Galactica: Razor

I have to admit, it was nice seeing Galactica on screen again, but Razor on the whole left me fairly unsatisfied. I had hoped for a more gritty look at the realities faced by the Pegasus, and wanted to see some justification for the general conceit of the Pegasus crew that they had it worse and had to make tough choices…

However, it turns out that Pegasus went down the dark path it did simply because Helena Cain was a psychotic. And a jilted lover; it turns out that Cylon Gina was intimate with Cain, though I had a lot of trouble believing Cain was capable of such a thing since she came across as such a robot (not to bash Michelle Forbes’ acting – she was great, it’s just her character who was a soulless automaton.) Gina was far more human than Cain, even when chained up and battered on the floor of the cell.

Jammer has a similar analysis in his lengthy review, and he notes:

If you are looking for insights into Cain, there are few new ones to find here. We see more, and we understand the Pegasus’ hardships, but I still don’t see how Pegasus had it much harder than Galactica. Maybe it’s all about balance, and how Cain didn’t have any. Adama at least had Roslin to stand up and challenge him. Cain was the proverbial emperor with no clothes.

I think that there’s a more telling influence on Adama than Roslin – namely, Lee. Adama says as much to Lee at the end, telling him that “at the end of the day you see yourself reflected in yoru children’s eyes” and that many of the decisions that Adama made were influenced by the knowledge that he’d have to face Lee the next morning. Cain had no such moral anchor, and Razor tries to argue that this alone was why she went unmoored – but I don’t quite buy the implication that Adama would have made similar choices in her situation. If anything, it was Galactica that had it worse, and then Galactica adopted an entire civilian fleet, whereas Pegasus was the embodiment of self-preservation and ego.

Ultimately, though, you can’t complain too much, because Razor gave us what we wanted. Battlestars and baseships, of course, but also some old-school Cylon action, and the “by your command” alone made the whole thing worthwhile.