BSG “No Exit” – Time To Accept What We Are
I’m sure it’s become obvious from my previous reviews of BSG that I’m a big fan of examining the inner workings of characters and the subtext behind the events that unfold. From that vantage point, I think you’ll understand why this week’s episode “No Exit” was a little underwhelming due in large part for it being more an exercise in trying to tie up stray loose ends before the end approaches. Of course, that’s not to say that there weren’t some tasty morsels in the offering and it’s those aspects of the episode that I’ll discuss in this review since I don’t have enough interest to dissect all the series’ origins details that were provided courtesy of Anders’ subdural hematoma.
Speaking of Anders, it was clear from Starbuck’s reaction to Anders’ revelation about being able to remember everything that she had some hope that he might be able to shed some light on who – or what – exactly she is. Since her reappearance at the end of Season 3, many fans have speculated that Starbuck must be a Cylon and personally, I’d hate for that to be the case. It’s been clear since the first episode that Starbuck is a character in search of some meaning or grounding in her life. Her fractured sense of identity and subsequently, her relationship with those around her, gave her character a great deal of potential to be an interesting character study, something which sadly was never realized and remains one of the weak points for this series. But having her become a Cylon would be an even greater let down because of the obvious cop-out it presents – that the reason why Starbuck could never be grounded was because she wasn’t human and subconsciously knew it. The fact that this episode played out this idea so overtly makes it even more distasteful, especially if we are to believe that the “genetic defect” John/Cavil introduced into the amniotic fluid caused the model to become female. If the Daniel model still exists, I think a more logical explanation for what became of them is more apparent – they are now the hybrids that run the Cylon ships with the defect being their inability to communicate or function autonomously. Certainly that more than anything would fit better with John/Cavil’s desire to extend the suffering of those he despises for as long as he can.
Regardless, I’d like to think that the purpose behind the Daniel Cylon model introduction was more to illustrate John/Cavil’s psychopathic drive being fuelled by his own self-loathing and hatred toward anything his creators value or hold dear. It helps us to appreciate why he was able to treat his creators with such vehemence – after holding John/Cavil in such high regard because he was the first ’skinjob’ created by the Final Five (interesting how that has a new connotation now), he must have felt it slipping away with the introduction of more models of ’skinjob’ Cylons, mirroring a common reaction older siblings have to the introduction of new children into their family dynamic. In many ways, one could see the Daniel Cylon being the catalyst for John/Cavil to turn against his creators and put into action his plan to push his creators through as much torment and suffering as he could create.
Of course, this leads us to the more interesting storyline presented in this episode, the scenes featuring John/Cavil and one of his creators, Ellen the Cylon. Personally, I found the interplay between these two to be a far more effective vehicle for providing some information or understanding regarding how these events all started. I especially enjoyed the scenes where they examined if there was any benefit for the Cylons in attempting to become more human with John/Cavil looking at it from the perspective of quantifying existence whereas Ellen preferred looking at the intangibles it opens up to them. Indeed, many of these scenes between John/Cavil and Ellen were more like philosophical discussions about the meaning of life, free will, and how we define our responsibility for our existence and actions. Compared to these scenes, Anders’ bedside regurgitation of past histories came off as being a convenient plot device to dispense with the numerous questions fans might have regarding the series mythology. In many ways this reminded me of how “The X-Files” treated their series mythology where they weaved an elaborate tapestry only to turn the carpet over to show us a “Made in China” label. The scenes between Ellen and John/Cavil certainly elevated this episode, but not enough to keep it from being bogged down by all the facts-listing at the expense of storytelling.
