Ep Review: "Escape Velocity"

[millari]

All in all, I enjoyed this episode, although it did also feel like a whole lot of setup for stuff to come in the next two weeks. But first, we’ll start with some niggling plot holes I found kind of frustrating, behind the cut:

Why Must They Do These Things at Dawn? Or at All?
I don’t begrudge her a funeral in principle, but why does Cally get a major funeral and not say, Kara? Elosha? Billy? Kat? Did the President ever even MEET Cally before?

Pass the Word: Colonel Crazysauce Report Immediately to the CIC
Seriously, why isn’t anyone taking Bill aside and saying, “Uh, by the way, Sir, your XO is more made of crazysauce than usual these days and we think he might try to kill your prisoner? Here, look at this brig surveillance camera montage we’ve put together of him on a daily basis watching her while she sleeps, having super defensive conversations with her, etc.”

I mean, I know Tigh has a reputation as a drunk and he is second in command, but it starts to feel kind of creepily Abu Ghraib when the Marines in charge of watching the cameras are like, “What the hell is he going to do to her?” and then basically shrug and say, “Oh well, he told us to shut the cameras off and leave, and he seems to be about to beat the crap out of her, for what seems like intensely personal reasons. How could that go wrong?”

Are Dee and Hoshi Running the CIC?
Because all we see Adama doing these days is attending funerals and reading pulp novels to Roslin in chemo, which is really cute, but come on. Cause his XO’s a little busy in the brig right now; his deck chief done lost his mind; and his best pilot has taken off with the CAG, his Officer of the Watch (and primary plot jumper, btw), and most of his top pilots off to gods-know where on a trash barge following the Migraine of Destiny. Meanwhile, his second best pilot has left entirely to pursue his mancrush on democracy. Um, who is CAG at this point?

Where’s the Power to Smite The Heathens When You Need It?
Um, was God’s love not coursing through SmiteThem!Woman (Paulla) this week? Where was her holy lead pipe when they needed it? I am sorely disappointed. I was convinced she was going to be a terrestrial Head!Six in the making, but apparently, that’s going to be Tory.

Where’s Baby Eve?
Others have already noted it, but I echo the concern: Where the hell is Hera? After fighting like crazy (including intentionally downloading) to get her back, after finding out that she has psychological problems from surviving New Caprica and captivity on a Cylon basestar, are we to believe that Helo and Sharon just left their precious hybrid baby at daycare? Is she on the Demetrius with them? (Note to writers: This could all potentially be forgiven with one scene of any of the following having to change Hera’s diaper: Kara, Helo, Gaeta or Racetrack)

Ok, and before we start, let's do a Dylan Four Weekly Status Check:

• Chief: Obsessed with Boomer. Waiting for that Cylon programming to kick in any day. Slowly going crazy.
• Tigh: Obsessed with Caprica Six. Waiting for that Cylon programming to kick in any day. Slowly going crazy.
• Tory: Gone to Crazytown. Enjoying the ride immensely.
• Anders: Following the Migraine of Destiny. Status unclear. But like Tigh, he’s watching women sleep, so not a good sign.

Calandra Henderson Tyrol
Well, that was a little detail to file under, too little too late, huh? But then, Calandra had never been anything but Cally on that deck, had she? My friends were noting they’d always assumed Cally was her original last name, like Anastasia Dualla is “Dee”. I never liked Cally much after Season 1, but how could I when she was always an adjunct to the Chief? Cally rarely had time onscreen to shine on her own, and when she did, it was frequently an ugly caricature – usually as a rabid Cylon-hater (but not until we reached a point in the show where we were beginning to empathize with various Cylons), or as a general ticking time bomb of fury whose explosions of rage often seemed abrupt and childish.

So on the one hand, I was glad to see some of Cally’s lesser qualities acknowledged, and gratified to see Chief acknowledge that he loved Boomer and that he let her down. But at the same time, it was *very* difficult to hear the Chief refer to Cally in this episode with such venom and disgust. I spent that whole scene in Joe’s bar with Adama trying to figure out, “Is he genuine? Is this whole secret Cylon thing making him lose his mind and see his relationship with Cally in a very black and white manner right now? Is he just trying anything and everything to piss off Adama and get himself demoted so he won’t endanger any more pilots with his grief, or he is worried about his programming switching on and killing them all? And where is he going now? Based on his shaved head in next week’s promo, he’s either being reassigned to such crap duty that they’re goint to shave his head like a raw recruit, or else, he’s going all “What is your major malfunction, Private Pyle?” on everyone’s ass next week. Given BSG’s history of hair symbolism, I’m strongly tipping towards the latter.

