In the eleventh episode of the second season of Battlestar Galactica, Starbuck’s actions prevent what surely would have been a disaster, only to inadvertently create another one. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Battlestar Galactica.
Admiral Cain, I love to hate you. I really do. I cannot believe we’ve been given such a fantastic character who, in the course of just two episodes, just transformed into EVERYTHING I WANT FROM FICTION. I’m going to go out on a limb here and take a guess: this character got a lot of sexist backlash from the fandom. A strong woman who takes control of the situation and does bad things? I wouldn’t put it past the sci-fi community to do bigot-y things, but maybe the fact that this show talks about so many difficult issues might mean that this is an exception to the rule. But I could easily imagine all the nasty, misogynistic terms thrown her way.
And look, I get that she is kind of revolting. I am not a fan of her actions for the most part, but I am a HUGE fan of her character. She’s got so much hidden beneath that facade of hers and I WANT TO KNOW ALL THE THINGS. I love that even if she is doing incredibly douchetastic things, I am still endlessly intrigued by her. (Plus, seriously, Michelle Forbes is so perfect for the role it kind of hurts a little.)
Like many things this show makes me think about, I’m stuck in conflict. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a show that does this to me! How should I feel about Cylons? Are Cylons humans? How should Cylons be treated? Is Cain’s approach to warfare necessary, even if it seems unethical? Should personal ethics be discarded during wartime? Should you help a person die if they want it more than anything? DO YOU ASSASSINATE POLITICAL LEADERS YOU THINK ARE DANGEROUS? OH, ROSLIN, YOU ARE FULL OF SO MANY SURPRISES.
It’s one of the most difficult episodes of the show so far when it comes to watching and digesting what we see. We’re thrown so many details that tease us with the idea that anything on screen can be split into a simple dichotomy, but the truth is that nothing here is that simple. Even during the opening, we’re faced with the imminent destruction of a large swatch of Vipers from either ship. I don’t even need to comment on it in a way that reflects a personal morality: the Pegasus Vipers’ are SO ANNOYING. My god, it is SO FRUSTRATING TO WATCH. Obviously, it’s made worse by the thought that they have better ships that have taken less damage and that, by just a word from Cain, they can destroy the Galactica Vipers.
Bless Starbuck. Yet again, she goes off on her own, taking the initiative to get shit done, and she does so without any back up. I mean, seriously, what’s not to love about her? Through this process, she discovers what is later called the Resurrection Ship, which resembles a bunch of giant metal spiders stacked on top of one another, laying on its side. Using the Blackbird, she’s able to fly through the ship and take photos of it for Admiral Cain. I actually laughed at myself later when the ship’s purpose is revealed because the title of the episode was obviously what it was called. I seriously can dissect the most banal minutia of meaning and subtext and can’t see the obvious just sitting right in front of me.
But what might otherwise be a victorious moment of surveillance is tainted by a disturbing fact: the Resurrection Ship is full of unused Cylon copies of Six. (I assume there are other models on the ship and I was ACHING to see if another model would be revealed.) There are living creatures, ostensibly in hibernation, all over. It’s assumed to be used as a sort of defense mechanism if any of the humanoid Cylons die on the fleet so that their consciousness can still be downloaded to a new body.
Pegasus Six confirms this, and she adds another wrinkle to this mess: she doesn’t want to be downloaded to another body. She wants to die, plain and simple. I said yesterday that Baltar’s moral transformation was astounding to me (in a good way) and that continues here. (Which is not to ignore that Tricia Helfer gives yet another jaw-dropping performance. Seriously. Give her all the awards.) He feels a compassion for this Cylon, whatever his hang-ups or romantic obsessions are, and now he’s faced with a difficult road: Does he kill Six? Does he let her kill herself? Does he even understand why she would want to do this? Actually, even if his scene in Part I is brief, I think he does. I think he can see how she’s treated, especially when Cain visits her herself and continues the abuse and dehumanization of her. (God, even using that word is strange. She’s not a human, but she is made to feel inferior, broken, and dysphoric about her own life. THIS SHOW YOU MAKE ME FEEL ALL THE THINGS.)
But I don’t think that all of these themes are random and disparate, and by the end of “Resurrection Ship, Part I,” I came to feel that all of this was a commentary on what it was like to be human, both from the perspective of the humans and the humanoid Cylons. The fleet is still struggling with the concept of humanoid Cylons, though those on the Galactica, more than anyone else, are suddenly realizing just how difficult it is to “other” the Cylons once you get to know any of them. (No one knows that more than Tyrol and Helo my heart) Is it really that easy just to execute them all? Is it really that easy to disassociate them from the human experience? Sharon and Pegasus Six have shown us, the viewer, that beyond any shred of doubt, Cylons still go through exactly the same emotional, intellectual, and physical experiences as we do. It’s why two men are in jail, why Adama isn’t content keeping Sharon in the brig, and why Baltar is contemplating a mercy killing of a copy of someone he once loved. (Still loves? The terminology and vocabulary I use is constantly challenged by all of this. Do you realize how much I love this??? YOU REALLY DON’T WORD DECONSTRUCTION RULES.)
And if we’re talking about the human experience, it would be a crime not to mention President Roslin, who continues to get worse due to her cancer. It’s like this show is specifically teasing me and my growing ship obsession between her and Adama, because we get yet another scene of the two of them being so gosh darn cute and lovable and squishy and JUST KISS. SERIOUSLY. That joke about making Roslin a blond Cylon? DEAD. My god, they are so comfortable together these days! GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH I don’t care.
Y’all, I get shipping. It has happened. THE ANGELS MUST TRUMPET THIS FROM THE HEAVENS. Oh god, wait, does this mean I am diametrically opposed to another shipping? Will I have to join sides in a shipping war? WILL I LEAD THE REVOLUTION IN THE GREAT SHIPOCALYPSE OF 2011?
Yeah, so I’m being silly because it’s right about at this point in “Resurrection Ship, Part I,” becomes so real that I literally lost my sense of humor. I was physically and mentally unable to tell a joke. Sure, Starbuck gets promoted, Lee visits Helo and Tyrol, and you think this is all going to be okay, but that’s where you are so wrong. I mean, this is a two-part story, right? It can’t just end on a pleasant note with no anticipation carrying over to the second part, right? They can’t just plan to attack the Resurrection Ship and then end it on, “Well, I guess will do this later, LOL SEE YOU NEXT WEEK,” can they? (Actually….I would probably do that if I ran this show. It’s a good thing I didn’t.)
In one of the most poetically brilliant moments of the show, we end this part of the story on two intercut scenes, a parallel between two leaders intent on doing things their way, desperate to regain control, and willing to do whatever it takes to get what they want.
They both ordered their most trusted officer to go to the other ship and, on their signal, execute the commanding officer.
……….
…………………….
……………………………….
