In the third episode of the fourth season of Battlestar Galactica, OH FUCK YOU. FUCK YOU. FUCK YOU. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Battlestar Galactica.
The writers really aren’t waiting until mid-season (or the series finale) to ridiculous up the stakes of Battlestar Galactica, are they? I am just so fucked up right now, a hot mess of frustrations and emotions. AND THIS IS JUST THE THIRD FUCKING EPISODE.
The irony in the title of this episode, “The Ties That Bind,” is that once these ties are established, we seem them torn apart. Perhaps I spoke too soon when saying I think we will see more joyous moments in the future; this might be the bleakest episode I’ve seen yet. There is no good to be found in Roslin and Lee’s story. There’s not joy to be found with the Cylons. There is nothing even approaching fleeting happiness when it comes to Tyrol and Cally. If anything, we’re going to see an all-out war pretty damn soon, and if I thought that shit was real, I’m definitely unprepared for what is to come.
That “war” will probably encompass quite a few things. First and foremost, Lee’s public spur with Roslin during the Quorum meeting is a disaster. God, it’s so bad because the first time we see Roslin in “The Ties That Bind,” she’s being read a detective novel by Adama. THIS IS CUTER THAN FOURTEEN BASKETS OF PUPPIES. Fifteen? Okay, you’re pushing my sense of logic now. I am only one man! Don’t test me!
So, contrast this with the moment when Lee reveals that he knows what Executive Order 112 is. YEAH. WHAT IS THIS SHOW DOING TO ME. Look, Lee, Zarek reminded you of Roslin’s grudge for a reason: YOU EMBARRASSED HER IN FRONT OF THE ENTIRE FLEET. What, did you think she would just put that behind her and start giving you high fives during the Quorum? I’m not sure I fully understand what the Executive Order actually is, but it seems to be something that would give Roslin more power than she has at the moment. I wish this episode would have dealt with this beyond the Quorum because I’m interested to see why Roslin would pursue something like this. Despite what Zarek says, she doesn’t seem like a power-hungry politician to me. I will admit that Zarek is right about her desire to “save” humanity, but I don’t think the situation is that simple. Plus, where did Zarek even get his information?
Starbuck’s “secret” mission on the Demetrius is another thorn in Roslin’s side, and “The Ties That Bind” gives us a chance to see how that’s going. Oh, right, it is also a frustrating disaster. I was pleasantly surprised to see who had joined Starbuck, and I certainly didn’t expect to see Gaeta, Seelix, Anders, or Athena on board. However, it’s not some sexy slumber party on board the Demetrius. Turns out that instinct isn’t helping Starbuck all that much. After twenty-two days on the mission, it seems that they’re no closer to finding the next path to earth as before, so much so that the crew that Helo assembled is now openly criticizing the point of the whole thing. CAN’T ONE THING GO RIGHT FOR STARBUCK.
Well, apparently her desire for sex can. Wow, there’s a whole lot of angry, awkward sex on this show when you think about it, isn’t there? I mean…when Anders and Starbuck started to have sex, all I could yell at the screen was, “PLEASE WATCH OUT FOR THE PAINT.” What is with Kara Thrace and sexy painting times? But awkwardness aside, I actually liked the final scene between these two. Is this setting up Starbuck to be revealed as the final Cylon? I hate that there is so much evidence to suggest that she is the fifth one because I am fighting it so hard. She can’t be, right? But I’m beginning to think that one of the remaining colonial citizens in the fleet is the final Cylon. It has to be. But can it really be Starbuck? It would explain her disappearance in “Maelstrom,” but….OH GOD WHAT IS GOING ON.
I suppose the same can be said of the Cylons, because what the holy fuck is going on? Cavil wakes up on the Resurrection Ship to discover that the Sixes basically kicked all the other models who did not support them off their basestar. THAT’LL KEEP THE PEACE. Also, Boomer is in love with Cavil? Where the fuck did that come from?
Regardless, the negotiations begin between the two sides in what is basically amounting to a Cylon civil war. I was SO FUCKING EXCITED when Six demanded that the Threes be unboxed, stressing that the Cylons need to be unified, including the Final Five. I mean, yes, it would be exciting to see all twelve models together, but THEN LUCY FLAWLESS COULD COME BACK AND ALL WOULD BE RIGHT WITH THE WORLD. Could this please happen?
