There’s a hole in the Bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza. There’s a hole in the Bucket, dear Liza, a hole.
Surrounded by Cylons? There’s an app for that. Braindead ex-husband? There’s an app for that. Kidnapped baby won’t stop crying? There’s an app for that. Dying of cancer/ your women are all leaving you? There’s an app for that. (And it’s called a joint).
I don’t know what to feel anymore. But I do think this episode had moments of real greatness. At one point, I had so much nervous excitement that I forced the kitteh to waltz around the room with me! I may also have driven to campus in the middle of the night, just to upload this entry. I am sitting in my car, as we speak.
-‘You must feel like we’re abandoning you.’ Roslin’s scene with Adama in sickbay was just… luminous. Roslin is trying to make it possible for Adama to find another home. Even on earth, would that have been a possibility for him? Or would he never have been able to give up Galactica? ‘Bill,' she says, 'I know you love this ship, probably even more than you love me.’
-After Baltar publicly exposed Kara, I was literally shouting at my tv. ‘DAGNABBIT LEE GO AFTER HER BE HER FRIEND ALREADY CONSARNIT!’ I’ve been waiting for Lee to, at the very least, be given the chance to extend the hand of friendship to Kara. She came to tell him something important episodes and episodes ago, and she never got the chance. He was docked on Galactica when her husband was taken to sickbay with a bullet in his brain. You mean he never even went to see if they were okay? IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING, BUT BOY WAS THIS SCENE EVER WORTH THE WAIT.
AMAZING. Lee didn’t ask anything of her, just told her that she matters to him, NO MATTER WHAT. He touched her face comfortingly, just the way she pictured her father doing (or similarly, anyway. I don’t think there was an especially important parallel there; Piano!Dad certainly never looked like he wanted to kiss her). Lee looked so… shy? And tell me the last time you saw something as beautiful as Kara’s sweet, sweet smile after he said her name?
(And then he put his jacket back on).
-It was great to see the captain who presided over Baltar’s trial again. I dunno. I like her. Interestingly, in that earlier scene with Roslin, Lee never said he intended the captains of the ships to be the new Quorum delegates. Ron Moore’s podcasts seem to indicate that was a foregone conclusion, but I actually think this is a lame idea. They can’t afford to lose all their captains in another bloodbath, and in Galacticaverse that is about the same thing as saying they can’t afford to have all their captains in the same room. Plus, surely the captains of the fleet have plenty to do without having to hear civilian grievances and keep up with the needs of a constituency? Doesn’t it make more sense for each ship to have an elected leader who can take care of these responsibilities?
-The new Hera is a really good crier! I had forgotten that Boomer and Hera have a history. When Hera was sick on the basestar after New Caprica, they gave Hera to Boomer to look after, hoping that Hera would have a connection with her. Boomer almost strangled Hera, if I remember correctly, out of disgust, frustration (baby wouldn’t stop crying), and presumably jealousy of Athena’s happiness back in the fleet.
-It’s a much-appreciated game-changer for me, knowing that Boomer’s dream of life with the Chief was genuine for her as well as for him. What could be going on in her head? Why is she willing to abandon Tyrol for Cavil if she loves him that much? We know now that Hera can project, which also gives us reason to suppose that Kara can - and may already have done so - if Kara is also a Cylon/Human hybrid.
-Lee sure made some good faces during the Quorum scene. There was the one where the people were all like: Admiral Adama’s gonna have to abandon the ship!!!1!1 And Lee was like: YES. And then there was that what-the-frak face when he blurted out, ‘GAIUS BALTAR?!!!’
-Speak of the devil, finally a scene between Baltar and Caprica Six - and a really good one, at that. So brief, but just… *bam*. Right on. I could say the same for the bathroom scene between Starbuck and Baltar - it’s been a while since they had any interaction, hasn’t it? - which had the added advantage of significantly advancing the plot. Interesting things seem to happen to Starbuck and to Baltar in bathrooms, don't they?
