Thoughts on Battlestar Galactica episode: "Flight of the Phoenix" (very long!)

[koalathebear]

Alternate titles: "I'm gonna wash that wrench right outta my head."
"Sharon is good. Help her, help you."

Dot Point Summary of what happened

• Ron and David try to get us completely and absolutely toasted with the Galactica Drinking Game. Take a drink each time:
  • Sharon is doubted
    
  • someone tries to strangle or shoot Sharon (each separate gun is counted as a separate drink)
    
  • each time Sharon thanklessly saves the day
    
  • we see Apollo's damp physique
    
  • Apollo gets in an UST-laden situation but still doesn't score
    
  • Tigh purses his lips in that really annoying way I hate
• People are awful to Helo because of his relationship with a Cylon (no that's not part of the Galactica Drinking Game but it should be, I guess.
  
  
• Tyrol caresses a Viper and thinks of Sharon. Tyrol then tries to build himself a new Sharon. Err. Viper. This isn't Frankenstein. It was more like ... MaGyver or the A-Team. Tyrol looks quite funny in his jammies though (Viper Making Jumpsuit).
  
  
• Roslin's time is running out.
  
  
• Chief Tyrol throws a punch (and a wrench) and has a disturbingly Gollum / Frodo attacking Sam moment. Fortunately the two boys come to their senses.
  
  
• The Galactica is struck by a Cylon computer virus.
  
  
• Gaeta has a beautiful, well-deserved, long time coming Dummy Spit.
  
  
• The deck crew throw a party for Cally which makes me foam at the mouth.
  
  
• Lee and Kara make oxygen-deprivation look sexy. Come on, the whole hands on the gun together, slumped near one another on the floor.
  
  
• Lee and Dualla share a sexy moment.
  
  
• Adama finds common ground with that 'thing'. That 'thing' makes the choice to save the day even though of course she won't get any thanks for it.
  
  
• Hope is rekindled for Galactica personnel who had begun to lose hope, fledgling steps towards reconciliation take place.
  
  
• Possible reconciliation among Sharon, Tyrol and Helo. That or possible love triangle. I'm more inclined to believe in the reconciliation angle.
  
  
• I grudgingly concede that Tyrol might be ok, after all.

Random comments in no order

• Adama's 'thing' comment.. Come on. Someone who Looked A Lot Like Sharon put two rounds into Adama. His scepticism is to be expected - and really quite natural. My cousin bit me on the hand when I was five and I've never forgiven him. OK, maybe that just shows that I hold grudges. Ahem.
  
  I'm actually relieved that Adama's taking so long to come around. If he, Roslin and Co went pro-Sharon too quickly, I'd be convinced that Ron D Moore was setting us up for a fall and that he was going to make Sharon be 'evil'.
  
  As it is, the worst that could happen is that she could die in an act of self-sacrifice. I agree this is pretty bad, but I don't think it will happen and I'm quite encouraged by Adama's determination to "maintain the rage". It will make it mean so much more when he finally comes around and starts trusting Sharon. Trust like love takes time to grow and the longer it takes, I think the stronger it is ....
  
  I think Adama is so hard on Sharon because he was so fond of her. In the CIC, Tigh tells him to blow her away but he doesn't. This is the second time he's had a gun in his hand and could have killed her but chose not to do so. He had absolutely no hesitation in beating Leoben to a pulp on Ragnar Anchorage in the mini. He would have no hesitation I'm sure about shooting Doral. His feelings are more complex with Sharon.
  
  Sharon's expression when he calls her a 'thing' is harder to interpret. It doesn't change. Is she hurt? She expects it I think. This is a tougher, more savvy Sharon who knows what's what. This isn't a confused, slightly fragile Boomer that needs the Chief to shield and protect her. She not only protects herself, her baby and her lover - she also ends up protecting almost every single human around her - except for Meiers. She killed him.
  
