A superlative restoration of a key film in Alfred Hitchcock’s evolution as a master explorer of sexual neuroses.
The series finale is about as audacious and ambitious a piece of television as I’ve ever seen.
I don’t think it’s coincidence that this was the episode to reintroduce the concept of Cylon projection.
I’ve speculated before that the show’s writers are interested in their mythology, but probably not as interested as their fans are.
Genre fiction requires the infodump.
Battlestar has always had a weakness for Big! Shocking! Moments! that turn out to just be dreams.
The episode is like a primer as to why we came to love all of these characters in the first place.
The ensemble of players, above everything else, is what makes Battlestar Galactica come to life.
The episode is probably going to piss off a lot of fans, especially coming this late in the show’s run.
Battlestar Galactica gets a reputation for being a dark show, and some of that is well-deserved.
The show has always given a sense that it’s willing to dispense with vital parts of its premise for an episode or two.
After two episodes full of deliberate but pulse-quickening pacing, “Sine Qua Non” feels a little scattered.
The episode zip along with verve, finding little time for the character moments the last few episodes have been filled with.
This is probably one of those episodes that most of the diehard fans will hate because it’s a little strange.
The episode wasn’t a slam-bang premiere, outside of its opening space battle.
The episode felt shot through with the weight of time passed and the regrets incumbent in such a scenario.
“Woman King” was strengthened by the central performance of Tahmoh Penikett.
The season, so far, has given some of the show’s less-heralded players some good material to work with.
Full disclosure: My personal politics are half Socialist and half Libertarian.
On the mythology front, Galactica took a few tentative steps forward, mostly onboard the Cylon basestar.