Battlestar Galactica (TV Series) Lay Down Your Burdens: Part 2 (2006) User Reviews

A good conclusion to season two

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 25 August 2011]

As the second season of Battlestar Galactica draws to a close the day of the presidential election is drawing near and it looks as if Baltar might win; Tory suggests to President Roslin that she might need to turn to less than honest methods to win and back on Caprica Starbuck and her rescue mission meet somebody rather unexpected… Brother Cavell! When they get back to Galactica the chief immediately recognises him as a Cylon and he is taken into custody along with the other Cavell; he claims that the Cylons have learnt from their mistakes, have left the colonies and no longer wish to destroy humanity. It initially looks as though Tory's plan has worked and Roslin is declared President again… until Lt. Gaeta spots that the ballot papers from one ship don't contain an error that its captain had reported. Once Adama has been informed he does his duty even though it means that Baltar will be made president. Once in office Baltar quickly orders the settlement of the planet they have dubbed New Caprica.

A year passes and there has been no sign of the Cylons; that doesn't mean Baltar is enjoying being president; life on New Caprica is harsh, the people are constantly complaining, medical stocks are almost non-existent and the workers are threatening to strike… these will be the least of his worries however when the Cylons find them and the fleet along with its two understaffed battlestars jumps out of the system.

This extended season finally was packed full of excitement, plotting, moral dilemmas, one or two surprises and a nuclear explosion! It was nice to see Roslin being less than perfect even if her motives were sound just as it was fun to see President Baltar having a hard time once he was in office; Mary McDonnell and James Callis are great in the roles. Equally good was Dean Stockwell who is a lot of fun as the Cylon Cavall. It was a surprise to see the narrative jump forward a year given that the entire series so far took place over a period of nine months; no doubt we will learn some of what happened in future episodes. Once again a season has ended with a great cliffhanger that leaves me looking forward to the next season.

The finest Swiss Cheese

[bnevs18 · 9/10 · 31 January 2022]

First off, yeah there are plot and logical flaws. These are discussed in the other reviews. But they are in order to set up one of the greatest twists and reshuffles in television history. When looking at some of the criticisms alot of them can be explained away. Why would Adama just let Baltar run the colonies if he had Roslin's information? Well, its just a dream with no evidence or proof...and who's to say that he wasnt all up in Baltar's grill in the interim year? So the Abused 6's plot just ended...well yeah, thats what happens to plots and characters. It does appear that the cylons were playing chess vs Baltar's checkers and Abused 6 (understandably furious at the humans' mistreatment of her) played out her cards and set up the downfall of New Caprica (if you think about it, NC never had a chance because whenever one of the cylon spies would have died, they would download into a new body and tell the other cylons of the world hidden in the dradis soup...

Yes, there are some skips in logic...but no more so than just about every other show out there. The fact is that BSG is very commonly viewed as one of the (if not THE) top Sci-Fi shows for a reason, and giving this episode a 1 or 2 rating is evidence of the extremeism that alot of people like to fall into. You can not like the direction this episode sent the series, but dont act like you were all into it until this episode and now its complete trash.

The waves of the hand of not getting to the bottom of the election fraud or the cloud nine explosion keep this from being the best episode, but the twist is well served and makes sense with some critical thinking.

BSG - Food For Thought

[ken661 · 10/10 · 8 October 2006]

The comments from Taemo do a good job of summarizing the end of the series. None-the-less I do wonder what happened to Lt. Sharon "Boomer" Valerii.

Over all, BSG was a great series not only for sci-fi fans but also for people who ponder the relationship between leaders (both political and military), citizens, and enemies. BSG also showcases the place (or lack-their-of) of religion and it's effect on state policy.

I don't know if there will be a new season for the show or a big screen movie. I don't know if there needs to be more of the story. I believe that we as viewers should be asking the same questions as the characters on BSG: -Who are our enemies and why do they want to kill us? -Can we create peace and coexistence with our enemies? -Can we face the mistakes of our leaders, learn from those mistakes, and pursue a better world for all people?

