In the third episode of the second season of Battlestar Galactica, two leaders deal with the chaos of their situations in remarkably similar ways. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Battlestar Galactica.
Yeah, so this show is fantastic. I’ll just put that out there for the world to consume. I am simply flabbergasted by how exciting and suspenseful each episode is, that the writers find new ways to explore these characters, and that they made an entire episode without one appearance of Starbuck and it is still one hell of a story.
I think I’ve made it clear that I’m a sucker for parallels, both figurative and literal, and that I love when we can see how two story lines set so far apart can seem so close and intimate. “Fragged” works well in exploring how both Colonel Tigh and Crashdown deal with exponential chaos, with difficult situations that test their own patience and anger. They’re obviously not exactly the same, and they certainly don’t end the same, either. For me, though, “Fragged” explores two different realms of military control, and how those in charge can abuse their power.
It’s remarkable how quickly my sympathy for Tigh all but evaporate, and while I am still intrigued by his character, the events in “Fragged” don’t make me like him all that much. It was inevitable that he would have to deal with the fact that he was holding the President in the Brig, as I’m sure information passes quickly through the fleet. He starts out as I expected: he’s brash, dismissive, and rude, but he never takes things too far. Tigh understands his role, and he performs his duties within that. But this is a Tigh in a new role, and as the situation becomes more stressful, he begins to act out in erratic ways. Part of the reason for this is the way that Ellen enables his drinking, which does no service to him as the temporary Commander, and part of it is because he begins to lash out when he feels like he is not in control.
There are small examples of this, such as when he publicly scolds Lee twice when the mistake is actually his fault. He was the one who forgot about the Raptor crashed on Kobol, and he was the one who felt inadequate as the crew rushed to prepare ships for the rescue mission he couldn’t even remember. Yet he takes it out on everyone else, speaking to those below him with contempt and derision. It’s a disaster, basically, but it only gets worse when the Quorum of Twelve show up.
Down on Kobol, the situation continues to get worse, too. When Tyrol and Crashdown discover that the Cylon Centurions are constructing an anti-aircraft battery (OUT OF THEIR OWN SHIP HOLY SHIT), Crashdown is certain that there’s only one direction the surviving crew should take: they should do nothing aside from destroying the battery. From this point on, no one can agree. Well, that simplifies this a bit too much. First Tyrol thinks this is an awful, risky, and futile plan. How are five humans, three of which have had little to no firearms training, supposed to successfully take down a group of Centurions? I knew something was wrong, though, when Crashdown told Tyrol to calm down when Tyrol was already quite calm himself. Was Crashdown trying to set an example? For whom?
It doesn’t work for Baltar, who erupts in fury at the very notion of how terrible this plan is. But Crashdown refuses to listen and slips right into his military training. What’s frightening is how literal he is, and maybe that’s because it’s all he knows. He’s in charge, he’s familiar with combat, giving orders, and his inferiors obeying his commands. His great fault is that he is so inflexible, so unwilling to consider anything else.
It’s Tigh’s fault as well, and I was irritated and saddened by his progression throughout “Fragged.” His own wife gives him the idea to humiliate the President even further than she already has been. It was difficult to see her state regress due to withdrawal symptoms, and it angered me to think that Tigh had stuck her here like this. Yes, she was keeping her cancer a secret, so I don’t want it to seem like Tigh knew of this and was torturing her on purpose. Still, he refuses to see the military as anything but separate and superior to the government, and instead of working to make everyone happy, his goal is to gain more power and control.
As these two stories begin to reach their inevitable conclusion (or what I thought would be their expected endings), I once again found myself so transfixed by the events on screen that nothing else could hold my attention. I just barely started watching this show, and I’ve already lost count of how many times my whole body sat tense and still during Battlestar Galactica. I was hoping that Corporal Venner could get some chamalla, or that another situation would present itself to Crashdown and he’d sacrifice this suicide mission. I know that people use the freight train analogy often, and there’s a certain appeal to imagining that both of these character arcs are much like watching trains barreling towards their demise. With the weight of arrogance on Tigh’s part, and the weight of stubbornness on Crashdown, I expected the worst. With Roslin, though, I did not get that. Instead, I had the pleasure of watching Tigh’s entire plan come unraveling before him. Venner did get the chamalla to the President in time, and she’s able to make an eloquent speech condemning the military coup that tried to take down the government. Seeing that he’s losing control again, Tigh resorts to spilling the secret that Roslin believes she is some sort of “prophet,” expecting she’ll be embarrassed to be confronted by this.
