I hated this episode.
Not because it didn't advance the mythology: I am all for episodes that focus on character, or focus on the fleet, and don't deal with overarching mysteries. But this episode seemed to be operating AGAINST those mysteries, almost as if to say that a petty soap opera is going to decide the fate of humanity.
And I think it might be too late for us to have an episode like this one: it's kind of like playing checkers on a chess board, and this entire episode felt like they were playing the wrong game considering the circumstances. Questions like why Tyrol agreed to go with the Cylons (perhaps a deleted scene wherein Tyrol worries about Boomer, and his connection with her, and that he could eventually end up like her ostracized from humanity? I dunno, something would have been nice), or how Boomer found Galactica, or any other multitude of questions: there are ramifications there that were choked out by a storyline from Days of our Lives, acted quite admirably but otherwise devoid of real meaning to the stakes at hand.
If last week's episode had been more nuanced, I think part of this episode could have worked. There is something to be said for the idea of Tigh and Ellen, when called upon to make an important decision, have difficult decisions to make and Ellen in particular turns into a flawed, revenge-driven monster of sorts, the exact kind of behaviour that Cavil used in dispersing the five to begin with. But last week's episode was so clunky, and this week's episode so suddenly melodramatic, that the nuance is just gone for me. There was no subtlety, no moment where I didn't feel like this was the show readjusting for the future while indulging in scenes that weren't necessary - this all could have been dealt with in a single act if they had really wanted to, and then the ramifications could have been more clearly laid out.
As for the Baltar plot, it's just one big problem: it doesn't make any sense for his character, arming Baltar's group seems to me like the dumbest idea for Adama/Roslin, and shoehorning Baltar into the main storyline with something that is this forced is a cheap development that could have actually made sense had they given him more than a modicum of screentime thus far this half-season.
