BSG 4.07: Guess What's Coming to Dinner
So I skipped BSG this Friday.
Why bother? With so much bitterness and discontent I built against the show for the past two weeks, I elected to go to the beach for a party around bonfire instead.
Picture this: in the pleasantly warm night, I sat by the glowing fire, drinks in hand, and moping.
I was bored.
My girlfriends happily chatted and caught up on popular tv shows like Grey's Anatomy. They were discussing the latest lustful or romantic escapades of McSteamy and McDreamy.
"You are all gushing over happy meals?!" Increduously I chimed in.
For that, I got what I deserved -- a proper friendly rib on how I need to get in touch with reality and acquaint myself with the popular culture.
Heh, not so long ago, I prided myself for being immersed in pop-cultures (yes, I meant plural). Did BSG ruin me?!
I realize I sounded like an ungrateful b****. The thing is, I love parties and beach bonfires -- so long as they are not on BSG nights!
To add salt to injury, I read the post from
asta77, in which she enthused on how much she loved the show that night. ::groan::
Okay, I learned my lesson: any BSG is better than none...
Luckily, all is not lost. BSG re-aired on Sunday night.
Now Show, that's more like it.
It opened with the scene of Lee and Laura! ::woot::
That's it! I pretty much HATE Anders now. I admit I never quite liked him before. It's funny I embraced Dee, but never could do the same for Anders. He was too much of a milquetoast for my taste. Now, with this stupid maneuver he pulled, and the fact he didn't even see the inside of a brig cell -- I resent him to no end! Such resentment even got carried over to Kara where I'm concerned. It's not enough that she gets it, by being her sex toy husband, Anders gets a free-pass too on everything he does these days.
I was more than pleased to hear Tigh ask "why now?": He mentioned the humans had been fighting the cylons for 3 years, and the cylons never turned back. "Why now? Yeah, I would like to know the answer to that one since Six of One. I hope we get a concrete answer down the road, not just a handwave here.
In the Quorum meeting scene, I noticed everyone was looking towards Lee, assuming at least he was in the know. Alas! He was just as blindfolded as everyone else. Zarek smirked a little as if saying "see what I mean?" Yeah, Zarek, you made your point. I'm happy to see Lee quickly rising to be the one everyone looks to in this group.
We get it -- Gaeta has a beautiful voice. Looks like Anders couldn't get over his victim's singing. Since the F4 all heard All Along the Watch Tower, it appears he now looks for the last unknown cylon among the fleet's sopranos. Nice deduction there. ::snicker:: On second thought, there IS that connection with the opera house. Shouldn't a voice as good as Gaeta's belong to a place like that? Whatever...
Boy, was Roslin harsh with Tori! She seemed to butt in on Tori's choices of bedfellows a lot. First, there was Anders. Now, it's Baltar. I got a kick out of hearing her refer to Baltar's women as his Nymph Squad. I wondered if she would be so interfering with Billy's personal life should he still be alive. Then it hit me -- just like Billy, Roslin on some level must've regarded Tori as her surrogate child!
The scene of Lee and Laura in sickbay is the best of this episode in my opinion. In fact, I think it's my favorite scene of these two since Valley of Darkness!
Laura: "I won't compromise the success of this operation, the safety of this fleet to indulge the neediness of twelve perpetually unhappy representatives. I can't.
Here it is -- while I feel for Laura, what she's going through, and the weight of her burdens, I couldn't help but notice she has been disconnected with the very people she's fighting so hard to save. Dour faced or not, these twelve members of the Quorum represent people of the fleet. Their neediness should reflect the neediness of the people. But Roslin doesn't see that anymore.
Somewhere down the line, Roslin had lost touch with the people while "holding their lives in balance everyday." To cope with the insurmountable pressure to prevail, the individual lives became indistinct in her mind. It had to -- she had too much on her plate.
But being a president is more than fulfilling a destiny. Keeping the people out of harm's way is only a part of it. In my opinion, there is also the part of looking after their well beings, and ensuring their basic rights.
I'm happy to see it took Lee's impassioned words to make Laura reconnect with the people of this fleet.
Lee: "I was with them on the...um...emergency jump. And I saw something, in the faces of the colleagues. Wasn't the anxiety of waiting. Went beyond that. I was anxious -- it was my first time. But they, they... (deep breath) They were empty. The Quorum had given up. And it struck me. After going through the same routine so many times, it was the only way that they could cope with the uncertainty -- to presume the worst."
