Aftershocks from the events of the finale are still working their way through the fleet, & now they’ve spread to the Cylons. Like the glass in the (overly?) obviously symbolic framed photo of Roslin & Adama that Roslin shoots in the teaser, cracks are rapidly forming amongst the leadership of both fleets. In both fleets, characters seeking their destiny break away from their usual paths to follow their hearts. Old alliances are broken or weakened, & new ones formed.

So, of course Starbuck didn’t kill Roslin, but what was a shocker was Roslin trying to kill Starbuck. Imminent death is not sitting well with Roslin; she has even less patience than before with anyone who tries to cross her. If not for her breakdown when her hair started falling out, I would have no sympathy for her this week. She was cruel to Starbuck, & mean to Adama – who gave as good as he got. Turns out he’s a mean drunk. I found that exchange between the two of them, as well as the scene with Adama & Starbuck in the brig, very tough to watch. It’s upsetting to see characters who really do love each other say such cruel things – especially when they’re right. I did rather enjoy Starbuck attacking Roslin’s hypocrisy about finding Earth though, since that was exactly what I was thinking last week.

And how times have changed since Starbuck & Roslin teamed up in secret to follow a vision to Earth, & Adama threw Roslin in the brig. Now Starbuck’s in the brig, & she & Adama are sneaking behind Roslin’s back. The Admiral has listened to his heart at last: he believeth in Starbuck, though he’s still in Roslin’s thrall enough to send just Kara & a small crew on a secret scouting mission rather than the whole fleet. While this seems like a wise plan, it also reflects how the balance of power in the fleet has shifted. Before, Roslin had to go behind Adama’s back, & he responded by staging a coup; now he’s the one reduced to sneaking around.

Meanwhile, back at the Basestar, the Cylons are also experiencing increasing differences of opinion. A tied vote in their council leads to someone crossing the floor – in this case, Boomer, who does what no Cylon has done before & votes against her model number. It seems like the Cylons might be starting to develop more distinct personalities based on individual experiences, rather than just conforming to the collective.

Ironically, what Boomer disagrees with the rest of the Eights on is allowing the Raiders to continue to evolve & develop free will of their own. In fact, the whole situation is marvellously ironic: Cavil, the priest, doesn’t believe in the Final Five, doesn’t believe the Raiders sensed them amongst the humans, & wants to lobotomise the Raiders to prevent any future acts of autonomous thought by “dumb machines”. The Dorals & Simons also back him. Supporting Raider rights are the Sixes, Leobens, & other Eights. The leader Six takes a stand by removing a chip from the Centurions that restricts their free will – & then gets them to kill all the nearby Cavils, Dorals, & Simons. Now, while I applaud Six for standing up to the increasingly tyrannical Cavil, letting the huge metal robots with guns for hands do what they please does not seem like a smart move; I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before they stage a rebellion of their own against all the skin jobs. Also: much is made of Boomer going against her model number, but surely Six’s Cylon massacre is also a first, & one that’s a much bigger deal?

Eager to find their final member, & realizing that Baltar is the human with the most insight into the Cylons, the Four plot to find out what he knows. As it’s Baltar, this naturally involves seduction, & so Tory is dispatched. Surprisingly, she goes through with it, though she cries the whole time. Also surprisingly, Baltar is reasonably sensitive about this, & is actually sincere when he talks about how Cylons have feelings too, & a lot of other things that are just what Tory wants to hear. (Might she be joining the Gaius Girls soon?) He has a lovely little speech about music that echoes what Head Six said to him back in the Kobol Opera House: that life is a piece of music with the notes all jumbled up until a higher power puts them into order, & everything goes from confusing noise to beautiful music.

Speaking of Head Six, she’s nowhere to be seen this episode, but she has sent an understudy. Yes, in a wonderful twist, Baltar now has his own Head Baltar, & as you might expect it’s a veritable orgy of self-love. I have no idea what this might mean, but it is very entertaining, so I’ll just enjoy the sarcastic repartee.

One final observation: Baltar has cut his Jesus hair & beard, & now he is seducing young women with apples – he took one with him when he went to speak to Tory, & it sat on the table while they talked – so has he fallen off the stairway to heaven onto the highway to hell?