Bastille Day
Oh, Bastille Day. Bastille Day, Bastille Day, Bastille Day. I want to like you. I really do. I mean, you ask a lot of interesting political and philosophical questions that I like to ponder over and all that. You also feature Laura in a night gown and Lee, much as I can't stand him, looks really good all roughed up in his tanks. But, when it comes down to it, you just aren't executed to my satisfaction.
Find out the major reason why under the cut.
1) Bastille Day is our introduction to Tom Zarek and that's pretty much this episode's nail in the coffin. That's weird to say, especially for me, because Zarek is a character I love to hate. Generally, I really like his appearances on the show (fake spoiler alert, I guess, that Zarek is a reoccurring character) because is a fun adversary for Laura Roslin (fake spoiler alert, I guess, that Laura and Zarek don't get along very well). I also think part of the point in this episode is to introduce Zarek as a bit of a hypocritical, egotistical ass. He's supposedly so high minded but ultimately, no matter what he may say or do the contrary, Tom Zarek is really looking out for Tom Zarek. He's willing to sacrifice the men of the Astral Queen to prove some kind of philosophical point, but, really, Lee is right (egads!) that Zarek is really just looking to go out with a bang.
Now, I am a Laura Roslin lover. I would have voted for her so hard in any election. I would have made calls on her behalf and I hate the phone. I would have gone door to door to spread her message. (I did that during the Obama campaign but barely tolerated it. For Laura, I'd be out with bells on.) My intense love for this (apparently) fictional character may bias me in regards to her and other characters' reactions and actions towards her. But still. Tom Zarek, convicted terrorist, has the nerve to say that Laura Roslin's presidency is illegal? Is this guy for real?
Okay, Laura was 43rd in line of presidential succession. No one who voted for Adar would have ever thought that his secretary of education would eventually rise to the presidency, but when we vote someone into high office, an office that includes picking a cabinet where the members have the potential, however small it is, to ascend to the presidency, out vote effectively approves their choices because picking those people is part of the job description. So, in a way, if you really stretch it, Laura was approved by voters.
But even still, it's not like she was just some chick who randomly was like, "I'll do it!" As the highest government official still alive, it was her moral and within-legal-boundaries obligation to take over.
So suck it, Zarek. I think the image of Zarek is admirable. The problem is that I don't think Zarek believes his own ideals. He's created this imaginary character of what he is in his mind, this high minded guy with principles who needs to show the people "the way" but he's just as bad as the people he rails against and he's unwilling to take responsibility for his own actions. Being a prisoner of conscience is one thing, but, ultimately, violence begets violence and, at the end of the day, a principled murderer is still just a murderer.
Now some more thoughts unrelated to Zarek. Because sometimes I watch this show and I have thoughts.
2) Bastille Day is the first episode of the series to acknowledge Laura's cancer. (Remember, I'm not counting the miniseries as part of the series. It's my blog so my definitions stand.) She tells Adama she needs to meet with a doctor for her "allergies", but that lie sets up an interesting diverging parallel (is that even possible?) between Laura's relationship with Commander Adama and her relationship with Lee. At the end of the episode, she tells Lee about her cancer, even reveals that she doesn't really expect to be alive by the time elections are held. At this point, Lee is only the third person to know of her condition, and I'm counting Laura herself in that number. She's only known him for a short time, but she obviously sees Lee as a man she can trust. Conversely, she still doesn't know what to make of Bill. I think there's no doubt that she respects him as a military leader, but I don't think she respects his honor as a man. She tells Lee that she fears that if knowledge of her condition spread, it would erode hope in the fleet, but to keep that big of a secret from her almost co-leader? I think it's likely Laura doesn't trust Bill to not take advantage of her condition, somehow use it against her.
Bill is really misunderstood by both Laura and Lee at this point in the series. Both misread his intentions. I find it interesting that Laura and Lee kind of form this bond while they, at the same time, are both struggling, independently from each other, with their relationship with Bill.
