What we have here at the heart of this fourteenth episode of the second season of Battlestar, is a good, old fashioned mystery. Perhaps a mystery similar to the one that explains why these reviews stopped right in the middle of season 2 last year. That’s a mystery that will remain a mystery for now.
1. The problem with Fisk
He’s the opposite of Adama. At least Admiral Cain was an exemplary leader. Fisk is just…well…Fisk. He’s in the process of making an alliance with Vice President Baltar, another strike against him. The main, driving force in this episode is President Roslin’s concern that civilians within her fleet are turning to the black market for the goods they need; criminals are running the show. To Roslin there are good people and there are bad people and the bad ones can’t gain control. Maybe it’s the teacher in her; rules must be followed. We soon see Commander Fisk is zero percent concerned about the black market problem, and why is that? Because he’s neck deep in the black market himself. And Fisk doesn’t protect that neck because he’s garrotted shortly after his flippant response to Roslin’s concerns. Poor Fisk. In reality, poor Pegasus, she’s truly been run through the ringer in terms of commanders. It’s difficult to find someone with the morality of Adama; he’s a dying breed. But, that’s not the impetus behind this episode, the hunt for Fisk’s killer is.
2. Apollo the Boy Scout
Lee Adama is the kid you respect and admire, but probably also hate just a little bit because he’s just too damn good. His dad is Commander William Adama, he’s real good looking, he’s a skilled pilot, and he’s just a great guy. But, after Apollo ejected from Blackbird, he hasn’t been the same man. He didn’t want to survive, and he’s supposed to be “dark Lee” now, but I don’t buy it. He just seems like dissatisfied Lee to me. I’m not sure he came across this way to me way back in 2006, but he does now. He’s not haunted by anything. It doesn’t necessarily take away from the show, but he still just seems like a good guy when he’s sleeping with Shevon, a prostitute, as he wants to take her and her daughter away from the life they’re living.
3. Heart of Darkness
Apollo works his way through the seamy underbelly of the fleet’s less than reputable gangs on Cloud 9 and on a new ship, the Prometheus, an intentional reference by the writers to the novel, Heart of Darkness, and one that did not come off quite as well as planned according to Ron Moore. Basically, Shevon is beaten up to send Apollo a message, and get him off the case, but he refuses, as a Boy Scout does, and questions Zarek, who has a surprising amount of information about the black market and how it functions and sends our investigating pilot to the Prometheus. Who would have guessed it, but the Prometheus has a seedy bar, and this is where the head gangster has set up shop. And this is where Apollo confronts him. While Heart of Darkness comments on the idea that there is little difference between civilized people and savages, we see the same in this episode when Apollo shoots the gangster in the head. He sells children and that’s a step Apollo can’t tolerate. Interestingly, Heart of Darkness also comments on racism, and in a poor casting decision, the only black character in the episode, besides Dee, is the gangster.
4. Morality
If there is little difference between civilized people and savages, where do President Roslin, Commander Adama, and Apollo draw the line when it comes to illicit activity? They all allow the black market to continue, because, as Apollo says, it’s better to have names. He himself bought antibiotics on the black market for Shevon’s daughter. Roslin is obviously not pleased with the result of Apollo’s investigation, but as the gangster says, “it’s hard to find the moral high ground when we’re all standing in the mud.” Where’s the line in a post-apocalyptic world? Even Tom Zarek tells Apollo, “did you expect some utopian fantasy to rise from the ashes?”
Continued below5. Ooooof
This is not one of the best episodes of Battlestar. It had potential, but it falls short for many reasons. One of those reasons is a series of flashbacks Apollo has to his life before the Cylon attack, flashbacks of a woman. The reason I haven’t mentioned it yet is because it feels shoehorned into the episode in order to give more meaning to Apollo’s relationship with Shevon. And then Shevon somehow decodes and figures out Apollo’s entire past relationship with this woman, because she’s that perceptive? This was tough.
A bright spot in this episode was some bonding between Lee Adama and his father. The Commander puts his son in charge of this investigation and his son comes through. The Commander also recognizes his son has changed; he’s been different and difficult to reach. If good commanding and good parenting is about anything, it’s communication. Nice work, Adama.
