Battlestar Galactica

Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 1 was a perfectly entertaining episode of Battlestar Galactica and I really enjoyed watching this episode because there was a lot of character development and political intrigue which kept things very interesting. A habitable planet changes the game for everyone and things intensify. It was cool to see the rescue mission in action as well. This was a great episode and I look forward to finding out what happens next in the season two finale!!!!!!!!!

Seriously people. Starbuck gets permission to go back to Caprica to save ca 50 measly people? They have sacrificed more people than that in one second.

Let alone the chances of bringing back an cylon infiltrator, which... See the next ep and you'll know what I mean.

What happened to the Adama and Roslin that threw out a guy in the miniseries, just because they suspected him to be a cylon. They were not sure, just the thought of it was reason enough. They just couldn't be sure of it. So they sacrificed him. That was riveting and compelling! Not this. God, I'm disappointed. Follow the whims of Starbuck, how deep and intelligent storytelling *sarcasm*. Also, wasn't just a few eps ago Adama and co. had to deal with the fact that there wasn't enough viper pilots to man the viper ships? Suddenly he is risking all his pilots? BS! Even Starbuck counted 20% of them would not make it back. And all for what? For Anders, aka Starbuck's boytoy? Who she only knew for a couple of days. This is the point where Starbuck becomes unbearable.

The snippets from the presidential debates, while not exactly enthralling, were well written. Baltar in particular had some dialogue that was, if not inspiring, at least convincing(only because I know his character better than the people of the fleet). And any time someone can put Roslin on tilt is a good time. Even at this point I was 100% against Baltar as president, but it was nice seeing him get her so flustered that she had to result to some rather un-presidential comebacks, "Why don't you go frak yourself?" Baltar folding in the discovery of the new planet into his existing strategy of attacking Roslin's faith based quest for Earth was a very savvy political maneuver. Zarek's still no Bruno Gianelli or anything though. If anyone is curious to know where I would stand on the issue; you couldn't get me off of Galactica(or Pegasus) even if it was Earth they had just found. Now if I was part of the civilian fleet it might be a different story, but probably not.



I found myself still sympathizing a great deal with Sharon. The scene in the briefing room in particular was hard to watch knowing all that she's going through. It didn't get any better out in the hallway either. Helo's not a bad character, but man, the guy can be oblivious sometimes. Did you really just ask her if she's okay? No, she's not gonna be okay for awhile.



Introducing the whole idea of fate, and the Gods or God showing favor to either side early on in the series was a smart move, as it allows discoveries like the planet Racetrack finds to have some reason behind their suddenness, which is more than many shows would do. Beyond that I wasn't really crazy about the scenes of Starbuck's Raptor battalion's journey to Caprica. They weren't notably bad, it just felt like they were filler to stretch out the storyline so they could save their arrival for the end of the episode. Plus I felt bad for the red shirts that ended up in a mountain.



Chief letting his feelings for Sharon go so far as to make him question his own humanity was one of the better storylines in my opinion. I enjoyed his scenes with Brother Cavil(I'll elaborate on him in the next episode). The quick cuts of Chief beating Cally and his dream sequence were some nice pieces of cinematography/editing. I don't know if it was something they had to do for scheduling reasons, but I like Chief appearing beardless in the dream, as if to imply it's how he sees himself. If you didn't want to kill yourself before, I imagine wailing on a sweetheart like Cally would certainly get you there. And Cavil's, "it's all on you," form of therapy didn't seem to provide much comfort.



It was solid but beyond a few moments nothing especially noteworthy about it. Maybe I was just expecting too much because of how good the last season finale's Pt. 1 was.