-Ellen wants Saul to accept all the Cylons as his children, in place of the one baby he lost. She’s also acting more like the imperious, calculating, self-possessed, maternal Ellen of ‘No Exit’ again. This fits with my idea that the ‘No Exit’ Ellen is the real persona, but the one thing Ellen can’t bear (in any incarnation) is any thought of Saul valuing someone more than her - the thought that Saul might leave her behind. Ellen may have hoped for this baby from the very beginning, but she's not about to allow Saul to have a child if it's not going to be on her terms. This angle on her character may still be understandably aggravating to those who really wanted to see her get past all the pettiness, but I actually wanted to see a strong continuity between the old Ellen and the new.
-The scene between Helo and Adama made me so angry! Both actors were noticeably strong, especially Helo, from whom we rarely get to see that kind of range, but whether intentionally or no, the cutting back and forth between a quietly insistent Adama and a tearful Helo only made me think of the scene near the end of ‘You Can’t Go Home Again - er, the Cylon Raider mooncrash episode, whatever - where Adama tells Lee that if it were him downed on the moon, they would never leave. Maybe I was supposed to be thinking of that scene, because the hypocrisy was just… gah. Of course Adama would have to leave his son behind if he were probably dead and it came to that, no matter what he promised him. But here’s Adama telling Helo that he knows exactly how Helo feels because he has one dead son, and not for a moment admitting that he still has one *live* son to whom he once made a rash promise to risk the whole remnant of the human race over any possibility that his kid might still be alive. Not that I think Helo *should* go on an aimless suicide mission to save Hera or that Adama should agree, just… unsympathetic much? (I’m also not complaining that this was out of character. It may have ticked me off, but I think it’s also exactly what the Old Man would do).
-Holy Water? Really? Really? So Cylon religion is not just a monotheism, but some parody of Catholicism? (Blaspheh-me and blaspheh-you… Blaspheh-me and blaspheh-you…)
In the category of All This Has Happened Before and It Will All Happen Again:
- Ron Moore’s podcasts don’t give a person a lot of reason to think the echoes in these latter episodes are deliberate - the ‘Unintentional Self-Plagiarism’ theory of valancy_s seems closer to the mark. (RDM occasionally mentions that something bears a vague resemblance to a similar something in the past, but usually in order to point out that it’s not reeeally all that similar). Then again, he’s been making a big point, over and over, about Hera being the only Cylon/Human hybrid. Hrm.
-If I were Adama, I would be sick of being told that somebody or something was ‘the key’ to everything, too. Adama wishes Destiny would lose our number.
-Adama frantically slathering plaster over the Cylon lacquer on his bathroom wall recalled Starbuck trying desperately to efface the mandala in her dream. For Starbuck, the mandala painting was an omen of death. I thought Adama was also dying when he fell down on the bathroom floor clutching his chest. (Stop with the frakkin’ fake-outs you guys!) Meanwhile, that moment was also reminiscent of the similar scene at the mid-season finale, just after Adama found out Tigh was a Cylon. One of the episode writers for ‘Revelations’ contributed a (spoiler-free) anecdote about the writing of that scene that I found interesting and moving. He based the scene, he said, on a memory of his own father. His father was dying of cancer. They went to the beach together, and his father was knocked down by a three foot wave. He couldn’t get his father up again. And while it hardly seemed to matter to his father, it was immensely upsetting to him.
Theme music notes:
I haven’t noticed much development to the major themes this season, though I’m not sure I would notice even extraordinary new material. This episode, however, gave us:
-A discordant, hollow version of Helo and Sharon’s theme over the scene where Helo demands to know if Sharon hates him now. Helo and Sharon’s theme has also been used to signify relief/we-live-to-fight-another-day sentiment over the years, so it’s a jarring change. Interestingly, this same theme, without the discord, is also featured in the scene with Hera coming into Dionne’s empty bedroom.
-A forceful transition between Roslin and Adama’s gently guttural romantic theme and your BSG-esque clickety-pop tension-building-beat type thingie. Terrible description; interesting music.
-A complex and poignant setting of Lee and Kara’s theme. It’s hard to say what new feeling is present in this version - hope? - but it’s mostly only been regretful before - a theme of loss. (Though there *was* one almost excessively soaring version used earlier this season during the infamous scene in the brig).
-A very pure expression of the celtic anthem ‘Wander My Friends,’ during the scene where Adama and Tigh bid goodbye to Galactica. Normally, this is Lee and Adama’s theme. It’s a great musical cue, but between the theme music and the characters' postures, side by side on the couch with their liquor, it just reminded me of a similar scene between Lee and Adama at the end of Black Market. Which made it feel a little like a usurpation - though that’s probably just me. It was a good moment. (Maybe even a great moment).
