In the seventh episode of the fourth season of Battlestar Galactica, the fleet reels from the new alliance with the Cylon rebels, while the ramifications of recent events affect Tigh, Baltar, and Gaeta in different ways. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Battlestar Galactica.
You have to stop this, Battlestar Galactica. You have to stop doing this to me. You are playing with my emotions. You are making me feel things about a television show that I barely feel for some members of my own family. You are taking all of these characters that I love and you are doing awful things to them. You are hurting my heart. You are hurting my brain.
What are you doing, Battlestar? Why are you making Lee confront Laura Roslin? I still remember in season two when they were like best friends, and now it’s almost as if they are enemies. Do you simply not want me to experience joy? You don’t want me to be happy, do you?
Oh, god, BSG–can I call you that?–why did you just make the basestar jump by itself into the fleet? You are taking even basic operations and making them terribly fucked up. Do you want me to have a functional brain at the end of the day? Do you? Oh, you’re going to have Colonel Tigh order a weapons hold at the last moment, which might be explained away later, but looks terribly suspicious in the moment? No, what are you doing? What are you doing to me?
Colonel Tigh: Which one of them shot Gaeta?
NO, STOP IT. STOP IT. STOP DOING ALL OF THESE THINGS TO ME. Oh god, I just want Gaeta to be okay. BSG, why? Why must this happen? Why can’t you just give me things that make me feel like everything will be okay?
Oh, you are seriously going to go ahead with this entire plot of the humans forming an alliance with Cylon rebels, aren’t you? Six is in the wardroom. There is no turning back. You are taking my emotions, and you are crushing them. This is so bizarre; there is not a moment during this show that I ever expected the Cylons to work with the humans. Sweet summer child, Six is sharing the reality of the Cylon civil war with Tigh, Roslin, and Adama, and I am both excited and horrified, and maybe just a little overwhelmed as well. These are too many things to experience all at once. Don’t you care about my general well-being, BSG? Don’t you want me to be okay at the end of the day?
Even amidst the awkwardness of all of this, then you start to tease me with hope. BSG, we have been down this road before. I don’t like it when you do this to me. It’s always a trick, Battlestar. Have you ever given me hope, and then delivered on it? You’ve been teasing me with the concept of Adama and Roslin being an actual couple for three seasons and you’ve yet to provide me with anything beyond flirting, adorable gazes, and some cuddling. And now, you’ve given me three things with which I am to be hopeful about:
1) I am supposed to believe that the Cylons will willingly hand over the Resurrection Hub to the humans to help them enact revenge.
2) I am supposed to believe that the Cylons want to pursue mortal lives to have a more “human†experience.
3) I am supposed to believe that Kara Thrace might be referred to as the “harbinger of death†because she might lead the Cylons to their “death,†in the sense that they will now gain the ability to die if the Hub is destroyed.
BSG, you have taken all hope from me before. I am weary to believe you, but…but I just love you so much. Oh, I love you, BSG, but you are doing such terrible things to my heart. I do not want Kara to be the harbinger of an apocalypse, so please make this happen.
Oh, god, Adama is thanking Tigh. He has no idea. HE IS GOING TO BE HEARTBROKEN UNTIL TIME CEASES TO BE. How am I supposed to have a normal day after watching this, BSG?
Oh. It’s Gaeta. I can’t deal with this, BSG. I thought you were my friend. I thought you cared about me. Oh, Gaeta, I just want to reach through the screen and hug you. Why can’t I do this? This is what you have turned me into, Battlestar. This is what you’ve created. Gaeta doesn’t deserve this. And now I hate you. I hate you, BSG. You are destroying everything I love. YOU’RE THE HARBINGER OF DEATH NOW. How does it feel? HOW DOES IT FEEL, BSG?
Oh god, I’m sorry for getting mad at you. Because now you’re having Tigh argue for destroying the Resurrection Hub. The ironic terror of this is not lost on me, and yet again, I am faced with the desire to hug fictional characters through a screen. You know, sometimes I want to appear to be an adult, BSG. I really do. Sometimes, I am okay with simply acting as if a fictional world is totally real. I honestly do. You, however, do not give me that choice. You are controlling my emotions, BSG, and I don’t think that’s fair.
Oh no, please stop it. Now the Quorum is upset at the announcement of the Cylon alliance. Oh god, Lee, please. Please stop antagonizing Roslin, you used to be friends, why can’t you just hug and give her a puppy and then everything will be perfect. Right. This is you I’m talking about, BSG. There hasn’t been a single puppy on this show in three and a half seasons. Not one. What kind of life do you expect these people to have without puppies? There aren’t even Cylon dogs. I can’t talk to you right now, BSG. I can’t.
Wait, you are having Roslin confront Tory Foster over sleeping with Baltar? Look, Tory Foster is pretty much on the bottom of my Awesome List (and it’s a really long list, since it includes every character ever introduced on this show since the miniseries), and I still can barely stand to watch her get spoken to like a disobedient child. And it’s not like Laura Roslin is in the wrong at all! Tory should have known better! But never have I even wanted the characters who are awful to have good things happen to them! WHY DO YOU CONTINUE TO MARGINALIZE MY HEART, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA?
