In the second episode of the fourth season of Battlestar Galactica, Admiral Adama must come to terms with Starbuck’s insistence that she knows the location of Earth. Meanwhile, the Cylons argue over the existence of the Final Five. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Battlestar Galactica.
This episode is proof of the reason why I watch Battlestar Galactica, why I love it so much, and why I’ll continue to count myself as a fan of this show.
First of all, I don’t know how I have not made this connection four seasons into the show, but the unbelievable thematic references to The Prisoner have been here since the very beginning, once the Cylons revealed that they had numbers that represented their identity. I implore each and every one of you to seek out the original British version of The Prisoner to witness one of the most perfectly-executed television series in the history of humanity. The final two episodes are as close as we will ever get to God himself coming down to earth and writing a television show for the general populace. I don’t care that that is fucking ridiculous. The show is everything one could ever want from serialized fiction and the series finale is so euphoric, so bewildering and shocking and viscerally poetic, that it will ruin your television watching experience for any other show because you will always know that there’s another show that did this better than anything else. Oh, and it was done in 1967-1968. Oh, and why aren’t you watching it now.
Once I saw the name of this episode, “Six of One,” and recognized it as the same name of the fan club/”appreciation society” surrounding The Prisoner, it was much like a bulb flashing on in my head. OH. The Cylons are referred to by numbers, and their society is built around these specific “numbers” behaving in a collectivist manner. IT’S THE PRISONER. How did I not notice this before??? OH GOD I AM THE WORST FAN OF THE PRISONER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD.
But listen. LISTEN. Even if you’ve never seen this show (WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU GO BUY IT RIGHT NOW), this episode is still one of the best written and best acted hours of Battlestar Galactica. Katee Sackhoff, the very fact that you weren’t given every single Emmy in 2008 (and I mean every single one, as in the Emmys just took every award and handed it to her) is proof that there is no justice in this universe. The cold open to “Six of One” is horrifying to watch. We have never seen Starbuck so desperate, so emotive, and so frantically upset; we can see the fear on President Roslin’s face as she comes close to believing that Starbuck might actually harm her. And Starbuck brings up an important thought I’d not considered: the Galactica had trusted Roslin’s impossible visions, so why is it so hard for her to trust Starbuck? Obviously, the context of the two is different, but it’s something that I could ignore. Technically, she was right. But…well, people aren’t generally very receptive to such things with guns pointed at one another.
“Six of One” deals a whole lot of shocking twists, too, the first one being Roslin firing upon Starbuck….and somehow missing. I was glad that Adama later addressed this because I thought it was a bit glaring that Roslin would miss Starbuck at such a close range. Still, I’m at a point where I’m pretty sure any of these characters could die. (Again, in the case of Starbuck.) It’s the final season, so it’s not like there’s much left. Though maybe Starbuck is pretty safe at this point, especially since she’s already “died,” and she’s a bit too important to get rid of at this point.
But we also get something else in this episode that is both hilarious and mind-melting at the same time: Head Baltar. SEEN BY BALTAR. I’m sorry, I fucking LOST IT when he appeared to Baltar while he was talking to Tory Foster. I couldn’t stop laughing at how amazing this was, how this new twist was brilliant and confusing. WHY DOES BALTAR KEEP SEEING THESE PEOPLE? WHAT DOES IT MEAN? At this point, the show has to answer this, right? It’s too obvious to be ignored by the end of this all, so….WHAT THE FUCK. I loved how similar Baltar’s Head Baltar was to Caprica Six’s Head Baltar, which…IS THAT A CLUE TOO? Are they the same vision? OH GOD I CAN’T GET OVER HOW HILARIOUS THIS WAS.
If there’s anything in “Six of One” that’s not quite as perfect as the rest, Tory Foster’s story just feels….weird? I don’t think there’s necessarily anything wrong with it, but it is kind of awkward. I was fascinated by Baltar telling her about music, almost activating something inside of her, and their relationship in this episode has an interesting dynamic, since she’s now the third Cylon that Baltar has had sex with. The writing at least portrays her side of things and the confusion and emotional turmoil that she’s going through concerning her identity, but I think I wanted a bit more from it. What is she going to learn from Baltar, and how will this affect her?