AND SHE FUCKING ADMITS IT. Oh my god that is so terribly exciting to me. She tells them she has great cancer, that she’s dying, and that she truly believes she is fulfilling the role of “the leader” in Pythian prophecy. Now there are no secrets, and Roslin has used what once hurt her to her advantage. I LOVE HER FOREVER. That is such an amazing twist of my expectations.
I wish I could say the same for the scene on Kobol. Throughout our time there, Six continues to appear to Baltar, stressing how important it is for him to be a good “father,” not just for this eventual child they will have, but for the people he is with. It’s still unexplained how Six is able to be so prophetic and accurately so, but there it is: One member of the group will turn on the others. With this in mind, as the five survivors get into position to attack the Centurions, it became a guessing game for me: was one of these people a Cylon? What would the reason be for a betrayal? A sonic boom signals the arrival of the Raptor rescue mission, and Crashdown orders Cally to provide a distraction.
She refuses.
Oh god, I thought, PLEASE DON’T LET CALLY BE THE ONE TO BETRAY THEM ALL. But I quickly realized she was refusing out of fear. She wasn’t properly trained. She lacked the skills or the confidence. And she was not prepared to die for a mission that seemed pointless, especially since Tyrol points out it’s entirely possible that the Centurions have left the DRADIS dish unoccupied.
For Crashdown, though, his mind is in only one mode, and Cally just disobeyed an order. His order. He makes it like it’s a personal refusal, doesn’t he? And to my shock, he pulls out his gun and points it at Cally’s head. It’s probably the most tense moment of the series so far, especially because I believed Crashdown. He would do it. We know he means what he says, and I so desperately wished that Cally wouldn’t die.
When Tyrol pulled out his gun, I thought this story would be about his refusal to follow orders and instead choosing to do what is moral. (That’s very Lee Adama, actually.) You can imagine my surprise when Baltar was the one to shoot and kill Crashdown. WHAT? The scene turns to chaos, since the gunshot identifies their position to the Cylons, and I just sat there, mouth open, as I watched Seelix and Tryol both get shot. Oh. This is going to be a lot worse than I thought, isn’t it? When Tyrol stood up to go out in a blaze of glory, I was certain that I was viewing his final moments of life. Thankfully, in a wonderful reference to Saving Private Ryan, Lee’s Raptor fires on the approaching Cylons, and the crew is rescued.
There are a number of things that are simply mind-blowing and exciting about the end of “Fragged.” I really loved that the survivors on Kobol decided not to tell the truth, even if I don’t necessarily understand all the motivations for such a thing. How could you properly explain shooting your superior officer in the back when he ordered his crew to carry out a necessary mission? How could they ever convince anyone else that Crashdown had lost it, that they had to shoot him?
Additionally, Six surprises me with her claim that she’ll act as Baltar’s consciousness. I don’t get that. In what sense? To satisfy God? To satisfy the prophecy? Why did her face show so much longing and desperation as Baltar boarded the ship?
Yet out of everything, I was completely floored by the very end of the episode: Colonel Tigh has declared martial law and disbanded the Quorum of Twelve. WELL THAT IS A COMPLETE DISASTER IF I’VE EVER HEARD OF ONE. What are you doing, Tigh? You just made everything a thousand times worse.
Oh, Adama. Please wake up. 🙁
Look, when your name's Crashdown, you can't expect to have a long life expectancy. (At least he wasn't named Shotdownbybaltar.)
Oh God, I don't want to know what this means for Hot Dog.
I LOL'd.
Doesn't bode well for Boomer either.
Hey, there was actually a moment in this episode where I laughed! Imagine that. (Not that it's a new joke, but I'll take what I can get.)
<img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/20tfqzr.gif" alt="Tyrol shooting at cylons with a handgun and the cylons explode in a big fireball, after which Tyrol looks shocked at his gun until he turns around and sees the spaceship behind him that has come to rescue him.">
Bye Crashdown. I liked you while you weren't threatening Cally.
I died at this scene as well.
rofl Love that moment!
Ah, unexpected happy, lighthearted moments should be cherished.
Before Ron Moore crushes your dreams under his heel.
‘Why aren't you in the brig?’ ‘Um … because no one put me there.’ Love you Billy.
<img src="http://i53.tinypic.com/imm6mt.gif" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"> I could watch a whole episode of Dee and Gaeta as BFFs.
