In the sixth episode of the second season of Battlestar Galactica, with the fleet split up, Commander Adama is forced to deal with limited supplies. Meanwhile, Starbuck and Help return to Roslin with a surprise that threatens to upset the plan for Kobol. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Battlestar Galactica.
I hesitate to say that this is the “slowest” episode I’ve seen so far, because I don’t want to imply that it’s boring or uninteresting or anything of the sort. It’s like watching the first half of a chess game, except with a lot of fighting and awkwardness. The pieces are set up for the second half of this story, and in the process, a lot of character interactions are explored.
It’s interesting to me, though, that this episode both suffers from and then ultimately rejects a method of dialogue that I generally dislike. I’m actually excited to discuss it with all of you and hopefully find other examples, but I am not really a fan of characters who refuse to communicate with one another. Now, perhaps my perception of things is different when it comes to interactions in my life, but I’m fairly direct when I speak to other people. I acknowledge that shyness or social anxiety or any number of things prevent even myself from being fully truthful or open with other people, but I want to distinguish what I want to bring up from that.
I’ll start with an example. I dearly love LOST, but one of my main gripes was the fact that so few characters either spoke to one another–truly attempted to have a conversation–or asked ANY IMPORTANT QUESTIONS AT ALL. And I know that Battlestar Galactica has to do that to an extent for the same reasons. Both shows have a serialized mythology and mystery at the core of their storytelling, and there’s no interest, intrigue, or dramatic tension if things are revealed too early. With the complexity of LOST‘s story at hand, things were even more cryptic, ambiguous, or passive-aggressive than what I usually see. But for a show so steeped in realism, both in the technical details and the way these characters interact with one another, there were quite a few moments in “Home, Part I,” that just seemed odd and out of place because of this veryΓ’β¬Β¦.is it a trope? I couldn’t find it on TVTropes.
I suppose I should give examples. The first of those happens when Lee confronts Boomer in her cell. While I of course understand his rush to pull a gun out on her due to his anger at what the other Boomer did, I couldn’t help but scratch my head and think, “DUDE. YOU HAVE A CYLON. IN YOUR POSSESSION. WHO APPEARS TO BE WILLING TO TELL AND DO ANYTHING FOR YOU. ASK HER WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON.” Yes, I acknowledge that his emotions over the attempt on his father’s life would certainly cloud his judgment, but then no other character ever does this onscreen.
But fine, I’ll concede to Roslin’s reasoning that any attention given to a Cylon is a further risk for everyone else. Yet what about the scene where Lee tries to talk to Starbuck about what happened to her on Caprica? Look, I have only been in two relationships, and I am shit at dating, so yes, I could be grossly inexperienced, but I have friends! I talk with people! And none of us speak to one another like Starbuck and Lee do. Why are you talking about the ball? Why are you both speaking like you haven’t ever met before? SMALL TALK ARE YOU SERIOUS? And just when I felt like I was going to punch myself in the face out of irritation, Lee suddenly sits down, his back to Starbuck, and he speaks very plainly. He tells her that he is her friend, that she can come to him if she needs to talk, and he maaaayyyyy have said he loves her. Which is a totally separate, adorable point we can discuss later, but I suddenly felt very weird about their bizarre dialogue. This is much more realistic for these two characters or people in general. Wouldn’t you say?
It happens again, though it is much briefer than this example, at the end of the episode, when Adama speaks with Dualla in his cabin. For a second, I thought we were going to see Adama ask for Dualla’s opinion, get mad at it, then dismiss her and defeat the whole purpose of her even coming there. But then Dualla stands up to her Commander (in a way) to tell him it is time to heal. It’s a powerful statement for her to make, because deep down, Adama knows she’s right. It’s not just a message about his pain and rage, as it started off, but a way for him to reflect on the arrogance of his own actions. Which is more important: supporting the military or keeping the fleet together?
Oh, also? Birch is an awful CAG. It’s time to acknowledge mistakes and move forward. DO IT, ADAMA. BRING THE FLEET TOGETHER.
And I don’t want to ignore the difficulties and conflicts with Roslin’s party either. I think I was anticipating the appearance of Boomer on the Astral Queen more than anything. When the camera focused on Lee and got all slow motion on me, I feared we’d see yet another death. (This show has a lot of death, doesn’t it?) But then Helo saves her. Then Roslin. Then Roslin orders her placed out of the airlock. OH CHRIST BUT YOU PROMISED.
I don’t know if Boomer is necessarily lying about knowing how to find the Tomb of Athena, but I’m hoping her presence will shed light on how the Cylons operate. She makes a statement later to Roslin that she isn’t connected to other Cylons, and I’m inclined to believe her. So are they remotely controlled? If so, how can this Boomer go against her Cylon programming to sabotage Cylon efforts? WHY AREN’T PEOPLE ASKING THESE QUESTIONS?
I’m thinking that the fact that she was able to conceive with Helo is going to be a huge plot point. Boomer feels love and it seems no Cylon has before. Is this very human emotion what severs her from the other Cylons? Given the events in “The Farm,” will the humans allow Boomer to give birth in the future, or will they get rid of her before this? I DON’T EVEN WANT TO THINK OF SUCH THINGS. I am hoping–dearly hoping–that this isn’t the case, and after the events on Kobol, how can they deny that Boomer is there to help them?