Oh, hey. Cylons. CYLONS. CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS. Okay, is that a new copy of Six? She looks different from the ones we’ve seen before, and Caprica Six is on Galactica, so….yes? Either way, the mystery of the Final Five is the centerpiece of “Six of One.” I am dying to know why it’s forbidden to think of the Final Five Cylons, and this episode shows Six questioning Cavil directly about this, since all they Cylons know is that it’s a divine order to not think about them. That’s it. It’s an act of faith, and I was enamored with the idea that three models finally decided to fight against this. These three models are convinced that the Cylon Raiders resisted the attack in the previous episode because they sensed that the Final Five Cylons are in the fleet. (Which we know to be true for at least four of them. OH GOD WHO IS THE LAST ONE.) We’ve never really seen the Cylons have such a desperate disagreement, and it seems that they’re setting this up to have a greater affect on the future than we’re used to.
And how will the Final Five play into this? I found a specific line that the Hybrid said interesting: “They will not harm their own.” Okay, so…the Hybrids haven’t been wrong yet, so…WHAT THE FUCK DOES THIS MEAN. The four new Cylons can resist their programming? ARE THEY EVEN PROGRAMMED? oh god i have so many unanswered questions and IT IS DESTROYING ME. I feel like I know even less than I did at the end of season three.
Well, that’s not entirely true. There are two new things we learn about the Cylons: the Raiders have their own free will (which Cavil, Simon, Doral, and Boomer all vote to remove by lobotomizing them), and the Centurions do not possess the capacity for reason. Well, until Six reveals that she removed the telencephalic inhibitors and told them what Cavil was doing to the Raiders. AND WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON. Is this going to erupt into a civil war? Though the Cylons killed by the Centurions are just going to wake up in resurrection tanks…so how is this going to be dealt with? OH GOD THIS SEASON IS GOING TO BE UNBEARABLE TO WATCH ISN’T IT.
And it’s not like there aren’t happy moments in this. We do get to see Lee’s departure from the Galactica to take a place on the Quorum, and it’s unabashedly joyous. Even Lee’s goodbye to Dualla, which seems to confirm that they’ve officially separated, really isn’t as depressing as it could have been. Lee is off to bigger and better things, and the entire ship sends him off with love and pride, and it’s honestly one of the only feel-good moments of the whole series. And I love it, genuinely!
But that’s not what I mean about this all being unbearable. I think we might see more moments like this towards the end of the show, but for now, these characters are all in truly awful places. While we see a lot of Starbuck’s internal (and vocal) battle with the people around her not believing in her, the conversation that Adama and Roslin have in Adama’s quarters is horrific in its verbal brutality. COULD MOM AND DAD STOP FIGHTING IT IS REALLY PAINFUL. I thought there might be a moment they would agree when Roslin, full of glee, wanted “atheist Adama” to admit that a miracle might have happened. But the conversation quickly takes a very personal tone when both characters seem to correctly read the situation: Adama wants to trust Starbuck simply because he can’t deal with losing her again, and Roslin fears dying a meaningless death. And then Roslin finds out her hair is starting to fall out and she cries and I want to bury myself in my blankets and never come out from under them ever, ever again.
As I started contemplating what horrible direction Starbuck’s story was going to take at this point (SINCE IT LOOKED SO GODDAMN BLEAK ALREADY), I got a sign of hope. And I latched on to that sign like it was a lone plank of wood in the sea that is Continual Awful on BSG: Lee tells Kara Thrace that he believes her. I initially thought his visit to her was saying this in an unspoken way, but I was even happier to see him just say it. It’s what Starbuck needed, fighting against an entire ship that doesn’t believe her at all. That kiss was not just a gesture of love, but one of faith.
And faith is really what plays into the final moment of “Six of One”: “atheist” Adama concedes Roslin’s point, that he is too resistant to make difficult choices when his beliefs are challenged. In an ironic turn, he takes her advice, deciding to send Starbuck and a small crew aboard the Demetrius to go find earth. It’s actually a brilliant, practical solution; this way, the entire fleet doesn’t have to take the same risk when following Starbuck’s trip back to earth.
But I can’t forget the Hybrid’s words. Is Starbuck leading her crew to disaster and death? Is she being pulled into a trap, or did she really find earth?
JESUS CHRIST THIS GODDAMN SHOW.
This might be the most important question of all: what was Lee wearing in the toasting scene- that weird, incredibly ill-fitting waffle-y textured v-neck sweater? Why is it the costume department’s goal in life to make Lee look silly? The fat suit was so bad it was wonderful, but this…this is too much.