No. No. BSG. You…you can’t do this to me. You can’t. Felix Gaeta is singing to cope with his amputated leg. And his voice is one of the most gorgeous and haunting things I have ever heard.
You can’t do this to me. You can’t expect me to watch this and then function at all for at least 24 hours afterwards. My heart is not going to heal from this moment. Why? Why does this entertain you so much? Can you only subsist on broken dreams and shattered hearts?
Oh, Roslin and the lead Six meet with the Quorum and they are shocked into silence. I’m laying on the floor right now, just so you know. I can no longer handle the very idea of sitting upright. My very motor functions are abstract equations to my mind. How am I even typing anymore.
Why did Hera just tell Athena “Bye-bye”? You can’t. BSG, stop it. Stop it. I am begging you. Please.
OH. WAIT. IS THIS A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL? Are you seriously going to have Starbuck help Roslin find out what the Opera House visions mean? BSG, eventually, you have to provide us with an answer, so….could this be it? Could this be the moment? Oh my god, I love when Starbuck and Roslin work together. You’re not going to ruin this, are you? Oh god, you are going to ruin it because you are a life ruiner, Battlestar Galactica. You’ve just added Gaius Baltar to this trip to the basestar? Is he going to ruin Roslin’s moment? EVERYTHING HURTS.
BSG. Oh, BSG. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with the final minutes of “Guess What’s Coming to Dinner?” I don’t know how I am supposed to go to work tomorrow and focus on things that have nothing to do with the Cylon’s internal conflict over trusting humans. I don’t know how I am going to think about anything other than Athena’s horrifying choice to MURDER THE LEAD SIX because she thinks she is the one who will take Hera away. I don’t know how I am going to think about anything other than the horrifying fact that once the Hybrid is turned on, SHE ORDERS THE SHIP TO JUMP AWAY IMMEDIATELY.
And I don’t know how to get the image of Felix Gaeta in his bed in the sickbay, sweating profusely, singing that sad ballad of his, out of my head. Forever.
Battlestar Galactica, what have you done to me?
I've been waiting for-frakking-ever to be able to post this song. Hands down my favorite track out of the entire series. And it's actually sung by Alessandro Juliani (fun fact – the version used in the episode is what AJ sang on the day).
[youtube NY3gY48pxjA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY3gY48pxjA youtube]
From Bear's Blog:
Alessandro Juliani (AJ) said that the idea “began around a dinner table when we were shooting Kevin Fahey’s script ‘Faith.’ We were out one night after work, and somehow it came up in conversation that I had studied opera (in what seemed like another lifetime at Mcgill University in Montreal).”
And the lyrics:
Alone she sleeps in the shirt of man
With my three wishes clutched in her hand
The first that she be spared the pain
That comes from a dark and laughing rain
When she finds love may it always stay true
This I beg for the second wish I made too
But wish no more
My life you can take
To have her please just one day wake
So. Frakkin'. Beautiful.
P.S. Here, have Gaeta singing in the episode:
[youtube P3gUY940chg&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3gUY940chg&feature=related youtube]
Frak, it just posted the same video twice. The second one's below:
[youtube P3gUY940chg&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3gUY940chg&feature=related youtube]
He studied opera?! Gaeta is amazing. I love his song.
i can't deal with this official version. it makes me want to sob forever.
Lyrics by Michael Angeli, the episode writer. Music composed by his wife Karen Angeli and arranged by Bear McCreary.
Don't go to YouTube for the in-show version. Always said, still and especially true.
Seriously one of the most heartbreaking pieces in the entire series. I had it come up in my playlist at work last week (I've been playing the BSG soundtracks as I read these reviews of Mark's, because I end up humming them anyway) and had to stop. I can't listen to the with-lyrics version at work; I just tear up.
When I listen to BSG music while reading these reviews, nine times out of ten, this is the one I choose. I can't even put into words why I love this song so much, it's just a visceral reaction.
I looked up the lyrics as soon as I finished watching the show and learned how to sing his ballad in one night. I was singing it to myself at work the next day. It is amazing.
This episode solidified my love for AJ (as separate from Gaeta… WHOM I ALSO LOVE). His voice is so stunningly beautiful, and this song breaks my soul every time I watch it.
Even removed from the episode, this is bringing tears to my eyes. So beautiful.
Would anyone happen to know if songs from these soundtracks available as MP3 downloads anywhere? I usually download from amazon.com but it looks like they only have the CD's.
I was talking to a friend, who's re-watching BSG, about season four and I asked him if he remembered Gaeta's song. He didn't, but he imagined it went something like this:
You guys are a bunch of assholes
I wish I'd blown this ship up long ago
None of you ever thanked me
After nearly airlocking my ass for the wrong reason
So now I'm imagining Juliani singing that instead. Hee.
Great review, Mark, it perfectly encapsulates all of my ~feelings~ about this show!