At the end of “Home, Part I,” I realized that this show is going to do something I don’t think I’ve ever seen before: the collective cast will continually diminish. Unless we get some glimpse far into the future, I am guessing that the population count during the opening credits will continue getting smaller and smaller. I never once considered that Elosha could die, and yet her bloodied body was sprawled on the ground, and Roslin weeps over her. Christ, this show is going to kill off a priest who has done nothing wrong and merely was trying to help them reach the promised land?
This is fucked up.
One last thing before I move on to the second part of this story: I found it super unrealistic and HILARIOUS that everyone would allow Roslin to wear a coat that fucking bright. I’m sorry, anyone EVER could see her a mile away, and they’re trying to hide from the Cylons. To be honest, though, she looked fucking fabulous in it.
Onwards!
Previously on Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game
I tried to inaugurate my BSG game with some newbies, but it took forever for the group to gather, so by the time I got done explaining the rules, it was too late to play the whole game. We only made it through the first jump cycle…
…during which we got THREE CYLON ATTACK CARDS. Two in a row, then a skill check, then another one. I had already run out of basestars, and we had all the Vipers out soon, and I had placed nearly all the Raiders, Heavies, and civvies on the board by the end. Starbuck managed to avoid being hit many times, and Boomer held her own, although, luckily, she never had to withstand a Raider activation when there were seven Raiders in her sector.
Starbuck kept refusing to use her Secret Destiny to bury the Attack cards over and over since it was so early, and we kept getting hammered by the basestar attacks until Baltar thankfully disabled the weapons on one. Baltar and Chief were both able to help with repairs, too, so we managed to scrape by fairly well and jumped early without losing any population thanks to Boomer's Strategic Planning.
Also, I, as Adama, took the Presidency away from Roslin and became Pradmiral because she made me discard cards instead of just taking the Food hit. I had checked her Loyalty card and knew she was human, but she was being a crappy President!
We quit because it was late only to discover that Starbuck had been a Cylon. Godsdammit!
Being Pradmiral is the best. π
I always abuse my power as President so badly when I play Roslin (eg, all the time). I'm like 'lol President decides you can all discard your cards and I'll just keep all mine screw you guys I have my own ship'
Can you explain where does this come from? Is it local or online?
I also heard there's an online BSGRPG in the BSG official page. Is that true?
Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game.
I don't know about the RPG.
Looks good! No Apolo on the cover, lol.
The online game is on the BSG official page supposedly. You make yourself an account and you can be a Cylon or a human and fight the other side. I was told it was better to be a Cylon because humans are pathetic and don't win much xD
Not much to say about this episode except that Kobol is clearly trying to give Cylon Occupied Caprica a run for it's money for the 'Wettest Planet Ever' award.
Heh. Well with Anders on one and Helo on the other, how could it not be?
I AM SORRY THAT IS JUST WHERE MY MIND WENT.
It's my belief that Helo had to leave Caprica, because if he and Anders stay on the same planet for too long, it would blow up due to the combined explosions of everyone's ovaries.
Well that's one way to destroy the Cylon's baby-farming plot!
WELL PLAYED. LOL
*slow clap*
Rimshot
Wow. Flawless.
AHAHAHA I LOVE YOU AND THIS COMMENT
Okay, I know that everyone yesterday was feeling the Sam/Kara love but DUDE. HOW FREAKING ADORABLE ARE LEE AND KARA IN THIS EPISODE???? Yeah, the dialogue is a little bit off, but I always chalked it up to the two of them never being good about talking about ~feelings~ and all of a sudden trying to do it. I'm sorry, I just love the two of them.
I just figured they were feeling awkward after the spontaneous kiss. I did love the "You LOVE me?!" moments, because how old are these two? Ten?
I swear, they are stuck in elementary school. There has yet to be an episode to convince me otherwise. I keep expecting Lee to pull Kara's hair.
Totally! When he was like "no, I'm not giving you the ball back! It's mine now! Finders keepers!" I was like WHAT ARE YOU LIKE EIGHT
I find it so interesting that aside from their interactions with each other, they're both … kinda … grown-up, more or less. But they have that childishness together, and Lee's frakked up jealousy in 1×12, and Kara's tendency to retreat and shut him out and do the exact other thing and make jokes when he is obvious about his feelings.
And also, him bouncing the ball on her head was awesome.
I suppose their relationship is made more confusing by the fact that she was engaged to his dead brother, which probably means that Lee is at least somewhat rationalising his feelings for her as reflected jealousy out of loyalty to Zach, as well as sisterly affection. If he does admit to himself that he thinks of her "that way" he might also feel guilt that he is betraying his dead brother. On Kara's side of it, well, I know if it was me, it would just be weird. I've never had relationships with siblings. I think that would be a strange and awkward territory to negotiate, especially if the first one that I loved died.
That's the thing, I ship both Sam/Kara AND Lee/Kara. A person can have feelings for more than one person in their lifetime (OR EVEN IN THE SAME WEEK). And I like that rather than going for "LEE IS KARA'S ONE TRUE LOVE AND SHE NEVER LOVES ANYONE ELSE," they show that she can, in fact, care about other people, which is a departure from many fandoms I've been a part of.
I love many comments, but I really love this one. <3
I ship Kara with everyone, awesome happens where she is.