Although Adama had a minor role in this episode, I still enjoyed the contribution for the insight it provides us on how he views Cylons and subsequently why he was able to accept working with the Cylons in the events of “Disquiet”. At the start of the episode, we see Adama ready to accept Tyrol back in his role as Chief Petty Officer, pointing out to Tyrol that he already had a Cylon XO, so why not a Cylon chief? And yet, later on when Tyrol shows Adama the extent of the damage to Galactica, Adama informs Tyrol that he wants a “human-only crew” to work on the ship – one of the few signs that Adama got the message behind the mutiny. This attitude becomes even more apparent later on when Tyrol shows Adama an ‘X-ray’ of the ship’s skeleton and tells him the best way to fix it is by injecting living Cylon material into the ship, something Adama refuses as being an option knowing full well that there are no alternatives if they are to keep the ship functional and intact. It’s clear from these scenes that Adama has no problem seeing Cylons as individuals, especially those who he’s worked with side by side all these years. And yet, viewing them as a Cylon collective or even species still fosters this sense of mistrust and suspicion. Indeed, I suspect that Adama might fear that the injection of Cylon ‘blood’ into Galactica’s infrastructure would make his ship less human – reminds me of that episode of M*A*S*H where this caucasian soldier asked Hawkeye if he could make sure that he only gets “white” blood and not any of that ‘other kind’.
I assume this is why he had no problem with using Cylon technology for their engines, but not this as one would merely be an instrument whereas the other would ultimately redefine the nature of Galactica’s physical identity. Of course, in the end, Adama makes the only decision he can make and orders Tyrol to get to work on his Cylon infusion plan and clearly we can see this decision weighed heavily on Adama as he needs to pop a pill and drink a shot before he calls Tyrol to give him the order. Perhaps one could see this as being the start of the blurring in the characters’ minds as to how they will delineate what they call human and what they call Cylon. In some ways, the scene between Tigh and Caprica Six is helping to pave the way for such musings, their joy over feeling the movements of their unborn child within Six’s ‘womb’ certainly reinforces Ellen’s remarks to Boomer about how making Cylons more human gave them access to the wonderful human constructs of compassion and love. Still, it would have been nice if we could have had another scene showing Adama wrestling with this internal dilemma to make us appreciate the complexity of these issues.
While there were mentions of last week’s mutiny peppered in this episode, this too felt a little neglected at the expense of focusing on finalizing certain BSG mythology points. The scene between Lee and Roslyn where he says that a new quorum format is needed to reflect the change in their society is an important one as it completes the process of letting go of their dreams of recreating their past and accepting their new reality. And yet, watching this scene between Lee and Roslyn, I could swear I was watching the second-to-last episode in the series, with the various characters signing off on the roles they’ve played over the duration of the show to help set up for that final swan song. Given how there are seven more episodes left to go, Roslyn’s willingness to take a backseat once again after the events of the last two episodes was disappointing, despite the subtle inference to her declining health at the end of this scene with her sudden bout of coughs. Having Roslyn sit on the sidelines waiting for her cancer to consume her is hardly the way I’d see sending her character out of the series, so I’m hoping they have another storyline planned that will require her to once again throw her hat back into the action.
While I certainly don’t mind slower paced, introspective episodes inserted in between more intensive, action-driven ones (I appear to be one of the few BSG fans who enjoyed “A Disquiet Follows My Soul”), this episode simply felt too much like a crossword puzzle where the only goal is to fill in the blanks instead of trying to flesh out the ideas behind the questions. Granted, it’s difficult to make every episode in a series a memorable one, and certainly this one was coming off some pretty intense storytelling. However, I hope that they recognize that as much as information is needed to resolve key series plot points established over the last 4 years, it shouldn’t be at the expense of the insightful and character-driven storytelling that has been a hallmark of the series. Sometimes how one shares information can be just as important as the information itself.
Some other posts you may enjoy:
- BSG “Revelations” – We’re Off To See The Wizard
- BSG “Deadlock” – Between Hate and Love
- BSG “Daybreak, Part 2” – My Final BSG Review, Part 2
- BSG “Sometimes A Great Notion” – Honey, I’m Home
- BSG “Islanded in a Stream of Stars” – Finding One’s Place To Call Home
- BSG “Someone To Watch Over Me” – A Return to the Well Executed and Balanced Meal
I see your point about Kara = Cylon and have to agree now. (I was on the bandwagon of those who believe the amniotic fluid changed the sex of the seventh model.) However, I’m not sure I like the idea of them being the hybrids that run the ships. I much more prefer the idea of Daniel being Kara’s father (artistic piano player) with Kara being the original Hera.
For what it’s worth, while this episode was a lot of information, I expect they’ve set us up well for a what I hope to be a great rollercoaster ride to come.