***This review details –» this is a "I" perspective, based in what I like and recognize to be good or interesting, this is not a "god" where the guy thinks what he thinks is the true or the "you" perspective where I know what you will like and what you don´t.***



And the season finale begins here:



Presentation Phase - » (8/10) the beginning was the necessary setup, with some strange actions to Cally who was beaten up by Tyrol,

Complication Phase - » (18/20) and Gaius and Roslin have to dispute the presidency since this is the season finale, Starbuck had to come back to New Caprica to find Sanders, and with luck, two members of the fleet may have founded a planet that can be their new home, the conversation that Tyrol had with the Priest was the best,



Ending - » (8/10) emotional and interesting ending,

Drama - » (18/20) like I said, the conversation with the priest was the best drama played here,



Details/Progress (To point A to B) -» (9/10) the necessary progress to this setup,

Time and Scene Management - » (10/10) didn´t noticed fillers,



Plot Details/Holes- » (10/10) fine,

Storyline -» (9/10) until now the Storyline is very interesting,



This episode setups the final events that will play in the last episode of the season.

You knew this was going to happen sooner or later. Baltar using his vice presidency to run for president. This one story line I was looking forward to and I like they didn't rush into it with one episode and they actually split it between two. Now the other storylines with Tyrol and the priest was an interesting one. The storyline of Starbuck returning to Caprica is the best of the three in my opinion. I like how the Good Sharon helps with the jumps that turn 200 hyperspace jumps into 14. I like the rule of if they lose more than 3 they have to scrub the mission and turn back. Interesting plot twist at the end of this episode.

It is a time - for almost everything.



President's elections are on the way and it all looks great for Roslin as she has fear in her side until Gaius comes hope with even more powerful tool - hope.. and that all thanks to the Starbuck's rescue mission - she is finally going to Carpica and keeping her promise. They use some new technology thanks to Sharon and make longer jumps and after first one, one of the ships gets lost and founds inhabitable planet - what now turns Gaius most important idea - they will settle in.



And ofcourse we have some things going on aboard Galactica. Chief is having some nightmares and hurts Celly when she tries to awake him.. and then he ends up having talk with priest and realizing his fear - he is afraid that he might be cylon too.. yeah right.. but who knows? Sharon started out having some weird thoughts too..

As a set-up for the season finale, LDYB-1 again demonstrates the weakness of this entire series. We\'re reliant on plotlines that served as padding for the first 5 episodes when Adama was out of action (\"resistance\" on Caprica), and a filler linking us to off-camera goings-on that again rings hollow (Tyrol\'s \"am I a Cylon?\").



Indeed, compare this episode with Season\'s 1\'s Kobol\'s Last Gleaming 1, and you can see how far things have slipped. KLG-1 represented the culmination of all the plot strands that had been cultivated throughout season 1, bringing them together in a powerful, intense and moving two-parter that catapulted the storyline into what should have been immensely powerful new arcs. My main problem with LDYB-1 is that it kicks back to the whole resistance thing on Caprica. Sorry, but this, and the \"breeding farms\" has never hung together for me. Perhaps I\'m biased as RDM did admit the resistance idea spun out of fans\' demands for such, rather than being a natural outgrowth of the story. Throughout season 1, the Cylons were cold-bloodedly bent on the extermination of humanity, totally nuked-out the 12 colonies and would no doubt worked hard to stamp out any attempts at resistance - yet hey presto, here on Caprica we have not only a highly-organised resistance movement - but one made up of pampered sports stars who in a remarkably short period of time have not only managed to train themselves very thoroughly, they\'ve also managed to get themselves well-armed. Erp. Sorry, doesn\'t work from where I\'m sitting.



Leaving these gripes aside, the whole SAR mission is still questionable. To quote Trek: The Needs of the Many and all that. Throughout Season 1, Galactica was stressed out due to her lack of Vipers and Raptors. Okay - so now the Pegasus has arrived, presumably with the majority of her fighter and recce squadrons intact - but that still doesn't mean they have ships to spare, and yet at the outset, they can muster around 17 Raptors. Whichever way you look at it, that must be the fleet's entire contingent of the craft. Risking ALL of them on a SAR mission of questionable outcome is simply not good military thinking.



