Cally, Dee, and Ellen: on the reviled feminine on BSG (Ellen)

[pocochina]

womenlovefest TIME!

Day 1: what gender-neutral society?
Day 2: why these ladies?
Day 3: Ellen Tigh

I was going to go in alphabetical order to avoid showing favoritism, but there have already been a couple of comments about Ellen! Possibly I have tipped my hand regarding my everlasting love slight bias.

Comments

[pocochina]

WOOO, COCKTAILS ALL AROUND, ELLEN WOULD APPROVE. The saving grace of the episodes after the mutiny.

that moment when she resurrects is a bit fuck you to the audience, in the best possible way

TRUE THAT. I mean, even if the motivation for bringing her back was just WE LOVE KATE VERNON BECAUSE SHE IS LUMINOUS, I would support that wholeheartedly! But it necessitated turning a lot of stuff on its head and making the audience deal with a lot of their assumptions about her.

I think it would be interesting to think about why and how death does this, and to the little to no animosity she shows Saul over this

YES. I mean, ultimately the show clearly did not have the moral bearings to understand that honor killings are wrong, and letting Ellen have her righteous anger over it would've brought the whole house of cards down. But accepting the text as it is, it really speaks to her being capable of unconditional love, same as she has for John, because she's magnificent.

Saul killing Ellen does really get me, emotionally speaking it, but it drives me crazy in how easily justified it seems (compared to the actions of Ellen or Zarek).

UGH, THIS. Nobody ever called it out, and I'm appalled at how fandom takes it at face value. I think that's what keeps me from liking Saul - not even that he did it, I often like characters who are terrible, but that the narrative and everyone in-universe fawns over his Man Pain rather than recognizing that HE. MURDERED. HIS. WIFE. I'm glad people can enjoy him, because I recognize he has a great story and can be amusing, but I cannot bring myself to condone the whole mess on any level.

And frankly, the sanctification of Anders irks too, given that he was cheering it on. And ugh, Tigh's gross line to Tyrol in the finale about how he'd have done the same thing. What same thing, KILLING HIS CYLON WIFE? OH WAIT, TIGH, YOU DID DO EXACTLY THAT.