In the fourth episode of the third season of Battlestar Galactica, the Galactica attempts to rescue the human survivors on Caprica. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Battlestar Galactica.
Everything hurts and everything is beautiful.
Never has joy and success been so depressing. The second half to the “Exodus” storyline has some of the show’s best writing, most shocking plot twists, and dizzying special effects. I knew that I was never going to be prepared for this episode when the very first thing the story deals with is Ellen Tigh’s betrayal of the humans in order to save her husband. Anders is insistent on taking care of Ellen like any other collaborator, but it seemed that Colonel Tigh would find a way to make an exception. Anders had given his ultimatum, but Tigh wouldn’t actually carry that out, would he? It’s too gruesome, and his wife had truly acted out of love. He’d make them understand.
So he sits with his wife, who frantically explains to him that what she did was out of love for him. She would do it again and again and again, even though other people died. I’ve come to enjoy the chemistry of Saul and Ellen Tigh, and it’s why I was so ruthlessly shocked when Colonel Tigh gave his wife a last drink full of poison. I’d like to imagine that she knew what she was drinking, that she was conceding the difficult choice because she knew she had taken a risk. But it’s hardly comforting to see Tigh break down and begin to sob on his dead wife’s body because…THIS IS HOW THEY START THIS. This is in the first ten minutes of the episode! Oh god, Ellen Tigh is gone. WHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYY
The victory of the Battle of New Caprica is bittersweet because of this, though I won’t deny that it was a pleasure to see the tide turn in favor of the insurgents. I love that the first moment we’re made aware of things changing is through the perspective of those on the Colonial One because it takes the Cylons completely by surprise. What’s so entertaining about this battle is how the resistance basically outthinks the Cylons. The Cylons fall for a double decoy attack and it’s clear they underestimated the capacity of the humans. It’s so fascinating to watch the pieces fall into place, from the hidden cache of weapons, to the launch of the swallows to draw away two Cylon basestars, to the evacuation method, to…oh god. Galactica. GALACTICA.Â
Look, I’ve seen some cool shit in sci-fi, but I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anything like the atmosphere jump that Adama commands. It. Is. Ridiculous. It is beautiful. It’s such a garish display, a risky move, but one that is very Adama in design. And really, it’s the only way to beat the Cylons in a battle like this. They have to be clever and outsmart them. It’s not enough to just use force because the Cylons outnumber the humans. In terms of sheer volume, the Cylons would win every single time. And so, Adama understands that the only way to win this is to trick the Cylons.
But the truth is that the fleet is split up, under staffed, and depending on a whole lot of luck. So even after it looks like the ruse worked, two more Cylon basestars appear and survival suddenly seems impossible.
I knew that this show couldn’t actually kill off Adama and Helo this early, but it didn’t make Adama’s resignation any less depressing. It’s because we have seen Adama refuse to give up under any sort of pressure before. But as the basestars begin to pummel the Galactica and it’s clear that they cannot win, that look that crosses his face is heartbreaking. This is not a man who takes defeat easily, and he’s certainly not one to take surrender lightly either. But he knows the end is here, and so he tells the remaining crew with him in the CIC that it has been an honor to serve with them and we know he means it.
my heart. my heart.
But then SHIT YEAH IT’S PEGASUS AND THERE GOES A BASESTAR AND FUCK YES THE TIDE IS TURNING. It marks a complete reversal in the future of the battle and the relationship between Lee and Adama. This culminates in the rescue of Starbuck by Anders and the retreat of the Cylons. The Cylons are giving up. But even this is not without one last moment of pure horror: Three is going to stay behind to activate a nuclear weapon to destroy anyone left trying to evacuate. Just as Baltar expresses horror at the idea, he is invited to stay with the Cylons. Which…I suppose that answers my question from earlier. I guess I’d not even thought of this possibility, but…could Baltar choose to split off from the colonial fleet to join the Cylons full time? We’ve all seen and been told how much the humans hate Baltar for giving the last group of civilization over to the Cylons, and really, nothing exemplifies that more that Gaeta’s shocking turn against his “president.” I think that because we’ve only seen Gaeta mildly irritated in the past two seasons, seeing him put a gun to Baltar’s head with tears in his eyes is immensely uncomfortable. I’m sure Gaeta has had enough guilt to deal with for working with Baltar anyway, but he’s seen how the man has allowed humanity to be sold out.
Yeah, and then Baltar starts begging him to do it. I hate it because even though I despise what Baltar has done, I don’t like seeing him possessed with so much self-hatred. I suppose that I’m the kind of person who wants characters to redeem themselves in fiction, and this would only assuage his own guilt. So Gaeta gives him a chance to find that redemption: he needs to stop Three from setting off the nuclear bomb.
I found the parallel between Lee and Adama “giving up” their ships to be fascinating because the context of them both was so different. Lee ignored his father’s command to stay behind to assure the survival of the rest of the fleet, and by doing so, saved his father’s life. I’m sure Adama isn’t going to forget that anytime soon. But when Lee abandons the Pegasus, bringing about the end of that story arc, his sadness is not one of defeat. By abandoning the ship, he’s actually helping to ensure the human victory of the Cylons, but in the process, he has to give up being the commander of a Battlestar. That’s big deal to him, and he might not get the chance ever again, since Galactica is now the only remaining Battlestar left.
Starbuck, on the other hand, is faced with a sacrifice of her own. Upon waking up and realizing Anders has saved her, she actually bolts back into the Detention Facility to find Kacey, refusing to leave her behind. But Conoy arrives with Starbuck’s daughter, and an emotional stand-off begins. I am still creeped out by Conoy’s demands for Starbuck. I personally don’t get why he thinks that her falling in love with him in any genuine way would provide her with the answers to her own internal pain. And holy awkward, that kiss. Thankfully, it’s all a clever ruse because SHIT YEAH STARBUCK STABS HIM just before Anders arrive. And then holy awkward how is Starbuck going to explain Kacey to him??? THAT SHALL BE SAVED UNTIL A LATER TIME, she decides, because they need to get off this goddamn rock.
The last scene we are given on New Caprica before this brief story arc ends are with the Cylons and Baltar, and then Roslin and her team aboard the Colonial One. I think both moments are hints towards the plot of season three. I feel pretty safe saying that Roslin will return to being the president, and I am basing that solely on the utter joy on her face when she sits in her old presidential chair again. I mean, who else will the fleet have as their president as this point? Also…maybe Zarek will be the vice president. I RATHER LIKE THIS IDEA.
But a much larger plot is going to deal with the ramifications of Hera. I was GUTTED when Baltar and Caprica Six found Maya’s dead body and, fulfilling Selloi’s prophecy, Three holds a baby as everything the Cylons have done on New Caprica completely falls apart. Selloi was right. But where did Three take Hera? Has Baltar accepted Three’s offer to continue working with the Cylons? AHHH I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THIS IS GOING TO GO.
