Episode Report Card Strega: C | 88 USERS: C+ YOU GRADE IT KodaChrome
By Strega | Season 2 | Episode 8 | Aired on 2005.09.09
We pan over the memorial corridor, papered with photos and notes. And littered with candles. Such a huge fire hazard. Racetrack lights yet another candle and exhales shakily.
It's Racetrack's turn in front of the octacam, and it turns out her name is Margaret Edmonson. Biers asks if she's frightened when she's in combat, and Racetrack says, "Yes. Duh." End of interview. No, actually, Racetrack says that they're instructed to assume they're already dead. She explains, "Dead men don't get scared or freeze up under fire. Me, I'm just worried that hell's gonna be a lonely place, and I'm gonna fill it up with every toaster son of a bitch I find." I see.
Cut to an interview with Helo. What an angular head he has. Helo echoes Racetrack's comments about turning off your emotions, adding, "But when you're out in the field, it's not that easy. Nothing's that easy."
Helo approaches Boomer's darkened cell. The camera pans around to reveal Boomer sweatily shivering in her bunk, while a guard tells Helo, "You've got five minutes." Helo raps on the barred window and picks up the phone. Boomer doesn't respond at first, but finally rolls over in the bunk to face him. Helo testily demands the guard's flashlight and shines it into the cell. Boomer pulls one hand out from under the blanket and stares at the blood on her fingers. She starts sobbing, and Helo shouts for the guard to call Dr. Cottle. Yay!
Another interview. This time it's mellow, after-hours Gaeta. Wow. His jacket's unbuttoned, and he's speculatively puffing on a cigarette. I have to say, I'm impressed by the way his entire bearing is different in this scene. Oh yes, and Gaeta's first name is Felix. Biers asks if the cigarette helps him cope with stress. Gaeta says, "Not really." Heh. He casually explains that all he ever wanted was to be an officer on a Battlestar. He says he trained harder than anyone, and put his life on hold until he got to the Galactica: "Then the Cylons hit. And I realized that this is all that I know. Tech manuals, commands, and tactics, you know?" He says that he's not unhappy, then shrugs and admits that he wonders if there's something more before breaking into "Is That All There Is?." Biers asks what Gaeta has learned. Huh? Gaeta admits, "I hate cigarettes," and puts his out. He goes on to say that "ambrosia's good with a chaser," and that if you have enough ambrosia you'll wind up getting a crap tattoo of a tiger. It's like a very short after-school special.