  I should note, I loved that shot of the Raiders approaching - it was so eerie and chilling, equally cool was the ecstastic reaction from the Viper pilots when they realised that they weren't going to get decimated. I know, I'm sure they will show zero gratitude to Sharon even when they found out that she did it. Still, I appreciate it :)
  
  Adama's rage against Sharon at least looks genuinely angry. Lee's pique towards Sharon usually comes across as .... sexually frustrated.
  
  "What does a CAG have to do around here? I prance around in my Itsy Bitsy Eeny Weenie Microscopic Tea Towel-teeni and still don't score."
  
  
• New Ship Bait: Lee and Dualla. Hmmm, interesting how for someone who seems to be able to have chemistry with practically everyone, (he's the pheromonal (is that a word?) equivalent of the Universal Donor), Apollo just doesn't seem to be able to convert his opportunities into actual outcomes.
  
  I don't blame Dualla or Kandyse McClure. I mentioned it before, in Dark Angel she was stuck with Joshua the annoying Dog Boy who looked like he refugeed out of that awful Linda Hamilton series Beauty and the Beast, then she got stuck with Billy who while not a Dog Boy, was definitely not someone I'd be dreaming about.
  
  Also, she got horrible feedback on her headset which hurts like crazy, also for most people, a virus just means you lose data and have to wait while Norton does its magic but poor Dee was thrown to the floor. Let her play with Apollo, she deserves a break, and so does he!
  
  I hope she didn't suddenly start finding Apollo attractive after the bang to the head and the electric shock, though. Still, her chemistry with Apollo was better than with Billy and the 'look' Apollo gives her as she runs off was very interesting.
  
  I think the writers can't decide how they want to write Kara/Lee. Sometimes there's sexual tension crackling around, sometimes they're more like squabbling siblings. I know that relationships have different aspects, but sometimes it's almost as though different writers are wrestling for control of the reins.
  
  Besides, let's not make this into sci fi Grey's Anatomy with everyone paired off and shagging someone. Hot Forest Sex is good, there can never be enough of that (although the censors clearly did not agree. Hmph) but we really don't need to have shagging left right and centre. Otherwise we end up with this. Eep.
  
  Evil Me wonders whether Ron D Moore et al monitor the fan fic traffic.
  
  Ron M: Dang there's a lot of Apollo/Starbuck fan fic.
  David W: Dang you're right .... I'm surprised the Internet hasn't collapsed. Should we try to divert some more towards hidden_elysium
  Ron M: Nah, what they lack in numbers, they make up for in fervour, passion and volume. I'm thinking we need a new ship. How about ..... Roslin and Adama.
  David W: Ummm. You might want to check out adama_roslin.
  Ron M: Clearly not enough to divert traffic .... I take it that billy_dualla isn't rivalling beyond_insane yet?
  David W: You gotta be frakking kidding me. Even if you shipped, slashed and double slashed everyone on the crew with one another including with Doc Cottle and Meiers, you still couldn't compete with Apollo/Starbuck.
  Ron M: You mean our attempt to imply a torrid relationship between Zarek and Meiers didn't take?
  David W: Nope. Sank like a lead balloon with the fans. Kind of like the whole Starbuck / Anders thing.
  Ron M: Who's Anders?
  David W: Exactly.
  Ron M: Hey hey hey - I've got an idea. If an off the cuff hug between Apollo and Cally could generate _myhero..... what do you think .... a flirtatious, sexy sparring session between hot and sweaty Dualla and Apollo would do?????? Especially if we throw in lots of ...... Arm Porn.
  David W: Is that a word?
  Ron M: Think so.
  David W: Hell it's worth a try, I agree we gotta do something about the abundance of Apollo/Starbuck fic. LJ hasn't recovered since the whole Pyramid Ball, I love you scene. shagthecag went absofrackinglutely nuts.
  Ron M: Didn't we top that with the Apollo With Towel scene?
  David W: What towel?
  Ron M: Exactly.
  
  Little did they know that this episode was going to unleash a wave of Tyrol/Sharon fan fiction upon us, such that the world has never before seen ......
  