WELL, THIS IS A DISASTER. I don’t care much about Fisk, as funny as he’s been in the past two episodes, so let’s just talk about STARBUCK. Look at her face. LOOK AT HER FACE. I expect that reaction GIF to be posted a couple thousand times in the comments because holy shit. Think about what this means for her! She just went off on her own mission to get photos of the Resurrection Ship, she’s Adama’s most trusted pilot, and he just asked her to murder someone. I mean, sure, she might be flattered that he trusts her so much, but WHAT THE FUCK. what the fuck!!!!
OH MY GOD. I have never been so unprepared in my whole life.
The Greatest Thing You Will Read Today, Preceded by Explanations of Context
1. Before "Like a Boss," before "I'm on a Boat," there was "Lazy Sunday."
2. Battlestar Galactica aired on Fridays at 10 o'clock, and I was excited for its return after FOUR MONTHS.
3. While I am spectralbovine here, elsewhere I am known as Polter-Cow.
4. b.org is short for buffistas.org, another of my online haunts.
5. When I wrote this five years ago, I was in grad school in Ann Arbor, which had recently gotten its first Potbelly.
6. The original song contains two instances of "crazy," which I left in for verisimilitude.
7. This is probably one of my favorite things I've ever written, and I think that if I had made a music video, I would have been a viral sensation. So I am happy to share it with you now.
Apologies to Chris Parnell and Andy Samberg.
"Lazy Friday"
A BSG filk by Polter-Cow and spectralbovine
Lazy Friday, wake up in the late 8 o'clock
Call P-C just to see if he'll talk
Hello?
What up, Cow?
Yo, Bovine, what's cracking?
You thinking what I'm thinking? (Galactica!) Then it's happening.
Let's tell all of our friends to pop up like toasters.
Just hit up that Kinko's and mack on some posters.
No doubt that copy place has got all the bomb road maps.
I love those posters like Adama loves slow claps.
Two, no six, no twelve, MANY COPIES!
I told you that I'm crazy for these posters, Boxey.
Yo, when's the new ep showing?
Ten o'clock here, dude.
Well, let's post on b.org to find some dope recruits.
I prefer MySpace. (That's a site of poo.)
LiveJournal is the best.
True dat. (DOUBLE TRUE!)
Liberty and State St. (Step on it, sucka!)
What you want to do, Spec?
SNACK ATTACK, MUTHAFUCKA!
The Battle (What?) Star Galactica.
Yes, the Battle (What?) Star Galactica.
We love the Battle (What?) Star Galactica.
Fight that Battle (What?) Star Galactica.
Yo, stop at Potbelly, my fridge is understocked.
You got the coupon? (Gonna risk getting mocked.)
Don't want the checkout girl to act capricious.
Mocha shake and fresh chips equals crazy nutritious.
Yo, reach in my pocket, pull out some dough.
The girl acted like she'd never seen a one befo'.
It's all about the Washingtons, baby.
Throw the snacks in a bag and sackh off like Katee.
Roll up to the living room, dollar paying for their watching them.
You can call us cherry tree from the way we're dropped by Washingtons.
Now tuned to SciFi, BG trivia get my style on.
"What human gods could be built by a Cylon?"
We answered so fast like a snowball.
Everyone stared in awe when we screamed, "LORDS OF KOBOL!"
Now quiet in the living room or I'll glare like Adama.
We're about to get taken to a spaceship of drama.
The Battle (What?) Star Galactica.
Yes, the Battle (What?) Star Galactica.
We love the Battle (What?) Star Galactica.
Fight that Battle (What?) Star Galactica.
sackh off like Katee
I'm not one for puns, but this may be the best line of anything I have ever read ever.
I've been trying to make it a Thing for five years. Unfortunately, it doesn't conjugate well.
I love those posters like Adama loves slow claps
To which I say, "I love this post like Adama loves slow claps."
OMG THAT IS AMAZING! In fact, I plan on sharing this with my sister, who has been a Chris Parnell fan for so many years. I think she'll get a kick out of it.
This is amazing!
I had the video playing while I read it and it scans so perfectly.
Found this on Tumblr the other day…
<img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/b80mcw.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
ROSLIN WILL PUT YOU IN DETENTION.
ommmmmmmggggggggg
BEST PICTURE EVER!
ROFL that may be the most perfect macro ever. Go Laura!
God, she is perfect.
THE POSTURE.
Yesssss more or less what I was thinking in this scene this is beautiful!!
Oh god. That macro. It's amazing. Uh oh, you guys, mom's mad!!
I saw that one too. Utter perfection. Who says school teachers can't be good politicians?
No, she will SEND YOU TO THE NAUGHTY CHAIR.
Either that, or make you write out 1000 times "I MUST NOT FIGHT." In your best handwriting.
Why hello, first instance of ’Roslin and Adama’, my number one most played track of all time on iTunes…
[youtube HG-Js_rMEV4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG-Js_rMEV4 youtube]
This is genuinely my favourite piece of music of all time. It’s calm and dignified with a mournful edge, and then at the end it just bursts into complete and utter joy.
[youtube BXQDel0cFsM&hd=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXQDel0cFsM&hd=1 youtube]
I have listened to Roslin and Adama on repeat for hours at a time, literally. I have been waiting for this episode just to flail over how beautiful this piece is.
Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes. Very yes.
Wow, thank you for posting that music. I really need to download the album now.
My heart hurts for Sharon and Pegasus Six.
🙁
’Now, I am sure that Pegasus would prevail in any fight.’ ‘I wouldn't count on that.’
<img src="http://i52.tinypic.com/2ba44p.gif" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
Roslin you are my favourite forever and ever (please don’t die). I love the whole scene where Roslin is confronting Adama and Cain about their behaviour because it’s exactly like a school teacher dealing with fighting students.
Starbuck clearly has the best timing ever. As much as Cain is the bad guy, I love her interaction with Starbuck and seeing Starbuck being praised for being exactly who she is and doing things her own way. The resurrection ship she found is an interesting development in that it provides limitations on cylons. Before this there didn’t feel like there was any real way to stop the cylons, kill one and they’ll just get a new body. Now we know there’s a permanent way to kill cylons. It’s complicated, but it can be done.
’So the order came down to shoot the family of anyone who refused to come. So we did. 2 families, we put them up against the bulkhead and we shot them.’
<img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/21jvqzo.gif" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"> My feelings exactly Tigh.
Can you imagine how the whole Kobol debacle would’ve gone down with Cain? While Adama let people make their own decisions and try to deal with the loss of resources I get the impression Cain would’ve hunted down the missing ships and it would not have been pretty. (Actually I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t even have gotten that far because she probably would’ve had Roslin shot at the first sign of trouble.)
It’s an interesting dichotomy though to have these episode that show the potential evils in too much military power (and unchecked power in general) coming right after Final Cut which is the exact opposite.