I must admit that the end of “Exodus, Part II” is bittersweet. I’ve wanted the fleet back together since the season two finale, and this episode grants me that. And I am happy to see them all back in one fleet and off that wretched planet, but this moment is drenched in awful. I was unsure which possible explanation for Kacey I believed the most, but Starbuck’s end to that is worse than anything I could have ever imagined. Just seconds after getting off a ship and on to the Galactica, just as Anders asks who Kacey is, a woman recognizes Kacey–AS HER OWN DAUGHTER STOLEN BY THE CYLONS. I was horrified. Kacey was a plant, and she was a plant that Starbuck fell in love with anyway. Again, give Katee Sackhoff every award ever for this scene, because I teared up so fast when I watched her tearful shock cross over her face.
Colonel Tigh boards the Galactica just as damaged and broken as Starbuck, and I can’t ignore the parallels between the two. The show has been putting these two side-by-side for two full seasons now, and they both have experienced a gutting and heartbreaking loss, and they both are completely numb. Why can’t I hug characters through the screen? Even Roslin’s end is bittersweet: they loss Maya and Hera somewhere on New Caprica and there’s no chance they’ll return to find her. Roslin knows that they lost something much more than a mother and her child, though. But what does Hera truly represent?
For me personally, I’ll mourn the loss of the Adama mustache the most. Sorry, y’all. I love that goddamn ‘stache.
We're About to Get Taken to a Spaceship of Drama
HOLY CRAP BSG IS GOOD AGAIN. THANK THE GODS.
I knew something was up when I actually liked the Lee/Dualla scene in the beginning. They really seemed like a good pair there.
And then. Tigh and Ellen. And I thought, "He's going to forgive her. He's going to forgive her. He understands why she did it. He won't do it. He can't do it. He'll stand up for her."
Holy crap.
Honestly, I'd almost stopped paying attention to the scene for some reason, and then the cup fell, and I couldn't believe it. This show. When it's good, it takes no prisoners.
And then. Drones. Decoys. GALACTICA FUCKING JUMPING INTO THE FRAKKING ATMOSPHERE AND BEING ALL AFLAME AND RELEASING HORDES OF VIPERS AND THEN JUMPING RIGHT OUT WHILE STILL AFLAME BECAUSE IT ONLY CAME DOWN THERE TO RELEASE THE VIPERS QUICKLY AND SAFELY AND JESUS CHRIST THAT WAS THE MOST FUCKING AWESOME THING THAT SHIP HAS EVER DONE ADAMA YOUR BALLS ARE THREE THOUSAND TIMES THE SIZE OF MOST MEN'S.
And then, oh my God, poor Baltar! So fucking emo! Look at him! He's not a villain! He's just misunderstood! And kind of spineless in most circumstances. It was so sad to see him like that and ACK HOLY GOD GAETA I BARELY EVER NOTICED YOU FOR TWO YEARS AND SUDDENLY YOU HAVE LOGICAL AND APPROPRIATE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AAAAAAH DO NOT KILL MY BALTAAAAAAR.
The mood of the scene was partly broken because I was trying not to laugh. Witness this bit from Jacob's recap of the last episode, which I just read today:
It's just so fucking hilarious that Jacob really has pinned down the show's formula.
And Baltar! Simultaneously suicidal and seeking redemption!! OH BALTAR. God, he was amazing in this episode. (Um, if you're new, I love Baltar. And Six. And Baltar/Imaginary!Six. And Six/Imaginary!Baltar. Not so sure how I feel about Baltar/Six. OH CAPRICA.)
And then, crap, Galactica is frakked and Adama just sort of…gives up. Wow. He just says…it's over. He knows they can't win. I mean, I expected him to give some sort of rousing speech about going down fighting, but he's all, "It's been an honor. I'm going to go slurp some noodles (OMG DUDE ADAMA IS TOTALLY IROH.)."
And what's going on on the ground is just immensely confusing, as the plan seems to be EVERYBODY RUN AND GET INTO THE NEAREST SPACESHIP NOT PILOTED BY A CYLON. It's all sort of chaotic, and I don't try to follow it, and I just assume that everyone's getting off unless they tragically trip and fall, which, unfortunately for Jacob, does not happen to Cally.
And Anders is actually kind of awesome and cool and badass. And Kara kills Leoben in front of Kacey, and the little girl is scarred for life.
And then Baltar finds Hera and EEE TINKLY CYLON THEME HI IMAGINARY SIX IN RED DRESS. I wonder if Caprica knows that Baltar still sees her previous incarnation. I wonder if Baltar knows Caprica…well, I guess we don't know for sure that Caprica sees Baltar in her head. She seems much more well adjusted now. But but but but but WAIT WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO THEM FUCK THEY LEFT THEM ON THE FRAKKING DUMBASS ROCK.
AND CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST
And then Galactica is getting its ass whooped, and suddenly a huge stream of missiles comes out of nowhere, and I say, "Oh, Pegasus, you dirty bastard," and the camera makes sure we see the name of the ship because YEAH WE THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE SOME OTHER GIANT SPACESHIP. And, and, and, how awesome was the "Damn you, Lee"/"Thank you, Lee"? Huh? HUH? Adama pwns everything (OMG SEE ADAMA IS TOTALLY IROH.).
And then, haaaa, they totally blew up Pegasus because they were so damn tired of having to deal with two ships! Back to the status quo! The show's not called Battlestars Galactica and Pegasus! But, no, seriously, you're telling me they do all that with computers? And maybe models? They don't actually have giant spaceships they launch into space and film? Because I'm not sure I believe you.
And nooooo, oh my God, Leoben TOTALLY FUCKED WITH KARA'S HEAD. Kara is crushed. She doesn't really have a daughter. She's not really a mother.
And yaaaaaay, Adama TOTALLY SHAVES OFF THE PORNSTACHE OF HAIRY SYMBOLISM. I find it hilarious that they spent an entire scene on that. I find it brilliant that it actually worked. Maybe they will have a Rocky montage where Lee slims down and LOSES THE PUDGY GUT OF LIPOSYMBOLISM.
And Roslin says, "This is bigger than us. This is life," but she really means, "This is death," and, really, that's just what went through my head at the time, and I thought I sounded like Jacob.
Look, I don't care that they basically reset the show by, you know, destroying that pesky other ship and getting them off that pesky planet. Because I'm so much happier about it now. They're supposed to be on the damn ship. On the run.
But I really, really, really want to know what the Cylons' next move is.
Maybe they will have a Rocky montage where Lee slims down
Aaaand I just started imagining a montage of him running through Galactica's halls (like Starbuck in the miniseries) with "Gonna Fly Now" playing.
But, no, seriously, you're telling me they do all that with computers? And maybe models? They don't actually have giant spaceships they launch into space and film? Because I'm not sure I believe you.
This. I don't even think about how they do it anymore, I just go with it.
TEAM NO-STACHE!
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NNNNoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!
Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!
I'll miss you, pornstache.
:'(
HUZZAH! The THING on his face is defeated! He looks like himself again (that makes sense and you know it).
Yes it does! The evil pornstache has been defeated, hopefully never to emerge again.
lol it's like a playoff beard. Adama won, so it's okay to shave again!
Sweet sweet victory.
The Galactica atmo-jump may just be the coolest single moment in sci-fi history, Y/Y?
