Battlestar Galactica - Unfinished Business

Unfinished Business is probably my least favorite episode of the third season. This is mainly because I’m not as smitten with the whole ongoing Starbuck/Apollo on-again/off-again sexual tension and attraction story arc where they have sex, talk about their feelings, pull away, embrace, back off, so on and so forth. And I like Dualla a lot so I believe she deserves better than playing second fiddle to Starbuck because Apollo can’t let go and get over her (and with all the brouhaha regarding Starbuck sacrificing all to execute a rescue mission for Anders only to later reject him after leaving New Caprica, undergoing a period of decay thanks to her Leoben kidnapping). And the episode has crew boxing each other in the ring as a “release of tensions that often get bottled up while on board the Galactica in high stress situations”. The episode alternates back and forth from present day on Galactica and months earlier during the breaking-ground of New Caprica. The main devotion of the episode goes to Starbuck and Apollo remembering a sexual encounter (while dedicated to Anders and Dualla) on New Caprica, their separation after declaring love for each other, and the various episodes where they either recognized their attraction for each other or problems causing distance. Eventually at the very end you see Apollo and Starbuck just beat the hell out of each other in the center of the ring to air their grievances. The episode even calls back to when Admiral Adama allowed his affections for officers to weaken Galactica and Pegasus, such as forgoing his orders for Tyrol and Cally to stay onboard his ship instead of being relieved to New Caprica. By allowing them to stay on New Caprica, along with other officers (such as Tigh), he might should have kept on Galactica and Pegasus, it was easier for the Cylons to occupy New Caprica, and people were lost as a result. Adama calling out Tyrol to engage in a boxing match with him, it stemmed from not listening to the Admiral when he wanted the Chief to tend to matters needing attention with the Vipers on the hanger deck. Admiral Adama realizes that diversions and too much “closeness” can deprive the Galactica from truly keeping the fleet together and safe…New Caprica was too harsh a lesson to ever duplicate again. Some of that lesson, that message, did resonate with me but Tyrol pummeling Adama into a bloody pulp I just thought was absurd. I mean, it is encouraged for members of the crew to engage in a sport that leads to brain damage and CTE…surely there has to be another way to lighten their stress load, right? Anders and Dualla come to realize that their love isn’t enough, as bloodied and battered Apollo and Starbuck embrace with a hug after not being able to barely stand much longer. They are tough, no doubt, but martial arts and kickboxing each other into beaten, bruised, swelling and cutup messes perhaps was an extreme way to get all of their aggression and anger towards each other out, wouldn’t you say? It was cool to see a callback to New Caprica, though, and how events tied to the ground-breaking have lasting emotional residue needing to be addressed at the present on Galactica. Perhaps a physical in-ring meeting of punches until one or the other is either knocked unconscious or barely able to getup and walk might have been a bit too much…

1.5/5