The Woman King

Um... who is watching Hera? How is it that Sharon and Helo can just go off and do their jobs but put their kid in someone else's hands? And considering the last time they took their eyes off her the President did a switcheroo, WHY would Sharon let someone else watch her daughter?

This is a momentous episode. For what reason you ask? This is the first episode in which Helo is referred to by his first name, Karl. Yes, it appeared in captions in the first season, but this is the first time it's been spoken aloud onscreen. For the longest time, every other pilot had a name, but he was always Helo. I've been wondering for a while now if he would ever be called Karl. Even Sharon usually calls him Helo. But those wonderings have finally been silenced.

So... the Sagittarons are basically Christian Scientists? Yeah, like we've never seen that on television before.

Why is Tyrol so prejudiced? I suppose I can understand a little inter-colony animosity, but Tyrol seems to really hate the Sagittarons, and with no motivation. Especially Tyrol of all people. His father was a priest; after all that Eye of Jupiter stuff you'd think he of all people would be open-minded about religious people. I mean, I may flatly disagree with Christian Science on religious doctrinal grounds, but I would never mock them as people the way some of them do here. I think there is a way to make prejudice peek through even with characters you like, but this was poorly done.

Having said that, the episode itself isn't bad. I like that Helo is the main focus for once, and that its a good investigative story. Does it follow some television conventions? Yes. The doctor who's really a baddie and all that has been done. The guy who knows the truth but no one will believe it until the last act has been done. But you know what? It works. They are conventions because they work. And I think overall those elements work. I like the woman because I remember her from the second episode of The X-Files, where she played Mrs. Budahas. I think she also guested on Millennium. She's a good Canadian actress who you don't often see on TV, but always does a good job. 

TV tension is often easy to deflate, especially in predictable scenarios, but I was really worried for Dualla. She's the sort of quasi-ancillary character that very well could have been killed off. Glad she wasn't.

I don't really like the title though.