'Battlestar Galactica' Retro Recap: 'Crossroads (Part 2)'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Over the past ten years or so, I’ve taken notice of the fact that season finales on television try to be as epic as possible. They want to wow us with incredible moments and juicy cliffhangers and I honestly attribute this surge in big time finales to Battlestar Galactica. Because every season finale of this show featured those two key elements and one of the biggest and sweeping finales that the series ever brought to the table happened at the end of season three in ‘Crossroads (Part 2)’.
 
I say that, simply because every single second of this particular finale found a way to not only captivate us, but outright shock us and the first big moment of this tale, came about by way of Baltar’s trial, since the defense, despite notching up a couple of solid victories in the last episode, came to realize that their case was doomed regardless, thanks to the bias present in the courtroom toward Gaius Baltar. And that harsh reality was hammered home when Lieutenant Gaeta straight up lied on the stand in order to keep Baltar in hot water by claiming that there was zero resistance from the former president when the time came to deal with that ugly execution order.
 
This led to a bold move from Lampkin, who asked for a Mistrial as Lee suggested, on the grounds of that very bias, and that allowed for Lee to take the stand to discuss what his dad said about Baltar and that’s when the real surprise arrived. Because Lee spoke from the heart while on the stand and pointed out the hypocrisy in the fleet in that, it’s okay to forgive others for their mistakes since this group is all that is left of mankind, but not Baltar. No, because he’s not brave enough or strong enough, he has to be punished and well, it’s a speech that stunned the fleet and had an impact on the judges as well. 

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​For when the time came to read the verdict, the judges shocked everyone and acquitted Gaius of any wrongdoing and while he soaked up the wonder of being set free, the joy only lasted for a short while. Because Baltar quickly learned that being found ‘not guilty’ doesn’t keep others from changing their opinion about you, and now he’s in hiding with a mysterious group that seems to worship him since others flat out want him dead. But with the case out of the way, the time came at last for the fleet to jump to the Ionian Nebula and that moment yielded our second big surprise of the story, since it was here that Tyrol, Tigh, Anders and Tory came to realize that the song they have been hearing is a signal to remind them, that they are in fact, four of the Final Five Cylon models and well, this moment was still stunning after all these years.
 
Because regardless of the wonders we have seen them accomplish through the years, this revelation made them unpredictable and untrustworthy when this episode originally aired and I love that they had little time to process this shocker since the fleet also came under attack from the Cylons, forcing everyone to step into their standard roles despite this discovery and that attack led to the final surprise in this story, in that…Starbuck is apparently alive and well, and she knows the road to Earth, and that beautiful shot where we traverse the galaxy with a vastly different iteration of ‘All Along the Watchtower’ playing, before we finally see Earth at last, sent chills down my spine…
 
If anything, I needed a moment after this episode to process the emotional rollercoaster this episode was able to take me on once again and really, I thoroughly enjoyed how this tale built the tension from the get go, allowing for every twist and turn to build to a crescendo in those final minutes and well, that’s how you end a season ladies and gents. But what matters more, is the sheer fact that this finale reminded me that the end of the journey is drawing near because only one season remains of this incredible show, and while I cannot wait to dive into season four, I think it’s time for a slight break to prepare myself for what I remember to be a magnificent and powerful final season for one of the finest science fiction shows to ever grace the small screen. Until next time.  

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