The Big Picture
In the
Battlestar Galactica
two-part episode “Crossroads” shocking truths about major characters are revealed that challenge fundamental beliefs.
The Final Five Cylon models are unveiled, altering the course of the series dramatically.
The choice of music in “Crossroads” sets the stage for intense battles, new Cylon revelations, and the approaching end.
There are plenty of great Battlestar Galactica episodes out there. The very first episode, “33,” is a masterclass in how to successfully kick off a series, and the Season 3 two-parter “Exodus” keeps us pinned to our seats as we wonder if New Caprica can survive. But there’s one two-part episode in particular that changed the course of the rest of the series. Everything we thought we knew about some of our favorite Battlestar Galactica characters proved false from the start, and “Crossroads” revealed this to us the only way it knew how. Penned by Michael Taylor and Mark Verheiden, this two-hour spectacle directed by Michael Rymer pushed our heroes straight into the unknown before just sort of leaving them there. “Crossroads” would have profound effects on the rest of the series, but as it stands on its own, it’s a powerful season finale with a bite that matches its bark. Now that the show is on Prime Video, it’s time to revisit its most climactic hours.
Battlestar Galactica
When an old enemy, the Cylons, resurface and obliterate the 12 colonies, the crew of the aged Galactica protect a small civilian fleet – the last of humanity – as they journey toward the fabled 13th colony, Earth.
Release Date December 8, 2004
Creator Glen A. Larson, Ronald D. Moore
Seasons 4
What Happens in the “Crossroads” Two-Parter?
This entire two-part episode is centered on the trail of Dr. Gaius Baltar (James Callis), a man hated by most of the human survivors and deemed a “traitor” and “Cylon collaborator” by most. Following th events of the carnage and destruction that occurred on New Caprica (and Baltar’s time living among the Cylons), the doctor has been returned to the Galactica and is put on trial for treason and murder. Because of Lee “Apollo” Adama’s (Jamie Bamber) own convictions, “Crossroads” pits Admiral William Adama (Edward James Olmos) and his son against one another, and the fallout results in Apollo turning in his badge and Adama insulting his son. But, after Baltar’s lawyer, Romo Lampkin (Mark A. Sheppard) puts Lee on the stand, his final remarks sway Adama’s vote, and the court ultimately finds Baltar “not guilty.” Though, President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) makes sure Adama remembers that “not guilty” isn’t the same as innocent.
While the trial portion of “Crossroads” is important, it’s the side plot that actually makes this two-parter the most memorable. As the fleet is all focused on putting Baltar to death, there’s another band of sleeper agents who are waking up to their true identity. After a season of teases about who the “Final Five” models of Cylons might be, “Crossroads” gives us our answer (well, most of it anyway). After they’ve been haunted by a strange tune that seemingly follows them everywhere, Col. Saul Tigh (Michael Hogan), “Chief” Galen Tyrol (Aaron Douglas), Viper pilot Sam “Longshot” Anders (Michael Trucco), and Roslin’s personal aide, Tory Foster (Rekha Sharma), all find themselves in the same room with the same revelation: they’re not who they thought they were. Realizing that they, too, have been Cylons the whole time, they decide to choose to be the people they thought they were and sort out the rest later.
The second half of “Crossroads” ends with a Cylon invasion on the fleet, with all hands returning to deck. The four newly activated sleeper agents return to their regular positions, and no one is the wiser. In an even bigger twist of fate, Kara “Starbuck” Thrace (Katee Sackhoff), who was presumed dead a few episodes prior, shows up just before the battle starts, and reveals to Apollo that she knows where the location of Earth actually is. The episode ends with our first glimpse of Earth (the original homeworld of the human race) as the fleet engages in combat with the Cylons, and Battlestar Galactica officially ends its third season.
The Final Five Revelation Shakes Our Heroes’ Entire Cylon-Hating Foundation
Image via SyFy
There’s no denying the importance of the Baltar trial plotline. It’s important to everything Battlestar Galactica has set up thus far and is a defining moment for many of the main cast members, but it’s not the most notable aspect of this episode. For a while now, BSG has been teasing the existence of the Final Five Cylon models. In reality, the Final Five are the final members of the mysterious Thirteenth Tribe of Kobol, explained further in Season 4’s “No Exit,” who tried to stop the human/Cylon war. Yes, these five existed long before the events of Caprica. But as far as “Crossroads” goes, what makes this episode stand out is the reveal of exactly who these Final Five members are. We only get four of them here in this episode, but that’s more than enough.
