More Battlestar
Mar. 28th, 2009 11:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meddowWith my BSG watching I've made it through season 4.0. Just ten episode to go.
I was talking to my brother about BSG back when I stared watching the first season and he told me that by the end of it I'd hate most of the characters. It's a dark show and there's not a single character on it that doesn't go crazy or do some pretty despicable and lousy things in reaction to their dire circumstances. Anyway, I started love loving a few characters, liking a lot of them and tolerating or disliking the others. Now I'm half way through the fourth season, and I love every single character on the show.
The first half of season for I think is the best the show has been yet. What really distinguished it is that because instead of focusing on post 9/11 issues like it was during the first three seasons, it steps up and focuses on the really big issues: death, mortality, forgiveness, redemption, faith, hope and suffering.
So anyway, as with season three, I took a few notes as I watched the episodes.
The one in which Starbuck is back
So Starbuck's crazy now, yes?
BSG always does gorgeous battles. The show is excellent at blowing things up with a visual beauty. The battle in the nebula has to be one of the most beautiful.
Baltar's cult is nothing short of hilarious.
Are Starbuck and Roslin two sides of the same coin? Or is Starbuck something different from Roslin? They're both prophets, right?
The one in which Roslin shoots at Starbuck
Roslin and Adama's fight was heartbreaking. Nice foreshadowing though, I knew it was coming as soon as the bullet missed Starbuck and hit the photo of them.
Centurions give me the creeps. As does Cavil. Love the new Six on the block. Although I miss Caprica. What's she up to these days? What happened to the opera house dream?
The one in which Cally gets airlocked
I have to admit, I usually find the Chief's marriage problems a snooze-fest, and this wasn't much different. Except for that scene with Tory and the airlock. That was absolutely horrific.
The scene in which Adama reads to Roslin was just so simple and beautiful. Shame all is still not well between them. Roslin's a lot grumpier than she used to be, not that I can blame her what with not only the cancer, but the chemo on top of her usual busy schedule saving humanity. I'm very glad she's getting call out on her tyranny. Good use of Lee.
Starbuck seems to have turned into Captain Ahab.
Boomer's sleeping with Cavil? This show should be renamed 'Sucks to be Boomer'. It really does suck to be Boomer. Athena and Cally got her life, and all she's manage to get is abuse.
The one in which the Chief loses it
You know, every single scene with Roslin and Baltar in this show is gold. The fact that they're complete opposites, she's all about serving humanity at the expense of herself and he's all about saving his own ass at the expense of humanity, which you would think would make Baltar the villain, or at least Roslin clearly the better person. But most of the time it's Roslin who is the villain in those scenes, while Baltar comes across as an victim.
Anyway, I've come to the conclusion that the two characters who could not ever be Cylons are Roslin and Baltar (okay, I know they're not, but still bear with me, I'm late to the party), since they're the two that really show the spectrum of humanity, our ability to be selfish and selfless, they both do wonderful and dreadful things, they're both sympathetic and sometimes despicable.
Nice to know Zarek's still around. He hasn't been in the show much since New Caprica.
The one in which my favourite marine dies
I liked Mathias.
I think this is the first episode in a while that has bored me. The whole storyline of the Watchtower Cylons freaking out a going crazy is quite dull.
The one where Gaeta gets shot
Poor Gaeta. And Anders, come on. He's never been the smartest character, but that was the first time he's be actually stupid. Shooting Gaeta was unnecessary.
The scene with the death of what's-her-name (who couldn't have been a bigger Red Coat at the beginning of the episode, but that's besides the point) and the Six was brutal. Lately, I think a theme of the show is that death is pointless and cruel. Maybe it's always been a theme of the show, and lately I've just been noticing it more.
I'm not sure where it's going with the religious message, but the near conversion of one of the most notable subscribers to the human polytheist religion to the Cylon monotheist has me wondering whether that the show will end in everyone uniting under one god idea and living in peace and harmony and what have you, because that would irk me. The show has yet to prove to me why Baltar's one silent god is better than the Roslin's multiple silent gods. Baltar's just preaching a message people want to hear, but it's true for all forms of religion. All religious offer comfort and answers, and having characters find comfort in this is all well and good. Baltar's message is finding followers because it resonates as Baltar's message wasn’t being preached with the genocide and New Caprica happened, so it's something new.
What will bug me is if this show tries to say that one religion is right, which I fear it may. And being that I have issues with Christianity, I really don't like that it's looking like the monotheistic religion is going to win out. Anyway, I'm something of an atheist myself and my religious views are probably best represented by the Admiral.
