When the entire patrol disappears after being overrun by an enormous, flying, crystalline cross (subtle!), it's cause for alarm!
But first, some semiprofessional sports! Already on the line daily to protect the fleet by day, by night the warriors also play a basketball-rugby hybrid called Triad for the fleet's amusement. Naturally, Starbuck and Apollo win the match -- and score more points with their female groupies, now including one daughter of a Living-possibly-deceased-now Legend. Word of the vanished warriors cancels their revels, and soon our intrepid duo plus Sheba are searching nearby planets.
While Bojay and Jolly remain lost, the trio stumbles upon the wreckage of a massive starship ("the size of a Battlestar," Apollo notes, laying the groundwork for erroneous fan theory) and one survivor: an apparently middle-aged human bearing not just the voice but also the refined good looks of John Steed. He's evasive as to his origins, but confirms his ship was not destroyed by the Cylons. More unnerving, he claims infinite knowledge of the universe, and that he can help them with their "quest." Apollo doubts his story right off, and even more when the glowing UFOs fly by and the stranger notes that they're looking for him. Nobody thinks to simply leave Count Iblis on that rock.
Once back on the Galactica, Adama wants to find out more about their guest. Iblis will have none of that, and subtly influences Sheba to skip bothersome debriefings and life station visits in favor of becoming his personal, blandly fawning Galactica tour guide. I should note that while some of the characters will determine that Iblis can read minds, the behavior of several people toward Iblis can only be explained by his unstated ability to actively cloud their minds as well. As an example, Iblis gets the run of the bridge, and when Adama calls Tigh on the Colonial military's sudden openness, Tigh is confused by the question and by way of explanation can only say that there must be some reason for it. The following scene, when Adama and Iblis finally meet, Adama asks directly as to the Count's origins and about his "infinite, everywhere, and relentless" enemies (apparently he means the glowing spheres). Whenever pressed, Iblis smiles and assures Adama that these aren't the droids he's looking for -- and Adama goes along with him! Only much later, when reports of Iblis are spread throughout the fleet and Adama is forced to narrate a jaundiced log entry do his suspicions return.
While Adama narrates, Apollo and Starbuck continue to probe the Count's nature. And Iblis himself makes no bones about becoming the leader of the fleet while in his spare time measuring Sheba for a catsuit. She's at least out of uniform for the first time when walking with Iblis through that problematic third agroship,*and he takes advantage of it by having intense psychic commune with her -- and then baldly tells her heart's desire: to see her father again (she will), promises her psychic powers, and then lays on a kiss. So smooth. As if in response to the lusty passions on Agroship #3, the glowing spheres buzz the fleet; Iblis declares them evil, winning Sheba's allegiance -- and an extended tour to the Triad court.
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| The wages of sin. |
During the following round of interrogation, Iblis again handwaves the direct questions, but makes an offer the Quorum can't refuse: in exchange for swearing him fealty, he will grant the humans three wishes. The Quorum arrives at two: A course to Earth, and the "delivery" of their "enemy." The second is particularly vague -- which enemy? If they mean Baltar, specifically, they should have put it in the language. Always, always be legalese-specific with your wishes! This vagueness is convenient because Baltar, spooked by the mysterious ships of light, runs to the fleet with a truce proposal. Which the Colonials take as a sign, and as a wish granted. They seize Baltar and promptly throw him in the prison barge for life.
Baltar is aghast at the betrayal, and, languishing in his cell, solves a key mystery. When Iblis visits to gloat (and, later, to refer to Baltar as "old friend," and assure him that "All is not lost," an intriguing seed which never grows), Baltar calls him on the fact that Iblis, the opening narrator, and the Cylon Imperious Leader all have the same voice. Iblis, as usual, neither confirms nor denies, but only notes that for that to be the case, he'd have to be at least thousand years old.
His work done for now, Iblis turns his attention to the truly important: the Triad match. Quite openly offering to buy Boomer's soul in return for a victory, Iblis puts some evil-Satan whammy on Starbuck and Apollo, dealing them their first ever defeat, a sound 15-4 slaughter. Iblis decrees an evening of revels, and, ever the diplomat, offers Sheba to Apollo as consolation (short lived, as the uptight Apollo snaps at her first tease of his raging jealousy over Iblis "knowing" her). Starbuck, initially shocked at the Count's generosity, quickly sees the advantages of swinging.