I don’t know what to feel anymore. But I do think this episode had moments of real greatness. At one point, I had so much nervous excitement that I forced the kitteh to waltz around the room with me! I may also have driven to campus in the middle of the night, just to upload this entry. I am sitting in my car, as we speak.
-‘You must feel like we’re abandoning you.’ Roslin’s scene with Adama in sickbay was just… luminous. Roslin is trying to make it possible for Adama to find another home. Even on earth, would that have been a possibility for him? Or would he never have been able to give up Galactica? ‘Bill,' she says, 'I know you love this ship, probably even more than you love me.’
-After Baltar publicly exposed Kara, I was literally shouting at my tv. ‘DAGNABBIT LEE GO AFTER HER BE HER FRIEND ALREADY CONSARNIT!’ I’ve been waiting for Lee to, at the very least, be given the chance to extend the hand of friendship to Kara. She came to tell him something important episodes and episodes ago, and she never got the chance. He was docked on Galactica when her husband was taken to sickbay with a bullet in his brain. You mean he never even went to see if they were okay? IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING, BUT BOY WAS THIS SCENE EVER WORTH THE WAIT.
AMAZING. Lee didn’t ask anything of her, just told her that she matters to him, NO MATTER WHAT. He touched her face comfortingly, just the way she pictured her father doing (or similarly, anyway. I don’t think there was an especially important parallel there; Piano!Dad certainly never looked like he wanted to kiss her). Lee looked so… shy? And tell me the last time you saw something as beautiful as Kara’s sweet, sweet smile after he said her name?
(And then he put his jacket back on).
-It was great to see the captain who presided over Baltar’s trial again. I dunno. I like her. Interestingly, in that earlier scene with Roslin, Lee never said he intended the captains of the ships to be the new Quorum delegates. Ron Moore’s podcasts seem to indicate that was a foregone conclusion, but I actually think this is a lame idea. They can’t afford to lose all their captains in another bloodbath, and in Galacticaverse that is about the same thing as saying they can’t afford to have all their captains in the same room. Plus, surely the captains of the fleet have plenty to do without having to hear civilian grievances and keep up with the needs of a constituency? Doesn’t it make more sense for each ship to have an elected leader who can take care of these responsibilities?
-The new Hera is a really good crier! I had forgotten that Boomer and Hera have a history. When Hera was sick on the basestar after New Caprica, they gave Hera to Boomer to look after, hoping that Hera would have a connection with her. Boomer almost strangled Hera, if I remember correctly, out of disgust, frustration (baby wouldn’t stop crying), and presumably jealousy of Athena’s happiness back in the fleet.
-It’s a much-appreciated game-changer for me, knowing that Boomer’s dream of life with the Chief was genuine for her as well as for him. What could be going on in her head? Why is she willing to abandon Tyrol for Cavil if she loves him that much? We know now that Hera can project, which also gives us reason to suppose that Kara can - and may already have done so - if Kara is also a Cylon/Human hybrid.
-Lee sure made some good faces during the Quorum scene. There was the one where the people were all like: Admiral Adama’s gonna have to abandon the ship!!!1!1 And Lee was like: YES. And then there was that what-the-frak face when he blurted out, ‘GAIUS BALTAR?!!!’
-Speak of the devil, finally a scene between Baltar and Caprica Six - and a really good one, at that. So brief, but just… *bam*. Right on. I could say the same for the bathroom scene between Starbuck and Baltar - it’s been a while since they had any interaction, hasn’t it? - which had the added advantage of significantly advancing the plot. Interesting things seem to happen to Starbuck and to Baltar in bathrooms, don't they?
-Ellen wants Saul to accept all the Cylons as his children, in place of the one baby he lost. She’s also acting more like the imperious, calculating, self-possessed, maternal Ellen of ‘No Exit’ again. This fits with my idea that the ‘No Exit’ Ellen is the real persona, but the one thing Ellen can’t bear (in any incarnation) is any thought of Saul valuing someone more than her - the thought that Saul might leave her behind. Ellen may have hoped for this baby from the very beginning, but she's not about to allow Saul to have a child if it's not going to be on her terms. This angle on her character may still be understandably aggravating to those who really wanted to see her get past all the pettiness, but I actually wanted to see a strong continuity between the old Ellen and the new.
