Battlestar Galactica: "Razor" (Episode 401/402)

 
Galactica is back and it's exactly the way you remembered it, that is to say that it's exactly the way you remembered it in the middle of the second season. The events of the movie take place immediately after “The Captain's Hand”, which would technically make these two hours 217-1 and 217-2. The Futon Critic is calling these 401 and 402, but the true start of the fourth season is months away and the timeline has proceeded through many events since the Pegasus passed into the hands of Lee Adama. But for this movie, it's still years earlier. The Pegasus is still whole, Gina hasn't set off a nuke and the idea of New Caprica isn't even a glimmer in Vice President Baltar's eyes. Starbuck is alive (completely) , Tigh has two eyes, Boomer is a prisoner and Lee isn't yet fat and then miraculously thin again. Oh and none of those other random people are Cylons that hear Dylan bopping along in their heads. I'm not sure that it was intended, but the movie gave me a real feeling off loss, both for the characters as we know the pain that is in store for them, but also for the series itself, as if Moore and company are octogenarians, looking back at their golden years, knowing that the best is long behind them. Still, it's a hell of a TV movie (if you want to look at it that way), a hell of missing two-parter from the second season and a great way to revisit where the series has been while still giving some teasing indication of where it might be headed.

We begin with some beauty shots of a literal razor, while the yet to be introduced Kendra Shaw gives us some introspective thoughts about how you don't get any second chances if you frak your life up. Then through a series of clips, we're reminded of how everything went down with Pegasus, events that are in the recent past of one of the movie's timelines and still a ways away in the other. We see how Pegasus rejoined Galactica, how an abused Gina Six executed Cain with the assistance of Baltar, how she was replaced by her XO, who subsequently was murdered due to his dealings in the black market and then how John Heard was completely ineffectual during his stint in command on the one episode that he guest starred in. Which of course brings us to Lee Adama and the command that would be the eventual method for his porking up.

Cut to crazy season two retro credits, complete with a much higher human survivors count.

"I'm Kendra Shaw. You've never heard of me, but prepare to."

We start back immediately with Starbuck and Apollo bantering, just to make all the 'shippers out there sigh with content knowing that they will definitely consummate their attraction and then pull their hair out when they remember that Starbuck is dead... or something. Lee is being introduced as commander of the Pegasus and listening on the wireless somewhere in quarters is Kendra Shaw, who is none to pleased about her new “outsider” boss. After lamenting in her fantastic New Zealand accent (all I know of the accent is what I've seen of Flight of the Conchords), she takes advantage of a moment alone to shoot a hypo of something into her neck. The drugs take her back in her mind's eye to some sort of horrors of her past: a woman lying dead with a bullet hole in her forehead, a man staring at her.

Moments later, she reports to now Commander Lee Adama, who is very curious about her and what her role was in the late Cain's command structure. Cain loved her, but Fisk and Garner despised her. With a question posed of who she is, Shaw flashes back (within what is already a flashback for us) to just before the attack of the Cylons.

In the past, Shaw is wide-eyed, taking in the sight of Pegasus in all her majesty, like the Enterprise at the beginning of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. And just like in that movie, the ship is in dry dock for a retro-fit and all the crew members are taking a bit of R&R, but not Cain. She pumping away at the exercise machine and reading status reports when she's interrupted by her XO, who is decidedly younger and handsomer than anyone that was still in that position on Pegasus when Galactica caught up with her. He criticized her use of free time, but she's a workaholic who is attached to her ship. And this is the first of many moments that start to soften the image that Michelle Forbes has forged for herself, both in this role and her life as an actress (I haven't liked her since Ensign Ro).

Shaw is wandering lost through Pegasus and happens to come across a yet to be brutalized Gina Six. She's a network administrator and is apparently using a last name that in an ancient language translates to “resurrection”. Smooth, Cylons. Is there another spy with a last name that translates to “toaster”? At any rate, Gina and Shaw seem to take the first step towards friendship.