Of course, now I worry that it won’t. The end of the Cylon story is horrific. Just when I think that they will find a way to work together (WHY DID I HAVE HOPE ABOUT THIS SHOW FOR ONE GODDAMN SECOND), it’s revealed that the plan to unbox the Threes is a trap by the opposing Cylon force, who have left the Resurrection Ship behind to kill the other half of the Cylons. OKAY HOW. CAVIL. HOW CAN YOU DO THIS. Boomer openly questions him, and his words are haunting: it seems he doesn’t believe that the Cylons have souls at all. Does he not even believe in the Cylon God? Why is he so violently against anyone finding out who the Final Five are, going so far to box the Threes and now eliminate the Cylon models who want to know their identity too?
But the main focus of “The Ties That Bind” is about Cally. Out of all the characters who might be affected by the four Cylons in the fleet, the show deals with her discovery first. Now I can see why there was an emphasis on the marital problems between Tyrol and Cally in season three; it was setting up what we would see her. Cally had to be frustrated and exhausted with Tyrol in order to seek him out twice in the episode to find out what he’s doing. The truth is that his work, and then his obsession with his Cylon identity, has taken him away from raising Nicky. I’m glad that at no point does this episode ignore the fact that Tyrol is in the wrong here. Cally feels that she can’t get any assistance from her husband, and it fuels her depression, her terror, and her paranoia. But even her paranoia isn’t off the mark because it is true that her husband is not being truthful about where heads off to, leaving her behind to take care of her child.
I won’t deny that watching this downward spiral of fear and depression is really difficult. It’s uncomfortable and saddening because I like Cally and I wanted her to have some support from her husband or her friends, but her descent is a lonely one, only temporarily relieved when she meets with Doc Cottle. This episode is further proof that Cottle’s one of the most dependable characters on the show, and I think he showed us how much he genuinely cared for her well-being.
But it’s not necessarily enough, especially when Cally felt outright ignored. And after spotting Tory acting affectionate towards Tyrol (though possibly not for a romantic reason at all), it only sets up her later discovery while she is remembering all of the good times with her husband. When Cally finds the note meant for Tyrol, I kept thinking I knew what was going to happen. Then, every sixty seconds, I had to adjust that thought. I knew one thing for certain: This was an awfully early moment to deal with the fact that these people were Cylons, and as Cally climbed into maintenance panel, I worried that the shock of the discovery that her husband was a Cylon would send her tumbling into the shaft below her. It’s genuinely a terrifying moment that gets worse and worse.
I initially was confused as to why the camera was focused so oddly onto Cally’s face when Tyrol returns to their quarters, but it makes more sense to me now. In a way, this is like a dream state for Cally. It is so absurd and horrifying, that for a moment, she disconnects from the environment surrounding her. It cannot be real, and Tyrol’s words are distant, muddied, nightmarish. But when she comes to realize that it is entirely possible that she was used all along, that Nicky was merely the product of some Cylon desire for a hybrid child, she snaps out of this mode, and the camera returns to its proper focus.
I believed she would kill Tyrol and then everything would be fucked up on the Cylon Resurrection ship. But this doesn’t happen. Shocked, I then realized Cally stole Tyrol’s keys for a reason: she was going to access a launch tube and kill herself and Nicky. (Two quick things: How did no one on the ship respond to a launch tube being activated? And why didn’t Cally tell ONE OTHER SOUL that she knew the identity of three more Cylons? Well, to be fair, she was in a fucked up mental state, but now NO ONE KNOWS oh god)
I can’t rationalize what Tory Foster has done. When she struck Cally (WITH A SURPRISING AMOUNT OF STRENGTH GOOD GOD), I knew now what was really going to happen. For a moment, I thought that perhaps she appeared to save this woman and get her to keep their secret, but in hindsight, I suppose that must have been an impossible thing to do. Now I’m wondering if Tory somehow knows that a hybrid child is a sacred thing and it’s one of the reasons she took Nicky from Cally. Either way, Cally’s death is so horrific and senseless to me. It will be hard to forget the way she died, the imagery of her tiny body ejecting out into space, and to juxtapose this with the image of Tyrol sitting motionless as Adama informs him what happened to his wife.
