Jammersreviews

Note: This review contains significant spoilers.

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Battlestar Galactica: "Guess What's Coming to Dinner?"

The rebel Cylons and Demetrius rendezvous with the fleet, where a 
fragile alliance and an audacious plan are arranged. But can this 
alliance survive so much inherent distrust?

Air date: 5/16/2008 (USA)
Written by Michael Angeli
Directed by Wayne Rose

Rating out of 4: ****

Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan
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"Guess What's Coming to Dinner?" is an outstanding hour of tone and 
style, of quietly but implacably escalating foreboding, of characters 
having basic assumptions about their lives completely thrown into 
question, and has an ending that does not supply answers but only 
more questions. The plot puts its chips all-in on BSG's mythology 
aspects. If you are not already invested in BSG's mythology, you will 
be lost. If you are not riveted by BSG mythology by the end of this 
episode, then you likely never will be.

And yet, this episode is less about *what* happens than about *how* 
it happens, and how it *feels* as it happens. There's a confidence in 
purpose here, from one end to the other, that's almost hard to 
qualify. Speaking to my own tastes, this is an episode that 
outdoes "The X-Files" because it knows that plotting is only one 
attribute of an effective mystery, and it outdoes "Mad Men" because 
it knows that characterization can be more emotionally involving when 
it's tied to plot and expressed rather than constantly internalized. 
This is my kind of balancing act. The episode also manages to be 
philosophical without being tedious, complex without being confusing, 
and artful without being pretentious. It fires on all cylinders -- 
without careening over the cliff.

Picking right up from "Faith," the Demetrius and the renegade Cylon 
basestar jump back to the fleet. But even the most routine procedure 
goes awry, and the Demetrius FTL drive has a glitch. So the basestar 
winds up in the fleet by itself, where it's assumed to be hostile, 
and the fleet is ordered into an emergency jump-away while the 
Galactica launches to action stations. This is the only real action 
in the episode, and it's very well staged, with the fleet gradually 
jumping away a ship at a time and Galactica gearing up to fight. 
(From Galactica's point of view, this process is a white-knuckled 
eternity where they could be killed at any moment.) Even though it's 
a foregone conclusion that the crisis will be averted, it manages to 
generate suspense: Will the Galactica open fire or jump away before 
the Demetrius can show up? I very much like that a disaster is 
averted by Tigh's order to hold fire, which is based on an 
inexplicable gut feeling (revisiting the ongoing theme that Fate once 
again intercedes).

So Renegade Six presents her offer to Adama and Roslin: The Cylons 
want to unbox the D'Annas from cold storage because she knows the 
identities of the Final Five, which supposedly know the way to Earth 
because they have been there. In exchange, Six will reveal the 
location of the Cylon resurrection hub, which, if destroyed, will 
make all Cylons mortal. Turning the Cylons into mortals would have an 
immediately obvious impact on the fundamental nature of the 
human/Cylon conflict.

So at last there seems to be some light at the end of at least one 
tunnel. But what's most immediately fascinating about this deal is 
that it introduces an urgent wrinkle into the Secret Four's lives: If 
this plan works, they will be exposed -- and then what? Watch how 
Tigh quietly squirms and mentally starts doing the math, and then 
tries to set the plan in a direction that hopefully covers himself, 
but at the same time is completely in the interests of the Colonial 
fleet and the man Tigh always has been.

The plan itself depends on the ability for the renegade Cylons and 
the Colonials to trust each other, which is no easy task. Renegade 
Six gives up the hub location, but she still controls the Centurions 
on her basestar, which is the key to the entire plan. Only a basestar 
will be able to get anywhere near the hub before being attacked. The 
Colonial leadership discusses the merits of keeping their word on 
this alliance, and decides as a backup position to hold back on 
turning over the Final Five to the rebel Cylons.

