I'm still unhappy with the direction the show is taking and the utter predictability of the storyline, but in terms of moving the plot forward and giving characters new directions to go into, "Faith" was a welcome return to form.
* Roslin. Mary McDonnell's work on this series has been a career best for her and an absolute hallmark for proving that actresses aren't suddenly worthless once they hit a certain age. Her portrayal of the many facets of Roslin--iron-fisted leader, terrified cancer victim, compassionate teacher, passionate defender of humanity--have never been as good as they are this season. Everything from the bald cap to her calm reassurance of Adama that she was right there for him were just top-notch. If Mary doesn't get an Emmy for her work this season, there is no justice.
With that said, I am really getting weirded out by the show's open embrace of squishy Judeo-Christian monotheism in place of the polytheistic Lords of Kobol as the One True Way. While I loved seeing Nana Visitor's typically fearless portrayal of the cancer-ridden Emily, and I could easily understand why she would reject the gods in favor of the one God, having Roslin experience a similar vision offers the idea a level of authenticity that is way more heavy-handed and explicit than BSG usually goes for. I'm sure we're being set up for a swerve, though, so I have faith that Moore, Eick, and company won't go the easy route. Speaking of swerves...
* Starbuck and her destiny. Having the vision of the "ship of lights" and the comet turn out to be the damaged Cylon Basestar was a nice double-fake on the part of the writers, who obviously are aware that many folks (myself included) have been predicting that the show will end with the retelling of the "War of the Gods" plotline. That is not to say it won't, but that it isn't what we thought it would be--for the moment, anyway. It was also great to see the Hybrid give Kara the metaphorical smackdown she's been richly needing for the last four episodes. If we could translate half of the gibberish the Hybrid spouts, I'm sure it would come out as "Hey, guess what, you crazy self-absorbed hosebeast? YOU'RE THE DESTROYER OF HUMANITY! SURPRISE, BUTTSECKS!!!" And while we're discussing Cylons and craziness...
* Cylon relationships. Athena also delivered a well-deserved smackdown to the Eights, who have been portrayed as largely weak-willed followers throughout the series, harkening back to the largely passive role that Boomer played as a victim of destiny. I was wigged out by the speech Athena gave them, however, as it sounded like it could've come right out of some wanker pundit's column about why we shouldn't leave Iraq. The Eights also do have a valid point--the Sixes ARE bugfuck nuts, and generally have made bad decision after bad decision. I also found it fascinating to observe Natalie-Six's bizarre levels of compassion--how she could provoke a war to prevent the lobotomizing of the Centurions and Raiders, yet seemed to care nothing for the human lives around her. It's really a good reminder of how our lack of empathy for those not personally connected to us is a huge failure of our species. It was also sad to see Athena so unable to connect to her dying fellow Eight. She's turned her back so completely on the collective and made herself into an individual--something we should respect, but yet it seemed tragic.
Yes, the kiss between the Sixes was hawt, but the tragedy of the moment overshadowed any HLA-respect for me. Poor Barolay, and poor Six. Both prisoners of their own violent actions. Speaking of violent actions...
* Anders. No question that Anders' shooting of Gaeta is going to have serious repercussions--or will it? On the one hand, he shot a superior officer and may have permanently maimed him, but he also did it to prevent a mutiny. Given how forgiving Adama tends to be of these things, I'm sure Anders will escape the Old Man's wrathful judgment. What was more interesting was how he was desperately ready to shoot that Six, and yet was also ready to touch the Cylons' command "river," perhaps to see if he could access it or not. Anders' war between the man he believes himself to be--who he wants to be--and the Cylon he really is has become one of the more interesting arcs of the show. We've seen Tory embrace the Dark Side wholeheartedly, and Tigh and Tyrol trying to deny it completely, but Anders is taking the most honest approach--testing the possibilities while trying to hold on to what makes him human. Kudos to Michael Trucco for investing what was formerly a one-note character with some real depth. Since I mentioned Gaeta...
* Gaeta's leg. Just like Cally was probably how the average person would really react in a situation like the colonials find themselves in, Gaeta's anguished pain at losing his leg was a refreshingly real reaction in a world of drama conventions where heroes regularly cauterize their own bullet wounds and pour Jack Daniels on them to disinfect them without passing out. ;) Finally, we have...
* The big picture. So, the Final Five are actually the ones who have the keys to Earth, because they are, apparently, "the children of the thirteenth," or the 13th Colony--Earth. This could explain why they're seemingly different from the other seven biological Cylons, and why there was a "Temple of Five" on the algae planet that the Chief was able to mysteriously detect and discover. This knowledge was apparently buried in them on a subconscious level, not to be triggered until a certain time--when they hit the Ionian Nebula. We also know for sure that the seven other Cylons can't detect or recognize the Five, since the Sixes, Sharons, and Leobens have all been around Anders without even the slightest hint that they know what he is. Talk about deep cover. So naturally, D'anna, the only one who has seen their faces, is required to find them and perhaps guide them on the next stage of the journey. It's eminently plausible, though I'm sure entirely made up on the fly, but if it works, it works.
* Next week... It is definitely going to be one of the biggest "WTF" moments in the show's history when that Basestar jumps into the midst of the fleet. :)