You, whose breath be elusive in the East Bay, are cordially invited to Gravity, a sci-fi drama in the vein of Firefly and Battlestar Galactica whose first act will be written by me and whose second act will be improvised. Shit gets real, and you are not prepared.
[youtube NY3gY48pxjA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY3gY48pxjA youtube]
Definitely in my Top 5 favorite musical moments of BSG. Alessandro Juliani (who plays Gaeta) studied opera in college and GOD his voice is so amazing and haunting.
We've gotta wait 11 episodes for my favorite BSG musical moment, unfortunately.
This episode is like a big cake of intensity covered with WTF buttercream, made fancy with HOLY SHIT fondant, and finished off with YOU MUST BE JOKING ME gumpaste flowers.
But nobody on BSG ever gets cake, you guys. No cake, or puppies.
You'd think they'd have pie, at the very least.
Maybe algae pie. That's it.
Just until they find the hot-fudge planet. I still live in hope of that happening.
Hot fudge algae. Breakfast of champions.
"You know, sometimes I want to appear to be an adult, BSG. I really do. Sometimes, I am okay with simply acting as if a fictional world is totally real. I honestly do. You, however, do not give me that choice. You are controlling my emotions, BSG, and I don’t think that’s fair."
THIS.
I knew the Gaeta thing was coming. But I'd forgotten just how much it sucks to watch 🙁
It's been pretty cool to go through season four again, since unlike the other three there's constantly so much happening that it was pretty much one big blob of stuff in my memory. I had even forgotten that Athena killing the lead Six and the Basestar jumping away happened right on top of each other like this. Because it just seems like either on their own would be enough to end an episode on, doesn't it?
Alessandro Jiuliani needs to have a singing career right now.
Seriously, moments like this make me sad that we're well beyond the heyday of Hollywood musicals. When can we have BSG the Musical?
Okay the most depressing musical ever? Is this what you want? Sign me up!
It's not like there isn't a history of musicals being OMG DEPRESSING. West Side Story? Sweeney Todd? Okay, maybe it's just Sondheim, but still!
Go watch Jason Robert Brown's Parade or Adam Guettel's Floyd Collins. We don't need any more depressing musicals. lol
He sings in musicals now on stage in Canada doesn't he?
Note to self: must visit Canada sometime soon.
Do you simply not want me to experience joy? You don’t want me to be happy, do you?
Nope.
Yay everyone's back in one place and the reunion is nerve wracking as hell. The Baseship jumping right into the middle of the fleet with no Demetrius and no way of communicating, how much do the people on board wish they'd sent someone out to write "STARBUCK" on one of the arms?
Why did Hera just tell Athena “Bye-bye”?
To be REALLY CREEPY. She's normally such a sweet child, at least the little we've seen of her has been sweet. She's suddenly taken a turn for the unsettling now, the standing over her parents and sketchbook full of Sixes. The hallway scene with Six is so good at being utterly tragic. The look on Natalie's face when she realises it's Hera. She's so happy to get to see her, especially after that little conversation with Athena about her.
"Let God's will be done." "Shut up." hee
There hasn’t been a single puppy on this show in three and a half seasons. Not one.
Well there was Jake: Hero of the Resistance. I mean no he's not actually a puppy but there is at least one dog in the fleet!
Why does everyone only want puppies? Romo had a cat…where's the love for the felines?
Dude that cat saved lives! If it hadn't run under the Raptor, they would never have noticed it was about to explode. I'm pro-cat.
how much do the people on board wish they'd sent someone out to write "STARBUCK" on one of the arms?
LOL, I was like, why does Starbuck always end up in an enemy ship having to convince the fleet she's on their side?
"Tory Foster is pretty much on the bottom of my Awesome List (and it’s a really long list, since it includes every character ever introduced on this show since the miniseries),"
Can we see this list?
Yeah, I wanna see this list, especially because BSG is the kind of show that will change it episode-by-episode and there's probably like a 10-way tie for 1st.
But Boxey will always be at the bottom
I've never understood much of the Boxey hate. He's just there and is ultimately harmless.
I don't hate him so much as forget about him. He doesn't fit the story, which is why he hasn't shown up since the third episode. A character I hate ranks higher on the Awesome List than a character I don't remember.
That's actually a good point. Boxey just dropped to the bottom of my Awesome List.
The top of my list is and always will be Doc Cottle.
See now, Tory is at the top of my NOT Awesome List.
Wait, you are having Roslin confront Tory Foster over sleeping with Baltar? Look, Tory Foster is pretty much on the bottom of my Awesome List (and it’s a really long list, since it includes every character ever introduced on this show since the miniseries), and I still can barely stand to watch her get spoken to like a disobedient child. And it’s not like Laura Roslin is in the wrong at all! Tory should have known better!