On the other hand, I can totally understand her being torn – Sam is so, so sweet (like a romantically available Helo, really) and Lee is exciting and challenging, yet so familiar, like home, and it feels kinda wrong because he is her brother, in a way, but the attraction is there, and I love thinking myself into quadrangles like that.
Naq gura gurer'f Yrbora. Jub vf gbgnyyl jebat naq fur fubhyq arire or jvgu uvz – rfcrpvnyyl tvira uvf ernpgvba va 4k11 (naq jnf gung rira ure, gura?) – ohg vg'f fb pbzcryyvat gb jngpu gubfr gjb.
Actually, the crap dialogue doesn't even matter here – just look at the two of them.
The moment he says 'I love you', there's a v. slight shift of expression on Kara's face, almost like she's surprised to hear that. And then she cheers up just a little bit, enough to smile when he leaves the room – frakkin' adorable. And all kudos to Jamie Bamber and Katee Sackhoff for making it work, so well.
Now you start to see why some of the fans call Roslin "President Airlock."
I believe the trope you're looking for is "poor communication kills," though it's actually a whole family of pages on the site.
Lol at Helo calling her 'the nice lady' just minutes before she orders his girlfriend out the airlock.
Particularly when you remember he has no idea who she is.
And equally lol at Lee telling him "That's the President of the Colonies, you moron!" It's rather a brilliant moment because it goes from tense to funny and back again like 0-60.
I think Cannot Spit It Out is probably the closest to what Mark is talking about here.
Well, maybe not (I reply to myself). There doesn't seem to be a specific trope for "nobody asks the important questions for no reason."
I am finally caught up after my vacation and I find that I have nothing much to say about this episode!
How many redshirts were lost in addition to Elosha? I definitely saw at least one guy go down. And I can only assume that the other characters we've never seen before are possible candidates in Part II, but it's been so long since I've seen it that I can't remember. Redshirts are seriously my favorite sci-fi trope.
"Redshirts are seriously my favorite sci-fi trope."
Can I ask why? Is it just the lol factor of ~wonder who's gonna die?~
I think it's because it relieves tension in stressful situations. Like if it's all main characters in a dangerous situation I get really stressed out, but if they made a point of half-assedly introducing random people like five minutes before, I just assume that said random people are going to be the ones getting killed and I don't have to worry about the characters I am attached to.
The caveat being that sometimes it's not the redshirts that die, and they are more like red herrings than redshirts. Then I get happy that the trope has been pleasantly subverted. I always feel like that's a victory for redshirts everywhere, like…take that, named main character, you are dead and I, the redshirt, have won the day!
Unless you're George R. R. Martin where nobody is a redshirt and everybody I get attached to dies in horrible ways. Damn that man.
(Sorry, that was a lot of words for what was actually a pretty simple question!)
Well, I appreciate the thorough answer!
And you reminded me of Galaxy Quest and oh, I really should rewatch that sometime soon.
Hee, I'd never really thought about why I like redshirts so much, so you got my word vomit, hooray!
I have never seen Galaxy Quest. I should fix this.
Galaxy Quest is a movie that's a fantastically loving parody of sci-fi tropes. If you do watch it, I really hope you like it!
I haven't seen this movie in so long, but it is FANTASTIC.
If you love the redshirt trope you will almost certainly love Galaxy Quest!
Ahhhhh…I really want to quote it now but I guess that would count as a spoiler. It's a very quotable movie though! And definitely in my top ten favourite movies. WATCH IT.
Haha I thought of Galaxy Quest too! I love Sam Rockwell in that movie.
Whether or not it's a trope, I do have desire to yell "FUCKING TALK TO EACH OTHER" quite frequently while watching tv. I suppose it's a part of genre-unsavviness. Which I dislike. (You're a space faring race and you build sophisticated AIs? You partly deserve it.)
Anyway, have a gif.
<img src="http://i52.tinypic.com/10mq2qr.gif" alt="Starbuck walking up and Lee hugging her.">
(Without the kiss because that was awkwaaaard.)
And an excerpt from How Magical is Your Negro:
LOLOLOL oh Mystic Falls. That place is such a death trap.
Omg. That kiss was like the very definition of awkward. I mean, obviously Lee did not have the benefit of watching the previous episode so he doesn't know tha t there is something going on between Sam and Kara, but oooomg. I got such bad secondhand embarrassment from the kiss.
Is that paragraph saying that everyone who should stand up is a fully-realized character and the ones who should sit down or leave are Magical Negroes? That's how I'm reading it, but I could be wrong. My love for Zoe and Hardison could be blinding me.
Correct. The line after that paragraph is "Real black people got some work to do."
(I love the idea of Hardison cheering on Zoe as she somersaults and shoots up bad guys and everything. And doing…bad things to Fox in his hacker rage.)
This is apparently an unpopular opinion based on the other comments but I love Kara and Lee. LOVE THEM! Especially in this scene, when she gives that little smile the moment she sees him. Squee
*HIGH FIVE*
I like the moment when Lee hears her voice coming over the wireless communication thingy and he smiles in surprise and happiness.
I also like the kiss, no matter how awkward and maybe a bit inopportune, but sweet. I squeaked out loud when I first saw that.
And then he has to become a jerk the next moment, "thanks for bringing in the trash." No matter your opinion on Boomer/Sharon (which might be excusable since her lookalike just shot at his father) but how is any of that Kara's fault? Sometimes I'm so conflicted about Lee. SHUT UP LEE. KEEP TALKING LEE. SHUT UP LEE.
