Epiphanies
You know, I was really excited to watch Epiphanies because it's a huge Laura episode and I love Laura. Typically, when I have this particular disc in my computer's drive, I just fast forward to all the Laura bits so I lack a lot of knowledge about the full content of the episode. So, yeah, I was really excited to watch Epiphanies and then I watched Epiphanies and was disappointed in Epiphanies. Damn, right? Let's explore my epic let down under the cut.
1) Epiphanies begins with 49,598 survivors which is kind of strange, because that's only a six person loss from Resurrection Ship Part II. You may remember that in RSP2, the crews of Galactica and Pegasus went on a mission to destroy the cylon resurrection ship and they only lost five people? Possible, I guess, but unlikely.
2) We have a timeline! I'm so excited! It's been 189 days since Laura left Caprica for the Galactica decommissioning ceremony. So what does that do for us? Let's pretend that the colonial year is 365 days. That means it's been just over a half a year since the attack.
Also, it's apparently been a couple weeks since RSP2, which is a huge gap between episodes when it comes to this show where the average gap is, like, three days or so.
3) I can't be the only one who thinks Laura looks better on her death bed than she does healthy on Caprica, can I? I mean, the whole barely-able-to-breathe and passed-out!Laura isn't fun, but I do think Mary McDonnell looks way better natural than she does made up. Well, I'll qualify that. I do prefer the natural look on Mary, but I think everything about Caprica!Laura was kind of weird. Not a fan of her hair, first of all. What was with that cut? And I really hated the outfit. Laura's better than that, people!
4) The teachers on Caprica are super hardcore. Their protests are becoming increasingly violent. Apparently, they've even killed a few policemen and Stans is perfectly willing to put his life on the line to get what he (and the other teachers) want.
But it's kind of sad that the teachers on Caprica are kind of treated like the teachers here. Underpaid, overworked, poor schooling conditions . . . Even a futuristic society can't get it right. That's disappointing.
5) Apparently, Head!Six has been away since Baltar betrayed her by stealing her sports story to essentially declare his love for Gina. This does call into question what she is, right? She can come and go of her own volition. Baltar can't just summon her up whenever he wants.
6) I'm glad that, after the sabotage of Kat's Viper gun, Lee and Kara go on an investigation that takes them to wear they actually make all the weapons. I like knowing that the weapons don't just appear from nowhere.
7) So, there's a fringe group that wants peace with the cylons and that thinks the military is the real enemy of the people. I'm going to rant about them a little later so stay tuned.
8) I find it interesting that the fleet has such an active printing press.
9) Starbuck tells us that Lee has been more emo than usual since his spacewalk. Gag me, please?
10) Sharon is super scary when she's mad. I certainly sympathize with her anger (though I've never been pregnant) and she has every right to go bat shit crazy protective over her child. But, man, she's going to have one hell of a headache.
11) As Billy was giving Baltar the "tour" of Laura's office, I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened with him had Laura died. Would he have stayed on as Baltar's chief aide? Would he have retired to a normal civilian life? Would he have shacked up with Dee on Galactica?
12) Gina's disguise on the Cloud 9 is a pair of glasses. Seriously? WTF? What is this, Superman?
13) I think it's a nice touch that Baltar is reluctant to assume the power that comes with being president. It's kind of atypical for the "bad guy" character and it adds a good depth to this egotistical character because he does, in fact, know his limitations.
Plus, I'll always love him for coming up with the cure to saving Laura's life. But we'll get to that part later. Again, stay tuned.
14) So, apparently Laura was having a torrid affair with President Adar. Wow, right? It's not exactly something that really weds itself nicely to what we know about Laura. I mean, she's super calm, kind of cold, single-minded . . . it's not that these traits exclude her having an illicit affair but it's not something I would have imagined on my own. At the same time, it makes perfect sense, too. Especially with what we learn about her all the way at the very end of the series in an episode I like to call Daybreak.