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
I had to watch it 3 times it was so amazing
There's like 5 minutes of this episode that include the jump that I have watched over and over and over on NetFlix too many times to count…in fact, I'm gonna go do that again now!
I remember being breathless the first time I saw it. So. Bad. Ass.
I've heard it referred to as 'The Adama Maneuver'
And yes, it is fucking awesome. I always punch the air and jump around watching that part, I have to admit.
That's what I call it. The Picard Maneuver only warped towards a ship. Adama kicks it up to eleven.
"This is the Admiral. All hands, brace for turbulence."
It's the look on Tigh's and Tyrol's faces when the Galactica jumps in that sells it! Then Hotdog in the tube "Well, this ought to be different." FRAK YEAH!
It was soooooo great! I was completely riveted, and I would have shouted OH GOD WHAT IS HE DOING?! if I hadn't been so stunned.
Katee Sackhoff and Michael Hogan deserve ALL THE AWARDS for this episode. They make me cry EVERY SINGLE TIME. Ellen's death scene is one of the most lovingly tragic things I've ever seen. And Kara's face when Kacey gets taken away? RIP MY HEART OUT, IT WOULD BE LESS PAINFUL.
RIP Adama's 'stache. We lost that but we still have Fat!Lee?
And now, for one of the more badass pieces of music Bear McCreary has written:
[youtube so10dKbhorI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so10dKbhorI youtube]
Oh, and this episode won the Emmy for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Television Series. Which is TOTALLY FRAKKING DESERVED.
Look, I’ve seen some cool shit in sci-fi, but I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anything like the atmosphere jump that Adama commands. It. Is. Ridiculous. It is beautiful.
I don't think I am exaggerating when I say that it was ONE OF THE COOLEST THINGS I HAVE EVER SEEN ON TELEVISION EVER. PERHAPS EVEN INCLUDING MOVIES. AND REAL LIFE.
This is known as the Adama Maneuver, or Dropping the Bucket, whichever you prefer.
For some reason I had it in my head that Pegasus did the atmosphere jump and that was how it was destroyed and…look, idk how my brain works with most of the things.
Either way, this episode was even more satisfying than I remember. I love it when a plan comes together.
Also, UBYL FUVG, V sbetbg gung Fnhy xvyyf Ryyra! V zrna, V PBZCYRGRYL SBETBG GUNG JNF N GUVAT GUNG UNCCRARQ. V thrff vg'f orpnhfr V xabj Ryyra vf bar bs gur Svany Svir naq rirelguvat, fb V whfg unq pbzcyrgryl sbetbggra gur snpg gung fur hz QVRF.
So, in summation, I HAVE FORGOTTEN ALL THE THINGS. ALL OF THEM.
Ha ha ha to your rot13. Silly Jenny!
Well, that was 45 minutes of WTF and ugly crying on my part (it was also a TERRIBLE episode for facial hair). I’ve heard complaints around ~the internets~ of how horrible Katee’s acting is. Maybe from now on Katee’s acting takes a nose dive, or maybe one of the writers hates her character and it all goes downhill, or maybe I just have terrible taste in actors, but that look on Kara’s face when she realizes Kacey was never her daughter…ALL THE TEARS! I wanted nothing more for Kara and Tigh to find each other and…I don’t know, hug it out??? So ridiculously cheesy but a;dfja;kjfajf the two of them alone, especially Tigh (all the awards for Michael Hogan, please), while everyone else was celebrating was just too much. I just wanted them to not be so alone. I still can’t believe Tigh poisoned his own wife. SHE COULD HAVE MADE IT!! THEY WERE SO CLOSE!! There’s no way he could have known that but still, AGH! I thought for sure Ellen would be one of the survivors because she’s so crafty, but once again, BSG laughs at my naïveté and then stabs me in the face. I was so unprepared.
once again, BSG laughs at my naïveté and then stabs me in the face. I was so unprepared.
Accurate summary for the whole show really.
Yeah, pretty sure that's embossed on RDM's business card.
"I’ve heard complaints around ~the internets~ of how horrible Katee’s acting is."
Where are these complainers, that I may remonstrate with them? For verily, they are most vilely and villainously – veritably vulgar in their vanity – very very vvrong. Also, I'm apparantly turning into an Alan Moore character. Sorry.
I think not enough people saw or appreciated Katee's work as Starbuck and only remember her most recent work on 24 and Nip/Tuck, which IMO were poorly written and OTT, but that's how those shows work. Now if criticism was about her work in BSG, then those people are as wrong as they could be. I remember when the show first aired there was a huge backlash against Sackhoff and Moore simply because they hated (and I do mean hated) Starbuck being a woman and often directed that ire at the acting when what they were really mad about was Starbuck not being a man or Dirk Benedict.
Katee Sackhoff isn’t a bad actor, but she’s a frustratingly inconsistent one: she can be absolutely brilliant—I’m thinking specifically of the Season 1 finale, the New Caprica arc, and later, jura fur yrneaf naqref vf n plyba, naq gur rcvfbqr jurer fur erzrzoref ure sngure—but she can also phone it in with the best of them.
Michael Hogan, on the other hand, is a living god and I won’t hear a word said against him. I would watch him and Kate Vernon read the phone book at each other.
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Epic space battle and escape are epic. I still don’t know how to coherently talk about it. I mean holy shit Galactica falls from the sky, the resistance on the ground blowing everything up while being so well organised and Pegasus taking on a Cylon fleet. And all to Bear McCreary’s wonderfully epic Storming New Caprica.
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‘I believed you. I believed in the dream of New Caprica …. Not him. He believed in the dream of Gaius Baltar. The good life. Booze, pills, hot and cold running interns. He led us to the apocalypse and I, and I turned out to be…’ ‘an idealist. There’s no sin in that.’
Love you forever Gaeta.
My heart aches for Starbuck and Tigh at the end of this episode. They’re surrounded by happy reunions and cheering but neither of them are okay.
Tigh having to kill Ellen is just horrible. Tigh has been going on about the realities of war and having to do terrible things and we know he accepts it but it’s still so hard seeing him faced with killing the person he loves who only betrayed the resistance to protect him. I can’t decide what’s more heartbreaking, Tigh weeping over Ellen’s body or his voice when he says ‘not all of them’ at the end/
<img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/30s96z7.gif" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"> Starbuck clearly believed that Kacey was hers, loved her and looked like she was going to look after and raise her. After the horrific situation she was put in on New Caprica it’s like an extra punch in the face to have this one thing she was happy about taken away from her so completely and abruptly and there’s nothing she can do about it. Screw you Leoben, I wish Starbuck had gotten to stab you some more.
Speaking of Bear McCreary being magnificent. I got my copy of The Music of Battlestar Galactica for Solo Piano today and it’s signed!
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i love this gif so much
MY JEALOUSY KNOWS NO BOUNDS
THANK YOU for the Galactica atmo jump gif. So badass.
Have another!
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God, that gif! Look how frakkin' close to the ground it got!
WHY THANK YOU, I WILL! That one is even better.
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I may have thing for the space battles and general space shots. They're just so pretty and/or epic.
