"Battlestar Galactica" Retro Recap: "The Hand of God"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

One of the finest things that Battlestar Galactica was able to accomplish in its four year run on Syfy, was the fact that it was able to dismantle so many of the classic tropes we find featured in science fiction. It was essentially devoid of technobabble, and completely free of detailed scientific explanations of its technology, it was always about the characters.

Which means that on several occasions the characters would be faced with another real world issue, finite resources, and in surprising fashion they would deal with such an important matter twice in the first season of the show. We already saw the fleet's struggle to find drinkable water in the second episode of the show and as it turns out the always important fuel would take front and center in the tenth episode of the series, "The Hand of God".

As it turns out, all the jumps and constant escape from the Cylons had basically depleted the fleet's resources of Tylium and well, that's simply a stroke of genius and another sci fi trope sent packing on this series. So much of space travel based science fiction in essence gives the characters infinite energy to work with so to see this on the show was absolutely refreshing and equally as precarious as the water based problems they encountered earlier on. But this time there was no saboteur involved and it gave the episode a completely different tone to say the least.

This was an angrier episode, only because we quickly find out that the Cylons have found the only source of Tylium in close proximity and have installed a refinery, and rather than try and find another supply, Adama believes it's high time to stick it to their enemy and enjoy a solid victory for a change. It leads to some fascinating scenes where we bear witness to Adama, Kara and Lee piece together a delicate plan to take the refinery from the Cylons and a tense and powerhouse finale where the plan finally comes into action before settling into our happy ending where the Galactica wins the day and the fleet is once again saved since they now have enough fuel to last them for several years. 

I really found myself enjoying this episode way more than I did the first time I saw it because upon initial viewing, I really didn't take the time to appreciate all the subtle character reveals this episode bothered to drop our way. We discovered that while Lee is a talented pilot he often doubts himself in the cockpit, and that Kara could be quite the top level officer someday with her brilliant plan to take the refinery. While this episode doesn't advance the plot a heck of a whole lot, it truly works as an important stand alone to remind us how precarious the situation is for these intrepid survivors and that when their backs are against the wall...they can pull off miracles. Until next time.

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