"Battlestar Galactica" Retro Recap: "Flesh and Bone"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

I always loved it when Battlestar Galactica just decided to let loose and take a shot at the world we currently live in and see what happens with the story. Because when they did just that, and took a slice out of our lives the results were simply fantastic and utterly uncomfortable for the audience. 

After all, a show that held nothing back in its standard storytelling would apply the same rules to social commentary of our modern world and the eighth episode of the series, "Flesh and Bone" was not only one of the finest episodes season one would have to offer, but it was ripped from the headlines of the War on Terror and the power of the story and those images are still as strong as they were back then since I felt uncomfortable watching this one once again. 

The plot was simple, Leoben, the Cylon we met in the miniseries is discovered and captured and happy to reveal in the process that he has planted a nuclear device somewhere in the fleet and it will detonate in the next nine hours. This of course prompts the Commander to send a team to the Gemenon Traveller, the ship where Leoben was captured, to interrogate him and discover where the nuclear device is hidden. The honor of breaking him down falls to Starbuck and this is where the episode goes above and beyond. For starters we are treated to an incredible cat and mouse game between Leoben and Kara as she tries to figure out the location of the bomb, but this is also where things get ugly.

After all, there is really no regard in this universe between human and Cylon and Kara is more than happy to put this machine's physical limits to the test. Leoben is brutally beaten on a regular basis as part of the interrogation process, but will not yield any information. But that does not deter Kara from trying to break him and she even goes as far as to waterboard him in the hopes of finally getting the information she desires. It's simply brutal and devastating to watch and despite Starbuck's hardass nature, it's clear that she takes no joy in what she does either but it is her job, plain and simple. Of course Leoben never cracks but eventually reveals that there is no bomb when Roslin comes aboard and the President is the one to put an end to all of this by blowing him out of the airlock, but not before he plants a seed of doubt in her mind...that Commander Adama is a Cylon as well.

Now I did neglect to mention the Boomer storyline that was also going on in this episode, specifically the fact that Baltar discovers that she is indeed a Cylon but covers it up to save his hyde, because well...we already know her true identity and that little thread was designed to do one thing...to give us a break from the horrors of Leoben's torture. The show quite simply unleashed its realistic fury in those scenes, especially the water boarding segment to the point where I found myself wincing and looking away. It was magnificent storytelling through and through simply because of the fact that the show never points you in the direction of whether its right or wrong, it's simply up to you to decide. This is truly one of the best episodes of the series ever had to offer and one that leaves you thinking days after you've watched it. Until next time.

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