And just like that, we’re back on the same page – sure, my distaste for “Blood on the Scales” makes my frustration with this one a bit more rooted in previous events, but I nonetheless agree: Ellen and Cavil’s philosophical discussions good, Anders’ tell-don’t-show exposition ramblings lazy.
Note: not bad. There are some fundamentally fascinating things there, as you laid out and as I laid out in my own review, but it just felt like the show dumping them out. This was especially frustrating after we went through the mutiny, which I felt moved too quickly without giving the philosophical underpinnings of the mutiny time to settle. There, I felt the subtle moments deserved more time outside of the plot, but here there was not plot: just a lot of conversations, a lot of revelations, and a lot of confusion. It’s important, all of it, but I really wish that we could have had some of this interspersed even over the last four episodes, if not further into the season. Anders has been useless since the Demetrius got back, so why not put him in this state earlier and have it tease out over time?
One thing I will contend with you on, though, is Starbuck.
But having her become a Cylon would be an even greater let down because of the obvious cop-out it presents – that the reason why Starbuck could never be grounded was because she wasn’t human and subconsciously knew it.
I don’t think the episode played to this at all, as long as you connect the dots between the two sides. The whole point is that “human” is becoming relative: you don’t need to BE human to feel human under Ellen’s philosophy, allowing Tigh and Caprica to bond over their child and allowing for even the skinjobs who were programmed to be less human to start relating to humanity in important ways (See: Athena). At the same time, you have someone like Baltar who can take on qualities of the Cylon religion and identity, perhaps losing part of his humanity but gaining something else.
(On that note, Baltar’s conversation with the Centurion about God and belief systems in 4.0 now makes more sense considering that the toasters were the source of monotheism).
I think that Starbuck’s search for identity is almost a red herring: the point isn’t which side of the binary she sits on, but rather where on the non-linear path between human and Cylon that she sits. If she is in fact Daniel, that doesn’t change who Starbuck is: her path is certainly more complicated than the Final Five or someone like Boomer, but I think the basic principles (someone who has been human for so long discovering they are something else) are more or less the same. But now that even the Cylons are clearly concerned with what it means to be more or less human, and Galactica is becoming part Cylon, I hope that we can finally start to get rid of this binary and move these two destinies together into one.
Which is what I wanted all through the mutiny arc, and what in this highly Cylon-centric exposition dump of an episode was still missing. Fingers crossed for it all being perfect setup for some great episodes in the back end.
Interesting analysis. Regarding the hybrids, we learned in this episode that the Centurions had learned how to make the hybrids. MOF, in Razor we saw a young Husker find the facility.
First off, thanks everyone for the comments. I always nice to hear what others think and I appreciate your taking the time to share them.
@ Yazmin – I have to say that the idea that Daniel was Kara’s father doesn’t work for me purely from a dramatic storytelling point. Allow me to elaborate – at the end of Season 3, when it was revealed that Tyrol, Anders, Tigh, and Tori were four of the Final Five Cylons, it was a major mind frak because it completely shook our impressions of who these characters are, if not casting a new light on what the implications are from their prior actions. The other important fact is that we were emotionally engaged with these characters in the sense that we’d been following their characters’ ups and downs and the various personal crises or issues they encountered. As a result of this, we had some emotional investment in what became of these characters. Now, remember how much debate there was on who the Final Cylon was – we all had our own ideas of who it could be and naturally, we all hand-picked characters who we’d been introduced to and who would have a palpable impact on both the series’ characters and the overall storyline (my choice for the Final Cylon was Admiral Cain. The implications that all these people on the Pegasus had fostered such hatred in the Cylons in large part due to their leader, who ended up being revealed to be a Cylon herself, would have been fascinating. I also theorized that we’d find out that it was Cylon Cain who orchestrated Starbuck’s return. How would that be for a mind frak? But I digress).
