3.9 Unfinished Business

Like much of the boxing that took place in this episode, this one came with a sucker punch. The ‘unfinished business’ of the title referred to the various motivations and frustrations that had arisen on New Caprica before the Cylon occupation. Chief of these was the relationship between Starbuck and Apollo, but that’s one I will come to.

The reason for the free-for-all boxing match was, as Adama explained, a regular event as a means for the crew to release their pent up frustration and grievances that military protocol dictated that they keep bottled up. It also served as a pretty handy means by which character plots could be explored.

So as various fighters took to the ring we were treated to brief flashbacks to their time on New Caprica and the story explaining whatever grievances existed. Adama had issue with Tyrell for allowing him to take Callie to the planet and abandon Galactica to raise his kid. As he pretty much goaded Tyrell into beating him to a bloody pulp the message was an admittance that he had gotten soft, as had his crew, and they had let their guard down and been beaten as a consequence.

In real terms, this suggests a more harder, tougher Adama may come to the fore. One, perhaps, taking a cue from Admiral Kane. . .? Though hopefully not as extreme!

I also believe Adama allowed himself to be battered by Tyrell as a form of penance for his own guilt at allowing Tyrell to go, and urging to Tigh to depart as well – given the dire consequences that decision created.

However, this episode was really all about Starbuck and Apollo, and the extraordinary story of what had taken place between them. Drunk at a party on New Caprica, they had taken themselves away from their respective partners and had sex, and then both had declared that they loved one another. It would have been a climactic moment, except this was all revealed whilst the two of them were pummelling the living shit out of one another in the ring.

We witnessed them finally getting together at a point when it had all fallen apart. I rather liked that.

That the morning after Starbuck disappeared and quickly got married to Anders explains why it was Apollo was so embittered towards her that time she requested drugs for Anders when he was extremely sick. As a consequence, in his own disgust, Apollo had jumped straight into the arms of Duala. Both of them, then, had hooked themselves up to someone else as a means of blocking the other off.

Refreshingly complicated stuff, I thought. But the real sucker punch came at the end of the episode. Exhausted, battered and spent, Starbuck and Apollo embraced one another and admitted that they missed one another. The demon between them had been exorcised. And with Anders and Duala both seeing what was going on, and no doubt realising what it signalled, the future between Apollo and Starbuck now is rather intriguing.

I don’t expect a happy romance to ensue, not with these two. But a will they/won’t they relationship hanging in the balance for a while has potential, I think!

So, good episode in all. It could have flopped over without delicate handling; but some nice editing (the shock reactions were displayed long before we understood their meaning) and just enough exposition without overkill meant the episode pulled the intent off with aplomb. Classy, actually, was the word that most sprang to mind immediately afterward. This was a classy episode.