3) There are 1,500 prisoners on the Astral Queen. Just for those who are counting.
4) Blech, it's the return of Boxey, that kid who Boomer saves from Caprica in this miniseries. Spoiler alert that's not really a spoiler alert: Thank the gods he never shows up in another episode. Do I really buy that Starbuck would be hanging around a 12 year old? Um, no. I don't. Bye, Boxey.
5) Lee thinks he's such a badass because he read Zarek's banned book. While he was in college. Yeah, by-the-book!Lee, such a radical. Though what was up with him negotiating terms with Zarek? Essentially letting Zarek and his fellow prisoners, all of whom were prepared to murder the hostages, take control of their ship and calling for elections. Now, I have no issue with the election thing. Of course they need to be held but Lee needs to understand that he holds little authority.
6) Cally is really annoying. Seriously, seriously annoying. She is the only character I dislike, along with Lee, for the entire run of the character. But . . . she's also pretty badass. I mean, going all Mike Tyson and biting off that guy's ear? Good for her!
7) There's a reoccurring statement on the show (I don't really consider this a spoiler) and it first appears in this episode, spoken by Doral (the male cylon walking with a Six on Caprica): "Parents have to die. It's the only way children come into their own." The cylons perceive humanity to be their parents. Their god is the father of humanity. They destroy their god's creation. I'm not going further with this thought because I don't want to reference future episodes. But it's definitely a theme to look out for.
8) And, um, speaking of Caprica . . . Helo, man, I love you. You're incredibly good looking and really sweet. But c'mon! Figure out the trap, already! Seriously, man. Sharon shows up and suddenly the cylons aren't pursuing you anymore. Oddly, Sharon knows exactly what to do and where to go.
Also, Doral and Six are obviously counting on Helo's total lack of observational powers. They're hanging out right by them! All Helo has to do is glance behind him or up and he's see them, gazing at him like total creepers.
9) The scene between Bill and Baltar where they discuss the cylon detector, is one of the more poorly done scene in the history of the show. It was just awkwardly paced and acted and it felt like it was just dumped in the middle of the episode, like they cut out some important transition going in or something. Maybe I have a problem with it because the idea of a cylon detector and the fact that everyone calls it a "cylon detector" is just so conventionally sci-fi and this show is, for me, at its worst when it goes that route. But the rage head!Six shows? The fact that Bill gives Baltar, a man obviously very shifty, a man who no one really can account for or trust, a nuclear warhead, without even really taking a few minutes to think about it, is so out of character. Seriously, Bill? Seriously?
10) Laura looks really fetching in this episode. After the hostages are taken on the Astral Queen and Bill and Laura on having a conference call, she looks damn fine. Luminous, one (I) might say.
11) A main (and serious) question Bastille Day poses is whether or not one can be free during a period of all and out war. The colonials are on the run, their population decimated, their resources scarce, with the enemy constantly nipping at their heels. Zarek claims that the people of the fleet are not free, that the government is suppressing their rights. Now, aside from the fact that Laura's been president for, like, two weeks and hasn't had time to enact anything like the Patriot Act, it's an important point to bring up for the audience. If you and your people are on the brink of extinction, should freedoms be given up if it means your survival?
A lot of people compare the cylon pursuit to the terrorist pursuit of "The West", but it's not really an accurate comparison. I certainly don't mean to demean the real consequences of terrorism by comparing it to a fictitious reality, but the show invites the comparison so I'm just going with it. I may live in a world where terrorism exists, where there are people who don't know me but hate me simply because of where I live and what my existence represents, but the chances of it affecting me directly are slim to none. I mean, discounting legislation, it's unlikely I'm going to be killed by a terrorist. They have some power, sure, but no, they really aren't going to take us down, so when we suspend civil rights to protect against an enemy that, at this point, has no chance, it's ridiculous. Earlier, I typed into Google, "What do you call someone who blows up buildings?" because I wanted to know the word for this blog (I couldn't find a word for that, by the way) and I thought to myself, "Someone is monitoring my Google searches and I'm being put on some watch list because I wanted to know that word." It's ridiculous.