This is beyond fucked up. If Cally can die–and in this manner–then things can certainly get so much worse from here. How is Tyrol going to deal with this? Will Tory admit to killing her? How is her death going to be explained to the crew anyway? Oh god, it hurts so bad, but I HAVE TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
R.I.P. Cally. Son of a buffalo.
CALLY APPRECIATION THREAD HERE
[youtube jq9-5FjQb8g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq9-5FjQb8g youtube]
Watch Nicki Clyne dance around and be adorable!
Seriously though, I adore Cally and this episode just breaks me. I haven't been able to rewatch it since the first time I saw it. Just…WHY TORY WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY. Like, I barely remember anything else that happens because her story just overshadows everything.
Oh dude, I LOVE the New Pornographers! I never knew she was in one of their videos! I WANT TO LIP-SYNC TO NEKO CASE'S VOICE PLZ. Jellus. Also, I never realized before how much Cally looks like a scene kid.
Okay, and here's where I start having issues with the Demetrius storyline (and it actually has nothing to do with Kara). It's Helo & Athena. They've gone through the trauma of thinking Hera was dead, and then Helo having to kill Athena in order to get their daughter back…and now they're on an extended mission to help Kara find Earth. Which is awesome – I love that the Helo & Starbuck Are BFFs Show is back. However, I highly doubt that Athena would agree to leave Hera…where, exactly? Who is looking after her? I mean, this child must have ridiculous abandonment issues by now. I'm sure (well, I hope) that the writers have a reason for including both Helo and Athena in the crew of the Demetrius, but them spending so much time away from their daughter completely distracts me from what I'm supposed to be focusing on – which would be Kara's search for Earth.
Also, Cally – my heart. The tears: I cried them. All of them. It was more shocking to me than Kara's death, because I figured we wouldn't get something like this so near the beginning of the season. I just…words – I can't find the proper ones to use.
Okay, I was wondering about Hera, too, because just about everyone the Agathons trust are on the Demetrius or busy running the fleet. Maybe she's with Dee?
I hope so. She's one of the most well-adjusted members of the crew. Hell, the fleet in general. (Bu, naq abj V'z pelvat. Qnza lbh, EQZ!)
SOB. THIS EPISODE. SOB.
Man, this show can be relentlessly depressing.
Cally! V arire xarj lbh unys nf jryy nf V fubhyq yvxr, naq V bayl rire yvxrq lbh unys nf jryy nf lbh qrfreirq.
That is ridiculously true.
this
Why are you rot13ing this?
I agree.
It's a line from LOTR.
Indeed. I thought about not, but it's just on the edge of spoilery, even though it's a pretty vague misquote, but I decided to err on the side of caution.
This episode makes it so much harder to watch the earlier one where she and Tyrol get stuck in a leaking airlock. Knowing that her being saved from that particular death by spacing is only a brief reprieve. Fuck you, Tory.
On a bit of a lighter note, I'd say it's now perfectly clear why the opening captions are no longer saying that the Cylons have a plan.
so effing true. on all counts.
"death by spacing" hehe
The Cylons were created by Man. They rebelled. They evolved. There are many copies. And they had a plan. Now they're just making things up on the fly. The results are less than impressive.
With Plan: Destruction of the Twelve Colonies.
Without Plan: Inability to find and destroy off forty-odd ragtag ships.
To be fair, it’s not like the Twelve Colonies were moving around much (from their fixed orbits).
So apparently the theme for Season 4 is EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE. The Demetrius is crewed by what is possibly the most awesome group of people of all time AND EVEN THAT IS TERRIBLE. Cavil is being deliciously creepy and evil AND THEN CYLON MURDER!!! Even the adorable Roslin/Adama scene isn’t all happiness because she’s dying 🙁 Although it’s still incredibly adorable and all episodes should have a cute Roslin/Adama scene <3
AND THEN CALLY. Oh my god I wasn’t expecting that at all. At first I was kind of hoping she would be the fifth Cylon model because then we’d see her again! But then I realized how goddamn heartbreaking it would be to see Cally realize she is the thing she despises 🙁 🙁 🙁
So apparently the theme for Season 4 is EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE.