Meanwhile, Renegade Six talks with her fellow Cylons about how she 
fully expects to be double-crossed and plans to take hostages as a 
contingency. "We've changed, but the humans haven't," she says. Isn't 
it exactly that kind of thinking that inspires mutual distrust? 
Paradoxically and ironically, her fears are justified; there is 
indeed scheming on both sides. It's circular logic: We can't afford 
to keep our word, because they are not to be trusted, and keeping our 
word thus puts us at a disadvantage. At what point does prudent self-
preservation become destructive deception? Quite a dilemma for 
everyone. Ultimately, Six sees the error of her ways and tries to 
reverse course on her planned deception, and the Cylons then find 
themselves trying to slither out from under a deceit of their own 
making. Messy.

So that's the nuts and bolts. Beyond that is an avalanche of series 
mythology, and of characters reacting to what's happening around them.

Early in the episode, Lee confronts Roslin over Baltar's latest 
broadcast, which alleges that Roslin shares visions with Caprica Six 
and Sharon Agathon. Roslin admits that it's true, but asks Lee what 
good it would do the public to know that their leader is not only 
sharing hallucinations with the enemy, but also experiencing 
something that apparently goes contrary to the entire religious 
establishment. There's more at stake than Roslin's reputation.

How does Baltar know about this vision, anyway? Roslin sends Tory on 
an assignment to find out. She does this after a downright icy scene 
that pretty much announces the end of their cordial relationship. 
Roslin knows about Tory and Baltar: "You've been spotted down there 
enough times to be a charter member of his nymph squad." The thing 
worth noting about this scene, other than obvious hurt feelings 
between the two characters, is how you find yourself regarding Tory, 
who previously wrote herself a license to kill Cally. Put her on bad 
terms with the president, threaten her job, and what might she be 
capable of next?

When we follow Tory down to Baltar's lair, there are more layers of 
character to unveil. It turns out Caprica Six told Baltar about 
Roslin's Opera House vision months ago. Why did he wait until now to 
finally publicize it? Because only now was it a card he felt he had 
to play. The important thing about Baltar is that he's not a crazed 
lunatic hurling baseless indictments. He has a point of view that's 
legitimate; he has become increasingly bitter about Roslin's ongoing 
governance in secrecy, something she claims is in the best interests 
of security even as it leaves the public in the dark. This has 
interesting real-world parallels when you consider our own 
government's recent policies. Does security justify a lack of 
transparency as Roslin operates?

What's notable about this episode is its ability to milk great 
character mileage out of brief moments. For example, there's that bit 
where Lee finds himself, to his own surprise, cut out of the loop 
about the alliance. He thought the unique advantage he could bring to 
the Quorum was knowing how the military machine works, but here he 
finds his insider information has run dry. He's as out of the 
Adama/Roslin loop as everyone else. Later, he has a sobering 
discussion with Roslin about the spirit-crushing hopelessness that 
has taken hold of the fleet. The members of the Quorum feel as 
hopeless as anyone -- maybe even more so, because they once thought 
they mattered.

More great mileage: How about Gaeta and his leg? Nice details here. 
He wants to be awake while they saw it off, so he won't have to wake 
up to it being gone. Later, he sings to try take his mind off the 
pain. His singing snakes through the episode like a poetic, ominous 
omen. Anders feels guilty about having shot him. Baltar goes to see 
him, but can't bring himself past the door; it's a nice little moment 
that recalls their messy history.

A key scene in the episode (although one could argue they are all key 
scenes) comes when Roslin takes Lee's advice and addresses the Quorum 
to provide some much-needed solace and get them on board with the 
uneasy Cylon alliance. She brings in Renegade Six, who makes a speech 
and extends an olive branch. This speech not only represents a 
milestone in Cylon/human relations, but reveals some things Six has 
personally learned during the Cylon civil war -- about life, death, 
and her people. "For our existence to hold any value, it must end. To 
live meaningful lives, we must die and not return." On what she has 
realized about humanity: "Mortality is the one thing that makes you 
whole." While the Cylon civil war was kept almost completely off-
screen, this speech helps us imagine what it might have meant. It's 
not a million miles away from the navel-gazing in Adama's speech 
about responsibility in the miniseries.