The Roslin and Adama theme is one of my absolute favourite songs across all the soundtracks. I randomly came across it on youtube when I was watching series one and instantly fell in love. It was the first piece of music I heard outside of the context of the show and I knew that even if I ended up not sticking with the show I would definitely be buying all the soundtracks. It’s just gorgeous and I love how it’s equal parts melancholy and hopeful. How are you so talented Bear Mc Creary.
<img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/2rdkgf7.gif" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"> Seriously though, this ship isn’t even canon and it’s breaking my heart.
I love Laura's hair in that first gif. UNF.
her hair has been looking so voluminous and shiny in the past few episodes! I'm jealous
It's so nice to see Laura's hair looking fb zhpu avpre guna jura fur tbrf sbe gur shyy ba Puneyrf Knivre va gur frpbaq qlvat-bs-pnapre nep.
For a cancer patient thisclose to dying, she has AMAZING hair.
(I also love the fact that it's red – it's one of the few spots of colour in an otherwise very bleak setting. That is, when Six isn't around in her red dress)
Hee, I love Tigh's eyebrows. Tighbrows?
If 'Tighbrows' isn't already a fandom phrase, I think it's our solemn duty to make it one.
Jryy, yngre ur trgf n Gvtucngpu…
Seconded.
Adama's plan for Starbuck is pretty much identical to Boomer's assassination attempt on him. I love that in his head, he's probably thinking, "Hey…it totally worked! Except she should have shot me in the head!"
(It's interesting to note that Adama's plan is very personal: it's a lone assassin taking out her target. Cain, on the other hand, has her XO ordering other Marines to take out Adama. A very military operation, there. Execute Code Orange vs. Downfall.)
And knowing what happened to Boomer, I think Adama is asking a whole lot of Starbuck.
He's not just asking her to commit murder, he's asking her to commit mutiny/treason in the middle of a CIC full of people loyal to Cain. He's almost asking her to die for him, given the odds that someone else in the room has a gun and the liklihood that Cain's crew will shoot first and ask questions later.
I've watched this show twice and I never thought of it in this context. It's especially poingnant given that Starbuck and Adama have such a close relationship.
Not only that, he asks her to take his son along for backup.
He's basically sending his two children, who are all the family he has left, to their deaths.
I can't help but get giggly when Cain tells Fisk what her code phrase is. It's probably unintentional on her part but she's using the name of the alert system that put Laura in charge.
It'd surprise me if Cain would trust Starbuck enough at this point in the show to keep her that close at a time when both ships really aren't getting along, but for the sake of this episode being otherwise totally awesome I can let that slide.
The original plan didn't involve her being alone – he asks her to take Lee along, remember? Though it's that much more personal because the assassins are his children (one actual, one surrogate, but still).
While we were watching this episode last night, it occurred to me that everything would just be so much better if someone killed Cain. I'm not sure if this makes me a bad person, but it was the first place my mind went as the episode started off. My daughter and I had a little debate about it, but I sort of felt like I won later on when Roslin suggested the same thing. I mean, at least I feel like less of a horrible person for going there? Sort of? I'm confused about my ~feelings~ about basically everything on this show.
I thought the same thing. So if you're a bad person, you're not alone.
Oh good 😀
"and he just asked her to murder someone"
And not just anyone. One of the things I like about this episode is that Starbuck actually kind of likes/admires Cain. They have a lot in common and they have similar aspirations. I would love to see Starbuck and Cain take a couple of raptors back to Caprica and just go on an ass-kicking spree together. Sure, Cain is evil and all, but if Starbuck were not already loyal to Adama, she could easily become devoted to Cain. And if Starbuck likes her, we are forced to consider some of her redeeming qualities.
I am so amused that you finally get shipping. SO AMUSED.
That said, seriously, they need to find earth already and get Cain to Louisiana so that Sam Merlotte can gore this maenad and put us all out of our misery. I was willing to be intrigued by her before but NO ONE–BUT NO ONE–threatens space papa and lives. I CAN NOT ABIDE THIS.
Okay, now I want to read fanfic where they find Earth and they start crossing over with all of the TV shows set there.
Incidentally, every time Mark talks about his first ever shipping experience…
<img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/2rqn0ic.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
That is basically me.
"OH MY GOD. I have never been so unprepared in my whole life."
All I'll say is:
[youtube 6BwwtpZnJmc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BwwtpZnJmc youtube]
For the record, I believe this is the first episode in which Adama uses a feminine personal pronoun when talking about this Sharon. The line is "See that she's all right, then back in her cell." Which brings up a whole complicated tangle of issues concerning humanity and traditional femininity – did Sharon become more "human" in his eyes because she was attacked in this way and clearly went through, as you put it, "exactly the same emotional, intellectual, and physical experiences" a human would? Did she seem more like a woman because of it? And yes, that is of course an inherently problematic assertion given that it ties femininity to sexual violence, but I would also say it would be unrealistic to pretend people's minds don't work that way. I guess I'm saying I could understand varying opinions on it, but I think it's an interesting point for discussion nonetheless.
And on entirely different note (and I've been saying this a lot about this cluster of episodes but whatever), the ending of this episode is one of my favorite things just ever. I remember gasping out loud about halfway through the scene – maybe I'm slow, but I do think it was constructed so that the viewer wouldn't necessarily understand what was happening at first. But even when you do – I mean, just watching it again last night I was absolutely on the edge of my seat during it. It's so well done, both in the similarities between what Cain and Adama say and the differences. I have literally watched just that sequence sometimes because I love it so much.
Oh and one other thing: I love how this episode basically confirms that Tigh acts as a spy of sorts for Adama. It wasn't totally clear in the last one that he and Fisk weren't just hanging out as buddy XOs drinking, but in this it seems pretty clear that Tigh was intentionally getting more information for Adama. I just think that's an interesting sort of plot note in how the characters interact and deal with the Pegasus crew.
As for your first point; it's an interesting thought. As for me, I saw it as more of a gesture of kindness on Adama's part. His view hasn't really changed, but by using 'she' instead of 'it' he's just being a little nicer to her after the awful experience she had. After all, it's the complete dehumanisation of Sharon that led to this happening, and she doesn't need to be reminded of her status as a 'thing' at a time like this.
For the record, I believe this is the first episode in which Adama uses a feminine personal pronoun when talking about this Sharon.
I thought it was too but I think he also uses "she" and "her" when telling Cain about her in the previous episode. Admittedly it's not directed at Sharon herself in that instance.
Ah, I didn't catch that. I don't know whether to think of this instance as more deliberate or noticeable – I feel like Sharon's reaction is intended toward it, but maybe I'm reading into it.
I don't think I caught it until yesterday. Personally I think this one is the more notable one as it's actually directed at Sharon. To have someone who had previously referred to her as "it" address her like a person is a really important moment for both characters.
That's interesting, I didn't even notice the "she." Not calling her a thing is definitely a big moment for Adama.
so let’s just talk about STARBUCK. Look at her face. LOOK AT HER FACE. I expect that reaction GIF to be posted a couple thousand times in the comments because holy shit.