Also, I don't actually think her affair was "illicit", as I think that connotes negativity. I mean, it's not good he was cheating on his wife (yes, I do think he was married) and it's not good Laura was the "other woman" but, and call me crazy, I do the get the impression that they had actual caring feelings for each other.
I wish I had more to say about this, though. I'd welcome comments on it.
15) Mary's right hand is wrapped up in the "break up" scene and they aren't bothering to hide it. I found it really distracting because I knew it was Mary's hand that was hurt and not Laura's.
16) I have to admit that I'm kind of sympathetic to Adar's argument. Because Laura opened up negotiation with the teacher's union, it basically gave other groups the go-ahead on doing what they need to do in order to get an audience with the president. If you give in to the demands of one group, other groups will try to also get you to give into their demands and, suddenly, your life becomes way more difficult.
17) But still. Adar asks Laura to resign and is killed in a massive genocide a few hours later. Coincidence?
Don't mess with Laura.
18) While Laura's grappling with her pain (because she refused Cottle's morphine), she has visions of Baltar and Six making it in the street. But are they visions or memories? All I know is that this is something to look out for later on.
19) Another thing to look out: The ramifications of Laura's letter to Baltar. Wow, that was a pretty harsh letter, right? Completely accurate but harsh. Baltar's ego is huge and it doesn't take slights lightly. Baltar himself may recognize he can't handle the position of the presidency but it's unacceptable to him that anyone else would draw the same conclusion. Methinks Laura has awakened a sleeping bear. I mean, we can trace Baltar's gift to Gina of the nuclear warhead directly back to his hurt feelings. This is not good, people.
20) Okay, so I've had 19 points (besides this one) and how many of them include stuff about Laura's cancer?
About two. WTF? That is my main beef with this episode.
This is a huge and momentous episode in BSG history. Laura has been dealing with her cancer since the miniseries. The cancer has been a major player in the plot. The whole Pythia storyline that got her thrown in the brig and eventually got them the map to Earth? Due to her cancer. Her developing relationship with Bill and her push to make him make the hard decisions? All as a result of her cancer.
And suddenly, it's gone.
Now, I actually really love the idea that the hybrid baby's blood cures Laura. Theoretically, I'm not sure I could possibly love any other cure better, just in terms of the complexity it introduces for Laura and into the show in general. My issue with it, however, is how rushed it all is in this episode. The explanation is kind of weak and it occurs to abruptly. One moment she's half a second from the death, the next they're removing her finger clip thing and respirator because she's fine, except that she has to get around in a wheelchair for a while.
This episode focused way too much time on the stuff with the Demand Peace movement. Way too much time. On one level, I understand what the writers were trying to do. I think they were trying to have Laura correct Adar's mistakes by becoming more open minded or something, blah, blah, blah. But you know what? It was unnecessary.
Seriously. How many of you would miss those scenes if they were cut?
You know what would have been better? Maybe drawing out Laura's death bed stuff longer. I mean, I suppose they couldn't insert it into RSP2, but maybe they could have retooled a later episode and shifted the order (aka the worst episode of the series and the episode that follows Epiphanies) so that the bulk of Epiphanies could be about the actual interesting things about this new storyline.
I mean, what does Laura think about her cure? Had she been conscious, would she have consented? It's really interesting to watch the moment at the end where Laura watches Sharon while she's in the brig, rubbing her still pregnant stomach. Laura's expression could be interpreted a couple different ways. Is it a thankful half smile? Is it the start of a lip quiver? Is she disgusted? What?
Laura is supposed to be the savior of the human race, but it's contingent on her health. The prophecy calls for a "dying leader" and, guess what? Laura's no longer dying. What does this mean for her in the long run? What does it mean for the search for Earth? If she's not the dying leader, who is she?
That's what I wanted to see in this episode. I didn't want to see Baltar and Gina and I didn't want to see Leemo's investigation into the sabotage, and I didn't want to see Royhan Yani (or however you spell his name) get choked by Adama. This was a Laura episode with way too little Laura. What a disappointment.