That’s why I have a problem with Daniel being Kara’s dad – our only connection to this character is his familial relationship to Starbuck. As we’ve never met the character before, his significance on his own is rather limited since we have no emotional connection to the character. It’s not enough for him to be valuable because of the consequences his true nature would have on Starbuck since she’s already a mess as is and such a revelation is unlikely to create any new character dynamics of note. That’s why ultimately I think the only role the Daniel character should really serve is to shed some light on John/Cavil’s internal drive against his creators since at this point, it’s a little too late for them to attempt to introduce a new character that we should be expected to have an emotional attachment to. It would also be an oversimplification for why Starbuck’s been such a fragmented character instead of something more meaningful and internal. It’s akin to people who insist on faulting the behaviour of their parents for their inability to be social functioning individuals. After a point, we all need to take responsibility for ourselves and passing off Kara’s behaviour as being a subconscious artifact of her dad’s true lineage wouldn’t be any less satisfying than if they had made her this unknown Daniel model.
Myles – And just like that, we’re back on the same page
@Myles – Of course. As if there could have been any doubt on that.
Seriously though, you brought up a very good point here, Myles, in regards to Anders. I completely agree with you that Anders has become a rather useless character since the return from Demetrius and I think your idea of his having these revelations spread out would have been much more dramatically interesting – if used judiciously of course as I wouldn’t care for him to become some variant of the Oracle of Delphi. Given his now vegetative state, I think we’ve seen the completion of his use in this series remaining storyline, which adds to the frustration of how this information was proffered since it does make it feel more like they were just dumping off information instead of creating a story. I know that a lot of fans have been eager to get these answers, but given the build-up toward finding them, this method of delivery really takes the wind out of this build-up.
And speaking of becoming more and more useless, I have to add that Tori’s presence is also becoming tiresome like Anders. Watching that scene in sickbay when Anders reveals that Tori and Tyrol were madly in love on Cylon Earth being met with snickers and chortles and Tori’s only response was just to stare in muted fashion effectively sums up her character’s inability lately to provide any momentum to the series. With the impending re-introduction of Boomer into the fleet, I think that will become even more evident since we’ll now have someone else playing the ‘my loyalty is now with my Cylon brethren’ card that Tori played at the start of this season.
I agree with you that one looming eventuality is the need to redefine what it means to be Cylon and what it means to be human, much as how Lee said they couldn’t rely on their old allegiances to planets now long gone. However, I hope that we don’t have a touchy-feeling “Can’t we all just get along?” finality to this series since I think it needs to be more open-ended, where the question can’t really be answered since as much as they now share similar biological (ability to reproduce) and neurochemical (emotional responses) functions, as John/Cavil pointed out, how they interact and/or perceive existence around them plays a big part in how they define themselves. And I don’t think these two traits are enough to imply that the gap between these two identities of Cylon and human can be so easily bridged.
I’ll be stopping by your blog to read your review and share my thoughts there as well.
@Sandy B – You’re right that the Centurions had succeeded in making hybrids, but remember in this episode, Ellen made it clear that they weren’t successful in making human hybrids. So my thinking is that the hybrids they were successful in making were the Cylon Raiders like Scar. For me, it’s a natural assumption to see the Centurions creating the Raiders first as their attempt to create a machine-biological hybrid since that’s what they’re familiar with, both in terms of functionality and behaviour. Remember how Boomer was treating Starbuck’s salvaged Raider like it was a pet? That for me reinforces this idea that they would have started with creating the Raiders and it was only when the Final Five came along that they were able to create the human hybrids, complete with naturalistic human behaviour responses – including as John/Cavill pointed out, the desire to sleep – which the Centurions wouldn’t have the ability to program due to a lack of knowledge of such concepts.
Although the basestar Cylon hybrids are non-interactive, it’s clear that they are not only essential, but almost revered by the other Cylons. Why would that be the case, unless perhaps this is what became of the Daniel model? I suppose we’ll find out one way or the other depending on how necessary or vital this detail is to the future storylines.
Wow, a huge reply. But that’s only because of some wonderful, engaging comments. Thank you to all three of you for sharing your thoughts.
I think the hybrids they were discussing were the ones we saw in Razor, as Sandy suggested, the ones made by cutting up humans and trying to splice them together. The one we actually met in Razor seemed like it was one of the most advanced of these models, and I think is separate from the more sentient/personality-driven of the raiders (But I really loved “Scar” as an episode, to digress).
As for your question of Daniel being Starbuck’s father, I think another reason it might be unlikely is that we already met Starbuck’s mother, and that was already one traumatic parent syndrome: to give her another would just be melodramatic overkill.
I wrote an entry about another possibility of who Daniel is on my site.