  
• Shunning of Helo is good, mistreatment of Sharon is good.
  
  Why?????
  
  It generates symapthy for the cause, damnit!
  
  I know a lot of fans were all 'airlock happy' at one point, and there was the whole 'Helo should be executed for treason' thing which made me incredibly uncomfortable. I will never cease to be amazed by people who profess to be intelligent, rational beings who demand the arbitrary imposition of the death penalty when there hasn't even been the semblance of a trial or any form of philosophical and moral debate beforehand.
  
  Sometimes I wonder what the point of developing our legal system was. Sometimes I read posts like: "Throw them out the airlock" and I think that we haven't progressed far from the days when you handed each dork a rock (or a wrench?) and told him/her to go outside and beat the crap out of the other. That's right, let's just take the law into our own hands like Cally and go and blow away anyone who we think has wronged us or the ones we love. Now, that'll help the remnants of a civilised society which is already on the brink of extinction. Not.
  
  Like I said, as a Helo/Sharon supporter, I'm all for storylines that sway the popular vote towards sympathy rather than: "They are trusting her way too easily, let's kill her now!" Having Sharon's face on the paper for 'target practice' was just plain juvenile. Why Sharon's face? Why not Leoben or Doral? If she didn't already have my sympathy (hee hee) she would get it now.
  
  Yeah, I'm absolutely shameless, playing the "sympathy card" but I want Sharon to live. I want Agathon to live.
  
  We use the sympathy card. ;)
  
  
• Helo & Sharon BFF. I heartily agree with dangermousie that Helo would make a much better boyfriend than Apollo. He's loyal, he's sweet, he's funny, he's not dumb.
  
  Apollo is really sexy - smoulderingly so - I'll give him that and as I've commented before, he has a beautiful, beautiful face but I he's too tightly wound. That boy has so many unresolved issues that any relationship would just be all about his angst and resolving his problems.
  
  Bamber portrays him so well, even his smiles and laughs are edgy - short, cut off, abrupt and always bitten off very quickly. I like his character a lot and think that's he's fascinating, but to be honest, Sharon is really lucky that she ended up with Helo rather than someone like Apollo.
  
  It was destiny, I tell you. "Of all the Cylon-Occupied Territories in all the Galaxy, she walks into his ...."
  
  
• Although I can never be a fan of Wrench Boy .... Sorry amsie, I know you think that There Be Hotness but .... I'll leave you to your dark path and I will walk mine (eep. did anyone say Apollo/Sharon?)
  
  Ahem. What I mean is, he's too twitchy, wore loud shirts in the Behind the Scenes documentary on the mini-series dvd, talked over the top of Grace Park when she was trying to talk and his hair looked funny ....
  
  Oh yeah, that was the actor.
  
  Tyrol. What can I say, it's hard for me to be objective about him. Litmus was the original source of my Tyrol feelings. I've had a number of discussions about whether Tyrol is a victim or bastard? I remain conflicted. I think I need to separate my dislike of the actor with my feelings about the character (still unsuccessful with poor Andy Lau and Infernal Affairs though ;).
  
  Let's just say that to me he's like a Bizarro (and way, way way less hot) Helo. Both of them loved a Sharon, but when things got difficult, Helo stuck around.
  
  Helo is a contrast to Tyrol, when things get tough he stands by his Cylon, because that's what (hopefully) happens when you love someone. They're not married, but you can imagine Helo would take his vows seriously - he's there for the bad times as well as the jungle sex.
  
  "But how can you be so sure?"
  "This is true love. You think this happens every day?" (Princess Bride)
  
  The "my Sharon" line is interesting though, although I keep seeing: "My Sharona" when I look at that line.
  
  Tyrol is on a redemption arc and I'll leave others to coo over him and comfort him. I am needed elsewhere and I believe in an efficient deployment of Comforters for Fictional Characters. That being said, I did enjoy his character development in this episode and I discuss it further under my Motives of Sharon section.
  
  
• Throwing a party for Cally. I'll be up front about this. I don't like Cally.
  
