Much of this episode centers around Baltar and his growing cult. I really don't know how to feel about it. The level to which Baltar is embracing his role is scaring me. There's nothing that makes Baltar great. If it is in fact the Cylon god working through him, does not said god deserve the glory? There's an interesting moment when Six points Baltar to a woman with a Scorpius medallian. She apparantly wants to trust in Baltar's god, but wants Scorpius as well. After all, aren't two better than one? This strikes to the heart of the issue; the struggle for the polytheists to grapple with a monotheism. It reminds me of the Israelites who often turned to the Baals and Asherahs of neighboring peoples. They were supposed to serve only one God, not the false gods of others, but they at times tried to have it both ways. Baltar makes clear in this episode that the worship of the many gods who are not real must be driven away. This comes to a head in a scene where he and his followers crash the temple. I don't know how to feel about his actions. They are destructive. But in a way he is right. The scene is reminiscent of Jesus clearing the moneychangers from the temple, though it isn't exactly the same. Jesus wanted the temple restored to its purpose; Baltar wants to expunge the temple of its purpose.
What the heck is up with Tyrol in this episode? I hate that after the Cylon reveal, I no longer know who the characters are. The only one who seems to be himself is Anders. Tyrol has lost all grounding. It's as jarring as his prejudice against the Taurons in "The Woman King". He seems out of character. During the scene at the bar, he flips out and blasts Callie, saying that he settled for her. She was the best he could get. This is very hurtful, and I don't know how it could even be true. I can't believe he has the level of disdain for her that he seems to have in this scene.
They sneak Ellen back into the show! I like Tigh consulting Caprica Six. But the episode seems based around the notion that pleasure and pain are connected. Is this a Cylon idea? I'm not sure I see why it needed such masochistic overtones. Baltar is beaten by Marines. Six told him he wouldn't get hurt. ...So she's a liar now?
I don't like Baltar's little speech at the end, nor the direction it may lead things in. Certainly he's parroting some of the things Tory has been saying (shame on you, Tory!). For him to ultimately conclude that "you are perfect just as you are" is nonsense. The logic being that God only loves things that are perfect, God loves you, hence you are perfect. That reasoning is faulty. It leads the Cylon god cult away from Judeo-Christian underpinnings and into realms of eastern thought. Where is it written that God loves only that which is perfect? How can Baltar really believe he is perfect? Loving yourself is one thing, but this is an extreme. I do not trust the Cylon god. There is a certain amount of debate about perfection in Christianity, but it does not come to this level. There are some who argue that when you come to Christ, God sees you as perfect because you have been cleansed from your sin. Though people still sin, "positionally" God counts them as if they haven't. Or something like that. I've not been able to fully wrap my brain around the idea. But it is based on you first acknowledging your wrongs, that you aren't perfect, and giving them to God. Only then does God perfect you. But Baltar is not saying this. Baltar is preaching a message of universalism; that God loves you as you are now and you don't have to do anything but love yourself. After all, God loves you. There's a danger to this sort of thinking, and also a confusion for me. If everyone is perfect, thus God loves everyone, then why bother overthrowing polytheism at all? Those who practice it are perfect and God loves them anyway, yes? It's a feel good message that gets a rousing applause, but I'm wary of what it will result in. I also feel like this is all coming too fast for Baltar, and feels a bit out of character for him. Certainly he likes the attention, and he may even see himself as an instrument of God, but something about this transition feels forced to me.
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