A Tale of Two Episodes
Happy birthday 50mm! I hope the coming year is full of travel and fun, and I hope to see you again at least once this fall.
And happy birthday tzikeh!
*flings confetti*
* * * * *
BSG 4.08 - "Sine Qua Non"
My brother called halfway through the episode, and I took the call because I knew there had to be some extraordinary reason for him to call at what was for him 11:30 on a Friday night. And there was--he just got engaged! Which is very exciting, but led to the following conversation after I hung up:
Me: "Why did Badger pull a gun on Lee?"
asta77: "His cat died and he went crazy."
Me: "Um. Okay!"
Yeah.
This show is always very good when the characters propel the plot, and always very WTF when the plot propels the characters, and this episode was no exception. Parts of it felt much more organic than others.
Lee's been straddling the military/civlian divide for a long time, and has bucked both sides by being honest and principled, and has made enemies and friends by doing so. He doesn't tell people what they want to hear; he answers honestly that Adama will not support a Zarek presidency. Adama's veto power over civilian leadership here is not presented as a problem, though it actually is. When the military leadership exercises that much control over the civilian leadership, you do not have actual civilian leadership; Zarek is the VP. But at the same time, Lee has earned the regard of the rest of the Quorum, and the grudging respect of Zarek, we've seen those relationships develop over time. He'll have Adama's approval because he's Adama's son, but everything he's done to deserve the position has been in his own right.
This episode is very much about the passing of the guard; not just Lee's swearing-in, but Adama relinquishing his command. His big fight with Tigh was another thing that felt like it had been a long time in coming, because those two are just too much alike, unable to separate their feelings from their decisions; they've both lost their judgment over women. Adama's plan is actively crazy, but it's the thing he has to do to keep justifying his existence, and for once he left the rest of the fleet out of it. (It was refreshing, though ultimately unsurprising, to see someone finally get in trouble for a big, public shooting; Adama wasn't punishing Athena for killing Natalie, but for making Roslin disappear.)
I'm not really sure what to think of the Six's pregnancy; parts of the episode were pretty confusing, and one thing I wasn't straight on was whether or not we were supposed to think Tigh was really the father. I rather thought so, given his hallucinations of Ellen, but hm. The other thing I really didn't get was who killed Romo's cat, which could partly be because they continue to record the sound in some of the scenes through twelve layers of cotton batting, but was probably mostly because it came out of nowhere and was such transparently heavy-handed symbolism that it ended up seeming really surreal. Really? Some disgruntled shadowy organization killed his cat? Um. Okay! Here's hoping Lee didn't just set up Jake for a similarly gruesome fate.
Although they weren't really part of the main action in the episode, there were two little elements that I also liked quite a lot. Natalie's dying vision--dappled leaves and sunlight above her head--reminded me a little of the constructed reality the human model Cylons use to navigate through reality, and also of the visions Laura and the dying woman played by Nana Visitor, whose name I can't remember, had of the other side of the bank, the grass and sun. There's an end to the road that both humans and Cylons can see. And I also thought it was interesting that Athena hummed the lullaby that the other Sharon had sung while stroking the shell of the Cylon raider that Kara brought back in "You Can't Go Home Again," both to calm herself when she was stuck in the brig, and while she was holding Hera.
* * * * *
Babylon 5 2.09 - "The Coming of Shadows"
This was my week for interruptions to television viewing, because a series of cascading transit problems caused me to be super-late on Thursday and we only got through one episode. But what an episode it was!
First, and above all else, OH LONDO. He knows that Refa is a creep; he knows that Vir is right. But he's so invested in the ends, the restoration of Centauri glory with a side of personal power for Londo Molari, that he's been willing to swallow his distaste and embrace whatever means would get him there. So there he sits while G'Kar buys him a drink and toasts to the possibility of peace, realizing that he's blinded himself to any other path and set in motion something he can't undo; that he has destroyed the chance for peace, and sparked a war, and nothing will ever change the fact that he made that choice when he didn't have to. He has cast his lot with that particular means of achieving Centauri might, and he will follow through, refusing to release the Narn colonists, pressing for advantage with dead, bleak eyes and no life in his voice. I thought his dream was interesting for a lot of different reasons, because it should have been what he wanted, because it's what he's traded his soul for, and yet in the end he refuses to put himself in a position to get it. He wants to be the power behind the throne, not the Emperor. The simple reading is that he sees his own death, but I think more than that, he sees himself as someone who has justified G'Kar's murderous rage.