My video got stuck a bit right after Kara threatened Roslin and the screen went black, but the sound was still going, so I thought the sound of footsteps was the sound of a body falling and proceeded to FLAIL and KEYBOARD SMASH D: IT WAS TERRIBLE! Thank god Roslin is alive for now. Is Roslin really going to die this time? I don’t think I can handle it. Watching her break into tears as she pulled out her hair was absolutely heartbreaking. I’m not ready!
The perfect storm of awful would be if Lee had to wear the fat suit WITH that sweater. It would have been glorious.
I think my computer screen would have exploded from too much awful (or amazing? I’m not sure yet…either way, it would be epic)
lol, I said the same thing about that shirt!! My daughter and I were just ~baffled~ by the whole thing.
Yeah, that was a terrible wardrobe choice.
But the suit later more than made up for it 🙂
Why is it the costume department’s goal in life to make Lee look silly?
To appease terrible people like me. Though, lets be honest, there have been some odd wardrobe choices throughout the series. I'm still not over Six's skirt that they must have stolen from the Josie and the Pussycats movie.
It's ~futuristic~ y'all!
That v-neck was awful!
I couldn't help but think of Ross in "Friends" wearing the same shirt as his date.
I decided that Dee must have left it behind on accident when she moved out, and it was the only clean thing because of course they threw the party on laundry day.
Baltar/Head!Baltar.
Yeah, I ship it. No one is better suited to Gaius Baltar than himself- particularly a snarkier version of himself.
James Callis. That is all.
I can get behind this ship.
If you stick Baltar, Caprica Six, and Head Baltar in a room, would the same Head Baltar be chatting with them both? Can Caprica Six get a Head Six just to make this more complicated?
Have Gaius and Caprica Six even talked about how they both see head versions of each other? It seems like something one of them would mention?
They really should. I mean, what are they going to do, judge each other? I think they've passed that point, and maybe they could figure out what's happening. Though I guess they haven't exactly had a lot of time to chat lately.
They had that time when they were living on Colonial One, though, right? They were definitely together at that point, and that was before they had their weird threesome with Three. But maybe both of them are too embarrassed to mention it because they think they're the only one 🙂
Caprica Six didn't fully trust him at that point, so she has an excuse. Though you'd think Baltar would have asked one of them "do you guys ever, you know, hallucinate other Cylons?" back when he thought he might be one.
Well, I felt like he was gearing towards telling her about it when he found out about projection, but then decided to hold off until he had definite proof as to whether or not he was a Cylon.
The only thing that makes the Adama/Roslin scene slightly less painful is listening to RDM's commentary to go with it. He is a total AR shipper.
"Oh, my giddy aunt!" Baltar meeting Head Baltar is not just one of the greatest things on television, but one of the greatest things ever.
That new Six is sporting Tricia Helfer's natural hair color. That was quite the brain melter when I found out.
Does Tricia Helfer normally wear a wig? I love her natural hair colour! It's so pretty!
Yeah, the very white-blonde hair is a wig. The darker blonde hair that the main Six shown with the Cylons in this is her natural hair.
She started wearing a wig somewhere around season 2 I think, because the bleaching was making her hair fall out.
Oh, ugh, I didn't know they made her actually bleach it! I'd just figured it was something like Jennifer Garner in Alias. Not that I am Against Hair-Dyeing or something, but having to do it for the amount it would really require in that role would definitely be really hard on your hair.
D:
It did start as her own hair bleached but it did a lot of damage so they changed to a wig. I want to say early on, but I'm not sure exactly when it switched over.
But I am really glad they let one of the Sixes have Tricia's natural hair! (although it does make me curious about why the Sixes get to have variety, since we saw that dark brown haired Six on the infected basestar too! CYLONS SO MYSTERIOUS.)
Well, I think the actual reason is that Tricia Helfer is hott and it's fun to give her different hairstyles. As for the in-universe reason I have no idea. 🙂
I love this on her. She's just beautiful
"Oh, my giddy aunt!"
I loved that, that expression needs to be used more.
That's the funniest use of "oh, my giddy aunt"! The second-funniest is the Second Doctor in The Two Doctors.
I loved Head!Baltar's exasperation with real Baltar. He was like…why would Six need to disguise herself from you, dude? YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN SEE HER!
dude… you are never prepared….
I implore each and every one of you to seek out the original British version of The Prisoner to witness one of the most perfectly-executed television series in the history of humanity.
A couple years ago, when AMC remade The Prisoner, they put the original series up on their website and On Demand, and I watched it. I wasn't as enraptured as you were, but I did really like it.
