Battlestar Galactica 3.13: "The Woman King"
Airdate: Sunday, February 11th, 2007

So I'm kind of getting the idea that this episode is not inspiring raves amongst my fellow Galacticans. In fact, this morning I heard someone compare it to season 2's snoozy "Black Market," which...I'm sorry, but that's impossible. No episode is as bad as "Black Market. It's A Fact.

You want to know the truth? I liked it. Perhaps I am too much of a Fighting Agathons fangirl. Or perhaps I was just in the mood for an old school TNG-style bottle show. Or perhaps the whole Bruce Davison thing amused me (more on that in a sec).

OK, so there's some sort of epidemic going on and many of the victims seem to be Sagittarons, who don't believe in medical treatment and stuff. I won't even say what religion they're a metaphor for, because I think you are all smart enough to figure it out (Hint: It's Christian Scientists!). Civilian Dr. Robert is in charge of treating them. Who in the whatsis? That's right, Dr. Robert! He's well-respected and has been there all along, even though we've never seen him before, ever. And he's played by Acclaimed Character Actor Bruce Davison, so I'm sure he won't be important and/or secretly up to no good, right?

Yeah, no. This is like when one of the Law & Order's has a semi-famous guest star lurking in the background, biding their time through all of the red herrings, just waiting to give their big bad guy speech in the interrogation room. If you see Kal Penn scuffling through the scene as a lowly janitor while Stabler and Benson are arresting a suspect, it means he did it.

Anyway, Helo knows Bruce is doing bad things, because he's Helo. After Dualla (who is a Sagittaron, by the way - go, character development!) almost bites it, everyone actually listens to Helo and it's revealed that Bruce is killing Sagittarons because...uh...he...doesn't...like them? I don't know. His motives are sort of vague and sloppily explained. But he does get to give a classic big bad guy speech.

I really dig it when this show, with its sprawling canvas, lasers in on one particular character and the dilemma that arises here - that Helo is always on the wrong side of everything - is a compelling one. And yes, OK, the more screentime for my Fighting Agathons (Helo, Sharon, Hera, Helo's Muscles), the better. I mean, how cute was Hera's little starship mobile? And how much did I love Helo punching Tigh, who kind of deserved it? And though this isn't as elegant a piece of work as, say, TNG's "The Drumhead," there is a classic TNG bottle show-ness about it, which I found comforting rather than derivative.

I also really dug all the little touches throughout, which contribute greatly to Galactica's rich texture. The group scene in the bar, for example, doesn't do much to advance the plot, but I enjoyed watching a big group of BSG characters interact in a slice o' life sort of way. A word of advice to Chief, though: you're kind of turning into that slurry drunk that nobody likes. No, nobody wants to give you a ride home or listen to your three-hour manifesto on why Dodgeball is better than Anchorman (though for the record, I agree with you). Just be careful, OK?

I was also intrigued by the two tiny bits of Starbuck - the surreptitious glance at Apollo and Dualla in the bar scene and the wordless, arm-touching affection she showed Sharon at the top of the hour. The latter thing, in particular, was heart-warming, yet odd. Are she and Sharon best buddies now? Oh, well. It's just nice to see Kara acting like something other than an asshole.

I should also mention that sandwiched into this episode are two tasty scenes that are like fun candy surprises. First there's Zarek, telling Roslin he doesn't think the trial of Gaius Baltar is such a good idea. Then there's Sharon, visiting the imprisoned Six and telling her that she'll try to find the poor Cylon some more clothes. Hey, does anyone happen to have anything that might fit an impossibly tall blonde bombshell with a fondness for microminis? Six, by the way, is also being visited by HallucinoBaltar. Lovely.

Yeah, I liked it. And it's not "Black Market"! It's not! Make that comparison again and I will squash you with Lee's fat suit.

iTunes Links

Battlestar Galactica - Series
Battlestar Galactica - Season 3
"The Woman King"