Before we dive into the Season 3 premiere, I’d like to mention the 10 webisodes available at SciFi.com that focus on two new/minor characters, Duck and Jammer, who play a major role in the premiere. It also follows Tigh and Chief as they organize a resistance movement to the Cylon occupation and is a good lead in to the premiere. The webisodes are a “must-watch” for BG fans. Anyway, on to the premiere…
One of the shots of the montage opening was Tigh’s wife (Ellen) sleeping with Cavil, one of the Cylons. Boy, I wasn’t expecting that right off the bat. It turns out she’s only doing it to get her husband (who has lost an eye) out of the detention center, but later on Cavil uses this relationship to his advantage, convincing Ellen to betray the resistance. No one ever said she was the sharpest tool in the shed.
Then there’s Starbuck, who has been abducted by another Cylon. This one is forcing her to play house with him. That was pretty cold when she stabbed him in the neck and then went back to eating her steak. Shortly thereafter, he arrives at the house in his new body to star the process all over again – such is Cara’s life the last four months. This guy seems pretty intent on breaking the unbreakable Starbuck, a tough task indeed. However, she did show some vulnerability when he introduced her to their child (Casey). I think it’s part of Cara’s plan to break out, though I suppose it’s possible she’s adapting to her new reality. But really, this is Starbuck we’re talking about, isn’t it? She has a stubborn streak in her like no other.
Meanwhile, up in space, Lee Adama has packed on some serious pounds. His pop has a problem with it, but his weight is just a metaphor for the fleet’s softness. Once they are able to make contact with the resistance – with help from Gaeta, President Baltar’s second-hand man – Admiral Adama puts together a plan to help fight the Cylons. After some back and forth, it is decided that Lee is going to take the Pegasus and the remainder of the fleet off to Earth while his dad is going to coordinate the rescue operation.
There are quite a few parallels between the Cylon occupation on New Caprica and our own presence in Iraq. One part of the resistance strategy is the use of suicide bombings, and this becomes a major point of contention between the Cylons and the humans. Baltar’s plea to Roslin resulted in a very cool scene between Roslin and Tigh, where she tried to convince him to end the suicide bombings, and Tigh basically told her to go frack herself.
The Cylons have had enough with the resistance movement and force Baltar to sign an order to execute 200+ names, including Roslin and Zarek. The new human-led police force drives the prisoners out into the woods and drops them off. Meanwhile, Boomer (who has been reinstated by Admiral Adama) rendezvous with leaders of the resistance to coordinate their efforts. As this was going on, I was wondering why the humans don’t colonize in the woods by the river. It seems like a much more hospitable area than the one they’re already in. Anyway, the premiere ends with centurions walking up to the prisoners, and as we see a shot of Callie running through the woods, we hear gunfire. With Ellen’s help, the centurions also got the drop on Boomer’s meeting with the resistance, so that could have been the source of the gunfire. Is Roslin shot? Maybe. Is she dead? Not a chance.