You're not alone, I love them in this episode too. Space pilots are adorable when they're not mad at each other, and (even more unpopular opinion) I like the kiss. And I don't think Starbuck was repulsed either π
Shoot me, but I actually like the kiss. It was sweet, and I kind of like my hot space pilots a tiny bit carried away and then dazed and confused as a result.
I can understand why there might be some hesitation when it comes to asking Boomer questions about the Cylons. They obviously still don’t completely trust her so there’s no guarantee that what she’s saying is true- maybe her answers will just confuse them. There’s also the possibility that she could assess their knowledge of the Cylons through the questions they are asking her and figure out how little or how much they know about the Cylons. Then she could relay that information back to the Cylons (assuming there is a network and that she is connected to it…). Even though I’m super incredibly shy, I like to ask questions, but when I’m in a really uncomfortable situation or if I’m second guessing the appropriateness of asking the question I usually default to silence. That’s just me though and it’s pretty unrealistic that everyone would be like that.
Ignoring Roslin’s Kobol fashion faux pas, I’m continually blown away by how AMAZING she is. This woman has CANCER and she’s Indiana Jones-ing it up! I would have died at the beginning of the mini-series.
I am totally with Mark on this. I hate this trope (if it is one??) SO MUCH. So often when I am watching a show, I think (or say out loud lol), "Why don't you just ASK him/her?" or "Just TELL him/her already!" I used to watch a lot of soap operas (don't judge me!) and talk about people failing to communicate, it was so frustrating!! I get that sometimes people are going to be awkard, or less than forthcoming, or preoccupied, or whatever, but sometimes it seems like TV shows/movies fail to have people communicate solely for the sake of dragging out the "mystery." I am no filmmaker/director/whatever but I would like to think that there's a better way to do that without using this overused, frustrated method. /rant
In other news, I agree that this episode definitely feels like a set up for the rest and so I cannot wait to watch the second part tonight!
I can't believe I watched soaps (or at least Passions, so judge away, idgaf) because there's nothing I find more frustrating than people not talking to each other and drawing things out painfully, yet I still kept coming back in the hopes that there would be a confrontation. I never learn. I need to have a feeling that the story is actually going somewhere (oh, why am I reminded of certain books? I'm pretty sure not talking things out leads to death and destruction every time), or I get angry and stop caring. Yeah, this episode seems like it's setting things up, and I've been satisfied with how quickly BSG answers my questions, so I'm not bothered!
I know, soaps are like the epitome of drawing things out painfully lol. And I love how no one can have a baby without 'who's the father' drama or someone steals the baby or switches or they have to give birth in a storm/under a table/in an elevator/whatever. I would be terrified to get pregnant if I lived in soap opera land lol!!
The one good thing about getting pregnant in soap land is that after the whole baby kidnapping plot is resolved, the kid is suddenly 5 years old, so at least you don't have to worry about any of that potty training nonsense.
You have them seperated but I think having a baby under a table in an elevator during a storm would probably be the epitomy of terrifying (and a really "good" episode).
Minus the elevator, I think this happened once on General Hospital???
Space parents are getting back together! Good job, Dee! <3
I mean, knowing this show, things could go horribly wrong, but I have hope. And Adama seems to be coming around to reason. So, I'll be happy for now.
Yeah, Lee and Starbuck were really awkward, which was somewhat unavoidable, but I'm glad that in the end he was open with her. Go back to being friends, guys. And Lee, you have already ruined one of my ships by being a jerk. Please don't kill Sharon, I want things to be okay for her. I'm also intrigued to know how and what, if anything, has changed in her, and how much affinity she has for the Cylons. I think you're right that her being in love has something to do with it. In any case, I like the idea that they aren't networked, or part of a hivemind, and are actually individuals while they're living, even if they can be uploaded into a new body when they die. I'd like people to ask these questions, too, but I doubt they will since they don't trust her to tell the truth. In the meantime, it seems like Sharon's going to have to be absolutely perfect to try to fit in, or at least survive with the humans.
I was also shocked by Elosha's death. I figured she would finally be getting more screen time now that they're on Kobol and looking to the scriptures. In terms of foreshadowed deaths, I thought random Zarek friend whose name I can't remember would be first up, and other people might be seriously injured, but not Elosha. Oh, and Lee should probably watch out for shifty-eyed dudes walking behind him. Just a thought.
Now I'm imagining Dee like she's in The Parent Trap and secretly plotting ways to get Adama and Roslin to get along. Billy can help!
omg spoilers for when they pour honey on Zarek's feet, and he runs away after waking up to Centurions licking it off!