There you have it. I want to love this episode so much because it's such a big episode in BSG history but there were too many squandered moments, too many things that they never bothered to explore (and, sadly, will never bother to explore). This episode could have been so much more and this Laura fan is not too happy. It is with a heavy heart that I give this Laura episode 3 out of 5 airlocks.
1) Epiphanies begins with 49,598 survivors which is kind of strange, because that's only a six person loss from Resurrection Ship Part II. You may remember that in RSP2, the crews of Galactica and Pegasus went on a mission to destroy the cylon resurrection ship and they only lost five people? Possible, I guess, but unlikely.
2) We have a timeline! I'm so excited! It's been 189 days since Laura left Caprica for the Galactica decommissioning ceremony. So what does that do for us? Let's pretend that the colonial year is 365 days. That means it's been just over a half a year since the attack.
Also, it's apparently been a couple weeks since RSP2, which is a huge gap between episodes when it comes to this show where the average gap is, like, three days or so.
3) I can't be the only one who thinks Laura looks better on her death bed than she does healthy on Caprica, can I? I mean, the whole barely-able-to-breathe and passed-out!Laura isn't fun, but I do think Mary McDonnell looks way better natural than she does made up. Well, I'll qualify that. I do prefer the natural look on Mary, but I think everything about Caprica!Laura was kind of weird. Not a fan of her hair, first of all. What was with that cut? And I really hated the outfit. Laura's better than that, people!
4) The teachers on Caprica are super hardcore. Their protests are becoming increasingly violent. Apparently, they've even killed a few policemen and Stans is perfectly willing to put his life on the line to get what he (and the other teachers) want.
But it's kind of sad that the teachers on Caprica are kind of treated like the teachers here. Underpaid, overworked, poor schooling conditions . . . Even a futuristic society can't get it right. That's disappointing.
5) Apparently, Head!Six has been away since Baltar betrayed her by stealing her sports story to essentially declare his love for Gina. This does call into question what she is, right? She can come and go of her own volition. Baltar can't just summon her up whenever he wants.
6) I'm glad that, after the sabotage of Kat's Viper gun, Lee and Kara go on an investigation that takes them to wear they actually make all the weapons. I like knowing that the weapons don't just appear from nowhere.
7) So, there's a fringe group that wants peace with the cylons and that thinks the military is the real enemy of the people. I'm going to rant about them a little later so stay tuned.
8) I find it interesting that the fleet has such an active printing press.
9) Starbuck tells us that Lee has been more emo than usual since his spacewalk. Gag me, please?
10) Sharon is super scary when she's mad. I certainly sympathize with her anger (though I've never been pregnant) and she has every right to go bat shit crazy protective over her child. But, man, she's going to have one hell of a headache.
11) As Billy was giving Baltar the "tour" of Laura's office, I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened with him had Laura died. Would he have stayed on as Baltar's chief aide? Would he have retired to a normal civilian life? Would he have shacked up with Dee on Galactica?
12) Gina's disguise on the Cloud 9 is a pair of glasses. Seriously? WTF? What is this, Superman?
13) I think it's a nice touch that Baltar is reluctant to assume the power that comes with being president. It's kind of atypical for the "bad guy" character and it adds a good depth to this egotistical character because he does, in fact, know his limitations.
Plus, I'll always love him for coming up with the cure to saving Laura's life. But we'll get to that part later. Again, stay tuned.
14) So, apparently Laura was having a torrid affair with President Adar. Wow, right? It's not exactly something that really weds itself nicely to what we know about Laura. I mean, she's super calm, kind of cold, single-minded . . . it's not that these traits exclude her having an illicit affair but it's not something I would have imagined on my own. At the same time, it makes perfect sense, too. Especially with what we learn about her all the way at the very end of the series in an episode I like to call Daybreak.
Also, I don't actually think her affair was "illicit", as I think that connotes negativity. I mean, it's not good he was cheating on his wife (yes, I do think he was married) and it's not good Laura was the "other woman" but, and call me crazy, I do the get the impression that they had actual caring feelings for each other.
I wish I had more to say about this, though. I'd welcome comments on it.
