Thu Apr 5, 2007 — by Matt Raub

MATT RAUB reveals: Bob Dylan is a Cylon!

The ComicMix review of Battlestar Galactica

So it’s been about two weeks since the season 3 finale of Battlestar Galactica. “Crossroads Part 2” has aired, and I’m tired of sitting on what I have to say about it. If you’re one of the unfortunate one’s who have still yet to see the show, here’s the spoilers: Basically we learned: who the final four Cylons turn out to be, how everyone copes with the recently deceased Starbuck, the outcome of the Gaius Baltar trial, that President Rosaline’s cancer has returned and she’s back on the wacky drug that made her see snakes, and finally, that Bob Dylan is a Cylon!

Don’t worry; I know there is a lot here, so I’m going to break it down for those playing along at home.

Those of you who remember the set-up in “Crossroads Part 1” know that throughout the episode, Colonel Tigh, Sam, Chief Tyrol, and Press Secretary Tory Foster (played by Michael Hogan, Aaron Douglas, Michael Trucco, and Rheka Sharma, respectively) hear strange sitar music that draws them toward the center of the ship. We don’t know where it comes from, only that these four are the only ones that can hear this music. We find out in the finale that mysterious music is a cover of the Bob Dylan song “All Along the Watchtower” – and not Jimi Hendrix’s, either! Now, those of you who read my review for the film 300 know my feelings about switching from orchestral beats to heavy modern guitar, but that goes full force when it’s a sci-fi show that uses an actual song when the show takes place millions of years ago and/or galaxies away!

Either way, we discover that these people hearing the music are drawn together and discover that they are all Cylon sleeper agents. This is probably one of the biggest moments in the season, and I feel likeit  didn’t get the respect it deserved by clumping all of the Cylon-outings in one scene.

Moving on, we also get the verdict of the excruciatingly long trial of Giaus Baltar. The arc basically consisted of a whole lot of father/son Adama melodrama, cranky Rosaline explains how her cancer has returned (which should be a non-issue because we know that the bastard Cylon-baby is the cure) and some more mystifying lines from Batlar’s lawyer, Matt Murdock-lite Romo Lampkin (played by 24’s Mark Sheppard). After some deep prodding from the prosecution, a recently de-commissioned Apollo takes the stand and gives this entire speech on what he’s been feeling from day one. This was a great little monologue, because he talks about how the fleet has forgiven all of its past “crimes against humanity,” referencing a lot of the back story along the way. Essentially this is what persuades the tribunal of judges to give Baltar a verdict of not guilty.

Finally in the last minutes of the finale, the Cylons do their season-ending attack. All hands go to battle stations, and Apollo realizes that no matter how he feels about the fleet, he’s the best pilot on the fleet and they need him. All vipers are launched up against what seems to be an endless wall of Cylon ships. At that moment, the supposedly-but-not-really dead Starbuck flies up beside Apollo to inform him that she has found earth and everything is going to be OK.

Wow, yet another cliffhanger from the BSG people. Granted, we skipped the whole “one year later” scenario, which I enjoyed. But we still get another nail-biter and I have to wait until fall for some more! Keep in mind, there is both a season four and a TV movie that takes place between the two seasons, with a jump of a couple of years!

I don’t know about you, Colonials, but I’m can hardly wait. Overall, even considering the Bob Dylan continuity error, I give this episode an 8/10. See you soon!

Matt Raub reviews movies and television regularly for ComicMix.com as well as the incredible ComicMix Podcast.

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