{"id":616,"date":"2011-09-23T13:00:16","date_gmt":"2011-09-23T20:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=616"},"modified":"2011-09-20T13:56:28","modified_gmt":"2011-09-20T20:56:28","slug":"mark-watches-battlestar-galactica-s03e01-occupation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2011\/09\/mark-watches-battlestar-galactica-s03e01-occupation\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Battlestar Galactica’: S03E01 – Occupation"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the first episode of the third season of Battlestar Galactica<\/em>, the Cylon occupation of New Caprica is going far worse than expected. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Battlestar Galactica<\/em>.<\/p>\n

[Note: Because of its length and the multitude of feelings I have, the premiere of season three is being split into two posts coinciding with each “episode,” despite that it all aired at once. Never fear! I genuinely watched “Occupation” before “Precipice,” so this review was written in that context. Therefore, DO NOT SPOIL ME FOR “PRECIPICE.”<\/strong>Thank you!]<\/p>\n

This<\/em> is how you open a season. I’m actually so happy I did the webseries first because it gives the images and events in “Occupation” such a fantastic sense of context and history. But even if I hadn’t, it’s like like “The Resistance” prepared me at all<\/em> for the ridiculousness of this premiere. Shit was not real in the finale of season two, and I’m sure I’ll take this back soon, but OH MY GOD <\/em>SHIT IS SO REAL RIGHT NOW<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

What “Occupation” does so well right off the bat is give us a dizzying sense of disorientation. Of course, after the season two finale, we’re left with a lot of questions, wondering what the hell<\/em> the Cylons are going to do with the occupation on Caprica. “Occupation” takes its sweet time answering that, instead choosing to give us bits and pieces of this new world, confusing us with stories in media res<\/em>. What’s brilliant, though, is that the episode never<\/em> flashes back to show us how the humans or the Cylons to go this place after the last four months. Instead, we, as the viewers, must pay attention to catch details and fill in the gaps. Why is Colonel Tigh in a prison cell? What happened to his eye? Who is Ellen having sex with? What is Roslin praying for? Why are Tyrol and Anders creating a bomb? What is Adama planning? And why the hell<\/em> is Starbuck setting a table<\/em> while the whole world has gone to hell around her?<\/p>\n

These brief images and scenes are then slowly expanded for us, and in the process, we learn just how terribly fucked up everything<\/em> is. I commented that I thought the show could explore the terror and inhumanity of Guantanamo Bay, and here we get to see how the Cylons are using their detention facility to dehumanize and torture those being held for indefinite periods of time. I assume Tigh got picked up because of Jammer’s influence sometime between the end of the webisodes and the beginning of the season, but I have no idea how long he’s been there. And that’s<\/em> the point, and I shuddered when Cavil laughed at Tigh, teasing him about the tally marks the Cylons constantly manipulated to give Tigh a false sense of how much time passed. It is unbelievably difficult to look at Tigh, and Michael Hogan deserves all the awards<\/em> for his stupendous acting in this opening episode. Look at his submissive body language and the way he shakes when spoken to. Whatever the Cylons did to him, they broke him, and that is terrifying to me. It’s even more horrifying when we find out that while one Cavil is emotionally torturing Saul Tigh, another Cavil is having sex with the man’s wife. Ellen is trying to secure her husband’s freedom.<\/p>\n

show why are you doing this to me<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The resistance we saw in the webisodes is far more serious and deadly on both<\/em> sides. Oh god, I had no idea it would reach a level of this intensity. I still feel a sense of rising sadness when I think of how Tigh was treated. To see him leave and rush into the arms of\u00c2\u00a0 his wife\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.GOOD CHRIST. Watching Tyrol and Anders set up the G-4 explosive was the only real consolation I got. Could they actually strike back significantly against the Cylons? But how would that work against an enemy who could constantly regenerate themselves with the same memories they had before? Still, it had to mean something<\/em> when they hurt so many Cylons. Maybe they will\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6irritate them into submission?<\/p>\n

But out of everything, Starbuck’s reveal hit me the hardest. When Conoy walks into the dining room and we see that Starbuck wasn’t alone, we see just what her life has been like. It’s dehumanizing in an entirely different way than Tigh’s because the Cylons have taken her independence. That’s everything to her. They’ve stuck her in a house. They’ve forced her to be “domestic” with a man she despises. SHE IS NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO CUT HER OWN FOOD. <\/strong>I honestly think the scene where Conoy cuts Starbuck’s steak is something that scares me on a guttural level. It feels so wrong to me, so very evil<\/em>, that it unsettles me at the level of my SOUL. To hear Conoy complement Starbuck’s beauty\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6I can’t. It’s so slimy. It’s so gross. I wished that the knife was closer. I wished that Starbuck could defend herself and escape and join the resistance forces.<\/p>\n