I forgot yesterday that you review Doctor Who on the Mondays, I misremembered, thinking that you did it on Sundays or that you'd do it on the same days as the BSG. If that's not the case, then this is the correct list?:
Thursday, August 25- Episode 2×06
Friday, August 26 – Episode 2×07
Monday, August 29 – Doctor Who 6×08
Tuesday, August 30 – Episode 2×08
Wednesday, August 31 – Episode 2×09
Thursday, September 1 – Episode 2×10 (Extended)
Friday, September 2 – Episode 2×11
Monday, September 5 – Doctor Who 6×09
Tuesday, September 6 – Episode 2×12
Wednesday, September 7 – Episode 2×13
Thursday, September 8 – Episode 2×14
Friday, September 9 – Episode 2×15
Monday, September 12 – Doctor Who 6×10
Tuesday, September 13 – Episode 2×16
Wednesday, September 14 – Episode 2×17
Thursday, September 15 – Episode 2×18
Friday, September 16 – Episode 2×19
Monday, September 19 – Doctor Who 6×11
Tuesday, September 20 – Episode 2×20
Wednesday, September 21 – Season 3 Predictions
Thursday, September 22- First Web Series
Friday, September 23 – Episode 3×01
Monday, September 26 – Doctor Who 6×12
Tuesday, September 27 – Episode 3×02
Wednesday, September 28 – Episode 3×03
Thursday, September 29 – Episode 3×04
Friday, September 30 – Episode 3×05
Monday, October 3 – Doctor Who 6×13
Tuesday, October 4 – Episode 3×06
Wednesday, October 5 – Episode 3×07
Thursday, October 6 – Episode 3×08
Friday, October 7 – Episode 3×09 (Extended)
Monday, October 10 – Episode 3×10
Tuesday, October 11 – Episode 3×11
Wednesday, October 12 – Episode 3×12
Thursday, October 13 – Episode 3×13
Friday, October 14 – Episode 3×14
Monday, October 17 – Episode 3×15
Tuesday, October 18 – Episode 3×16
Wednesday, October 19 – Episode 3×17
Thursday, October 20 – Episode 3×18
Friday, October 21 – Episode 3×19
Monday, October 24 – Episode 3×20
Tuesday, October 25 – Season 4 Predictions
Wednesday, October 26 – Second Web Series
Thursday, October 27 – First Movie (Extended)
Friday, October 28 – Episode 4×01
Monday, October 31 – Episode 4×02
Tuesday, November 1 – Episode 4×03
Wednesday, November 2 – Episode 4×04
Thursday, November 3 – Episode 4×05
Friday, November 4 – Episode 4×06
Monday, November 7 – Episode 4×07
Tuesday, November 8 – Episode 4×08
Wednesday, November 9 – Episode 4×09
Thursday, November 10 – Episode 4×10
Friday, November 11 – Episode 4×11
Monday, November 14 – Third Web Series
Tuesday, November 15 – Episode 4×12 (Extended)
Wednesday, November 16 – Episode 4×13
Thursday, November 17 – Episode 4×14
Friday, November 18 – Episode 4×15
Monday, November 21 – Episode 4×16
Tuesday, November 22 – Episode 4×17
Wednesday, November 23 – Episode 4×18 (Extended)
Thursday, November 24 – Episode 4×19/4×20 (Extended & Combined)
Friday, November 25 – Second Movie
No well-earned breather. Γ’ΛΒΉ
And then after that… Buffy? I AM SO EXCITE FOR MARK TO START BUFFY.
I'm so excite for this that it physically HURTS.
I WOULD LIKE TO JOIN THE MARK WATCHES BUFFY EXCITE CLUB.
Me too, because it should finally motivate me to finish Buffy. I never watched past late Season 5.
Yes, well… spoilers.
Thank you, Professor Song.
I'm so excited about Buffy but nothing trumps my excitement when I looked at this site months after my last visit and saw that he was doing the BSG marathon. WHEW!
My birthday is the 7th of December. Taking a possible miniseries into account, it seems like Mark will be starting Buffy for my birthday. This is the BEST PRESENT
Agreed, BEST PRESENT OF ALL TIME!
My birthday is the 7th of June, so it can be my half-birthday present? WHATEVER I DON'T CARE WHEN IT STARTS I JUST WANT IT TO START
Same here! My birthday is on the 30th of November, so it'll be the most awesome present! I've been wanting an excuse to rewatch the Buffyverse anyway. It's so weird, I'm loving Battlestar Galactica so much already and I kinda don't want it to end, but at the same time, I'm like "I can't wait until we finish so we can start Buffy!"
I feel so conflicted!
I'll see if time permits, but it looks like I'll be able to pull off both Doctor Who and BSG on Mondays, and the Who review will go up in the morning.
Interesting.
So, the main thing I take from this episode is that Sharon Valerii > EVERYBODY. Showing the humans, most of whom have tried to kill her, to the Tomb of Athena? Shooting down the Centurion with her arms tied awkwardly and lying on the floor? HELL YEAH SHARON you are the best! Yeah I'm biased, whatever she's my favourite. (Oh and that prison jumpsuit is a really nice colour on Grace Park…okay I'll stop now).
"And some of us will die down there" Well that's a cheery way to break up the arguing Elosha! It is sad to see her go, especially with Laura's reaction when gathering up the book.
Awww the Space Kids are being…well, kids again. All that business with the pyramid ball (learn to share kids!) is a nice touch imo. The little beat where Lee, after Kara tells him it's from Caprica, sniffs it, trying to see if it smells like home? Starbuck's radio chatter when the Heavy Raider arrives at the fleet, the "Hello? Hello?" makes me giggle every time.
I have to say, when Sharon fought off Lee and shot the Cylon…I kind of wanted her to kick him in the face while he was down there. Just a little. I mean, I get where he's coming from but he still annoyed the hell out of me in this episode for the most part.
Yeah, I personally was on team Sharon from the beginning, so people doubting her all the time just makes me tired even if it's entirely understandable and perhaps the right reaction to her.