True, Tory should have known better. HOWEVER that fact in no way, shape, or form gives Roslin the right to slut-shame her. It is unacceptable, and yet another reason that I am not a fan of Roslin at the moment. Naq jul V jnf ragveryl hafhecevfrq ng gur snpg gung Gbel onfvpnyyl gbyq Ebfyva gb shpx bss jura fur (Ebfyva) rkcrpgrq ure (Gbel) gb gryy gur Plybaf gb yrg gur uhznaf unir gur Svany Svir. Gbel'f abg zl snibevgr, ohg frevbhfyl Ebfyva – jung jrer lbh guvaxvat?
Yeah, Roslin's slipping off my list of favorite characters. Has been for a while.
Seriously.
Yep, yep, and yep. I don't care if it's coming out of Roslin's mouth and I don't care how much you hate Tory, that shit about "on your knees" was 100% slut-shaming, misogynistic crap, and like before, the narrative basically seemed to treat it as something we should be okay with. Gendered insults aren't okay even if the person they're being directed at is awful.
I never heard it as "HOW DARE YOU SLEEP WITH SOMEONE, YOU SLUT", I heard it as "Baltar? You slept with BALTAR?!" I don't think it was slut-shaming, just choice-of-partner-shaming.
Choice-of-partner-shaming IS slut-shaming because it is implying that having sex is not okay, unless it's with someone that the person doing the judging (which would be Roslin) approves of. Which is no. Just…no.
That's a good point, and I hadn't thought of it that way.
Yeah, not to mention that who Tory sleeps with is none of Laura's goddamn business. Tory is supposed to WORK for Laura, not uphold her moral standards in everything she does in her life.
See, that's interesting, because I always viewed this as writer!fail on this point because I don't think Roslin reacted so much out of the fact that Tory was sleeping with Baltar (though she wouldn't be too pleased with that either) but was reacting out of the fact that Tory was possibly LEAKING information to Baltar that he was using in his broadcast, and THAT felt so much like a personal betrayal that she reacted as she did. All the same, it IS a piece of dialogue that feels certainly uncomfortable to me. But, I see that more as a continuing trend of the writers' relationship with Tory for this season than anything else. That said, I need to stop for fear of spoilering anything AT ALL…
HOWEVER, Roslin is still my favorite, so some bias-ness may undermine my view of it. That, and the fact that I really didn't catch on to the innuendo at all to begin with on my original watch until I thought more about it after.
And guess what Mark? You are utterly STILL not prepared. I mean like not even close.
Love this review so much. And love that you are now calling it BSG 🙂 Resistance was futile. You have been assimilated.
So Say We All.
So Say We All!
So Say We All!
Gaeta can sing! Other than his perjury, I've always really liked him and few things can melt my heart of ice like a beautiful voice can. I'm a puddle now. Also, maybe because we're reading The Hobbit, but I feel like his singing voice would fit right in with Tolkien's world.
Athena shot Six. Oh my gosh. But she can't be really dead, right? We need more of Tricia Helfer being super gorgeous with her natural hair.
Questions: Where do the Cylons get their clothes? They must buy in bulk because they're almost always all identically dressed by model. And do they all decide to have their hair the same way? How did recently-shot-Six and Gina have different hair? I think all the Threes had the same hair style and Athena and the rest of the Eights always match up. How does this work in-universe? Clearly I have important questions, all about Cylon style choices.
I actually remember being a little upset that Six was the only model who ever seemed to get different styling. She could be blonde or brunette. Curly or straight hair. Different lengths, even. But everyone else always looked identical. And I was just like, are all the Eights programmed to get haircuts at the same time? Is this something even Athena wasn't able to escape? You'd think she, at least, would get styled differently to show that she's not a member of that group anymore.
I want to know this too! Especially the Eight/Athena thing. I can buy all the Eights being programmed to have a certain haircut or for there to be a leader Eight who is like OK! HAIRCUT TIME! But I don't understand why Athena has to have the same haircut too. When Cylons (specifically the Eights, since they seem change their appearance as a group) are resurrected, do they have makeovers so that they look like their fellows? Or is their appearance somehow changed while their bodies are deactivated/not in use? If Anders was resurrected, would he still have his tattoo? Would Tigh still have only one eye?
I bet Tigh would get his eye back. They're fresh, new bodies. Actually, when Anders was making a big deal about Gaeta singing I was really, really hoping for a reveal that Gaeta was the last cylon. Because then he could resurrect into a brand new body and have his leg back and I would do a happy dance. Even if Gaeta would probably have an identity crisis that rivaled Tyrol's.
I was wondering about that with Starbuck, because she came back from the dead or whatever but still had all her tattoos. Wouldn't that be evidence of her non-Cylon-ness?
It would make sense from a purely technical standpoint that they wouldn't want to have to style everyone differently when they had a bunch of Cylons onscreen, but it does seem ridiculous that each model dresses identically. Especially Leoben, who is ALWAYS WEARING THE SAME THING. Leisure Suit Larry (Doral) at least had two different colors of Leisure Suit.
A few thoughts I remember from when I first saw this:
-who knows if it's bs or not, but Natalie is still an awesome speaker
-someone should have realized that if you wake the hybrid up in the middle of an enemy fleet and she doesn't know why she's there, she's going to jump away
-"May God's will be done" (is this a capitol G?)
