10.02.06
Battlestar: Galactica: The Resistance: Parts 5-8
I didn’t have a lot to say about the second week of webisodes, so I figured I would consolidate the third and fourth weeks of this mini-event into one commentary. Sure enough, a lot has happened in a short period of time. I like how each week seems to focus on one aspect of the concept, building up towards what is likely to happen in the season premiere.
As someone mentioned in a comment to my earlier posts on “The Resistance”, Duck and Jammer have been on the series proper in a support role now and then, and armed with that knowledge, it makes their appearance in the webisodes all that more impressive. None of this material is critical to the series itself, but it is like getting a ton of inter-connected deleted scenes from the show. The production values are still fairly low-tech, but it makes perfect sense and manages to work within the expectations of what New Caprica must look like.
The third week is all about the reactions to Nora’s death. Duck is not pleased to discover that Tigh and the other leaders of the resistance are ready to use Nora’s death as propaganda fodder, and indeed, it is disturbing. If the writers were looking to work Tigh’s questionable morals into guerilla warfare, then they have laid the right kind of foundation. Jammer’s disagreement with Tigh becomes very important in the fourth week, which included some surprises.
I found the conversation between Doral and Jammer to be quite impressive. It’s not an unexpected turn of events, but there was a lot of tension and the acting was rather good for something distributed on the web. It also included a few interesting ideas about the Cylons and their goals. From my perspective, it’s a lot more interesting if the “villains” have a reasonable basis for doing what they do, and there’s a certain logic to what Doral suggests.
At the same time, the writers are leading into a season where the heroes are under an occupying force, using questionable methods to throw off the enemy and regain freedoms. The Cylons are definitely the villains, and their claims of wanting to hand over control of New Caprica back to humanity when they can all work in harmony is hard to swallow. It’s doubtful that many in the audience will think that it’s a good thing for the Cylons to be there, and there will be many who agree with Tigh’s methods in fighting the Cylon oppression. Apply similar logic to the current state of world affairs, and it brings up very uncomfortable considerations.
Whether or not you agree with the point being raised, that, my friends, is good writing.