The show is everything one could ever want from serialized fiction
…Really? What I want from my serialized fiction is…serialized fiction. Which The Prisoner barely is. The episodes are mostly self-contained, with almost no continuity.
the series finale is so euphoric, so bewildering and shocking and viscerally poetic, that it will ruin your television watching experience for any other show because you will always know that there’s another show that did this better than anything else.
Ha. I kinda liked it, even though it was pretty WTF-y. It worked for the series.
So yes, I have seen The Prisoner. I tried to watch the remake with Ian McKellan, and didn't even make it through the pilot.
And I am SO EASY when it comes to pilots, you guys. SO EASY.
I'm honestly surprised that you didn't pick up on The Prisoner references before- but it's not like they've got people going around saying, "Be seeing you!" (one of my friends does that, and it makes me FLINCH everytime now that I've see The Prisoner. And he's the one who organized the movie watching party where we watched the whole thing! In one sitting!)
OMG THAT SOUNDS LIKE THE BEST PARTY EVER.
Since watching The Prisoner, I've taken to using "be seeing you" as my standard farewell. Salute and all.
"Collarbone's connected to de neck bone, and de neck bone's connected to de head bone, now hear dat word of de Lord!"
You know, when Roslin called Adama an atheist, it made me wonder.
First I want to say that I am speaking solely about the universe within the show, not our real world here, but…so many things have happened to these characters that are straight out of their holy books that it's sort of…confusing to me how any of them can be atheists at this point. If I were a skeptic, pretty much the moment when I had that experience of being on earth and seeing the stars that helped guide them on the path to earth way back when, that would've been the moment that I went, "…oh. So…I guess the holy books were right, then?" But even if I somehow managed to remain a skeptic through that, the fact that it just. kept. happening that all these prophecies were coming true and all these things that were talked about in the books as being on the path to earth, eventually I'd have broken down and accepted–well, maybe not that there was something religious behind these events (as in gods/God) but at the very least that the holy book was accurate, if as nothing else then as a historical record/scientific extrapolation of data that the original colonists recorded perhaps somehow altered in time to become a religion rather than a scientific document.
But something, you know?
Again, I am not at ALL talking about our reality, only persons of faith and atheists within the BSG world. I honestly don't know how skepticism could hold up against some of the stuff that's happened to these people. (Particularly in Adama's case, given his closeness to Roslin and his feelings for her, since she's basically leading the religious charge here.)
It's…interesting, to say the least. I'll be interested to find out if there really is gods/the Cylon God behind all this, or if it really is just a historical record (as I mentioned above) with scientifically accurate predictions combined with a string of coincidences that has made it seem that way.
Except how much of it could be explained as confirmation bias? Okay, sure, these things happen, and we can find prophecies in the book that kind of fit them. But how many other prophecies are in the book that haven't come true, (or which the exact opposite even happened), but Roslin and Elosha simply haven't mentioned because they didn't confirm their beliefs?
And the first prophecy which "came true", which if I remember correctly was Roslin seeing her podium covered in serpents – while on a drug which causes hallucinations, while facing the press (with whom she might have associated with serpents in her mind)… *I'd* certainly be quite skeptical of that one.
And since the Colonists had apparently left the constellation signposts in the cave, and then written about it in their prophecies, well, that's not so much prophecy as geocaching. (Or, as you say, historical record).
I don't recall all of the prophecies, but I can't remember seeing anything which couldn't have been explained by natural means (and don't get me started on Baltar's "Oh, I pulled a guess straight out of my arse and it turned out to be accurate, so I guess that means the Cylon God is real" conversion). So it's certainly possible for Adama to have witnessed all those things and remained an atheist.
–Mary McDonell's weeping after Adama and she fight and her hair falling out in clumps. Ugh. My heart…broken.
–Lee in striped suit….Forever please. And thank you.
–Lee and Kara.. Most heartbreaking loving kiss ever on BSG. THE.END. Topped off with his ultimate belief in Kara. I permanently forever fell in love with Lee during this scene. Those kids….ugh…my heart and soul in pieces.
I cried so much during this episode……for both happy and sad reasons.
Gods I miss this show.
You and me both, bb, you and me both.
I'm bowing out of reading these recaps, it is just too damn painful to relive it through the eyes of someone who doesn't know what's coming (thought I could take it, turns out…no). 🙁
COULD MOM AND DAD STOP FIGHTING IT IS REALLY PAINFUL.