I'm kind of glad this is the last season, because I'm feeling worn down by the bleakness. I just assume that half of the characters I love are going to die or be somehow damaged, and all I can do is sit back and watch it happen. I mean, we've already lost Cally and two Cylon models, Roslin is dying, Starbuck, Tigh, Tyrol, Anders, and Tory are lost and screwed up in their own ways, and we're only 4 episodes in. 🙁
I must be broken inside because I can't get enough of the bleakness. It's so exciting and deeply thrilling to me. 🙁
Nah, you're okay! Bleakness is fun and entertaining (Breaking Bad and The Wire!), but I need a break from the slow, downward spiral into doom, sometimes. Everyone is exhausted and falling apart, and it's just time to find Earth. Or kill each other off, which they excel at. I don't want to imagine what horrors a fifth season would entail.
S4 of BSG >>>>> S4 of The Wire. I want to fall down and cry forever just thinking about that run of bleakness (but I did love it).
I love the bleakness but after every episode I just want to lie down on the floor for a while. At this rate, the final episode will just be an empty ship floating into Earth's orbit because everyone will be dead
The Demetrius is crewed by what is possibly the most awesome group of people of all time AND EVEN THAT IS TERRIBLE.
I know right? How can so many awesome people together NOT be awesome?
I'd been relatively meh about Tory before this but now?
<img src="http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lu3n0cRehv1qexngao1_500.jpg"/>
I JUST, KILLING CALLY? IN FRONT OF HER SON? I don't think I've wanted a character to die quite as much as I do with Tory.
Nikki Clyne pretty much rules the episode. She does an amazing job of showing us how bad Cally's mental state is. Her breaking down in the launch tube is so hard to watch, having baby Nicky crying the whole time doesn't help.
Requisite shallow moment: I love the painting Kara has done above her her bunk, especially when we get that shot of her sitting in front of Sam where the camera moves slightly below her to show the painting above her head.
I do have to side eye the fact that Helo AND Athena are on the Demetrius mission though. Who's looking after Hera? And what happens to her if something goes wrong on this mission and one or neither of them make it back?
Cally's death hit me hard. Probably harder than anyone else's death up to this point, including Starbuck. Because Starbuck was a reckless Viper pilot and I was a bit spoiled for the fact that she comes back. But Cally has a relatively safe job. She was going to be a dentist (in a former life, anyway). And then she died.
And I hate Tory. Both as a person and as a character. Which is to say I hate her more than I feel like I'm supposed to, and that's probably the fault of the writers. She never got enough development in the earlier season for me to feel like she deserves to be a cylon (if that makes any sense) and then she was shoved into the front and center, but still failed to be sympathetic in any way and now she kills Cally? Go die in a fire, Tory. While there isn't a resurrection ship nearby.
I've fallen behind on my watching (planning to catch up this weekend), but jura qb jr svaq bhg gung Pnyyl unq na nssnve jvgu Ubg Qbt. V pbhyq unir fjbea gung jnf guvf rcvfbqr
For some reason knowing the small fact that Cally wanted to be a dentist just makes the whole thing sadder for me. When I first watched this one I was legitimately upset that she would never be one.
This show. It is so depressing and yet I love it to no end.
Vg'f va gur frpbaq unys bs gur frnfba, rcvfbqr sbhegrra.
thanks!
I need to stop watching this show right before I go to bed. That image of Cally in space is haunting.
I'm not a huge Cally fan, mostly because of how she interacted with Boomer (although I'm starting to question Boomer), but I like her and didn't want her dead. It's sad to remember that episode where she was shot in space but was with Tyrol and they were able to make it out safely. This time, she was all by herself.
All right, BSG, I challenged you to make me care that Tory is a Cylon and you're choosing to do it in an interesting way. I still don't care about her personally, but her being a Cylon is clearly going to continue to have an effect on…stuff. I thought I'd get another Cylon who doesn't want to be one and fights her programing…so far, not so much. Adds another dynamic I guess, but I'm certainly unprepared. And also really not liking her. (Hmm, I'm not sure if that's clear. Basically, I don't care that Tory's a Cylon, but I don't like her as an individual, Cylon or human.)