Laura Roslin: First Lady of Kickassery
Oh, and speaking of pathos, I guess I wasn't the only one on my flist that spotted the hidden layer of “ouch” in that little exchange between Roslin and Adama when she says, “I want you to know what I like.” On the surface level, it was another moment of the dying Roslin not having time or patience anymore for the slow discovery of a smoldering courtship. But go one thin layer deeper, and that’s Roslin letting Bill know what she’d like at her own funeral. And I’m pretty sure his mild doubletake there meant he got it. Gah. Gone is the girlish Roslin we saw through the end of Season 3, giggling uncontrollably in the hallways on her way to her presidential debate, getting high on New Caprica, patient with all the walls Adama puts up to protect himself.

The prospect of dying has always made Roslin sharper in her game, but this season? Lee and the Quorum just keeping throwing stuff at her and she is a tight smiling avatar of unflappability, bluntness, and when necessary, flawless political maneuvering. She makes my jaw drop every time she and the Quorum are on screen, and it’s the only part of that arc I’m excited to see – how is Roslin going to turn the tables on Lee this time? It’s both beautiful and painful, given her cancer and their history together. But Roslin now has that fearlessness of those facing death head on, and she is not turning back. Even her biggest anger button – Gaius Baltar – can’t touch her now. In the brig, even just woken up, Baltar was immediately ready to play all their old, familiar cat and mouse games and she just sat there above it all, calling him by his first name for the first time in gods knows how long, coolly using HER OWN WEAKNESS to slay him completely. She left him openmouthed, barely able to look at her, unable to come up with any response except what actually seemed like a truly gutted, “I’m sorry.” And she wouldn’t even let him have that. She just told him bluntly, without rancor, without almost any emotion at all – You don’t matter anymore. You’re not worth getting worked up over, Gaius. Game, set and championship, Roslin.

The Cylon and the Pirate Toaster
I personally found this whole theme about pain bringing clarity kind of confusing. I hope it’s setup for the next couple of weeks where it’ll all be explained. I could see that they were trying to create an unexpected (and kind of disturbing) link between Tigh and Baltar by having Caprica talk about them both in the same breath, describing Baltar in ways that could totally be applied to Tigh, plus creating the visual of the two of them both getting their heads beat in the presence of a Six; it all did seem to be somehow connected to the idea of clarity, but it wasn’t a consistent enough parallel to make sense yet to me. Because by the end of the episode, Tigh was all bloodied, but with no great certainty about where to go next, weakly asking Caprica, “more?” whereas Baltar, for better or for worse, was chock full of bloody-faced certainty. (It may also have something to do, by the way, with Edward James Olmos directing this episode. He did a similar thing with “Taking A Break From All Your Worries” in Season 3, where he tried really hard with editing to thematically tie together things that maybe weren’t originally meant to be tied together.) *Shrug*. I’m passing on that one for now.

Still, no complaints about Caprica, who was fascinating in this episode. She was yet another woman this week who totally took charge, which almost makes up for the distressing amount of denigrating and gratuitous kicking around of women that went on this week. She didn’t let Tigh push her around one bit, and yet she responded to his facile insults with compassion, trying to teach him about life, about himself, about how to be a better person. (Wow, how much time do you think she wasted in her life fantasizing about having that conversation about learning from pain and guilt with Baltar?) You know, the more I think about it, for all the episode’s posturing of Baltar as the Jesus figure, Caprica is actually the more accurate parallel. Philosophically, she’s certainly more apt a comparison than Baltar, whom the writers have going through all the Jesus motions, but with a moral philosophy that’s a lot more ambiguous and potentially ugly. Of course, Jesus didn’t go around clocking people like Caprica, so maybe I’m taking this a bit far….