Never been there, never done that! (contains major spoilers)

[TAEMO · 22 March 2006]

In my opinion, the first part starts a bit slow, but the second one is so damn good. Dean Stockwell's character jokingly says in the first part to Tirol (something like): "You are no Cylon and I know that, because I am a Cylon and I have never seen you at any of our meetings!" And in the second part we learn that he actually is a Cylon ambassador. Great, not only the surprise, but also his performance. I guess you could give him the telephone book to read for us and he would be entertaining.

Then, when you think, the episode is at an end, the camera slowly moves towards Baltar, who is now President, comes closer, and we dissolve to the next morning. At least we think it is the next morning, because as the camera dollies (or steady-cams) back, we realize it is a year later and the people of the fleet have settled down on the new found planet. (Baltar has a hangover and has a couple of hot girls at his very private disposal. What is so classic about this "one year later scene", it seems so perfect, and so familiar, because it is done so perfectly, yet I am pretty sure I have never seen a TV series jump ahead a year. It is both surprising and shocking to see what has happened to the characters and setting we have come to like for the last two years.

The star ships are orbiting the planet with skeleton crews on board. There is a short but good scene, where Adama (now with a mustache) lonely strolls through the corridors of the ship and finds a lamp malfunctioning. And nobody thinks about repairing it. Everybody is already on the planet or is about to go down. And although life on the planet is not as beautiful as everybody has hoped (Starbuck's husband is ill, there are no antibiotics, everybody except Baltar and his chicks lives in tents) people want to permanently settle there.

But suddenly the Cylons are back. Adama and Lee decide to jump away with the Galactica and the Pegasus and the rest of the fleet, because they are in no shape to fight the Cylon fleet. On the planet, raiders are darkening the sky and Baltar meets the Cylon delegates in form of the original Number 6 and the original Number 8 (Sharon) as well as a male Cylon. They say, that as long as nobody resists, they would do no harm to the humans.

And then comes the perfect ending to the episode, a perfect cliffhanger and in my opinion it could surpass TNG's The Best of Both Worlds. First Baltar asks the Cylons, how they have found the planet (which is hidden in a nebular), and they tell him, they detected the radiation of a nuclear detonation. Tears are coming into Baltars eyes. He knows that for the second time in a row, it is his fault, that the Cylons have defeated mankind. And it is the same as before, he gave the nuclear warhead to a Nummber 6, because he is in love with her and again this triggers the downfall of the human race. With a broken voice he says: "On behalf of the peoples of the colonies, I surrender!" And when he says "surrender" we cut to a close up of his face. He has red eyes, dark features and we know as the audience, that now, Baltar is at his worst. He has done badly as a President. Callis is perfect. We are shocked when we see him like this. He is a broken man.

Next, there are a few shots, where we see the robots marching in and people looking at them with fear. The Cylons have won. ...to be continued! I am really looking forward to the next episode, the next season, the end of the series. When Ron Moore can jump ahead a year, I think he could very well be jumping ahead ten years, twenty years. He can do so much from now on. But lets not jump ahead too far, the next episode is what matters now. In a tiny scene, there is a Cylon searching for Starbuck, the same model or the same resurrected character, whom Starbuck tortured a lot. I guess he is up for revenge, or not. We will see. So far, so good. 10 out of 10.

Did not see that coming

[grantss · 9/10 · 12 November 2023]

Starbuck and her team have managed to escape from Caprica with the resistance fighters. It appears the Cylons have simply given up. Meanwhile the Presidential race is hotting up and that President Roslin will lose. However, her campaign manager has a plan.

An episode that started with boring old politics and ended with a radical new direction for the show. For the most part the episode seemed like it was going to be more of the same, except that it was focused on politics, a subject guaranteed to be boring.

However, a series of twists, none of which are predictable, livens things up significantly. Anything more would involve spoilers, so I'll leave it at that.

Can't wait for Season 3.

Season Two

[zkonedog · 7/10 · 5 July 2019]

During the first season of Battlestar Galactica, I was intrigued by the overall storyline. However, in terms of drama and character development, I was left wanting. Unfortunately, that exact same pattern plays out in this first half of Season Two.