And damn it Roslin, stop being so determined to die. Rage against the dying of the light and all that.
The one with the Cylon-human alliance
Holy frak I love this show. This has got to be one of the best episodes to date.
Damn it. I liked Natalie. What is this, kill a character I like an episode? There's not that many episodes left, so they could totally do that. And I think now that Athena's going to die, along with Helo, and it will be the newly-responsible Baltar and Caprica Six that raise Hera.
I was wondering with all the talk of death in the previous episode whether the show would actually discuss immortality, and then it goes right ahead and does it, with the doomed woman unknowing that her life will end soon advocating the importance of mortality while standing next to the painfully mortal woman who is dying, all watched over by the harbinger of death. It's powerful stuff. In a lot of stuff I watch, death is a defining characteristic of humans, and of course BSG goes one step further and has the leader of humanity dying. I was getting a bit hacked off by the Roslin cancer thing because it just seems to be a comment on how much destiny sucks and how much it sucks to be Laura Roslin. But I've realised its more than that. The dying leader of a species that is defined by death and desperate to not die out. Death, death and more death.
But before there's death, there's suffering. Gaeta's singing while he suffering was just so beautiful.
Lee is so Sam Seaborne this season. I kind of glad we're seeing less of him. Mainly because in previous seasons there was lot of Lee, but his storylines were always a bit crap. Now he only shows up when he has a good role. Basically, less Lee = better Lee, and Lee was fantastic this week, being the go between for Roslin and the Quorum and being the sounding board for Roslin to explain herself, and him to explain to her the Quorum.
Oh, and there was some stuff with Tigh becoming accepting of who he is and protecting his own whether he wants to or not, and Anders having such a big heart.
The one in which in Roslin's absence everything goes to hell…
…And then it gets fixed. Thanks to Romo Lankin and the fact that the fleet's matured since season two and now they can survive without Mum and Dad.
The Lee becoming President thing has been obvious since the third season finale. Thankfully, the return of Romo Lankin and Lankin going nuts means it's not half as bad as it could have been.
It took me forever to figure out that the cat was a figment of just Lankin's imagination. I thought Lee had finally seen it as well.
Tigh and Adama's bromance so gorgeous. The scene with Six and Tigh and her wondering why he cares about the President so much, and he's all, because my best friend lover her. Oh. I can't believe I love Saul Tigh so much.
I knew Roslin/Adama would become canon, but I had no idea that it would become such a major ship in the narrative. It makes perfect sense – the miniseries ended with the formation of their partnership and their relationship as the leader of the military and civilian populations and the Mum and Dad of the fleet has always been the backbone of the show – but I just didn't expect the show to give so much attention to a relationship between two characters 50. That just doesn't happen, not when there's younger people about. But it's become the major romance of the show. And it's freaking awesome!
The one with the redemption of Laura Roslin
So what I got out of this episode was that Roslin found redemption in forgiving Baltar, which given that I think they're the two showcasing facets of humanity, served also as humanity embracing its flaws, albeit reluctantly.
But does this mean that the Roslin vs. Baltar thing is over? Coz I loved that. But does it also mean that Roslin's going to be a less scary person from now on? Because it's about time her decent into…well, whatever she was becoming – was halted and turned around.
I read somewhere that Roslin's subconscious was initially going to present itself as Billy. I would have liked that. I would have been such a good callback to when they were in the tomb of Athena and a family standing on Earth, looking up at the sky. Because in Roslin's mind, it was Adama, Lee and Starbuck, but Billy is the third child who didn't make it and it'd have been nice to see him there. But Elosha worked.
Oh, did I mention Roslin/Adama SQUEEEEEEE!
The one where they find Earth
The last tracking show of everyone being devastated and only one line being said, Roslin's bitter 'Earth' was beautiful. Reminded me of the Dunkirk scene in Atonement.
The rest of the episode seems a bit of a mess. It all seemed to happen so fast – the peace with the Cylons, the revelation of the four, the discovery of Earth, Adama's breakdown and subsequent recovery. Any one of those could be an episode alone, and there they all were squished in 42 minutes.
Roslin and Baltar are still gold. I love how he remembers she chose not to murder him, and their awkward forced embrace (again) with the bandages. Those two are awesome as enemies and they're just as awesome as reluctant friends and both getting frakked over by Tory.
I know I should have been horrified or sad at Adama's breakdown, but all I could do was laugh when he drooled. I am so immature.
Finally, Saul Tigh is just amazing. Confessing to Adama. Standing there in the airlock. Oh, I love him.
I'm going to make an effort to get through all the rest of the fourth season this weekend because I'm just so horrifically addicted to the show. It's like a book that I can't put down. I need to get my life back.
