I had pretty much the same interpretation of Lee's responses here that you did: that for him, it was the conflict between the moral values and ideals that he *needs* to go on, and his loyalty to his father, Kara, and Roslin. And for him, I thought, the fact that all three of these significant others who help define his moral landscape agreed to assassinate Caine was the tear in his suit that let the oxygen out. Maybe not a large tear, but a significant one.
I actually wrote a lot on this one--I need to clean it up before I post it, but I was interested in the way that all three of the major players in this episode were torn between conflicting loyalties: Kara was torn between her loyalty to Adama and her newfound sympathy for Caine, who she clearly clicked with on a fundamental level and whose philosophy she agreed with; Lee's ambivalence I (and you) already discussed; and Gaius was torn between hallucinatory Six and real Six. (Though unfortunatley he was NOT torn between Six and the human race!!)
The other thing that struck me about this episode was the way Caine mirrored Adama--she was his dark double, the person he might have become if he had made some different choices, and if he hadn't had Roslin to be his conscience. (That to me made it even more striking that she was the one who said Caine had to be killed--I think unlike his son he respected her for making such a hard decision, even though it troubled him morally). I actually *loved* that streak of pragmatism coming out in Roslin, especially when we found out just how Caine had treated the civilian ships.
Ok, I'm falling asleep so I'm going to have to continue the BSG comment fest tomorrow. Now I need to go get some BSG icons!
Hooray! I can't wait to read your post on this. You are right--all of the major players were conflicted. And yes, how hilariously Gaius-y that he was torn between two completely selfish interests. Hee! My initial Gaius-rage in Season One has settled into fascinated glee at his sheer and complete immorality (though he still makes my skin crawl at times!).
I wondered what you would think of Roslin's decision here--actually I'm dying to hear your thoughts, as a Roslin afficianado, on her arc in the whole second season. I found her pragmatism pretty chilling. You are right that there was a 'there but for the grace of god...' feel to Caine--definitely Adama's dark double. And that reason, I think there's a lot of doubt to be cast about just how 'evil' she really is/was. Most of fandom, or what I saw of it, seemed to accept that she was a monster. But I've rewatched that arc, and it's not clear cut at all--much of the evidence is hearsay, and if we are honest viewers, we know that Adama himself could have ended up making similar decisions. I think it's telling that you point out that Roslin's always been a balancing force for him. Caine didn't have that check!
I actually wrote a lot on this one--I need to clean it up before I post it, but I was interested in the way that all three of the major players in this episode were torn between conflicting loyalties: Kara was torn between her loyalty to Adama and her newfound sympathy for Caine, who she clearly clicked with on a fundamental level and whose philosophy she agreed with; Lee's ambivalence I (and you) already discussed; and Gaius was torn between hallucinatory Six and real Six. (Though unfortunatley he was NOT torn between Six and the human race!!)
The other thing that struck me about this episode was the way Caine mirrored Adama--she was his dark double, the person he might have become if he had made some different choices, and if he hadn't had Roslin to be his conscience. (That to me made it even more striking that she was the one who said Caine had to be killed--I think unlike his son he respected her for making such a hard decision, even though it troubled him morally). I actually *loved* that streak of pragmatism coming out in Roslin, especially when we found out just how Caine had treated the civilian ships.
Ok, I'm falling asleep so I'm going to have to continue the BSG comment fest tomorrow. Now I need to go get some BSG icons!
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I wondered what you would think of Roslin's decision here--actually I'm dying to hear your thoughts, as a Roslin afficianado, on her arc in the whole second season. I found her pragmatism pretty chilling. You are right that there was a 'there but for the grace of god...' feel to Caine--definitely Adama's dark double. And that reason, I think there's a lot of doubt to be cast about just how 'evil' she really is/was. Most of fandom, or what I saw of it, seemed to accept that she was a monster. But I've rewatched that arc, and it's not clear cut at all--much of the evidence is hearsay, and if we are honest viewers, we know that Adama himself could have ended up making similar decisions. I think it's telling that you point out that Roslin's always been a balancing force for him. Caine didn't have that check!
And yes, iconage! Whee!
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(completely pointless comment)
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