next cycle.
Unfortunately, it is with the next cycle, the late-to-arrive Olympic Carrier is thought to have been infiltrated in some way by the Cylons, is loaded with nukes and headed directly towards the fleet. The conversation Baltar has with Number Six when he learns this news is compelling:
In the meantime, the Olympic Carrier continues to head toward the fleet with its nukes. Roslin hesitates to make the call to destroy the ship, while Number Six taunts Baltar, demanding he confess his sins and repent to the Cylon God. After Baltar tells Number Six “I repent,” Roslin gives the order to destroy the Carrier. Its destruction means the destruction of Amarak. Baltar, who has repented of his sins and, consequently, proclaimed a sort of loyalty to the Cylon God, feels safe from being connected with the Cylon attack and destruction of the 12 Colonies. The Cylons arrive and the fleet makes a final jump, leaving the Cylons behind, along with the brutal 33 minute cycle.
It seems that Number Six is trying to make the Cylon God into a sort of rational God, one of patterns and results. If you do this, then this will be the result, according to God’s will. The Christian Gospel describes a God of compassion and love, one who embraces all people and gives forgiveness. The God described in the Gospels doesn’t hold a threat of taking away blessings, but promises to be a bulwark for the weak, love for the disenfranchised, hope for the desperate. In this sense, the God of the Gospels seems to be the opposite of logic and, therefore, the opposite of the Cylon God.
Interesting facts about this episode:
Basically, this episode is about endurance, surviving on no sleep. The Cylons appear every thirty three minutes to attack the fleet; the fleet is prepared to spin up their FTL drives and runs away before the Cylons can destroy them; the clocks are then reset for thirty three minutes, when the Cylons will appear and the cycle starts over, again. So, no one is getting any rest, as everyone is on high alert to engage their enemy every 33 minutes.
On board Colonial One, Gaius Baltar has waking dreams of Number Six back at his house on Caprica. It’s these dreams that are loaded with theological baggage, that gave me pause and I had to sit back and think about them. “God has a plan for you, Gaius. He has a plan for everything and everyone.” What a statement! Something that I hear over and over from some who do not understand the ramifications of what they are saying. It’s something that at times I wish I could believe—it would be easy to blame God if something doesn’t go the way I hoped it would, easy to find refuge in an organized plan in a seemingly irrational universe; but, this is a statement I have seen destroy some who cannot understand why God would “take” their child who drowned in the family pool, or the young, brilliant mother who died from cancer and left her four children , or the baby who was shot in his mother’s arms in a drive-by shooting, or the earthquake that buried thousands of people in Central America, or the tsunami that wiped away whole towns, or the hurricane that destroyed several cities, not to mention human against human atrocities, such as the Holocaust—how can we explain that these terrible things were part of God’s plan, according to the Christian Gospel?
Baltar tells Number Six that he believes in a world he can understand, “a rational universe, explained through rational means.” Number Six then tells Baltar, “I love you. That’s not rational.” “No, but you’re not rational. You’re also not really here. Neither am I.” Baltar takes the opposite view of Number Six. Being the scientist, his “god” is reason, a collection of theorems and equations that all balance together and make sense of the universe. Isn’t this what we look for in our world? When things don’t go as we think they should go, when we’re fired from our job of 40 years, when we’re stuck in a traffic jam, when our child dies, when we hit financial crisis, we try to find some solace in a rationalization of why these terrible things happen to us and around us. So often there are no rationalizations that can explain these events. And it doesn’t seem right that a compassionate, loving God would make such horrible things part of a divine plan.
After the next jump, Baltar experiences another waking dream with Number Six. “Do you want children, Gaius? Procreation is one of God’s commandments. I want us to have a child.” He wakes up from this dream/hallucination when he hears Billy mention the name Dr. Amarak. Billy says Amarak has “uncovered important information regarding how the Cylons were able to defeat Colonial defenses.” An alarmed Baltar says that he used to work with him at the Ministry of Defense. He is noticeably worried and suggests that he speak to him instead of Billy, but Billy replies, “I think he wanted to speak directly with the President. Sounded urgent.” Roslin instructs Billy to bring him on board after the next cycle.
Unfortunately, it is with the next cycle, the late-to-arrive Olympic Carrier is thought to have been infiltrated in some way by the Cylons, is loaded with nukes and headed directly towards the fleet. The conversation Baltar has with Number Six when he learns this news is compelling:
“God’s watching out for you….” Number Six tells Baltar, “Dr. Amarak posed a
threat to you. Now he’s gone. Logic says there’s a
connection.”
“A connection, maybe, but not God. There is no God or
gods, singular or plural. There are no large invisible men (or women for
that matter) taking a personal interest in the fortuned of Gaius Baltar.”
“Be
careful. That which God gives he can also take away.”
In the meantime, the Olympic Carrier continues to head toward the fleet with its nukes. Roslin hesitates to make the call to destroy the ship, while Number Six taunts Baltar, demanding he confess his sins and repent to the Cylon God. After Baltar tells Number Six “I repent,” Roslin gives the order to destroy the Carrier. Its destruction means the destruction of Amarak. Baltar, who has repented of his sins and, consequently, proclaimed a sort of loyalty to the Cylon God, feels safe from being connected with the Cylon attack and destruction of the 12 Colonies. The Cylons arrive and the fleet makes a final jump, leaving the Cylons behind, along with the brutal 33 minute cycle.
It seems that Number Six is trying to make the Cylon God into a sort of rational God, one of patterns and results. If you do this, then this will be the result, according to God’s will. The Christian Gospel describes a God of compassion and love, one who embraces all people and gives forgiveness. The God described in the Gospels doesn’t hold a threat of taking away blessings, but promises to be a bulwark for the weak, love for the disenfranchised, hope for the desperate. In this sense, the God of the Gospels seems to be the opposite of logic and, therefore, the opposite of the Cylon God.
Interesting facts about this episode:
- This episode won the 2005 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.This episode received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Series. (2004)
- This episode received a Visual Effects Society nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Animated Character in a Live Action Broadcast Program. (Cylon Centurions) (2005)
- Number Six says that procreation is God’s command; the episode ends with Roslin finding out that she can add one person to the census count because there was a birth in the fleet.
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