  She's a 'murderer'.
  
  I froth at the mouth here, so you may want to skip this section if you're pro-Cally or if you don't like reading unstructured jurisprudential ravings.
  
  "Oh but she's the enemy and besides, you can only murder a human being and under Colonial law, Sharon's not a human being." I hear the voices bleat.
  
  I fully understand that the offence of murder requires that the victim be a human being. Note that for the purposes of legal precision, I used quote marks. Nonetheless, I am not backing down from my contention that no matter what the current Colonial law says, what Cally did was 'murder'.
  
  From a colloquial point of view, note that the Macquarie Dictionary defines murder as follows:
  murder
  /'merduh/ noun 1. Law the unlawful killing of a human being by an act done with intention to kill or to inflict grievous bodily harm, or with reckless indifference to human life.
  2. Colloquial an uncommonly laborious or difficult task: gardening in the heat is murder. --verb (t)
  3. Law to kill by an act constituting murder.
  4. to kill or slaughter inhumanly or barbarously.
  
  Aside from the fact that what Cally did falls within category 4, just say we were going to explore the 'legal' definition further. Let's consider what is meant by the 'enemy'? What is a 'human being'?
  
  The answer is simple - it's whatever the legislators declare to be the enemy and declare to be a human being for the purposes of the law. What does the law declare to be a human being? That all depends on the moral customs and values of the time. I have chosen not to wait until the Colonial law changes before I start calling Cally a 'murderer'.
  
  Why not?
  
  I list a number of instances below when the law has reflected certain values and thinking that has since changed. Ultimately, the law changes to reflect shifting values but the process of legislative is slow and usually follows value-shifts.
  
  In almost every single instance, the law was only able to change because a sufficiently large number of people in the relevant society thought "I do not agree with the law, it does not reflect my values".
  
  Similarly, in many instances even after the law changed, there were a large number of people who think: "Regardless of what the law says, my moral code says x".
  • Terra nullius. This is a Latin expression deriving from Roman Law mearning "empty land" or "no man's land". In 1770, the Australian continent was "claimed" for Britain by Captain Cook and the legal doctrine of Terra Nullius was invoked by the English. The doctrine originally applied to empty land but had come to include land occupied by barbaric nomadic people who were regarded by Europeans as not using the land productively, because they did not farm it or have private ownership. Traditional Aboriginal systems of tribal land ownership were not recognised. The doctrine was used to justify introducing the English system of law as the sole law of the land. This interpretation was of course eventually overturned.
    
    In 1992.
    
    It wasn't until two centuries later that the Australian High Court handed down its decision in the landmark Mabo Case, declaring the previous legal concept of terra nullius to be invalid. This decision legally recognised the presence of indigenous Australians in Australia prior to British Settlement. Legislation was subsequently enacted and later amended to recognise Native Title claims over land in Australia.
    
    
  • Marital Rape. In early English common law, the offence of rape did not extend to the marital relationship. A husband could never be charged or convicted of raping his wife. The husband's defence was called the marital rape immunity. This was because "mutual matrimonial consent the wife hath given up herself in this kind unto her husband which she cannot retract". In Australia, until the 1980s, it was not a crime for a man to rape his wife.
    
    Why not?
    
    It was a reflection of society until that time and the moral and occasionally religious values that were held. The law only changed when a majority of society changed its mind. I know that even to this day, there are those that believe that 'marital rape' is a contradiction in terms.
    
    
  • The right of a married woman to hold property. Under common law, a wife during marriage had no legal existence independent of her husband. Sir William Blackstone said: "By marriage, the husband and wife are one person in law; that is, the very being or legal existence of the woman is suspended during the marriage, or at least is incorporated and consolidated into that of the husband."
    
    Accordingly, the wife could not hold separate property of her own during the marriage, the husband became entitled to all freehold lands held by his wife at the time of marriage or during the marriage. He also obtained title to all chattels belonging to his wife at the time of marriage or acquired by her during the marriage. These principles applied even after the marriage broke down. The law has since changed.
    