This this this! On the one hand I love that scene because it shows us just how much they understand each other. They know exactly what's going through each other's minds and they both know that the other is right. On the other hand WHY ARE SPACE PARENTS BEING SO HARSH ON EACH OTHER? "Admiral Atheist" is pretty cute though. I know I'm probably supposed to be wondering why Laura missed and hit the picture but BIll has a framed photo of himself and Laura in his quarters! *flail*
Head!Baltar appearing to Gaius may be one of the most entertaining moments this show has ever given us. It almost makes me wish they'd cast James Callis as a Cylon from the beginning so we could have more scenes of him acting against himself because it's so much fun to watch.
Lee's leaving party and the ceremony with the shots of Ambrosia, I just love when the show gives us moments like that. Judging by the big case for the glasses it's clearly a traditional thing, and one they haven't been able to do in a long time.
He's not exactly prominent in this episode but every second of Helo's screentime makes me love him. Begging Tigh to let him try and talk to Kara and going with her at the end of the episode, dragging Lee into doing the shots and hugging him during the departure. Love him.
Do NOT love Boomer's topless ballet for Cavil. Just, NO! Although this does support my theory that the Eight model has a nudism streak. First the group of naked copies Boomer met at the end of S1 and then the random naked Tai Chi copy that Gaius walked past in S3? Seriously it's becoming a pattern.
I thought the framed photo was sweet, but it getting shot an episode after Tigh daydreamed about shooting Adama better not be some sort of cruel foreshadowing.
Fb ortvaf gur Jbefg Fuvc Rire. Pnivy/Obbzre… onnnnnes.
JBEQ! Vg qbrfa'g unir dhvgr nf znal ynlref bs onq nf Pnivy/Ryyra ohg vg'f cerggl qnza pybfr.
Man, this show has gotten so good I can barely stand it! Katee Sackhoff was AMAZING in this episode (I know, I know, isn't she always??) and that scene with her and Lee was BRILLIANT. I never shipped them until JUST NOW. I FEEL LIKE I NEED TO USE CAPS A LOT BECAUSE THIS SHOW MAKES ME HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS.
That argument with Adama and Roslin was so hard to watch, because while there was no yelling or screaming, it was still one of the must painful fighting scenes EVER. Something about the quiet way they deliver such powerful lines was really moving.
I also feel like I have more questions now than ever, and I cannot wait to have some of them answered, finally. Every bit of information we get on the Cylons is alternately fascinating and confusing at the same time!!
Oh shit, how did I forget to add: THE PRISONER IS SO BRILLIANT!! I caught an episode of it on TV Land like 10 years ago and I was always like, "What was that weird yet awesome show I watched at midnight that time…" and then I figured out what it was and then they had all the episodes On Demand and I watched them all and it was sooooo AWESOME. I LOVE that show!!
Lee and Kara. THAT SCENE. that scene. It makes me feel all the emotions, too. Jamie and Katee did such a fantastic job. Starbuck’s face when Lee kisses her forehead and cheeks is so heart breaking and perfect. Just when you think they’ve had their goodbye moment, Starbuck calls out to Lee again. And Lee never was good at saying no to Kara Thrace.
I gave my dad The Prisoner for Christmas a coupla years ago. I should steal it and give the thing a full watch, because I feel really silly for not catching onto the Number Six thing.
Anyway, I was momentarily surprised that Boomer voted in favor of lobotomizing because I was so used to the Cylon, but it makes sense that she would be the first one to break of, wouldn't it? She had trouble accepting being a Cylon, so being the first to display human-like individuality is pretty fitting. I kinda hope that more follow, and that it creates disorder amongst the Cylons. I mean, the Six and the Centurions turning against the pro-lobotomy faction seems like the start of a civil war.
Oddly enough, I didn't think that the "they" in "they will not harm their own" was referring to the Cylons, but the humans. Probably just Adama-style wishful thinking that Starbuck would be okay, and that when the four Cylons we know about are revealed, the humans won't turn on them. I could definitely see Tigh trying to hurt a Cylon, though (even if I can't think of anything beyond his general surliness) and Anders has already blown a few up.
Most importantly, yes, send Starbuck to find Earth! She's good at these things!
I don't have any as-it-aired comments for this, and I'm afraid to say too much, so I'll limit it to this.
1) I didn't like the story with Tory. I felt like it was just treated okay for the other three (men) to pressure her into being a honeypot for Baltar, which I find all the more bothersome because I don't think it would have been treated that way if she were a character we were more familiar with (e.g., Kara or Roslin or Cally). Tigh saying she didn't have to "get on [her] back for him" only made it worse in my mind.