<img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/2cwswbb.gif" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
SO PRETTY! Don't be sad!
"We're all friendlies, so let's just…be friendly." rofl oh Kara Ilu. You know the situation is frakked up when Tigh of all people is glad she did something stupid.
That opening scene where Cain drags Bill to the principal's office, I mean Laura's office, just the fact that Cain does that is another of those moments where Cain's asserting her authority over everyone in sight. Because Colonial One is totally there for you to barge in and use as neutral ground, it's not like Laura's busy being President or anything.
Grace Park needs all the awards, even if she does only have the one scene she plays it incredibly well.
Oh god, wait, does this mean I am diametrically opposed to another shipping? Will I have to join sides in a shipping war?
Given that it's Bill/Laura, possibly the only ship that has no opposition…I think you're good. Can they seriously just make out already? That whole scene when he visits her…just <3<3<3
I'm generally fairly calm (for want of a better word) about most of my ships, canon and noncanon, but there's just something about Roslin/Adama that makes me so smiley and giddy and a little flaily and they just need to kiss and be happy together like last season.
"Because Colonial One is totally there for you to barge in and use as neutral ground, it's not like Laura's busy being President or anything."
THIS. It makes me laugh every time that Cain just decides to use Colonial One with telling anyone. I have this mental image of them just showing up and Laura being all '…what the frak are you two doing here?'
Vf vg n fcbvyre gb fnl gung gurve fuvc unf ab bccbfvgvba? V zrna, sbe nyy Znex xabjf, Ebfyva zrrgf n ubgg qhqr ba Arj Pncevpn naq zneevrf gur ragveryl jebat crefba whfg yvxr rirelbar ryfr ba gung cynarg. Hz. V znl unir vffhrf.
WORD! You do not have issues. It is known.
Bu, tbbq cbvag. Hz, ab bccbfvgvba ng guvf cbvag? Znlor? Naq ab lbh'er abg gur bayl bar jvgu vffhrf.
The only other ship Adama has is with Galactica herself.
Wrong. Bill/Laura totally has opposition, it just isn't as popular. I knew people who shipped Laura/Lee and people who shipped Laura/Coddle. Those are the obvious ones. I won't mention the Bill/ships because I can't remember which episodes the long-lingering-glances, or whatever it was that the shippers built their case on, were in.
Oh, Cain. I really appreciate that they gave us a deeper look in this episode. Seeing her struggle over what to do with Adama was a bit humanizing; she doesn't leap at the opportunity to do harm, at least not to a high-ranking officer. And I appreciate that she gave Starbuck hope of rescuing the people on Caprica (though I have no idea what Cain plans to do with them, since she doesn't particularly care about civilians). But I still can't stand her. And not in a love to hate way. Roslin calling for Cain to be killed made me love her even more, which I thought impossible. She was great in that meeting while they were acting like petulant kids. President Space Mom <3
I'm really interested in what will happen with murder plots. Fisk doesn't seem to be completely in line with Cain's policies, and Cain presented Starbuck with the opportunity to save the humans on Caprica, so it should be fun to see how that plays out. By the way, killing the guy who has been running the Galactica to instill harsher military rule isn't going to endear yourself to anyone; I could see full-blown rebellion if her plan is successful (I don't think it will be.) It makes sense as a preemptive move, but afterwards the fleet would be a nightmare. Zarek would love this shit. Where is he?
I was disappointed with the aftermath of the rape. It was condemned. Yay. But the way it was handled seems like it was meant to motivate other characters into action. Adama was present for Doc Cottle's report, and might be influenced against Cain by what he heard, and then Helo and Tyrol use it to reflect upon their feelings and deal with their issues. Bleah. This instance isn't as pointless and irritating as most rape plots because it is rooted in social commentary more than drama, but I still feel let down by the way it's being handled.
PS: Sorry about the spoiler reports, lol. It wasn't showing that it submitted, and I figured it was just chrome being buggy, and I might have gotten a little overzealous (but not 50! sheesh!)…oops!
You're not the only one that reported spoilers. I think we are just VERY vigilant spoiler-reporters!
In too much television series and movies it seems like "true love" only exists for 25 year-olds. The great thing about the Roslin/Adama ship, is that they're both "old" which is sadly a rarity in popular media today. The story about two people older people finding comfort and companionship in eachother during difficult times is ten time more compelling than the usual crap with young and ridiculously handsome actors and couples you know will just end up cheating on eachother.
I understand what you mean here, but I am unable to stop myself from pointing out that older people/the elderly are not immune from cheating. My grandparents' marriage ended due to my grandfather's wayward ways and though he is no longer married, he does continue to cheat on any woman who gets into a relationship with him. He's in his late sixties.
I don't mean to imply that you were saying only young people cheat, just…you know, for the sake of clarity, I'd like to put it out there that older people aren't immune, either.
Yeah, I think it's more than in fiction, the younger couples always cheat on each other, and older people are magically immune. 😛
That's certainly true, although I can think of a few older couples who were involved in non-monogamy storylines. To be fair, though, most of those examples are from sitcoms, and the subject is treated light-heartedly when compared to the way a drama show would treat the topic, so perhaps those examples shouldn't count at all.
See It's Complicated. It is funny and how can you go wrong with Streep and Alec Baldwin?
I do think it makes sense though. Older people have either been together forever or for whatever reason have lost a partner in the past and aren't really looking for true love or Mr. Perfect anymore but rather settling with someone nice enough to spent the rest of their lives with. Frankly I'd say that's a healthier attitude.
Interesting note: A lot of divorces happen when people are in their fifties when the kids have moved out and the early days of being together are so long ago they don't know how to just be a couple anymore instead of parents.
This doesn't have much to with anything, but as a point of interest, I always find I'm more drawn to older couples in fiction. I also find I'm usually much more interested in the 'beta couple' of a show – if there's a pair I'm obviously supposed to ship (I'm side-eyeing you so hard right now, Starbuck/Lee) I just get kinda bored. And of course, the older couples usually tend to BE the beta couple.
That's why I prefer Lupin/Tonks to any of the younger ships in Harry Potter, and even when I was a little kid watching Pokemon, I always wanted Jessie and James from Team Rocket to get together. 😛
WORD on Lupin/Tonks. I tend to shy away from the type of young, attractive, central couples which traditionally make up the bulk of shippers/shipping wars… whether it be Lee/Starbuck, Ron/Hermione, Harry/Ginny, innumerable couples from the Whedonverse, Jack/Gwen, or what have you, I generally feel less than no interest. (I would say that my sole exception at the moment is Amy/Rory, who I find extraordinary cute together, but that's neither here nor there.) However, it's the older, less prominent couples – I might even say characters in general – that I tend to find appealing and worth getting sqee-ish over. Lupin/Tonks is a prime example; slightly older secondary characters with a minimum of page space who for some reason form an immensely ship-able couple. I suppose that the younger couples tend to be affected by everyone, including the creators, regarding them as potential romantic interests from the start, while older, less prominent couples usually develop organically into more believable, less melodramatic romances.