This episode can probably be summed up as it gets worse. For all that there’s the glimmer of hope with the people on Kobol being saved, that comes at a cost with Crashdown's death. And even though Roslin got the Chamalla in time it doesn't change the fact that she's still locked up in the Brig and now there isn't even a government any more. Adama needs to have woken up two episodes ago because it's hard to see how things can be fixed now.
As it appears obvious that the government cannot function under the current circumstances, I have decided to dissolve the Quorum of Twelve. And as of this moment, I have declared martial law.
<img src="http://i53.tinypic.com/2wqgzup.gif" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"> Well, this should end well.
Adama needs to have woken up two episodes ago
ACCURATE. While I love how realistic they're being with this (yeah, you don't just magically recover from being shot in the chest) I do miss Adama. Both as a person, and because you can just see how he would have done things differently.
Heck, I'd watch it. I love their long-suffering expressions in that gif!
This was the first episode that I hadn't seen before, and talk about unprepared!! I kept thinking I knew what was going to happen, and then I kept being wrong, which is actually awesome in this context lol.
"A dock is a place where supplies are loaded and unloaded. My title is Doctor, or Mr. Vice President, thank you."
"Well, you are loading stuff."
Here Zarek is fully supporting Roslin's position, despite his own attempts to use violence to end her presidency. It's up to each viewer whether this means his beliefs aren't conditional on who's wronged, or he's just a self-serving hypocrite. And either approach completely works, because in his few appearances he's become such a well-rounded character.
omg I totally forgot about the "dock" comment, that was great.
Best autocorrect moment ever:
"She tells them she has GREAT cancer, that she’s dying, and that she truly believes she is fulfilling the role of “the leader” in Pythian prophecy."
Hilarious, if I do say so myself. Also incredibly fitting, since her cancer is allowing her to take on this GREAT role. Oh Mark, never change…
Oh Tigh, you were doing so well when you had emergencies to focus on and solve and now it's all falling apart. Ellen being her usual unhelpul self. The scene where she visits Laura who's completely out of it is just so uncomfortable to watch. I desperately want Laura to snap out of it quicker or for Venner to ask Ellen to leave her alone but no. Lady MacTigh gets information she can use for her own ends. Damn it.
Poor Laura in general, watching the scenes where she's in withdrawl are so hard to watch. Mary McDonnell really sells the effects. Love her stepping up and making the speech to the Quorum (much lol is had at their new, slightly over the top sashes).
"Why aren't you in the brig?" "No-one put me there." hee Aww Billy, doing whatever he can to try and take care of Laura and get her Chamalla. He's actually pretty sneaky and manipulative about the whole thing. It doesn't seem like he really believes the Pythian prophecies but he knows to use the fact that Venner DOES believe to convince him to help out.
Seelix and Cally's responses when Gaius asks them if they've ever used guns before, nice bit of background for both of them, especially Cally. I love that Cally goes back to help Seelix after the latter's shot.
Tyrol's reaction after the the three Cylons he's shooting at blow up, to look at his gun for a second almost like "…wait…was that me?" before realising the Raptor's behind him is one of those small moments that I love for no real reason.
Ellen being her usual unhelpul self.
She's like the exact opposite to Jiminy Cricket.
"Frak the straight and narrow path!"
I like that Billy has such an innocent, boyish face. Makes it easier for him to get away with sneaky shit.
Oh, those sashes. When did they even find time to make them? Arts and crafts night on the fleet? I almost feel bad for the people lost some dresses (or lingerie) and jewelry to make those things. I'm so glad Roslin doesn't wear one.
Oh, Ellen. I think it's neat that both Tigh and Crashdown's plans were brought down due in part to bad intel.
Hey the survivours need to do something to take their minds off their situation, why not a Fleet-wide arts and crafts project? Okay there's probably a lot of other things they could do but this way they're also being productive!
Laura's far too awesome to wear a sash. Or the president just doesn't have to, either way.
That's probably when they made the model ships used in The Hand of God too. Creative and practical.
Next week: macaroni art of the Lords of Kobol.
Yup. She doesn't need adornment to call attention to her power. Maybe a nifty little scepter to bash upside Tigh's head, but other than that she doesn't need any help showing she's in charge.
Can there be a hidden button in the scepter that controls the closest airlock?
That's it, we're making you vice president of arts and crafts.
Mark's gonna later read and watch LotR for the first time.
"And here's one I made out of noodles!"