Very pretty and BSG does them very well.
So good!
That first gif <3 Hotdog's completely deadpan "This ought to be different" right before he launches through a FREAKING WALL OF FIRE makes me lol every time.
YES! Hotdog needs more love <3
Hotdog is everything that's right about nepotism-casting. Everything. He is awesome and virile and studly and why'd they bother casting that 'Bamber' fellow anyway, when they had Bodie Olmos hanging around?
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*GASP* I HAD NO IDEA HE WAS ADAMA'S TRUE SON!!!!
Okay, I just looked up Bodie Olmos and EJO too, and apparently the woman EJO is married to now is THREE YEARS YOUNGER than Bodie. Family dinners must be awkward.
oh my god, starbuck's FACE. D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D:
I said this downthread, but I think Sackhoff does an amazing job of conveying that this isn't just "oh but I WANTED her" it's also realizing she's been tricked, that Leoben's capable of pulling the rug out from under her psychologically even after she's made it to safety, and just how badly he's hurt her and traumatized her and messed with her head. There's a bit of an "oh i see, of course" in her expression that's the most heartbreaking thing EVER IN THE HISTORY OF FACIAL EXPRESSIONS, MAYBE.
I think this part of the episode is the hardest to take because you realize that the fleet might be reunited, and Tigh and Starbuck may be (relatively) safe, but this isn't a reset button. They're damaged by what happened down there. Things can't be the same.
D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D:
Just one sentence…
"My ship's up there."
LAURA ROSLIN FOR PRESIDENT OF THE ENTIRE GODDAMN UNIVERSE.
^ this
And no, Zarek, she doesn't have a "flair for the dramatic." She is just the BEST PERSON POSSIBLE for the job!
So much credit to Michael Hogan and Kate Vernon for the poison cup scene. I couldn't stand Ellen and even I got upset during that scene because DAMN do they sell it.Naq gura V erzrzore gung vg'f bar plyba cbvfbavat nabgure ng gur beqref bs n guveq naq tvttyr vanccebcevngryl. Qnza vg.
I can't really think of much to say about the effects sequences in this show besides LOOK HOW AMAZING THIS ALL IS! The shot of Galactica hiding in the clouds around the planet before the attack is so pretty. The atmosphere drop is just fucking amazing and that shot of the poor old girl surrounded by Baseships and then Pegasus arrives in the shot…I just…THIS IS ALL AMAZING!
"My ship is up there." Laura have I mentioned recently how much I love you? Because I do. Good on Zarek for making sure she had someone with her to keep her safe, even if it was Jammer (although he did better than the guys who were supposed to be watching Maya and Hera).
SHIT YEAH STARBUCK STABS HIM
Part of me desperately hopes Kacey is too young to remember any of that moment because dear god that would be traumatiic for her.
Poor Kasey. I mean, poor Kara, too. But poor Kasey is gonna be so traumatized.
The scene with the three basestars surrounding the Galactica as the camera slowly pulls away just tugs at my heartstrings. Even though I knew they were going to be fine, I honestly thought for a second that they wouldn't be. But then Lee and Pegasus save the day. Can he be Hercules instead of Apollo? Especially if Adama is supposed to be Zeus. Because then it's all just perfect and Disney-like.
I was really impressed with Kasey when Kara stabbed Conoy- she just did not give a fuck
I was imagining that Anders would come charging through the door and blow Leoben's head off right in front of Kacey, so honestly a nice discreet stabbing came as a relief to me.
Yeah, I'm glad Kasey is back with her mother and hope that she forgets the time fake mom had to stab fake dad.
Ha, Disney seems like the exact opposite to what BSG is gong for. But maybe leaving New Caprica means a new beginning replete with happy endings and musical numbers!
I'm suddenly picturing BSG having an episode that starts out like the latest episode of Community and then switching to the dreary reality.
We're gonna fly to Kobol each mornin'!
We're gonna smile the entire time!
Hey, we've still got the fourth season opener to look forward to!
And I'm imagining all the BSG characters singing the "I have a dream" song from Tangled… LOL
Lee has always wanted to be a mime 🙂
These comments make me so happy in an episode so bleak.
I have been waiting with baited breath for you to post this review. Let me tell you, Mark, that Galactica jump into the atmosphere is really the BEST effect I've ever seen on any SciFi show EVER. Watching it real time was mind blowing. I rewound that scene about 8 billion times, because I couldn't imagine how a little no budget SyFy show made something that big screen worthy. I was shouting and cheering and fistpumping.
And you are still NOT PREPARED. 🙂
I like to think Ellen did know what Saul had given her, and that she drank it willingly. That she knew he was being asked to do this, that his hands were tied, and she loved him SO MUCH that she opted not to make it any harder by fighting him on it. (I don't recall if I listened to the RDM podcast on this one, but I believe this interpretation so much that I want to say that it came from him directly. I could be making it up, though. I usually am.)
Looking at the podcast transcript, RDM said that he "think[s] she might know" what's going on in that scene.
Someone asked Kate Vernon the same question, though, and she said that her character "absolutely knew" what was in the cup, and that Ellen did it that way ("I could use a drink") to make Tigh feel like he wasn't giving it to her unbidden. 🙁
brb crying again
I always felt that way too, because she really incorporated it into her performance. I hated that she had to be killed (on many points) but the actors were not part of that. Because damn.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh my heart. just when i fell in love with Ellen, too. She was sort of comic relief/dismaying bad influence/villainness before and now she's revealed to be tough as shit and fiercely, fiercely loyal and totally devoted to Saul despite being a bit of a bad apple. ELLEN NOOOOOOOOO
There is only one unsatisfying thing about this episode IMO, and that is the lack of an Adama/Roslin reunion scene.
Everything else? Epic Win. And then there's Michael Hogan. He's in whatever category comes after epic win.
Agreed. Roslin and Adama haven't seen each other in so long, can't we even get a background shot or something. Please. We have needs writers!
I know! I'm glad you ~understand~
I'm picturing him shaving and then walking into CIC, picking up the phone, and then happy smiles from both of them as they are finally back where they belong.
I am such a sap.
I liked what the show did on New Caprica, but I'm so glad the fleet's back together and everything's moving again. Still, I feel awful for Ellen and Colonel Tigh, and Starbuck. I keep trying to think of a better alternative to Tigh killing Ellen, but given how the fleet, the resistance, and the Cylons treat their prisoners, every other option is shitty. I didn't trust her a bit, but I liked Ellen's character. You never knew what she was going to do.
Poor Starbuck. I'm glad that the mystery of Kacey wasn't drawn out anymore, but the damage was done. Starbuck's mind was screwed with for months on end, they finally gave her something to care about, and then it was yanked away. And Katee did a great job portraying the pain that goes along with it. Good point about the parallels between her and Tigh. I'm looking forward to seeing how they go on from this point.
I don't care if Hera's taken from the Cylons, so I no longer feel conflicted about Sharon and Helo getting her back. And why was Three's anger and harshness magically mollified by Hera? I assume Caprica and Baltar went with her because they need to watch over Hera, but I don't know. Maybe he can redeem himself by returning Hera to her parents?