Just my two cents.
I tend to avoid whatever the "Big" ships of a show are, usually by preferring same-sex couples. Although Galactica is an exception to that rule for me. There are several nice het couples, especially Adama/Roslin, that really work for me.
I find it really interesting that Cain is all for going back to the Colonies and taking them from the Cylons. Not only does it draw an obvious parallel to Adama's view in the miniseries before Roslin stepped in, but it really says something about her personality. In a way, she's deluding herself. Even with both Battlestars, there's no way they could take on the Cylon fleet and take back all their worlds. And even if they did, we saw what Caprica was like. It was a radioactive mess! Where Roslin and Adama are looking to the future, Cain is just holding onto the past, too stubborn to admit that they've lost.
But then Starbuck is all for it…I guess Starbuck is a bit like a younger Cain. She can be stubborn to the point of idiocy. Going back to rescue survivors is one thing, but thinking that they can take back the Colonies is just plain suicide. I think Starbuck is really being quite childish in this context, just as she was when she was trying to convince Space Mom and Dad to go back and rescue Anders – she knows that it just isn't realistic but she doesn't want to hear it. It's weird to say it, but I feel like Starbuck and Cain are both idealists, but they're both stuck in a place where compromise is really the only option.
When Starbuck tells Cain that taking Caprica back from the Cylons was the "best idea [she'd] heard so far" I was torn between thinking she was being naive and thinking she was just trying to stay on Cain's good side. Although I want to believe she just said that for Cain's benefit, it would be out of character. The Starbuck we know would definitely want to take Caprica back from the Cylons and would think that doing so would not only be possible but a great idea. It's pretty sad, actually.
And the thing is, Cain's seemingly so fixated on that idea—she will fight her way back to Caprica and she will find survivors there and she will reconquer their old world—that she completely loses perspective on her immediate situation. Before the start of the last episode, there was presumably no reason for her crew to believe that the people aboard the Pegasus and her civilian fleet weren't the only human beings left in the entire galaxy. But what does she do? She ransacks the civilian ships for parts and leaves all the people (edit: except for what? sixteen, I think? Because obviously there's no way those other people could have been of any use to her) to die alone and completely defenseless
or get captured and farmed out by the Cylons,because the real-life people who're right there in front of her on those ships apparently aren't anywhere near as important to her as the potentially-existent people who might still be on the colonies.Some things I think about:
. I don't actually like the whole 'rape' concept. It's disgusting. Now, I know that it happens in the military and refers to real life events and is a good way to show how evil Cain is but…it feels so…over-used. I felt terribly sorry for Six when this was all revealed. Like, on the point of tears. But after I thought about it…I felt kind of dirty. Because this is the reaction they want us to have. Like the only way we can empathize with a Cylon is if the humans are demonized and Cylons are made victims. I just don't like rape as a plot point. It's over-done nowdays (look on TvTropes for http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RapeIs… and always feels wrong.
. Secondly, going into the actual story line. WTF are you doing Cain- encouraging your men to rape?! Even if we ignore all the moral problems with that- it still lacks logic! You're encouraging them to see sex as a violent action, or worse, as a right a conquering soldier has. Do this often enough and what will happen to the women onboard, will they be allowed to say 'no'? Because I bet the Cylon did- and they raped her anyone. And what about any woman who pisses them off? Or the women aboard the Galactica- they're outranked/taken over- does that mean the soldiers have a right to rape them too? RAPE IS NOT TO BE ENCOURAGED OR TAKEN CASUALLY. IT IS A FORM OF ASSAULT, NOT A RIGHT OR A PRIVILEGE. IT ENCOURAGES VIOLENCE AND HATRED, PARTICULARLY TOWARDS WOMEN.
. The odd thing about it is that the Pegasus crew don't seem to understand their own reasoning.
They don't think it counts as rape as the Cylon is a machine. You can't rape a machine; it can't feel.
Okay. So if it can't feel, why bother torturing it at all? Rape is sexual torture, designed to horrify and humiliate the victim. It's a known weapon. But it's a known weapon against HUMANS.
You call Six a machine, but then you torture her as if she were human. By raping her, you are acknowledging her as a woman. You CAN'T rape a machine. Yet you do it anyway. PARADOX.
. Am I the only one who got weird vibes between Cain and Six? Like…Cain's hatred of Six just feels so…personal.
Am I the only one seeing this? But somehow…if Cain was a lesbian that would annoy me. Because it's the stereotype of how a woman with any kind of power must be some kind of a 'butch lesbian' which I hoped was outdated by now.
Good points all around but I especially liked your commentary on the Pegasus crew thinking they can't rape a Cylon. If it wasn't rape they wouldn't be doing it. And the thing is, they were shaming Tyrol and Helo for having sex with a Cylon but if they're not raping PegausSix then what do they think they're doing? Having sex with her? In which case, by their ridiculous logic, they should be just as humiliated as Tyrol and Helo supposedly should be. But no, they're not having sex with her, they're raping her and they know it. Their purpose, like you said, is to torture and humiliate. It can't be anything else.
Re: the weird personal vibes between Cain and Six…I thought so, too, but I'm thinking that perhaps it's because Cain's perspective is so militaristic that to her the things Six did to the Pegasus were intensely personal.
That sort of mindset would also help explain why Cain would gut and abandon those other ships. Allowing sixteen people to join the crew was a concession to the civilian side of things, but if that's the limit of what she's willing to do….I'm kind of wondering if she's just so entrenched in the military lifestyle and protocols that she simply can't fully fathom that she was responsible for a sizeable civilian population and so just dumped them at the first opportunity. If nothing else, it seems the fact that they're not military ships with military personnel made them worthless for anything but spare parts and scrap metal to her.
yeah this is definitely one of those episodes where you know what the good guys are doing is bad but you want them to do it because when we wont have to deal with the bad guys anymore. even though REALLY the bad guys are just like the good guys, so whats makes the good guys so good and the bas guys so bad? i just want my friends to survive this episode! ok, fine, kill cain. you have my blessing. *sigh*
I’m going to go out on a limb here and take a guess: this character got a lot of sexist backlash from the fandom.
Funny as it may sound, I didn't think of her as a gender, only as a leader person. The show being what it is, I simply assume the role to go to a woman merely because of the inclusion of more women into the scifi category in better positions, not as a statement of sex. I did notice the conspicous lack of female numbers in the Pegasus staff (was there one in the CIC or I'm just mixing up the ships?). There must be women officers, but we're not given them to see as the primary point seems to be the kind of male force treatment given by traditional military forces as against the new kind of inclusive army as represented by the Galactica.