For a basic summary, this season sees the Galactica-led colonial fleet still trying to survive the enemy Cylon force. These ten episodes specifically focus on Sharon, the Cylon who shot Commander Adama at the end of Season One. The chaos that incident reeks on the fleet is also a main plotline.

In terms of general human vs. Cylon plotline, these episodes advance the plots nicely. However, once again, there is just so much potential for this show as of yet untapped. For example, the whole "Cylons look like us" angle has unlimited dramatic and psychological potential, yet (at least so far) it has been used only as a plot convention (with no real substance).

What it really comes down to, though, is that I believe BSG actually tries to be TOO gritty and true-to-life (perhaps as a counterpoint to the often over-the-top Star Trek). When I'm immersed in a TV show, I want to see some high drama, even if it is a little contrived at times. I want to see Captain Kirk talk down a computer, Jack Bauer take out a whole terrorist cell in one day, or Fox Mulder get to the bottom of a government conspiracy. BSG is so measured and slow-developing that it is tough to maintain an exciting narrative over multiple episodes.

Overall, then, though this first half of Season Two does an adequate job of advancing the basic plots from the first season, it still kind of just drags along in terms of characters and drama. The first-half finale, "Pegasus", is easily the best episode of the bunch, so I still will be watching (and hoping for bigger and better things) the 2.5 set.

For the first season and a half of Battlestar Galactica, I kept wanting more from the show in a number of different areas. Amazingly, this second half of Season Two fulfilled all those empty areas!

I had pined for more overall drama, and the early-episodes story arc of this set (involving the Pegasus) provides that in spades.

I had wanted better character development and that improved as well, focusing on the two Adamas, Laura Roslin, and Starbuck.

Mainly, though, I was really waiting for more background information on the Cylons and their potential future relations with humans. Well, the final three episodes of this season focus specifically on those issues and provide easily the best drama of the entire series to date.

Actually, the final episode is so startling and different from anything previous that it was a complete shock (albeit in a good way) to my system. It really invigorates a show that needed to be shook up a bit.

Thus, more than at any other point in this show so far, I am re-charged and ready for the third season, hoping that it will continue to break new ground in challenging viewers on a deeper level.

The show blows off intrigue and plot lines with cheap cheap cheap

[bgaiv · 2/10 · 21 December 2020]

This show had its moments, often very strong, and while it pulled off some strong episodes in its last two seasons- "cleverly" splitting up the last two seasons into 4, 4.5, 3.14258, etc, no, it devolved into mostly crap.

This show literally swept entire plot lines away with a literal nuke.

It kind of made it hard to care about any other story lines, didn't it?

Who were Baltar's concubines?

[ChrisJMull · 10 March 2006]

It was great to see Baltar become a true despot and "enjoy" all the trappings of power. You could see exactly the type of "leader" he would be from the first scene he was in. But the one question I must ask, Who were his two concubines? In real life and in the show, they are beautiful, why have we not seen them before? Why were they picked? It really reflects the downfall of the colonies that these two women are enjoying the comfort of a warm, clean place, when true heroes like Starbuck are begging for antibiotics for her husband, or forced into retirement like the Colonel (and therefore, into the hands of the Cylons.) That is one of the great things about this show, , it is not afraid to show the selfish and cruel nature humanity, or its capacity to attempt to destroy itself.

The very episode where BSG fell completely off the rails. Dozens of serious problems!

[tomasajdari · 1/10 · 29 May 2018]

This episode contains about 10 major 1st order plot holes and about 50 second order plot holes and implausibilities. This is waay too much for a 45 minute show.

So, Athena - suicidal because of the "murder" of her child is allowed to connect to a Cylon raider brain and transmit the jump "package" to other raptors. Dozens in the fleet know this so everybody knows. This alone would have been a fleet wide mutiny an episode ago! One raptor has "navigational program failure" and jumps right next to New Caprica, a rare "hidden, habitable planet". How likely is that? Sounds like a plant - trap, doesn't it? And the Cylons return within days with news of a "peace" just before the election. WOW. We are constantly reminded of the Cylon/computer menace since the first episode... yet everybody in the fleet forgets to at least question this nonsense.