On a side note, that was quite a mouthful! Kudos to Jamie's superfine acting, I didn't even notice how long this monologue was until I typed it out. Is it my imagination or is it true that writers are giving Lee more long speeches since the end of S3 finale? Not that I'm complaining. *g*
Through Lee's eyes, Laura saw the sufferings of the people again, and thus recognized the wisdom in Lee's suggestion -- talk to them, reconnect with them. It would cost her, she looked sickly and frail in the next scene (Mary McDonald was amazing), but it was a necessary move.
Another reason I'm gushing over this scene is because Lee, after all this time, proved to be still on Laura's side! By the way, thanks to
asta77 and
sdwolfpup for the icon. *g*
Never fear he'd become Zarek's pawn or Romo's puppet, Lee always follows his own heart, and has his own agendas! Not his father, nor the president, or Romo, or Zarek can ever make this young man be the person he does not wish to be. *g*
I find what Natalie said to the Quorum very interesting: "To live meaningful lives, we must die, and never return."
Philosophically, I'm very much in line with what she said here. In the past, I've argued that Cylons could never measure up to humans because of their immortality. Natalie's words summed up the reason pretty well here. It's because without death, one does not truly know what is to live. In that sense, the very first words spoken by a cylon (Six) in the series were: "Are you alive?"
From the very beginning, they were exploring the meaning of that word. Because they didn't quite understand it, they weren't able to appreciate lives. Thus we saw them ruthlessly annihilated an entire species. These days, some of them don't even think twice of extinguishing members of their own.
But I felt Natalie's words fell flat somehow. This is because I'm not clear on how Natalie reached such enlightenment. It's too contrived, too sudden. One week she was busy starting a rebel, next she was busy killing her own copy. Somewhere in between, she had this epiphany that cylons must not download... No, I'm not convinced.
I rather liked Sharon shot Natalie. Although I was a little confused on the "why" since Natalie was so obviously not the Six in Sharon's vision. Maybe Sharon was being cautious and turned against ALL Sixes. Now that Natalie is on the brink of death (I don't believe she would die just yet), I'd be interested in seeing her perspective on death again.
A final point to make: Marion (snuffybear) from The Adama Realm stated in the episode discussion thread there that she had figured out part of hybrid's ravings. She's referring to the part where the hybrid said "You are harbinger of death, Kara Thrace". She pointed out that Kara will be the one who destroys the cylon's Resurrection Hub, therefore bringing death to cylons. I'm quoting her theory here because I think she's onto something. However, I think instead of bringing "death", bringing "mortality" is a better word.
Now onto the preview:
Crap! Adama was going to chase after his girlfriend, leaving his son and the rest of civilians behind?! I never thought I'd say this, but I hope Tigh talk some sense into him!
Uhm, what's happening with the Six in the brig? Is she PREGNANT?! From what's been said, it sure looks like it. Wait, wait, I thought cylons can't make babies among themselves. Maybe F5 are not included?
Lee's sworn-in is not a cut scene after all! This makes me very happy. *g* The question is, what is he being sworn-in as? VP? Somehow, I can't picture them shooting a scene of VP's inauguration. I'm voting for the President. Now that Roslin has gone missing, they need a new president. But what about Zarek?! Hmmm, maybe the Colonials have a law that says VP cannot succeed President? That will explain why Roslin, not Zarek succeeded Baltar's presidency after he went missing.
Phew, Adama was present when Lee was sworn-in. That can only mean he didn't leave the civilians behind after all.
Show, why do I have to wait 2 weeks for the next installment?!
Why bother? With so much bitterness and discontent I built against the show for the past two weeks, I elected to go to the beach for a party around bonfire instead.
Picture this: in the pleasantly warm night, I sat by the glowing fire, drinks in hand, and moping.
I was bored.
My girlfriends happily chatted and caught up on popular tv shows like Grey's Anatomy. They were discussing the latest lustful or romantic escapades of McSteamy and McDreamy.
"You are all gushing over happy meals?!" Increduously I chimed in.
For that, I got what I deserved -- a proper friendly rib on how I need to get in touch with reality and acquaint myself with the popular culture.
Heh, not so long ago, I prided myself for being immersed in pop-cultures (yes, I meant plural). Did BSG ruin me?!