    
  • Homosexuality a crime punishable by death? The Jewish Torah defines homosexuality as a toeva (abomination) for which the sentence is death (Leviticus 18:22). I did a quick Google and there are a lot of articles that discuss death as a punishment for homosexuality. Consider the debate on same sex marriages - what 'marriage' means under present laws. Consider how our understanding of what a marriage is may be different in a few years than it is now - and also depend on which jurisdiction in which we live.
    
    
  • Slavery. This used to be legal in America until it was abolished after the Civil War.
    
    
  • Racial segregation in the US. After the Civil War abolished slavery in the Southern States of the United States, laws mandated strict segregation of the races. Segregation of the races was legal up to the 1960s. I refer to a number of instances of legalised segregation listed in Wikiedia:
    • White and black people would sometimes be required to use separate schools, public toilets, park benches, train and restaurant seating, etc. In some locales, in addition to segregated seating, it could be forbidden for stores or restaurants to serve different races under the same roof.
      
      
    • Segregation was also pervasive in housing. State constitutions (for example, that of California) had clauses giving local jurisdictions the right to regulate where members of certain races could live. White landowners often included restrictive covenants in deeds through which they prevented blacks or Asians from ever purchasing their property from any subsequent owner. In the 1948 case of Shelley v. Kraemer, the Supreme Court finally ruled that such covenants were unenforceable in a court of law. However, residential segregation patterns had already been become established in most American cities, and have often persisted up to the present.
      
      
    • "Miscegenation" laws prohibited people of different races from marrying. As one of many examples of such state laws, Utah's marriage law had an anti-miscegenation component that was passed in 1899 and repealed in 1963. It prohibited marriage between a white and anyone considered a negro, mulatto (one-half negro), quadroon (one-quarter negro), octoroon (one-eighth negro), Mongolian, or member of the malay race (presumably a Polynesian or Melanesian). No restrictions were placed on marriages between people that were not "white persons."
      
      
    • During World War II, people of Japanese descent (whether citizens or not) were excluded from the West Coast and placed in internment camps, on the basis of their race.
  • Apartheid in South Africa. The Apartheid system existed in South Africa and remained law until 1990. The Apartheid system affected every aspect of social life and included a prohibition of marriage between non-whites and whites, the sanctioning of "white-only" jobs.
    "In 1950, the Population Registration Act required that all South Africans be racially classified into one of three categories: white, black (African), or colored (of mixed decent). The coloured category included major subgroups of Indians and Asians. Classification into these categories was based on appearance, social acceptance, and descent.
    
    A white person was defined as 'in appearance obviously a white person or generally accepted as a white person.' A person could not be considered white if one of his or her parents were non-white. The determination that a person was 'obviously white' would take into account "his habits, education, and speech and deportment and demeanor.' A black person would be of or accepted as a member of an African tribe or race, and a colored person is one that is not black or white.
    
    The Department of Home Affairs (a government bureau) was responsible for the classification of the citizenry. Non-compliance with the race laws were dealt with harshly.
    
    All blacks were required to carry 'pass books' containing fingerprints, photo and information on access to non-black areas". (From The History of Apartheid in South Africa)
    
    Apartheid was finally abolished, although this was in part due to internal political movements - it was also in large part due to the disapproval of a large number of countries in the world who imposed economic sancations against South Africa.
    
    
  • Women's suffrage. Look at the history of women's suffrage. Women weren't given the right to vote automatically. In Australa, it wasn't until 1962 that the Commonwealth Electoral Act was amended to grant all Aboriginal people the Commonwealth vote.
    
    
  • Chinese in America. In America, Chinese immigrants worked on the transcontinental railroad that eventually linked the frontier west to markets back east. They also reclaimed swamp land and transformed the Sacramento delta into farming lands. Nonetheless, Chinese immigrants who arrived in America were prevented from owning property or becoming citizens. They were also subject to violent attacks and new laws enforced only against them, such as the Foreign Miner's Tax. In Court decisions like People vs. Hall, Chinese were declared to be inferior to whites and were denied the right to testify against any white person, even an accused murderer.
    