Six also says, "I believe it was no accident that we were found by 
Kara Thrace. It was destiny." Just like that the episode turns from 
hopeful to foreboding -- because the Hybrid has assured Kara she is 
the harbinger of death.

So what about all this mythology? The episode brings it all together 
in the last two acts. Roslin, Caprica Six, and Sharon all have 
another shared vision where they chase Hera through the Opera House. 
The images are exactly as before. When Sharon wakes up to see Hera 
standing by her bed, Hera says, "Bye-bye." *Shiver*.

Sharon already has plenty of doubts about the Cylons in general, and 
about their interest in her daughter in particular. At the beginning 
of the episode Six had said to her about Hera, "We all know her name. 
You were blessed." Now she gets visions where Six takes Hera away 
from her. And then there's Sharon's horror upon seeing little Hera's 
coloring book, filled cover-to-cover with "6" and drawings of yellow-
haired women -- it makes for the trippiest shock I've seen on this 
series since "Crossroads, Part 2." It's unexpected and brilliant. 
*What does it mean?* Can't be good. Are the Cylons wired at birth to 
be drawn to each other? Pre-programmed with some sort of knowledge or 
directives? Seconds later, Hera wanders off into the corridors. More 
on this in a minute.

First let's revisit Roslin and Kara. Kara knows about Roslin's 
vision, because she has heard about it on Baltar's broadcasts. And 
she knows it's true because the Hybrid confirmed it. This comes as a 
revelation to Roslin that there is, absolutely *must be*, something 
going on here beyond the typical, physical, worldly realm. The sense 
of ominous mystery is palpable. It's downright spooky, especially 
because Mary McDonnell plays Roslin as so honestly disturbed by it. 
Everything she once assumed she knew about life has been turned 
upside down.

Roslin asks Kara for her help. Remember, this is the same Roslin that 
fired a gun at Kara in "He That Believeth in Me." Imagine the 
distance traveled from there to here. Bygones are not simply bygones, 
but beyond the pale of a second's thought. These are relationships 
renewed by the needs of the here and now. And the actors sell the 
hell out of it. They need answers, and they are going to try to get 
them from the Hybrid.

The final act of this episode is a visual storytelling tour de force, 
as Sharon frantically goes searching for Hera in the corridors while 
Roslin, Kara, et al (who have recruited Baltar into this because he's 
in the vision) go to the basestar to plug in the Hybrid and get 
answers. The former plays as imminent dread, the latter as intriguing 
mystery. The two sequences are intercut -- and cut into the Sharon 
scenes are flashes from the vision, which in a way mirrors what 
happens in the action of Sharon's search through the corridors ... 
which is all on a collision course with Renegade Six.

To describe more details is pointless. Suffice it to say that a 
sequence this complex must have been awesomely difficult to script, 
direct, perform, shoot, and edit -- let alone to do all of the above 
so masterfully in a way that makes sense. The sequence doesn't seem 
to have a literal meaning so much as a character-driven emotional 
meaning. Handled with less care, I can imagine this sequence easily 
falling apart. But not here. The end result is thrilling and 
brilliant.

Sharon, afraid Renegade Six is after her daughter for some unknown 
reason, guns Six down. When the Hybrid is plugged back into the 
basestar, it jumps away without warning to who-knows-where. All plans 
now lie in shambles.

This ending isn't a "cliffhanger." It's a giant question mark. What's 
the difference? This story knows the difference. It's all in the 
tone, style, and emotional arc. The final shot is of Gaeta singing.

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Copyright 2009, Jamahl Epsicokhan. All rights reserved.
Unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this article is 
prohibited.

Jammer's Reviews - http://www.jammersreviews.com
Jamahl Epsicokhan - jammer@jammersreviews.com