<img src="http://i52.tinypic.com/1r3vie.gif">
Words cannot describe how much I hate, hate Ellen Tigh. I don't always see why someone like her would add so much fuel to an already out of control fire, it doesn't always benefit Tigh. How would martial law benefit a man like Tigh??? How could someone married to Tigh, who enables Tigh like she does, NOT know what he can or can't handle? Martial Law NEVER ends well for the person declaring it. I would like Tigh so much more if it wasn't for her.
Argh….Why did she have to show up???
Much though I loathe Ellen, I kind of think that maybe she doesn't really understand what she's doing. She seems like one of those pushy people who wants you to succeed despite yourself. I think she genuinely believes that Tigh would be a great leader and everything, and she just can't accept that it's not what he wants, and he's not cut out for it.
I feel like since she's never had any difficulty taking charge and getting things done, she doesn't understand why her husband can't handle it, and puts it down to simple laziness or lack of motivation.
I met people like that in real life; who are convinced you can do something just because they can, and if you can't then you just aren't trying hard enough.
Yeah, I think Ellen just thinks "Power = Good," without thinking through the actual consequences for Tigh. She's used to manipulating everyone around her in order to get more power, and that includes power for her husband.
AHHH Laura Roslin, could I possibly love you more??? Sorry, but I flat out hated Tigh by the end of this episode. I understand a lot of the pressure he’s under, but what he tried to do to Roslin was just petty and cruel. Also, Ellen, will you please DIAF.
But Roslin fracking DOMINATES in this episode! I love how honest she’s being with this now – she couldn’t really have known how the Quorum would react to her beliefs, but she put them out there anyway, because she has that much conviction in what she’s doing. Also…did I just find myself siding with Tom Zarek? I may die of shock.
On a final note, the track ‘Martial Law’ is one of my favourites from the show. It’s just soooo grim and bleak and…well, I’ll try to post it…
Ahhh, I can’t embed videos! Someone help me out? It’s on Youtube.
(mod edit to add video)
[youtube YUuZpn_SUiw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUuZpn_SUiw youtube]
intensedebate has an embed video option for youtube videos, found above the comment text box. If you want, link the video and I can edit it into the comment I'm replying to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUuZpn_SUiw
Ah, thank you! I totally missed that! *facepalm*
I agree, I love the parallels. I wondered if there would ever be a mutiny against Tigh as he's very good at his job when he's not drunk, not particularly well-liked by anyone besides Adama, and his name rhymes with Bligh.Then Crashdown has been built up as an incompetent, inexperienced leader in the past couple of episodes, with lots of tension between him and Tyrol. So when I saw that this episode was entitled "Fragged," I got excited. I anxiously enjoyed their poor choices and failures. I was a little surprised that Baltar was the one who pulled the trigger, but he has been set up for it through out the episode with Six's reflections on humans and murder. I also figure that Tyrol would be a lot more reluctant to kill someone he worked closely with. I suppose they decided to lie because it was murder, and the officers on the ship wouldn't exactly be thrilled to hear that they had fragged a lieutenant. It also preserves Crashdown's reputation, so it's for the best. By the way, we're really burning through secondary characters.
Oops. I was wrong about Roslin! I'm glad that she was received better than I had expected, and it was best to stop pretending before she was exposed in a more embarrassing way, such as in front of the press. But I'm still worried that it's going to be used against her, and not only will it hurt her reelection chances, it will make it more difficult for her to lead the fleet to Earth. I'd like to see what Zarek does in response to this news.
They also really need to set up an emergency fleet med school (Cally can go! It's almost like dental school!) because their only doctor is an older chain smoker, and that worries me.
I wonder what Cottle's going to do when they eventually run out of smokes.
Kill everyone. I mean, christ, look how cranky he is even with nicotine.
New fleet priority: Find cigarettes, or at the very least a tobacco like plant.
and his name rhymes with Bligh
lol best reason.
"GREAT CANCER" OH MARK
I had to look up why this episode is called "Fragged" and it made me sad.
Doc Cottle! FINALLY.
"Is he gonna make it?" "How should I know, I'm not a psychic! Now get the hell out of here!" Ha ha, Tigh has finally found someone more crotchety than he is.
So I just found out that the guy who plays Crashdown has a band… called the Crashtones. 100% TRUFAX.
I like how the people stranded on Kobol actually LOOK like they're stranded on a planet. Messy hair, cuts on their faces. They don't look like they just stepped out of a hair and makeup trailer, is what I'm saying. Even the women–a lot of shows keep the women looking well-groomed and pretty at all times, which annoys me.
"I just joined to pay for dental school." That one line says a lot.
