The Hand of God (RDM)

"The Hand of God" (credit: Sci-Fi Channel)

Overview

With the fleet short of fuel, the Galactica launches a daring attack on a Cylon base.

Summary

• The fleet is almost out of fuel, and the Galactica has Raptors out scouting nearby star systems to find tylium ore - if they don't, the fleet can make two more jumps at best
• Aboard one of the Raptors, Boomer and Crashdown find more than tylium – they find an asteroid full of the ore, complete with a Cylon base and refinery
• Faced with hoping to locate tylium elsewhere using their remaining supplies of fuel, or taking the asteroid from the Cylons, Adama opts to take the asteroid
• On Colonial One, Roslin reveals she is being affected by taking Chamalla extract to Elosha – her dreams about Conoy which occurred immediately before he was found on the Gemenon Traveller (Flesh and Bone), and her hallucination about snakes
• On hearing about the snakes, Elosha reveals an ancient text written by Pythia 3,600 years ago concerning the exodus of humankind
• Tigh and Lee Adama draw up an initial plan to take the asteroid, but Starbuck comes up with an alternative idea, which is presented to Roslin, who gives her approval
• Plans are drawn up for the attack on the Cylon base on the asteroid, and Baltar is involved in preparations. In doing so he completes his transition into “an instrument of God”
• The attack is launched – at first everything appears to go wrong; but as the situation unfolds, it turns out that there is a plan-within-a-plan – Adama doesn’t trust anyone other than his immediate officers with the full details of the action - not even Roslin
• Even so, things do not go well, until in a daring manoeuvre, Lee Adama manages to destroy the Cylon base on the asteroid, and win the supplies of tylium for the fleet.

On Caprica:

• Helo and Valerii are hiding-out on a farm on their way to Delphi
• When Helo offers to fix a meal, Valerii is uncharacteristically sick, leading them to try and settle down for some sleep
• They are interrupted by the arrival of a troop of Cylon warriors - lead by a corporeal Six!
• Forcing a stunned Helo into action - he cannot believe the woman he saw Valerii kill is coming after them - Valerii forces him back on the run

--Colonial Archivist 10:38, 26 Jan 2005 (EST)

Questions

• Why did Commander Adama order the fighters to pursue the fleeing Cylon Raiders, instead of securing the area?
• How many Vipers does Galactica actually have? Do they have a contingency plan should the a majority (or all) of the Vipers be destroyed? Or are they simply fraked?
• Are the Colonials able to build ships, such as Vipers, from scratch? Or can they take destroyed hulks and rebuild off them?
• How exactly can a 3,600 year old text fortell the exodus of humanity, and the leadership of President Roslin?
• Does someone have time on their hands to build miniatures of the new Cylon Raiders for the Situation Room!?
• If Dr. Gaius Baltar read the Sacred Scriptures in "... the 6th grade", why, in spite of being the former Secratary of Education, doesn't President Roslin know who Pythia is?

Analysis

Another powerful episode – if unfortunately contrived in some areas - that did much to further several plot lines and again draw together so much of what has transpired in previous episodes.

The performances throughout were powerful, and it was in some ways good to see one or two of the characters falling back into their old ways – notably Starbuck sliding back towards her conceited, overly-confident “frak off, only I can do this” annoying in-yer-faceness, and Apollo with his “oh woe is me” routine. That both of these two – who have progressed so far in so many different ways in so short a time (36 days, to be exact) can be seen to still have the baggage of their formal lives kicking around their feet, ready to be tripped over, is again a point in BSG’s favour in portraying the reality of the human condition. No-one becomes an ideal role-model overnight – or over the course of a month.

It’s also interesting to see how Roslin’s doubts concerning Adama’s humanity (Flesh and Bone, Secrets and Lies) have now reaped their harvest: Adama doesn’t trust her sufficiently enough to reveal all the details of tactical and strategic operations to her. In many respects, this side of their relationship is back to how it was back in 33.

With the Helo / Valerii situation on Caprica, the procreation element appears to have come to the fore. Despite the time of day, Vallerii's vomiting smacked strongly of "morning sickness". If this is the case, the meaning behind her statement to Helo that she is the one the Cylons are after (Secrets and Lies is doubly clear: not only do they want her back – they want what they suspect she may be carrying inside her. And now he’s seen Six again, Helo can’t go on much longer before he starts stringing at least some of it together.

But of the entire episode, it is the opening of the Roslin and Baltar arcs that are the compelling.