Baltar’s Big Fat Faux Christian Epiphany
So suddenly, we have a religious war on our hands? Really? I wish they had developed this idea over at least a few episodes, the way they used to do things on my show. Really, there were plenty of scenes in the latter half of Season 3 and even some scenes in this season that could have gone on a little less rambly for my taste and made room for some hints of these fundamentalist splinter groups forming. But whatever, show. Fine. *sigh*

Oh, Baltar? Darling crazyboy? Can we talk? See, the thing that’s become clear to me about you in these last three seasons, is that you’re intelligent enough to recognize insanity when you hear it reflected back at you, but apparently not whenever it comes out of your own mouth. Perfect example? Let’s take Gina in Season 2:

• Her suggesting you win the presidency to pave the way for a Cylon invasion? CRAZY. You spotted that one. See how easy it is? Good job.

• Your deciding to give the woman a Valentine’s Day nuclear gift assortment? ALSO CRAZY. Yeah, you kind of missed that one, got a whole lot of people blow’d up and put your (other) genocidal ex-lover’s people right on humanity’s trail. Needs a bit of work.

So hon, let’s think about how we’re going through a very similar kind of blindness here. You balked when Six told you you had to ascend to godhead status. That was good. Why did you balk? Because hearing it reflected back to yourself, it sounded as creepy to you as it did to us. But don’t then turn your brain off and start talking about how we’re all perfect, especially er, YOU – no matter our selfishness, no matter our weaknesses. God doesn’t want us to try to be better people? He just wants us to stagnate at status quo morality, because He thinks we’re just swell exactly the way we are? Does that really make sense if you stop and think about it for longer than oh say, I don’t know, ten seconds?

Does God loves the Sons of Ares just the way they are, Gaius? Should they feel free to bring their perfect selves back to your headquarters and take out your scrawny ass? Yeah, I thought so.

I mean, I can see how this philosophy would be extremely appealing to someone who has been compensating for poor self-esteem with arrogance all his life. I can see how maybe the ten-year-old in you is railing at the gods of his childhood for not making sense – who victimize humans because they feel like it (Zeus = serial rapist, yes we get that; was a quid pro quo throwing around of statues and ranting really the most pro-active answer you could come up with to the Sons of Ares attack? Real frakking mature, Gaius). But what are you moving towards? To the idea that we all have the divine spark within us? Sure. To the idea that your creator loves you and doesn’t want you to live in fear of attracting his or her attention, lest you offend him or provoke his baser desires? Okay. To the idea that we’re perfect? With all the arrogance and laziness and self-justified cupidity that such an idea implies?

Wait, no.

Gaius, if you get to Earth and become a televangelist with your own One True God ™ theme park, I’m so gonna kick your ass. And I’ll let the Sons of Ares watch.

Nevertheless, whatever Baltar means by all this new talk, it’s a little this side of scary, because this time it’s for real. No matter that he stole the idea an hour earlier from Tory. He believes in it, fervently, in a “this is too important to take time to wash the blood off my face first” kind of way. I don’t think he was just punch drunk. I think Lee was just starting to get this through his head by the end of the episode, and he looked kind of horrified. When he gets back to Colonial One and the Quorum, I think Roslin is going to be waiting for him with a big ol’ plateful of humble pie, and he’s going to feel too guilty not to eat it. That is, if he isn't too busy telling Roslin he saw Tory hanging out with Baltar's crazy girly, groupie, sex-whatevers. (Roslin, btw, I totally ♥ you when you say things like that. Could you just say "All anyone wants to talk about is that frakkin' planet!" again for me one more time before you go? Thnx.)

And yet, I feel so torn about all that, because what’s so weird about this Baltar craziness is that you know on a fundamental level, Roslin is right: What Gaius Baltar could do with blind religious devotion, especially at the foot of Head!Six, IS potentially hide-under-the-table terrifying; and yet, Roslin is advocating civil liberties abuses that are kinda freaking me out.

Oh show. There you go again, putting me into the morally gray end of the pool and leaving me to thrash around. And yet you know I’ll be back next week. Besides, I’m pretty sure you’re making my fangirl wish come true next week. The Dread Pirate Gaeta!

Comments

[danniisupernova.livejournal.com]

Dude, I totally loved this eppy.

[millari.livejournal.com]

I had problems with it, but I did love it too, because I'm such a BSG fangirl at this point, you could pretty much show me an episode of stick figure drawings with the actors' voices dubbed in, and I'd grumble, but then be more or less down with it. ;)

[rap541.livejournal.com]

week. Besides, I’m pretty sure you’re making my fangirl wish come true next week. The Dread Pirate Gaeta!

I just have a bad feeling that Gaeta is wearing a metaphorical red shirt,if you get my meaning....