Boomer Cavil= DO NOT WANT EVERRRRRRR
I though the Cavils have made it clear that they don't believe in the human gods or the Cylon God, yes? I seem to remember that from past episodes and it's all strange since he was the priest.
Cavil, stop killing everybody, it's making me sad.
And Roslin and Starbuck, I don't know how you do it, but you both frustrate me to no end.
I was a huge Roslin fan the first time through (some of that might have been due to the fact that there was just so much happening that it was impossible to catch absolutely everything). This is the first time I've rewatched the series (other than a few episodes here and there that I'd really liked), and I'm just…not at all a fan of Roslin right now. Adama either, for that matter. I feel like we're supposed to think they're awesome based on stuff they did in the first two-ish seasons, but their actions recently (in terms of the show) have made me – well, sometimes just disgusted with their characters. I mean, I want realistic characters with flaws and blah blah blah, but there comes a point at which the flaws outnumber the redeeming qualities (Tory, anyone?). I can't figure out if it's Roslin & Adama as people, or Roslin & Adama as President and Admiral that's pissing me off more, but I'm getting so irritated with them. Naq vg'yy bayl trg jbefr orsber vg trgf orggre. (V'ir jngpurq nurnq orpnhfr, fnqyl, V qb abg bja gur QIQf naq zhfg gurersber obeebj gurz sebz gur yvoenel, naq zl bcvavba punatrf qenfgvpnyyl nsgre Ebfyva unf ure ivfvbaf bs Rybfun, naq Nqnzn nqzvgf gung ur'f ybfg uvf bowrpgvivgl (fgvyy cvffrq ng uvz sbe whzcvat gur Tnynpgvpn naq yrnivat gur syrrg ihyarenoyr). Qrsvavgryl fgneg pnevat nobhg gurz – naq yvxvat gurz – ntnva.)
Wow, I had many more ~feelings~ on this subject that I realized.
I agree with you, I think Roslin in particular has done a lot to make me dislike her this time around. Stop sucking, Roslin.
Boomer and Cavil
Sittin' in a tree
K.I.S.S…..
somebody kill them both please?
Out of all the moments in all of BSG that left me uncomfortable, aghast, shocked, or dismayed, none actually squicked me out until Boomer kisses Cavill.
I could not look upon this abomination.
Ugh.
Is this where I admit that during the original run of BSG I straight up quit watching after this episode, because I was going through some deep stuff in my life and I could no longer deal with the EPIC SADNESS OF EPICNESS?
Oh, this isn't where I admit that? Ok, here's a basket of puppies.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/F2VJjl.jpg" title="Hosted by imgur.com" />
OMGPUPPIIEEEESSSS that may be the cutest thing ever.
The upvote is clearly for the puppies, not for your dealing with epic sadness. Hope everything is better for you now!
Ha, funny story…
…but it's getting better. Plus, puppies!
Typical, puppies just hanging out in a basket and who's left to do all the work?
<img src=http://i.imgur.com/OOJev.gif>
I have a foster kitten with me right now who is trying to figure out why the kitties are inside the computer and how can she get them out 😀 She is literally pawing at the gif!
Basket full of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels!!!
I have one sitting next to me as I type. <3
I'm sorry that is only a basket of 9 puppies. I think Mark called for 14 or 15. But if you count the stuff puppies around the basket then you have 16 puppies and now this is too cute to live!
Awwwww soooo cute!!!
I wasn't dealing with anything remotely difficult and it's still taking me a while to work through S4. Every episode, BAM. But now I'm just putting off Daybreak until I have lots of time to watch both parts at once and be distraught alone afterwards.
So, you should not be at all ashamed, and I hope things are better for you.
D'AAAAAW!! I love the one in front, hogging all the space with that smug look on its face <3
By a Fighting Agathon and Starbuck spinoff, I didn't mean that I wanted them crammed into a sewage reclamation ship, fighting amongst themselves. Since most of my favorite characters are on that ship, I really, really hope they're gonna be okay. Starbuck's depersonalization makes me worry about her (and wonder even more what happened to her.)
And then, holy shit, Cally and the good Cylons. Even though she's not my favorite, I still felt terrible that Cally went through depression alone, and it hurt watching her disconnect from the world around her. None of it matters to her, so she chose to try to kill herself and Nicky. I'm glad that Tory stopped her from killing Nicky, but there's no way to justify what either of them did; explain it, yes, but not justify it. I just wish Cally hadn't been so alone. It makes "A Day in the Life" a lot nastier in retrospect, too.
