Battlestar Galactica - Sacrifice

A part of me was just disappointed that Billy’s time on the show was at an end but I understood why the character was “sacrificed” in order to continue the ongoing question regarding whether or not the current Sharon Cylon should remain alive in captivity. Her presence on the Galactica was kept in secret but word has gotten out among the fleet that she exists, stirring up tensions. Very pregnant, Sharon is questioned by Admiral Adama about what her kind might do next, strategically. Adama’s go-to answer when questioned by even Tigh on why he keeps her alive and onboard is “she’s a military asset”. But he even calls her by her name now, no longer “it” and Tigh calls him out on it in a very good scene…Tigh reminds him that she is a machine and could very well be “playing” him, jeopardizing them and the fleet. I had thought that Dee and Apollo were over, funnily enough, but when Billy proposes to her she rejects his offer of future marriage, even though he gives her the “no rush” out with her still disavowing it outright. Apollo is who she desires, the tough, chiseled, heroic pilot. Billy eyeballs a terrorist’s gun when a vengeance-seeking widow, Sesha Abinell (guest-starring veteran TV actress, Dana Delany), accompanied by her brother-in-law (Chris Bauer), lead a small crew taking hostages in a bar on the Cloud 9 pleasure fleet vessel. Apollo momentarily escapes to the nearby bathroom with Tigh’s wife (Kate Vernon), finding the convenient ventilation shaft in order to set up a dry ice (from a drink in Vernon’s hand) trap eventually setting off an oxygen release, with the plan to allow his father to send in a plant so they can overthrow the terrorists. Sesha’s husband died thanks to a Cylon attack, with her aim to get Sharon in exchange for the hostages so she can kill “it”. Admiral Adama must come up with a way to get the hostages out safely and not give up his “asset”. He does still have the Sharon Cylon that put rounds in him that nearly left him dead…

The love triangle story arc concludes before it can really get off the port. Billy didn’t know that Apollo and Dee were seeing each other, only discovering that they were on Cloud 9 when he found them in the bar while visiting the vessel with friends. He plays hero, perhaps out of frustration due to Dee choosing Apollo over him. And sure enough, his trades gunfire with a terrorist and both are shot down, both killed immediately. Dee visits a wounded Apollo (he was hit by “friendly fire” when Starbuck opened fire on the terrorists, in an attempt to quell the siege. Apollo eyeballing a mortified Starbuck…it indeed is a potent, shocking scene. She is seriously rattled, and you can see her terror when Admiral Adama arrives with the corpse of the “first” Sharon, negotiating a “trade” with Sesha that doesn’t go according to plan, a shootout eventually resulting in death on both sides. The loss of Billy particularly rocks Pres Roslin, who tries to hold it together in the morgue, commenting to Admiral Adama that his sacrifice instead of Sharon’s was not the right decision. Who can fault her for feeling this way? Sharon’s continued reprieves are bound to divide those on the Galactica, and one has to wonder how long can Admiral Adama justify keeping her alive. Even if Helo and Tyrol are deadset against Sharon’s demise, her presence on the Galactica is definitely a danger. McDonnell is so good with her reaction to Billy’s body, her Roslin so overcome with grief she has to press up against a wall and look away from him, commenting, “He was so young”. Such casualties beg the question: is a Cylon worth keeping around when such good people like Billy are sacrificed? It is getting harder and harder for Admiral Adama to rationalize Sharon's remaining on his ship, and Tigh's point about her possibly being a Cylon agent who could be used at any time to strike again is a valid one...

4/5