I agree with your review - personally I was fairly disappointed with this episode because it just felt like....filler. Filler and story lines made up so that certain characters can be kept around (lee, baltar)

[millari.livejournal.com]

I just have a bad feeling that Gaeta is wearing a metaphorical red shirt,if you get my meaning....
I KNOW. I fear for him. Did you see the latest David Eick blog up on the Skiffy website? I started getting a really bad feeling about it all after I heard Leah Cairns. I'm just hoping the real red shirt is that guy on the ship whose name we don't know. I'm going on the theory that if they gave *Cally* a dramatic airlocking, Gaeta's gotta rate better than an ignominious redshirting, right? He's been a bigger character than that all this time, hasn't he?

Yeah, I feel like they've gone to the Lee/Democracy well a few too many times at this point. If he's gonna do it, I would have preferred to see him team up with Romo for some *actual* legal troublemaking in the Fleet, instead of this ineffectual posturing he's doing as Zarek's stalking horse. Every week, Zarek puts him on to something to protest about to Roslin, and every week, she shoots him down with this polite, deadly smile that says, "I've been playing politics for almost as long as you've been alive, little boy; I'll take you down"

It's feeling utterly pointless. For Roslin, Lee is becoming like one of those Cylon paper targets they have up in the firing range.

Baltar is well...his usual crazy, but this newest form of crazy is really weird and so against the original atheist conception of his character that I'll admit I'm a bit intrigued by the storyline, as much as it is another one of his frustrating near-misses.

Thanks for commenting!

[rap541.livejournal.com]

I have seen the blog and....

On the one hand.... quite frankly this always happens to the characters *I* prefer - that they end up on the death list. And BSG being what it currently is.... Yeah.... I will be shocked if Gaeta makes it off the Demo alive. I really will. Because he's a shocking death.

And I made my peace with that. Because I am increasingly convinced that this show ends with everyone dead.

On the other hand....

My aunt just died. My dad is going in for tests for a potentionally lifethreating thing. My cubemate and coworker is going in for prostate cancer surgery on Monday, one of my best pals online is having surgery.....

I don't need BSG to tell me that good people struggle and die unappreciated. And there lies a lot of my unhappiness with season four. I don't watch tv to see that life sucks. There's a reason the ratings have gone in the crapper and it's because the show is depressing as hell and this season is not as clever as RDM seems to think it is.

I miss liking Kara, and Lee and Bill. And Tigh. And Laura. And Chief and if I don't like them anymore.... why am I watching?

On the other hand, I do want to see how it turns out. But I feel like my chain is being yanked.

The Lee stuff just bores me because it's lather rinse repeat with Lee (and to a point with all of the plots this season - angsty Cylons and Laura dying and Kara being a bitch)

[nicole-anell.livejournal.com]

*taps you on the shoulder*

How for or against spoilers are you? Would it help if I could comfort or brace you now? /intentionally vague

Ditto to millari.

[rap541.livejournal.com]

I'm no spoiler phobe - obviously email would be better. smoffett12@cox.net.

Thanks ahead of time.

[millari.livejournal.com]

Oh, I am so tempted. After being spoiled for Cally's death, I had considered swearing off them, but then I see one, and I can't resist.

Hmm...I guess I'll do a compromise. Don't give me details. Just tell me whether or not he's going to make it out alive for the first 10 episodes of Season 4. Actually, wait. I tell a lie: There are two details I need to know if he actually is going to die:

1. Is his death at least interesting?
2. Does he run into Baltar again before he bites it?

Because if my boy's going to die, these are the kinds of things I NEED TO KNOW. :P

And yeah, either AIM or email is probably a better venue so we don't accidentally spoil someone.

[airings.livejournal.com]

What is your major malfunction, Private Pyle?
Dude, I just watched Full Metal Jacket for the first time yesterday SO I TOTALLY GOT THE REFERENCE AND NOW I FEEL AWESOME.

Anyway, the highlight of this episode was Baltar almost hugging Lee. Trufax.

[millari.livejournal.com]

OMG, yes! It completely made me want to write totally improbable PunchdrunkSex!Fic with Lee and Gaius. ;)

[airings.livejournal.com]

OMG IF YOU DO I WILL PERSONALLY KIDNAP ALESSANDRO JULIANI AND BRING HIM TO YOU ;_;

[millari.livejournal.com]

OH, YOU SORELY TEMPT ME.