Which brings me to the seond thing, which is OH G'KAR. That scene in the bar was heartbreaking; G'Kar had learned all the right lessons, that he had to move past the historical anger, that the future is too important to be dragged down by the past. The Centauri Emperor made the move of apology that would have made that possible. It came very close to working. I'm not sure I entirely buy Sheridan being the guy to counsel wisdom and restraint, since he comes across as pretty impulsive too at times, but he was right that the stakes are far bigger than pride and insult, and that his focus now has to be survival. Going out in a blaze of angry, righteous glory is in some ways easier than hanging on in humiliated defeat and trying to wring out the best possible outcome for others. And yet G'Kar feels like he has to do something: "They're doing it to us again." He ends up thanking Sheridan from stopping him, accepting that whatever he has to do, it will be slow and painful and unsatisfying, and that's a big change.
And now there's a war, and everything's different.
Other bits and pieces:
* * * * *
gwyn_r has a couple of research questions about save-our-show fan campaigns.
And a couple of food-related links, both from Serious Eats:
Okay, back to work.
And happy birthday tzikeh!
*flings confetti*
* * * * *
BSG 4.08 - "Sine Qua Non"
My brother called halfway through the episode, and I took the call because I knew there had to be some extraordinary reason for him to call at what was for him 11:30 on a Friday night. And there was--he just got engaged! Which is very exciting, but led to the following conversation after I hung up:
Me: "Why did Badger pull a gun on Lee?"
asta77: "His cat died and he went crazy."
Me: "Um. Okay!"
Yeah.
This show is always very good when the characters propel the plot, and always very WTF when the plot propels the characters, and this episode was no exception. Parts of it felt much more organic than others.
Lee's been straddling the military/civlian divide for a long time, and has bucked both sides by being honest and principled, and has made enemies and friends by doing so. He doesn't tell people what they want to hear; he answers honestly that Adama will not support a Zarek presidency. Adama's veto power over civilian leadership here is not presented as a problem, though it actually is. When the military leadership exercises that much control over the civilian leadership, you do not have actual civilian leadership; Zarek is the VP. But at the same time, Lee has earned the regard of the rest of the Quorum, and the grudging respect of Zarek, we've seen those relationships develop over time. He'll have Adama's approval because he's Adama's son, but everything he's done to deserve the position has been in his own right.
This episode is very much about the passing of the guard; not just Lee's swearing-in, but Adama relinquishing his command. His big fight with Tigh was another thing that felt like it had been a long time in coming, because those two are just too much alike, unable to separate their feelings from their decisions; they've both lost their judgment over women. Adama's plan is actively crazy, but it's the thing he has to do to keep justifying his existence, and for once he left the rest of the fleet out of it. (It was refreshing, though ultimately unsurprising, to see someone finally get in trouble for a big, public shooting; Adama wasn't punishing Athena for killing Natalie, but for making Roslin disappear.)
I'm not really sure what to think of the Six's pregnancy; parts of the episode were pretty confusing, and one thing I wasn't straight on was whether or not we were supposed to think Tigh was really the father. I rather thought so, given his hallucinations of Ellen, but hm. The other thing I really didn't get was who killed Romo's cat, which could partly be because they continue to record the sound in some of the scenes through twelve layers of cotton batting, but was probably mostly because it came out of nowhere and was such transparently heavy-handed symbolism that it ended up seeming really surreal. Really? Some disgruntled shadowy organization killed his cat? Um. Okay! Here's hoping Lee didn't just set up Jake for a similarly gruesome fate.