    
  • The death penalty around the world. The Australian Federal Government abolished the death penalty in 1973 yet the death penalty is still used in a number of countries around the world, including some states of the United States of America. There isn't even a consistent approach to the death penalty.
  
  There are so many examples I can't even begin to list them all and we can argue until the cows come home about which comes first - social custom, social values, religious values or the law? Do you see why I'm not keen to wait around for the Colonial Fleet's laws and social customs to catch up before I condemn Cally as a 'murderer'.
  
  I know Sharon's a 'machine' and I am not saying that we should emancipate my VAIO, ipod mini or the vegetables in my refrigerator. Battlestar Galactica is set in a fictional world and during "our time", there probably isn't a lot that is still questionable about what can be classified as human. That being said:
  • there will be further debates about humanity as the sophistication of cloning technology increases
    
  • the abortion issue will continue to explore the rights of the foetus and polarise views depending on whether a person's values regard abortion as 'murder' or not? The laws on this issue vary from country to country, region to region. The abortion issue is a very good example of the fact that what the law says in no way determines what an individual person's view is.
  I am definitely not trying to establish that the law is always right or the law is always wrong wrong.
  
  What I am saying is that as the law reflects societal values, it takes time to catch up and can never reflect the views of 'all' members and groups of a society.
  
  Of course present Colonial laws do not acknowledge that Cylons are human. The Cylons haven't been heard of for 40 years and as Baltar put it in the mini: "Well forgive me! I'm having the tiniest little bit of trouble believing that, because the last time anybody saw the Cylons, they looked more like walking chrome Toasters!!"
  
  The Fleet only found out about the humanoid variety in the last year or so. For me though, if this scenario occurred in 'our time', I would definitely have sufficient information to convince me that the Cylons are 'human' enough for me to be able to judge them by human values. If a Cylon kills for no reason, I believe that's wrong whereas I won't judge an animal in the wild for killing another animal.
  
  Look at the introduction which we have seen over and over again. "The Cylons were created by man. They evolved. They rebelled. There are many copies. And they have a plan."
  
  The line about evolution and rebellion pushes me further towards the notion that the Cylons are 'human'. Both are very 'human' stages of development in a society. Animals may resist, but 'rebellion' implies a concerted shared resistance among a group.
  
  Wake up and smell the frakking Jurisprudence is all I can say.
  
  I'm not waiting around until the slow winds of social change blow by and eventually change Colonial Legislation by whatever legislative and political process the Colonies use. I assert my right to express my purely subjective, moral beliefs and believe that Cally's killing of Sharon is a 'murder' and if she's not able to be 'tried' for it under present Colonial laws - she sure as hell shouldn't have received a party. :P
  
  I'll ask a tougher question. Present Colonial law does not recognise Sharon as a human being. A lot of people don't have a problem with her being put out the airlock. A lot of people don't want to call the killing of Galactica Boomer murder because she's not a human. What is your answer in the following cirumstances. Is there an internal moral compass that says regardless of what the current laws say, this feels 'wrong'?:
  • Someone tries to 'rape' Sharon
    
  • Cylon organs are found to be of benefit to humans - they 'harvest' her against her consent.
    
  • Her blood/stem cells are of benefit to humans - they 'harvest' her against her consent. Drain her dry.
    
  • Sharon kills someone else. Is that 'murder'?
  Do any of the above scenarios make people want to run to the law library to check what the current legislation says? If Sharon is harmed, she wouldn't even be protected by prevention of cruelty to animals legislation.
  
  I can't help but remember that prior to major legislative changes, there were always people who did not agree and opposed present legislation.
  
  Also, maybe I'm being a bitch here but I sincerely doubt that the people who say that it's ok to kill Sharon because she's not a 'human' are legal theorists who have reached this conclusion on the basis of a rational, philosophical and considered analysis of the facts. They just don't like her. That's absolutely fine, but say: "Frakking kill her cos I hate her" rather than trying to use the law to justify something which is unjustifiable - as if it somehow makes it all right and more moral.
  