Given an unexpected chunk of time and random boredom, it could totally happen.

[rose-griffes.livejournal.com]

This was a fascinating read. My brain is still way too scattered to bring any of this episode into a coherent whole. (Not that I usually bother doing that anyway, heh.) Anyway, kudos on putting all of this together.

[millari.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It was a scattered episode, so don't blame your brain too much. :)

Btw, your icon is the awesomeness. I totally ♥ it. It feels like a missing line from the crack!fic running in my head ever since that episode aired. :)

[nicole-anell.livejournal.com]

"Uh, by the way, Sir, your XO is more made of crazysauce than usual these days and we think he might try to kill your prisoner? Here, look at this brig surveillance camera montage we’ve put together of him on a daily basis watching her while she sleeps, having super defensive conversations with her, etc.”
BWAH! Seriously, I really must demand an explanation next week how he explains the bruises all over his face when he returns to CIC, and the marines are like "I dunno, last time we saw him he was asking us to go away so he could rape her or something."

This could all potentially be forgiven with one scene of any of the following having to change Hera’s diaper: Kara, Helo, Gaeta or Racetrack
OR TIGH. He has practice.

The Chief rant was a very schizophrenic "YAY he loves Boomer the most! ...oh crap, no, he's just totally fucking off his rocker" for me. I can link you to one of the 30 journals where I tried to explain why I think he was lying, if you want. Apparently most of fandom just thinks it's awesome he called Cally smelly and totally, clearly meant it. :/

I LOVE ROSLIN SO MUCH.

Caprica/Tigh was amazing. And your Caprica Jesus point is really compelling.

Does God love the Sons of Ares just the way they are, Gaius? Should they feel free to bring their perfect selves back to your headquarters and take out your scrawny ass? Yeah, I thought so.
*giggles*

AMEN.

[millari.livejournal.com]

Seriously, I really must demand an explanation next week how he explains the bruises all over his face when he returns to CIC, and the marines are like "I dunno, last time we saw him he was asking us to go away so he could rape her or something."
Word. They so should. Which is why, sadly, they probably won't.

Regarding the Chief, I was at NY Comic Con last weekend and Rekha Sharma was a last minute guest on the BSG panel. The episode had just aired the night before, and a disturbing number of people came up to the Q&A mike to basically say, "Thank you Tory for killing Cally. I HATED HER SO MUCH!" And each time, about half the auditorium would erupt in cheers.

As I said, I wasn't all that fond of Cally as a character and I sure wasn't fond of the way they came together or worked together as a couple. And I know Cally's not a real person, but everybody was there to talk about the characters like they were real, so it just felt ugly and brutal somehow.

I feel like I was just slightly too stupid to get all of what was going on with Tigh/Caprica yet. It feels like an idea just on the tip of my tongue, but not quite there. I'd love to have it explained to me, because I feel like it should make more sense to me than it does.

[daybreak777.livejournal.com]

why does Cally get a major funeral and not say, Kara? Elosha? Billy? Kat? Did the President ever even MEET Cally before?
Yeah, why not my girl? I had this same question. Maybe because Chief was more religious? I remember Cally and Nora in the church tent on NC. They are the only ones we saw openly pray? I don't know. I do think Laura was scoping out funeral arrangements. A little morbid but that's her.

then basically shrug and say, “Oh well, he told us to shut the cameras off and leave, and he seems to be about to beat the crap out of her
I do remember Gina. However, they had Sharon in there for over a year and she was pregnant for a lot of that time and somehow she survived. Adama even used to chat in there with her. I don't know. That brig is weird.

Meanwhile, his second best pilot has left entirely to pursue his mancrush on democracy.
Hee! Lee needs back in a viper ASAP. If only for the fact that he had better hair then. And seriously, what do they need vipers for since the Cylons seemed to have stopped attacking?

I could totally deal with Hoshi being CAG. Except I don’t think he flies. Narcho may be 4th runner up.

Um, was God’s love not coursing through SmiteThem!Woman (Paulla) this week?
And how come only Paulla gets the power to smite? I wanted that girl who the Ares guy grabbed by the hair to haul off and knock him one. Tory needs to school these women!

Tory: Gone to Crazytown. Enjoying the ride immensely.
Hee! This made me giggle. I almost don’t want to find the final One who is probably living a very sane, unswitched on life right now. Finding out is gonna mess that one up.