Although they weren't really part of the main action in the episode, there were two little elements that I also liked quite a lot. Natalie's dying vision--dappled leaves and sunlight above her head--reminded me a little of the constructed reality the human model Cylons use to navigate through reality, and also of the visions Laura and the dying woman played by Nana Visitor, whose name I can't remember, had of the other side of the bank, the grass and sun. There's an end to the road that both humans and Cylons can see. And I also thought it was interesting that Athena hummed the lullaby that the other Sharon had sung while stroking the shell of the Cylon raider that Kara brought back in "You Can't Go Home Again," both to calm herself when she was stuck in the brig, and while she was holding Hera.
* * * * *
Babylon 5 2.09 - "The Coming of Shadows"
This was my week for interruptions to television viewing, because a series of cascading transit problems caused me to be super-late on Thursday and we only got through one episode. But what an episode it was!
First, and above all else, OH LONDO. He knows that Refa is a creep; he knows that Vir is right. But he's so invested in the ends, the restoration of Centauri glory with a side of personal power for Londo Molari, that he's been willing to swallow his distaste and embrace whatever means would get him there. So there he sits while G'Kar buys him a drink and toasts to the possibility of peace, realizing that he's blinded himself to any other path and set in motion something he can't undo; that he has destroyed the chance for peace, and sparked a war, and nothing will ever change the fact that he made that choice when he didn't have to. He has cast his lot with that particular means of achieving Centauri might, and he will follow through, refusing to release the Narn colonists, pressing for advantage with dead, bleak eyes and no life in his voice. I thought his dream was interesting for a lot of different reasons, because it should have been what he wanted, because it's what he's traded his soul for, and yet in the end he refuses to put himself in a position to get it. He wants to be the power behind the throne, not the Emperor. The simple reading is that he sees his own death, but I think more than that, he sees himself as someone who has justified G'Kar's murderous rage.
Which brings me to the seond thing, which is OH G'KAR. That scene in the bar was heartbreaking; G'Kar had learned all the right lessons, that he had to move past the historical anger, that the future is too important to be dragged down by the past. The Centauri Emperor made the move of apology that would have made that possible. It came very close to working. I'm not sure I entirely buy Sheridan being the guy to counsel wisdom and restraint, since he comes across as pretty impulsive too at times, but he was right that the stakes are far bigger than pride and insult, and that his focus now has to be survival. Going out in a blaze of angry, righteous glory is in some ways easier than hanging on in humiliated defeat and trying to wring out the best possible outcome for others. And yet G'Kar feels like he has to do something: "They're doing it to us again." He ends up thanking Sheridan from stopping him, accepting that whatever he has to do, it will be slow and painful and unsatisfying, and that's a big change.
And now there's a war, and everything's different.
Other bits and pieces:
- I really like that Sinclair chose to contact Garibaldi; it makes sense both tactically, because Garibaldi is best placed to help him, and personally, since there's trust and history between the two men. It also makes sense that he would have a message for Delenn. What wouldn't have worked would be for Sinclair to reach out to Sheridan, who he doesn't know, and I'm glad the writers avoided making Sheridan the Babylon 5 contact for the rangers just because he's the Captain.
- The little we got to see of the Centauri imperial court was packed with interesting details; I particularly liked that the veiled women who follow the Emperor around are not wives, but psychics; it's an exotic custom, and one that shows what different places psychics occupy on different planets.
- Sheridan was very canny to press the witness angle; the Centauri weren't that concerned with keeping a bunch of Narn prisoners, but Londo definitely didn't want an official investigation into the attack. It's in Londo's interest to keep the shadows out of the spotlight, but it isn't in anybody else's; he's giving them a foothold.
* * * * *
gwyn_r has a couple of research questions about save-our-show fan campaigns.
And a couple of food-related links, both from Serious Eats:
- The Environmental Working Group's wallet guide to pesticide levels in produce.
- Meat CSAs in the Bay Area. I live alone and don't eat a very meat-heavy diet, so even the smallest plans look like too much for me. But I especially like some of the fine print on the wiki: "The meat is mostly frozen, except for when it isn't." I'm sure that's true!
Okay, back to work.