Just a thought I had while looking for more things to see if Galactica was a common kind of militia or something of an oddity when placed against another ship from the former Colonial Fleet. I'm guessing Galactica was the odd one out in the fleet.
It's interesting to theorise huh? It could be that women are simply less likely (for whatever reason) to want to join the military, and Galactica is the odd one out for having more even ratio. Or it could be that Pegasus is unusual for having less women. Perhaps Cain gets to choose her officers and prefers men?
Perhaps there's simply a higher male to female sex ratio in general. After all, we know that on our planet it's about 50/50, but there's no reason to assume it's the same on the colonies. I'd really love to learn a little more about Colonial life before the attack!
Actually, that's wrong. In our planet, the ratio is 60/40 and raising on women count in the last decades. It has always been like that from the beginning given the warlike nature of humans. And from what I've seen so far, the portrayal of their society seems to be one similar to the one in our planet. I'm with you, I also want to know more about Colonial life before the attack.
As for the lack of women in Pegasus, I can't decide whether it was an editing decision to show what they needed in the alloted amount of time or if it was what you suggested, that Cain chooses male officers over women officers. Still, it doesn't seem likely since she chose Starbuck through ability alone. That's why I'm wondering about the portrayal of her too male crew.
Ahhh you see I thoughtit was 60/40 but I was worried about getting it wrong so I looked it up on Wikipedia and they said it was about 50/50. Guess that backfired, huh?
Wikipedia why have you failed meeeeee?? Or maybe I read it wrong?
"Like most sexual species, the sex ratio is approximately 1:1. In humans the secondary sex ratio (i.e., at birth) is commonly assumed to be 105 boys to 100 girls, an assumption that is a subject of debate in the scientific community. The sex ratio for the entire world population is 101 males to 100 females."
IDK, Wikipedia uses language and ways of putting things that confuses me. I swear sometimes they set out to be deliberately difficult to understand. :/
I didn't take my info from wiki. I studied in med school and from the very beginning we were told that the ratio is more women than men and it's never been the other way because of the wars. It's also a method to safeguard the species continuation, as men can procreate from multiple sources but women can only deliver one at a time over a very (for a mammal species) extended period of time, therefore nature made the number of females higher in order to help the survival of our species and social behaviour kept it that way through warfare. And to make it more even, many women used to die at childbirth.
Does that make sense? Oh, and over the past decades with the boom in births and the advances in medicine for the extension of life, that ratio has increased because we normally have more births of female than men (natural selection). All those numbers who should've died at a young age are kept alive by our modern medicine so the difference has become more evident.
That's what I learned and that's what they keep teaching. I don't know if I'm istaken or not, that's what I was taught in med school.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by…
This page lists the overall ratio as 101 males per 100 females, and certainly nowhere near 60/40 no matter how you read it. And there seem to almost always be more boys born than girls.
Like I said, that's what everyone my generation was taught everywhere and 10 years after as well. I didn't rely on wiki, I spoke from formal schooling. I've no idea, given the explosion of media afterwards whether is correct, updated or whatever. Just what the textbooks still state.
Well, the data at that page is from the CIA. I suppose you don't have to trust them.
I honestly doubt that at any time the world's sex ratio was 60/40. Maybe in a specific country after a time of war, but not all over the world. Which textbook is this from?
All that I can think of in my language. All the main sources on biology and medicine. Remember I'm from the other side of the world. My capital city was named and used as setting in yesterday's Torchwood episode which I find really ignorant on their part as they wouldn't even get an Argentinian to speak in what it's supposedly its own country. They got a Venezuelan for that ¬¬***
I don't watch Torchwood, but if all you have is a source in Spanish, I'd read that. I just want to see any source at all that says there's a 40/60 sex ratio in our world. The only place I've ever seen that kind of ratio was at my college, which had many more women than men attending.
I've got the sources in my language, like I said, the Dorland dictionary of medicine, the Mosby medical dictionary for nurses, the Curtis Barnes full compendium of biology, a medical enciclopaedia which now is old at home (even I forget to use it). That's what I've got from my student days. I'll have to get my biology appendix from med school and check where the info is in there as well. As you see, I'm not updated, those are things a decade old at the very least but it was all I had.
Now I'm wondering if there's something on the Britannica, which I don't have.
It depends on what area of the world you're talking about. Where I live, sex-selective abortion is such a major problem that it's driven the gender ration of women to men as far down as 940 women per 1000 men in some places, because people are aborting female foetuses. And this is as likely to happen in rich areas as poor ones.
I got that, which is why I stated what area of the world I'm from afterwards.
i think one thing that the writers and creators of this show have done really well is create a world in which there is (or seems to be) far less gender inequity, especially in the military setting. starbuck and kat are viper pilots, boomer was a hot shot raptor pilot (and could obvs still do the job, it's not like she's forgotten how to fly a raptor), dualla is kick ass on coms. callie is a bitchin' deck hand. there has not been an episode thus far that addresses gender issues overtly. they are ever present, as they are in real life, but the show doesnt make a big deal out of these female character BECAUSE they are females. starbuck is reckless and arrogant and the best pilot onboard galactica (and pegasus too, i mean come on), she's better than the CAG. kat is stubborn and driven. boomer is/was a bit stubborn as well, but also insecure and immature. Dualla is incredibly poised. Callie doesn't take shit from anyone. THIS is why these women are a big deal – because of their distinct character traits and abilities and actions – these are not qualities exclusive to being a woman. they never have to defend their femininity or fierceness nor do they offer it up willingly. IT just IS. and i think thats why, in my experience at least, i havent heard any backlash about the Cain character. it's so typical for people to say oh well she doesnt fit the mold (and especially that she doesnt parallel the other female character in power – Roslin) so let's talk about it! and whether talking about it results in a good or bad opinion, on BSG Cain just IS. i never felt the need to scrutinize her femininity or her bitchiness. the world was already set up as one in which female characters span the spectrum or personalities and just because they do bad ass things or hang out with the guys make them "one of the boys." the boys don't have a special club that the girls want to be in! and the girls don't have a special club that guys just want to understand! they are all in a club called "Galactica" and they're just trying to do their jobs and stay alive. and while Cain is PURE EVIL she is part of the Pegasus Club (heck, she's the HEAD of the Pegasus Club) for the same reason everyone else is: because she's there and she wants to kick some cylon ass, and she wants to do it well. the fact that she happens to be a huge evil bitch is largely irrelevant to her being a woman. the same analyses could be made of roslin. she's gone from being the secretary of education to the president of the remainder of the HUMAN RACE. nobody (that we know of at least) is worried about her being a woman. they're worried about her being the secretary of education! they're thinking "what does she know about running a civilization?!" rather than "what does she know about being in man's role/world?" it's never a question of gender for any character, male or female, it's just a matter of character.
re-reading this post i produced two very humorous images:
1) all the pilots and marines and folks onboard galactica going to Club Galactica every night and get their dance on.