  Sorry I feel rather strongly about this issue. There are a whole bunch of moral questions, natural justice issues that make me shake my head when Cally's actions are seen as acceptable. I'm also very anti-arbitrary "off with her head" proclamations. *seethe*
  
  
• Sharon's motives. My only moments of doubt:
  • What did Sharon see in the code?
    
    "We're going to kill everyone including you, die, we want you to die". Judging by the look on her face, I think this was highly likely.
    
    Or was it:
    
    "Even though you were a bad girl and ran away from us (naughty naughty!), mum and dad are going to give you one last chance to survive. This is what you have to do ....". Unlikely. I have read people hypothesising that the Cylon Plan is for Sharon to win the trust of the Fleet and then bring them all down.
    
    I still remember the scene on Caprica between Sharon, Doral and Six - they didn't expect her to run away with Helo, they didn't expect her to fall for Helo. The plan was for her to fall pregnant and then return to the Cylon fold to raise the baby.
    
    It isn't Sharon 'pretending' because these scenes took place away from humans and were just among the Cylons - at that time you can see from her face that Six's orders are causing her to have reservations. That's when she goes back to Helo and tells him that eveything has changed. I can't remember which episode it was, but Doral and Six even talk about Sharon's love for Helo making her 'resourceful' - staying out of their reach. It doesn't sound at all to me like Sharon's any part of their Plan anymore, at least not consciously.
    
    Or maybe:
    
    "If you don't do exactly what we tell you, we're going to kill, your baby, your lover and your little dog, too....". If Sharon was engaged in anything sneak (which I do not think she was), this would have been the most likely possibility and explained her distress. I vote for option 1.
    
    Does anyone here read Cylon???? Anyone ... anyone???
    
    
  • That last look scene with Tyrol at the end is slightly ambiguous I know. To be honest though, I really do not think this signals 'love triangle' even though we are meant to think that.
    
    Why? This was a positive episode about hope, acceptance, re-acceptance and working together - getting back on your feet after falling down and sinking into despair.
    
    Tyrol has his demons but we see in this episode that he's slowly pulling himself back together. He could fall apart and use that alcohol he's making to numb his brain and his pain, but he chooses to use it to barter for parts and embark on a project which ends up insiring and unifying the crew. I have to admire that - yes he tried to beat up Helo, but he got over it, he figured out that he was wrong to take it on Helo and it take a pretty decent person to admit his own mistakes.
    
    I also have to point out, aside from the motivation, 'work together', co-operation Sesame Street-style, the Chief's plan made a lot of sense to me. The Fleet only has a limited number of Vipers. They can't fly forever. They'll age, get damaged, get blown up. They'll have to build new ones. They can't plug poor Sharon in each time Cylon Raiders show up.
    
    Sharon helps Galactica even though she must know from experience that it will not change the population's view of her. She went through humiliation and real pain and discomfort there. She's recovering from a near miscarriage, what effect must this have on her baby? I think the last scene between Tyrol and Sharon is something that had to happen between them. Of course Tyrol would visit her in prison. Maybe he thinks that he can be the friend to her now that he failed to be before.
    
    For Sharon, not only does she need all the friends she can get, but she genuinely does appear to be fond of Tyrol even though she now loves Helo. I believe that she loves Helo. She's very honest with him. "You asked", is her response when she says that she remembers how it was with Tyrol. She could have lied and said: "It's all mixed up".
    
    Sharon doesn't answer about whether she loves the Chief, but I think she doesn't love him. She loves Helo. Of course she could go into detail and explain: "Look it was the other Sharon that loved Tyrol, I'm not her", but aside from the fact that she's probably getting sick of that riff, along with the Gun To The Head Tango, at this point, anything along those lines was just going to cause Helo more pain. I think she just decided to park the issue for the time being and explain how she feels about Helo.
    
