BSG 4.12 A Disquiet Follows My Soul
Despite the cracktastic title (srsly, who makes these up? don't answer that!), this wasn't completely terrible (I still wouldn't watch it though, mskatej and supacat).
I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this because it wasn't that engaging, but I was pleasantly surprised by this episode. While there were still a lot of WTF elements and unintended lolz, there was some solid content in there too. And hey, Gaeta is my total HERO after this episode! (Sorry, Lee, babe, you are waaaay too entrenched in the quagmire of compromise in this instance.) It will end badly, I fear for him, but he completely holds my sympathy and I think he's an excellent choice to represent the many (most!) members of the Fleet who will not accept a Cylon alliance.
Most unwelcome incidental elements
1. Adama's bathroom routine x 2
2. Adama reading (blessedly brief)
3. Adama stonewalling stupidly in the press conference (you do yourself no favours, dude!)
4. Adama giving Roslin 'permission' to live for today (she doesn't need his permission, writers, GAH! 5. I hate the way they write A/R)
6. Adama saying he hates the job (well for FRAK'S sake JUST RESIGN ALREADY!)
Gah. He's still driving me nuts. There was way too much of him in this episode.
Most cracktastic/annoying aspects
1. Tigh and Caprica and an ultrasound. *rotfl* I can't even... has the show made ANY attempt to explain Caprica's attraction to Tigh? AT ALL? Don't answer that. The greater implications of their baby were also largely ignored. They were dealt with as a couple's squishy bonding moment. Future of the Cylon nation? Does anyone else even care that Cylons can reproduce now?! You should all be running scared, humans! /frustration
2. Chief's baby is now HotDog's baby? Say what now? I would be more annoyed if I actually cared about the characters in question. But it is another laughable instance of RDM having no clear plan from the outset and getting himself in ridiculous situations he has to retcon later. Cally's attempt to kill the kidlet makes a lot less sense now.
3. Roslin's crazy!jog (just plain embarrassing)
4. Bill overacts with a toothbrush.
5. Tigh TOLD Adama and Lee about Ellen and their reaction was 'oh, interesting, guess we don't have to worry about her or tell anyone'. Huh? *genuinely confused face*
Things I liked
- Gaeta
- The media frenzy at the press conference, and finding out that most of the Fleet is NOT in favour of an Alliance
- Zarek. A bit. Ok, I don't really like the guy but I really like the plot and the fact that someone is stepping up and voicing the anti-Cylon. I don't view Zarek as a purist though because he's too much of a politician. It's Gaeta the idealist with his reformed naivety that I feel for and admire.
- Finally getting to see the context of the press conference scene and Lee's faux pas.
- Intentional humour making a return! Possibly the best aspect of the whole episode. I liked Lee being amused at Zarek's 'sorry, I get confused about what your job is on any given day' (me too, Zarek, me too) and I rather liked Tigh's snarky 'maybe you'd like a chart to keep it all straight' when Chief was doing his whole 'I'm a Cylon, I'm a human, I'm a ... ?' thing
Most lingering reaction
Hahaha, Adama, you have only yourself to blame.
I thought about trying to see things his way, but really? I think the guy needs to step down. I think the Adama/Roslin administration has been out of touch with the Quorum, and beyond that with the reality of people's opinions in the fleet, for a long, long, time. And they're now paying the price.
So they want their to be an Alliance? Well they're going to have to realise people won't swallow that easily. And they are going to have to listen to those people and take their views into account. The A/R administration was in a weak position already when it came to having the faith of the fleet with them. To think they could sell an Alliance now at this time seems pretty naive.
I have a lot of sympathy for Roslin and I thought her speech about having played the role of the dying leader for long enough was one of the episode highlights. At a personal level, I like her saying 'enough's enough'. However, it creates a frightening vacuum. Lee is in a very awkward position here and can only really stand by and watch it happen. He tries to play things the right way, he's right in saying Roslin needs to step forward and speak to the people (she's needed to do more of that for a long time), but he can't force anything without stepping outside of regulations.
I'm still not completely clear why Lee is so pro-Cylon-Alliance now, but I really liked hearing about the practical reasons why an Alliance with the Cylons was a desirable outcome for logistic reasons. I hold out hope (HAHAHAHA FOOLISH) that he may eventually be able to bridge the gap between the rebels and the military led by Adama.
However, I'm still finding Gaeta the character who is most easy to sympathise with here. I think he represents more 'normal' members of the Fleet--people who have suffered personally at the hands of the Cylons, both in the initial attacks and then on New Caprica, as well as in the flight/war period. I find it absolutely insane that Tigh still holds his position, and I really loved Gaeta tackling Kara about these things.
Yeah, I do feel sorry for Kara about being dead (dear god, the things this show makes one write!) but not on the Cylon front. From being a hardcore anti-collaborator she became an advocate for the Alliance. She believed that a destiny she knew was linked to the Cylons was a destiny humanity should chase. When she found out she'd been literally sleeping with the enemy, her reaction was ... nothing. Given that Gaeta didn't know anything about Kara's recent personal trauma, I think it's completely reasonable for him to call her on her hypocrisy. And given that the fact her husband is a Cylon has been completely ignored elsewhere in the show, I was absolutely partying at Gaeta's (appropriate) bitchiness in that scene. I fear for Gaeta though because Kara is this show's hero.