"Maybe that's why I'm an officer and you're not." 🙁 stop it Crash!
LOL POWERPOINT PRESENTATION WITH STICKS.
"Sit down and shut up right now." FINALLY someone tells Baltar to shut up. I love Chief, and how committed he is to the chain of command, even though he knows Crash isn't the best person to be in charge.
"I'm from Gemenon! We believe in the literal truth of the scriptures." Oh so you're like those literal-Bible-people who think the universe was created in six days?
Ellen, y u so evil.
"I am God's instrument." Well maybe he'd rather play the tuba, Gaius.
"What happens on Kobol is not his will." Did anyone else think she was going to say "what happens on Kobol stays on Kobol"?
Aaand the moment Crash points the gun at Cally is when I stop having ANY sympathy for him. And Gaius was completely justified, I think. It was an awful, awful situation.
Noooo Selix don't get shot you are my favorite
Noooo Chief don't get shot you are also my favorite
Chiiieeeeeeeef! Haha I love the look on his face when the Cylons EXPLODE, and he just looks at the gun in his hand like "…what?"
Laura breaks it the fuck out at the last minute HELL YEAH.
I do like that Gaius says that Crash died a hero. He might be trying to save his own ass and not have to admit that he shot him, but he's also preserving the guy's honor. Anyway, I guess what happens on Kobol really DOES stay on Kobol…
Who DID Six mean when she said one of them would betray the others? Cally didn't carry out a military order. Crash turned his gun on Cally. Baltar shot Crash. I think it's most likely to be Crashdown she was referring to, but it could be any of them.
TOO MANY EPISODES WITHOUT ADAMA 🙁 WAAAAKE UP! THERE IS MARTIAL LAW AND SHIT! COME BAAAAACK.
Spoilery:
Fbzrgvzrf V guvax guvf fubj jbhyq unir orra ybnqf orggre vs vg unq orra n frnfba be gjb fubegre. Vs gurl unq orra sbeprq gb erfbyir gur Rnegu cybgyvar n ovg rneyvre, znlor vg jbhyqa'g unir ghearq vagb fhpu n qvfnccbvagzrag.
EXTREMELY spoilery:
Gur jvxv nfxf vs Ynhen'f evatvat va ure rnef gung VZZRQVNGRYL FGBCF jura Ryyra yrnirf pbhyq zrna gung Ynhen unf n cebcurgvp Plyba qrgrpgbe va ure oenva. V ZHFG YBBX SBE ZBER FVTAF BS GUVF.
Tigh has finally found someone more crotchety than he is.
I think the universe would implode if someone was more crotchety than Doc Cottle. Their "When will he wake up?" "Knowing him, when he damn well wants to." at the end makes me lol every time.
RE EXTREMELY spoilery:
V unqa'g rira gubhtug bs gung, V whfg nffhzrq vg jnf nabgure fvqr rssrpg yvxr ure pbashfvba naq enzoyvat. V xabj vg'f havagragvbany ohg vg'f njshyyl pbairavrag gung vg raqrq jura fur yrsg.
Personally, I'd like to see a Doc Cottle/Granny Weatherwax face-off. The universe probably would implode.
Psshht, Granny Weatherwax would eat him for breakfast. 😛
Did anyone else think she was going to say "what happens on Kobol stays on Kobol"?
I totally did! Great minds think alike, clearly. 😛
Gung ynfg guvat vf cerggl pbby ohg…lrnu, V qba'g frr vg ernyyl jbexvat. Fur fher nf uryy qvqa'g frr Gbel pbzvat, qvq fur? Hayrff fur whfg unq n creznarag evatvat va ure rnef gur jubyr gvzr gurl jrer gbtrgure.
Un, V guvax vg'f zber yvxr gur jvguqenjny rssrpgf (be cbffvoyl gur rssrpgf bs ure zntvpny pnapre) znqr ure zber frafvgvir gb gung xvaq bs guvat. Fur qvqa'g rkuvovg nal hahfhny fvtaf jura fur svefg ZRG Ryyra.
I have a feeling I would not like living on Gemenon if that's the norm. :/
I want to like Gemenon, because I'm a Gemini! But I don't think I'd like it there too much.
Well, Caprica is its twin, right? You can just say you're from its other half! I'm a Sagittarius, which is apparently the most oppressed planet, and don't get me started on my sign in MSPA. My god.
Well I'm a libra and I don't know which planet that is but I do know gung zl Plyba jnf gbb jrnx sbe gur jbeyq, fb gunax lbh irel zhpu.
