The Eye of Jupiter - episode reveiw
This one is dedicated to whyoffry. Master, here’s your review.
Note - When reading the following review, please keep in mind that this is my own personal opinion and my view of things, and is not intended on pissing anyone off. Don’t agree?
Comment and let me know. Nothing is meant to offend anyone.
Opening shot (after all the hooplah of the Last Time on Battlestar Galactica) - That amazing CGI work of the raptor flying towards the plane - can we guess who’s the pilot? Yeah.
The Eye of Jupiter is a definite male-led episode. We have Tyrol, Apollo, Anders and Admiral Adama leading this episode, the women, while certainly important (always!) play a less important part in this episode. Also one of the reasons we don’t actually see Starbuck piloting that Raptor as it's making its landing on the Algae Planet. I’ll explain as I go.
To the beginning then!
Wonderful establishing shot of the terrain Chief Tyrol and Company have to work with, the sea in the background, the established tents the workers built, kind of resembles New Caprica but not really. Extremely fast zoom to crates and tubes and stuff, shifty camera showing us a group of people hard at work, and these people have been to it for 14 days. The camera is basically giving us a first glimpse into who’s down there doing the work and all we see is civilians, until the camera lands on Callie, and from Callie to Chief Tyrol. We’re being told the military organized civilian people to come down and help with this mission. Chief Tyrol giving out orders - it’s good to see the guy is getting more responsibility.
One of the main things we’ll see in this episode is that when we’re down on the ground, the junior crew have more responsibility than the senior crew.
The closeup on Tyrol’s face when he first hears whatever it is that he hears is our first indication that this is a male led episode. We see a shot-reverse shot sequence where Tyrol is turning around trying to locate something, we then see what he sees, and then back to Tyrol, who goes on back to work. This is was the first real close up on anyone, and the way this close up is set up is from below with the camera looking up at him, enlarging him, putting him in a position of power, he’s in charge and we know it, and it’s his responsibility to keep everyone safe.
Now it’s okay for us to see that Sam Anders is also there. And why are we seeing him now? Certainly not to complain about the food and smell. RDM uses Anders to link to the next scene. We see the raptor coming into land way too fast, we know who’s there, who’s crazy enough to pilot anything like this. Again, no Starbuck, but she and the wind from the landing raptor are the link we need to jump ahead to Dee and Lee.
Lee and Dee in this building-like thing they have set up. Is it just me or have these people set up a better settlement with actual standing buildings (even if not brick or wood, still plastic held buildings) in the 14 days they are on the Algea Planet than they have for the year and a half they were on New Caprica?
About Lee and Dee - nothing special about this scene, film-wise. The camera work, like most of the episode, is definite Shoulder Camera, it’s shifty, it’s not stable, and it’s serving as a reminder for two things - the first is that we’re on dry land. People are on the ground of this planet, doing work they don’t usually do, it’s a bitchy work, it’s not fun, everything smells bad, the food tastes bad. The second is that this episode is also delving into the relationship side of things, and I think we first notice the shaky camera in this scene because this relationship, Lee and Dee’s, is unstable. It’s indication of the next scene, and it’s indication that Dee knows, or at least suspects, that something is going on, and that her relationship with her husband isn’t perfect.
Lee and Kara - this again is indication that this is a male-led episode. When neither of them will break their vows, Kara won’t divorce and Lee won’t cheat, we get a glimpse of a Kara we’re not used to. Kara agreeing that it is a big deal that he won’t cheat? Shouldn’t she be arguing her case? No. This isn’t about her. This is about him. Starbuck’s agreeing with Lee is proof that he’s the stronger character of the two, for this scene.
The actual setting of the scene - they are in a raptor, everything is closing around them. Every frame is very tight, very closed, you can see their heads but they are cut off from above and the sides - they are trapped in the raptor, as long as they behave like this, and they are trapped in their relationship because she won’t divorce and he won’t cheat. And Lee actually says so. When he does, there are two close up shots, one on each, which are bordering on extreme close ups, showing us just how trapped they really are.
It’s hard to separate Cylons from Humans in this episode for obvious reasons, so I’m going to go ahead with the Gaius!Love.
The way I do these reviews is by first watching the episode without my notebook and without the critique-eyes. I’m watching for the A/R, I’m watching for the storyline, I’m watching for the episode itself. Then I watch again with my notebook before me to jot down ideas and things I notice. Then I watch a 3rd time and write even more about what I think and see. The fourth time I watch is while I write the review itself and can make screen-caps and note things.
But this jumped out of the episode the first time I saw it:
To me, in this scene, with his hair as long as it is, and the facial hair as it is, and even that robe, the way it is tied, and his being barefoot, Gaius Baltar looks like Jesus from the pictures we know. For the first time in a while he is waking up alone, and it is to the sounds of the baby crying, and he goes off to help.
Batlar’s indecision and identity crisis is still the main issue for him, and we can tell this from his walk in the halls.
What we see is the right side being rounded walls, curving, human, and the left straight walls - machine. On top of that he’s walking towards the baby’s voice, and the baby is half Human half Machine, just like the hallway he’s walking in.