"Shut up. It's time to get some answers." Made even more awesome by the fact that, in my opinion, Baltar is still faking his whole religion due to Head Six and self-preservation.
Natalie is my favorite of the Sixes..
At what point did she get the name Natalie? Did they call her that in one of the episodes, or was it just a name they gave her in the script, like Gina?
We had Shelley Godfrey, then Gina, and now Natalie. I think the Sixes named themselves…..I thought was one of the reasons the Cavills hated her so much. I could be making that up in my head too…..or is it my headBSGfan1?
The writers called her that interviews and in the script first. She gets referenced as Natalie on screen only once.
You know what I like, is that in Razor we found out that Gina's last name, Inviere, means "resurrection." Natalie means "birth day" (originally referring to the Birth of Christ).
Something about Roslin's succinct little "Shut up" just cracked me up.
-someone should have realized that if you wake the hybrid up in the middle of an enemy fleet and she doesn't know why she's there, she's going to jump away
I agree with this, also, they disconnected her randomly before, so who knows what thoughts she was in the middle of when they put her back online. How does she even work
Roslin is making me more and more uncomfortable. I know she's making all these decisions "for the good of the fleet", but the fact is she should be including the Quorum more than she is. We're getting her side, but without that, she really just looks like a power-hungry dictator who is slowly sidelining the rest of the government. I'm glad Lee is calling her out on that and forcing her to acknowledge that they still live in a democracy. Also, the way she treated Tory is awful. I may not like Tory, but who she's having sex with and what she believes is none of Roslin's damn business. Not until it starts affecting her job (and from what we've seen, it actually seems to be having a positive effect, given that glow Roslin mentions).
I liked the brief look Tigh and Tory share when Natalie claims that the Final Five know the way to Earth, similar to Anders from last episode. There's gonna be some red faces when this all gets revealed. Not to mention the epic breakdowns these people are bound to have. I mean the Admiral's and the President's most trusted advisors are both cylons. That's not gonna go over well
I was really angry with Laura when she called the Quorum a bunch of whiners basically. Those people are just trying to represent the fleet as best they can. And I totally agree about Tory, too.
I forget, did you ever marry BSG? I'm just curious about the degree of commitment in your dysfunctional relationship with it. 😉
I loved Gaeta's wistful singing. He lost his leg so that they could form an alliance with the Cylons, but both sides mistrust the other and everything seems to be going haywire. I'm hoping the plan to unbox the Threes, destroy the hub, and return the humans to the Galactica (but not the Final Five to the Cylons, because I doubt most of them want to go) works out, not only for the story, but so that his loss wasn't pointless and simply the beginning of one huge clusterfuck.
I've gotta say that Athena waking up and finding Hera there staring at her and the Six drawings were really creepy. Definitely more unsettling than shared prophetic dreams.
Look. I'm married to BSG. But I'd consider a plural marriage in this case. Because really one person can't handle it alone.
lol that's true enough.
God, I just love watching BSG turn your brain into a pretzel, Mark. Because it spent years slowly doing the same thing to my brain, and you're getting it much quicker.
I don't know which is worse. The slow burn of 4 years ….no actually 5 of twisted synapses.. or the fast overwhelming mush that one's brain would become during a mainline.
I think longer is worse. Because we had a week between episodes to stew, and cry and rewatch and cry again, and yell and throw things and say WTF a million times. Then the big YEAR in between just because SyFy is filled with bad people making us wait and suffer for resolution.
I think longer is worse too, just because of that one year wait. Kara shows up in her Viper, says "Hi, Lee" and then NOTHING FOR AN ENTIRE GODDAMNED YEAR.
That big year in between 4.0 and 4.5 was the WORST. Though I suppose it would been much more painful if the series really had ended up cancelled after 4.0. (which was a distinct possibility at the time)
There hasn’t been a single puppy on this show in three and a half seasons. Not one. What kind of life do you expect these people to have without puppies?
If you ever decide to watch the original series, you'll probably be glad of that choice.
are there puppies?? Are there CYLON puppies??!! 😀
<img src="http://doctorwhocompanions.com/files/2011/03/k9-4.jpg">
It looks like he's smoking a cigarette.
I guess robots can't get lung cancer. Can cylons, though?
heehee, that was EXACTLY what I was thinking of 😀
I wonder if K-9 will be resurrected for the big DW anniversary? Then he'll really be a cylon
There were ordinary dogs called "daggits" until the Colonies were blown up, and too-cute kid Boxey got a too-cute robotic daggit replacement called Muffit.
Oh how I wanted Muffitt to kill Boxey.
Actually, I was hoping Muffit would run off. Boxey goes looking for him and both are taken out by a Centurion…."by your command" style.
I'm so excited for the next two episodes this week, and even more so for next week, 'cause it includes the third Web Series (the one between 4.11 and 4.12) and the Extended (make sure it is!) 4.12
BSG just doesn't slow down at all this season, does it?