(And just as a Thing, Tory was also a leading member of the resistance on New Caprica – she worked with Roslin to document what was happening during the occupation and helped direct evacuation parties.)
2. CYLONS. … and that's it.
3. Admittedly, a lot of what I remember about this episode is Baltar talking to himself.
4. For some reason, watching Kara seemed a lot more painful this time around than it did the first time I watched. I think I was just so caught up in the fervor of NEW BSG!!!! that I wasn't totally feeling emotions.
Re: #1 – PRECISELY
Yeah, I was pretty annyed at Tigh for that. I was saying "How about YOU seduce Baltar, Tigh?" Ugh. I was dissapointed in the other guys as well for not at least saying "well, you don't HAVE to do that" or coming up with some alternate idea abotu how to get to Baltar. They could have… I don't know, pretended to join his cult or something. It's not that hard to get the guy to talk about himself.
"It's not that hard to get the guy to talk about himself. "
Judging by Final Cut, all you need to do is point a vaguely cameralike instrument at him.
"How about YOU seduce Baltar, Tigh?"
Now that would be fun to watch.
Anders had some kind of relationship with Tory before they discovered their Cylon-ness–I was surprised he didn't say anything. They could even have just said that Baltar's cult is mostly women so Tory should join it WITHOUT discussing him having sex with her. Sigh.
To be fair, Tigh's not exactly supposed to be the poster child of enlightened feminism.
Echoing everyone else, your first point is dead on.
Baltar seeing Head Baltar is the best thing to happen in this show so far. That is not an opinion. That is a cold hard fact. NAME ONE MOMENT THAT IS BETTER. I must have gone over and watched that scene ten times. “Six… is it you, Six?” Oh god, the look on Head Baltar’s face when he says that, like “What did I do to be saddled with this fool?” I wonder-does this mean Caprica Six is seeing Head Six too?
I was glad Starbuck brought up that fact that so many people, including her, trusted Roslin on something unreliable. And I’m sure Roslin realized the truth to that, even though she won’t admit it, and that’s a big part of why she missed. (Did anyone else notice WHAT she shot, btw?) As much as I hated seeing her and Adama being so vicious with each other, he mentioned something I'd never considered before- she might not be the leader mentioned by the Pythia prophecy. What if it is actually Starbuck? But wait, that would mean that she's dying, so I don't WANT it to be true. But it'sobviously bothering Roslin deeply that she had defined herself by this role for the past ccouple of years, only to have it challenged by somebody else.
We finally found out all the cylons numbers: Cavil is One, Leoben is Two, and Simon is Four. So that means the Final Five must have all the higher numbers: 7, 9, 10, 11, and 12.
Dark Blonde Six is fierce, and I love her and her power struggles with Cavil already. FRICTION WITHIN THE CYLON WORLD. Their society is becoming increasingly more like human society all the time, less unified and more individualized.
Starbuck gets a ship! To go find Earth! I hope Helo himself is part of the crew he picked out for her because there’s no such thing as too much Starbuck and Helo.
What if it is actually Starbuck? But wait, that would mean that she's dying, so I don't WANT it to be true.
Well, she seems to have already died, so maybe "dying leader" means "leader who keeps dying." 😛
Jean Grey?
…Which needs to be a crossover ASAP.
Probably shouldn't admit it, but I wrote a little fic of that. You're not the only one who thought about the whole dying-reborn being terribly Jean Grey-ish… 🙂
I'm gonna rot13 this comment even though I'm not entirely sure it's spoilery. BUT BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. Re: Baltar
V ungrq gung jr unq n Urnq!Onygne naq Onygne fprar. Eba Zbber, vs V erzrzore pbeerpgyl, fnvq va cevbe pbzzragnevrf gung ur pbafvqrerq gur Urnq punenpgref gb fbegn or gur znavsrfgngvba bs gurve erfcrpgvir pbafpvrapr. Gung vf jul Urnq!Fvk sbetvirf Onygne – orpnhfr ur jnagf gb oryvrir gung ur jnf pubfra ol fbzr uvture cbjre naq jvyy or sbetvira sbe uvf pbzcyvpvgl va gur qrfgehpgvba bs Pncevpn. Sbe gung fnzr ernfba, Urnq!Onygne vf n ovg pehryre gb Pncevpn Fvk. Ur pnyyf ure n zbafgre naq n pbafhzzngr yvne.