The gang's all here. Think of them like the tailies...In the CIC, Shaw reports for duty and Cain rips her a new one for being late, which means that she got lost on a battlestar. Cain knows that Shaw's family has a lot to do with her getting this position and with not a word of explanation allowed from Shaw, Cain sends her on her way. Then she and the XO has a little chuckle about it, showing Cain is not as bitter as she later appeared to be. On the walk, the dialogue between Shaw and her escort reminds us that Pegasus's systems were offline at the moment of the Cylon invasion, allowing them crucial moments to escape. And speaking of invasions, the Pegasus's part begins right now. The hallway explodes, knocking Shaw unconscious. She comes to in a world of confusion, her hearing muffled and her senses dazed. But that's not going to stop Cain from smacking some sense into her new green officer. Shaw follows Cain to CIC, while we watch the Cylons do their work on the dry dock and the ship outside. And some frakkin' impressive work it is. The Pegasus only has moments and breaks dock. They spin up the FTL drives for an emergency jump, but they can't calculate where they're jumping to with the computer offline. Cain insists that it doesn't matter and forced Shaw to perform the jump just moments before the last nukes connect. The vacuum that the ship leaves in its wake is so powerful, sucking in everything around it, that many of the fires on the dry dock are extinguished.

Back in the present (which yes, is still the past), Shaw concludes telling Lee how the officers that followed Cain to command the Pegasus weren't deserving of her respect. She tells Lee plainly that he is a step up, but he's still an outsider and carries the impression that his daddy simply tossed him the keys. And with that Lee asks her to be his new XO. Shaw is strong and she'll uphold Cain's legacy. Reluctantly, Shaw agrees.

Using her newfound authority to whip the troops into shape, Shaw dramatically tests the work of her soldiers, forcing a nugget to fire his improperly built weapon into her chest. Nothing happens and they start building their rifles again. Adama comments to Lee that she's even tougher than Tigh. He has a mission for Lee and sends the Pegasus after a missing raptor and warns him not to get in too deep if they come across the Cylons.

Later on the mission, Starbuck is chattering over the wireless while Shaw is using a razor to scrape at... blood(?) on the console and remembers how Cain used to do the same thing. Back in Cain's time, she's getting a status report on what's happening in the universe around them and she orders two raptors for a reconnaissance mission. Shaw meanwhile has been working on the systems and has discovered the backdoor that the Cylons were able to upload a virus through. It's been two days since the attack and Shaw hasn't left her post. She apologizes to Cain for hesitating and being afraid when the nukes hit. Cain tells her to hold onto her anger and it will keep her from being afraid again.

"Are you feeling bad for me now? What about now?"In quick montage, we see how hard it is for Cain to deal with her duties, being strong for her crewmen and seeing the faces of her dead. In a rousing speech, she tells the whole ship that they're in a desolate place and they may be the last of their kind. But they're not going to run or hide, they're going to strike back, because war is their imperative. So they'll strike back, if not for victory, then for revenge. It's such a different position than Galactica took in the same situation, but they were not comprised only of military men and they had a whole fleet of civilians to look after.

Down below, the crew is unified behind the captain's imperative and begins to chant “So say we all” in unison. Joining in for appearances is Gina, who looks terrified that the Cylons may have just woken the sleeping giant.

Later, the Cain discusses the first target of their campaign with her officers... and with Gina who was instrumental in upgrading the systems in order to prepare them for this strike. They sit down to a meal together and Cain apologizes for implying that she would throw away lives and resources on simple revenge. She intends to work a guerrilla campaign and striking any weak points that they can find. Later, Gina very cleverly tricks Shaw into giving her the access code that only the officers are supposed to have. And she reveals that she and Cain are an item. Just like Caprica Six, this model's mission was to use her sexuality to maneuver into a position that she could exploit.

Back in the present, Shaw isn't pleased with Starbuck's chattering. Out of nowhere, the vipers come across some raiders, but they're of an unknown configuration. This is apparently the old round style of raiders from the original series (I wasn't a fan). Shaw and Lee butt heads over whether they should launch more vipers, with Shaw wanting to fight and Lee wanting to stay true to the mission. At the last moment, with Lee occupied, Shaw commits the Pegasus to launch a full battery at the incoming raider, which is more than a little dangerous for the two vipers on their way back. Starbuck and Showboat try to shoot their way through and Starbuck ends up in a gun battle with one of the lead raiders in the hanger of the Pegasus. She almost gets crushed, but manages to dump the raider on the deck of the Pegasus.

Later, Starbuck complains to Lee that Shaw might as well have been trying to get them killed, but Lee knows that she was well within her duties and may have just saved them all. Starbuck tries to give Shaw a piece of her mind, but she tells her that questioning orders on Pegasus is a bad idea.

