BSG: He That Believeth in Me
Oh show!!! Welcome back!!!
First of all, what a teaser! I'm hoping that this teaser bodes well for the rest of the season. Right away we get the kind of storytelling that this show has done brilliantly in the past: more or less simultaneous action split between different character groups and plotlines. If they can keep up this narrative style, rather than falling into the episodic trap that killed them last season, things will almost certainly go better.
Plus, big 'splodey space battle! Major civilian casualties, eep! New Cylons being awesome! (Seriously, Tigh, Anders, and Tyrol between them are going to kill me with awesome. I'm not sure there are any other characters on the show that I genuinely like more. I love Chief's certainty, his acceptance of his role and his competence with his work. Tigh, on the other hand, is hanging on by a thread and breaking my heart with it. And Samuel T. Anders can be my Cylon boyfriend. I'm just sayin'. Tory, despite runawaynun's love for her, has yet to win me over, but I'm hopeful. I want to like her; I just feel like I haven't had a chance to get to know her very well.)
After the teaser, though, there were some narrative hiccups. Recall that the action of this episode begins immediately following the action of "Crossroads, part 2." Recall that at the end of "Crossroads, part 2," Bill and Lee were none too fond of each other, and Laura was pretty pissed at both of them. Yet...suddenly they're more or less chummy, immediately? Bill and Lee have one of the most rational and adult conversations they've had, oh, ever? Laura's quite happily staying in Bill's quarters? She's had time to offer Lee a job? (Though I have a theory on this, if we handwave the fact that it's all supposed to have happened in a day or two: she recognized Lee as a formidable potential adversary in the trial, so she's trying to bring him in, either to win him over again or at least to keep him close and under control. A deliberate political move.) Just...continuity and characterization, please. I get that they're trying to do a lot of quick exposition, but it would be worthwhile, I think, to take a little more time with these things.
As for the two Adamas, though, once I handwaved the fact their reconciliation, I actually liked them both very much in this ep. Both were perfectly in character, yet in the parts of their characters I tend to prefer (as opposed to the emo man pain parts of their characters). They love Kara and want to believe in her, yet they're also both smart enough to keep their skepticism well in hand.
Roslin was wonderful, I thought. I read some ep reviews on my flist briefly and will go back to re-read and comment, so I don't remember who this was, but someone questioned the fact that Roslin, who has made a career out of navigation and leadership by faith and miracles and has used Kara to bring some of these about, is so skeptical. It's a valid point, but I'd counter that Roslin needs the personal experience. She believes her own visions, but do we ever see her trusting anyone else's feelings or intuitions? If she has a vision of her own to corroborate Kara's story, she'll believe her, but her faith only extends so far. She also knows that Bill and Lee will be inclined to believe Kara, so she's going to work hard to temper that.
My favorite scene in the ep, I think, was the one between Laura and Caprica Six. Let's have more of them, please!!!! The dynamics were about what I'd expected from them: a surprising degree of vulnerability and honesty from Laura (though possibly this is an act?) based on this unspoken closeness they have through the shared visions. And interesting that Caprica is struggling with whether or not to even think about the final five. What an internal struggle this must be for her, alone in that cell all day long, feeling intuitively the coming of the five but not understanding it, fearing the very act of thinking about it. More Caprica this season, please!
Meanwhile, the Baltar plot was both fascinating and irritating in turns. Baltar's own struggles with his role are fascinating--and how wonderful was it to see crazy Baltar in self-preservation mode, along with head!Six!!!--and I'm really interested to see how genuine and long-lived his change of heart manages to be. But why the hell does anyone else think Baltar is some kind of prophet or god?!?!?! What has he done to engender this kind of adoration in these people (not all of whom, incidentally, were women, as I noticed on the second viewing--but interesting how that's clearly the impression one gets)? More head!Six (who has a great new outfit and who is a very notably different character from Caprica; I'm not sure I'd ever quite noticed how differently Tricia Helfer is playing them), more crazy, slimy, possibly prophetic Baltar; less of the crazy cult harem.
And finally, Kara. Despite it being an episode very much about Kara and her return, I'm not sure I have much to say about her. Something has clearly happened to screw her up, but what and how? The more she looks like she might be a Cylon, the more I suspect she is not, but who is she? I hope there's a good explanation and good payoff for all of this, though, and that it's not some weird foray into ill-advised character development. I'm hopeful but skeptical. And obviously she's not going to kill Laura; the fact that she walked in there with a gun to try is going to land her in the brig in short order.
