BSG 3.03 Exodus, part I
Okay, this one reminds me that two-parters are fruuuuuustrating to watch in real time. Though the good kind of torture. Also, I give in. It's just one more scene, but it was the drop too many - I hereby admit myself to be a Roslin/Zarek 'shipper. I even have a plot bunny, may both the Cylon God and the Lords of Kobol help me. Because I really don't have the time. Well. Perhaps just a short scene. Tom, I blame your open flirting and the mixture of irony and respect you always use with her and the fact Laura actually sounded concerned about you.
Now, on to the rest of the gang:
I got my wish for a scene with Gaius Baltar and Caprica Six alone. As I rewatched some s1 episodes - Flesh and Bone, to refresh myself on Leoben, and Tigh me up, Tigh me down for Ellen & Tigh - I got reminded that s1 mostly, though not always, used Baltar for comic relief, whereas in s2 the rare occasions when that happened (as in D'Anna's first episode) felt jarring. I also think we can see a progression in his relationship with Six in her various incarnations - in s1 his Six visions are designed as seductions and relief, he's in his fantasy world, until "Kobol's Last Gleaming". In s2, he starts out still with the fantasy scenarios but as opposed to s1 does not change in them himself anymore, he doesn't become miniseries Baltar, he is still bloody and bedraggled present day Baltar on Kobol, and afterwards, we have an explicit goodbye to what you could call the "Caprica" set in Baltar's head, the conversation he has with Six during the Pegasus arc. Six still appears to him afterwards, but firmly in the Galactica world. He makes a connection with Gina through the Pegasus arc and is able to help her, but later, once they meet again, starts treating her like "his" Six which is a complete mistake, so the relationship with Gina ends in tragedy. Now he's back with the first, original Six who fell in love with him, but he's unable to rationalize or surpress the enormity of his guilt any more. Oddly enough, Baltar-in-Six-'s head would have prepared her for this, as he, as opposed to Gaius on Galactica, voiced similar remarks all the time. So this is as far from a fantasy relationship as you can get. And yet. And yet. She sees he's hopelessly sunk in self-loathing; he can't see her as his drug/salvation/protection any more - but in the end, he asks her to come back. And she does. Oh, they're so doomed and so dysfunctional, and yet, in that moment, they're also the only kind of solace they have. And there is an odd tenderness in Baltar's request and Six coming back which was not there in their original relationship at all.
As someone who has loved Lucy Lawless ever since her portrayal as Xena, I was very happy we got, for the first time, some Three exploration. And the visions are back! (Right with the chamalla, though not taken by the same person.) Now Three, as opposed to the Cavils, isn't an atheist, but she's not a complete believer the way the Sixes are, either; she's torn. Rewatching Flesh and Blood reminded me that back when Roslin was taking the chamalla, she didn't just have (accurate) visions of Kobol etc., she specifically saw Leoben, and Leoben saw her. Now the chamalla-taking oracle knows about Three's dreams. I dare to suggest that dreamspace is connected to an actual supernatural force in the BSG universe, and accessible to both races, though you either have to be mentally unbalanced (Leoben, and Baltar, who might be hallucinating Six-in-his-head but did get accurate glimpses of the future as well through and with her, on Kobol) or taking that pesky drug (Roslin when treating her cancer and the oracle).
Three when asking Caprica Six last week whether "the love of that man was really worth it" wasn't just taunting, it seems; and the "if you had ever experienced love, you wouldn't ask" reply was followed by a lingering shot of Three's face. This week, she gets the prediction that she will experience love through Hera. Some unspoiled speculation here, due to the fact prophecies tend to come true in this universe, though not always in the way one expects: I see this playing out in one of two ways. Either Three experiences her moment of love quickly followed by death (shot by Anders, Helo or whoever) after finding Hera, or she actually does end up with the child once the occupation storyline is wrapped up. (This would also solve the problem of most tv shows not wanting a toddler around for too long, and baby Hera can't be sent to Quor'toth.) However, this won't mean the Cylons per se will end up with said child. Like I said before and as this episode textually points out, consensus among the Cylons is gone. You have Six and Sharon V. pulling in one direction, Cavil in the other, and the Dorals being perfect bureaucrats (loved Baltar's line re: that) supporting the Cavils. The Threes so far are leaning to the Cavils but are troubled and long to have what the Sixes have - at least one of them.