What the hell is going to happen with the Cylons now? Are there other Sixes and Eights (aside from Boomer) away from what happened? And Zarek's up to no good, obviously using Lee to weaken Roslin. It's a good thing that Cavil doesn't seem like the type to align himself with humans, otherwise those two would be a terror.
Everything is going to shit.
I don't have a lot of comments besides:
🙁
So Cally is my homegirl despite the fact that I hate almost every plot that involves her. And I predicted that a cylon would kill her in season 3, so no big surprise here.
There's 2 levels on which people hate episodes: when there are things in them that are do not want and when they are because of quality, and I do not like this episode for the second reason. Sorry but so much of the dialogue in this made me cringe pretty hard.
That and I dunno, I think it's just like they realized that for things they wanted to do this season one of the cylons needed to be female and they didn't really put a lot more thought into Tori. But we'll see how this goes.
Ugh. I can't stand Lee. He's just a spoiled little child. Every time he gets his little feelings hurt, he lashes out at those around him without ever thinking of the consequences.
I miss Cally 🙁
In other parts of space, ZOMG!!! Cylon civil war! Their plot line is so interesting!! I almost want to see more Cylon stuff than Adama/Roslin….. HA! NOT! I will always want to see more Adama/Roslin!! ALWAYS!!
Executive order 112 was the order that allowed the civilian jury to summarily execute perceived traitors after the exodus from New Caprica. That's the order that Zarek signed into effect, the one he explained to Roslin and Adama after Gaeta almost died. Zarek showed it to Lee knowing that Lee would assume that Roslin was the one who signed it into effect, when it was actually him who did it.
Devious shit be goin' down here.
Just when I think I couldn't hate Zarek more.
Wait, what? I NEVER MADE THAT CONNECTION BEFORE. Is this confirmed anywhere? I'd definitely believe it of Zarek, but the wiki doesn't seem to know anything about it.
This is maybe my favorite episode. I mean, everything is awful and everyone is miserable, but it just makes me feel ALL THE THINGS. And Cally is the reason why.
I’ve never really liked Cally. She started out seeming like a trope to me, the adorable girl who shows a surprising amount of spunk, occasionally swears and people act surprised. And then there’s the part where everyone ignores the fact that she TOTALLY MURDERED Boomer. And her anti-cylon bigotry has always seemed just a little more mindlessly hateful than say, Roslin’s determined stance against the enemy. And the way she jumped into a marriage with the Chief, after murdering his ex and just months after he beat her so bad she ended up in the hospital always bothered me. Yes, the Chief didn’t intentionally strike her, but still, messed up.
So yeah, not so much a Cally fan going into this episode. But this episode did so much to humanize her, I didn’t necessarily like her, but I was just so worried for her, she clearly needed somebody to just, I dunno, give her a hug. I just knew that her severely depressed state, coupled with her virulent cylon hatred would make the Chief discovery result in horror.
Ugh, and when she crawled into that maintenece duct I just had a flashback to I think the miniseries:
Chief, to Cally: “It pays to be small.”
Its just all so horrible. I totally thought when Tory showed up, she’d talk Cally off the ledge and then BLAM. BSG, kills my soul.
I was never a Cally fan either. nor can I say that I will miss her. But she sure as hell didn't deserve THIS kind of death. Oh how I hated Tory for this and myriad other reasons.
Nicky Clyne was so compelling in this episode. It's a shame they wasted her talent all this time.
Cally is intensely loyal. Boomer not only betrayed her captain and her ship, Boomer betrayed the Chief, and it was clear that Cally had feelings for him even back then. Of course she's messed up – I think the majority of the survivors should have some kind of PTSD. Considering she took a bullet from a prisoner trying to rape her in, what, the second episode? – all the violence she experienced, it's not surprising that a punch could feel like a kiss, to be a little cliched.
I don't necessarily admire Cally, but she's an incredibly human character on this show, and that's more important for me when it comes to liking or disliking fictional characters.
I dislike how she was sort of the writer's punching bag – the go-to character when anything bad needed to happen. Her death is just another example of that.