Certainly, sending 17 Raptors, each with at least 4 crew each aboard to satisfy Kara Thrace's promise is bordering on a monumental military blunder. As we've seen elsewhere, Raptors form an essential part of the fleet's search and recce ops. Putting so many at risk in one go is certainly reducing the fleet's current and future capabilities and options. There are other major flaws surrounding the "rescue" mission as well, but these I'll leave for now. Even without mentioning them, the whole thing doesn't hang together. The only thing of the remotest interest is whether the Download/Six and Download/Sharon are with the resistance... Then there is Tyrol. OK - there were mutterings about his potential identity in some quarters following the revelation surrounding Galactica/Boomer, but throughout it all, his actions suggested that at his core, he has never seriously considered himself to be Cylon. In this, he\'s been as stoic as Helo. Yets here, boom-bang-a-bang, he\'s suddenly saddled with all of Galactica/Boomer\'s doubts and insecurities. If this is to lead to the revelation that he is indeed a Cylon, then it is at best a clumsy manipulation of the audience (\"see, he\'s not a Cylon - oh, frak! he IS!\"). If it is an attempt merely to introduce Dean Stockwell\'s character (whose choice of phrasing at times strongly suggests he IS a Cylon), then it is a very weak and is again a clumsy means of handling the introduction. Where this story does shine is in the political intrigue. The election is rife with the tensions that made some much of Season 1 an explosive mix. Why the writers didn\'t focus on this - perhaps counterpointing Roslin\'s state of mind now to how she had been in KLG more strongly - we\'d have had an outstanding episode. Certainly, the interactions between Baltar and Zarek, and Six\'s responses to Zarek make their scenes very beautifully crafted, and worthy of the best of Season 1. But even here there is something jarring. Caprica/Sharon wants to help the humans - or at least, help Helo. There is no way she CANNOT know the truth behind Baltar\'s betrayal - yet never once has she mentioned it, not even in passing to Helo. If the reason for this turns out to be because she is \"indebted\" to him for trying to save her baby after Roslin ordered her pregnancy terminated, than I for one am going to be disappointed. Overall a return to the middle-of-the-road storytelling that has marked far too much of this season. Perhaps a cut above many earlier episodes, but certainly a long way below the standards set in the last couple of weeks. And for those who thing this episode is \"revealing\" or \"outstanding\" - I politely suggest you go back and watch Season 1 and particularly Kobol\'s Last Gleaming 1 & 2. I think you\'ll find the shine quickly fades on this episode after you do...

Chief Tyrol suffers from constant nightmares that causes him to endanger himself and those around him. Roslin and Baltar participates in a live debate. The fleet accidentally stumbles upon a habitable planet. This is an exciting episode that brings the show to an exciting close, this part 1 is so riveting. It's BSG classic, we're treated with twist and turns. The adventure takes the human survivors to situations they can't possibly imagine. The writers made this episode really well, the characters are very fleshed out. The storylines and subplots are so intriguing, they give tv sci fi a new meaning.

The dangers of politics, lesson 1: Politicians will do whatever appeals to enough voters to get them elected. Whether that be to persecute a minority, start a war, end a war, or force a desperate band of refugees to settle on a desolate ice ball, if the people will get behind it, the politician will support it, regardless of how stupid he and everyone else regard it to be. Had a majority of the fleet supported calling the whole thing off and going back to Caprica, I'm sure that our dear Dr. Baltar would have taken the idea to heart. It's kind of sad to see such a "genius" taking that path; it must have been as obvious to him as to everyone that they can't afford to stop and settle down.



The one point that no one ever brings up is whether the fleet really should be heading to Earth. The Cylons seem to have no problem following them, and have certainly infiltrated the fleet. If they go to Earth, the Cylons will most likely follow them there. I'm sure their reception will turn a little chilly when the good people of Earth discover that their long-lost brothers have brought a master race of killer robots down on them. Or one could argue that the Cylons will head to Earth whether the fleet goes there or not, thus giving them an obligation to warn their brothers in the thirteenth colony. I guess no one considered the possibility that some could stay on this new planet while the fleet went off in search of Earth. Compromise can be nice sometimes.



Back to the episode. Baltar's cool acceptance of his imminent defeat was a great start. Next scene we see Roslin apparently off her meds again as she mutters to herself and tears up some index cards. I guess the loser never really has anything to worry about. Roslin and Baltar debate, sort of like we do here in the U.S. Some stuffy commentator asks a bunch of questions that I suppose represent real opinions, and the candidates give prepared statements in response. I was hoping for a more British style affair, what with all the heckling and name-calling. Holding leaders accountable - it doesn't have to be a pipe dream.