When BSG began, Chief Tyrol was in a secret relationship with Sharon “Boomer” Valerii (Grace Park), who we learn pretty early on is actually a Cylon model, Number Eight. This sends Chief into quite a tizzy, and he struggles with the concept that he has been in love with a machine. Now, to find out that he’s been one all along — after he has taken a human wife and had a family (though his son is not his biologically) — it puts him in a mental tailspin that he struggles to get out of. And he’s not the only one. Tory seems to accept this news fairly well (though she’s noticeably shaken), Sam Anders wrestles with it pretty hard. Thus far, we’ve seen Anders as a resistance fighter on Caprica, a resistance leader on New Caprica, and ever-faithful in the battle against the Cylons, but all this makes that for naught. It’s chilling news that is just as shocking and horrifying to us as it is to the characters themselves, and that’s sort of the point.
Perhaps no character revelation in Battlestar Galactica is more devastating than the news that Saul Tigh is one of the Final Five. For the other characters, it’s still hard for us to wrap our minds around the idea. It feels like it should be utterly impossible for someone like Tigh to be a Cylon, and yet… Throughout the entire series, Michael Hogan’s character has been staunchly anti-Cylon. Of any character in all of BSG, everyone knows that Tigh is the most merciless when it comes to killing those frakking machines. Hogan plays the part masterfully throughout the show, and often we find ourselves hating him (or at least frustrated with him) because he’s so narrow-minded concerning the idea that there might be a good Cylon out there. He refuses to believe it. But now, confronted with the dark truth that he is one of the Final Five, Tigh is forced to eat his words and recognize that the world isn’t as black and white as he’d made it out to be.
The Music Makes This ‘Battlestar Galactica’ Classic Stand Out
Image via SyFy
Another memorable element that heightens “Crossroads” as one of the best in the Battlestar Galactica canon is the choice of music. It’s no secret that Bear McCreary’s fabulous BSG score is timeless on its own. For McCreary to do something as crazy as adapt Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” (though this feels more like a rock-infused Jimi Hendrix version) as a Cylon anthem might sound like it’s out of place, but it’s not at all. As Sam, Chief, and Tigh all hear this song fade in and out, they’re driven nearly insane by the tune in their heads that continues to shine through. At two different points, they even quote the original lyrics, but it doesn’t feel tacky or referential. In fact, it feels all too relevant.
“All Along the Watchtower” acts as an activation signal, but it activates so much more than just the Final Five. From here on out, Battlestar Galactica would never be the same. The series would dive even deeper into Cylon politics, and the colonial fleet would be in much greater danger than before, as the revelation of the Final Five acts as a new hope for the Cylon race. As the Galactica and the others struggle on their way to Earth, questions of morality and philosophy arise when one of the Final Five ends up producing purely Cylon biological offspring. Beforehand, it seemed that only half-human/half-Cylon offspring were possible biologically, but now we know the truth. Though that child was miscarried, it presented the possibility that the Cylons could exist completely independent of humanity, making the fourth and final season of Battlestar Galactica even more intense than before.
Additionally, the choice of music is fitting because of the literal Cylon invasion on the way. While the Season 4 premiere, “He That Believeth In Me,” would actually show the invasion, “All Along the Watchtower” prepares us for battle. More than that, it prepares the Final Five for what comes next. Tigh would begin to wrestle with his Cylon programming, Anders reveals himself to an invading batch of Cylon raiders, and the other two would likewise struggle in their day-to-day operation with the knowledge that they weren’t who they thought they were. The choice of music acts as a warning that things will never be the same again, which is curious given that one of the major themes of Battlestar Galactica is the idea that, “All of this has happened before. But the question remains, does all of this have to happen again?” By the end of the series, it seems like BSG has broken the “cycle” of repeated history, but it leaves us with just enough to wonder if that’s really true.
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“Crossroads” Signified the Coming End of ‘Battlestar Galactica’
“Weather’s changing, Felix,” says Karl “Helo” Agathon (Tahmoh Penikett) to Felix Gaeta (Alessandro Juliani) in this episode, “we need to be ready for it.” Indeed, “Crossroads” is a fitting title for this two-parter. Here we see the end of Gaius Baltar, the politician, and the beginning of him as a religious leader on the path to redemption. We see the transformation of four of the Final Five from normal human beings into Cylon sleeper agents. And we finally get our first glimpse of humanity’s original homeworld: Earth. The return of Starbuck is an added bonus that “Crossroads” saves for the very end. In many ways, this is the final push that BSG needed to set up the narrative for the final season, and while fans were a bit mixed about how the series itself ended, this marked the beginning of that very end.
With the show’s final season, Battlestar Galactica wrapped everything up presented here in “Crossroads.” It revealed the fifth member of the Final Five to be Saul Tigh’s wife Ellen (Kate Vernon), brought an eventual peace between humanity and the Cylons, and finally found Earth. With all these questions answered, and the implications of these ideas brought to their inevitable end, Battlestar Galactica proved itself to be a sci-fi giant just as impressive as Star Wars and Star Trek. A few years back, it was reported that a Battlestar Galactica reboot was in the works. So far, we haven’t seen much progress on that front, but thankfully, the original re-imagining is available on streaming, where we can revisit it any time. So say we all!
Battlestar Galactica can be streamed on Prime Video.
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