What jumps out to the eye once Baltar reaches baby Hera and Boomer who is trying to calm her down is the color white. The room is metallic but white lights fill it. Baltar, Boomer, and Hera are in white. The cradle is white. We’ve seen D’Anna in white, and she will wear white throughout the whole episode. If before, in previous episodes, and later in this episode, Baltar isn’t sure of who he is, what he is, right now he is a Cylon, identifying with the Cylons, he is one of them. For me this also works with his seeming like Jesus - can Gaius Baltar be the Cylon God?
Chief Tyrol’s walk - The use of the shot-reverse shot technique in this episode, specifically with Tyrol, creates an uneasiness that Tyrol then follows. Every time he looks around he feels something but doesn’t see it. When at last he follows whatever it is that made him look, the camera follows him from behind, then shows him from the front, then completely from the side, though from below, making him smaller on the rocks. It is as if someone is watching him. There’s a definite use of steady-cam so with zoom in and zoom out (as opposed to using the traditional dolly in/dolly out technique)to create definite uneasiness throughout the whole scene. The terrain, and by Bear McCreary’s amazing music also make the uneasiness clear.
When it comes to the great hall Tyrol finds - there is no doubt, right from the beginning, that this is a heavenly room. The camera’s pulling back to an extreme long shot to make Tyrol tiny in the frame, with his little flashlight, as opposed to this huge thing on the left with the enormous ray of light that’s coming from above. Why then is the flashlight still on and he hasn’t turned it off yet? Because our eye catches that light source and follows it. It leads to Tyrol, who’s face is turned up and leads us, (and the camera joins as well), to look up. Beautiful scene with beautiful camera work. Definite use of the camera as a tool to create uneasiness as well as to lead us to where RDM wants to take us.
11 minutes into the episode - hey! It’s the credits! The credits are usually 6-7 minutes into the episode, not a whole quarter of an episode (11 minutes out of 42).
This is the first time we see Laura Roslin and Bill Adama. This is about the only scene Roslin is in charge, and it is so because Adama doesn’t know much about the religious scrolls, as he later says, he’s not a religious man. Roslin once served as the people’s spiritual leader, she holds the knowledge, she’s leading the conversation. This is one of the only (if not the single) times we see Laura Roslin in her own frame, uninterrupted by other objects in the frame.
Once Roslin and Adama are in CIC, everything changes. Adama is in charge, she’s on his turf, even if they are equals now. For the rest of the episode, Adama will lead while Roslin takes second place. We see this the moment Gaeta calls from CIC - Adama rises from his chair and leads the way to CIC, Roslin following behind.
From this point on throughout the whole episode every time we see Bill Adama in a close up, alone in the frame, his frame is complete - no interruptions, no unfocused faces in the frame - just Adama. All frames in this episode are very closed, very tight, in close ups tops of heads are being cut off. Just like it is in the Lee/Kara scene, here too we are being trapped, which is the theme of the episode. Whenever we get close ups on Roslin there is always something annoying in her frame - Tigh’s unfocused shoulder, someone crossing the frame, Adama’s over the shoulder point of view (and therefore his unfocused shoulder or the side of his head). Never a clean, empty frame. This is why I say this is a men-led episode.
The moment this… guy… who takes up Dee’s position at the comm. Says the Cylons want to talk to Adama it is obvious, or at least should be, who’s voice we’re going to hear.
Gaius Baltar’s voice comes from above, like god’s voice speaking to the people. Who’s god? Cylons? Humans? Does it matter? The thing is, his voice pierces CIC just as the camera changes from close up on Adama, to a long shot, establishing situation and everyone is listening.
In the corridor, Roslin tells Adama she can’t believe they’re letting Cylons onto the ship. Obviously a decision made by Adama and not her. Shows us again that he’s in charge, not her, though she is the president.
The Cylons walking the corridors - the first thing I noticed, as usual, is the contrast in their clothes. Boomer and D’Anna in white clothes. Cavil in black. Gaius Baltar, way behind them, in his usual black suit and white shirt. Head!Six in the red dress represents both extremes of passion (color red) - love and hate. She represents the conflict that is within Baltar at the moment - human or Cylon, and that conflict is greater even now when he is aboard Galactica and confesses to missing it.
The best scene of the episode for me is the actual meeting. The establishing shot for this scene is so beautiful. From above what we see is a circle of black wearing marines with D’Anna’s white getup standing out in contrast to everyone’s black. Boomer, who was also wearing light (not white, she was in grays, she could never be white which represents purity because she tried to kill Adama) was left behind. While Cavil and Baltar are in the circle with her, Cavil is in complete black and Baltar, who is wearing a white shirt, has his back turned to the camera so it’s not visible.
Roslin refusing to meet Baltar’s eyes - so good. So real. As opposed to Adama’s glaring at him at full force. Bill Adama is in charge. Not Laura Roslin. Baltar’s thinking that by addressing her by her first name he’s going to gain good points - he really doesn’t know her that well, does he?
Dean Stockwell’s “we come in peace” had me cracking up. An obvious joke - I have no idea how they didn’t crack up every time he said it. It was just so funny!
