So of all the unlikely events to occur this week, last night's episode of Doctor Who framed the heck out of BSG. And it's all about songs.
Last night Doctor Who was all songs of freedom and unification and self. Held captive, turned in on themselves, and truncated they became songs of mourning and loss and isolation. The Doctor broke the circle and through freedom and reunification the self was reclaimed and the song was both liberated and liberator.
Galactica opens with a song- or rather the chance of reclaiming a song- as Starbuck, after 58 days finds a chance to reconnect with the song/the sound of the universe that gave her Earth and brought her back from the dead (in more ways than one).
Opening credits and our weekly song/prayer for light and grace and peace.
We dive back in and Starbuck gets her chance and so does Athena and Sam and a member of the resistance on Caprica, Barolay, to seek out their respective songs. They jump away in the raptor and Starbuck hears it and it guides her to her comet, which is the basestar.
Disembarkation and Athena's song this week (and pretty much this entire show in iterations) is about re/unification and self reclamation. Here, it's first iteration comes from another eight and it's this: welcome, we missed you, you were right, help us be like you, war. And Athena Kendra Shaws/sings back: "Pick you side and stick with it". Athena's is cleaner, but only on one end (as we'll see later).
Anders' song (this entire frakking season) is acceptance and it's strained and hesitant as he almost tries to access the Cylon computer system. It's cut short by Kara, calling him to come with her. He should stay there because he's more familiar with the raptor's systems which, true. But also, does this place feel like home?
Next there's the Barolay and the six. And their songs are the same and they're both bound in circles of the past. Barolay killed the six on Caprica. Drowned her. And after shouldering by the six is informed of this. Barolay non-graces to repeat the performance and six kills her. And I don't think the six planned that. But Anders and Athena rush in, check for vitals, realize Barolay is dead, and draw their weapons. Anders' gun in the back of the six's head as she kneels on her hands and knees. Natalie, Starbuck, and an eight rush in, and the six's story breaks your frakking heart or you don't frakking have one. But the telling of it is redemption and then she graces that she's glad it's Natalie. Natalie kisses her goodbye, stands, places her hand over Anders' and pulls the trigger. I confess, I cried here.
Hybrid's room and Starbuck listens to the hybrid's god-song trying to discern the strains of her own. It's no good and she orders the plug pulled to allow the raptor to guide the basestar's jump back to the Demetrius. One of the eights who greeted Athena comes in. She's trying to sing Athena's song, but not really understanding it. The eight (and seriously, I really wish they all had names because I love them that frakking much) tries to unplug the hybrid. The hybrid screams like a homing beacon for doomsday and doom answers in the guise of a centurion, who shoots the eight. She falls and her blood runs into the hybrid's pool and the hybrid co-opts Kara's song and as Starbuck listens and tries to sing, it turns to ashes. There are really only two things you can do when your song turns to ash in you mouth: you can choose to be a demon dancing in the fires of destruction or you can choose to be a phoenix. Kara sits on the edge and Natalie gives her permission to become the pheonix. Gives her her song back. And now it's their song.
The eight who was shot by the centurion, rolls over and understands the song Athena sang. She sings it back it back too clear for Athena to hold, asking for recognition of her redemption. She finds it, not in the grasp of a sister who came back without returning, but in the arms of a lost brother who's face she doesn't know to recognize. And Sam's song of acceptance is clear hear, and it's born in mourning. Mourning for a girl who didn't know she was a girl and when she did the world ended/was reborn and she along with it. And I cried here too as Sam closes the eight's eyes. Circle broken. The eight joins the extremely short list of people on this show who managed to make redemption stick. They're all dead. What does that tell you?
Basestar jumps back to Helo and the rest of the crew of the Demetrius several seconds after the clock ran out and three seconds before Helo orders the jump. And it's re/unification songs all over the place.
I haven't said anything about President Roslin's story line this episode, but that's about songs too. I won't get into it right now because this post is big enough as it is.