15) Mary's right hand is wrapped up in the "break up" scene and they aren't bothering to hide it. I found it really distracting because I knew it was Mary's hand that was hurt and not Laura's.
16) I have to admit that I'm kind of sympathetic to Adar's argument. Because Laura opened up negotiation with the teacher's union, it basically gave other groups the go-ahead on doing what they need to do in order to get an audience with the president. If you give in to the demands of one group, other groups will try to also get you to give into their demands and, suddenly, your life becomes way more difficult.
17) But still. Adar asks Laura to resign and is killed in a massive genocide a few hours later. Coincidence?
Don't mess with Laura.
18) While Laura's grappling with her pain (because she refused Cottle's morphine), she has visions of Baltar and Six making it in the street. But are they visions or memories? All I know is that this is something to look out for later on.
19) Another thing to look out: The ramifications of Laura's letter to Baltar. Wow, that was a pretty harsh letter, right? Completely accurate but harsh. Baltar's ego is huge and it doesn't take slights lightly. Baltar himself may recognize he can't handle the position of the presidency but it's unacceptable to him that anyone else would draw the same conclusion. Methinks Laura has awakened a sleeping bear. I mean, we can trace Baltar's gift to Gina of the nuclear warhead directly back to his hurt feelings. This is not good, people.
20) Okay, so I've had 19 points (besides this one) and how many of them include stuff about Laura's cancer?
About two. WTF? That is my main beef with this episode.
This is a huge and momentous episode in BSG history. Laura has been dealing with her cancer since the miniseries. The cancer has been a major player in the plot. The whole Pythia storyline that got her thrown in the brig and eventually got them the map to Earth? Due to her cancer. Her developing relationship with Bill and her push to make him make the hard decisions? All as a result of her cancer.
And suddenly, it's gone.
Now, I actually really love the idea that the hybrid baby's blood cures Laura. Theoretically, I'm not sure I could possibly love any other cure better, just in terms of the complexity it introduces for Laura and into the show in general. My issue with it, however, is how rushed it all is in this episode. The explanation is kind of weak and it occurs to abruptly. One moment she's half a second from the death, the next they're removing her finger clip thing and respirator because she's fine, except that she has to get around in a wheelchair for a while.
This episode focused way too much time on the stuff with the Demand Peace movement. Way too much time. On one level, I understand what the writers were trying to do. I think they were trying to have Laura correct Adar's mistakes by becoming more open minded or something, blah, blah, blah. But you know what? It was unnecessary.
Seriously. How many of you would miss those scenes if they were cut?
You know what would have been better? Maybe drawing out Laura's death bed stuff longer. I mean, I suppose they couldn't insert it into RSP2, but maybe they could have retooled a later episode and shifted the order (aka the worst episode of the series and the episode that follows Epiphanies) so that the bulk of Epiphanies could be about the actual interesting things about this new storyline.
I mean, what does Laura think about her cure? Had she been conscious, would she have consented? It's really interesting to watch the moment at the end where Laura watches Sharon while she's in the brig, rubbing her still pregnant stomach. Laura's expression could be interpreted a couple different ways. Is it a thankful half smile? Is it the start of a lip quiver? Is she disgusted? What?
Laura is supposed to be the savior of the human race, but it's contingent on her health. The prophecy calls for a "dying leader" and, guess what? Laura's no longer dying. What does this mean for her in the long run? What does it mean for the search for Earth? If she's not the dying leader, who is she?
That's what I wanted to see in this episode. I didn't want to see Baltar and Gina and I didn't want to see Leemo's investigation into the sabotage, and I didn't want to see Royhan Yani (or however you spell his name) get choked by Adama. This was a Laura episode with way too little Laura. What a disappointment.
There you have it. I want to love this episode so much because it's such a big episode in BSG history but there were too many squandered moments, too many things that they never bothered to explore (and, sadly, will never bother to explore). This episode could have been so much more and this Laura fan is not too happy. It is with a heavy heart that I give this Laura episode 3 out of 5 airlocks.