As Iblis strides off to get with Sheba, Adama for the nth time asks him directly to explain the UFOs and his origins. Iblis, for the nth time, demurs, and this time Adama turns the knife a little, suggesting Iblis fears them. Iblis flares, denying fear of any man, creature, or even what the humans think of as a God. It's a nice confrontation, too long coming, and again without any follow-through: we cut to another round of Viper launch stock footage, ultimately resulting in yet more disappearances.
This time, though, Adama's had enough. The pacing of the episode picks up markedly as Adama sends Apollo back to the planet where Iblis was discovered, in the hopes that the ship wreckage might answer the questions their guest will not. Further, the pair launch the theory that Iblis is in fact a fallen angel of sorts. Apollo and Starbuck head to the planet in the utmost secrecy (sort of), but Iblis senses it even while canoodling with Sheba on the Agroship. He returns to the Galactica, picks out pertinent data from Tigh and Adama's minds** (illustrated one-sidedly with few words; elegant) and appears back on the planet...
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| Satan? |
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| Boray? |
The confrontation does attract the attention of the UFOs, at whose sight Iblis does become agitated. Promising there will be another time, another place, he vanishes.
Returning to the Galactica, their shuttle (Sheba's Viper left behind...) they're overtaken by the crystal crucifix, where ghostly white aliens/gods/angels in glittery robes and voiced by Buck Rogers' original Dr. Theopolis, decide to explain the whole point of these episodes. Stealing the Colonial Warriors, they brought the fleet to a point where they could test the humans to see if they'd follow Satan (Iblis means "devil" in Arabic). But the humans did better than pass: If ever an innocent was killed in a traitor's stead, the stone table would crack, death itself would work in reverse... In short order, Apollo is revived, and the missing warriors return with "reasonable explanations," and the fleet is given coordinates toward Earth.
* Her knowledge of the flight from the Colonies is impressive, but also botched -- this was the ship that lost its airlock, after all. But the description seems a lot for someone who recently joined the fleet; was Sheba's part in War of the Gods originally slated for, say, Athena?
** There's more than one plot point in this episode that would be negated if Adama simply locked his door...
*** The simple sexist-protection of Sheba here helped aid the fan theory that the wreckage was somehow that of the Pegasus, but even if you presume the wonky-quick timing of Iblis appearing, wresting control from Cain, and destroying the ship, the official word from Larson was that footage was shot and deleted of a cloven-hoof, demonic corpse. In any event, they planned a return for Cain in the second season.
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Pros: Carries a dim view of religion; even the "angels" are capricious, viewing lower races as fodder for their plans.
Cons: Wrapped up very quickly and neatly, and as most episodic SF, Iblis and the events around him are never mentioned again...
Then: A
Now: A
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Episode 15: The Man with Nine Lives
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| At least it's not Xanadu, Fred. |
Luckily, a chance meeting with Starbuck and company in one of the fleet's many night clubs grants him a modicum of protection; the modicum which grows when it's learned he and Starbuck may in fact be related. While the genetic tests run, Chameleon is free to stay on the Galactica. Piecing together the events with the Nomen, everyone-but-Starbuck begins to suspect Chameleon is playing his would-be son. This idea is not well received.
Starbuck becomes so enamored of the idea of finding his long-lost father that he prepares to quit the service in order to catch up. Thankfully, an attack by the Nomen and a subsequent outing of Chameleon as a rake and a roustabout, as well as Chameleon's own pleas to keep the genetic match results a secret,** push Starbuck's friends back into his good graces.
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* Pronounced with a soft "Ch" as in "sha."
** He really is Starbuck's father. This revelation makes no difference to the series at all.
Pros: View into the civilian life of the fleet, and Astaire's in good shape as a gigolo con-man.
Cons: Lame false third-act dilemma, created and perpetuated by Tigh's ineptitude. Will Starbuck really quit the service?!
Then: B-
Now: C+
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