I remember being absolutely heartbroken about Natalie Six. I ended up more attached to those Cylon models that would eventually become the rebels than to the minor human characters like Gaeta, so I think the writers were so smart to include flashes of hope & tragedy for contrasting characters — thus no matter who you're empathizing with, there's PAIN PAIN PAIN. lol.
I love that BSG is never scared of showing ugly sides of all our protagonists. Roslin, Adama, Starbuck, Lee… on other many series they would be the Heroes with a capital H that the narrative always justifies and portrays as the smartest, the most correct, the most moral, with only small flaws. On BSG we get to see that sometimes they're biased, sometimes they're cruel, sometimes they're scared, sometimes they're vindictive, sometimes they just don't *know*. They're people, and thus imperfect. BSG tends to remember the golden rule that everyone is the hero of their own story, but may not look that way to others who are operating with a different context (Roslin vs Lee, Cylons vs humans, Cylon rebels vs Team Cavil, Zarek vs Adama&Roslin, Baltar vs everyone ever, etc)
They aren’t even hesitating with the Shit Getting Real these days. The basestar jumping in without the Demetrius= most tense teaser yet, y/y? How did Tigh know to order the weapons hold? Did he sense that Anders was on board? i understand nothing.
Human. Cylon. Alliance. Holy McMoly. I thought there might be some kind of peace agreement eventually, but not until much later in the season. This is so unreal. Despite the fact that it is the most practical thing for both the humans and the rebels, I don’t see it being well-received at all, and I think it says a lot that both sides immediately make plans to double cross the other. I loved Six’s speech about mortality and how it gives meaning to life, btw. (And I didn’t even realize that might be what Kara being “harbinger of death” means until Mark pointed it out. Yeah, I’m a genius.)
Gaeta. My good sweet merciful gods, Gaeta. If you want undeniable proof that there is no justice in the world, how about the fact the Alessandro Juliani hasn’t signed a record deal and sold a million CD’s? That song. I will never get the scene of the hospital with his voice carrying through it out of my head. LOTR movie spoilers: Vg erzvaqrq zr bs Cvccva’f fbat va Qrargube’f unyy va EBGX. “Nyy funyy… snqr.”
And Anders. I can’t even be mad at Anders because of it, he was so wracked with guilt. 🙁 Which reminds me, did he mention to the other Final Four that they’re apparently supposed to know how to get to Earth?
Hera becomes a creepy horror movie child, complete with creepy horror movie child drawings! I understand Athena was freaked out, but shooting the Rebel Leader? I love you so hard, Athena, but that was just stupid. Didn’t we establish it was Caprica Six in her vision? And that she felt the need to protect Hera?
Nooo, Hybrid! Give us back our Helo! And Roslin! And… yeah, you better give back Baltar too. Some people in the fleet kinda like him now.
How did Tigh know to order the weapons hold? Did he sense that Anders was on board? i understand nothing.
For some reason I convinced myself that it was because they didn't launch any Raiders. I genuinely thought that's what he said when Adama asked him why. Maybe I was mixing it up with another episode?
He might have said that and I just didn't hear/notice it. Makes sense.
Oh no it's definitely something I've imagined, I didn't hear it when I rewatched this afternoon.
[youtube oPu3XBSlJyk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPu3XBSlJyk youtube]
I present to you all one of the awesomest things I've ever seen.
There are no words.
I've never had anything on the accordion give me chills…but my Gods that was brilliant.
I counter that with this EQUALLY AWESOME version of the Game of Thrones theme.
[youtube 1yydcG9woWA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yydcG9woWA youtube]
Perfect. Well played.
Mark, I'm pretty sure this is a case of "Be Careful What You Wish For". YOU wanted more Gaeta, and this is what you got! I'm blaming you for the loss of his leg!
Now now, let's be fair, Mark didn't want anyone to get hurt, he just wanted to see more of Gaeta.
And now he's seeing less of Gaeta. Because there's less of Gaeta to see.
Let's ALL marry BSG!
Where shall we have the reception?
One of the Hubs? or what?
Then clearly you've never seen one Alfred Matthew Yankovic perform live, sir (or ma'am. Or whatever honorific you prefer.).
Well, you know what they say about the two TV antennas that got married, right? The wedding sucked, but the reception was fantastic.
Win!
Also, I think I have a huge crush on Bear! I have ever since watching him in the DVD extra "The music of Battlestar Galactica".
Gaeta…..oh Gaeta! My heart was completely broken by this episode!! His song…… oh look there is my heart of the floor, all trampled on. :'(
I can't wait for more!
"My heart has been trampled on, and I can't wait for more."
BSG in one sentence.
When I watched BSG in real time, I decided that every episode's title could be replaced with "This Won't End Well."
So beautiful!! I love Game of Thrones!
"Even amidst the awkwardness of all of this, then you start to tease me with hope. BSG, we have been down this road before. I don’t like it when you do this to me. It’s always a trick, Battlestar. Have you ever given me hope, and then delivered on it?"