AND THEN SHE STABS CONOY WITH METAL CHOPSTICKS. IN THE NECK!!!! OH MY GOD WHAT THE FUCK<\/strong>. But the real horror? He tells her that he’ll see her soon, and she tells him to take his time. This has happened before, hasn’t it?<\/em> As Conoy dies on the floor, bleeding out, she picks up her knife and fork and resumes her meal, blood smeared all over her hands, only a cursory glance at the dying Cylon near her.<\/p>\n

And that’s only the beginning. That’s only the pre-credit teaser<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Oh, Battlestar Galactica<\/em>. I love you so much.<\/p>\n

I really do enjoy that most of the opening after this is all through Roslin’s eyes. Thankfully, she’s still teaching, but she’s keeping track of the events on New Caprica. If any character would be keeping a journal or logs of history as it happens, it would be her. It’s as if she’s merely waiting for the day to assume the presidency again, and she’ll use this information to help inform how to press forward. For us, though, it’s one of the best bits of expository info-dumping I’ve seen on television. None of it feels forced at all and we learn detail after detail about the occupation. It’s as if each detail revealed is more horrifying than the last. The insurgent attacks are indeed pragmatically pointless, but they serve another purpose: boosting morale. And that<\/em> is needed because things are about as bleak as they could be. People are routinely detained for no reason. They have no legal recourse. Many, if not all of them, are tortured physically, mentally, and emotionally. Some die in detention, either the result of their torture or by execution. Some “disappear,” never to be seen again.<\/p>\n

No, I really can’t say this enough: It’s really<\/em> fucked up on New Caprica.<\/p>\n

I love that we get both sides of this, and I love that I feel so strongly for the resistance and for Caprica Six and Boomer, who are watching their “plan” erupt into violent chaos. I even feel just the slightest bit of pity for Gaius Baltar, who acts as a figurehead to assuage Cylon guilt, who has no real power and must sit and watch the human race be tortured to death. I haven’t quite forgiven him for his foolish actions that brought everyone to this point, but I don’t like seeing him so defeated<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Yet at the same time, without this, we wouldn’t have the fascinating and horrifying conversations between the Cylon “government” members. I’m reminded of the scenes towards the end of Torchwood: Children of Earth<\/em> when I think of how the Cylons discuss the humans not as if they’re humans but some sort of unruly pestilence. God CAVIL. CAVIL!!! Best humanoid Cylon or BEST HUMANOID CYLON?<\/em> He is so much more bitter<\/em> and cynical<\/em> and hateful<\/em> than all the others and even if what he’s proposing is terrible, I can’t deny that I love seeing him on screen. He adds such an intriguing dynamic to the Cylons.<\/p>\n

But I know I can’t ignore that he wants to further oppress the humans and now we see how the new “plan” for the humans, the one created by Caprica Six and Boomer, just simply didn’t work. While I don’t deny that the two probably had good intentions to bring humanity to the light of God, here’s a fantastic example of how good intentions kind of mean jack squat when the end result is…well, this<\/em>. This is how they bring God to humans? Through detention, violence, interrogation, murder, and fear? Oh, hello there, IMPERIALIST PARALLEL<\/em>. What are you doing in my Battlestar Galactica<\/em>? Making a point about how proselytizing through violence is ABSOLUTELY HORRIFYING?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The bulk of this is told through the eyes of the resistance, though. We see how it’s starting to chip away at Cally and Tyrol’s relationship. We learn that the Cylons RIPPED TIGH’S EYE OUT<\/em>. We learn that the police force hinted at in the webisodes is real and is about to have their first graduation ceremony. And that the resistance wants to ATTACK THE POLICE FORCE<\/em>. I thought it was super obvious that the source inside the Baltar was Gaeta because…isn’t he the only person who works with Baltar? Thankfully, the episode didn’t keep this a secret for very long. The information he provides to Tyrol and Tigh is what prompts the idea of the attack on the police graduation. The hints in “The Resistance” to the moral opposition of violence during wartime are now brought to fruition: Tigh wants to kill Gaius Baltar and as many police officers as possible. This time, it’s Tyrol who has reservations about killing people who aren’t implicit in the destruction of humankind. He even resists killing Baltar for a moment. Why kill other humans? Why kill their own? Shouldn’t they focus on the Cylons? But Tigh relents. Not only does Baltar deserve death for what he brought to New Caprica, but this is war<\/em>. I found it interesting how the writers put Tigh in this position and how no matter our reluctance towards the idea, we can at least understand why<\/em> he is so determined to carry out this mission. Tigh has fought in war, and the reality of it is that people die, sometimes by your own hand. Tyrol doesn’t like<\/em> it, but what can he do?<\/p>\n