Yeah, I was glad nobody told me what fragged meant till after I watched this cause it would have been hella spoilery.
At first I was like "Wait, Fragged? Not Fracked?"
"Wait, Fragged? Not Fracked?"
Exactly what I thought. I thought maybe they changed it to Frag based on certain grammatical usage. *facepalm*
The phrase "What happens on Kobol, stays on Kobol" absolutely needs to be on something. Like a t-shirt, or a mug. Hey, I would totally buy it.
"Who DID Six mean when she said one of them would betray the others? Cally didn't carry out a military order. Crash turned his gun on Cally. Baltar shot Crash. I think it's most likely to be Crashdown she was referring to, but it could be any of them."
I wondered that as well. I assumed she meant Crash, but it's fun in a mind-twisty kind of way to think she said it just so Baltar would be more willing to shoot one of his teammates, thus making it a self-fullfilling prophecy.
"I am God's instrument." Well maybe he'd rather play the tuba, Gaius.
This line still makes me lol every time I happen back on it.
For the first 30 minutes or so I was like hey! things have finally slowed down kind of! (still pretty intense, but for bsg it seemed calmer) AND THEN SHIT GO SO REAL. SERIOUSLY LULLED INTO A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY. I was expecting something to go down with Crashdown eventually because he was giving all this weird/creepy looks but I wasn't expecting THAT. I actually thought that maybe he was a Cylon but him pulling a gun on poor Cally was so much worse and unexpected 🙁
What’s frightening is how literal he is, and maybe that’s because it’s all he knows. He’s in charge, he’s familiar with combat, giving orders, and his inferiors obeying his commands. His great fault is that he is so inflexible, so unwilling to consider anything else.
I think the reason he's so literal and so inflexible is because this really isn't what he knows. He's been taught the classroom version, but never done any practical application. Tyrol knows it, but military ranking structure being what it is, Tyrol has no authority and Crashdown is fucking terrified. He's doing his best, but his best isn't good enough. He's confused leadership with inflexibility.
Also he was hot. Super, super hot. Poor boy.
I agree with everything you just said (including the last part T_T ) Part of me also felt like he thought they were all going to die anyway, so it didn't really matter how they died, the whole thing was hopeless. Might as well go with what you know and try to take out as many Cylons as you can before you go.
I think the reason he's so literal and so inflexible is because this really isn't what he knows. He's been taught the classroom version, but never done any practical application.
Yes! This exactly! He's a trained pilot. That's what he knows. The same way that Cally joined up to pay for dental school, he joined up to fly a raptor. His only experience with ground combat was years ago in field exercises with paintball guns or something. Guy is completely lost, and he doesn't know what to do about it. Kinda sad.
Completely agree with all of this. I was gonna make a comment about the Peter Principal or something but that isn't really right, what you've said is more accurate. He's a pilot trained in peacetime who suddenly finds himself in charge of a group of near-civilians in the middle of a war on a strange planet – and he's just watched several of his group be killed. Very rarely is someone going to be able to rise to that challenge, he just doesn't have the experience.
I think a big part is that he feels guilt for the deaths of Socinus and Tarn. He was the one who rejected Chief's idea of checking their supplies before they moved out, and he was the one who sent Tarn to what ended up being his death. So he feels like he HAS to do something to make up for it, even if everyone dies in the process. And rather than admit that his decisions are partly responsible for what happened, he clings ever more tightly to his leadership role because he doesn't know how to do anything else.
Part of what I loved is Tyrol's defense of the military structure. This is the kind of situation where it's most needed: stranded on a planet, hostiles in the area, and cut off from military command. Because of military rank, everyone knows who is in control. If a clear leader hadn't been defined, it's likely everything would have fallen apart much earlier on (could you imagine if they gave Gaius a vote?). However, Crashdown lacked any kind of experience. He may have gone through officer training, but on a day to day basis, he pretty much is given orders to follow. Tyrol, on the other hand, is the highest ranking NCO on Galactica, and has experience with command over everyone on the deck, especially during high-stress battle conditions.
Even an officer with more experience, like Apollo, would probably consult with the Chief in a situation like this, because as an engineer, he would have a different assessment of their condition, and as the CPO, he would have a better understanding of how his crew could be best handled.
Crashdown is so green, however, that he's insecure. And after the deaths of Sonicus and Tarn, he's left feeling guilty, and even MORE insecure, which in my opinion is why he can't accept any criticism. He has to prove to everyone he can do this properly, to make up for his perceived failure. It reminds me of how Adama advised Lee to stop dwelling on the Olympic Carrier, and move on. This is what can happen if you let the doubts affect your judgement.
