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Battlestar Galactica | S2 E8: Final Cut + E9: Flight of the Phoenix | Full Reaction
🕑 Added 2025-07-24 14:14:46 +0000 UTC๐ I realized during Home Part I and Part II that it was a lot easier and smoother to post episodes that I watch in one sitting together. So, this video contains both Episodes 8 and 9. Let me know if there are any concerns about this format, but I feel like this is an easier way to post uploads for multiple series and we can keep our thoughts in one place in the comments as well!
Episodes 8 and 9 hit very differently emotionally, but they both centered on the main theme of trust. Who deserves it, who loses it, how fragile it can be. In Episode 8, I was really surprised by how much depth they put into covering what media can look like during wartime. Seeing Kat, Tyrol, and even Tigh through the lens of someone trying to tell their story reminded me how much weight everyone carries. How deeply human we all are. And it was beautiful watching what begins as PR slowly turn into something so much deeper. But then, THE TWIST ๐
๐ฅ The twist completely changed how I looked at the entire episode in a split second. The Cylons aren't just watching, they're documenting and learning our stories, too...
Episode 9 was back to business as usual on the Galactica with a Cylon logic bomb. It was intense watching the tech on the Galactica fail and everyone begin to realize just how fragile everything is when you need tech to keep you alive. Tech that has a Cylon virus taking over it. But the heart of this episode wasn't the virus, it was Sharon. Her willingness to help, again, even when nearly everyone doubts her and holds her at arm's length was a huge pivotal moment. I'm back to trusting her again myself hahaha
And then there's the Blackbird. Tyrol's decision to build something out of scrap and stubborn hope. It honestly ended up breaking me in ways I never expected. Watching the crew go from doubting him to pouring their fatigue and fear into something new was inspiring. It reminded me why I root for these characters so hard and deeply admire them. In the middle of war and paranoia, they created something beautiful. And named it after Laura. These episodes may have been about survival again. But they were also about reclaiming identity, rolling that hard six, and choosing to believe in each other even when it's hard.
๐ Next week I will attempt to watch Episode 10 with my DVD set! I hope this ends up working out since this episode is apparently very important to watch with the DVDs instead of streaming. If you are watching through Amazon and don't have access to the DVD version, I will be giving you access to it so you can watch along. Just reach out to me and let me know if you need a link. Thank you!
Thank you for your support on Patreon!
Relax and enjoy ๐ฟ๐ฟ
LINK: https://youtu.be/zx74Qojl9ps
I watched this on Amazon Prime
Comments
Donovan Sparks
The thing about Sharon is that the other Sharon was trustworthy, all up to the point when she shot the Commander. In Adama's eyes, this Sharon can just do the same thing. Cylons don't have feelings, they have programs. And if the program tells one to shoot Adama, then the Cylon shoots Adama. That is the only consistency you can get with Sharon. She is programmed to do what she is doing. And one day, her programming could be to shoot the commander again... or any other million things while aboard Galactica. So saying I think we can trust Sharon now is naive, imo. We all trusted the other Sharon, too... until you couldn't... at any given moment.
Phil Stubblefield
I'm way behind with BSG but trying to catch up, so here goes... Back to Episode 8: Final Cut Kali, after the death threat against Tigh was revealed, you said something with which I completely agree: I don't believe a word that comes from Ellen Tigh's mouth! I'm not sure there's anything positive about her character. She's deceitful and manipulative, and everything she says seems calculated to achieve her goals with complete disregard to those around her, including her husband. Which brings me to my point: I'm having trouble falling in love with BSG. When I compare it with one of my favorite scifi series of all time, Star Trek: The Next Generation, one difference that stands out to me is the prevalence of characters who are difficult to like, let alone love. Adama, Apollo, and Starbuck are all flawed, but each has many redeeming qualities. Likewise Chief Tyrol, Boomer/Sharon/Number Eight, and Helo. And it's hard to say anything negative about Roslin. On the other side are Saul and Ellen Tigh, whose deaths I would not even mourn, or Gaius Baltar and Number Six and their psychotic (?) relationship. It's not that I feel neutral toward them; I almost hate them, which I think makes it difficult for me to feel positive about the series as a whole. OTOH, to be honest, the first two seasons of TNG were wildly uneven, and it wasn't really until season three that the show began to reach its potential. So I'll try not to draw any conclusions about BSG so quickly... Back to this episode. Despite some of the negative things being captured on video by the reporter, D'Anna Biers, it seemed pretty obvious to me that the end result would be exactly what Adama wanted: a balanced report that showed the Galactica personnel as real people, "warts and all". Even so, the final report was so powerfully emotional that my cheeks were wet with tears by its end! But then the twist: D'Anna is a Cylon! ๐ซจ The entire Cylon raid had been staged for the sole purpose of relaying a copy of the footage back to Caprica, where a copy of D'Anna was watching along with Doral, Number Eight, and Number Six. I did *not* see that coming! Episode 9: Flight of the Phoenix They named the stealth ship "Laura", after the dying president! They made me cry again! ๐ฅน BTW, christening a steel ship is normal... but probably not a craft skinned with carbon composites. Knowing a bit about their use on current aircraft, I'm guessing that a heavy bottle of booze would have broken the carbon fiber, damaging a craft they had just spent a great deal of effort to build! So, two excellent episodes to restore my excitement in the series! Let's hope it keeps going...
Cameron Warren
Hi so just something I wanted to share - and I don't think this is a spoiler, more just the lore of the show at this point. So while there are many copies of the different cylon models (many copies of Sixes, Sharons, Leobens, etc) - the copies aren't really the same, I don't think. I'm not really sure at this point in the show all the details with the memory overlaps, but I don't think all Sixes, Sharons have the same personality? In terms of why Sharon said "and you ask why" to Adama on Kobol, that really was intriguing. It does make it seem that somehow she had access to the memories of the corpse, but I always assumed she was referencing Adama's original speech from the miniseries (we never did ask ourselves why as a species we deserve to survive). Take care of yourself and your health, much love from all of us _/\_
Kali Wali
Omg hahahaha that's actually amazing! I love that so much if it's true ๐คฃ And thank you! I definitely thought that was a thing!
Brina Blue
You are right about breaking a bottle of champagne over the bow of a ship or boat to christen it. Here is my head-cannon about that happened in that scene in episode 9. I think the actress was playing a joke by pretending to smash the heavy bottle over the cardboard prop fighter and that was a real reaction from the crowd trying to get her not to do it! Prove me wrong! lol