It also explains why Tigh is so offended by the assertion that Anders makes that Adama won’t return to them. Adama is not just Tigh’s best friend, but the best military officer he’s ever met. The man keeps his promises and understands his duty. He would never<\/em> just leave them all behind. Anders is quick to point out that WEEELLLLLLLLLL<\/em>, he and his people did sort of get left behind. It’s not the same situation, but I understand the comparison. But can they depend on a man who has been silent for over four months? How much longer must they wait?<\/p>\n

Tigh awkwardly brings up Starbuck’s detainment, and Anders admits he’s heard nothing, and this is when we cut to her in her new “apartment.” Conoy has returned. For the fifth time<\/em>. Meaning that Starbuck has found a way to kill him five times in four months<\/em>. Oh my god, Starbuck. We find out why<\/em> Conoy was looking for Starbuck at the end of “Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II.” She was to be part of fulfilling Conoy’s “vision” of the future where the two were together and in love. More than anyone else, her plan for integration into the Cylon lifestyle and their religion is more aggressive and immersive. Conoy wants Starbuck to find why she has been “suffering” for so long. Look, I don’t care, THIS IS DEEPLY UNSETTLING TO ME<\/strong>. I hate it so much and I want nothing more than Starbuck to find a way out of this cell. Yeah, IT’S A PRISON CELL. SHE’S BARRED IN. oh my fucking god.<\/p>\n

When we finally switch over to the narrative perspective on the fleet, I realized we’d gone a very long time in just one location. Usually the show switches perspective every five minutes or so. I liked that the writers gave these stories so much space, especially since there was so much to tell after the end of season. Now, before I give my one sole complaint about “Occupation,” I must say that I am very satisfied with this show’s continued dedication towards realism. The fleet lost most of their good pilots, and if we’d seen the Pegasus<\/em> and the Galactica<\/em> with flawless crews, operating in perfection with perfect plans for rescue and absolutely no strife at all, I would have called bullshit. It’s the most sensical explanation for why Adama hadn’t led a rescue expedition to New Caprica: the fleet is a hot mess<\/em>.<\/p>\n

And I even get what they were trying to say about Lee. He had given up. He had resolved himself to failure and cynicism, and that’s reflected in his physical depiction. So I don’t think that this is anyone on the show trying to be offensive or anything, but I think there’s an unfortunate implication in making Lee fat, which tries to say that people who gain weight aren’t healthy or qualified. Now, yes, I don’t think that is what anyone on this show is trying<\/em> to say, but it was a thought I couldn’t really ignore. And as someone who has struggled with my weight for years, it was just…awkward? I mean, look, even beyond any of my own hang-ups, you can tell it’s just Jamie Bamber in a fat suit! It barely looks realistic!<\/p>\n

Anyway, what I do<\/em> like about this is how little faith we are given. The fleet is disorganized, lacking proper pilots, and awash in fatalist dejection. The pilots can’t even get basic training exercises done correctly. How are they supposed to rescue the people left behind? Adama and Lee clash on this very issue, and the one thing that does<\/em> give me hope is the fact that Tigh is right: Adama is not going to leave them behind. Yes, Adama is frustrated by the fact that he’s dealing with a subpar crew, but he and Dualla seem to be the only people who haven’t resolved themselves to submission to reality.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, with the help of Gaeta and his glorious head of hair, Tyrol is able to make contact through the right frequency with the fleet and HOPE. THERE IS HOPE! Because this shit is bleak<\/em>, y’all, and I will cling to whatever hope I can find. Just when I have hope that the people on New Caprica can be rescued, the day of the New Caprica Police graduation has arrived, and the assassination of Gaius Baltar is still a part of it. Tyrol becomes insistent that now that they’ve made contact with the Galactica<\/em>, the attack attempt on the graduation ceremony might be a bad idea. Tigh refuses to back down except <\/em>if they learn that Baltar won’t be there.<\/p>\n

In a frustrating parallel scene that shows us that Baltar truly isn’t<\/em> going to be there, Tyrol just barely misses Gaeta as he rushes to tell him that Baltar decided not to show up. And all the hints throughout “Occupation” about Duck being dedicated enough to pull off an attack finally makes sense.<\/p>\n

He’s a suicide bomber.<\/p>\n

but. but. but. BUT. But he’s going to fail, right? Someone will stop him, right? How is he going to get past the security at the entrance? Did he really join the NCP just to blow them all up? I mean, this won’t really happen, right??? Right?? Haha. Ha. Ha.<\/p>\n

“I’ll be seeing you soon, Nora.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
And we end with Duck exploding. And this show cannot go back on what it’s done. and. and. I just.<\/p>\n
what have I gotten myself into<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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