I'm really enjoying BSG much more than I thought I would.
My jaw drops at least once an episode; for this episode it dropped when Gaius killed Crashdown. I was shocked that Gaius actually did something, but it doesn't seem too out of character. Tigh's declaration of martial law earned a face palm. Just when I was starting to sympathize with him, he pulled this crap!
I agree that Baltar's actions were completely in character. Faced with the prospect of being ordered to do something dangerous, Baltar takes steps to protect himself. I think protecting Cally was incidental.
She so would. <3
Oh no, sorry! I totally knew that as well, just wasn't thinking!
Wow, I'm just failing all over the place today.
"As it appears obvious that the government cannot function under the current circumstances, I have decided to dissolve the Quorum of Twelve. And as of this moment, I have declared martial law….Get those people the hell off my ship."
"As of this moment, I have declared martial law….Get those people the hell off my ship."
"Get those people the hell off my ship."
"…my ship."
"…my ship."
"MY. SHIP."
<img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1046/532491458_b6660a577a.jpg">
best scrolldown LOL ever.
What is that, a terror bird?
It's a shoebill. I think it's often called a shoebill stork, but it's currently considered more of a pelican, and there's some speculation that it might be a sort of living link between the two.
And to be fair, aside from when they look absolutely terrifying (which, granted, is like ninety-nine percent of the time), they actually just look really awkward and dorky.
Where is my Starbuck? 🙁
The other day, I was pointing out to my friend who loves BSG that the actor who plays Crashdown is the lead in the Being Human remake on the network formerly known as Sci-Fi. She hates him on there and has nothing but bad things to say about him, so I was shocked that she didn't realize that he'd been on one of her favorite shows in a fairly prominent role. So I pointed it out to her and there's this pause, and she goes, "Crashdown? I don't remember–*pause* OHHH. HIM. Yeah, I remember that now. Yeah, he's the same actor." So I already had kind of a hint that maybe he wasn't going to last very long but I didn't think he'd die so soon. But dude, the man had a gun to Cally's head. HE HAD TO DIE. THERE WAS NO REDEMPTION FROM THAT.
I'm pretty late to season two.
I'm so glad Tigh got developed more before this all happened. He's a much more interesting and well constructed bad guy than Zarek is and the last couple of episodes did a much better job establishing what is going on in his head than say, the last season did. I am loving this season so hard so far.
Gaius Baltar what is in your brain? This is a twist I didn't see coming, and finally a character dies that wasn't nameless :/. Also I just think you should know the Kobol storyline resulted in a half hour conversation about who would be who if this was Gilligan's Island.
Also I just think you should know the Kobol storyline resulted in a half hour conversation about who would be who if this was Gilligan's Island.
THAT
IS
AWESOME!
Everybody else said Gaius is the Professor but I made him Mr Howell and Six was the Prof (Ginger is too obvious.) Now that I know the end I'm not so sure.
Cally's definitely Mary Ann and Chief is Gilligan. Other than that, I don't have very strong opinions. Maybe Gaius is the Skipper.
Well Crash is Skipper in that relationship because he has Tyrol doing his gruntwork. Lol I guess Gaius could be Ginger, too? HE IS AN ENIGMA. But I like him as Mr/ Howell best. Beyond that I'm not putting thought into anyone whose name I can't remember.
Noybusiness: "Mark, are you going to watch the two telemovies in chronological in-universe order or in airing order? And are you going to watch the online webisodes at all?"
NB2000: "I'd like to make a very strong argument for watching at least the second one in in airing order. Since the last time this was discussed it's hit me that watching it in the chronological order I've seen in some suggested lists is a TERRIBLE idea for Mark."
Noybusiness: "Yeah, the earliest it would spoil nothing is right after episode 4.15"
Noybusiness: "Mark, I was just thinking. If you aren't watching Torchwood: Miracle Day by yourself (and I hope you're not), it would be a good thing to do for Mark Watches between the end of Battlestar and the beginning of Buffy."
Noybusiness: "Mark, I strongly recommend watching the Extended Version of episode 2.10 instead of the Regular Version. The Regular Version is on the DVD set for the first half of Season 2 (Season 2.0), the Extended Version is on the Season 2.5 DVD set."