But the colonials are facing an enemy that are more than capable of destroying them completely. I mean 72 billion to 48 thousand isn't child's play. The consequences are real for every single person in the fleet. It only takes one person to frak them all over, you know?
I'm not committing to a side either way (it's too early in the series yet), but pondering this question makes me think of another question: If we can only survive by restricting natural freedoms, what's the point? In my mind, our freedoms are what make us human and if our freedoms are taken from us, what are we fighting to preserve and is that fight worth it in the end?
I honestly don't know if my thought process makes sense. But if you are reading this and have something to say, please comment. Having dialog about my favorite show is only just about my favorite thing ever.
Okay, so this episode raises interesting questions and points, but I don't feel it's executed well. Because of that, Bastille Day gets 2 airlocks out of 5.
And if you don't mind, I'd like to address a couple things. First, I'm trying really hard to avoid spoilers but I've seen the entire series several times now. I can't unlearn what I've learned, you know? It's hard to see the beginning without the filter of knowing how it all goes. But I'm really trying to take each episode on its own, only referencing episodes that come before it. But if I accidentally post something that's a spoiler (and I know there are a couple people reading this who haven't yet finished the series), that's on me, and I apologize. In advance and everything.
I'm also chomping at the bit to address certain things but have been holding back because I know that coming up there are a few episodes that dig into it a little deeper. I considered in this blog post talking about head!Six and what she is, exactly, but I'm holding off until we get a little deeper into season one. So, it may seem like I'm missing things, but I might just be waiting for a specific episode to bring it up.
Yes?
Please also forgive spelling and grammar mistakes. I want this to be informal and conversational, so sometimes I type what's in my head exactly as it is in my head. I'm not trying to write a literary paper. I try to read through to change what makes absolutely no sense, but sometimes (often) I miss stuff and it makes me blush in embarrassment.
Again, if anyone out there is reading this, has something to say, comment, question, constructive compliments, stuff I missed . . . Comment! I'm a nerd and all nerds like to talk endlessly about what they're nerdy about.
Find out the major reason why under the cut.
1) Bastille Day is our introduction to Tom Zarek and that's pretty much this episode's nail in the coffin. That's weird to say, especially for me, because Zarek is a character I love to hate. Generally, I really like his appearances on the show (fake spoiler alert, I guess, that Zarek is a reoccurring character) because is a fun adversary for Laura Roslin (fake spoiler alert, I guess, that Laura and Zarek don't get along very well). I also think part of the point in this episode is to introduce Zarek as a bit of a hypocritical, egotistical ass. He's supposedly so high minded but ultimately, no matter what he may say or do the contrary, Tom Zarek is really looking out for Tom Zarek. He's willing to sacrifice the men of the Astral Queen to prove some kind of philosophical point, but, really, Lee is right (egads!) that Zarek is really just looking to go out with a bang.
Now, I am a Laura Roslin lover. I would have voted for her so hard in any election. I would have made calls on her behalf and I hate the phone. I would have gone door to door to spread her message. (I did that during the Obama campaign but barely tolerated it. For Laura, I'd be out with bells on.) My intense love for this (apparently) fictional character may bias me in regards to her and other characters' reactions and actions towards her. But still. Tom Zarek, convicted terrorist, has the nerve to say that Laura Roslin's presidency is illegal? Is this guy for real?
Okay, Laura was 43rd in line of presidential succession. No one who voted for Adar would have ever thought that his secretary of education would eventually rise to the presidency, but when we vote someone into high office, an office that includes picking a cabinet where the members have the potential, however small it is, to ascend to the presidency, out vote effectively approves their choices because picking those people is part of the job description. So, in a way, if you really stretch it, Laura was approved by voters.
But even still, it's not like she was just some chick who randomly was like, "I'll do it!" As the highest government official still alive, it was her moral and within-legal-boundaries obligation to take over.