To be fair to them they have every right to doubt her – someone from her hivemind/a copy of her/someone she's a copy of/shares memories with (AAAAAAAAAAAGH COMPLICATED!!!) just came THISCLOSE to assassinating the Commander!
And they haven't been with the new, non-sleeper-agent Sharon (who was originally on Mission KnockedUp for the Cylons before she decided to switch sides) for enough time to actually figure out that she is trustworthy. And it's going to take a lot more than "I'm in love with Helo" (however understandable that is, because he is a sweetheart) for people to get past that, especially considering she's one of a race that nuked humanity pretty much out of existence just two months ago (in show timeline).
MFTE! Either that or get Starbuck to punch him again.
(I did like his WTF face when Sharon was running off in the forest, as much as I want to smack him for that attitude it was a really funny expression)
Just a tiny kick.
No one would've blamed her for it. The look on Lee's (and everyone's) face when Sharon shot the cylon was priceless though.
Awww the Space Kids are being…well, kids again.
<img src="http://i51.tinypic.com/2lux6qu.gif" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
Has anyone ever meta'd the Symbolic Pyramid Ball of Starbuck's Feeeeeeeeelings?
ROFL such kids
I love that the pyramid ball came from Caprica. I don't remember if we see it, but it's nice to imagine that Kara gave Sam a physical reminder of her (her dogtags), and he did the same – one of the pyramid balls they played with.
Or mabye she stole it and now the poor kids on Caprica don't have a ball anymore.
Oh wait one more thing…
FOR GODS SAKE ZAREK WILL YOU STOP BEING A RAGING ASSHOLE AND PLOTTING AGAINST EVERYONE FOR FIVE GODDAMN MINUTES??? JEEZ.
But it is his purpose in life! What else is he going to do every second he's on screen? Be helpful?
Lords of Kobol forbid.
I have a hard time paying attention during the Adama/Dualla scene in his quarters because I keep getting caught on how pretty Kandyse McClure's eyes are. They really, really are!
HA! Yes! In all the scenes with Dualla and Billy – they both have gorgeous eyes- and when the camera flicks back and forth between their eyes I'm just mesmerized.
One last thing before I move on to the second part of this story: I found it super unrealistic and HILARIOUS that everyone would allow Roslin to wear a coat that fucking bright. I’m sorry, anyone EVER could see her a mile away, and they’re trying to hide from the Cylons. To be honest, though, she looked fucking fabulous in it.
Yeah, and poor Sharon in her bright red prison jumpsuit doesn't stand a chance if some random Centurion spots her! Sigh… people. Not so bright, sometimes.
I totally agree with you about television shows where characters refuse to actually speak to each other like, you know… HUMAN BEINGS. That's actually why I stopped watching LOST altogether, and never went back to it. It's also why I love The Vampire Diaries so much: people find out things! Then they tell other people! This is the way the world works!!! YAY.
While I can see where Lee is coming from re: Sharon, he is just so petulant all the time that he bugs me. It doesn't even matter that he's right, it's just… his face. His snotty (albeit handsome) face is always so annoying. XD Okay so I kind of wanted Sharon to kick him, too. Heh.
Also, I loved the direction in the scene where Lee has his gun to Sharon's head, and Helo has his gun to Lee's head. It's a chain of guns! And Starbuck is so, "WTF GUYS I JUST GOT BACK, THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS."
Yeah, most of the time I love Lee, but sometimes he just gets so goddamn whiny.
Yeah, I'm actually liking Lee less on this rewatch than when the series aired. So whiny. He has so many feelings and people just don't understand how noble and sensitive he is, so he will pout at them and whine a bit more. I'm definitely Team Anders.
I have really bad shipper goggles because I thought that whole scene with Lee, Kara and the pyramid ball had a Sam/Kara undertone. I mean, obviously Kara was deal with what happened to her in the farm. But the pyramid ball was definitely a reference to Sam because I think that on some level Kara is also dealing with the loss of Sam. I think her problems are way more complex here than just any one thing causing her emotional turmoil right now.
Also I love Sharon and Dee too
Yup. I just made that comment – I love that the Kara/Lee scene centers around a physical reminder of Sam.
Yeah, it sort of underscores how many things Starbuck's been through in the past week or however long it's been, and I feel like she can't even begin to tell Lee what happened because where do you even start.
Re: lack of communication. YES! It bug the hell out of me that the humans presume to know everything there is to know about Cylons when, in fact, they know sweet F-A about this new human variety. They're machines! Duh! They can't/don't feel/love/play rugby/have orgasms. I also hope Starbuck told them off screen that, oh, by the way, there are people in desperate need of rescue from marauding, raping Cylons on Caprica and probably the other colonies as well. That seems pretty imperative to me. Presumably if they rescue some people, that count at the beginning of each episode will go up at some point.
Yeah, she's really not Boomer. She's Sharon.
+1. Mark, I love your reviews, but I'm finding it very difficult to keep track of who you're talking about — I haven't watched the series in a long time, but I tell them apart by Boomer and Sharon, not Boomer and… Boomer.
EPISODE THINKY-THOUGHTS:
"Is anyone getting this? Hello? Hello?" Hee, I love the look on Lee's face when he hears Starbuck talking.
Ooh, a little kiss there? What's going on, Lee? Unfortunately the subtitles on my Netflix were NOT WORKING for this episode for SOME REASON, stupid Netflix, so I didn't catch what he said after she said "it's good to see you too."