I was talking to my brother about BSG back when I stared watching the first season and he told me that by the end of it I'd hate most of the characters. It's a dark show and there's not a single character on it that doesn't go crazy or do some pretty despicable and lousy things in reaction to their dire circumstances. Anyway, I started love loving a few characters, liking a lot of them and tolerating or disliking the others. Now I'm half way through the fourth season, and I love every single character on the show.
The first half of season for I think is the best the show has been yet. What really distinguished it is that because instead of focusing on post 9/11 issues like it was during the first three seasons, it steps up and focuses on the really big issues: death, mortality, forgiveness, redemption, faith, hope and suffering.
So anyway, as with season three, I took a few notes as I watched the episodes.
The one in which Starbuck is back
So Starbuck's crazy now, yes?
BSG always does gorgeous battles. The show is excellent at blowing things up with a visual beauty. The battle in the nebula has to be one of the most beautiful.
Baltar's cult is nothing short of hilarious.
Are Starbuck and Roslin two sides of the same coin? Or is Starbuck something different from Roslin? They're both prophets, right?
The one in which Roslin shoots at Starbuck
Roslin and Adama's fight was heartbreaking. Nice foreshadowing though, I knew it was coming as soon as the bullet missed Starbuck and hit the photo of them.
Centurions give me the creeps. As does Cavil. Love the new Six on the block. Although I miss Caprica. What's she up to these days? What happened to the opera house dream?
The one in which Cally gets airlocked
I have to admit, I usually find the Chief's marriage problems a snooze-fest, and this wasn't much different. Except for that scene with Tory and the airlock. That was absolutely horrific.
The scene in which Adama reads to Roslin was just so simple and beautiful. Shame all is still not well between them. Roslin's a lot grumpier than she used to be, not that I can blame her what with not only the cancer, but the chemo on top of her usual busy schedule saving humanity. I'm very glad she's getting call out on her tyranny. Good use of Lee.
Starbuck seems to have turned into Captain Ahab.
Boomer's sleeping with Cavil? This show should be renamed 'Sucks to be Boomer'. It really does suck to be Boomer. Athena and Cally got her life, and all she's manage to get is abuse.
The one in which the Chief loses it
You know, every single scene with Roslin and Baltar in this show is gold. The fact that they're complete opposites, she's all about serving humanity at the expense of herself and he's all about saving his own ass at the expense of humanity, which you would think would make Baltar the villain, or at least Roslin clearly the better person. But most of the time it's Roslin who is the villain in those scenes, while Baltar comes across as an victim.
Anyway, I've come to the conclusion that the two characters who could not ever be Cylons are Roslin and Baltar (okay, I know they're not, but still bear with me, I'm late to the party), since they're the two that really show the spectrum of humanity, our ability to be selfish and selfless, they both do wonderful and dreadful things, they're both sympathetic and sometimes despicable.
Nice to know Zarek's still around. He hasn't been in the show much since New Caprica.
The one in which my favourite marine dies
I liked Mathias.
I think this is the first episode in a while that has bored me. The whole storyline of the Watchtower Cylons freaking out a going crazy is quite dull.
The one where Gaeta gets shot
Poor Gaeta. And Anders, come on. He's never been the smartest character, but that was the first time he's be actually stupid. Shooting Gaeta was unnecessary.
The scene with the death of what's-her-name (who couldn't have been a bigger Red Coat at the beginning of the episode, but that's besides the point) and the Six was brutal. Lately, I think a theme of the show is that death is pointless and cruel. Maybe it's always been a theme of the show, and lately I've just been noticing it more.
I'm not sure where it's going with the religious message, but the near conversion of one of the most notable subscribers to the human polytheist religion to the Cylon monotheist has me wondering whether that the show will end in everyone uniting under one god idea and living in peace and harmony and what have you, because that would irk me. The show has yet to prove to me why Baltar's one silent god is better than the Roslin's multiple silent gods. Baltar's just preaching a message people want to hear, but it's true for all forms of religion. All religious offer comfort and answers, and having characters find comfort in this is all well and good. Baltar's message is finding followers because it resonates as Baltar's message wasn’t being preached with the genocide and New Caprica happened, so it's something new.
What will bug me is if this show tries to say that one religion is right, which I fear it may. And being that I have issues with Christianity, I really don't like that it's looking like the monotheistic religion is going to win out. Anyway, I'm something of an atheist myself and my religious views are probably best represented by the Admiral.
And damn it Roslin, stop being so determined to die. Rage against the dying of the light and all that.