2) A West Side Story-esque showdown between Club Galactica and Club Pegasus. Pegasus thinks it's better and classier, but Galactica likes being the underdog. WHO. WILL. WIN?
Pegasus totally think they are the jets.
Seriously, the women on this show are awesome. When you think about the fact that our own military is leery of putting women in combat situations and then you see someone like starbuck on BSG, it makes me want to scream, we are awesome! Give me a Viper damnit!
AHHHHH WALL OF TEXT. MY EYEEEEES!
😉
But seriously, I totally agree. If Cain was one of a few, or even the ONLY female character, then we might be seeing some problems. But she isn't – there are tons of female characters, each with different personalities, motivations, and varying degrees of likeability. And of course, there's Roslin, who is a direct contrast, being a woman with a lot of power who doesn't abuse it, or at the very least has a completely different way of doing things.
No-one could accuse the show of stereotyping women!
On another note, I'd avoid using the word 'bitch' as an insult on this site, it's frowned upon. Just FYI.
Also, compare this to sci-fi shows of previous decades such as the original Star Trek. I still like the show, but hello blatant sexism! Their are few shows I can think of where the two sexes are this equal. Perhaps Farscape is another because Aeryn is pretty damn badass.
Not to stan Babylon 5 again, but that show was pretty damn good at female characters (with the bonus that it also has alien cultures which dealt with sex/gender in different ways too). Women on Babylon 5 included politicians, warriors, officers, foot soldiers – everything and anything. B5 also does a very good job of integrating gay and bisexual characters with a minimum of fuss.
I think the implication there is supposed to be that with the discovery of other alien races, sexism had mostly become a thing of the past, as humans band together to be racist towards aliens instead. Which is hardly ideal, but I can see it happening… :/
At least they steer clear of the whole happy-go-lucky Star Trek thing of 'we've eliminated war and poverty and we don't even use money any more!' which is a little ridiculous. Don't get me wrong, I love Trek, but…come on.
OK, I have been trying to post this comment ALL DAY and I keep getting a "timed out" error. I hope this works!
First of all, I agree with other commenters who have said that Starbuck’s face at the end of the episode is reflecting not only her shock at Adama asking her to murder someone, but also the fact that she identifies with Cain, and Cain seems to “get” her, making this a hugely difficult order for Starbuck to get right now.
I actually laughed at myself later when the ship’s purpose is revealed because the title of the episode was obviously what it was called. I seriously can dissect the most banal minutia of meaning and subtext and can’t see the obvious just sitting right in front of me.
That’s why we love you, Mark. You manage to stay unspoiled even when spoilers are in the title of the episode!
Speaking of spoilers: V unira'g frra Enmbe, ohg vs Znex ybirf nyy guvf fghss jvgu Pnva naq jnagf zber onpxfgbel nobhg ure punenpgre, ur'f tbvat gb ybir vg, evtug?
My thoughts while attempting to re-watch this last night:
NETFLIX WHERE IS MY SUBTITLES. WHERE IS THEM.
Laird looks a lot like Sam Huntington, no? Yes? Maybe?
Oh my god, that resurrection ship is TERRIFYING. Giant centipede-spider, anyone?
I can't understand what the fuck anyone is saying when they're all static-y from the communication thingies. Look Netflix, some of us have problems processing speech, okay? Especially when there's a lot of background noise. Subtitles are not just for the hearing-impaired! Although they are definitely for them as well and you should really get subtitles on everything in your catalog!
"I have no idea, sir, I'm just a passenger back here…" hee hee
I love Space Mommy giving the two of them a talking-to. Look at their posture! Cain is sitting ramrod straight and Adama is SLOUCHING. He’s like the petulant younger brother or something.
"Guess what! We're at war!" GEE, THAT SOUNDS FAMILIAR. POST-9/11 PARALLELS, I SEE YOU.
Lucky he's not staring at his own wallet? Vomit? I CAN'T HEAR WHAT'S GOING ON. It's probably "bullet," right?
Promoting Starbuck? Interesting choice. It seems like Cain sees something of herself in Starbuck. However, Cain also seems to be a stickler for rules, while Starbuck… is not.
Sharon 🙁
Thanks Doc C for that "unforgivable." I love Doc C. He Gets It.
"Aren't we supposed to be dead?" Hee.
Gaius! Could it be that you are becoming less of a shallow weasel? *gasp*
"Waves and waves of emotion." Six likes emotion, doesn't she? It’s a Six Thing.
Fuck you Cain. Fuck. You. (after she kicks and spits on Pegasus-Six)
Did Pegasus-Six attack Gaius because she thought he would attack back and kill her? Or that the marines would come in and shoot her? Or was she just filled with rage and needed an outlet?
XO Drinky Time!
I knew there was something fishy about Laird's story.
FUCK THIS, I CAN’T HEAR, I AM LOOKING UP A TRANSCRIPT
*reads*
LOL, the transcript literally says "Apollo starts typing an IM to Starbuck."
…Oh, it was "warrant"!
*catches up to current scene*
Okay, now I can read about the horrifying thing Cain did to the civilian fleet. Pegasus: where our motto is "when in doubt, shoot everybody."
"I want to die." 🙁 It makes me really sad when people are put through things that are so horrible that they'd rather die than go on living after that. Part of me would like to see her be able to heal from what happened, because I don't like the idea that someone can be broken so badly they can never be fixed. But maybe that's just my foolish sense of hope talking.
Aw, Adama and Roslin. So cute, talking about how she'd look as a blonde. And, you know, war and death and stuff too. BUT THE FLIRTING IS MOAR IMPORTANT.
I love you Helo, and your love for Sharon.
LOL they have a model of the resurrection ship already! WHO BUILDS THESE. Is it Adama? We already know he builds model ships! I like to think Gaeta would have fun with it, too.
WOULDN'T IT BE HILARIOUS IF BOTH OF THEM ASSASSINATED EACH OTHER. Oh no wait it wouldn't. 🙁
The wiki points out: Both Adama and Cain's assassination plans (taking advantage of a victory celebration in CIC) are exactly the same as the one used by Sharon Valerii in "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II".
:O
"Did Pegasus-Six attack Gaius because she thought he would attack back and kill her? Or that the marines would come in and shoot her? Or was she just filled with rage and needed an outlet? "
The latter, I think.
"LOL they have a model of the resurrection ship already! WHO BUILDS THESE. Is it Adama? We already know he builds model ships! I like to think Gaeta would have fun with it, too."
According to (I vaguely recall) the podcast commentary from 1-10 (the one with the asteroid battle and the Bam-Pow-Fwoosh-Zing! and McCreary's Wander My Friends which is the best song of all time except for ), the in-universe rationale for the models was that there's a machine shop built into battlestars for use in maintenance and repairs on long deployments, and one of its duties is providing models of any relevant ships so as to keep them from having to have star-trek style 'this dot is the enterprise and that dot is the klingons and that line is the neutral zone' computer displays for the battle planning sequences.