I felt bad for Gaeta, but I'm glad he had a chance to rage about his lost idealism and Baltar's betrayal. I like him, and it was time for him to let it all out. And, uh, I hope he got off of New Caprica, because I wasn't really paying attention and didn't see him in the happy crowd on Galactica. I wonder if they'll accept him after everything that happened.
And, uh, I hope he got off of New Caprica, because I wasn't really paying attention and didn't see him in the happy crowd on Galactica
He did, he's in the same Raptor as Tigh and is in the background of a lot of his shots (including that one of Tigh walking away across the deck)
Phew. I was probably caught up in Tigh and Adama's reunion ("not all of 'em" breaks my heart) and Tigh and Starbuck looking lost. I'm glad most of the family is back together.
Can I take this moment to be kind of defensive of Tory? Okay! Brief recap:
– She stuck with Roslin after the electoral defeat, coming down to New Caprica with her and then helping Roslin in her work for the resistance, apparently including in taking a leading role in directing the insurgents and evacuation groups. I understand why people miss Billy’s willingness to question Roslin, while Tory more proves efficient and effective in carrying out Roslin’s even more… morally tenuous plans, but I feel like there’s a different sort of virtue in that kind of loyalty.
– Her service to Roslin clearly means a lot to her – otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so upset when reporting that Maya and Hera didn’t make it off the planet. I don’t know, upon watching this last night especially, I felt really bad for her – she’d done everything she could but it apparently wasn’t enough, and whether her emotion was from concern for Maya and Hera or shame for failing Roslin, or some combination thereof, I thought it showed pretty clearly that while more willing to be pretty cunning in some cases, she’s not heartless.
… /this has been your I-Get-Defensive-of-Tory Moment of the Day
Other things:
– I always really crack up at the “Never could read your handwriting” line.
– I wasn’t so much a fan of the Leoben-Starbuck story on New Caprica, and have to say this ending for it was made me sigh in relief, because it seemed to pretty much put a cap on at least that part of it.
– Roslin’s “My ship is up there” also never fails to make me laugh.
I agree completely. Tory is different from Billy but no less loyal, and she does so much flawlessly and then is CRUSHED by her failure–of course she sees it as her failure even though there's literally nothing she could've done differently.
but I can't help being a Tory stan. She's efficient and competent and feels very real to me. and I just loooove her.
maybeitdoesnthurtthatrekhasharmaisgorgeous
I agree with everything you've said!
andmaybeespeciallythelastpart!
Tory is a great character in many ways, and I kind of shudder to think what would have happened to poor idealistic billy if he'd been around for the New Caprica occupation.
andplusonefanofrekhasharmaespeciallyherbeautifulhair
Man this episode was SO GOOD. Holy shit. I was not prepared AT ALL. I have a lot of ~feelings~ about all of this, but mostly about:
1. Baltar – I don't like him left with the Cylons but I can't imagine what would happen to him back on the fleet. I was kind of hoping he would pull some heroic maneuver and everyone would know about it and he would be redeemed. I'm still hoping this happens.
2. Babies – Grr, I don't like Three with Hera. I just want Caprica!Sharon to have her baby back!! Also, what happened with Kara/Kacey was a possibility that I conceived but did not really think would happen. Kudos to this show for consistently surprising me like this.
3. On that note, I was totally shocked that Tigh killed Ellen! I hated her and I STILL CRIED. That is some good shit right there.
4. I fucking love this show.
Kudos to this show for consistently surprising me like this.
That pretty much sums up my reaction to the vast majority of its episodes. Just when you think you've got it all figured out where they're heading, they change the jump coordinates on you.
The one bit that always gets me at the end is when the crowd is carrying Adama off and chanting his name, and Tigh is just left standing there. Tigh sacrificed everything, and his reward was nothing.
that is such a heart-breaking moment! He's so alone.
ALL THE TEARS
"Tigh sacrificed everything, and his reward was nothing. "
You made me get something in my eye.
He's had this huge painful loss and he can never tell anyone just how huge or painful it is. He will never be honored or even truly understood for surviving it.
So, can Adama still be called an admiral after this? How can you be an admiral of just one ship?
Adama is now the admiral of one ship and one first-rate Glare of the Line.
I'll save the 'Rear Admiral' puns 'till episode sbheqnfugjryir
ooooh, now you make me want to read Temeraire again!
(never, EVER go up against the Adama Glare) http://theslackerz.com/Comics/067.gif
Same way Cain was Admiral of just one ship (before finding Galactica).
Tigh and Ellen broke my damn heart. They are so tender and close to each other in that scene. I get the feeling that it's the closest they've ever gotten (or at least the closest they've gotten in a long time) to truly understanding each other for who they are and how they feel about each other. Their relationship has had so much conflict and fireworks and defensiveness, so much difficulty expressing that they care deeply about each other, and they only reach this extremely intimate and true moment at the very end of everything. I was really afraid it was going to have to be a lot more brutal than that though. Fortunate that they managed to have a potent, fast-acting and painless poison with them, huh?
I have to register as being pretty disappointed by the Kacey plot twist. I thought BSG would do better by its strong, gender-role-challenging women than "woman who thought she never wanted kids was really mistaken and changes her mind once she feels the ~vulnerability~ and ~innocent love~ of a child." I could buy Starbuck being disoriented and confused by the sudden revelation that Kacey is not her responsibility after all, but utterly crushed is a bit much. She DID NOT WANT a child, remember?
I mean, for pete's sake, the freaking Golden Girls did the whole "Here we are with a baby that we didn't really want, but gosh, it's an awfully cute baby, and maybe we should think about keeping this baby, oh look here are the baby's parents after all and we find ourselves disappointed and sad" plot. The GOLDEN GIRLS. It would have been a lot more challenging and interesting to see Starbuck have to come to terms with this baby that she never wanted, but now has, and also does not want to hurt because she's not a monster, but all of her plans for her life and ideas of who she is are essentially upset. Or it would at least have been more believable that she was ripped apart by losing a child she's spent more than like a week with.
Now here's what I do love about the Kacey scene: Kacey. I think that must really be her mommy playing her mommy, or at least someone she's really close to, because look at that smile! Awww. She's so eager to go with whoever it is. Also, Tyrol. He is so natural as a daddy type. It's completely *him* to pause, at a chaotic time, get down at a toddler's level and ask "And who is this?" in that wonderful tone of voice.
I had been wondering why, if Kacey's mother was Starbuck and her father was Leoben, the Cylons weren't making as much of a fuss about her as they were about Hera. At least this answers that. Leoben, you straight up lying snake in the grass.
Starbuck didn't want a child, but she had also been isolated from all human contact other than Leoben for MONTHS. I am not at all surprised she became rapidly and deeply attached to Casey, and I don't think that has anything to do with the usual AWW BUT ITS CUTE I CAN'T HELP IT stuff.
