Still, I'm surprised you didn't like it. What specifically didn't you like or just not respond to?
I said very clearly that I liked it. It was very good. But it wasn't
stellar, that's all. And not that it needed to be. But I have heard that the series itself is stellar. So I was reacting to the comment that essentially said that 33 is the best episode of the entire series. If that is the case, and this episode is indeed the best of the series, I will be disappointed because that indicates to me that the series is merely "very good," and not "stellar." Clear now?
Anyhow, thinking back on the episode, I realize something. Maybe it's WAY too early to be making such a broad generalization, but the events in this eposide seem especially critical to the survival of humanity, and I think this episode was a HUGE turning point and a HUGE mistake on the part of the Cylons, even if it is extremely early in the timeline of events. Obviously, the Galactica is critical to the survival of humankind. Without it, what's left of the fleet does not survive. And if the fleet does not survive, humanity's only slim chance of surviving (or not being subjugated) is effectively wiped out. The Cylons had a prett brilliant plan. Knowing that humans need rest and the Cylons don't (or at least, they don't need it as much as we do), they places some sort of tracking device on the Olympic Carrier that allowed them to track the fleet and jump to their location every 33 minutes. The plan apparently was to keep pressing the attack until the humans were pushed far past the point of mental and physical exhaustion, and then have the Olympic Carrier lag behind, quickly take the humans captive and arm it with nukes to sneak into the fleet and attack. Brilliant plan. And it should have worked. And, really, after 5 days worth of having to fight and jump every 33 minutes, the humans should have been too exhausted to survive that plan. But the Cylons should have waited a bit longer. They should have waited until it became obvious from a pattern of human mistakes that the humans were indeed too exhausted to keep it up, and
then executed the final stage of the plan. If they succeed, the fleet is doomed. But they acted too soon, and the humans had just enough awareness to figure out what was going on and destroy the carrier. Yes, they had Cylon help, apparently, from the faction that looks like it is supporing the humans. But still, time was on the Cylons' side. The longer they wait, the better their chance of success. Now, the fleet has apparently escaped what should have been sure defeat, and the Cylons have to wait for some break to figure out where the fleet is (or where it's going).