So far, I think this season has been pretty good, actually. There were no truly atrocious episodes like some of the stuff we had to suffer through in various Star Trek series. I'd say the weakest eposides were the boxing match one, the one about Adama's wedding anniversary and, most of all, the episode in which some pilot dies a heroic death leading the fleet through a radioactive star cluster. The boxing episode and the Adama episode at least offered some interesting insight.
I just don't see how people can say that this season is worse than the last. It isn't. There have been a number of weak episodes in season 2 and none of the weak season 3 episodes have been any worse.
Remember the season 2 episode about the embedded journalist? Or the black market episode that started with an interesting premise but turned out to be a complete let down? Or the one about the terrorist hostage taking? The episode with that Cylon Uber-Raider and the constant bitch fighting between Starbuck and Kat, which felt like a rip-off of a similar Space: Above and Beyond episode?
There hasn't even been one episode so far I'd consider a waste of time. Some were a bit weak but there has been no complete stinker. The overall quality level remains very high.
I really enjoyed the episode about the refinery workers' strike because it gave insight into the way society functions in the fleet. The fleet has been little more than window dressing so far. I found it interesting. I think the ending was a bit awkward but the provocative issues that were raised made it worthwhile.
I think the episode about Starbuck's death was brilliant. It was intense, emotional, illuminating and visually very well done. Sackhoff gave a fine performance of Kara's psychological meltdown. I'm still not sure I like the idea of snuffing such a central character but the epside did what it set out to do really well, IMO.