Time for another episode of Awkward Times with Sharon! *theme song* "She's a Cylon, but she's on our si-ide… She looks like Boomer but has nothing to hide! Or does she? It's Awkward Times with Sharon!"
"She's the President of the Colonies you moron." I love everyone in this scene.
PRESIDENT AIRLOCK!
I love Helo so much. I just wanna say that.
Congratulations, random dude we've never met! You get to be in charge!
I kinda want a gif of Drunk Adama yelling "I LOVE EVERYONE ON THIS SHIP!" like Ted in HIMYM.
Time to deal with the press: EVERYONE SIT DOWN AND SHUT THE GODDAMN HELL UP.
Oh hey Vice President Gaius. You gonna be President now or what?
I can't understand a word Gaius is saying. SUBTITLES WHERE ARE YOOOOU
I love Sharon so much so I'm all like WTF ROSLIN STOP BEING AN ASSHOLE, but it's perfectly logical that she wouldn't believe a word any Cylon said.
NO PLOTTING TO KILL LEE. Zarek, you suck so much. I hate you too, Meier. I hope you both get eaten by Cylons. Or Cylon dogs. Do they have dogs?
Lee is acting like an eight-year-old. "No, I won't give you your ball back! It's mine now!" I hate that shit, especially when I am in No Mood To Deal With It like Starbuck obviously is here.
I CAN'T HEAR WHAT THEY ARE SAYING. Good thing I REMEMBER the part where Lee says he loves her, because otherwise I would have NO IDEA. BLARG.
Sure Lee, just give the two assholes WHO WANT TO KILL YOU a gun.
OH YAY. LAND MINES.
Remember how I liked the way Starbuck and Helo worked as a team on Caprica? I also like the way Starbuck and Lee work as a team. I JUST LIKE STARBUCK WORKING WITH PEOPLE. Or sleeping with them. Or just being awesome by herself. That works too.
Aw yeah, Sharon blows shit up. I love her. How many times does she have to prove she's on their side, SERIOUSLY.
Hey it's the model ship again! I CAN NOT HEAR WHAT ADAMA IS SAYING
Poor Dee, she has to listen to Adama vent about his feelings. She has some damn good advice, though.
Poor priest π
Yaaaay Space Mommy and Space Daddy are getting back together! π
"Remember how I liked the way Starbuck and Helo worked as a team on Caprica? I also like the way Starbuck and Lee work as a team. I JUST LIKE STARBUCK WORKING WITH PEOPLE. Or sleeping with them."
—
AHAHahaaha! Awesome, you are.
No, you're not alone in that at all – I have friends to whom I'm very close, but actually talking, getting chatty about our lives and the problems we're having, it's not something we do as a matter of course.
And fwiw, Lee and Kara are in fact from pretty fucked-up families (going by evidence in the miniseries for Lee, and now The Farm for Kara), so it makes sense that neither of them are into the talking approach to things. I actually found their dancing around the point truer to life than the other way suggested.
Thanks!
What I don't get is how the Cylons KNOW all this. I mean, where did they get all these scriptures and religious knowledge from? Was it built it? Did it develop through time? Did they pack a bunch of books (and fabulous red dresses- should have been a warning sign really) before they left?
Maybe they found it- and God, apparently- when they went away? Did they have planets to live on that they found tomby things on? Also, how was the universe divided up between humans and Cylons during peace? Space travel is clearly the norm, so did they just not go to certain parts or was travel only between the 12 planets, with absolutely no space exploration?
Okay. Need to focus on plot now, not just random background stuff. Starbuck needs to…do something…she can't keep having sexual tension with everyone, as that nearly always leads to conflict (well, in normal shows, of course with Battlestar Galactica, anything could happen.) And I don't want to see her and Lee fighhhhttttt *whines* but Anders is hot and not, y'know, brother to her dead ex.
Then again, maybe it should be like this. (Not just Starbuck, I'm thinking generally here). Adama said that 'they need to start having babies'- so maybe sexual freedom should be encouraged? (Also, those condoms and birth pills are going to run out sometime).
I…actually don't find people not communicating directly all that odd. Maybe it's just having an extremely fucked up family, but to be perfectly honest, the only time I am 100% communicating exactly what is on my mind and how I feel and what my questions are is when I've got a computer between me and the person I'm communicating with. It doesn't matter if I know the person IRL or not, it's still the same–honesty, clarity, communication right up until the moment the computer is taken away, and then I revert to caginess and not saying what I mean and not having the guts to ask what I want to know directly.
So the Lee and Kara scene was just…normal to me. Good Lord, this comment does not make me sound like a functional human being, does it? MAYBE I'M A CYLON.
I know what you mean. Things I can type easily on a computer, I have a lot of trouble saying out loud to anyone but my shrink.
Way I see it, cylon-like Cylons often say what they're thinking (unless they're purposefully holding something back). Humans are confined to these communicative problems, because that's how we are.
I think I was anticipating the appearance of Boomer on the Astral Queen more than anything.
Oh, dear. I read that as "anticipating the appearance of Boomer on the Astral Plane". Thanks, Mark. Now I can't separate those two words or see them in any other way. Or perhaps I can't separate you from the Astral Plane and meeting your heroes there. xD Have I read too many Mark Reviews already?