[ETA: And why is Kara so hostile to Laura? Going after her with a gun seems extreme. Is it just that she perceives Laura as what's keeping Adama from believing her, and she's irrational and therefore acting in an extreme manner? Or is she a Cylon and programmed to see Laura as a threat? Or is she something else and Laura's a Cylon, so she sees her as a threat? Hmm.]
In terms of a grand theory of Cylons and the show, I'll stick with "Eschatos," thank you very much! So far, I have not seen anything to disprove my crazy notions! :) The ep title is interesting, though: "I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25, Jesus at the raising of Lazarus). Clear parallels to both Kara and Baltar's storylines here, but what are the broader implications in terms of the show's theology/ies, in terms of its dealing with life and death and resurrection? Do we know what Colonial religion believes in terms of an afterlife? (How do I not know the answer to that?!?!) Cylon monotheism, incidentally, must differ in at least one significant way from any of our major montheistic religions: Cylons don't die. A theology of resurrection must be incorporated quite differently in their understanding than in Christianity, for instance. Then again, it's also possible that the writers are not actually thinking quite so much about resurrection and eschatology as I am (but I hope they are!).
And on a more shallow note, Roslin and Adama are totally sleeping together. Hee! (Though it's actually not all that shallow: there are some interesting political ramifications of this, particularly if it becomes widely known. I'm sure I will have thinky thoughts on them at some point, but not right now.)
***
In other news, I went running outside today for the first time since the fall!!!!!! So wonderful! I don't like running in the cold, and the snow's only been melted for a few days, and this was the first opportunity. Perfect! Sunny, plus-double-digit temps! Spring!
And the Final Four! Memphis upset my bracket (I had UCLA winning the whole thing) but looked mightily impressive doing it, and now Kansas is giving North Carolina an unbelievable ass-whooping! Which would completely screw my bracket but possibly screw the brackets of other people in my pool even more, which may be less embarrassing for me. I should have gone with that initial impulse to have Memphis win. Alas!
First of all, what a teaser! I'm hoping that this teaser bodes well for the rest of the season. Right away we get the kind of storytelling that this show has done brilliantly in the past: more or less simultaneous action split between different character groups and plotlines. If they can keep up this narrative style, rather than falling into the episodic trap that killed them last season, things will almost certainly go better.
Plus, big 'splodey space battle! Major civilian casualties, eep! New Cylons being awesome! (Seriously, Tigh, Anders, and Tyrol between them are going to kill me with awesome. I'm not sure there are any other characters on the show that I genuinely like more. I love Chief's certainty, his acceptance of his role and his competence with his work. Tigh, on the other hand, is hanging on by a thread and breaking my heart with it. And Samuel T. Anders can be my Cylon boyfriend. I'm just sayin'. Tory, despite runawaynun's love for her, has yet to win me over, but I'm hopeful. I want to like her; I just feel like I haven't had a chance to get to know her very well.)
After the teaser, though, there were some narrative hiccups. Recall that the action of this episode begins immediately following the action of "Crossroads, part 2." Recall that at the end of "Crossroads, part 2," Bill and Lee were none too fond of each other, and Laura was pretty pissed at both of them. Yet...suddenly they're more or less chummy, immediately? Bill and Lee have one of the most rational and adult conversations they've had, oh, ever? Laura's quite happily staying in Bill's quarters? She's had time to offer Lee a job? (Though I have a theory on this, if we handwave the fact that it's all supposed to have happened in a day or two: she recognized Lee as a formidable potential adversary in the trial, so she's trying to bring him in, either to win him over again or at least to keep him close and under control. A deliberate political move.) Just...continuity and characterization, please. I get that they're trying to do a lot of quick exposition, but it would be worthwhile, I think, to take a little more time with these things.
As for the two Adamas, though, once I handwaved the fact their reconciliation, I actually liked them both very much in this ep. Both were perfectly in character, yet in the parts of their characters I tend to prefer (as opposed to the emo man pain parts of their characters). They love Kara and want to believe in her, yet they're also both smart enough to keep their skepticism well in hand.