I realize I sounded like an ungrateful b****. The thing is, I love parties and beach bonfires -- so long as they are not on BSG nights!
To add salt to injury, I read the post from
asta77, in which she enthused on how much she loved the show that night. ::groan::
Okay, I learned my lesson: any BSG is better than none...
Luckily, all is not lost. BSG re-aired on Sunday night.
Now Show, that's more like it.
It opened with the scene of Lee and Laura! ::woot::
- Apparently, Lee had to bulldoze his way in to see her majesty. *g*
- I think there's more to it in Laura's hostility towards Lee. It was more than what Lee did during Baltar's trail. She also somehow perceived Lee coveting her throne office. Lee: "...had to practically push me through that door..."
Laura: "Well, I'm sure you are quite happy to stay."
...
Lee: "You owe them...for the welfare of this fleet."
Laura: "Excuse me, as long as I am in this office, the welfare of this fleet is NOT something you need to worry about."
No? No need? Cough... There's but this tiny hole in her argument -- Lee is a part of the democratic government these days, is he not? Never mind... Put him in his place she tried! Given his the association with Zarek, I think Laura's suspicion came about naturally. I noticed Lee didn't exactly deny her accusation. I wonder if it's because he didn't deign to answer her barb, or was he being brutally honest by silently admitting the truth (happy to stay that is). Time will tell, hopefully. - This scene showed me Laura, to some degree, lost touch with her responsibilities as the president (I'll expound on this later).
- I *loved* that Laura admitted she had doubts. I'm pleased to see her acknowledging her beliefs had been turned upside down and inside out.
- Wasn't Lee shocked when he learned there's truth to crazy Baltar's claim?! Hee. While I don't think he'd suspect Laura as a cylon from now on, I do think he would pay more attention to Baltar's words in the future.
- On the shallowest front, I noticed, once again, Jamie Bamber has prettiest eyes. Show, let there be more close-ups on Lee's face please...
That's it! I pretty much HATE Anders now. I admit I never quite liked him before. It's funny I embraced Dee, but never could do the same for Anders. He was too much of a milquetoast for my taste. Now, with this stupid maneuver he pulled, and the fact he didn't even see the inside of a brig cell -- I resent him to no end! Such resentment even got carried over to Kara where I'm concerned. It's not enough that she gets it, by being her sex toy husband, Anders gets a free-pass too on everything he does these days.
I was more than pleased to hear Tigh ask "why now?": He mentioned the humans had been fighting the cylons for 3 years, and the cylons never turned back. "Why now? Yeah, I would like to know the answer to that one since Six of One. I hope we get a concrete answer down the road, not just a handwave here.
In the Quorum meeting scene, I noticed everyone was looking towards Lee, assuming at least he was in the know. Alas! He was just as blindfolded as everyone else. Zarek smirked a little as if saying "see what I mean?" Yeah, Zarek, you made your point. I'm happy to see Lee quickly rising to be the one everyone looks to in this group.
We get it -- Gaeta has a beautiful voice. Looks like Anders couldn't get over his victim's singing. Since the F4 all heard All Along the Watch Tower, it appears he now looks for the last unknown cylon among the fleet's sopranos. Nice deduction there. ::snicker:: On second thought, there IS that connection with the opera house. Shouldn't a voice as good as Gaeta's belong to a place like that? Whatever...
Boy, was Roslin harsh with Tori! She seemed to butt in on Tori's choices of bedfellows a lot. First, there was Anders. Now, it's Baltar. I got a kick out of hearing her refer to Baltar's women as his Nymph Squad. I wondered if she would be so interfering with Billy's personal life should he still be alive. Then it hit me -- just like Billy, Roslin on some level must've regarded Tori as her surrogate child!
The scene of Lee and Laura in sickbay is the best of this episode in my opinion. In fact, I think it's my favorite scene of these two since Valley of Darkness!
Laura: "I won't compromise the success of this operation, the safety of this fleet to indulge the neediness of twelve perpetually unhappy representatives. I can't.
Here it is -- while I feel for Laura, what she's going through, and the weight of her burdens, I couldn't help but notice she has been disconnected with the very people she's fighting so hard to save. Dour faced or not, these twelve members of the Quorum represent people of the fleet. Their neediness should reflect the neediness of the people. But Roslin doesn't see that anymore.