Va gur pbzzragnel sbe guvf rcvfbqr, Eba Zbber rira nqzvggrq gung gurl zbfgyl unq Onygne frr Urnq!Onygne whfg orpnhfr Wnzrf Pnyyvf vf nznmvat. Ubjrire, vg fyvtugyl haqrezvarf gur pbaprcg gung gurl ner zrffratref sebz Tbq pbyberq ol gurve engvbanyvmngvbaf bs jung gurl qvq, erfcrpgviryl.
END RANT.
Cavil is such an ASSHOLE. Shut up, Cavil.
Roslin, just so you know, if you had succeeded at KILLING STARBUCK (uh… re-killing Starbuck?) I never would have forgiven you.
Yeah, Tory, prostitute yourself FOR THE CAUSE. What the fuck are you doing, Tigh. Also, in Baltar's list of accomplishments you forgot simply "lying." Yeah, too easy, I know.
"Vg jnf yvxr V'q orra gurer orsber. Yvxr V arire yrsg." Bxnl, guvf vf nabgure cynpr jurer V fgneg guvaxvat nobhg ubj zhpu gurl shpxrq hc gur raqvat. JUVPU RNEGU VF FUR RIRA GNYXVAT NOBHG, sbe bar.
Look Cylons, if you box one of your models and you end up with an even number, there are going to be a lot more tied votes.
Yeah, so remember that point where Boomer started to suck? (The part where she said of the humans "that part of my life is over.") This is where it comes to fruition. BOOMER, YOU SUCK. Don't fall in with Cavil. CAVIL SUCKS.
Lee, the V-neck is not working for you.
Also, Lee, the line is "To our wives and sweethearts, may they never meet." Haven't you seen Master and Commander?
I like that Gaius has covered up his awful neck wound with an attractive ascot.
AHAHAHA GAIUS APPEARS TO GAIUS. "OH MY GIDDY AUNT" INDEED.
"What do we do now? Put her on trial?" We should put YOU on trial for attempted MURDER, Laura. *glare*
Even though I want Sam and Kara to work things out, I will forgive Lee and Starbuck their kiss here because it was so sweet, and full of love, and Lee thought he'd never see her again, and maybe things like that matter more than my ship or maybe I just ship Kara with everyone. I mean, I think when you DIED and then came back, you deserve a pass on a few things.
And then Lee walks out to see everyone standing there and the Titanic music is playing and OMG ANDERS IS IN FULL DRESS UNIFORM HOW AWESOME IS THAT, and I have something in my eye, I think it's a Viper.
HELL YEAH, SIX. Man, when she has the Centurions point the guns at the assholes, I thought for sure they'd start shooting and the episode would end right there. But then there's a bunch more episode! What?
Oh right, we have to deal with Tory and Gaius having sex. Man, if some dude started trying to convert me to his One True God during sex, I would NOT be seeing that guy again.
"You want to lobotomize the Raiders? Well, we're giving the Centurions free will." Fuck yeah. Isn't that what they should have had in the first place, actually? Seeing as how the Cylon war was started because Centurions wanted to not be the mindless slaves of the humans? Oh whatever.
And then they give Starbuck a ship. And Helo continues to be awesome.
The following is rot-13'd for episode title spoilers only: Ybbxvat ng gur rcvfbqr yvfg, V guvax frnfba sbhe unf gur zbfg naablvat rcvfbqr gvgyrf. "Ur Gung Oryvrirgu va Zr," "Thrff Jung'f Pbzvat gb Qvaare," "Fbzrgvzrf n Terng Abgvba," "N Qvfdhvrg Sbyybjf Zl Fbhy," "Fbzrbar gb Jngpu Bire Zr," ubj naablvat pna gurfr trg? Jul qba'g gurl whfg nqzvg gung gurl'yy arire gbc "Gvtu Zr Hc, Gvtu Zr Qbja" naq fgbc gelvat? QVFPHFF.
I really feel like Boomer needs a Sassy Gay Friend. (Rfcrpvnyyl pbafvqrevat gur jubyr yrg'f-orng-hc-Nguran-naq-senx-Uryb fvghngvba gung unccraf yngre.) She just needs someone there to say to her, 'What are you doing? What, what, what are you doing? You're voting against your sisters and teaming up with Cavil. These are your sisters we're talking about and you're choosing Cavil over them. Cavil. Think about this for a moment. You've seen his track record. This is not going to end well. Here, have some MiO.'
I'm really enjoying seeing you experience BSG for the first time…
Thank you!! I am REALLY ENJOYING WATCHING IT.