Oh, and Kara finally gets to take her little rescue mission back to Caprica. I can't help but wonder what all of the people from the other colonies must be feeling, with their planets getting overlooked, but I guess those they'll just have to wait. Season three, maybe; Kara needs to find her man before she kills somebody. Like herself.



There's one shot, of the last of the rescue Raptors jumping back into Caprica's atmosphere, that's just marvelous. One second, nothing but black, and the next, a windshield full of mountains, smoke and spaceships. Pretty sweet.

i am so happy for what i saw on thhat episode. the makers are keeping us interested in what we are watching even if it is not exactly what we want to happen. roslin was doing so well in the debate and she managed to keep her cool throughout the thing even though someone and i won't mention names gaius baltar was being a royal pain in the neck.everyone just needed to trust roslin because she knew what she was doing i mean the woman is not stupid. anyway i believe baltar is real evil for doing such monstrous things such as giving that cylon girl six the bomb and so it is because of him that the cylons found them.

The main storylines are questionable, to say the least. Why would any reasonable voter be so impressed by the idea of permanent settlement as long as the Cylon conflict is not resolved and they have a big Cylon fleet following them, as stated in Resurrection Ship? Why would they send all of their raptors on a strategically pointless rescue mission? What was the point of dragging Sharon in front of these pilots like they were offering her on a slave market?

So I wouldn't exactly call it the most locial episode to date. Some parts were nicely done of course, like the counselling with Tyrol, but there is a lot that needs to happen in Part 2, if the producers want to end the overall disappointing season 2.5 on a high note.

The Chief beats up a woman! What the hell is wrong with this guy? I think we'll find out soon.

Cylon? Hmmmmmmm

Meanwhile, Starbuck gets back to Caprica but how high will the cost be this time? Anders?

A planet that could provide safe haven for some of the colonies survivors? Will Baltar and Zarek become leaders in favor of settling there?

A lot of questions....

A good episode but only a beginning.

And Dean Stockwell is being very vague isn't he?

Not the goof ball of Quantum Leap fame.

What's his deal?

Tune in next week to find out.

What a way to lead up to the season finale. Whe this episode ended, all I could scream was "WHAT!!!" and "Nooooo!!!". That is the mark of a great episode. Baltar is a snake in the grass and I look forward to his being exposed for the coward that he is.

Again I marvel at the complicated writing of this show. I myself and one of those people that can usally pick apart a story before the end of the first half. My friends hate me becuase I usually know how did it by the third commerical break.



Galactica keeps me on my toes. Whenever I think something is going to happen, it doesnt. What makes it hard to predict is that sometimes they do make it clear the way they are going. Other times it's like getting hit in the face with a frying pan and it leaves you dumb founded.



Kara's continual removal from Apollo shows a descent into her agonogy of never being loved. She plays the truly abused woman to the T. Her strength comes from bravado and she can not let it slip and show she loves anyone.



Lee is finally resolving some of his issues by being the commander of the Pegasus. Which in it's own right brings up more problems and stress than Lee is ready for.



The election is coming to head and the two main contestants are starting to show their colors. It's amazing how this show is mimic real life but making it feel like a fairy tale.



Again I must give kudos to one of the strongest written shows on TV!

THis was an excellent episode. I am glad they let Starbuck lead a mission to rescue the survivors on Caprica. While Lee did tell Starbuck he hoped she found Anders, I dont think he really meant it. His obvious affection for her is still there. While Sharon was still heartbroken she did her duty and helped lead the mission. I think the planet that was found is a cylon trick. Cant wait til next week.

This episode does a lot toward building unresolved plotlines. Since the finale will doubtless give us even more, BSG fans will have plenty of look forward to in the third season. I'm expecting more of the same from the finale. Here comes the cliffhanger.



BSG can occasionally be terrific and good nearly all the time. This episode certainly doesn't rise to the top of the list of best episodes, but it does what it's supposed to, build toward a cliffhanger for the end of the second season.



