Galactica recap: A Measure of Salvation

I think Battlestar Galactica is getting better by the week right now, and last night was no exception. This has been a strong season so far, but this episode may be my favorite so far. It was eerie watching the Colonial crew take their first look inside a Basestar, especially one decimated by a mysterious illness.

I am searching for an explanation about one apparent discrepancy, though: Why are the basestar interiors we've seen this season radically different from the ones we saw in Kobol's Last Gleaming during season one? I think the practical answer is that Galactica's budget has been increased or adjusted since that season, but discrepancies such as these bug me without an explanation that justifies the storyline. Perhaps there are two classes of basestars that serve different purposes, maybe the first season basestar was an older ship or maybe we've just seen different levels of the same ship design in season one and season three, respectively.

I liked the explanation for the virus, but is this really something that the Cylons could not quickly overcome? They may not diagnose human diseases frequently, but they've created synthetic people that are visibly indistinguishable from the real thing. That technical expertise makes me think that their civilization would easily be able to deal with this kind of virus. On the other hand, perhaps time (possibly as much as 3,000 years) and something about the beacon where the virus was found allowed the virus to mutate in an especially lethal form.

It was interesting to me to see the deliberations about whether the Colonials would use the virus as a weapon. Even in a holocaust situation, I think there would have to be some consideration for the ethical issues genocide would represent, but I think I would have sided with Apollo and Laura Roslin in electing to use the virus against the Cylons. It would be a horrible and difficult choice, but one made in an almost impossible crisis of survival. I disagreed with Helo, but I could also understand his reasoning. I do think Adama let him off too easily by doing nothing in response to his sabotage, an action that likely caused casualties and/or fatalities and put Galactica in major jeopardy. I hope there will be some consequences for him in the future, even though I like his character.

Regarding the torture scenes with Baltar and D'Anna, anticipation was, for me, worse than the reality. James Callis was convincing in his agony, but the Cylon methods were more vague and centered ambiguously more on pain than I imagined. D'Anna operated more out of necessity than wrath, which is a logical assumption given her need for more information, but I had expected (and feared, honestly) the latter leading into the episode. Baltar is in a more precarious position than anyone, except possibly Colonel Tigh, and I am curious to see what his options are as the story continues.