So suck it, Zarek. I think the image of Zarek is admirable. The problem is that I don't think Zarek believes his own ideals. He's created this imaginary character of what he is in his mind, this high minded guy with principles who needs to show the people "the way" but he's just as bad as the people he rails against and he's unwilling to take responsibility for his own actions. Being a prisoner of conscience is one thing, but, ultimately, violence begets violence and, at the end of the day, a principled murderer is still just a murderer.
Now some more thoughts unrelated to Zarek. Because sometimes I watch this show and I have thoughts.
2) Bastille Day is the first episode of the series to acknowledge Laura's cancer. (Remember, I'm not counting the miniseries as part of the series. It's my blog so my definitions stand.) She tells Adama she needs to meet with a doctor for her "allergies", but that lie sets up an interesting diverging parallel (is that even possible?) between Laura's relationship with Commander Adama and her relationship with Lee. At the end of the episode, she tells Lee about her cancer, even reveals that she doesn't really expect to be alive by the time elections are held. At this point, Lee is only the third person to know of her condition, and I'm counting Laura herself in that number. She's only known him for a short time, but she obviously sees Lee as a man she can trust. Conversely, she still doesn't know what to make of Bill. I think there's no doubt that she respects him as a military leader, but I don't think she respects his honor as a man. She tells Lee that she fears that if knowledge of her condition spread, it would erode hope in the fleet, but to keep that big of a secret from her almost co-leader? I think it's likely Laura doesn't trust Bill to not take advantage of her condition, somehow use it against her.
Bill is really misunderstood by both Laura and Lee at this point in the series. Both misread his intentions. I find it interesting that Laura and Lee kind of form this bond while they, at the same time, are both struggling, independently from each other, with their relationship with Bill.
3) There are 1,500 prisoners on the Astral Queen. Just for those who are counting.
4) Blech, it's the return of Boxey, that kid who Boomer saves from Caprica in this miniseries. Spoiler alert that's not really a spoiler alert: Thank the gods he never shows up in another episode. Do I really buy that Starbuck would be hanging around a 12 year old? Um, no. I don't. Bye, Boxey.
5) Lee thinks he's such a badass because he read Zarek's banned book. While he was in college. Yeah, by-the-book!Lee, such a radical. Though what was up with him negotiating terms with Zarek? Essentially letting Zarek and his fellow prisoners, all of whom were prepared to murder the hostages, take control of their ship and calling for elections. Now, I have no issue with the election thing. Of course they need to be held but Lee needs to understand that he holds little authority.
6) Cally is really annoying. Seriously, seriously annoying. She is the only character I dislike, along with Lee, for the entire run of the character. But . . . she's also pretty badass. I mean, going all Mike Tyson and biting off that guy's ear? Good for her!
7) There's a reoccurring statement on the show (I don't really consider this a spoiler) and it first appears in this episode, spoken by Doral (the male cylon walking with a Six on Caprica): "Parents have to die. It's the only way children come into their own." The cylons perceive humanity to be their parents. Their god is the father of humanity. They destroy their god's creation. I'm not going further with this thought because I don't want to reference future episodes. But it's definitely a theme to look out for.
8) And, um, speaking of Caprica . . . Helo, man, I love you. You're incredibly good looking and really sweet. But c'mon! Figure out the trap, already! Seriously, man. Sharon shows up and suddenly the cylons aren't pursuing you anymore. Oddly, Sharon knows exactly what to do and where to go.
Also, Doral and Six are obviously counting on Helo's total lack of observational powers. They're hanging out right by them! All Helo has to do is glance behind him or up and he's see them, gazing at him like total creepers.