-The scene between Helo and Adama made me so angry! Both actors were noticeably strong, especially Helo, from whom we rarely get to see that kind of range, but whether intentionally or no, the cutting back and forth between a quietly insistent Adama and a tearful Helo only made me think of the scene near the end of ‘You Can’t Go Home Again - er, the Cylon Raider mooncrash episode, whatever - where Adama tells Lee that if it were him downed on the moon, they would never leave. Maybe I was supposed to be thinking of that scene, because the hypocrisy was just… gah. Of course Adama would have to leave his son behind if he were probably dead and it came to that, no matter what he promised him. But here’s Adama telling Helo that he knows exactly how Helo feels because he has one dead son, and not for a moment admitting that he still has one *live* son to whom he once made a rash promise to risk the whole remnant of the human race over any possibility that his kid might still be alive. Not that I think Helo *should* go on an aimless suicide mission to save Hera or that Adama should agree, just… unsympathetic much? (I’m also not complaining that this was out of character. It may have ticked me off, but I think it’s also exactly what the Old Man would do).
-Holy Water? Really? Really? So Cylon religion is not just a monotheism, but some parody of Catholicism? (Blaspheh-me and blaspheh-you… Blaspheh-me and blaspheh-you…)
In the category of All This Has Happened Before and It Will All Happen Again:
- Ron Moore’s podcasts don’t give a person a lot of reason to think the echoes in these latter episodes are deliberate - the ‘Unintentional Self-Plagiarism’ theory of valancy_s seems closer to the mark. (RDM occasionally mentions that something bears a vague resemblance to a similar something in the past, but usually in order to point out that it’s not reeeally all that similar). Then again, he’s been making a big point, over and over, about Hera being the only Cylon/Human hybrid. Hrm.
-If I were Adama, I would be sick of being told that somebody or something was ‘the key’ to everything, too. Adama wishes Destiny would lose our number.
-Adama frantically slathering plaster over the Cylon lacquer on his bathroom wall recalled Starbuck trying desperately to efface the mandala in her dream. For Starbuck, the mandala painting was an omen of death. I thought Adama was also dying when he fell down on the bathroom floor clutching his chest. (Stop with the frakkin’ fake-outs you guys!) Meanwhile, that moment was also reminiscent of the similar scene at the mid-season finale, just after Adama found out Tigh was a Cylon. One of the episode writers for ‘Revelations’ contributed a (spoiler-free) anecdote about the writing of that scene that I found interesting and moving. He based the scene, he said, on a memory of his own father. His father was dying of cancer. They went to the beach together, and his father was knocked down by a three foot wave. He couldn’t get his father up again. And while it hardly seemed to matter to his father, it was immensely upsetting to him.
Theme music notes:
I haven’t noticed much development to the major themes this season, though I’m not sure I would notice even extraordinary new material. This episode, however, gave us:
-A discordant, hollow version of Helo and Sharon’s theme over the scene where Helo demands to know if Sharon hates him now. Helo and Sharon’s theme has also been used to signify relief/we-live-to-fight-another-day sentiment over the years, so it’s a jarring change. Interestingly, this same theme, without the discord, is also featured in the scene with Hera coming into Dionne’s empty bedroom.
-A forceful transition between Roslin and Adama’s gently guttural romantic theme and your BSG-esque clickety-pop tension-building-beat type thingie. Terrible description; interesting music.
-A complex and poignant setting of Lee and Kara’s theme. It’s hard to say what new feeling is present in this version - hope? - but it’s mostly only been regretful before - a theme of loss. (Though there *was* one almost excessively soaring version used earlier this season during the infamous scene in the brig).
-A very pure expression of the celtic anthem ‘Wander My Friends,’ during the scene where Adama and Tigh bid goodbye to Galactica. Normally, this is Lee and Adama’s theme. It’s a great musical cue, but between the theme music and the characters' postures, side by side on the couch with their liquor, it just reminded me of a similar scene between Lee and Adama at the end of Black Market. Which made it feel a little like a usurpation - though that’s probably just me. It was a good moment. (Maybe even a great moment).