Even I could have told you not to disagree with Michelle Forbes.Back with Cain, the crew is in the process of attacking the relay station that they had scouted. Immediately after launching their squadron, the numbers of Cylons that they're facing multiply. The officers know that this is trap and their own defensive batteries won't fire. Rather than pulling back and regrouping, Cain orders more squadrons to be launched and puts manual crews on the batteries. Cain's XO doesn't like it and reminds her that this is exactly what she said she wouldn't do. He states that he cannot follow these orders. Cain demands his sidearm and proceeds to shoot him in the forehead. Almost before the XO's body hits the floor, Cain promotes Fisk to the position and proceeds to follow her orders and launches all the remaining squadrons.

The airlocks go active and the Pegasus is being boarded. Men are deployed and Shaw heads below to do what she can to make sure that the Cylons don't just simply vent all the atmosphere. She runs into Gina, almost shooting her, but sends her up to CIC for safety. Moments later though, she spots another Six model walking with the Cylon troopers. Almost without hesitating, Shaw blows her away and makes sure that she's positioned under a security camera. Back up in CIC, she orders Gina away from Cain at gunpoint. Everyone doubts Shaw's story about how they look like us now, until they see the security feed. Gina makes a stand, but Shaw takes her out with the butt of her rifle before she can pull a Boomer on Cain.

Back in the present, Adama tells Starbuck and Shaw to shape up and the round Cylon raider is lowered to the deck. Later, in a scene that gave me the most “new-Han Solo-scenes” kind of deja vu, everyone gathers to inspect this round raider, which is a remnant from the first Cylon war. There's two-eyed, not-yet-a-Cylon Tigh, first administration Roslin, Vice President Baltar, Boomer with the explosive collar around her neck. Most of these characters are only making a cameo here in this movie, but it's a scene that feels the most rooted to the second season and therefore the most disorienting. Roslin wonders why these old ship are in operation and Boomer tells them of the legend of the Cylons that speaks of a group called Guardians that protect a hybrid, one of the first evolutionary leaps to organic beings. It's an evolutionary dead-end that controls their baseships, but that this is the first that is still seeking its own higher level of being.

And now it's time for Adama's Husker flashback, back to the days of the first Cylon war. This sequence was already scene in the BSG mini webisodes (oh so delightful to ponder in the days of this WGA strike) but I guess those writers will get their cut, because most of the content is shown again here. Back in Adama's younger, less pock-marked days, he came across some of the early hybrid experiments, not really knowing what it was, but having heard talk of some “super weapon”. When the Young Adama touches the hybrid vat of goo, he has visions of those people who were held there and tortured and he thinks he's being clutched from inside the vat. A disembodied voice tells him “All this has happened before, and will happen again.” Very Matrix-y that. There's people that are being held (are they Cylon models? The models for the Cylon models?) but Young Adama can't free them. The ground trembles because the base he's in is about to take off. He runs to find help for these survivors from “The Diana” from Geminon, but he knows that he's leaving them and won't be able to save them. Adama watches the base take off and tries to radio for help, but Galactica isn't listening. The war is over and the experiments are forgotten. I guess by everyone but Adama. Smooth move, Husker.

Adama and Roslin bring Lee information that Baltar and the Chief were able to pull from the round raider. They think they know where to find the basestar, but they can only commit Pegasus, with Adama along for the ride. Shaw comes up with a plan to use the Pegasus as bait to draw the raiders away while she jumps in behind the lines with her group being piloted by Starbuck. Roslin has her reservations though, because of reports about Shaw's involvement with the execution of civilian during Cain's reign. Lee approves her mission nonetheless, no matter what her problems under Cain might have been.

Back in the day, things are bleak on Pegasus with parts and supplies in demand after losing so much in their strike. Cain and Shaw ponder the Gina-bot and Cain gives Thorne leeway to get creative in trying to find out everything that Gina knows. And you get the impression that Cain wants to exact her personal revenge on Gina as well. No time to watch though as the Pegasus has come across a civilian fleet of survivors. Rather than feel the glee that crosses Fisk's face, Cain decides that the only answer is to loot this fleet for supplies, parts and manpower and leave the rest.

With a detachment of marines, Shaw and Fisk head to one of the ships and demand the parts and personnel that have been deemed useful. As soon as everyone understand what's up, they resist. Fisk hesitates and calls Cain for additional orders. She commands him to execute the family of any desired personnel that won't comply. The firing starts and shortly thereafter, the smoke clears. Shaw is stunned and the rest of the civilians have fallen in line. The military takes what they want.