Can't believe we have to wait so many months for new episodes.

Bloody awesome episode. I\'ve had the misfortune to come into this series in the middle....I\'ve missed the first two seasons, but have viewed the miniseries. Thankfully, though, I have a great number of people who have been fully capable of keeping me as up-to-date as humanly possible, so I feel like I can keep up with the series as it progresses towards an amazing finish.



This episode being a two-parter, I can fully understand why they ended it when they did, but by God, I wish they hadn\'t. All the while, my viewing party and I were saying, \"Ok, *now* who are they going to kill off?\" I am eagerly awaiting the second part, and at the same time, dreading the season finale.

This being “Battlestar: Galactica”, reviewing this first part of the finale is not particularly simple. It’s a given that this is only a prelude to a much larger story, much like “Kobol’s Last Gleaming: Part I” and “Pegasus” before it. The point of the episode is pure setup, moving the pieces into final position before the next endgame. So the question is: how well does it serve that function?



I would argue that a series like “BSG” has it a bit easier than a series with a more episodic format, like the “Stargate” shows. The prelude to the finale actually began with “Epiphanies”, and a number of plot threads addressed in this episode trace back at least to that point (if not earlier). There’s no need to generate a completely new crisis; a simple trigger can force the existing plot threads into a more active phase. In this episode, two things take place that will inevitably trigger something far more.



Tyrol’s mental state has been degrading for quite some time, going back to the beginning of the season, but it wasn’t until “Resurrection Ship” that he attempted to sublimate his emotions regarding Sharon. All it took from there was a series of nightmares and the escalation of his fears stemming from his close relationship to Boomer to toss him over the edge into psychosis.



While it’s not entirely clear how Tyrol’s psychological issues will factor into the second part of the finale, it’s a given that Brother Cavil, played perfectly by Dean Stockwell, will be the one pushing him in that direction. There’s a lot of reason to suspect that Cavil is a Cylon, just by the fact that his words echo Six from the mini-series from time to time, but that could be a bit of misdirection. Tyrol’s role in the next episode, after all, hinges on where his damaged psyche takes him, and that’s still far from clear.



What this serves to accomplish, however, is the resurrection of the paranoia that the series had in the first season, when the identity of the hidden Cylons was a prominent plot point. It’s become progressively easier to ignore that, and the humans have almost become comfortable with their assumptions. They remember that other Cylons are hidden in the fleet, but they don’t seem to suspect each other as openly or frequently, and that could be costly.



The more obvious trigger, however, is the discovery of the habitable planet. It provides Baltar with the issue he needs to win popular support for his campaign. I was hoping for a more in-depth dissection of Roslin’s previous claims as a religious prophet, since it could have been challenged on a number of grounds, but it didn’t really come up beyond a general mention here and there.



There’s still plenty of reason to assume that the Cylons know about the planet and are waiting in the wings (perhaps some of those unexplored barren areas), and there’s the little question of whether or not they would want the humans to stay there or continue towards Earth. I was under the impression that the Cylons wanted Baltar in change so that he could lead them to Earth and help them achieve their agenda, but the previous episode made it seem as though Six is a figment of Baltar’s own mind, so I’m not sure that assumption still holds.



Whatever the case, as usual, this episode covers a lot of ground, and I’m betting that a ton of material had to be cut for time. Moore mentions that the means of returning to Caprica was a victim of budget and time, so there’s some hand-waving going on in that plot thread, but the point was getting Starbuck back with Anders, however it happened. I wasn’t surprised by the notion that the Cylons waited for the two camps to come together before attacking, but after the previous episode, I’m sure that there’s more to it.

After the brilliance and excitement of the previous episode, Downloaded, I was awaiting this episode with bated breath. I was longing to see what would happen now that there were Cylons who wanted peace, but I shall have to keep on waiting. No rebel Cylons or offers of a truce this time.



The political debate between Baltar and Roslin is heated up by the discovery of a potentially habitable planet. Starbuck leads a team of volunteer soldiers back to Caprica to rescue the survivors in the resistance (about frakking time), with Caprica Sharon along to help. Oh, and Chief is having a wee bit of a breakdown.