Because I forgot that Mark doesn’t do reviews on weekends, I watched this episode (and episode 4) Friday. So I’ve been waiting all weekend to say: TIGH WHAT THE FRACK?!? Martial law? I know he’s being influenced a lot by Ellen and his drinking at this point, but still, I hope Adama wakes up ASAP to give him a good kick in the pants and ask him what the hell he was thinking! (In a total old friends way, of course.)
Seeing Roslin going through withdrawal was so hard to watch. I don’t think I’ve ever cheered for a character simply standing up and talking clearly before. The way she pwned Tigh in that scene filled my heart with joy.
Other things:
• “Is he gonna make it?” “How should I know, I’m not a psychic!” Haha, I love Dr. Cottle.
• LOL forever at the Cylons blowing up and Chief looking at his handgun like, “Did I do that?”
• “I’ll be your conscious.” Tonight, the role of Jiminy Cricket will be played by Number Six.
• “Great cancer”: The new “Waterfalls of win”? 😉
Oh gods, I forgot, the Kobol storyline. 🙁 On one hand, I can see why Crashdown thought taking down the dish was necessary, but that plan was a disaster from the outset. Loved the Chief picking up on the fact that this is really about Socinus and Tarn. I think Crash felt responsible for their deaths, that he wasn’t a good enough leader for them, and he was determined that destroying the cylons was going to be his way of making it up to them, even if that meant risking the remaining survivors in the process. And once he pulled that gun on Cally there was no way it was going to end well for him. (I do wonder why Baltar lied about it, though: to keep himself out of hot water, or to protect Crash's reputation?)
You can totally ignore me if you want but I've just noticed you split up your comments a lot. It's easier to read your split up comments if your second comment is a reply to the first. Then they're not separated and when I sort the comments by last activity, they will still be in order.
I do split up comments, because almost always I'll get a message saying my initial post is too long. Thanks though, I'll try making them comments from now on.
Whcih browser are you using? I normally use Internet Explorer and I always got that same message when I tried to post long-ish comments using it, for whatever reason though Firefox (my backup browser) doesn't bring up a message no matter how long my comment.
Can someone please explain to me how to translate the spoiler comments on this site? I must not have been paying attention in class the day you all invented that little trick.
You can translate them at this website. (It can also be used to encode them)
http://www.rot13.com/
The full name of the code is "rotate 13," meaning to move each letter to the one 13 spaces ahead in the alphabet including wraparound from Z to A if necessary. Since our alphabet has exactly twice that many letters, just doing it again gives you the original message.
Code geek here.
muchas gracias!
http://www.rot13.com
What was everyone's take on the fact that Six declared Baltar was now "a man?"
At first I thought that maybe it was because he had finally taken an unselfish act, and saved Cally, but wasn't there still an element of selfishness in his actions, since he felt threatened about being commanded by someone who was clearly losing control of himself? My only other theory is that Baltar is now "a man," because instead of his usual, manipulative ways of getting things accomplished, Baltar took the initiative and physical action to solve his problem.
There's also the question of if she meant he was 'a man' because he had shot someone, either because, as she later said, it makes him 'a human' or for some sexist kind of idea/stereotype that 'real men' have to be soliders/killers/violent or whatever.
I love the reviews, but I found this comment interesting:
"He’s in charge, he’s familiar with combat, giving orders, and his inferiors obeying his commands. His great fault is that he is so inflexible, so unwilling to consider anything else."
I'm a Marine (I got out as a corporal), and my analysis is actually precisely the opposite. Crashdown acted like a spoiled boot (n00b) officer who refused to listen to the senior enlisted whom he had at his disposal, which is a fairly common problem in the military. You have to remember that, as a lieutenant, he likely has not been in for very long, while he has a Chief who can give him the wisdom of years of military experience (and tries, but is very foolishly rebuffed). He's not as in charge as he should be because he has no combat experience. Remember, he was a pilot during peacetime, and this also explains his overly literal methods of planning their mission – his only experience is that of the classroom and hypotheticals. He's also probably not used to giving orders and having them obeyed with the exception of, "Fix my bird." His problems would be rooted in class. He's not used to interacting with enlisted and disregards what any of them have to say, even if they have years of experience on him. His inflexibility is actually rooted in his insecurity; it's just overcompensation for his awareness of the fact that he's a junior officer who has no idea what the frak he's doing. I say all this solely because I spend this entire episode shouting, "Listen to your frakking chief, butterbar!" Just a tidbit of military perspective. Thanks for the reviews!
im currently re-watching season 4 and all i can say is YOU ARE NOT PREPARED.
The information here is first class, I hop I can come back again when I have the time.