I also think they're doing a decent job of presenting her attachment to Casey as part of her trauma and part of the way her head's been fucked with. It's sweet, but it isn't benign. I mean, fuck, just look at her face when the kid's mom shows up–I think that's less about "oh but i WANTED her" and more showing us how *badly* Leoben has hurt her, how he's managed to completely pull the rug out from under her psychologically even after she's made it to safety. 🙁
I don't see how Starbuck being crushed is too much, or that it falls under some "Every woman will go nuts for kids" biotruth cliche. But maybe I missed the episode of the Golden Girls where one of them was held in solitary confinement, subjected to psychological torture and then presented with a child that could quite plausibly be her biological daughter.
I agree, there's a world of completely legit horror to the situation. My question is: what part of that horror, in order to work, requires it to be deployed specifically on the one female character on record as never wanting to be a parent ? Even a woman who plans on having kids later, or has kids of her own back home, would be horrified in that situation. And it would completely steer clear of the cliche of the woman who doesn't want to be a mother but changes her mind. Which, like it or not, is a powerful trope.
If the writers didn't want to evoke that trope even accidentally, then they shouldn't have written the story arc as they did. But they did write it for the character who's horrified of motherhood, and they did write it so that she was crushed when her perceived motherhood was taken away from her. Not crushed that Kayce was left behind or dead; Kayce's safe, and probably better off than if she were parented by Starbuck with all her issues. Crushed because Kayce is not her daughter after all.
And don't get me wrong, my disliking it is more on the level of "Ugh this is slightly problematic, isn't it guys?" and not "OH UGH BSG SUX FOREVER THEY TOTALLY SCREWED UP". Overall the writing of it was great and Katee Sackhoff sold it completely, she was heartbreaking. I guess it speaks to how highly I think of the BSG writing and plots so far (especially about women) that this one didn't measure up for me in that respect.
.what part of that horror, in order to work, requires it to be deployed specifically on the one female character on record as never wanting to be a parent ?
I think it's precisely because Kara is one of two characters on record who rejects the prospect of parenthood (Lee is the other one who didn't want to be a dad when presented with the opportunity via dead blonde girlfriend) that it takes on that level of horror. It's pretty literally her worst nightmare come to life, really- not that she has a child she doesn't want, but that she has a child at all.
Same with the fact that the toughest woman in the Fleet (rivalled only by Laura Roslin) is the one who ends up trapped in a creepy apartment-shaped jail with her life being run for her by a nutter who thinks of said behaviour as a demonstration of "love".
I have a LOT of problems with what the writers did to Kara, especially later, but these particular bits are not such a problem for me. At least not from a story pov.
"I think it's precisely because Kara is one of two characters on record who rejects the prospect of parenthood … that it takes on that level of horror. "
I disagree. I have two kids of my own and I would be horrified to be presented with a living link to someone I loathe, fear, and want more than anything else to get far away from and never have to see or think of again; and not only that but a living symbol of bodily violation. People who want children still REALLY don't want children made without our consent.
"It's pretty literally her worst nightmare come to life, really- not that she has a child she doesn't want, but that she has a child at all."
And then she's shattered that Kacey is not hers to parent after all?
Now I kind of want to see that episode of Golden Girls.
The Kacey thing always felt off. She looked older than Hera who was conceived before the farm incident.
I've always wondered whether that was deliberate or not. Did they want the audience to pick up on the fact that Kacey was too old to be what Leoben said she was?
Or did they just cast an older kid so she could act more independently?
That's what I thought, too, after getting over my initial horror/revulsion (which I don't think I quite succeeded in) – the kid was too big to have gestated and hatched and grown to that size so quickly.
I think this is one of my favorite space battles of the entire series. The whole charade with all the different decoys was already great, and then they added the jump in to make it completely epic. The whole bit with Galactica slowly getting pounded apart is cool too, as is the Pegasus' awesome entry and then demise, taking out three baseships with its guns and then flying debris.
About the only quibble I have is that utter silliness of how Lee basically just threw Pegasus away for no real reason. I mean, they'd already blown up one basestar with their guns, why set it to ram another and then abandon ship? He could have kept shooting and still gotten Galactica out, especially if he'd had a full crew aboard instead of leaving some with the rest of the fleet.
Then again, (S4 spoilers), vg qbrf frg gur fgngr sbe jura Cerfvqrag Yrr GUEBJF GUR RAGVER SYRRG VAGB GUR FHA. Nybat jvgu nyy gurve grpuabybtl, znpuvar gbbyf, cbjre trarengbef, zrqvpvar, nytnr sbbq gnaxf, naq enj zngrevnyf, guhf qbbzvat gur erzanagf bs uhznavgl gb n cnvashy ohg eryngviryl dhvpx qrngu ol fgneingvba, rkcbfher, naq/be fnore-gbbgu gvtre. Guvf vafherf gung gurl qba'g uryc gur angvirf ng nyy, naq jura uhznavgl qbrf trg nqinaprq grpuabybtl ntnva gurl jvyy or serr gb ercrng gur fnzr zvfgnxrf bs gur Pbybavnyf, jvgubhg nal uvfgbel gb thvqr gurz njnl sebz gur ragver 'rafynivat fncvrag znpuvarf' guvat.
Tbbq wbo oernxvat vg obgu gvzrf, Yrr.
Lee didn't have a full crew, Pegasus was barely at half strength even before he left his complete viper squadrons with the civilian ships at their undisclosed location. They'd only managed to blow up the one they did with guns because they attacked out of the nebula's dradis cover and the basestars hadn't gotten flak and/or anti-ordnance defense fire and/or raiders properly positioned to cover them against a surprise attack. To keep gunning down basestars, Peggy would have needed additional gun crews, a fully staffed engineering deck, and fighter cover to keep in fighting trim with multiple basestars attacking her, and if they'd let themselves get drawn into a lengthy engagement like that the (unseen but logical to assume) raiders that jumped out to get reinforcements from wherever the rest of the cylon fleet is (they've got to have rebuilt the resurrection ship by now, it's been a year, but I don't see it in orbit here…) will be back with more basestars, and then "Your whole plan's frakked."
Yeah, digging in for a battle would have been suicide. As I understand it the whole point of the plan was that the Cylons could keep coming for ever, so the only way for the plan to work was to get in and get out before their superior numbers came into play.
Certain things about Lee start to make a lot more sense when you assume he's just not that bright.
Word to your rot13 part. Nf fbzrbar jub unf ceboyrzf jvgu ure grrgu dhvgr n ovg, V'z nyjnlf yvxr…. lbh whfg tbg evq bs fbzr fgngr bs gur neg zrqvpny snpvyvgvrf, n fpvrapr yno naq jub xabjf jung ryfr… nf fbba nf bar bs lbh trgf n gbbgunpur lbh'er tbaan or erterggvat gung ovt gvzr, yrg nybar jnagf n ubg fubjre, jnagf furygre sebz rkcbfher/ornef, vf tbvat gb tvir ovegu rgp rgp rgp.
tbq V ungr gung cneg bs gur svanyr.
Goodbye Ellen, you were a hot mess and sometimes annoying. But you were always compelling and deep down you loved Saul. The Tighs had such an unhealthy relationship, but they were so perfect for each other.