URG why is this show full of unending tragedy???
Poor Cally 🙁
If I were Helo and Athena, I would NOT leave Hera behind without at least one of them there. I mean, considering what both sides have done to the kid before now, I'd basically be beyond the point of trusting anyone with my child.
Cally's death is still the thing that shocked me most out of the entire run of the show. Like a punch in the gut and i didn't even really like her.
Where are the Starbuck sex gifs?
That scene was so hot. I alternate between this and the paintsex as my favorite Starbuck sex. Oh, and then there's her and Baltar/Lee in season 1. So long ago!
always and forever the paintsex
because i am a soul-less dementor i don't often cry at tv or movies or books. sure, i'll tear up getting caught up in a dramatic moment where a character dies and everybody mourns them. tearing up isn't crying though. and getting me to spontaneously cry without all the extra dramatic stuff is nary impossible.
but BS-frickin-G the things you do to me!! i was SO sure Tory was there to save Cally, then i was SO SURE that someone would come in at the last second and save Cally, but then, as you said, "her tiny body ejecting out into space" is an image i just can't shake. its one of a spare few character deaths, amongst all the tv shows and movies that i watch, that totally and utterly devastated me. it wasn't flashy, she didn't get a dramatically sweeping monologue about how much people loved her. she just got sucked out into space and died, and that was it. how unceremonious, such a beloved character being offed so abruptly. that's kind of the brilliance of it. the sucky SUCKY brilliance. DAMN YOU BSG!!
p.s. i've been waiting MONTHS to share my sadness over this. SERIOUSLY. and as somebody else said above, watching the episode where cally and tyrol get locked in a decompressing compartment, after watching this one, makes that one SO much more poignant and sad.
"however, its not some sexy slumber party on board the demetrius."
–> can someone make a GIF of this please? kthanx
This is my least favorite episode of BSG. Aside from maybe "Black Market," but I've purposefully ignored that one so much that I can't really remember it. Honestly, I went back and read my comments for this episode and thought "wow, I did not like this one" and then watched and was just "OH RIGHT THIS IS WHY." I don't really want to say too much on it, but I just… wow I really do not like it.
Mark, random question:
Is Terminator, the Sarah Connor Chronicles on your list of things to watch?
if it's not it totally should that show is flawless.
And it's got Bear McCreary.
CALLY D: D: D:
This episode broke me utterly. I was so upset that it took me…two months, maybe longer? to be able to watch the rest of the season. Maybe it was a bit extreme response, but I just…I couldn’t go on. And not because I thought it was bad. I just lost hope that anything would be okay ever again.
Wow, you used the word “descent” and that’s the title of the musical piece, “Cally Descends”.
Well, I tried.
Thank you to whoever fixed it!
I have this habit I call “TV mantras”, which is basically when I mutter something under my breath repeatedly during an extremely tense moment in a TV show or movie. During the last third of this episode, I was literally saying one TV mantra after another.
Cally finds the note: “Ohshitshe’sgonnafindoutohshitshe’sgonnafindout….”
After she overhears the meeting: “Ohshitsheknowsthey’rescrewedohshitsheknowsthey’rescrewed…”
As she’s leaving: “CallywhereareyougoingandwhydoyouhaveNickywhereareyougoingandwhydoyouhaveNickywhereareyougoingand…“
I realize where she’s going. And why she has Nicky: “NonononothisissofuckedupnononoIcan’tbelievethey’reactuallygonnadothisnonono…”
Enters the airlock. Brief pause while I wonder why the hell they would have a way to open an airlock FROM INSIDE OF IT. Continue: “StepawayfromtheairlockCallystepawayfromtheairlockCallystepawayfromtheairlock….”
Wait, here’s Tory, being all reasonable and Hostage Negotiator-y! “TalkheroutofitTorytalkheroutofitTorytalkheroutofitTory….”
I STILL haven’t figured out how this show works: ”YayToryphewthatwascloseyayTory-“
I get punched in the face: “FUCKYOUTORYWHATTHEFUCKISWRONGWITHYOUFUCKYOUTORY.”
Yeah, even Adama reading a detective novel to Roslin as she gets Chemo, and the Demetrius crew having such a high awesome quotient, can’t make up for all this awful.
