Face of the Enemy - up to Webisode 8

Let's just say it's been a ghastly holiday season involving auto insurance, knee specialists, elderly parents who have forgotten the day of the week, and two feet of snow. You get the idea.

This has kind of prevented me from posting on a webisode-by-webisode basis, which I now think is actually a good thing. I could spend endless amounts of time speculating between webisodes, but the length of each 'sode is so short, it's not as much fun as it started out to be.

Now that there are just two Webisodes left and a lot of the guessing is gone over who killed whom and just who is this eight that Felix seems to know, I feel like I should just stand back and take a look at WHAT IT ALL MEANS, or, in the context of 4.5, where this is heading.

In the smaller picture, this is about the legacy of New Caprica. Season 4.0 ended with a very tentative truce between Cylons and humans, and now the Webisodes remind us that New Caprica was a brutal regime that resulted in the deaths of about 10% of the human population. Barely a year later, after further attacks and more losses, the big question is how possible will it be for the humans to build a new civilization on what's left of earth with the Cylons?

Gaeta's relationship with the 8 from New Caprica is predicated on his belief that she was helping save human lives. His first scene with the 8 he is hesitant about giving her the list and looks worried as she walks off. In every subsequent scene 8's behavior seems to justify his trust, until he and 8 develop a romantic relationship.

The irony is that 8 was lying to him and using him, and yet, on the raptor, she is acting to keep him alive - so apparently she feels some attachment to him.

Gaeta, not surprisingly, is appalled, furious, and devastated. It's also another instance of Gaeta placing trust in someone who betrays him, propelling him further on a downward path of disillusionment.

Watching this Webisode I was just so saddened by Gaeta's realization of how he has been used. I am sure, also, that this has consequences for season 4.5. Not just for Gaeta (will he now be disinclined to trust people, especially the cylon variety? probably), but also because if Gaeta, extraordinarily smart & objective, loses faith in the possibility of an alliance with the Cylons, then what hope is there for the rest of the population in coming to terms with the human/cylon collective past?

It really also comes back to the question of the miniseries, is humanity worth saving?

On a lighter note, it is nice to see Gaeta is bi-sexual. I am always in favor of people making informed decisions. I was kind of surprised when I looked up the guy who plays Hoshi (Brad Dryborough) on IMDB and learned he has done comedy. Hoshi is kind of an unknown right now, and I am not sure if he will get beyond supportive and stalwart. But he certainly doesn't seem to have much of a sense of humor.