The opening is strong. The pilots suddenly disappearing in the wake of floating balls of light? It really is a killer way to kick off the episode. What is this mysterious thing that is picking off pilots?
I like that continuity is kept with "The Pegasus" via Adama's little Doogie Howser dictations.
Finally we get a story that really highlights Apollo. He ends up being pretty much the lone voice of reason as the story goes on. I think only Larson knows how to write the character.
This Count Iblis guy... so, spoiler alert, it turns out he's supposed to be Satan. Really? It's always sketchy ground when science-fiction tries to deal actually in supernatural beings. Animated Trek did this in "The Magicks of Megas-Tu". I don't really like it. It cheapens things to always have the evil guy be a personification of evil. Furthermore, Satan is NOT a personification of evil, nor is he the only evil celestial being. These sorts of stories shoot themselves in the foot because the "Satan" character doesn't have minions. He's just one guy. Who can only be in one place at a time. It actually lessens the impact of evil in the world. And he always turns out to be bestial in appearance. Whatever.
Let's accept that Iblis is Satan. The actor is the same voice that used to do that little "There are those who believe" narration. So are we to assume that Satan is narrating this series? So Battlestar Galactica is from hell? Then Baltar makes a point of saying that his voice is the same as the voice of the Cylon Imperious Leader. So now we're supposed to believe that Satan started the Cylon War??
I don't get what all this has to do with the crashed vessel on the planet, nor what they saw inside it that clued them to Iblis' true nature.
The episode also focuses on the sci-fi cliche of mankind evolving to a state of pure energy through the power of the mind. Never mind that evolution is a biological process, not a metaphysical one. Why were we clued in to that silly information of Adama having secret telekinetic powers? And even if they were going to do that, did they have to fall back on the old image of him bending spoons as a kid? Why always spoon-bending? (Okay, he doesn't say spoons, he says utensils, but put two and two together.)
Why are the angelic beings taking the pilots?? I get they are attacking the ship because they are after Iblis (right?), but why keep spiriting pilots away?
The fusing of the energy-beings storyline with the spiritual context of angels leads to an odd dynamic. It means that when man evolves beyond his body, he becomes an angel. As I understand it, the notion that men become angels after death is predominantly Mormon in origin. So Larson is slipping Mormon angelology into the show.
Why are the angels traveling in a ship? Why does the ship look like the Fortress of Solitude?
I like the white variations of Starbuck and Sheba's costumes when they are in the Holy Krypton ship.
In yet another instance of somewhat hackneyed references, it is Sheba who is most thoroughly deceived by Iblis. So Satan deceives the woman yet again, just like Eve.
Glad that this episode at least gave us some information about Earth (remember when the series was about finding Earth??). ...though I'll be picky and point out that our solar system has eight planets, not nine. I know they wouldn't have known that in the '70s. I'm just being a jerk.
What becomes of the pilots at the end of the episode? They're back on the ship in later episodes, so I guess they came back. Were they returned when Apollo and the others were? And what were the beings doing with them all this time???
Is Baltar still in the custody of the fleet? What are they going to do with him?
Favorite lines: "You? If you're insensitive, what does that make me?" This is great because Apollo is the poster boy for sensitivity!
"You don't have to convince me. I'm a great believer in distraction." Despite the silliness of having a character be blatantly diabolical, this statement is quite profound. Much of the rest of the show is trite, but this line speaks volumes about the works of the evil one. I wish Iblis had been a bit more like this for the rest of the episode.
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