Battlestar Galactica “Maelstrom”/ “The Son Also Rises” Review (3×17/3×18)

EPISODE 17-“MAELSTROM”

Well, that was surprising. I know she will be back, but I’m not entirely sure how this will play out over the remainder of the series; I have a feeling we’re going to get a ton of spiritual “destiny” stuff, which I’m not too enthused about. As a piece of drama, though “Maelstrom” is wonderful: beautifully directed and acted, and deeply affecting at the same time. Katee Sackhoff anchors the episode, and even though it’s not the sendoff you might expect for a major character like her, it works better than you might expect.

Before the ending, we get some fantastic scenes between Kara and Sam and between Kara and Lee. There’s an intimacy to these scenes that has been lacking recently–what with the whole Love Quadrangle fiasco–and here, we see a vulnerability to Kara that was present in episodes like “Act of Contrition”. We see that her relationship with her mother certainly played a role in the situation she’s stuck in now, and we see that while someone like Lee can be content now, she isn’t until she’s flying toward her death. She left because she couldn’t face her mother’s death, and that fact has haunted her to this very day. When Kara finally finds her peace, when she can face her fears and forgive and trust herself, she is, fittingly, in the cockpit, and the shock wave hits Tigh and Lee and Bill head on. Starbuck’s ship is destroyed, and so is Adama’s model ship. Effective, heartbreaking stuff.

“Starbuck, what do you hear?”

“Nothing but the rain.”

GRADE: A-

EPISODE 18-“THE SON ALSO RISES”

Well, the performances have been very solid recently; the opening scene in particular is very moving, and Bamber and Olmos do a great job of conveying their grief over Starbuck’s death. I’m guessing that if I were a viewer at the time of original broadcast, this would’ve been the time at which her death truly hit me. After all, this show is no stranger to completely going back on something huge at the beginning of the very next episode.

Anyway, “The Son Also Rises” re-shifts focus back to the upcoming Baltar trial, and Mark Sheppard steals the show as Baltar’s new defense attorney, Romo Lampkin. Without him, the storyline would be significantly less compelling, as he makes the shades-wearing, enigmatic, manipulative character incredibly fun to watch. I’m definitely looking forward to more of him as we move into the final two episodes of the season.

GRADE: B-

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