Discussion Post - Bill's a soft touch
Today, we thought we'd have a little discussion post on one of Bill's most attractive character traits -- he's a softie!
This must be a particularly difficult quality for the most senior military officer left alive in the universe to have. Bill needs to show leadership and strength to the young underlings, and his stoic mask gets pulled out to hide his caring side on a regular basis in the first two seasons. (Interestingly Cain faced the same dilemma with her crew. She also decided she needed to harden her heart -- with less than stellar results.)
By season three, he's openly showing the cracks. The lines between his crew and his family have blurred. His full acceptance of Sharon is one of the turning points for me. He briefly decides to man up again in UB and gives his 'I'm not a softie!' speech. However, in the very next eppie, the punches to his head have made him forget the speech, and he sits by Kat's bedside and tells her he always wanted a daughter.
By season 4 of course, he was openly admitting he was a sensitive new age guy -- not being able to face Saul and leaving Lee to deal the revelation of being a Cylon really highlights this.
Being the Admiral and all, he still has to make some gutsy calls post season 2 that are less than gentle. Ordering Cally to be killed in Dirty Hands, interrogating Baltar by questionable methods, pointing nuclear weapons toward a planet his son is sitting on, throwing a gun on the table and daring frakked up friends to kill him. How much do you think it hurt Bill to do these things? How far do you think he would have gone if pushed?
When do you think he should have manned up more? Do you think there are any situations where his compassionate and kind personality hurt the fleet? Do you think there are any times when it hurt his relationship with Laura?
One of the things I love about the a/r relationship, especially in the early seasons, is he spends a long time trying to hide this tender side from Laura. I don't think she fully gets to see it until they reunite on Kobol. There are hints -- but mostly he presented her with 'big, strong Commanding Officer man' until this time. What do you think about the fact that Bill is afraid to show his kindhearted personality to Laura early on? Do you think they would have avoided some of their season one misunderstandings if he hadn't? Do you agree that Laura fully saw his true nature on Kobol? Or do you think it was before then?
Do you think this trait is highlighted too much in fanfic? Or not enough?
This must be a particularly difficult quality for the most senior military officer left alive in the universe to have. Bill needs to show leadership and strength to the young underlings, and his stoic mask gets pulled out to hide his caring side on a regular basis in the first two seasons. (Interestingly Cain faced the same dilemma with her crew. She also decided she needed to harden her heart -- with less than stellar results.)
By season three, he's openly showing the cracks. The lines between his crew and his family have blurred. His full acceptance of Sharon is one of the turning points for me. He briefly decides to man up again in UB and gives his 'I'm not a softie!' speech. However, in the very next eppie, the punches to his head have made him forget the speech, and he sits by Kat's bedside and tells her he always wanted a daughter.
By season 4 of course, he was openly admitting he was a sensitive new age guy -- not being able to face Saul and leaving Lee to deal the revelation of being a Cylon really highlights this.
Being the Admiral and all, he still has to make some gutsy calls post season 2 that are less than gentle. Ordering Cally to be killed in Dirty Hands, interrogating Baltar by questionable methods, pointing nuclear weapons toward a planet his son is sitting on, throwing a gun on the table and daring frakked up friends to kill him. How much do you think it hurt Bill to do these things? How far do you think he would have gone if pushed?
When do you think he should have manned up more? Do you think there are any situations where his compassionate and kind personality hurt the fleet? Do you think there are any times when it hurt his relationship with Laura?
One of the things I love about the a/r relationship, especially in the early seasons, is he spends a long time trying to hide this tender side from Laura. I don't think she fully gets to see it until they reunite on Kobol. There are hints -- but mostly he presented her with 'big, strong Commanding Officer man' until this time. What do you think about the fact that Bill is afraid to show his kindhearted personality to Laura early on? Do you think they would have avoided some of their season one misunderstandings if he hadn't? Do you agree that Laura fully saw his true nature on Kobol? Or do you think it was before then?
Do you think this trait is highlighted too much in fanfic? Or not enough?