Regarding that: looking back, when Six-in-Baltar's-head told him they'd have a child (first suspected and then confirmed to be Sharon's and Helo's), and he was supposed to protect it, she never said she'd be the one to raise that child. All the predictions and pushes were in the "you must protect her" direction, aimed at Baltar. So how are the chances for a surprise Three-Baltar alliance which would remove the child from both Cylons and humans and the end of the occupation arc, with Three taking it somewhere (plotsville, from which they can bring Hera back whenever they want or it's suitable again)? Which would also solve the problem of both Sharon and Maya having irreconcilable claims on Hera - it's not Maya's fault, after all, that she adopted the baby.
Sidenote: Three's strong reaction to the news that Hera is still alive is a strong indicator that Kaycee is not, in fact, Kara's and Leoben's child. If there was another living, breathing hybrid around, I doubt they'd give her to Leoben to play family with Kara with. So, current "what is Kaycee" speculation:
a) a human child which Leoben picked up somewhere for her resemblance to Kara. Kara will kill her during her last successful attempt to escape and realize she was an utter innocent and will be messed up even more.
b) a Cylon which will download, and Kara will be confronted with another Kaycee at some later point during the year, after the occupation arc is already over. Perhaps the Cylons' first attempt to be fruitful and multiply was to create Cylon children, until they realized that since these children would not grow, it wasn't the same thing.
Meanwhile, Cavil finds out that downloading is a bitch and so is dying slowly in the sun. I find the fact he's shocked about this while having just ordered the execution of 200 humans earlier not exclusively a naive/hypocritical Cylon thing, btw. Because that's the trouble in every war: what the other side does is shocking beyond belief, and one's own atrocities are just retaliation made in just anger.
Sharon's "Adama would never lie" moment: ah, deja vue. She should talk to Kara. (Well, maybe she will, soon.) Mind you, it's still open to debate whether or not Adama knew about the babyswap because while he's present during the original "do we kill the baby or not?" debate in Downloaded, he's not present when Roslin has her conversation with Cottle about what they'll actually do. However, Roslin and Adama were working very much in unison in the later half of s2, so for the moment I favour the theory that he knew, and that Sharon will find out he knew.
And last, but not least, my darling Edward Albee couple. Poor Ellen. You know, if he shoots her, I do hope he'll at least believe that she did it all for him, because she did. However, I don't think death is in store for Ellen. Why not? Because, though on the one hand it's logical, on the other I think Ellen - not only her, Jammer and actually-NOT-a-collaborator-Gaeta plus of course Baltar as well - will serve to play out some more historical and contemporary parallelels. To wit: the aftermath of a terrible occupation. I think Ellen is in for some serious abuse until someone, presumably Adama, puts a stop to it. If she doesn't get shot.
*wonders off to ponder the fact that the people she felt most for during this episodes were Ellen Tigh, Baltar and Six, with some delighted squee about Zarek and Roslin*
Now, on to the rest of the gang:
I got my wish for a scene with Gaius Baltar and Caprica Six alone. As I rewatched some s1 episodes - Flesh and Bone, to refresh myself on Leoben, and Tigh me up, Tigh me down for Ellen & Tigh - I got reminded that s1 mostly, though not always, used Baltar for comic relief, whereas in s2 the rare occasions when that happened (as in D'Anna's first episode) felt jarring. I also think we can see a progression in his relationship with Six in her various incarnations - in s1 his Six visions are designed as seductions and relief, he's in his fantasy world, until "Kobol's Last Gleaming". In s2, he starts out still with the fantasy scenarios but as opposed to s1 does not change in them himself anymore, he doesn't become miniseries Baltar, he is still bloody and bedraggled present day Baltar on Kobol, and afterwards, we have an explicit goodbye to what you could call the "Caprica" set in Baltar's head, the conversation he has with Six during the Pegasus arc. Six still appears to him afterwards, but firmly in the Galactica world. He makes a connection with Gina through the Pegasus arc and is able to help her, but later, once they meet again, starts treating her like "his" Six which is a complete mistake, so the relationship with Gina ends in tragedy. Now he's back with the first, original Six who fell in love with him, but he's unable to rationalize or surpress the enormity of his guilt any more. Oddly enough, Baltar-in-Six-'s head would have prepared her for this, as he, as opposed to Gaius on Galactica, voiced similar remarks all the time. So this is as far from a fantasy relationship as you can get. And yet. And yet. She sees he's hopelessly sunk in self-loathing; he can't see her as his drug/salvation/protection any more - but in the end, he asks her to come back. And she does. Oh, they're so doomed and so dysfunctional, and yet, in that moment, they're also the only kind of solace they have. And there is an odd tenderness in Baltar's request and Six coming back which was not there in their original relationship at all.