1) galactica jumping into atmo and out again before it hits the ground is one of the BEST special effects EVER, in the history of all F/X, that i've ever seen. i will ALWAYS remember it as the most bad assest thing i've ever seen on television. i also love what Hot Dog says as he prepares to launch into atmo, "Well, this is going to be different."
2) even though Galactica is the heart of the show, every time i see Pegasus get destroyed i can't help but think NOOOOO but pegasus is bigger and better and stronger! why would you destroy your best ship?!!! but of course i understand why. its kind of like in Live Free or Die Hard when mcclane's daughter grabs the gun from the bad guy and instead of, oh, i dont know, SHOOTING SOMEONE WITH IT, she tries to throw it across the room to her dad, and oh guess what it doesnt work! so that was a colossal waste of a bad ass move.
3) katee sackhoff continues to deserve ALL THE AWARDS. on a related topic, i REALLY love the fact that the writers didnt make the reunions on galactica ALL happy times. its much more realistic, considering how scarred some of these characters are, that them being back on their ships away and safe from the cylons does not, or rather, CANNOT, make them happy and back to normal. you know the cylons did some pretty messed up stuff on New Caprica if Starbuck and Tighe, arguably the two toughest characters in the whole show, are unrecognizable as their former selves. i wasn't sad, i wasn't bittersweetly happy at their reunion, i just thought HOLY S*** THIS IS F***** UP. THEY are totally f***** up by their experience on New CRAPrica.
4) it hurts my heart.
THE THINGS I LOVE ABOUT GALACTICA JUMPING IN AND OUT OF ATMO:
1) you see it at first from the perspective of the colonists on the ground.
2) it's just a little black dot high up in the air, but you're also pretty sure its the flash from a ship jumping. you are CORNfused.
3) HOLY SHHHHHMOKES ITS GALACTICA!
4) Hot Dog – "This is gonna be different."
5) being reminded that the laws of physics DO apply to Galactica, specifically – GRAVITY. could they feel the ship free falling, or do they have inertial dampers á la Star Trek? how long until the ship reached terminal velocity? what kind of mark would it make if it had hit ground (heaven forbid!)??
6) how far from the ground was Galactica when it jumped away? how did that relate to the affect of the jump on the ground with the LOOOOONG wind gust?
7) the establishment that jumping in atmosphere has legitimate effects on said atmosphere. whether its air rushing into the space Galactica used to occupy, or whether there is also some sort of energy discharge, i dont really know, but its kind of fascinating to think about the physics of jumping, and the difference between when they jump in space, where there is nothing, and in atmo where there is… lots of stuff.
My tiny shipper squee moments:
Sam looks SO RELIEVED and he sounds like he's crying a little when he tells her he's going to get her out of there.
<img src="http://i52.tinypic.com/2yn1mxh.jpg"/ width=400>
And she looks SO HAPPY for just one second among the chaos. HOLD ON TO THAT BB.
<img src="http://i52.tinypic.com/2yn1mxh.jpg"/ width=400>
I mean, the last time she saw him she thought he was dying of pneumonia. And Sam had no idea what the Cylons had done with her. For months. Can you imagine not knowing if your spouse is alive?
Everything about the Tigh's storyline makes me want to hug them both. I didn't want to say when she first showed up, because she was so awful and it wouldn't have made sense, but they were my cranky old people OTP. They were so fucked up, but they loved each other.
Bye bye Maya. Have fun in Eureka.
The arrival of the Pegasus never fails to give me chills, even though I already know what's going to happen.
I've seen Storming New Caprica posted a couple times, but I don't think I've seen Refugees Return, yet. So haunting and sad.
[youtube f9Ho0SJnoAI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9Ho0SJnoAI youtube]
Dammit, apparently you can't edit when you post youtube videos? Pfft, Lame.
Uh, that second pic was supposed to be:
<img src="http://i56.tinypic.com/xc62p3.jpg"/ width=400>
Slightly OT, but when I was reading your post I went "I'M GOING TO EUREKA???" And then I realized you meant Erica Cerra and I was sad.
Late reply is laaaate because I spent the day at the county fair and am just now getting around to catching up on internet stuff before crashing. But omg. Kara and Anders have SO much chemistry. I think the thing that I love about them is the way that Anders, this big guy who was a professional athlete, just has this air of tenderness when he's around Kara. Guh. Idk. I just love it.
Out of curiosity, Mark – how far have you got with the actual watching? (not the posting of reviews). I wanted to ask because, and I think I've mentioned it before, 3.09 has an original, aired version, and an extended version, and I do recommend watching the aired version if you can – I know extended edition contains more scenes, but 3.09 original benefits from some canny editing, it's almost poetic.
I personally don’t get why he thinks that her falling in love with him in any genuine way would provide her with the answers to her own internal pain.
I think that in some ways, Leoben represents for Kara a lot of the things about herself that she doesn't want to admit to or look at directly. Because there's a connection there: he's always been tied to her dark side, since the torture scenes in "Flesh and Bone" and his comments about her mother. He's also tied to her faith, because he is a character who's all about his own faith and interested in hers, and I think that moment in FaB when she prayed for his soul was a defining one for her character, and one of the things that started to flesh her out from being just your basic cocky, charismatic loose-cannon, and into a complex human being. Kara Thrace instead of just Starbuck, if you will.
I'm sort of wary of becoming too much of a Leoben apologist, because CLEARLY he is a total creeper and the stuff he pulls with Kara is some of the most messed up relationship dynamics in the show, which is REALLY SAYING SOMETHING. But it actually really works for me in a way that other messed up relationship dynamics don't (really, Tyrol/Cally? After their last major encounter had been him beating the crap out of her, and before then her killing his previous girlfirend? REALLY? Just, no.) because here I think it's quite deliberate and saying things about monotheism and traditional gender roles and religous and sexual confinement and Kara and her vulnerabilities.
(Gods, someone stop me before I go completely Jacob-from-TWoP and start going on about Hades and Persephone.)
So, like, to go back to Mark's statement. I think that the core of Leoben's character is that he is both a true and a false prophet: he sees what's to come, and he tries to act to bring it about, but when it actually happens (Kara's kissing him) it doesn't mean at all what he thought it meant. But he was so invested in the idea that IT WOULD HAPPEN that that's enough for him. And so I think he has changed her, mentally and emotionally. Of course, that was accomplished by means of total, icky mindfuckery, and it's questionable whether it was a positive change. But I mentioned in a previous comment that she'd said that she fought because she didn't know how to do anything else: this was her being slowed down and isolated so that, while she was still resisting him, she had to mostly exist as herself, alone and unable to act out. And I think that does have some value for self-discovery. And I think that, more than anything, her desire to reach out to Kacey was her desire to reach out to her own hurt and childish self.
…Which is not to say that it's not all deeply frakked up and wrong, because it is. But, yeah. There's stuff going on there.
*slinks off in the vain hope she won't become That Girl Who Goes On and On About Kara/Leoben*
Oh, Jacob. Those recaps of his, I kind of miss them (though I disagreed quite stiffly with him on some things, like his persistent hate of Cally and the series finale).