9) The scene between Bill and Baltar where they discuss the cylon detector, is one of the more poorly done scene in the history of the show. It was just awkwardly paced and acted and it felt like it was just dumped in the middle of the episode, like they cut out some important transition going in or something. Maybe I have a problem with it because the idea of a cylon detector and the fact that everyone calls it a "cylon detector" is just so conventionally sci-fi and this show is, for me, at its worst when it goes that route. But the rage head!Six shows? The fact that Bill gives Baltar, a man obviously very shifty, a man who no one really can account for or trust, a nuclear warhead, without even really taking a few minutes to think about it, is so out of character. Seriously, Bill? Seriously?
10) Laura looks really fetching in this episode. After the hostages are taken on the Astral Queen and Bill and Laura on having a conference call, she looks damn fine. Luminous, one (I) might say.
11) A main (and serious) question Bastille Day poses is whether or not one can be free during a period of all and out war. The colonials are on the run, their population decimated, their resources scarce, with the enemy constantly nipping at their heels. Zarek claims that the people of the fleet are not free, that the government is suppressing their rights. Now, aside from the fact that Laura's been president for, like, two weeks and hasn't had time to enact anything like the Patriot Act, it's an important point to bring up for the audience. If you and your people are on the brink of extinction, should freedoms be given up if it means your survival?
A lot of people compare the cylon pursuit to the terrorist pursuit of "The West", but it's not really an accurate comparison. I certainly don't mean to demean the real consequences of terrorism by comparing it to a fictitious reality, but the show invites the comparison so I'm just going with it. I may live in a world where terrorism exists, where there are people who don't know me but hate me simply because of where I live and what my existence represents, but the chances of it affecting me directly are slim to none. I mean, discounting legislation, it's unlikely I'm going to be killed by a terrorist. They have some power, sure, but no, they really aren't going to take us down, so when we suspend civil rights to protect against an enemy that, at this point, has no chance, it's ridiculous. Earlier, I typed into Google, "What do you call someone who blows up buildings?" because I wanted to know the word for this blog (I couldn't find a word for that, by the way) and I thought to myself, "Someone is monitoring my Google searches and I'm being put on some watch list because I wanted to know that word." It's ridiculous.
But the colonials are facing an enemy that are more than capable of destroying them completely. I mean 72 billion to 48 thousand isn't child's play. The consequences are real for every single person in the fleet. It only takes one person to frak them all over, you know?
I'm not committing to a side either way (it's too early in the series yet), but pondering this question makes me think of another question: If we can only survive by restricting natural freedoms, what's the point? In my mind, our freedoms are what make us human and if our freedoms are taken from us, what are we fighting to preserve and is that fight worth it in the end?
I honestly don't know if my thought process makes sense. But if you are reading this and have something to say, please comment. Having dialog about my favorite show is only just about my favorite thing ever.
Okay, so this episode raises interesting questions and points, but I don't feel it's executed well. Because of that, Bastille Day gets 2 airlocks out of 5.
And if you don't mind, I'd like to address a couple things. First, I'm trying really hard to avoid spoilers but I've seen the entire series several times now. I can't unlearn what I've learned, you know? It's hard to see the beginning without the filter of knowing how it all goes. But I'm really trying to take each episode on its own, only referencing episodes that come before it. But if I accidentally post something that's a spoiler (and I know there are a couple people reading this who haven't yet finished the series), that's on me, and I apologize. In advance and everything.
I'm also chomping at the bit to address certain things but have been holding back because I know that coming up there are a few episodes that dig into it a little deeper. I considered in this blog post talking about head!Six and what she is, exactly, but I'm holding off until we get a little deeper into season one. So, it may seem like I'm missing things, but I might just be waiting for a specific episode to bring it up.
Yes?
Please also forgive spelling and grammar mistakes. I want this to be informal and conversational, so sometimes I type what's in my head exactly as it is in my head. I'm not trying to write a literary paper. I try to read through to change what makes absolutely no sense, but sometimes (often) I miss stuff and it makes me blush in embarrassment.
Again, if anyone out there is reading this, has something to say, comment, question, constructive compliments, stuff I missed . . . Comment! I'm a nerd and all nerds like to talk endlessly about what they're nerdy about.