V'q guvax gung'f cebonoyl gur fnzr znpuvar fubc gung jr'yy or frrvat va gur hcpbzvat naq fyvtugyl yrff fngvfslvat rcvfbqr jvgu Tvan'f 'crnpr zbirzrag' fgbbtrf.
Except for what? EXCEPT FOR WHAT?? Aw, never mind, I think I know.
iLOL they have a model of the resurrection ship already! WHO BUILDS THESE. Is it Adama? We already know he builds model ships!
OMG, I love this idea. Ok, it's personal canon to me now. In his downtime, Adama builds models to use on the tactical board.
"Lucky he's not staring at his own wallet? Vomit? I CAN'T HEAR WHAT'S GOING ON. It's probably "bullet," right? "
LMFAO staring at his own wallet! I feel bad for mocking your pain here, but that just made me snort with laughter because it totally seems like Cain was planning to mug Adama or something. Your guys killed one of my men, PAY UP.
I also thought it was wallet. But I lacked the motivation to look it up. So I was just going with wallet.
I approve.
I just got caught up…PARDON ME WHILE I CLAW MY FACE OFF THIS IS SO STRESSFUL
Er, Mark, Starbuck actually took the Blackbird out on Apollo's orders – remember, he gave her the surveillance kit when they came out of the Pegasus ready room after the briefing with sucky Pegasus CAG? She made up the cover story on her own, and he obviously knows when she took it out since he's contacting her from the Raptor. She just kept quiet about his role in it to Cain since she was probably expecting a court martial instead of a promotion and didn't want to drag him into more hot water. (and EMMYS, YOU FRAKKED UP. HOW WAS KATEE SACKHOFF NEVER EVEN NOMINATED FOR ONE DURING ALL THE YEARS THIS WAS ON TV? Though I shouldn't be surprised, they'd never go near anything that's seen as meant for total geeks and isn't by JJ Abrams)
<img src="http://www.frak-that.com/210/images/210_cap702.jpg" width="400" height="300" />
<img src="http://www.frak-that.com/210/images/210_cap706.jpg" width="400" height="300" />
And the BSG fandom, at least what I've known of it, actually DIDN'T go all what-a-bitch on Cain, the majority of fans I've encountered are either sympathetic to what she must have gone through or/and horrified by her attitude to the civilians and the treatment she condones on board her ship. None of the hate for her, IIRC, was because she was a woman – most fans are pretty quick to pick up that this is well what could have happened to Galactica if Roslin hadn't convinced Adama to flee instead of fight, like he first wanted to. (basically: we're a tiny bit more grown-up than you give us credit for)
Another thing I really liked: Apollo going to see Tyrol and Helo. I have so much love for him doing that, and for their reactions to being told that Adama came thisclose to having a shooting war with Pegasus to save them.
It's a nice way to reinforce that not every one of the main cast on this story knows everything as soon as it happens – remember Starbuck in 2×06 not knowing the old man had been shot?
Also, from the last episode: LOL at the Pegasus CAG boasting about his Cylon kill count of 48.
Starbuck probably has that many for breakfast in a good week. And that's without even counting the Great Cylon Turkey Shoot, which means even the nuggets would beat meanie Pegasus-man's ass.
This is the episode that first really got a lot of people to love Doc Cottle, with him not hesitating at all to declare Sharon's rape "unforgivable." Particularly since Adama's also there and we just saw him hemming and hawing over the morality of it.
Continuing my tendency to note all the important things it really bums me out that Tyrol was arrested in that sweatshirt because apparently he now has to wear that for as long as he's in the brig. It is so unbecoming!
Okay I'm over the stress of watching this episode, so right now I don't have a lot to comment on besides how GOOD everything is. Except that maybe again the rape thing as was implied in the last episode was reinforced with the good ship/bad ship dichotomy, but besides that SO GOOD.
Starbuck's relationship with Cain makes sense to me. I mean beyond all her feelings, she's a soldier and she likes shooting things she doesn't know what we know.
I like Fisk a lot as a character even though he reminds me of Mockingjay.
I still don't get shipping: if a relationship is well written it's well written, if it's not I don't care. This is my official position.
PS: Mark, this line: "Lucky he's not staring at his own wallet"
I think the word at the end is 'warrant', or at least that is how I heard it.
Though I wonder if there are things like arrest warrants/death warrants for military personnel, so take that whichever way you will.
Yes, it's "warrant." As in death warrant.
That was me who misheard that line, not Mark.
I just re-watched "Resurrection Ship, Part 2," and…
V'z fb rssvat rkpvgrq sbe Znex'f erpnc. Vs bayl sbe bar guvat: gur xvff orgjrra Nqnzn naq Ebfyva, vzcebivfrq ba gur fcbg ol Byzbf. Vg shpxvat QRFGEBLF zr rirel gvzr, orpnhfr vg'f abg n xvff orgjrra ybiref. Vg'f n snerjryy xvff, naq lbh pna frr vg va obgu bs gurve snprf. Nqnzn/Rqqvr Byzbf oryvrirf guvf jbzna sbe jubz ur'f tebja gb erfcrpg naq pner sbe fb qrrcyl vf tbvat gb qvr, fbba, naq ur pna'g fgbc uvzfrys sebz rkcerffvat uvf tevrs naq ybir va gur zbfg vagvzngr jnl.
Whfg nofbyhgryl oevyyvnag npgvat, sebz obgu bs gurz. Naq nofbyhgryl urnegoernxvat.
V ybir gung vg jnf vzcebivfrq! Gunaxf sbe funevat gur vasb. Tvirf zr n jubyr qvssrerag crefcrpgvir ba gung fprar.
PLEASE POST PART II IMMEDIATELY! I've got a comment that's been waiting since Friday! I'm not even cheating with rot13 AARRRGGHHHHHHHHUUuuuuUUUUUHHHHHHHhhhhhh
hugz
mark, I don't know if you're aware of this, but when I tried to get to the site I was told by some kind of google thing that the site had been reported as an attack site, and was dangerous for my computer
Mark Watches was hacked over the weekend. DreamHost is working on fixing it. Mark will not post reviews until the site is fixed.
Thank you, I was wondering this too! Google and my antivirus both freaked out and I couldn't figure out why.
The site is fixed, so everyone and their info is safe, but I'm just awaiting Google to lift the "Attack Site" warning before posting new reviews.
you said on twitter that we'd be getting a flood of reviews- does that mean you'll be posting the recap for BSG 2×13 tomorrow, as well as DW and BSG 2×12? I'm not really sure where I'm supposed to be up to, haha
I love how Cain leaves muttering under her breath about how lame the civilian/military government is, and she thinks she's totally superior, and had to make all the hard decisions while they sat around "debating morality" and as soon as she's gone, Roslin looks at Adama and just says, you have to shoot her.