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.

Battlestar Galactica: "Six Degrees of Separation"

In church growth circles there’s a phrase that is sometimes used: “Bedroom Evangelism.” It usually refers to when churches grow because their member families are growing, more children are being born into the church than new, unchurched people are joining the congregation. In the Battlestar universe, Six is adding a new twist to bedroom evangelism. She seems to fully understand that Baltar acts on the most basic, primal, carnal level in his own best interests. So, at least in his head, Six likes to evangelize in Baltar’s boudoir, or at the very least when she gets his carnal urges revved. This theological tone is set with the beginning of the episode “Six Degrees of Separation.”

“I don’t see the hand of God in here,” a frustrated Baltar exclaims in his lab while examining some cells under his microscope. Six needles him, pushes him to contemplate God some more. Baltar wonders if he’ll find “evidence of His divine hand” in one of the blood samples. Six asks why Baltar is driven to blaspheme and she theorizes that he has a “need to tempt fate.” Baltar says it’s because of boredom.

The next thing we know we are in Baltar’s sex-fantasy domicylon with him in bed and Six sitting astride him. She suggests that he would find peace if he gave himself over to God’s love. Six understands Baltar. He knows he acts on the carnal level, whatever his physical urges tell him and whatever is in his best interests. So, Six mixes the carnal with the theological, gets Baltar’s primal urges pulsing while encouraging him to believe in the Cylon monotheistic God. While lovers tend to whisper “sweet nothings” in each others’ ears, Six whispers theological points in Baltar’s ears. As Baltar fumbles around with her dress, Six moves his hands away and insists that God has a plan for them. “If you would give yourself over to God’s will, you’d find peace in his love like I have. He has a plan for us.” Baltar is surprised not by the statement that God has a plan, but at Six’s use of a masculine pronoun. Six becomes testy and responds, “There is only one true God,” and she leaves Baltar’s bed.

Baltar says that she’s been repeating the same thing. Standing behind Six, he adds, “I’ve accepted your God and all that.” Baltar refers back a couple of episodes (“33”) to his conversation with Six about seeking forgiveness of his sins as the Olympic Carrier threatened the fleet and Baltar’s reputation. With an eye roll, Six says, “He’s not my God; he is God.” Baltar humors her: “He’s big enough for all of us, isn’t he?” Baltar tries to woo Six back into bed. Six insists that Baltar needs to give himself over to God’s love. “Oh for God’s sake,” Baltar snaps back and turns away from her. Six says that she’s trying to save his soul.

But, according to Baltar, all she is doing is boring him. He rants that her beliefs are “metaphysical nonsense, which to be fair to [Six], actually appeals to the half-educated dullards that make up most of human society,” and adds that no rational human would share her beliefs. Six gets off the bed and heads for the door as Baltar smugly adds, “Which leads me to the inescapable conclusion that Cylons are, in the final—“ He turns to face Six, and discovers that she’s gone. While trying to follow her, he raises his voice to finish his thought: “In the final analysis, little more than toasters.” He opens the bedroom door and looks downstairs, but she is nowhere to be seen. “With great-looking legs,” he concludes his thought. He closes the door and sits on the bed, pouting that at least this time there will be no conclusion for his carnal urges. In this scene no one gets what they want—he doesn’t have his primal urges sated and she hasn’t been able to convert a new believer.

The theological discussions, the bedroom evangelism, in this episode play out very similarly to “33” when Baltar finally confessed his sins and his belief in the Cylon God. In “33” when things were getting bad for Baltar, he confessed and things cleared up for him and his good reputation remained in tact. In “Six Degrees of Separation, “ after Baltar was thrown in the brig, (he was caught trying to destroy the computer that had rendered his image as the one who allowed Cylon access to the defense mainframe before the attack) Baltar gets down on his knees and prays: “Please, dear God…and I acknowledge you are the one true God…deliver me from this evil, and I will devote the rest of what is left of my wretched life to doing good, and to carrying out your divine will.” Baltar cries through the rest of his declaration. “Grant me grace. Grant me forgiveness.” Then Six appears and consoles him. “Shhhh. I’m here now. I’m here. All will be well. It will be as God wants it to be.” Gaeta arrives and gives him the good news that he’s to be freed.

Not only is Baltar exonerated, he becomes a hero as a result of all of this. At the end of the episode, Baltar and Six are back in his home in Caprica and Six continues to play to Baltar’s primal/carnal urges by building up his ego (and libido). “You’re a hero,” Six tells him. “You’re even more popular and powerful than ever before. You’ve had your trial by fire, so now they truly believe in you. Hard for them to accuse you of treason again.” “Was that the plan all along. Build me up in the public mind by first tearing me down…Right. Who am I to question the plans of almighty God.” He asks her, “Was there ever a woman really called Shelly Godfrey? Did she ever exist, was she ever really here?” There is no answer, and Six ascends the stairs and undresses, with Baltar following after her. “God’s will be done.” Unlike the opening scene of the episode, both people get what they want—a new convert and carnal urges sated.