I know! Let's make a list! It should be called "You've Read Too Many Mark Reviews When:" I'll start it.
You've Read Too Many Mark Reviews When:
– You ask for a list for anything (that should be ball point #1 always).
– Keysmashing became your form of speech.
– Every time you watch a movie or a series, you start taking notes on how Mark should review them.
– You WANT to watch movies or series in review format.
– "Jesus take the wheel" became your regular expression, regardless of your mothertongue.
– Rot13 is your new second language, right after keysmashing in your daily talk.
Can anyone think of more points? I DARE YOU.
-You watch a plot twist and immediately say "shit just got real"
-Every time someone says "crazy" you get up in their face about ableism (which is a good thing, btw)
-You feel guilty if you watch two episodes of a show in immediate succession.
THIS! You put my feelings into words better than myself. Which is another point.
– You think of something and wish Mark would describe it to you in his own words.
– Every time you watch a movie or a series, you start taking notes on how Mark should review them.
– You WANT to watch movies or series in review format.
These are so true for me. Reading a new book? "I wonder what Mark would think of this!" Watching an interesting episode of a TV show? "Where is my awesome community of watchers with which I can discuss this??"
Same here. I put only the video example because this is Mark Watches, but it applies to ANYTHING.
One thing that I think we're missing here is that Elosha is a more complicated character than just the good magical negro who is exploded so that the white people can be empowered and go about their business. I never was particularly fond of her, starting with when she was like, "You have breast cancer? OMG THAT'S AWESOME." Because it was more important to her that Roslin's terminal illness vindicated her (actually weak) faith than it was that this living, breathing human being in front of her was leading the entirety of humanity while carrying the awareness of the fact that she was going to die. That was nasty enough as it was, and I was squicked by it, but in a deleted scene Elosha also said that she had been lost until the Cylon attacks, and they made her feel finally alive. She was a religious character whose faith was weak and who took nothing but strength from the *annihilation of the majority of her species.* Her vindication came at the cost of, in the scenes that were included, the value of the life of Laura Roslin, and, in the deleted scenes, billions upon billions of human lives. Elosha: not a very nice character. I wasn't thrilled to see her killed, but no, she wasn't a kind helper for Roslin. She was a cold, calculating religious opportunist.
Interesting; I never knew that about the deleted scene.
You know, if you look at it right, this season so far has been a metaphor for marital separation. Dad (Adama) is in charge of money and discipline in the house, Mom (Roslin) is all about morals and house-rules and cleaning house (airlock). But then Mom steps over the discipline line and, on top of that, develops her own system of which Dad does not approve. Things comes to ahead and Child 1 and 2 (Lee and Kara) take Mom's side. Dad then grounds Mom and Child 1 after Child 2 leaves the home, and then checks out because he suffered a massive internal blow. Mom leaves the house and takes Child 2 plus some furniture and stuff and goes to live on her own, and Dad is first angry and then decides to come after Mom and Children to forgive, apologize, and support Mom.
And you thought Space Mom and Pop were just names…
Cute π
Though I'm not sure about 'Space Pop'; that sounds too much like a fizzy drink to me.
Space Mommy and Space Daddy then π
I agree about the awkward non-communication. It makes me uncomfortable, and I tend to see it as a sign of bad writing. I think it's the writer trying to be overly clever, but mostly it just feels fake and not how people actually communicate. I think this type of thing is why I could never get into Lee/Kara: too much awkwardness and miscommunication.
The lack of communication thing has bugged me since I was a little kid. I would watch my cartoons and think "Why doesn't anyone explain?????" I would proceed to imagine how much easier things would have gone for the characters if they had just communicated. Of course at that age it didn't occur to me that it had to be that way in order to stretch the plot out.
I didn't really find too much of the lack of communication in this episode to be bothersome though. For example, if I was Starbuck, I probably wouldn't want to talk to anyone about Caprica either. Of course, she could have just explained a few things about Sharon, but they already seemed pretty dismissive about the idea of a "good" Cylon and might not have even listened to her. I also do know people who sometimes get so proud and pissed off they feel like they shouldn't have to explain themselves, and Starbuck just seems like that type of person to me.
Is anyone as awkward a communicator as me in real life? I am SO FUCKING BAD at talking about ~feelings, you guys. I had a thing with someone for two years once and we were both horrifyingly in love with each other, and the most we ever said to each other about it was "I have feelings for you" (me) and "I feel about you complexly" (him). And I had to say it over email because I like, literally could not say it.
Am I living a television life here? Man, I gotta stop doing that.
I was actually surprised to see so many advocates for the "why can't you kids just talk like normal people?" school of thought, because I'm another one who's a terrible communicator about personal shit, especially feelings.
Straight talking might further a plotline that much faster, but it's not what many actual human people do, especially after times of stress and trauma – it's easier to clam up or deflect any talk about it than go at it head-on.
The short conversation between Starbuck and Lee in front of Sharon's cell is riveting to me. Often I don't even listen to what they're saying when I watch that scene, their physicality alone is so fixating.
And I love Kara's added "Captain" in the end, like she spits it out at him.
Then Roslin orders her placed out of the airlock.
Hahahhaha!!!!!!!!! Now do you see why the BSG fandom likes to call her Madame Airlock? (should've been obvious after Leoben, but still)
For the record, the trope you're looking for is Poor Communication Kills