As someone who has loved Lucy Lawless ever since her portrayal as Xena, I was very happy we got, for the first time, some Three exploration. And the visions are back! (Right with the chamalla, though not taken by the same person.) Now Three, as opposed to the Cavils, isn't an atheist, but she's not a complete believer the way the Sixes are, either; she's torn. Rewatching Flesh and Blood reminded me that back when Roslin was taking the chamalla, she didn't just have (accurate) visions of Kobol etc., she specifically saw Leoben, and Leoben saw her. Now the chamalla-taking oracle knows about Three's dreams. I dare to suggest that dreamspace is connected to an actual supernatural force in the BSG universe, and accessible to both races, though you either have to be mentally unbalanced (Leoben, and Baltar, who might be hallucinating Six-in-his-head but did get accurate glimpses of the future as well through and with her, on Kobol) or taking that pesky drug (Roslin when treating her cancer and the oracle).
Three when asking Caprica Six last week whether "the love of that man was really worth it" wasn't just taunting, it seems; and the "if you had ever experienced love, you wouldn't ask" reply was followed by a lingering shot of Three's face. This week, she gets the prediction that she will experience love through Hera. Some unspoiled speculation here, due to the fact prophecies tend to come true in this universe, though not always in the way one expects: I see this playing out in one of two ways. Either Three experiences her moment of love quickly followed by death (shot by Anders, Helo or whoever) after finding Hera, or she actually does end up with the child once the occupation storyline is wrapped up. (This would also solve the problem of most tv shows not wanting a toddler around for too long, and baby Hera can't be sent to Quor'toth.) However, this won't mean the Cylons per se will end up with said child. Like I said before and as this episode textually points out, consensus among the Cylons is gone. You have Six and Sharon V. pulling in one direction, Cavil in the other, and the Dorals being perfect bureaucrats (loved Baltar's line re: that) supporting the Cavils. The Threes so far are leaning to the Cavils but are troubled and long to have what the Sixes have - at least one of them.
Regarding that: looking back, when Six-in-Baltar's-head told him they'd have a child (first suspected and then confirmed to be Sharon's and Helo's), and he was supposed to protect it, she never said she'd be the one to raise that child. All the predictions and pushes were in the "you must protect her" direction, aimed at Baltar. So how are the chances for a surprise Three-Baltar alliance which would remove the child from both Cylons and humans and the end of the occupation arc, with Three taking it somewhere (plotsville, from which they can bring Hera back whenever they want or it's suitable again)? Which would also solve the problem of both Sharon and Maya having irreconcilable claims on Hera - it's not Maya's fault, after all, that she adopted the baby.
Sidenote: Three's strong reaction to the news that Hera is still alive is a strong indicator that Kaycee is not, in fact, Kara's and Leoben's child. If there was another living, breathing hybrid around, I doubt they'd give her to Leoben to play family with Kara with. So, current "what is Kaycee" speculation:
a) a human child which Leoben picked up somewhere for her resemblance to Kara. Kara will kill her during her last successful attempt to escape and realize she was an utter innocent and will be messed up even more.
b) a Cylon which will download, and Kara will be confronted with another Kaycee at some later point during the year, after the occupation arc is already over. Perhaps the Cylons' first attempt to be fruitful and multiply was to create Cylon children, until they realized that since these children would not grow, it wasn't the same thing.
Meanwhile, Cavil finds out that downloading is a bitch and so is dying slowly in the sun. I find the fact he's shocked about this while having just ordered the execution of 200 humans earlier not exclusively a naive/hypocritical Cylon thing, btw. Because that's the trouble in every war: what the other side does is shocking beyond belief, and one's own atrocities are just retaliation made in just anger.
Sharon's "Adama would never lie" moment: ah, deja vue. She should talk to Kara. (Well, maybe she will, soon.) Mind you, it's still open to debate whether or not Adama knew about the babyswap because while he's present during the original "do we kill the baby or not?" debate in Downloaded, he's not present when Roslin has her conversation with Cottle about what they'll actually do. However, Roslin and Adama were working very much in unison in the later half of s2, so for the moment I favour the theory that he knew, and that Sharon will find out he knew.
And last, but not least, my darling Edward Albee couple. Poor Ellen. You know, if he shoots her, I do hope he'll at least believe that she did it all for him, because she did. However, I don't think death is in store for Ellen. Why not? Because, though on the one hand it's logical, on the other I think Ellen - not only her, Jammer and actually-NOT-a-collaborator-Gaeta plus of course Baltar as well - will serve to play out some more historical and contemporary parallelels. To wit: the aftermath of a terrible occupation. I think Ellen is in for some serious abuse until someone, presumably Adama, puts a stop to it. If she doesn't get shot.
*wonders off to ponder the fact that the people she felt most for during this episodes were Ellen Tigh, Baltar and Six, with some delighted squee about Zarek and Roslin*