'Battlestar Galactica' Retro Recap: 'The Woman King'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

I have to admit, that I’m starting to struggle mightily with the back half of season three of Battlestar Galactica because it’s just so wildly inconsistent. At times it’s delivering the sheer brilliance that I’ve come to expect from this show, yet at other times the stories are about as messy as they can get and my frustration with the up and down nature of this stretch in the story only continued with the next episode in this storied saga, ‘The Woman King’.
 
However, my frustration here doesn’t stem from the quality of the episode, because actually, there’s a lot to like about this tale. It’s intimate, it features a fascinating plot wherein Helo must unravel a murder mystery wrapped in discrimination and while that alone is indeed intriguing enough, the story throws in a magnificent twist that’s supremely and unexpectedly relevant to the times since we learn that the people of Sagittaron have rejected modern medicine and would prefer to not be treated upon their arrival aboard Galactica.
 
I say that’s unexpected and relevant simply because it turned out be a prophetic twist since in our modern-day world there is quite the issue brewing with the anti-vaccination movement and this surprise tie-in to everyday life definitely invested me in the story. As did the acting for that matter since Bruce Davison plays the villainous Doctor Michael Robert and he brings a raw honesty to the role that makes him terrifying to watch in some scenes and Tahmoh Penikett holds his ground against this veteran actor by bringing a nobility to Helo in this tale since his dedication to his convictions eventually out the good doctor as the deranged murderer that he is.
 
Which brings me back to my frustration with this episode, because…it simply doesn’t belong when it comes to the current story arc. The fleet is so close to finding a big clue as to the whereabouts to Earth, the Final Five Cylons loom large over the story and frakin’ Gaius Baltar is in custody and preparing to stand trial and this…this is the story we decide to focus upon? It’s just disappointing to see a story that quite frankly would have stood out in season two of the saga, get buried in the midst of something bigger, and really, that’s what I’m hungry for more of here, the bigger story and resolution of the plot points I just made mention of.
 
If anything, this just serves as a fine reminder that putting together a twenty-episode season is a difficult ordeal and, in all honesty, I really wish that the opportunity arose for these episodes to find their way into an earlier section of season three, say, after the Battle of New Caprica so that the back half of this season would have left us all breathless. But, what’s done is done and it’s time to push ahead through a few more slower stories before we arrive at the utterly magnificent season three finale. Until next time.

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