Battlestar Galactica Reviews: The Woman King (Episode 3.13)

Reviews:
Episode Name: The Woman King
Episode Number: 313
Written by: Michael Angeli
Directed by: Michael Rymer
Original Air Date: 2/11/07 on SciFi Channel
Review Posted: 2/17/07

Back to Act 3
Act 4:

Helo attempts to revive Dee who is unresponsive. Helo starts to panic when she finally stirs. Helo wants to take her to Cottle, but even in her groggy state, she wants no part of Cottle. That's the payoff of her flippant comment back in the bar. Robert arrives and wants to know what Helo is doing. Elsewhere, Tigh and Cottle already stride down a hallway with purpose, so something is up. Robert calls on the MPs, who hear Dee saying she doesn't want to see Cottle. That's enough for them to step in and things start to get physical. Helo lays hands on military personnel for the second time in this episode alone. Tigh and Cottle walk up and Tigh orders everyone to stand down.

After Cottle checks on Dee, Cottle admits that he finally got around to checking up on Robert and found that Willie King and Buckminster did not die of the disease. They had no trace of the treatment that Robert claimed that he administered to both. Cottle admits that he didn't like the Sagittarons and didn't want to question his colleague, Robert. Robert turns irrational and shows that he has as much bile as anyone told the Sagittarons.

Robert tells Helo that he should be grateful that he took care of Hera's health since she could have suffered a slow and painful death. Robert says that he was killing the Sagittarons to save the precious medicine supply for those who really want it and deserve it like Viper pilots. Robert tries to get Tigh to back him up, but apparently even Tigh's prejudice has limits. Tigh admits he was wrong and orders Robert arrested. In one last bit, Robert says that he didn't harm Dee. Helo realizes that he did so only because she joined the military and rejects Sagittaron beliefs. The scene ends with Helo and Mrs. King sharing one last meaningful look.

Helo pays Adama a visit. Adama says something about allowing the hate to continue when they should have stopped it. He also says that if Helo hadn't kept up is investigation until the truth came out, Helo basically would have been exiled to dead end duties for a while. Adama then says that wasn't fair and apologies to Helo. Helo goes back to his quarters and finds Athena and Hera. They kiss. After all the personal turmoil, the episode closes as it began: with Helo, Hera and Athena as a content family unit.

Bonus Scene:
The bonus scene turns out to pick up right after Adama's apology. Helo admits to what everyone assumed: that he was the one who made sure the infected Cylons were dead before the Cylon resurrection ship was in range. Adama gives him a chance to back out of it by explaining what could happen to him. Helo drops it and Adama allows him to leave. In light of the episode's storyline in that Helo is basically being punished with the assignment of overseeing the refugees, the scene carries less weight. It would have been a good scene leading up to Helo getting the assignment, but not so much after he's already stuck with it. In the podcast, Ronald Moore said that ultimately the scene was cut because there was no follow-up planned for the remained of the season. As Adama stated, Helo's admission would open a can of worms. It's clear in the scene that Adama suspects the truth and would rather it stay unspoken. Considering all of that, the scene is likely not canon. Thus, Helo's complicity can be still used in storyline later on.

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