The surivors from Caprica escape into the fleet after 6 months and we know that some parts of Caprica have been completely decontaminated and turned into gardens with repaired cities and restaurants.... from two sources: first return mission with Starbuck some months ago and now from the current one....... yet the president (Roslin) is allowed to make a statement that their worlds are a radioactive wasteland... just 2 minutes after the second mission returns!!!!!!!!!!!!! Keep in mind that the fleet has only about 45 000 people and there is plenty of everything back there.

It is clear that the writers of the various parts didn't even talk to each other!!!!

And this is only the beginning!

Season 2: Improvements in writing, delivery, performances and presentation make it an engaging and adult sci-fi

[bob the moo · 1 May 2009]

Recently I have been practising coming to parties late, by which I mean that I am giving TV shows a try long after everyone else in the world decided they are very good. 30 Rock is of course one but when it came to Battlestar Galatica I did come with a certain amount of hesitancy. Season 1 turned out to be better than the pilot had made me expect when I watched it, but it was only a solid affair and not quite as good as the hype had suggested it would be. It had potential for sure but it seemed to be a bit obvious in how it did things and perhaps not be as complex and thoughtful as it would like to have been. Anyway, while not brilliant, season 1 was good enough for me to come back for more in season 2.

The thing that is most evident about season 2 is the improvement in the writing. Where before themes were delivered in blocks and in rather obvious way, the same moral and political issues are handled with a little bit more in the way of subtlety and, more importantly, they are written across the characters and the situations, rather than just being written into them. What this means in terms of the show is that it has a much darker edge because the things that were "slightly missed potential" in season 1 are now being delivered upon in a reasonably effective way. Let me stress here that season 2 didn't make this show into The Wire but I will admit that I can see why critics calls it "sci-fi for people who consider themselves above watching sci-fi".

The plots are stronger as well, with some very strong episodes and two-parters. At times the narrative feels like things are made out of convenience (ie characters suddenly being important but written out in the same show, new Cylons appearing for dramatic purposes etc) but they do still work. The sci-fi action benefits from this as well, feeling less like it is being done to get viewers and more because it is part of the story (which of course it is). I like the direction of all the in-space action (even if I can understand why some do not like the way the camera moves) but it is the more general delivery that has improved. Episodes being fragmented in terms of time, episodes delivered in different ways and with different focal points and just generally an improved sense of style and presentation – all these make it feel more interesting and more "worthy" of attention.

The acting is not stellar but an improvement is evident across the board from season 1. This may well be helped by the overall improvements in content and delivery but it still shows. McDonnell and Callis benefit from having better material generally while Olmos remains a solid centre to the show. Helfer is good but the more "complex" material given to her does show her range a little bit – she is not bad but she doesn't quite convince when asked to do more than normal. Contrasting with her, Park continues to be able to deliver the goods and I continue to like her performance. Hogan is best early in the season but is solid even later on. Bamber and Sackhoff are both improved with the better material while the supporting turns are also better from the likes of Douglas, Penikett, McClure and others.

Battlestar Galatica isn't perfect but it manages to be enjoyable as a sci-fi but also have plots and characters that are engagingly dark and complex (even if not quite as deep or complex as the delivery and presentation makes them feel). Still, season 2 is a tangible step-up on season 1 across the board and I hope it can maintain and build on this for the remaining seasons.

Plot twist at the end was not thought out...

[fudbot-137-204912 · 27 April 2015]

I for one love this series, but the writing suffered at end of season 2. The whole election campaign was slow, monotonous and stupid. Most of all, how could Amdr. Adama not take Pres. Roslin seriously about her claim that Batlar was a traitor? How could Adama just explain away how the nuclear weapon, which he was reluctant to give Baltar in the first place, was just somehow stolen from Baltar's office? That was the dumbest thing in the world! How would Col Tigh, let alone Adama, allow a nuclear weapon to remain unguarded on board the Galactica? How could have Ronald D. Moore approve this stupidity and allow it to go into production? Discuss amongst yourselves please?