Somewhere down the line, Roslin had lost touch with the people while "holding their lives in balance everyday." To cope with the insurmountable pressure to prevail, the individual lives became indistinct in her mind. It had to -- she had too much on her plate.
But being a president is more than fulfilling a destiny. Keeping the people out of harm's way is only a part of it. In my opinion, there is also the part of looking after their well beings, and ensuring their basic rights.
I'm happy to see it took Lee's impassioned words to make Laura reconnect with the people of this fleet.
Lee: "I was with them on the...um...emergency jump. And I saw something, in the faces of the colleagues. Wasn't the anxiety of waiting. Went beyond that. I was anxious -- it was my first time. But they, they... (deep breath) They were empty. The Quorum had given up. And it struck me. After going through the same routine so many times, it was the only way that they could cope with the uncertainty -- to presume the worst."
On a side note, that was quite a mouthful! Kudos to Jamie's superfine acting, I didn't even notice how long this monologue was until I typed it out. Is it my imagination or is it true that writers are giving Lee more long speeches since the end of S3 finale? Not that I'm complaining. *g*
Through Lee's eyes, Laura saw the sufferings of the people again, and thus recognized the wisdom in Lee's suggestion -- talk to them, reconnect with them. It would cost her, she looked sickly and frail in the next scene (Mary McDonald was amazing), but it was a necessary move.
Another reason I'm gushing over this scene is because Lee, after all this time, proved to be still on Laura's side! By the way, thanks to
asta77 and
sdwolfpup for the icon. *g*
Never fear he'd become Zarek's pawn or Romo's puppet, Lee always follows his own heart, and has his own agendas! Not his father, nor the president, or Romo, or Zarek can ever make this young man be the person he does not wish to be. *g*
I find what Natalie said to the Quorum very interesting: "To live meaningful lives, we must die, and never return."
Philosophically, I'm very much in line with what she said here. In the past, I've argued that Cylons could never measure up to humans because of their immortality. Natalie's words summed up the reason pretty well here. It's because without death, one does not truly know what is to live. In that sense, the very first words spoken by a cylon (Six) in the series were: "Are you alive?"
From the very beginning, they were exploring the meaning of that word. Because they didn't quite understand it, they weren't able to appreciate lives. Thus we saw them ruthlessly annihilated an entire species. These days, some of them don't even think twice of extinguishing members of their own.
But I felt Natalie's words fell flat somehow. This is because I'm not clear on how Natalie reached such enlightenment. It's too contrived, too sudden. One week she was busy starting a rebel, next she was busy killing her own copy. Somewhere in between, she had this epiphany that cylons must not download... No, I'm not convinced.
I rather liked Sharon shot Natalie. Although I was a little confused on the "why" since Natalie was so obviously not the Six in Sharon's vision. Maybe Sharon was being cautious and turned against ALL Sixes. Now that Natalie is on the brink of death (I don't believe she would die just yet), I'd be interested in seeing her perspective on death again.
A final point to make: Marion (snuffybear) from The Adama Realm stated in the episode discussion thread there that she had figured out part of hybrid's ravings. She's referring to the part where the hybrid said "You are harbinger of death, Kara Thrace". She pointed out that Kara will be the one who destroys the cylon's Resurrection Hub, therefore bringing death to cylons. I'm quoting her theory here because I think she's onto something. However, I think instead of bringing "death", bringing "mortality" is a better word.
Now onto the preview:
Crap! Adama was going to chase after his girlfriend, leaving his son and the rest of civilians behind?! I never thought I'd say this, but I hope Tigh talk some sense into him!
Uhm, what's happening with the Six in the brig? Is she PREGNANT?! From what's been said, it sure looks like it. Wait, wait, I thought cylons can't make babies among themselves. Maybe F5 are not included?
Lee's sworn-in is not a cut scene after all! This makes me very happy. *g* The question is, what is he being sworn-in as? VP? Somehow, I can't picture them shooting a scene of VP's inauguration. I'm voting for the President. Now that Roslin has gone missing, they need a new president. But what about Zarek?! Hmmm, maybe the Colonials have a law that says VP cannot succeed President? That will explain why Roslin, not Zarek succeeded Baltar's presidency after he went missing.
Phew, Adama was present when Lee was sworn-in. That can only mean he didn't leave the civilians behind after all.
Show, why do I have to wait 2 weeks for the next installment?!