Gone is the girlish Roslin we saw through the end of Season 3, giggling uncontrollably in the hallways on her way to her presidential debate, getting high on New Caprica . . .
No! *sobs* To not hear Laura giggle again! They won’t survive without her! Remember what happened before? Who can be president?

Gaius, if you get to Earth and become a televangelist with your own One True God ™ theme park, I’m so gonna kick your ass. And I’ll let the Sons of Ares watch.
Gaius toughlove! Someone needs to kick his ass into reality. And unfortunately, that’s not Caprica, Head!Six or Tory anymore. But weren’t those good times? :-)

President Roslin is always right. Didn’t I vote for her? :-) Don’t these people remember New Caprica? Yeah, Roslin is getting a little scary and dictatory herself, but she’s dying. What will they be without her? What will they be with her? I don’t know. But my gut says not to give Baltar that power. Even at his best, as you pointed out above, he himself knows it’s crazy and he doesn’t even really want it.

[millari.livejournal.com]

I do remember Gina. However, they had Sharon in there for over a year and she was pregnant for a lot of that time and somehow she survived. Adama even used to chat in there with her. I don't know. That brig is weird.

True. But in that very moment, Tigh had just screamed at the guards, screamed at her, was throwing around the name of Gaius Baltar in an obvious rage. And that woman Marine *did* say, "What the hell is he gonna do to her?" Red flags were shooting up for them all over the place. They knew to be worried, but they seem to have done nothing about it. It just disturbed me, that's all.

Gaius toughlove! Someone needs to kick his ass into reality. And unfortunately, that’s not Caprica, Head!Six or Tory anymore.
Hee! I remember our discussions about Kara toughlove. I think with the last season upon us, I'm getting impatient with Gaius to figure it all out himself. :)

Where's Head!Baltar in all this? I want more of him. Besides, he seemed *actually* successful at stopping Gaius from making an much of a jackass of himself. With a little more screentime, who knows what he could accomplish?

[daybreak777.livejournal.com]

I think with the last season upon us, I'm getting impatient with Gaius to figure it all out himself. :)
I hear you. I feel the same way about Kara, except she actually went through something. Just frustrating to keep wondering what the heck that was.

I hope we haven't seen the last of Head!Baltar. I think he has more to say. Nice icon, btw. :-)

[frolicndetour.livejournal.com]

I don’t begrudge her a funeral in principle, but why does Cally get a major funeral and not say, Kara? Elosha? Billy? Kat? Did the President ever even MEET Cally before?

I would assume that Kara, etc got funerals, but they just didn't show them. Here, it fit with the religious themes of the episode - plus they needed a priestess extra anyway. I don't think the President was there for Cally so much as Tyrol - he led the Resistance and she appointed him the head of labor relations under her, or whatever it was, so that made sense to me.

But at the same time, it was *very* difficult to hear the Chief refer to Cally in this episode with such venom and disgust.

Uh, yeah, that was difficult. :/ I didn't even like hearing the Boomer stuff, because to me it just makes Chief look worse. Like, you didn't care at all about her when it was just her that was the Cylon, but now that you're one too you have some compassion? And I just really hate him putting all the blame for his choices on Cally, now that she's not here to defend herself - but nicole_anell's interpretation makes a lot of sense and is bearable, so I guess it's okay, heh.

Game, set and championship, Roslin.

<3

You know, the more I think about it, for all the episode’s posturing of Baltar as the Jesus figure, Caprica is actually the more accurate parallel.

*frantic nodding* I think their philosophies were being intentionally paralleled as polar opposites. Learning fron guilt and gaining clarity from pain vs. deciding God loves you so you're perfect. Heh - maybe we're headed for a showdown between Caprica and Head-Six for the Soul of Gaius.

But don’t then turn your brain off and start talking about how we’re all perfect, especially er, YOU – no matter our selfishness, no matter our weaknesses.

I love Baltar fans, because I'm usually in more of a "if his mouth is moving, he must be wrong" place. But not lately. I'm in a weird state of really starting to like the guy and feeling awful about the come-down he's in store for, because yes, what he's saying is scary and woefully misguided and worse, not in tune with the Philosophy of Ron. But I think he actually means well. (!)