The one with the Cylon-human alliance
Holy frak I love this show. This has got to be one of the best episodes to date.
Damn it. I liked Natalie. What is this, kill a character I like an episode? There's not that many episodes left, so they could totally do that. And I think now that Athena's going to die, along with Helo, and it will be the newly-responsible Baltar and Caprica Six that raise Hera.
I was wondering with all the talk of death in the previous episode whether the show would actually discuss immortality, and then it goes right ahead and does it, with the doomed woman unknowing that her life will end soon advocating the importance of mortality while standing next to the painfully mortal woman who is dying, all watched over by the harbinger of death. It's powerful stuff. In a lot of stuff I watch, death is a defining characteristic of humans, and of course BSG goes one step further and has the leader of humanity dying. I was getting a bit hacked off by the Roslin cancer thing because it just seems to be a comment on how much destiny sucks and how much it sucks to be Laura Roslin. But I've realised its more than that. The dying leader of a species that is defined by death and desperate to not die out. Death, death and more death.
But before there's death, there's suffering. Gaeta's singing while he suffering was just so beautiful.
Lee is so Sam Seaborne this season. I kind of glad we're seeing less of him. Mainly because in previous seasons there was lot of Lee, but his storylines were always a bit crap. Now he only shows up when he has a good role. Basically, less Lee = better Lee, and Lee was fantastic this week, being the go between for Roslin and the Quorum and being the sounding board for Roslin to explain herself, and him to explain to her the Quorum.
Oh, and there was some stuff with Tigh becoming accepting of who he is and protecting his own whether he wants to or not, and Anders having such a big heart.
The one in which in Roslin's absence everything goes to hell…
…And then it gets fixed. Thanks to Romo Lankin and the fact that the fleet's matured since season two and now they can survive without Mum and Dad.
The Lee becoming President thing has been obvious since the third season finale. Thankfully, the return of Romo Lankin and Lankin going nuts means it's not half as bad as it could have been.
It took me forever to figure out that the cat was a figment of just Lankin's imagination. I thought Lee had finally seen it as well.
Tigh and Adama's bromance so gorgeous. The scene with Six and Tigh and her wondering why he cares about the President so much, and he's all, because my best friend lover her. Oh. I can't believe I love Saul Tigh so much.
I knew Roslin/Adama would become canon, but I had no idea that it would become such a major ship in the narrative. It makes perfect sense – the miniseries ended with the formation of their partnership and their relationship as the leader of the military and civilian populations and the Mum and Dad of the fleet has always been the backbone of the show – but I just didn't expect the show to give so much attention to a relationship between two characters 50. That just doesn't happen, not when there's younger people about. But it's become the major romance of the show. And it's freaking awesome!
The one with the redemption of Laura Roslin
So what I got out of this episode was that Roslin found redemption in forgiving Baltar, which given that I think they're the two showcasing facets of humanity, served also as humanity embracing its flaws, albeit reluctantly.
But does this mean that the Roslin vs. Baltar thing is over? Coz I loved that. But does it also mean that Roslin's going to be a less scary person from now on? Because it's about time her decent into…well, whatever she was becoming – was halted and turned around.
I read somewhere that Roslin's subconscious was initially going to present itself as Billy. I would have liked that. I would have been such a good callback to when they were in the tomb of Athena and a family standing on Earth, looking up at the sky. Because in Roslin's mind, it was Adama, Lee and Starbuck, but Billy is the third child who didn't make it and it'd have been nice to see him there. But Elosha worked.
Oh, did I mention Roslin/Adama SQUEEEEEEE!
The one where they find Earth
The last tracking show of everyone being devastated and only one line being said, Roslin's bitter 'Earth' was beautiful. Reminded me of the Dunkirk scene in Atonement.
The rest of the episode seems a bit of a mess. It all seemed to happen so fast – the peace with the Cylons, the revelation of the four, the discovery of Earth, Adama's breakdown and subsequent recovery. Any one of those could be an episode alone, and there they all were squished in 42 minutes.
Roslin and Baltar are still gold. I love how he remembers she chose not to murder him, and their awkward forced embrace (again) with the bandages. Those two are awesome as enemies and they're just as awesome as reluctant friends and both getting frakked over by Tory.
I know I should have been horrified or sad at Adama's breakdown, but all I could do was laugh when he drooled. I am so immature.
Finally, Saul Tigh is just amazing. Confessing to Adama. Standing there in the airlock. Oh, I love him.
I'm going to make an effort to get through all the rest of the fourth season this weekend because I'm just so horrifically addicted to the show. It's like a book that I can't put down. I need to get my life back.