I’m calling this episode a let down, because it is really little more than a build up to the finale next week. Just when the action sets in as Starbuck is reunited with Anders and then the Cylons attack (woe!), the dreaded ‘to be continued…’ pops up and we’re left hanging. Completely intentional of course, but frustrating nonetheless. Here’s hoping that they saved all the real interesting, nail-biting, on the edge of my seat stuff for next week.

...but there wasn't much to this particular episode.



Why? It's a two parter, so this is just the build...the introduction and complication. Here's my thought though, if they had actually used the season to really build things instead of jumping months at a time, they may have actually been able to put some pay-off in this first part.



Instead we just got movement, movement we've been waiting for but merely movement.



I know next week is going to blow us out of the water and I'm excited about that. And when I see it, I may change my mind about certain things in this episode. But for now, this is just part of the story. And it felt crammed. It felt like it's only purpose was to push towards a bigger event.



And the only real interesting thing to watch was the Cheif Tyrol story, which is mostly interesting only because it came completely out of left field and we're all dying to know what the frak is going on with it because we don't want another of our beloved characters frakked over. D is a slut, Billy is dead, Cheif loses his mind. If I didn't know any better it would seem like they're trying to cut down on their secondary cast so they can keep bringing in big geust stars that they'll kill off at the end of the episode.



I swear if Dean Stockwell doesn't make it through the next episode I may have to rethink watching the third season.



The last statement aside, don't get me wrong. I love this show and still think it's one of the best if not the best show on television right now. ...but, maybe i'm just confused as to how so many of the reviewers can think this episode was so good. It was a fine installment...but to get such raves?



Check with me again next week. Let's see what I think after part two.

Things at Battlestar Galactica heat up. On one hand the presidential elections start. Baltar and Roslin meet for their duel at the Battlestar. Baltar is loosing his mind more and more, but like always that’s when he gets dangerous. I don’t understand why Roslin is against this planet. Sure it’s not her earth, but it’s better than a dream. I respect her for holding up her vision.

On the other one, the crew prepares to rescue the last Caprica survivors. This high risk mission is surly commanded by Starbuck, where she’s back in her element again. When something is difficult and against the opinion of everyone else - she’s the right person for it. Tyrol is loosing his mind - I don’t get it for now. This priest he’s talking too is a bit special, but he’s brilliant in a bit of a strange way. The dream Tyrol has where he’s lost somewhere in this ship and jumps down. His deaf wish is obvious, not just this time. His cylon-phobia wasn’t showed to us a long time. It’s nice that they brought it back.

The (failed) mission where they find a something like earth – it’s an interesting turn this show took.

It was nice to see that Starbuck was successful to find the last survivors on Caprica and it was obvious that something had to fail, since this is a two part episode.



I really enjoyed this episode here. The presidential election is very real shown: A vision against a much simpler and easier solution, that might be the worse one in the long terms, but who thinks so long?

Then the mission back to Caprica, it’s nice, but only the next episode can show us if this was good and feels good or not.

I'm a big fan of this episode, the story was perfect!! We've find action, politic, love, religion! that was all perfectly whriten and you always want more and more I just don't know what else to say!! I really can't wait to the next episode!!! I Want More Of Galactica :P

This episode stands well enough on its own, but it really should be judged only as less than one half of the final, 2.5hr product. It's in a good position to have an exciting finale, but we'll have to wait until next week.



First, the A plot with Kara jetting off to rescue the people trapped on Caprica was good and long in coming. It provided a means to finally get Sharon off of the ship again and perhaps into a situation where she can redeem herself. Or, unfortunately, into a position where she can be killed so that "Boomer" (Galactica-Sharon) can return to the fold. Let's hope it's not the latter. I'm not sure I understand how their jumping technology works such that a single engine in Kara's ship, controlled by Sharon, could help them all to jump... but whatever. Once on the surface, we have a completely deux ex machina discovery of her resistance hero, lots of explosions, and "To Be Continued".