Back in the present, these memories of the slaughtered civilians have driven Shaw back to her hypo needle, but she's not alone this time. Starbuck is in the room, sneaking drinks from the ship's stores. They see a kindred soul in each other, but they remain prickly. Nonetheless they agree not to turn each other in. Shaw thinks twice about the needle and instead tunes the wireless back in again.

Back then, Cain is giving Shaw a promotion, but she doesn't understand why. Cain tells her that they have to do the things that they do to show the enemy that they don't fear. Shaw showed exemplary performance and Cain lays out her razor metaphor, explaining how they are doing what they have to do to survive, but then they don't have the luxury of becoming human again.

In the present day, Pegasus is executing Shaw's mission plan, leading the raiders away. The raptor with Shaw, Starbuck and crew leaps in, but some raiders stayed behind. They have a plan though, performing an emergency eject, just before the old style toasters blow the raptor out of the sky. The crew floating in open space groups up together and fires their thrusters to close the gap to the basestar.

Once their inside, the crew follows a weak heat signature to try to find their missing people. They open a door to find the same hybrid experiments being performed on their people. Some old school Cylons show up and gunfire is exchanged. One of the human is grounded, but Shaw works fast and executes him before the Cylons can make use of him. She takes a bullet for it though.

Starbuck tries to report back to Pegasus, but her signal is being blocked. Shaw continues to be a commanding personality though, despite her wounds and demands a sitrep. The nuke that they brought along to take care of the base won't go off because the detonator is fried. I can already guess that Shaw is going to pull an Armageddon Bruce Willis.

Back on Pegasus, Adama and his son butt heads over the way to proceed now that Starbuck's communication is severed. Lee wants to fire nuke now, but Adama knows that they have to give the team a chance. Adama tries to give Lee the length of leash to work, but Lee forces Adama to yank him back. At the last moment, they get a communication from Starbuck and they launch an evac raptor. There's not a lot of time and they need to get this nuke to go off. Shaw's a razor and she knows that they need a manual trigger for the nuke.

Back in Pegasus, Lee is trying to figure a way out of this, but he and Adama both know that they have to leave a man behind. He leaves it up to Lee to decide who. And Lee, in his conflicted mind, of course orders Starbuck to do the deed. Shaw isn't going to have it though, and at gunpoint demands that she will be the one to complete the mission. She knows that she can't go back to being human and has to make amends for the things that she has done. Starbuck is off and Shaw drags her nuke back into the ship.

She's wondering if more logical dialogue will be in the full edit of the episode.We hear the voice repeating again “All this has happened before, and will happen again”. Shaw stumbles into the room with the original hybrid, who speaks cryptically about how the Cylons think him a god and about the things that he can see in Shaw's past. In one last flashback, it is revealed to us that it was Shaw to decisively pulled the trigger, killing the first civilian woman in the standoff, not Fisk, who was still conflicted. The hybrid knows that Shaw seeks forgiveness for the things that she has done.

Always bring a dictionary when chatting up god-like creator types. Just ask Neo.The hybrid has something that he has to tell her. It's about Starbuck? “Kara Thrace will lead the human race to its end. She is the herald of the apocalypse. The harbinger of death. They must not follow her.” Um, frak. So much for any hope for Earth in season four. Shaw tries to give Lee the message, but she doesn't get it through. And with a few more brave words from Shaw and more claims from the hybrid that all this will happen again, Shaw pulls the manual trigger on the nuke, lighting up the sky and illuminating the face of the herald of the apocalypse.

Later, Adama sits with his boy and tells him that he thinks that Lee should put Shaw up for a posthumous accommodation. Adama tells Lee how Cain and Shaw didn't do anything wrong tactically and that he's not sure that he wouldn't have made the same decisions without Roslin, Tigh and most of all Lee. Facing him after making those kinds of decisions colors his judgment. Lee and Adama discuss how neither one of the two of them were wrong about Starbuck and the nukes. They make their decisions and history will have to judge how people like Cain and Shaw are remembered (or in this case, re-remembered). The first draft of history will be written in their officer's logs and with that, Lee heads out to get to work. He comes across Starbuck, who is pondering the razor that Shaw left behind and reminds Lee (now ominously) that she has a destiny and Lee is stuck with her until the very end.

NEXT WEEK: Season four sometime in 2008! Frak!

"A whole post and not one picture of Lee or Starbuck! This is the Shaw episode, motherfrakker!"