It's almost like RDM gets off on withholding.
[youtube BRl2tHxbDfo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRl2tHxbDfo youtube]
What I posted when this episode first aired:
WELL, THAT WAS UNEXPECTED
I was talking with my friend Emily last night at dinner (before we went to see Eddie Izzard YAY!), and she said that one of the things she adores about Battlestar Galactica is that she truly never knows where they might be going. Not that the show takes random turns for the sake of being surprising, but that the twists are genuinely shocking *and at the same time* they make wonderful, powerful sense. I completely agree with her. I often think, or say, during an episode, "Well, THAT was unexpected." But I think perhaps I have never meant it so much as I do tonight.
I haven't believed for a while now that Roslin was the "dying leader"; I figured it was either Starbuck or Baltar. I was 100% certain it was one of the two of them.
Six?
SIX?
SIX??
Well, THAT was unexpected.
She damn well knows the truth of the Opera House, Sparky.
And of course Kara will bring them all to their deaths – she's led the Cylons to their mortality.
Other thoughts —
Hello Gaeta's pretty pretty voice. You should have limbs amputated more often. Loved Roslin's line about how that was a hell of a way to discover his pipes.
NICE tip to the "Rebels prep to fight the Death Star" scene in Star Wars.
Laura Roslin knows all, Tory — never frak with Laura Roslin.
"Bye-bye." OMG AWESOME!
Skinjobs, Humans, Humlons, and Centurions, wandering about together like they're at the Spring Student-Faculty Mixer. Natalie addressing the Quorum, the Centurion walking through a group of Viper pilots… this show. This show. What this show can do with a simple visual. ASS-KICKING SHOW.
"Let God's will be done." "Shut up." OH MARY MCDONNELL YOU ARE STRAIGHT-GIRL KRYPTONITE.
Athena. Girl. You screwed the pooch. Natalie!Six can't download. She was the leader of the Cylon Rebellion and you frakked up big-time.
And finally:
JUMP!
FRAK ME, but I do love this show so very, very much.
LOL. I confess I have not see Weird Al live. And Goddess is fine 😛
Goddess? I like your style, Ma'am. 😉
Of course, the ONE episode I've been waiting for you to get to because it's so emotionally draining and Gaeta's voice is the MOST BEAUTIFUL THING ON THE PLANET and I love it so much occurs on the ONE day that I'm away from the internet. CURSE THE GODS OF KOBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!
Well everyone's already said what I wanted to say. Gaeta's song is achingly beautiful. IT LITERALLY MAKES MY HEART ACHE WHEN I HEAR IT.
Mark, I could never imagine a world without puppies. I mean.. look at 'em…
<img src="http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltg8nkWFXT1qj1crdo1_500.gif">
<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lt7t27AcNA1qbar4bo1_500.gif">
<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrj0eakgp21qa21pio1_400.gif">
<img src="http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lgxxfxadYZ1qcuq56o1_400.gif">
[youtube xpcUxwpOQ_A http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpcUxwpOQ_A youtube]
Had to delurk to add this as well!
This was the episode where I finally turned on Athena, she is just so horrible a person, Hate her own people to the point where she wouldn't give comfort to the dying eight in the previous ep and now murdering a women who had spear-headed peace movements with humanity because she was in hugging distance of Hera.
It's similar to the union ep last year where my views on Roslyn and Adama began to change and i started to also see the alternative reading of them as tyrants ( I place poor Danny Noon's(sp?) mangled hand straight at the feet of Laura's). So goes without saying i generally support Lee when he challenges the Tyrants attempts to by-pass government, the law and democracy
Also poor Gaeta, he does not deserve any of this.
Now some ROT 13
V ERNYYL ungr Nguran pbf bs guvf, naq ure cerivbhf ubyvre guna gubh nggvghqr gbjneqf gur plybaf. Zbfgyl orpnhfr, onfrq ba jung V erzrzore fur fhssref ab pbafrdhraprf sbe zheqrevat n jbzra, n qvcybzngvp ercerfragngvir cebcbfvat crnpr ng gung. Rira Pnyyl tbg chg va gur oevt sbe zheqrevat Obbzre, Nguran vf nyy "nqzveny V qvq vg orpnhfr v xrrc univat n avtugzner jurer n fvk uhtf zl xvq!" naq Nqnzn vf nyy "BX gura pneel ba!".
Gura va gur svanyr fur tbrf naq zheqref Obbzre va pbyq oybbq.