I have to ask two things: why? Did Tory do it to keep Cally from revealing the truth? For teh evulz? Some of both? And why did Cally want to kill Nicky? I DON’T believe she’s vindictive enough to kill him as a way of hurting Tyrol, so… I have to think she really believed anything would be better for him than being raised by a cylon. 🙁 Like I said, this is all so fucked up.
//"I have to think she really believed anything would be better for him than being raised by a cylon."//
Yeah, I think that's it. Cally has always hated Cylons so much from the beginning and is one of the crew to never accept Athena. I think she snapped and couldn't take it and truly believed their kid was better off dead. Horrific to watch, but imo relatively in-character.
I had never liked Cally (I found her personality grating & just could never get past her killing Boomer – which is weird because everyone does horrible things to everyone on BSG and I normally just shrug it off) but this episode really shocked me. The Cylons storyline emotionally worried me the most, but Cally shocked me. I had assumed Cally would live until the series finale after she survived the New Caprica close call, so this moment blew my mind. I honestly did not think the writers would go there, and in that way.
Though there are other significant character deaths in S4 that affected me 50x more… this was the first cut. And so maybe for that it remains the deepest.
You know, I just realized from looking over a bunch of people's comments… a lot of people really found S4 a complete bleakfest. Which is funny, because I think I didn't get that as much as others. It actually depressed me less than S3 on a thematic level.
Lots of awful things go down in S4, don't get me wrong. But some of the themes and character arcs going on during the last season moved me or interested me enough that it ended up counter-balancing the horrible shit better for me than S3 did.
And this is why I hate Tory. HATE HER.
But seriously, this is one of my favorite episodes (despite bleakness) because I'm an Anders fangirl. I love all of the angry/bitter scenes between him and Starbuck. She's basically speaking his mind for him – she wonders who or what she is… if she's even the same person, etc etc. And there he is feeling the same things but saying nothing. Ah, Anders. <3
Oh gods, as soon as I read the "intrigued" tag I knew this had to be the ep where cally dies. Ugh. Most depressing episode evar. We see the final descent of what was once such a strong and happy woman, and then the realization of what a stone cold psycho Tory is.
"Psycho" is an ableist term; please don't use it on this site.
OK so how long exactly does it take to download and why do the Cylons in the resurrection room know everything about the circumstances of Cavil's death?
EW, EW, BOOMER AND CAVIL, DO NOT WANT, EVER.
Do not want Chief and Cally, either. I think I'd be way more on board with this relationship if we'd ever seen a reason for them to love each other, but instead we go straight from "I forgive you for beating my face in" to "we're having a baby!" and that just squicks me the fuck out.
I do feel for Cally in this situation, though. Being stuck in a tiny room all day with a crying baby. You can't even go for a walk outside because there is no outside, and anyway BSG doesn't have strollers lying around.
I'm sorry but who's manufacturing personalized napkins for Joe's Bar? The same people who make the models used in CIC? It does kind of look like someone made it on Arts & Crafts Night.
I love these pulp crime novels. "Caprica City had been my teacher, my mistress." *lonely saxophone*
Roslin's stone-cold "apparently" about Kara is fierce, but come on, Roslin, you made everyone follow your visions and now you can't grant Kara the same respect?
Yay, Helo and Athena are on Team Starbuck! Except everyone is making fun of her. Shut up, everyone.
Man, I hate episodes where everyone's miserable. And not even in a heartbroken way, just in a day-to-day awfulness way. THIS IS TOO MUCH LIKE REAL LIFE.
I see Kara still does have her tattoos. And this is the first time they openly acknowledge that she and Sam got matching ones. <3.
Oh come on, Cylons, IT'S A TRAP. OBVIOUSLY.
I love Cally going into the walls to listen in on the sekrit Cylon meeting. She's an engineer! Of course she would know how the walls go.
Yeah so Tory is just straight-up evil at this point. Like, sure, being a Cylon doesn't make you evil. BEING EVIL MAKES YOU EVIL. AND YOU JUST MURDERED SOMEONE IN COLD BLOOD. Frak you, Tory.
And what do they tell Chief? That she killed herself? 🙁 How do they explain Tory ending up with the baby? What's going on.