Roslin is interesting on a number of levels. First off, there is the fact that she herself has some limited precognition, presumably as a result of the Chamalla treatment she is taking. But if it has happened once (Flesh and Bone), will it happen again? What will happen as her cancer grows, and she comes to rely on Chamalla and other medications to a greater degree. Oracles are not uncommon, it would appear from Colonial legend (Pythia) – could we see Roslin travel the road from purely political leader to a more pseudo-religious leader / Sybil; a possible counter-point to Baltar himself?

Then there is the reference to Pythia herself, and a further link to the ancient Greece of our own planet. In Greek mythology, the Pythia was the priestess at Apollo's oracle in Delphi. The name itself comes from Python, the dragon slain by Apollo.

The Pythia operated as a vehicle for Apollo's will to be known to those on earth. A believer would make a sacrifice and present a question to a priest. The priest would then present the question to the Pythia. The Pythia sat on a bronze tripod in the adytum, or inner chamber of Apollo's temple. In this sacred chamber the spirit of Apollo overcame the Pythia and inspired the prophecy.

Note the interesting potential resonances here:

• In our mythology, Pythia was the servant of Apollo; in BSG, we see a woman foretold by the Colonial’s “Pythia” seeking the counsel of “Apollo” (Lee Adama), and using the knowledge he imparts to her to better understand the likes of Adama
• In our mythology, it is often inferred that Pythia’s trances were induced from chewing laurel leaves (hence depictions of her holding a sprig of laurel) – on BSG, Roslin’s “visions” are induced by her taking an herbal remedy known as Chamalla extract.

A further interesting – possibly coincidental – resonance is that the Pythia in ancient Greece were the oracle of Delphi – and on Caprica, Helo and Valerii are making for the religious centre of Delphi.

On Baltar’s part, things are equally interesting – both in their religious context, and with the evolving situation with “his” Six.

Following his seeking God’s forgiveness (33) and his repentance of his sins (Six Degrees of Separation), Baltar finally becomes God’s “instrument”. He literally becomes the hand of God referenced in the episode title: he is the one that points out the target that will destroy the Cylon base.

This in itself is interesting. Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen Baltar move through the five emotional states that tend to guide our reactions to a new “truth” we’d rather not face:

• Denial (dismissing the “disappearance” of the Olympic Carrier after the call from Dr. Amorak as anything more than a serendipitous event - 33)
• Anger (his outright hostility towards Six as she continues to "bore" him with talk of God - Six Degrees of Separation)
• Bargaining (praying to God for his safety in return for his obedience - Six Degrees of Separation)
• Depression (leaving the Situation Room without having “heard” God’s voice & facing up to the fact that he had to – again - lie)
• Acceptance his messianic response to Six’s coaxing at the end of this episode.

Another interesting aspect of Baltar’s acceptance that he is indeed an “instrument of God” is in the fact that – as with many fundamentalist Christian] teachings here on Earth (which state that to truly become a Christian, one must undergo “death” and rebirth - hence the baptism) - Baltar experiences his own “death” as Six apparently breaks his neck while in his fantasy world, and he is “reborn” in the present, facing Tigh and Starbuck, and points out the tylium precursor tanks on the asteroid.

Given all this, is it any wonder we have a somewhat messianic Baltar at the end of the episode?

But what is the driving force behind Baltar’s “conversion”? The concept of a pseudo-Christian God is very much a Cylon concept, being repeatedly expressed by both Baltar’s Six and Leoben Conoy. It is also a concept alien to Colonial thinking. Taking it as read that Baltar is a human – one who prides himself on being a rational genius and “above” the need for religious “flim-flam” - why should he fixate on a Cylon religious concept?

Could it simply be a part of his mind playing on something Six said to him before Caprica was attacked? Or could it be the fact that “his” Six really is something more than a simple manifestation of his own psychosis? That she is an ideology / personality “downloaded” into him?

Again, this episode points towards Six being an ideology / personality downloaded into Baltar. To dismiss all that has happened around Baltar as a simple string of coincidences he has been able to knit together into his own personal version of reality is, on the basis of the events in this episode, becoming increasingly hard to accept.

