'Battlestar Galactica' Retro Recap: 'Taking a Break from All Your Worries'

​When we last left the intrepid crew of the Battlestar Galactica, there was just cause aboard the ship and throughout the fleet for celebration. After all, the food supply had been restored, thanks to the Algae planet. Hera was home with her mother and father and to top it all off, the traitorous Gaius Baltar was finally in custody after the Cylons left him behind in the temple, which meant that more than likely, the next episode was going to feature some quality storytelling, filled with powerful performances and justice at last for Baltar’s crimes against humanity.
 
But alas, ‘Taking a Break from All Your Worries’ was not as good as I remember it being. Because, sadly, this sucker turned out to be quite the inconsistent mess when all is said and done. Granted, it does have its bright spots. The performances were indeed powerful, and kudos goes to James Callis in this one for giving us a tortured and shattered Gaius Baltar who wants nothing more than to die rather than face the music for everything that’s happened, but that’s really where the good stuff comes to an end.
 
Because in all reality, this episode doesn’t accomplish a whole lot for the overall storylines present in season three. Sure, there’s some peppering in of the Final Five and more discussions and theorems about the path to Earth. But outside of that, it goes to some supremely out of place moments for the characters since President Roslin is a-okay with torturing Baltar to get the answers she seeks, something that really doesn’t fit in with the whole ‘we have to be better’ theme that has permeated the series from the get go and to top it all off, it also delves into some romantic drama, something that feels incredibly out of place.
 
All of that came by way of some soul searching from Kara and Lee as they tried to figure out where their hearts belong and…I guess the whole mess finally comes to a resolution in this episode. I say ‘guess’, simply because, while it seems like everyone is back together with their respective spouses and happy-ish at the end of this tale, Kara and Lee still continue to make goo-goo eyes at one another as often as possible. Plus, there’s also a bar aboard the Galactica now. So, there’s that. But really, let’s be honest, this episode really is just messy through and through and well, I have to admit that I was quite disappointed with this one.
 
This was a grand opportunity for Roslin and Baltar to have an epic showdown and the episode really squandered it away for stuff that is pretty pedestrian storytelling wise and if anything, this particular tale served as a chilling reminder of how inconsistent season three turned out to be for this show and if memory serves, I do believe this part of the season was stacked with filler episodes that didn’t really thrill or impress and that’s okay. Because the end of the season was magnificent through and through and I suppose I’ll just power through these, so that the finale can serve as a grand reward. Until next time. 

---