[millari.livejournal.com]

I would assume that Kara, etc got funerals, but they just didn't show them.
Yes, I can certainly get that, Sure, if they took time for a funeral for every single non-extra character on this show who's died, we'd still be somewhere in the middle of Season 2, probably. Although Kara does seem like a glaring omission, actually.

Good point about the Chief and Boomer. He does look worse for coming so late to this, doesn't he? And everything you said about him is probably what Boomer is going to say if she ever runs into him again. I really wish I understood what the writers were up to because the Chief has always been such a likable character for me, and that one rant nearly made me turn off the t.v. in cringing disbelief. (Well, actually, I just stared at the t.v. slackjawed, I think, but I did cringe...) I have a feeling from the trailer that it's only going to get uglier next week.

I saw in your recent post that you were at NY Comic Con. Did the eruption of cheers every time someone came up to the mike and thanked Rekha Sharma for killing Cally creep you out as much as it creeped me out?

[frolicndetour.livejournal.com]

Although Kara does seem like a glaring omission, actually.

I was just happy to add the lack of funeral to my 10-page laminated list of Reasons Why Kara Is Totally Not Dead No Sir which I kept under my pillow from Maelstrom - Crossroads II. :P

And everything you said about him is probably what Boomer is going to say if she ever runs into him again.

Yeah, after that speech I was really looking forward to him finding out she's moved on to CAVIL. Is that vindictive? *g*

I really wish I understood what the writers were up to because the Chief has always been such a likable character for me, and that one rant nearly made me turn off the t.v. in cringing disbelief.

I really really hope they weren't just giving fandom a cookie. I got ridiculously emo when I found out Espenson wrote the episode, because she's a huge Jacob fan and he's basically the founder and president of the Kill Cally Society.

Oh, you were at Comic Con too? And yeah, that totally creeped me out. Did it happen more than once? I might have repressed it: I was too excited to sleep the night before and I was in a crazy fangirling haze the whole time. I remember being really impressed with how Rekha handled that and the people who were like "how could you??" She was all class. <3

[millari.livejournal.com]

I forgot to respond to this:

I think their philosophies were being intentionally paralleled as polar opposites. Learning fron guilt and gaining clarity from pain vs. deciding God loves you so you're perfect.

You know, I saw how Caprica was a better Jesus figure, but I didn't actually make that last leap to figuring out that the writers might have been *intentionally* setting them up as polar opposites. That could be very interesting. I'd totally love to see a reunion scene between Gaius and Caprica where she's like, "Perfect??? You've decided the answer is you're perfect??? You totally don't get it, do you?"

Actually, I want them to come to some peace together by the end of the series, or at least have some kind of talk that resolves *something*. They don't have to walk off into the sunset. I just want to see them have some sort of mutual understanding, even though they don't really work together very well when actually in each other's presence.

[grinninfoole.livejournal.com]

This is a great review. You have a nice mix of irreverent humor and real insight.

I just want to add one thought: given the way that Caprica morphed back and forth to Ellen Tigh, and how similar they appeared, I wonder if writer Jane Espenson is trying to subtly tell us the following:

Ellen Tigh was a Cylon.

NOT the as yet unrevealed 12th Cylon. (That's Kendra Shaw.)

No, Ellen Tigh was a Six, just twenty or thirty years older than Caprica. After all, if the Cylons are so nearly human that we can't tell them apart except with crazy Baltar machines, then not?

I don't know how the hell that fits into BSG's history, but if Tigh can be a cylon all this time, why not his wife?

[millari.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the compliment!

No, Ellen Tigh was a Six, just twenty or thirty years older than Caprica.

Well, you have reminded me of the episode in which Ellen got introduced, "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down." I remember that at the end, Head!Six asked Baltar what the results of Ellen's tests *actually* were, after he admitted that everyone was going to get a pass. He said, "I'll never tell."

I mean, one would think based on the way he reacted to Boomer's positive result that he would have been freaked out if Ellen had tested positive and we'd be able to tell. But the fact is that Ellen's Cylonicity remains a potentially open question.

I don't know how the hell it fits into BSG's history either, but yeah, it's the last season, and at this point, well, my show? It so craaaazy, I don't put anything past it anymore.

It'd be fascinating if your theory turned out to be true. Would it explain Tigh better or not? I don't know.

[grinninfoole.livejournal.com]

btw, why is this locked? I wanted to show it to morlock, but he's excluded.

[millari.livejournal.com]

Oh! Good point.

*Is now unlocked*