I admit it, I’m nervous. All this mutinous talk, all this anger and violence about to break into the open… especially since it’s aimed at our dearly beloved Admiral Adama. We know some ill shit is on its way. We know that Gaeta stands at the center of it. We know he’s working with Zarek, and Zarek has no problem using violence in the service of his political goals.

But I’m embracing the moment. I’m welcoming what comes next. Even if it’s heartbreaking. Because this whole terrifying wrap-up shows two phenomenal things about the storytelling skills of the BSG creative team.

1. Even the most horrible acts make sense. When characters do dreadful things, it jives with what we know about them… so no matter what kind of self-destructive nonsense Starbuck gets up to, we don’t love her any less. In “Sometimes a Great Notion,” Dee’s pivotal act hits us in the gut and we can’t really breathe for a bit… but it makes sense. Looking back, it can be traced through every single Dualla scene, from the miniseries… she has always been the emblem of hope and optimism, and how better to draw the fleet’s despair… how better to bring home the pain of having hope snatched out from under you? And after all this fleet has been through, to now see some supposed cylon allies calling the shots… it makes sense that people would be angry. Angry enough to do some terrible terrible things.

2. After drawing such wonderful characters, after making us fall in love with all their quirks and flaws and awesomenesses (yeah, it’s a word)… BSG is not afraid to fling them down to the depths of hell. That’s how we really learn what they’re made of. That’s how we are transformed with them. We’ve never seen Bill pushed past his comfort zone, not for longer than a few minutes, like when he thinks Starbuck is dead or finds out someone he loves is a cylon. So… yes, please, Gaeta. Bring the pain. We’ve watched this world built up piece by piece, like a marvelous sand castle, and it’s silly to expect a resolution that leaves everything pretty and nice and happy. The big wave always comes.

“Batter my soul,” said the great english poet John Donne, in a poem addressed to God. Isn’t that the mark of true faith? To accept the ugly things fate sends our way? To willingly submit oneself to the whims and demands of an unseen authority, knowing that the spiritual and emotional satisfaction will far outweigh the pain of loss and submission? That’s how I feel when I watch BSG, and I don’t even believe in god(s).

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