And Kara/Leoben just makes me squick, PURE SQUICK. I do get your point that he forces her to look at aspects of herself she’s uncomfortable with, but what stops me from getting behind it is that he really doesn’t seem to care how much damage (in this case, tremendous) she takes as a consequence.
He’ll force her into what he thinks is right, even if it breaks her in the process (and he doesn’t particularly care about himself, either). It’s most definitely obsession, but I’d really really squick at calling it love. Hell, even Tyrol and Cally have a healthier relationship than that, and that’s despite what they did to each other.
I have a lot of hate for the finale, myself, which I won't go into for fear of spoilers. But Cally-hate makes me a sad panda.
It's most definitely obsession, but I'd really really squick at calling it love.
Oh, no, I wouldn't call it love, either, really. (Though I'm sure Leoben would. Because he's messed up like that.) I just happen to have a thing for enemy ships (Doctor/Master, Clark Kent/Lex Luthor, etc.), and part of that is because with those pairings you're starting from a premise of two people hating and trying to hurt each other, so that's what you expect from their interactions. And thus in a weird way, I don't find it upsetting or triggery in the way of a theoretically loving relationship that has abusive qualities, because I don't feel like the writers believe that that behavior is somehow okay, or that the abused party should just forgive and forget because they love each other really. XP
Enemy ships can also have some interesting mutuality and mirroring going on in the damage the people are inflicting on each other, and Kara/Leoben works for me on this level, because after all their relationship (such as it is) started off with her torturing him and trying to break him down mentally and emotionally. Not that she didn't have reason, but yeah. Also, the way-dramatic nature of conflicts – your people committed genocide against my people! I tortured you for hours! You kidnapped me and screwed with my head! – is a little easier for me to separate from and go, "Okay, this is fictional, it doesn't have to be a remotely healthy relationship," than things that seem more in the realm of realism.
But these are just my own preferences in fiction, and I would never EVER say that they should be other people's. I don't even really ship Kara and Leoben in the sense that I think they should settle down and be happy together, or whatever – I'd side eye the hell out of that, honestly. I just like seeing them in scenes together. And I recognize that I'm a little bit of an oddball even for that. Still.
really, Tyrol/Cally? After their last major encounter had been him beating the crap out of her, and before then her killing his previous girlfirend? REALLY? Just, no.
RIGHT.
I was so proud of the writers and shocked by their ability to so beautifully twist my feelings about Ellen. I hated her early on. She was clearly a Cylon. Then she was too crazy to be a Cylon and was just a horrible person. But by the time of her death, I saw her as a flawed person who very dearly loved her husband and would go through hell for him… just in time for them to kill her. They made me care about Ellen just so they could kill her off. Masterful asshole move by the writers, and they carried it off flawlessly.
Yay! My husband and I are finally caught up with Mark! (my husband's name's also Mark…).
The scene with Ellen and Saul…it's our second time through,but being married now… watching it now I was blubbering like an idiot.
And when Tigh and Adama are talking, Adama congratulating him for bringing everyone back, and Tigh replies 'Not everyone…' and chokes a little…
I CRY ALL THE TEARS.
Note-Time!
-Ellen. :'( Tigh. :'( Good god. I never would have imagined when Ellen was first introduced that I’d be crying over her death, but there you have it. (Seriously, though, what kind of poison works THAT quickly?)
-I’m definitely warming up to Tori.
-“My ship’s up there.” OMG Roslin is gonna KICK SOME ASS (in her typical classy and dignified way, of course.)
-Holy crap are they ON FIRE? Holy crap they jumped INTO THE ATMOSPHERE. BEST. JUMP. EVER.
-Anders just HAPPENS to choose the door to the cell that Kara’s in? And OMG WHAT ABOUT KACEY. HE DOESN’T KNOW ABOUT KACEY. OMG THEY’RE GOING TO LEAVE HER BEHIND OMG KARA WILL BE DESTROYED.
-Nooo, Galactica. Noooo, Adama don’t just give up! Galactica has to be saved!
-HELL YEAH PEGASUS! Guess Dee’s monologue didn’t change Lee’s mind after all. Haha.
-Wow. Baltar FINALLY admitting his responsibility in everything that’s happened. Don’t give up yet, Baltar- you can still get a TV redemption! And Gaeta… oh, Gaeta. I just want to give him a hug. He absolutely is an idealist, and now he’s been disillusioned by both the military and his hero, and he feels responsible, even though he did everything he could in his position.
-Bye-bye, Pegasus.
– Bye-bye Leoben, you creepy-ass bastard. I’m only sorry Kara won’t get to stab you anymore.
-HERA! Oh poor Maya. 🙁
-Baltar WHY would you just hand Hera over to Three YOU HAD A GUN IN YOUR HAND. What is Three going to do, anyway, take her to live with the other cylons? They have some kind of plan for her, don’t they? I DON’T LIKE THIS I DON’T LIKE IT AT ALL.
-YES. Laura Roslin is back in the building!… er… spaceship!
-OMG. OMG, Kacey. I KNEW IT I KNEW SHE WASN’T REALLY KARA’S DAUGHTER. Katee Sackhoff, break my heart break a little more, would you?
-THE MUSTACHE IS GOING DOWN. THANK YOU GODS. THE PORN-STACHE HAS BEEN DEFEATED. LET THERE BE REJOICING IN THE FLEET.
This is the episode where I decided I loved Ellen. She’s so unapologetic, and they both obviously hurt so much to have come to this pass. She was the one true wild card in the show, and she’s gone! And poor Tigh!
I’m glad Kate Vernon confirmed that Ellen knew about the poison, because that had always made the most sense to me. Ellen was too smart to not know, and the last thing she wanted was to hurt her husband. [ALL THE TEARS]
“Ohg jung nobhg Ryyra?” [NYY GUR GRNEF, L’NYY. NYY BS GURZ]
Sometimes I think what Dualla really wanted was to marry Lee's father, but she couldn't, so she married Lee instead. I'm so bored by their relationship.
Ellen recounting how she had to sleep with Cavil is breaking my heart. She used what little power she had left to try to save her husband and I don't think you can blame her for any of this. And then Tigh poisons her. And she WILLINGLY takes the poisoned drink and he cries and everything is just so tragic and this show is so good.
Did anyone doubt Lee was going to come save the day? I mean really. BUT IT IS STILL AWESOME.
"I prefer to stay here and die." Emo Gaius is emo. And then FRAK YEAH GAETA. I mean I don't want Gaius to die but GAETAAAA. I just love every Gaeta scene. And Callis and Juliani acting off each other is AMAZING.
Aw, Lee thanks Pegasus. These boys and their ships.
Watching Starbuck say "I love you" to Leoben was awful. BUT THEN SHE HAS A KNIFE AND IT IS AWESOME. STARBUCK SAVES HER OWN GODDAMN SELF. Also, I am REALLY glad that Anders didn't show up earlier and get the completely wrong idea.
And then Kacey isn't Starbuck's daughter after all. God, I hate Leoben for this.
Time to shave off your playoffs mustache, Adama, cause you basically won the World Series today. (What? I'm in Milwaukee. The Brewers haven't done this well since before I was born. No, literally before I was born.)