War of the Gods: Part II is a mix of drama and a soap opera, as the plot thickens! The Counts popularity increases as the council always ready to make a bad decision is about to drop the ball again! Will Adama being able to stop the diabolical plot? What happened to the crashed ship as Apollo, Sheba, and Starbuck investigate? The count revels himself and the space beings comes to aid. The second half is interesting for a drama/mythology. A change from the special effects ending of the first few movie/ episodes. Well directed, acted, with a story that intertwines in and out with several sub stories which tie together and keeps the viewer engaged. 7 stars.
5 Reviews
We were all terrified at what Apollo and Starbuck found
whatch-1793115 October 2020
Us kids at the time. What could be so bad they couldn't show it? Why was Count Iblis afraid of it? Did Apollo seriously just call Iblis the Devil? What THE FRACK does Iblis turn into when Apollo shoots him? Was the crashed ship the Pegasus?
I can look up production notes now, but not back in 1979. What they actually didn't show in the crash was a corpse with hooved legs, a demon. Reports vary: they didn't show it either because it was way too on-the-nose religiously, or it was simply a lousy looking prop. Who knows?
But, ironically, just like Jaws of the same era, NOT showing it made a far greater impression than showing it would.
Also, it wasn't intended to be believed that the wreckage was the Pegasus. It was just a throwaway comment about the scale of the wreck. But considering Sheba was the daughter of Commander Cain of the Pegasus, it sure seemed like the intent. We all assumed that Apollo and Starbuck had found the BODY of Cain, and that's why they didn't want her to look.
Intended or not, in an already freaky cool episode, there was a whole lot here to wonder about.
This one also has a very solid coda: Apollo: I don't remember anything after challenging Iblis. Adama: You challenged Count Iblis... and won? Sheba: No, he challenged Count Iblis- and lost.
Of course the 78-79 show pales in technical merits to the remake, but in wonder and mystery, not at all.
I can look up production notes now, but not back in 1979. What they actually didn't show in the crash was a corpse with hooved legs, a demon. Reports vary: they didn't show it either because it was way too on-the-nose religiously, or it was simply a lousy looking prop. Who knows?
But, ironically, just like Jaws of the same era, NOT showing it made a far greater impression than showing it would.
Also, it wasn't intended to be believed that the wreckage was the Pegasus. It was just a throwaway comment about the scale of the wreck. But considering Sheba was the daughter of Commander Cain of the Pegasus, it sure seemed like the intent. We all assumed that Apollo and Starbuck had found the BODY of Cain, and that's why they didn't want her to look.
Intended or not, in an already freaky cool episode, there was a whole lot here to wonder about.
This one also has a very solid coda: Apollo: I don't remember anything after challenging Iblis. Adama: You challenged Count Iblis... and won? Sheba: No, he challenged Count Iblis- and lost.
Of course the 78-79 show pales in technical merits to the remake, but in wonder and mystery, not at all.
Excellent 2nd part
keyope28 September 2018
The concluding part of War of the Gods is every bit as good as part 1. An excellent piece of sci fi writing, this episode has everything - mystery, action, suspense, religion, you name it.
The big secret about Count Iblis is revealed with impeccable timing, and it's a great twist. The first time I saw this two parter I was blown away by it. It's the kind of mystery that modern day superhero films should take a look at. Nothing is spooned to the audience, it's cleverly paced with a twist at the end. As a viewer you become involved in the mystery the same way you would with an episode of Alfred Hitchcock presents. This really is magnificent television.
The big secret about Count Iblis is revealed with impeccable timing, and it's a great twist. The first time I saw this two parter I was blown away by it. It's the kind of mystery that modern day superhero films should take a look at. Nothing is spooned to the audience, it's cleverly paced with a twist at the end. As a viewer you become involved in the mystery the same way you would with an episode of Alfred Hitchcock presents. This really is magnificent television.
"The Best Of All Possible (Music)s!"
kensirhan-8619827 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
As good as the before-its-time, sadly not fully realized Battlestar Galactica - which improbably & incredibly helped redirect & shape my life afterwards - was, it was crystallized in this episode. I recall the chills that the revelation of Count Iblis's true self brought on, the horror & heroism of Apollo's self-sacrifice and, most indelibly, the tearjerking scene of his rebirth. That alone stands as the series' finest moment, so beautifully presented (like watching the inside of 1 of my specialty white cakes, without the milk chocolate frosting, I had begun making only the year before) & the peerless haunting & joyful music that was the apogee of Stu Phillips's compositions. I was already in tears throughout, but really went to weeping (getting misty-eyed even now) when Starbuck was moved, blinking his own orbital wetness with a shaking voice, to offer "whatever you want from me, you can have." What fans of this program - which, goofs, recycled footage, disappointing story dips & all, that miserable DEboot years later couldn't hold a burnt match to even this 1 scene - were not likewise thus weeping as at the passing of Serina? Only not from depressing grief but from heartbreaking yet uplifting joy when Sheba ran to embrace the restored Apollo with that music raining down on their hearts & souls? Sensitively directed - something a celestial sellout named Gee Lou Kiss hasn't a prayer of coming close to duplicating - acted throughout with drew-us-in sincerity & breathtakingly scored, + a should-have-anticipated ("perhaps we can give you a beginning") yet wonderfully surprising twist ending, this episode in its entirety, part of yet separate from its 1st chapter, is the fullest realization of all that Battlestar Galactica intended & hoped to be. Outside forces radiating negativity - a slew of monkeysuited shortsighted pennypinching bean counters presaging the coming of that stinking Mouse - might have doomed the Galactica's epic journey, but before that plug was pulled some very interesting & impactful scenarios made their way onto the (small) screen & into filmed immortality. This here ironically "tail end" segment is Simply The Best of them all, & that I owe my changed career choice which has defined my life ever since is something that pathetic remake - along with EVERY Star Trick variation over the last 43 years - hasn't a whisper of a rumor of the same kind of inspiration to anyone. Captain Apollo & Commander Adama (along with Baltar & Sire "Montrose" - another dreadfully plain Terran moniker like "columbia" - & we don't know how many others) - smile down among us eternally from their celestial perches, & those who have been able to appreciate it have been enlivened & enriched by this "galactic" experience.
I liked this series, and this episode, but ...
jimdarling30 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
It struck me while watching this episode again that it is actually an anti-Christian show.
We learn in Part 2 that Count Iblis is actually the devil, and both him and the white lights (and beings we see at the end) are just an advanced species of man. This means, of course, that they are not spiritual beings created by God.
God, by the way, is never brought up in this episode.
And lastly, the beings of white are dressed like women who follow the strict Islamic code dress, with only their eyes exposed.
None of this diminishes my enjoyment of the episode. I especially like seeing Sheba in sexier clothing than normal. Also, I'm an atheist so I don't really care about the subliminal anti-Christian sentiment; I just thought I'd mention it for you religious types who may want to avoid this because of the sentiment.
We learn in Part 2 that Count Iblis is actually the devil, and both him and the white lights (and beings we see at the end) are just an advanced species of man. This means, of course, that they are not spiritual beings created by God.
God, by the way, is never brought up in this episode.
And lastly, the beings of white are dressed like women who follow the strict Islamic code dress, with only their eyes exposed.
None of this diminishes my enjoyment of the episode. I especially like seeing Sheba in sexier clothing than normal. Also, I'm an atheist so I don't really care about the subliminal anti-Christian sentiment; I just thought I'd mention it for you religious types who may want to avoid this because of the sentiment.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