And it is Six who brings the story circle – returning to the writings of Pythia and the two and ten serpents – only in this case, an alternative meaning is deduced (by Baltar): the 12 serpents are in fact the 12 Vipers lead by Apollo on the raid on the Cylon base. And again, notice the careful counterpoint: when Roslin reveals her hallucination to Elosha, the priestess reveals the writings of Pythia to her, essentially anointing Roslin as the leader Pythia once foretold. In the closing scene we have Six using the same writings to finally convince Baltar that he is also “anointed” – an instrument of God.

Is it mere coincidence that Six picks on the same passages as those identified by Elosha?

Away from these two threads, Adama further reconciles himself with his son – the scene played out in the Viper bay with the lighter is exceptionally well-handled, and fully in keeping with all that we’ve seen between Adama and Lee since the events of You Can’t Go Home Again. Indeed, in this, it is far more in keeping with the nature of both characters than the somewhat clumsy scene between Adama and Thrace that took place in Adama’s cabin during Act of Contrition.

Similarly, and as mentioned, the re-bubbling of animosity between Lee Adama and Kara Thrace is handled by the writers and the actors with the right level of intensity that makes the situation so believable: Lee Adama’s resurfacing self-doubt; Thrace’s returning arrogance (born no doubt of her inability to fly herself): a careful mix that fully reminds us that there is still a lot of history to these characters – to all our cast – and past attitudes and doubts are not easily put aside.

Returning to the main thrust of the episode: the need of tylium and the attack on the Cylon base. In setting it up, the producers are making it clear that, as with the fall-out from the events of Water, they are not going to forget logistical matters. We’ve have a water shortage, now we’ve had a fuel shortage. However, they’ve also very cleverly made it clear that such problems are not going to become an easy fall-back for writers stuck for ideas to use: in Water it was made abundantly clear that, saving sabotage or serious damage, the Galactica can keep the majority of the fleet supplied with clean water (and it was intimated that other vessels in the fleet can take care of their own water needs). Here, it is fuel that is currently the issue of the day – providing the Cylon base is taken; we’re informed that fuel supplies needn’t be a problem for the fleet for another couple of years – again barring mishaps.

But perhaps the most interesting question surrounding the entire tylium situation is: was it actually a set-up by the Cylons?

We know from Leoben Conoy’s promise to Starbuck (Flesh and Bone) that the Colonials are going to find Kobol. To do so, they are going to need fuel – and the chances are that the Cylons are aware of this fact, either through deduction (the fleet has been burning fuel at a considerable rate – no fewer than 238 jumps in the first five days of the “chase”) or via possible contact with their agents within the fleet. What better to ensure they reach Kobol that to not only provide them with raw tylium, but also with the facilities to rapidly mine it? Certainly, considering their vast numerical superiority (some 140 Raiders facing around 18-20 Vipers) – the Cylons gave up easily enough once the base had been destroyed.

Further, given the way they appear to set so much by Colonial religious writings – Six and Conoy both quoting scripture and ancient texts – allowing the Colonials to “win” the battle at the tylium asteroid could been seen as a means of fulfilling the prophesy quoted by Six to Baltar, and thus helping “ensure” the upcoming confrontation at Kobol.

Which is not to say the story is not without a few hiccups; for a start, how does a seasoned tactical officer like Tigh come up with a plan of attack on the Cylon base that is so fundamentally flawed in its concept from the outset: jumping the Galactica in “behind” the enemy, without considering the nature and extent of the enemy’s likely fighter patrols? One might forgive Lee Adama such a mistake – he’s hardly a veteran war planner; but Tigh? He of all people should know that this far outside of a friendly sphere of influence, when the enemy (the Colonials) have a warship capable of jumping in on them from any point in space, the Cylons are bound to have the most obvious hiding-places staked out with fighter patrols or automated scanning systems.

No, the flawed planning is designed to open the door to Starbuck’s “out-of-the-box” thinking & the planting of the decoy mission. Sadly, while it does this, the way the opening is played diminishes Tigh for his lack of foresight.

Then there is the question of why is Starbuck so upset that the first part of the plan - the attack by Viper Strike Force One is going “wrong”? It is her plan – as Adama states – and so she should be aware that it is the “Strike Force” that is in fact the decoy, not the freighters. As such, the decoys stand a good chance of “being cut to pieces” – yet her reaction, in facing Adama is accusatory, as if she had no idea this would happen.