The B plot revolved around the Presidency and a newly discovered planet. I wonder if some Cylon agent didn't inject the fake jump coordinates into the ship before launch, to ensure the discovery... but perhaps that is stretching things too much. Baltar's political maneuvering, as unskilled as they were, were good and it was entirely in character for him to use any avenue possible. I hardly understand how he gets away with having Zarek as his public face, considering that he was until 9 months ago a terrorist... but whatever. The big problem here is that it seems to be setting up for "Another Kobol" and a split in the fleet, and that could be bad. (Another way to ditch the Pegasus, perhaps? Have it defend this new planet?)



And finally, the C plot with the Chief was good, but out of nowhere. Dean Stockwell was worth every penny-- I just hope he comes back, even if it means making him a Cylon. And the but with Apollo being uncomfortable with Starbuck was a nice character moment.



So, good, but let's see how it ends, shall we?



Questions: Do the candidates have running mates? Who would become Vice President is Baltar wins? Zarek? What about Roslin? Billy would have been the pefect Vice President, but he's gone now. Oh well.

The beginning of this episode was an astonishing 12 min. long. The entire time I was so excited. The debates began, Kara began an Op for recon to save the people on Caprica, and Chief Tyrol went crazy that was enough in 12 min. to blow my mind I was definitely excited to see the rest.



First of all there was Sharon. I like how they are still using her for missions and such, but in a way I believe that she feels deep inside that that’s exactly what they are going is "using" her. She still feels the "death" of Hera was their fault. I don't blame her either, I wouldn't trust them myself. I think that will cause a repercussion down the line. The biggest reason she sought refuge with them was that they were protecting her child, plus her love for Helo. Don't get me wrong I believe they are capable of love. I think that the Cylons first used emotions on the 8 model. The only problem is that this got out of hand, a sort of bug in the programming. That to me is the reason why she is willing to defy her own kind, because she can't control her emotion like the later models are able to. She believes she is better off with people who share those emotions.



Next there is the planet. I am weary of this planet. In a way it is our new Cobol. It is going to send a rift throughout the fleet. Half will rebel against Adama, wanting desperately to inhabit it. The only thing is that it is a trap. If 6 wants us to colonize, then it is a trap. The planet is isolated, and surrounded by a Draidus restricting Nebula, right...... If we could find it, cylons have easily found it.



Finally, the presidency. By viewing the preview for next week, it looks as if the election will be devastating. All I see is Baltar telling Adama that we will colonize, that's an order. I prey to the gods (haha) that I am wrong.



Oh, and on a side note. I strongly believe that the reason that Caprica 6 can see Baltar as he sees her, is that possibly God is communicating with them both. Something to think about. Well next week will be the end. Til then.

The show was typical for the season, well the later part of the season. Soap-opera-ish, and boring. At least though in this episode they mentioned earth again, the original storyline, and they went back to caprica to get some people.. yeah! that's right! action! sorta... they found the people they were looking for and then a few bangs and pows around them to bring up the 'to be continued' the rest of the episode was all filler, which is pretty much what this show is anymore.

What an amazing start to a blow out finish of Season 2.



Lay Down Your Burdens follows in the footsteps of Kobol's Last Gleaming that it begins with a montage with various scenes of the characters accented by some of the best score this season. What's really intrigiuing about these first few minutes is the chief in a fetal position apparently having a nightmare as you'll find out in the episode a recurring dream. Chief is having a serious breakdown and eventually calls on the help of a priest to help examine his soul, some great growth of character and intense moments come from this story.



Meanwhile Starbuck is planning a rescue mission to Caprica all the while a Presidential debate is taking place in the background. It's exciting to see Roslin and Baltar duke it out when just a short while ago she recruited him to become her VP. Moore is really showing how Baltar is becoming the Cylon's puppet doing their bidding.



During the first of numerous jumps to Caprica one of the Raptors jumps to different coordinates stumbling upon a new planet that could sustain life. Baltar and Roslin agree that there should be no permanent settlement on this plant but when Zarek suggests he uses this to his advantage to capture the election Baltar bites on it. Great acting on part of James Callis and Mary McDonnel show the growing tension and rivalry between these two and it will be one hell of a fight.



Bring on the 90 Min. Finale!