Kara and Adama. Sigh.
I'd trade them in for Gaeta and Lee any day.
I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this because it wasn't that engaging, but I was pleasantly surprised by this episode. While there were still a lot of WTF elements and unintended lolz, there was some solid content in there too. And hey, Gaeta is my total HERO after this episode! (Sorry, Lee, babe, you are waaaay too entrenched in the quagmire of compromise in this instance.) It will end badly, I fear for him, but he completely holds my sympathy and I think he's an excellent choice to represent the many (most!) members of the Fleet who will not accept a Cylon alliance.
Most unwelcome incidental elements
1. Adama's bathroom routine x 2
2. Adama reading (blessedly brief)
3. Adama stonewalling stupidly in the press conference (you do yourself no favours, dude!)
4. Adama giving Roslin 'permission' to live for today (she doesn't need his permission, writers, GAH! 5. I hate the way they write A/R)
6. Adama saying he hates the job (well for FRAK'S sake JUST RESIGN ALREADY!)
Gah. He's still driving me nuts. There was way too much of him in this episode.
Most cracktastic/annoying aspects
1. Tigh and Caprica and an ultrasound. *rotfl* I can't even... has the show made ANY attempt to explain Caprica's attraction to Tigh? AT ALL? Don't answer that. The greater implications of their baby were also largely ignored. They were dealt with as a couple's squishy bonding moment. Future of the Cylon nation? Does anyone else even care that Cylons can reproduce now?! You should all be running scared, humans! /frustration
2. Chief's baby is now HotDog's baby? Say what now? I would be more annoyed if I actually cared about the characters in question. But it is another laughable instance of RDM having no clear plan from the outset and getting himself in ridiculous situations he has to retcon later. Cally's attempt to kill the kidlet makes a lot less sense now.
3. Roslin's crazy!jog (just plain embarrassing)
4. Bill overacts with a toothbrush.
5. Tigh TOLD Adama and Lee about Ellen and their reaction was 'oh, interesting, guess we don't have to worry about her or tell anyone'. Huh? *genuinely confused face*
Things I liked
- Gaeta
- The media frenzy at the press conference, and finding out that most of the Fleet is NOT in favour of an Alliance
- Zarek. A bit. Ok, I don't really like the guy but I really like the plot and the fact that someone is stepping up and voicing the anti-Cylon. I don't view Zarek as a purist though because he's too much of a politician. It's Gaeta the idealist with his reformed naivety that I feel for and admire.
- Finally getting to see the context of the press conference scene and Lee's faux pas.
- Intentional humour making a return! Possibly the best aspect of the whole episode. I liked Lee being amused at Zarek's 'sorry, I get confused about what your job is on any given day' (me too, Zarek, me too) and I rather liked Tigh's snarky 'maybe you'd like a chart to keep it all straight' when Chief was doing his whole 'I'm a Cylon, I'm a human, I'm a ... ?' thing
Most lingering reaction
Hahaha, Adama, you have only yourself to blame.
I thought about trying to see things his way, but really? I think the guy needs to step down. I think the Adama/Roslin administration has been out of touch with the Quorum, and beyond that with the reality of people's opinions in the fleet, for a long, long, time. And they're now paying the price.
So they want their to be an Alliance? Well they're going to have to realise people won't swallow that easily. And they are going to have to listen to those people and take their views into account. The A/R administration was in a weak position already when it came to having the faith of the fleet with them. To think they could sell an Alliance now at this time seems pretty naive.
I have a lot of sympathy for Roslin and I thought her speech about having played the role of the dying leader for long enough was one of the episode highlights. At a personal level, I like her saying 'enough's enough'. However, it creates a frightening vacuum. Lee is in a very awkward position here and can only really stand by and watch it happen. He tries to play things the right way, he's right in saying Roslin needs to step forward and speak to the people (she's needed to do more of that for a long time), but he can't force anything without stepping outside of regulations.
I'm still not completely clear why Lee is so pro-Cylon-Alliance now, but I really liked hearing about the practical reasons why an Alliance with the Cylons was a desirable outcome for logistic reasons. I hold out hope (HAHAHAHA FOOLISH) that he may eventually be able to bridge the gap between the rebels and the military led by Adama.
However, I'm still finding Gaeta the character who is most easy to sympathise with here. I think he represents more 'normal' members of the Fleet--people who have suffered personally at the hands of the Cylons, both in the initial attacks and then on New Caprica, as well as in the flight/war period. I find it absolutely insane that Tigh still holds his position, and I really loved Gaeta tackling Kara about these things.
Yeah, I do feel sorry for Kara about being dead (dear god, the things this show makes one write!) but not on the Cylon front. From being a hardcore anti-collaborator she became an advocate for the Alliance. She believed that a destiny she knew was linked to the Cylons was a destiny humanity should chase. When she found out she'd been literally sleeping with the enemy, her reaction was ... nothing. Given that Gaeta didn't know anything about Kara's recent personal trauma, I think it's completely reasonable for him to call her on her hypocrisy. And given that the fact her husband is a Cylon has been completely ignored elsewhere in the show, I was absolutely partying at Gaeta's (appropriate) bitchiness in that scene. I fear for Gaeta though because Kara is this show's hero.
Kara and Adama. Sigh.
I'd trade them in for Gaeta and Lee any day.