Flight of the Phoenix

"Flight of the Phoenix" just might be my favorite Battlestar Galactica Episode. I re watched it a few mornings ago while delaying my drive to work. It's the penultimate episode in Season 2.0. In the episode, there are several things going on, all resulting in a demoralized Galactica crew. They have all realized, sort of at the same time, that "this is it." They live on a battleship, running from the Cylons, and follow orders. The entire crew is in a major funk, and having a hard time finding inspiration. A subplot has Helo and Chief Tyrol having a fist fight because of their feelings about romances with the same Cylon model (Helo's Sharon is alive and in the brigg, the Chief's Sharon was assassinated after shooting Commander Adama in the Season 1 finale). Another has the fleet of vipers dwindling due to lack of spare parts. In a nutshell, the situation is dire, and these people are a sad bunch. Another has the Galactica infected with a Cylon virus that is shutting down all essential systems on the ship -- the ship is trying to kill them.

What I love about the episode is the subtext (tee hee). Once again, I love SciFi that showcases the resilience of humanity, and this is a prime example. Even at the end of the human race -- and they are literally racing the Cylons to Earth -- when all seems lost, people have the capacity to persevere. After Helo and the Chief kick each other's asses (Helo is a hunk of a man and gets the better of the Chief a bit), the Chief gets over himself to an extent. He decides to build a viper, which becomes a whole-crew project that totally rejuvenates the crew, and gives them hope. It's a great message.

At the same time, Helo's Sharon (AKA later as Athena) offers to save the crew from the Cylon virus. Adama trusts her based on President Roslin's advice. Roslin told Adama that she believed even humans and cylons could find common ground. Sharon slices open her arm, sticks in a optical network cable, and somehow shoots the virus back at the waiting cylon raiders who lose control and start crashing into each other.

I just love it!