Battlestar Galactica is known for its dark, complex narratives and morally gray characters. However, Season 2's “Black Market” often lands at the bottom of many viewers' ratings. This unique episode, while exploring the grim economic realities following the fall of the Twelve Colonies, suffers from a rushed narrative and ultimately feels like an outlier in the show's typically strong narrative. Battlestar Galactica the showrunner criticized the episode before it even aired.
However, the “Black Market” is not universally hated – There are some brilliant aspects of the episodelike Gaius's newfound confidence – which helps make Gaius Baltar one of science fiction's greatest characters – and Lee's flashbacks, character development, and trauma-informed perspective on his relationships. It has value in the larger story, but that's exactly why it deserved more than one part. That being said, “Black Market” is not for Season 2 of Battlestar Galactica being ranked among the best.
Why Battlestar Galactica's “Black Market” Is Considered the Worst Episode
It was such an anomaly between previous episodes that it confused viewers
This episode from season 2 of Battlestar Galactica begins with a tense standoff, setting the stage for a story of corruption and moral ambiguity within the Colonial Fleet. Captain Lee “Apollo” Adama investigates the murder of Commander Fisk, a high-ranking officer involved in a growing black market. As the investigation unfolds, Apolo faces his moral commitments and the harsh realities of life in a bleak economic scenario. The main themes explored include the fight for survival, the exploitation of the vulnerable and the blurring of the lines between right and wrong in a desperate situation.
“Black Market” is considered the worst Battle Star Galactic episode because it is without a doubt the first episode considered bad in the Battlestar Galactica observing order. Another potential reason why it stands out as bad for viewers is that it's only a one-episode narrative arc. This is unusual in Battlestar Galactica and leads some to see the episode as “filling”despite having residual plots from previous episodes. Having just one episode dedicated to the concept also reduces some very dark themes to a bizarre monster of the week.
The idea of a galactic fleet black market is actually quite good
BSG's economic human realities are a great theme to explore
The idea behind the “Black Market” is actually very convincing and, If the writers had dedicated at least two episodes to him, the producers could have prevented him from being infamously remembered. The episode's biggest strength is that it reminds the audience that there is a whole society outside the Galactica and that the fleet functions very differently on one of the coolest spaceships in the world. Battlestar Galactica, Pegasus. It also focuses more on human and fleet issues, a departure from the Cylon focus of previous episodes. Improve BSG'It's gritty realism.
In the episode, the scarcity of essential goods makes the black market inevitable.
Another positive point of the “Black Market” is that it considers the consequences of a terrible economic situation that could actually happen. In the episode, the scarcity of essential goods makes the black market inevitable. This is a good gateway to exploring the moral limits of this inevitable situation, which is also a good vehicle to further explore Lee Adama's character. Shevon's daughter's vulnerability is also a nice callback to the last episode. It's a stirring reminder of Helo's protectiveness of her hybrid daughter Hera in the face of Laura Roslin's cruelty.
Battlestar Galactica made things worse by pretending the “black market” never happened
Sweeping the “black market” under the rug just wasted the episode’s potential
Tricia Helfer discussed the “Black Market” episode on Battlestar Galacticcast podcast (by SyFy). According to this podcast episode, NBC required some “single” story elements from the series to give audiences a break from perception “Doom and Sorrow” of the series. “Black Market” was one of those unique events that were pushed to make the show seem more accessible. However, they were surprised by the audience's positive response to the linear storyline. Because of this, episode arcs feel out of place. The show could have improved the episode by at least alluding to the black market in later episodes.
Instead, the show abandoned the “Black Market” storyline to tackle several other storylines. While this is understandable, the concept behind the one-off deserves further exploration, especially given the gravity of the negotiations taking place. However, the existence of the “Black Market” reflects a network television environment in which most long-running series contained “filling” episodes. This is not always done poorly – in other programs, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer Filler episodes are ranked among the best episodes overall. Despite its interesting premise, Battlestar Galactica'The “Black Market” did not reach the target.
Source: SyFy