I have to reiterate what ToneDef77 and I said before, the best plan for Season 4 would be:
This Week – Razor, 4.01, 4.02, 4.03, and 4.04
Next Week – 4.05, 4.06, 4.07, 4.08, and 4.09
Week Three – 4.10, 4.11, The Third Web Series, The Extended 4.12, and 4.13
Week Four – 4.14, 4.15, 4.16, 4.17, and The Extended 4.18.
Liveblog of The Extended Finale during the Weekend.
Liveblog of The Second Movie during Another Weekend.
Keep in mind that The Extended Finale is in one part, not three. If you have the finale in three parts, it is not the all-important extended version. Ron Moore wanted the finale viewed as one, and complained about the division.
Other stuff: The Suggestions page still doesn't mention B5! Tory is actually the fourth Cylon that Baltar has slept with (Caprica Six, Gina, D'Anna, Tory). The new Six is named Natalie Faust according to an old version of the script, which says she posed as a political reform advocate on Gemenon and relayed the whereabouts of Gemenese leaders to the Cylons during the attack. This information is never onscreen. I think "they will not harm their own" refers to the Raiders refusing to attack the Final Five.
So, Monday night I re-watched "He That Believeth in Me" and "Six of One" in preparation for these reviews. Never mind that the first chapter of my thesis was due on Tuesday.
HOLY SWEET GODS ABOVE, I had forgotten exactly how excruciatingly, unbearably heartbreaking this all was. I was a mess by the end of the cold open, and after Roslin and Adama fought, and Roslin discovered her hair was falling out, I just started sobbing. THIS SHOW. JUST. THIS SHOW. HOW DOES IT DO SO MANY THINGS TO ME.
Obviously I can't pinpoint the most moving part of this ep, because there are so many, but it is especially gutwrenching for me to see Starbuck pitted against Roslin. I loved how the relationship between the two had developed all through seasons one and two, and to see it come to this is just so sad.
Oh, fun fact. Number Six was named as a direct tribute to The Prisoner. I didn't know you watched that show!
Ha, that explains why her model never had a consistent name like Simon, Cavil, Doral etc.
First of all, Roslin missing is intended to be an "act of god" type thing. She shouldn't have missed, but she still did, therefore there's something special about Kara. Per RDM in the commentary.
Secondly, I interpret “They will not harm their own," as the hybrid talking about The RAIDERS not being willing to harm their own. i.e. the final four/five Cylons hidden in the fleet. As shortly after this Leoben and Six and company go to Cavil saying they think the Final Five are with the humans, I think that makes sense.
Finally, re: the Prisoner. Back in the very early days of the internet, I read a detailed plot summary of The Prisoner. I then went around for about ten years conviinced that The Prisoner was the greatest TV show ever, without ever having actually seen it. (This was before Dvd and way before internet video.) Eventually, I rented the show from Netflix. And…I didn't really like it at all. It was slow and kinda boring and sexist, and…I couldn't watch more than a few episodes. So, theorectically, I think the show is brilliant, because I approve of the philosophy, but in execution, it just doesn't hold up for me.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with you. This is James Callis we're talking about here.
"Oh my giddy aunt!"
Gaius is clearly a Two fan.
I'm happy to see you are enjoying the show. I apologise, I have lurked around your site for a while now and I really enjoy your reviews but I feel it's safer for me to keep silent for fear of spoilers.
But I wanted to ask: Have you ever heard of RDM's other show, Deep Space Nine? Yes, I know it's star trek but you can see RDM practising a lot of what he used in BSG in his earlier work on DS9.
I'm also ecstatic you will be watching Babylon 5. I plan to watch along with you 🙂
DS9 was my first love– when I finished watching the show in rerun format in high school I noticed that RDM was just starting a new show called BSG and that I should try it. I am therefore eternally grateful to DS9 for getting me hooked on BSG.
Even Ron Moore's TNG episodes hint at the qualities he would bring to BSG. His first ever Trek episode is basically about "What if people cared when a Red Shirt died?", and he's also singlehandedly responsible for the epic storyline of Worf trying to regain his honor in seasons three and four.
THANK YOU FOR RECOGNIZING THIS. I love the Worf storyline in TNG. And I agree with Djinn, Ron Moore's work on Star Trek is clearly practice for his magnum opus.
I know it's shallow and all, but all I could think of in this episode was…
NOT THE HAIR. PLEASE GOD DON'T TAKE THE HAIR.