    I agree the gaze at Tyrol is ... complicated, but what must it be like to have another person's memories and their feelings. There will be a time when Sharon sorts through it all, but to be honest I really don't see her going off with Tyrol.
• Starbuck moments. I loved Starbuck sticking up for Helo and slamming Racetrack's head down on the table. Starbuck is so loyal, she's such a great friend. I hope one day that she can be friends with her old friend Sharon again and stick up for her, because I think Starbuck needs a girlfriend, too. Not in the Sapphic sense, I mean she needs a female friend.
  
  I love that Starbuck said she was going to fly the fighter. Of course she did, she's so brave. And she's smart, too. Smarter than Apollo - thought about shooting the window whereas he just tried ... banging on it .... although he did tweak on about the oxygen thing first while Starbuck was giggling about blueberries :)
  
  Starbuck's "Don't blow up on me you bastard" was a classic. Hee hee. Loved that line.
  
  
• The Adama / Roslin scenes were all magnificent. I've always thought Mary McDonnell is such a great actress. Her hands shaking as she reads her medical report, the way she pulls it together. The conversation with Adama in which he asks her for advice is also really convincing and touching. I also really like this:
  
  "None of this would have been possible if you hadn't trusted the Cylon."
  
  "I took your advice. Met her on common ground."
  
  "What was that?"
  
  "We both wanted to live."
  
  It's a step. I really feel that Adama's very conscious of the fact that he can't simplify matters by demonising the Cylons. He's an intelligent man - he knows the situation is complex. He even said it himself in Galactica's decommissioning speech and it's nice that Roslin echoes his words back to him: "We created them".
  
  
• Reconciliation and acceptance for Helo and Sharon. Helo's reconciliation with the others was nice but bittersweet as it makes me wonder when, if ever, it will be Sharon's turn.
  
  I knew about the collar, but I hadn't expected the cuffs and the stick. It was a very .... confronting ... and upsetting image. I don't know why people criticise Grace Park's acting, I thought she was wonderful here. She could have looked like a victim, all trussed up like that but she completely maintained her dignity and her poise. My throat actually tightened when I saw her being hauled into the CIC like that.
  
  Yes she's a member of an enemy 'race' which tried to wipe out humanity, yes her clone tried to kill Adama and did a number of unpardonable things but at this stage, as far as we know, this Sharon is completely innocent. There's something quite touchingly noble and tragic about the fact that she's incarcerated, mistreated and trussed up for things that she herself did not do. Even Adama whose feelings of loathing are poisoning him, has to admit to Roslin that this wasn't the Sharon who shot him.
  
  Asking for the Dualla's father's knife from her, addressing Gaeta. She's still sharp and on top of things. She makes choices, she takes control. She chooses to help even though while everyone's being tortured by faux-Celtic music in the hangar bay she's locked up in her cell.
  
  In terms of Gaeta being nice to Sharon, this is all very well and good but as you will recall, a lot of fans (including mainland Chinese BSG fans who believe that Gaeta is a Cylon. This will just fan the flames ..... Eek.
  
  
• Things that didn't work for me?. Not too much, actually:
  • Oh god, more clapping. I feel like I'm back in aerobics class. "Great class, girls - give yourselves a clap. *giggle*."
    
    
  • Errr Roslin's cheesey speech at the end with Celtic music. Not loving that. I kept looking around for William Wallace. I'll bet Mary McDonnell felt really dorky giving that speech. I did like that they called the ship Laura. That was nice.

Overall Vibe

I liked this episode. A lot. Not only because it had much more Helo/Sharon love in it than the last episode. It was just really interesting. Although I see they're still throwing doubt out there about Sharon, I still believe in her. I still believe that her motives are pure. She's one of the most fascinating characters on the show right now and I can't wait to see where here story goes.

I love the fact that the Pegasus episode will run 2 minutes overtime. Yippee!!! :) O frabjous day, callooh, callay, she chortled in her joy!

I love this show so much it's just wrong. :P I can feel my friends and family on the verge of leaping into Intervention Mode.