Guess What's Coming To Dinner - Episode Review

How can it be expressed? All one could have hoped for and more. Guess What's Coming to Dinner blew the doors off! BSG is going exactly where I'd hoped and in strange and amazing ways ... and Gaeta's Lament - unexpected, bold, strangely beautiful (in that Bronze Age sort of way) ... and portentious. I was reminded of the song sung by Britt Ekland's character in the original 1973 version of the brilliant film The Wicker Man - it served to frame the tale yet to follow. Gaeta gave a look at the end - can he be the final Cylon? What of Roslin's visions and her sensing of events before they happened? They're frakking with our minds (and I like it).

A play on words the title, in reference to the 1967 interracial romance film Guess Who's Coming To Dinner with actor Sidney Poitier. Our factions of humans and Cylons are beginning to line up for the ultimate battle to determine all their fates at season's end (look to the Last Supper image for the factions - yes, Roslin will ally with Natalie Sixes and Tigh).

The damaged Base Star jumps into the thick of the Colonial Fleet and is viewed as hostile (despite not sending out raiders to attack) and the fleet begins a mad scramble - many ships jumping away. Galactica turns to fire but Col. Tigh yells, "Weapons hold!" (the Demetrius had trouble jumping and shows up at the last second and declares the Base Star under their control). This is artificial drama designed to set up Adama's suspicion of Tigh for later plot development - but it works. Adama is not suspicious yet because Tigh is honest, "I don't know," he says when asked why.

Anders is becoming one who feels deeply, and he is remorseful to the extreme over his maiming of Gaeta. He reports back to the TTTA meeting (where do they find the time and place to always meet in secret?) that Gaeta is singing and to him it is meaningful - met by blank stares from the others. Tory gets outed for sleeping with Baltar (and she admits her conversion to monotheism) by Roslin but is not fired, instead she is tasked with getting information to stay in Roslin's good graces. Tyrol is just a growler at this point, bitter, and aloof. Tigh seems to be a bit more comfortable, but in the braintrust meeting with Adama and Roslin advocates extreme prejudice against the Cylons because it still seems to be his comfort zone.

Really super cool dream sequences and waking warped visions: Roslin, Caprica Six, and Athena-Sharon all have another intense Opera House session - chasing, chasing little Hera - and into the arms of Caprica Six and Baltar she goes and into the main auditorium and the doors close. Panic for Athena-Sharon - in her Viper uniform. Kara has the coolest waking mental warp - things go out-of-phase and meld into memory of what the Hybrid said, "A dying leader will know the truth of the Opera House." Perhaps it's because Kara is a clone.

Little Hera is growing up and Mommy Athena does not like what she's been drawing of late: not pretty dark-haired Asian Mommy, but blonde (hissssss) Number Six.

In a previous scene Athena-Sharon wakes from her shared vision of the Opera House to find Hera standing there, staring at her and the little girl says, "Bye-bye," with finality. Chilling.

The 8 model is clearly unstable ... Athena-Sharon breaks up a lovely meet-and-greet by Hera and the Natalie Six (from the damaged Base Star) - draws her weapon and orders Tyrol to take away Hera and once she's certain Hera is out of the area blows away Natalie in cold blood, screaming, "You're not going to take my daughter!" The Marine contingent must just think the Cylons are wack-jobs.

Super cool cross-pollination of humans on the Base Star taking it over for a joint op to unbox the D'Annas at the Cylon Resurrection Hub, and Natalie Six back-and-forth to Galactica - even meeting the Quorum to sell the op.

Leoben and Base Star Sharon plot with Natalie to abandon the op after they get D'Anna but things get complicated. Is there to be a double-cross, a triple-cross, abort? They're in a fine mess. And they think they're being watched, judged, by the Final Five - my how their expectations appear poised to be dashed.

Kara goes to visit Roslin in the sick bay and quotes the Hybrid, "And a dying leader will come to know the truth of the Opera House," and that's it, Roslin has heard enough - and we're off to see the Hybrid. Helo is tasked to arrange it and before you know it Baltar is being marched down to the hangar deck (cleaned up) and loaded onto a Raptor and sitting there is ... Roslin. "You are in my visions, " she tells him - they are going to get some answers dammit.

BSG is brilliant at building to a climax, and the marching of our characters and the edits back-and-forth between the action in different places (combined with the music) - is perfectly executed. A Sharon leads Roslin and Baltar to the Hyrid Chamber on the damaged Base Star while on Galactica Natalie Six and Hera approach from opposite directions and meet. Hera loves Six instantly and wants to hold her, and the Natalie Six is overjoyed. Then the unstable 8 shows up (this woman shouldn't be allowed near weapons) ...

Our poor Geata is healing after Doc Cottle took the lower half of his right leg and he heals by singing - even when he's asleep it seems - a wonderful lament, hypnotic and full of emotion (see article on Galactica Sitrep or composer Bear McCreary's site [http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/?p=349] about this song) ... Geata's soul is expressing itself as he heals. He peers directly at camera at close - a very very knowing look. Methinks he has a 50% chance at being the Final Cylon at this point. I believe he knocked Baltar out of the running with this episode.

The episode climaxes with Roslin ordering the Hybrid to be plugged in and the moment she is awake she says with all her being, "Jump," and the Base Star is gone.