Back to being serious. Now that we’ve established the situation we have a standoff - 3 on one side, 3 on the other. During the scene when it becomes obvious Baltar’s not going to help them win any cookies it becomes a two shot - Cavil and D’Anna on the Cylon side, Adama and Roslin on the human side. When the camera is on the Cylons it is mostly static, controlled. (It’s a shoulder camera so it can never be too static, but it’s more so when on the Cylons than on the humans). The frames are complete - one, two, or three people in the frame - no heads cut off, no disturbances, no strange movements. When the camera is on the human side, it is erratic, it cuts off people’s sides and heads, the only person to appear complete (and his head is cut off once or twice too) is Adama himself. What all this means? Even though it appears as if the humans are in charge - marines surrounding everyone, they are on Galactica, Roslin and Adama thinking they are, the Cylons are actually the ones in complete control of the situation - they know about the ground operations, they know about the key, they know how to find it. They are in complete control.
My hero for the episode is totally Dean Stockwell. From the “we come in peace” to the wink at the end, and that “I’m improvising” line when he offers to add Baltar to the deal, I swear there’s a smile on Lucy Lawless’s face that is not D’Anna’s but genuinely her own because she’s amused - he is improvising. So funny!
The Boomer vs. Athena stand off - again the power play of colors - Boomer’s whites vs. Athena’s darker uniform. Kind of lose sight of who’s the good one and who’s the bad one and they could easily switch.
Jumping ahead to CIC - Adama and Roslin talk with Apollo and Starbuck - two of the most balanced frames in the episode. What we’re seeing is two couples (A/R fans can celebrate J). Both Adamas are in the back of the frame, both women are in the front and are both playing with their own hands or hair or face or whatever. Adama and Roslin are holding phones, Starbuck and Apollo are not. When there’s a close up on Apollo, it is followed by a close up on Adama.
I can go into a whole Kara’s A Bitch speech here but I’m not going to, needless to say her reasons for wanting Sam to lead the civilians to the battle are not based on her will to win and get back to Galactica alive, she wants him to get hurt so she doesn’t have a conscience problem when cheating on him with Lee. For that she is punished later in the episode.
We’re seeing a definite power struggle between both men in Kara’s life. If she weren’t there to stop them they would come to blows, and she stops them by physically stepping between them. Makes you wonder what will happen the next time this happens, because there will be a next time. Kara serves as a referee here, and that’s all she does, because this is not an episode about her. She’s stuck between them, physically, all through the argument. The camera moves over the shoulder of either one and she’s always in the background. Later in the episode we’ll actually get to see an un-refereed battle, after Kara crashes down, but we don’t know what’ll happen yet, we have to wait a month!
D’Anna and Baltar and the Hybrid - again it appears Gaius is the chosen one. Even the Hybrid says so. That Hybrid scares the living daylights out of me. Those eyes are just too creepy. But at that moment the decision to send Baltar to the ground along with D’Anna is made. Bear McCreary’s version of the Moonlight Sonata is just so beautiful and so fits, and I say this every week but its true.
I said earlier that this was the episode of the junior crew - Dee is in charge of the mission. Kara’s there listening to her, they butt heads about the project, but it’s obvious this has nothing to do with the plan. Dee’s in charge, she decides who goes where, including where her husband will be. Just like Tyrol before, she has the control.
And here is the big Laura and Bill Scene - I love that he actually got up and left in the middle of her sentence. I genuinely hope there will be something about this in future episodes but I doubt it. Just like before, when the camera is on him, Bill fills the frame completely, there are no interruptions, nothing bothering the eye. When the camera is on Laura, it is always over Bill’s shoulder. It’s obvious to her, and to us, where he is going. On the A/R level - amazingly refreshing, totally not in tune with anything we’ve seen (or written fanfic-wise yet). We don’t expect him to leave because she is the president and you don’t disrespect her like that, but this is more personal than professional, and he is in charge and it is his ship, so he does so anyway. We know from Kobol that it’s the fact that she doesn’t trust him enough to tell him things that bothers him rather than the action taken, and it’s about time Laura understood it. Amazing scene. The cut in the middle of her words as he leaves is just wonderfully done, it’s strong and it has presence.
CIC in that final scene puts the question in all our minds - is he going to do it? Since this is a TV show and we know there are future episodes about Kara, Lee, and the rest of them, obviously there will be a way out of this without nuking Planet Food. However, for now we are practically in Roslin’s situation - she’s in CIC with Adama but she has no idea what he’s planning, she thought they were bluffing but, with us, she’s finding out he’s not (though we assumed he wasn’t), and she’s panicked. As usual for the episode, because it’s such a man’s men episode - complete shots of Adama, incomplete shots with disturbances of Laura.
The cross editing in the final scene, CIC and Adama ordering the nuclear missiles, and at the same time the Cylons connecting to their gunk knowledge base - well done. We gather information about what’s going on from both, we have reactions from both, but we don’t have actions.
And that, boys and girls, is called a cliff-hanger. But you knew that!
And here’s a question - when the missile doors open on Galactica, red lights shine from within. Coincidence?
And since it's 1am now and I have to be at work at 7:30am tomorrow, I'm going to sleep!