"The Road Less Traveled" S4/E5

Last week's episode of Battlestar Galactica could have been dubbed "The Crazy Cylon Hour." Just when you thought Tory couldn't get any nuttier, she went on a rant about how Cylons are perfect and don't need to bother with things like guilt or sadness. Colonel Tigh was willing to get his eye socket pummeled in an attempt to get answers from Six, and Tyrol made such a scene over Cally's death that Adama had to demote him. On the human side of things, Baltar became a full fledged messiah despite Roslin's (Mary McDonnell) attempt to break up his cult.

On tonight's episode, we revisit the Demetrius and watch as tensions rise between Kara and her crew.

The episode kicks off on the Demetrius, which is already on the 58th day of its mission. Starbuck has been playing Van Gogh all around her cabin. Not only is she coloring the walls with fancy paintings, but she's looking so crazy and sleep-deprived that I wouldn't be surprised if she chopped her own ear off. Helo (Tahmoh Penikett) seems exasperated at her flightiness, but Kara insists that she can find the way to Earth if they continue.

A woman comes to Baltar Christ and wants to know why her son was killed by the Cylons. She's angry at the gods for letting such a thing happen, and he's quick to point out that the gods didn't intervene because they don't exist. He also broadcasts this message over the radio. Tyrol, who is sporting a new shaved head look, turns the radio off when Baltar starts rambling, but Nicholas cries without the sound of the soothing speech. I guess the half-Cylon baby likes the idea of One True God.

Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) and Hot Dog hop in some Vipers and go on a recon mission. They've already searched the star system a couple of times, but since the Demetrius will soon have to reunite with the fleet, Starbuck is grasping at straws. They come in contact with a battle damaged Cylon Heavy Raider, and Kara is shocked when she gets a message from Leoben over her com. He tells her that he's there to offer a truce and a chance for her to complete her journey.

Starbuck lets Leoben aboard the Demetrius, and he's surprised by how much she's changed since New Caprica. He tells her that she needs to go see the Cylon Hybrid if she wants to find the path to Earth. The crew thinks Leoben is dangerous and crazy, but Kara is willing to listen to him.

Speaking of dangerous and crazy, Tory is still trying to convince Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) that Cally's death was a suicide. However, Tyrol has been chatting with Doc Cottle, and he doesn't understand how a woman who was on antidepressants could end up killing herself. That's when Tory changes her tactic. She mentions that Cally may have sensed he was a Cylon and offed herself because of it. Nice way to turn the guilt back on the ex-Chief, Tory.

When Sam walks into Kara's room, he doesn't like how close Leoben is getting to his girl. A fight breaks out, and as the crew drags the creepy Cylon away he tells Kara to remember what he told her. Later, Sam does some interrogating and asks Leoben what he wants with Kara. He claims that he only wants her to find her true destiny, and he thinks the Hybrid might be able to help. He also mentions that his ship was damaged due to the Cylon civil war, and hints that he may know about Sam's true nature.

Leoben wants to piggyback his ship onto the Demetrius so they can help him jump back to his Basestar. In exchange, he'll help the crew get information about the way to Earth. Athena (Grace Park) thinks it's a bad idea, but of course Kara is all for it.

After a night of rousing sex with Tory, Baltar tries to find out if Roslin has heard about his radio broadcasts. Tory says she told the president about them, and soon Baltar jumps on the airwaves and gives another of his moving speeches. Tyrol tries to listen in, but Tigh (Michael Hogan) interrupts him and tells him that he needs to start acting normal. That's when Tyrol points out that the Colonel's visits with Number Six (Tricia Helfer) are far from normal.

A red shirt goes to investigate the stability of Leoben's ship, but unfortunately for her it explodes due to a gas leak. Starbuck gives Leoben a good beating for the accident, but he insists that it wasn't a setup of any kind. He seems to be telling the truth for once. He tells Starbuck that she has to make peace with her past and start taking the next steps on her journey. That's the only thing that can fill up the emptiness inside of her.

After sitting in on one of Baltar's (James Callis) speeches, Tyrol is about to walk away from the service when Gaius calls him out. He asks the ex-chief to step forward and take his hand, and also makes the mistake of mentioning Cally as if he knew her. Tyrol thinks that Baltar has no right to talk about his dead wife, so instead of taking Gaius's hand, he decides to strangle him. After Tyrol is pulled away, he goes back to his quarters and ponders blowing his head off.

The crew of the Demetrius is worried that Kara isn't herself. She lets everyone know that they will not be reuniting with the fleet, and instead they'll be leaping to Leoben's Basestar. One random nugget, Pike, stands up to Helo and tries to go after Starbuck to stop the crazy plan. He gets a good punch in the gut for his troubles.

Gaius is on a mission to spread the good word to Tyrol, and one little strangulation isn't going to stop him. Baltar goes to his quarters and begs forgiveness for what he said about Cally. Gaius rambles on about how everyone evolves and has some sort of purpose in life, even if it can seem unclear at times. He says that he's learned to accept his fate, and that's a message that seems to get through to Tyrol.

Athena reminds Helo that he doesn't have to follow every order Kara gives him, and that gives Helo some strength to stand up to his Captain. He's not going to risk putting the crew in danger to follow Kara's crazy path to Earth, and because he refuses, Kara relieves him of his duty. She asks Gaeta to start the jump instead, but when he won't do it she realizes that she has a mutiny on her hands. In the final moment of the episode, Helo strips Kara of her command, leaving the Demetrius in the hands of its crew.

Hate to gripe, I love the show, but (for me) this was the second turd week in a row. I was so bored, I almost turned it off.


Uh, I understand the show is varied, so different characters will gell with a wide variety of people, but the last two weeks have been side character central, and I don't indentify with any of these people.

Don't care for chief, any of them really. And Starbuck has always creeped me out with her Joker face movements and crazy out of control personality.

Thing is though, I like Baltar, and his story line is boring too, so I guess it's the writing or budget cuts or just filler stuff.

I mean, yeah, I get it, they are on a sewer ship, it's hot, it's sweaty, it's dirty, they are not in full uniform.

But watching a bunch of angry pissed off people who are sweaty and dirty and everyone is fighting, it just gets old really quick.

I used to like Helo, but hell, this season, dude is a weener for Starbuck, and just takes up for her no matter what.

For the record, the character story arcs that interest me are:

Adama
Boomer
Roslin
Six
Old Cylon dude
Tom (old Apollo)
Baltar
Cain
general cylon vs. human space action


The ones that bore the hell out of me, or I don't like the characters:

Starbuck
Apollo
Chief
Helo (used to like him, when he was cool)
the rest of thm

The last episode was boring.

I don't think Adama was on it at all.

Starbuck v2 sucks.

Helo and Athena are back to being wallpaper.

Tori is just annoying.

Baltar is great.

Tigh is about as exciting as a nap.

-HECK!

I know that they are moving TOWARD a point... but damn, how long do they have to drag it all out?

I still love Starbuck. I just want to finally know what happened to her over that two months. I know that they want us to see how much things are effecting her, but can't they show us the answers? I'm hoping that we will find out on Friday when she goes to the Basestar and speaks to the hybrid.

Thinking about that... I wonder if she leaves the Demetrius, with Leoben, in a viper, to get to the basestar. After all, Helo took over the ship.