Roslin was wonderful, I thought. I read some ep reviews on my flist briefly and will go back to re-read and comment, so I don't remember who this was, but someone questioned the fact that Roslin, who has made a career out of navigation and leadership by faith and miracles and has used Kara to bring some of these about, is so skeptical. It's a valid point, but I'd counter that Roslin needs the personal experience. She believes her own visions, but do we ever see her trusting anyone else's feelings or intuitions? If she has a vision of her own to corroborate Kara's story, she'll believe her, but her faith only extends so far. She also knows that Bill and Lee will be inclined to believe Kara, so she's going to work hard to temper that.
My favorite scene in the ep, I think, was the one between Laura and Caprica Six. Let's have more of them, please!!!! The dynamics were about what I'd expected from them: a surprising degree of vulnerability and honesty from Laura (though possibly this is an act?) based on this unspoken closeness they have through the shared visions. And interesting that Caprica is struggling with whether or not to even think about the final five. What an internal struggle this must be for her, alone in that cell all day long, feeling intuitively the coming of the five but not understanding it, fearing the very act of thinking about it. More Caprica this season, please!
Meanwhile, the Baltar plot was both fascinating and irritating in turns. Baltar's own struggles with his role are fascinating--and how wonderful was it to see crazy Baltar in self-preservation mode, along with head!Six!!!--and I'm really interested to see how genuine and long-lived his change of heart manages to be. But why the hell does anyone else think Baltar is some kind of prophet or god?!?!?! What has he done to engender this kind of adoration in these people (not all of whom, incidentally, were women, as I noticed on the second viewing--but interesting how that's clearly the impression one gets)? More head!Six (who has a great new outfit and who is a very notably different character from Caprica; I'm not sure I'd ever quite noticed how differently Tricia Helfer is playing them), more crazy, slimy, possibly prophetic Baltar; less of the crazy cult harem.
And finally, Kara. Despite it being an episode very much about Kara and her return, I'm not sure I have much to say about her. Something has clearly happened to screw her up, but what and how? The more she looks like she might be a Cylon, the more I suspect she is not, but who is she? I hope there's a good explanation and good payoff for all of this, though, and that it's not some weird foray into ill-advised character development. I'm hopeful but skeptical. And obviously she's not going to kill Laura; the fact that she walked in there with a gun to try is going to land her in the brig in short order.
[ETA: And why is Kara so hostile to Laura? Going after her with a gun seems extreme. Is it just that she perceives Laura as what's keeping Adama from believing her, and she's irrational and therefore acting in an extreme manner? Or is she a Cylon and programmed to see Laura as a threat? Or is she something else and Laura's a Cylon, so she sees her as a threat? Hmm.]
In terms of a grand theory of Cylons and the show, I'll stick with "Eschatos," thank you very much! So far, I have not seen anything to disprove my crazy notions! :) The ep title is interesting, though: "I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25, Jesus at the raising of Lazarus). Clear parallels to both Kara and Baltar's storylines here, but what are the broader implications in terms of the show's theology/ies, in terms of its dealing with life and death and resurrection? Do we know what Colonial religion believes in terms of an afterlife? (How do I not know the answer to that?!?!) Cylon monotheism, incidentally, must differ in at least one significant way from any of our major montheistic religions: Cylons don't die. A theology of resurrection must be incorporated quite differently in their understanding than in Christianity, for instance. Then again, it's also possible that the writers are not actually thinking quite so much about resurrection and eschatology as I am (but I hope they are!).
And on a more shallow note, Roslin and Adama are totally sleeping together. Hee! (Though it's actually not all that shallow: there are some interesting political ramifications of this, particularly if it becomes widely known. I'm sure I will have thinky thoughts on them at some point, but not right now.)
***
In other news, I went running outside today for the first time since the fall!!!!!! So wonderful! I don't like running in the cold, and the snow's only been melted for a few days, and this was the first opportunity. Perfect! Sunny, plus-double-digit temps! Spring!
And the Final Four! Memphis upset my bracket (I had UCLA winning the whole thing) but looked mightily impressive doing it, and now Kansas is giving North Carolina an unbelievable ass-whooping! Which would completely screw my bracket but possibly screw the brackets of other people in my pool even more, which may be less embarrassing for me. I should have gone with that initial impulse to have Memphis win. Alas!