Next up is the fact that - despite the loss of their base – the Cylons have a massive numerical superiority over the Colonial Vipers (some 18-20 Vipers (after losses), split into two small groups facing-off against 140-ish Raiders) – yet they failed to ram this advantage home. Part of the Cylon plan? Possibly, but the way it was handled in the episode (the Raiders simply “bugging out”) doesn’t really support this. Nor does the idea of those same 140-odd Raiders simply running away from a force of just 8 Vipers (the remaining ships of Strike Force One) without making some attempt at taking out several more Vipers.

Finally, there is Adama’s apparently reckless response to the news the Cylons are bugging out – ordering his fighters after them when a) the Cylons do have a massive numerical superiority that could quickly put his fighters at risk; b) the Cylons have FTL and so could easily evade the Vipers (after drawing them out) prior to jumping, re-grouping and then jumping back in (to, say, launch an attack directly on Galactica herself while she is still sans fighters.

But these really are minor glitches in what is otherwise an episode that again operates on several levels and cleverly interweaves a number of different threads.

--Colonial Archivist 18:14, 27 Jan 2005 (EST)

Notes

• Nine days have passed since the events of Secrets and Lies
• Tylium ore is use to power FTL systems, but probably not through any fissionable reaction
• Tylium has an enrgy density of about 5e14 J/kg, comparable to that of nuclear fusion.
• Cylon technology is clearly a Colonial off-shoot, as one would expect: from the use of tylium down to the shape of doorways
• William Adama’s father was Joseph Adama
• Sharon Valerii on Capica may well be pregnant
• There is an ancient text some 3,600 years old foretelling humanity’s flight – and apparently, Roslin’s leadership
• Mark II Vipers can carry both missiles and munitions pods (bombs)
• The Mark VII Vipers all appear to be out of commission - even Apollo is now regularly flying a Mk II
• The religious overtones to the human / Cylon struggle are becoming more pronounced, with a now-promised confrontation due at the “home of the Gods”
• The Colonial fleet has a tylium refinery ship among its number
• With the capture of the tylium mining facilities on the asteroid, the Colonials should be able to gather enough tylium to keep them going for about 2 years – assuming they can shift that much tylium to their refinery ship before the Cylons return

• The Hand of God is also the name of an original series episode.

Nods

"The Hand of God" was also the title of the original series finale where Adama decides to attack a Cylon Basestar after tiring from constant flight.

Noteworthy Dialogue

• Lee Adama sits with a battered Viper before the mission. He is joined by his father, who after a short conversation, Adama hands Lee a lighter:

Commander Adama: It belonged to your grandfather. My mother bought it for him when he was in law school. See the engraving on it?

Lee Adama: (reading the name "Joseph Adama") Yes I...can barely make it out...

Commander Adama: He was a better father than I was. Dad used to carry that into court cases. He claimed he never lost unless he left it behind.

Lee Adama: So you’re worried too.

Commander Adama: About what?

Lee Adama: Sometimes it feels like the whole ship thinks...Starbuck...would do better.

Commander Adama: I don’t.

Lee Adama: How can you be so sure?

Commander Adama: Because you’re my son.

Statistics

Guest Stars

• Lorena Gale as Elosha
• Nicki Clyne as Cally
• Cailin Stadnyk as Ensign Davis
• Bodie Olmos as Constanza / Hot Dog
• Lucianna Carro as Katraine / Kat
• Terry Chen as Perry / Chuckles
• Christina Schild as Playa Kohn
• Biski Gugushe as Sekou Hamilton
• Paul Cummings as Fireball
• Camille Sullivan as Stepchild

Writing & Direction

• Written by David Wheddle and Bradley Thompson
• Directed by Jeff Woolnough

Production Notes

• Series 1 (2004 / 2005)
• Production Number: 1.10
• Airdate Order: 10 (of 13)

First Run Air Dates & Releases

• UK Airdate: 3 January 2005 (Sky One)
• US Airdate: 11 March 2005 (Sci-Fi Channel)
• DVD Release: 28 March, 2005 (UK)

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Re-imagined Series definition: mineral that can be refined to a powerful fuel, see: tylium

Original Series definition: a highly combustible fuel (see: tylium) ^{(TOS: "Fire in Space")}

Re-imagined Series definition: all-purpose vulgarism; Colonial version of "fuck" (see: frak)

Re-imagined Series definition: Battlestar Group ^{(TRS: "Water")}. It also doubles as an acronym for the television series itself.

Re-imagined Series definition: technology enabling travel across distances faster than the speed of light would permit, see: FTL

Original Series definition: a Cylon outpost ^{(TOS: "Lost Planet of the Gods, Part I")}