Obbzre jub'f pevzr orfvqrf gnxvat Uren. jnf cergraqvat gb or 6ur jbzra Uryb ybirq naq hfvat vg gb ure nqinagntr, unq frk jvgu uvz haqre snyfr cergrapr. Ubj rivy, vs bayl fur unq tbggra certanag sebz gur qrprcgvba gura fur pbhyq yvir gur unccl yvsr yvxr Nguran naq rirel bar pbhyq sbetrg ure Npgvbaf pbf "BZT lbhe onol vf phgr!" (pbf ab jurer qbrf nalbar rire qverpgyl qrny jvgu gur snpg gung Nguran jnf shyyl njner naq yvxryl na npgvir cnegvpvcnag va zheqrevat rirelbar gur perj xarj. gurer vf n "lbh jrer va gur rarzl nezl" natyr ohg arire "nyy plybaf znxr qrpvfvbaf va n qverpg qrzbpenpl fb Nguran jnf n evat yrnqre" )
OFT nf tbbq nf vg trareny vf snyyf urnq svefg vagb hasbeghangr vzcyvpngvbaf fb bsgra, 3/4f bs nyy tnl crbcyr tb ntnvafg gur fubjf " Urebrf" naq ner "whfgyl" chavfurq jvgu qrngu. 2 bs gur uhzna/plyba zneevntrf ner pbf n jbzra "genccrq" n zna jvgu thvyg bire fyrrc orngvat ure snpr va be onovrf! vgf whfg ubeevoyr traqre cbyvgvpf gung vf boivbhfyl havagragvbany onfrq ba gur fubj orvat ceb-jbzra fb bsgra ohg teeee.
Nqqvat gb gur Nguran fghss, qbrf Fnz RIRE trg va gebhoyr sbe fubbgvat Tnrgn? V yvxr Fnz ohg gung nyjnlf ehoorq zr gur jebat jnl.
V'yy fnir zl bgure vffhrf jvgu plybaf onfrq ba frnfba 4 sbe n yngre nep.
Jung lbh pnyy “frk haqre snyfr cergrafr” V pnyy “encr”. Fur encrq Uryb. Gung jnf gur zbzrag Obbzre pebffrq gur zbeny rirag ubevmba sbe zr, naq gubhtu V’z ab sna bs Nguran’f bgure pubvprf, V pbhyq abg tvir bar fvatyr shpx nobhg jung fur qvq gb Obbzre. Abg bar. Fvatyr. Shpx.
I saw him once at an outdoor festival after waiting for hours in the rain (he was delayed) and possibly thinking the show was going to be canceled, and then they announced he would be onstage in a few minutes and the whole audience cheered, it was pretty awesome.
I don't get why Laura owes anyone an explanation. Of her (possibly drug-induced) hallucinations? Why would anyone care? Or is it that she's sharing them with Cylons? Come on, does anyone in the fleet seriously think Laura is a Cylon at this point?
Okay really, you guys didn't think of having the Demetrius jump in FIRST and explain what was going on? Why did it have to be simultaneous?
"Our ship can heal itself" THAT IS AWESOME, DUDE.
The look on Laura's face when she realizes the Final Five are in the fleet!
Haha, why are Racetrack and Skulls ALWAYS the ones sent on the recon mission?
Gaetaaaa 🙁 I know he said not to let Cottle take the leg, but I'd rather lose a leg than die of blood poisoning. (Which is a much more badass-sounding term than sepsis.)
This is like that bit where Blakeney has to get his arm cut off WITHOUT ANESTHESIA in Master and Commander. He just gets to bite down on a stick while they hack his arm off. I bet he would have loved to have a way for them to put him under. WHY ARE YOU AWAKE GAETA. WHY DO YOU WANT TO BE AWAKE TO EXPERIENCE THIS. WON'T IT GIVE YOU NIGHTMARES FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?
I think the reason the Raiders didn't turn back before is that they couldn't identify the Five. Anders is the first one of them to put a flight suit on as far as we know, right? So they get a good look at him and realize at least one of the Five is in the fleet. Before, they were all inside spaceships. Or on Caprica in Anders' case.
"You know, if they unbox the D'Annas, at least we'll find out who the fifth one is." I love that Chief is as eager to know as the rest of us.
Laura is such an asshole to Tory in this scene. I know she has a hate-on for Baltar, but she was able to be kind to Emily last episode even though she liked Baltar's message. But because Tory is sleeping with him, it's suddenly Not Okay? Laura, her job has nothing to do with her sex life. Sigh. I'm not a huge fan of Tory either, but I don't like seeing Laura slut-shame her.
Hee, the little conference table that the Cylons sit around on the Baseship reminds me so much of an old-fashioned diner booth. I want the Centurions to start doing the Twist and bringing them milkshakes.
I also like how Laura has absolutely no respect for the Quorum. And by like I mean hate. Seriously, they're tasked with governing the rest of the population and you call them a bunch of whiners? SMH at you, Laura.
You know, it is a bit weird that Baltar is in the visions but doesn't experience them. Hera might be experiencing them, given her drawings of Six, but Baltar has no idea. Why?
Seriously, what did they expect the Hybrid to do when they plugged her in. (I've said "seriously" so many times in this review it's like I'm on Grey's Anatomy or some shit. LOL MY JOKES ARE TOTALLY CURRENT AND NOT SEVERAL YEARS OLD AT ALL)
Natalie gets BLOWN backwards by Athena's gunshot. Yeah that doesn't happen. That's pretty much why bullets are so dangerous–they don't PUSH you, they go THROUGH you while you stay in the same place.