Crossroads Pt 1
I’m going to be walking around like a zombie at work tomorrow, but I needed to get this all down tonight. And it’s long people. Loooooonnnnng.
To begin with, yes, I am going to be critical of this episode later. It had several WTF’s? And I plan on writing one hell of a fanfic over the hiatus. ;) Which brings me to what you know I’ll be starting with…
”Captain Apollo, remember that? I always thought it had such a nice ring to it. I am so, so sorry for you now.”
OH. MY. GOD. I am still overwhelmed by that scene. I think I almost cried from sheer joy. They didn’t forget. They dropped the ball for a season and a half, but they didn’t forget. They went back to the mini series. One of my all time favorite Lee/Laura moments. And they twisted it and ripped my heart out with it. Oh, God, she pities him for what she thinks he has become, but he’s the man he’s always been, the one she has always turned to in the past. The one she entrusted with her life back on Kobol and the one she just recently trusted with revamping the law and seeing that Baltar received a fair trial.
Laura, you’re hurt, I get that. Your young prince just seemingly turned on you. It may not be fair, it may even be a bit low, but he’s doing exactly what any good defense attorney would. You are taking chamalla. It does affect your judgment. He of all people does know this. He has to use it. And look at him. It’s killing him. He still respects you. He doesn’t want to hurt you.
Jamie just killed me in that final moment. His voice cracking; the look on his face when she tells the courtroom that her cancer is back, then turns and looks him right in the eye with the withering ‘Is this what you wanted?’ look. No, it’s not. I don’t think Lee thought Laura had turned into a chamalla addict. They are back on the road to earth. Either he thought she was using it to help lead them there or he suspected she was ill again, but just didn’t want to have it acknowledged. He was obviously devastated when she revealed the truth.
Oh, yes, Adama knew. How long, I’m not certain, maybe she told him in CIC, but I think it was clear he knew. It saddens me that two years ago she entrusted Lee with her secret and now it’s his father that is the one she trusts. It goes to show how much has changed and I feel a lot of that is her doing. Her collusion with Adama over Cain’s assassination broke something in Lee and damaged their relationship severely. And while she claims to still trust him, she never sought to regain trust from him. The thing is, even if things were better between them I’m not sure Lee would have done anything differently.
Oh Dee, you really don’t understand. Please take your contempt, irrationality, and hypocrisy and go wherever Boxey went so I never have to see you again. I cannot fathom how she put up with her husband being in love with another woman and his infidelity, but can’t stand living with him now because he is trying to protect the law and ensure that a man, no matter how guilty he may be, gets a fair trial. It’s blatantly obvious now that she never knew the man she married. Hell, she didn’t marry Lee Adama, she married Commander Adama. And where does her election tampering fit into this? Did she forget about that? The system is broken and deserves to be taken apart. Is she the one to do it? She has a right to make things right, but Lee doesn’t? I have so much rage at her right now.
And Lee has sacrificed everything, his relationship with his father, with Laura, he knows he’s alienated himself from most of the fleet, and now his wife abandons him. He’s put his ass on the line for something bigger than himself, bigger than all of them, he’s trying to preserve one of the things that make them human, make them different from the Cylons and he knows there is a price to pay. He accepted that when he agreed to help Lampkin. But then to find out your wife never saw you?
Dee managed to deflect my Adama rage for a moment. I am just at a loss as to what to make of him anymore. He’s a man out of control, a terrifying prospect for a military commander, and I’m trying to figure out exactly why.
Throughout Season 1 and even through the mutiny/revolt of early Season 2 I still think I could have perceived Adama as a fair judge. But not when he proclaims the “traitorous piece of garbage Gaius Baltar, doesn’t even deserve a trial”. His actions on the stand showed extreme personal bias. Tigh, his friend, is made to reveal the truth and he attempts to shut down the cross-examination. Lee, in his opinion, attacks Laura and he tries to end the questioning and threatens to hold Lee and Lampkin in contempt. I was thrilled when the female judge (the chief justice?) shut him down. I can’t say it was the humiliation he deserves, but Lee should take some pleasure in his being put in his place.
Who thought it would be a good idea to put Tigh on the stand? And if you are going to do that, make sure there is someone around to ensure he doesn’t drink. That was painful to watch. Michael Hogan was awesome in conveying the breakdown that I think many of us expected Tigh to have sooner. I’m not sure what was harder for Tigh to reveal that he had killed his wife or that he felt he had to do it because she was a traitor and deserving of the same fate as the thirty-three that he had killed in the suicide bombing.
Tigh’s testimony also revealed that in a rush to judgment, or I should say condemnation, the prosecution is not well prepared. Lampkin was able to tear apart Tigh’s testimony to the extent that Lampkin probably could have called for a mistrial. Tigh, supposedly a star witness, admitted he’d do anything, including lie, to see Baltar die.
I think my breaking point with Adama came in his scene with Tigh. He forgave him for showing up drunk in court. He tells Tigh he’s never embarrassed him. And I could actually accept this unwavering acceptance of his friend if he’d show just a sliver of the same sort of acceptance and compassion towards his son.
The sad truth is that Tigh is the closest person to Adama. They have had a thirty plus year relationship that has weathered a lot of bad patches. Adama can’t say the same with his own family. He’s been estranged from all of them. But why can he forgive Tigh and not Lee? Is it because, ultimately, Tigh will fall in line with Adama? Lee is not willing to stagnate in the role of military officer. Perhaps he was when he saw that there was nothing else for him, but Lampkin has opened a door for him and he has chosen to walk through it. Lee is turning towards something else in his life, searching for purpose, but Adama only sees this as Lee turning away from him and what he believes in. Just as Dee fails to understand, Adama can’t see that Lee is growing, changing, or not really changing, but trying to find the man he should be, the man he wants to be. He’s an idealist who has tried to live up to the sometimes impossibly high standards he has set. Sometimes he succeeds and other times fails miserably. When he stops trying, he falls into lethargy, despair, and depression. But I guess as long as he does it in uniform, complies with the old man’s orders, that’s OK.
Adama calling Lee a liar and a coward shows how completely irrational he has become. His friend is hurt, so he attacks and blames his son. How the hell would Lee know about Ellen? And it was clear in the courtroom that Lampkin drew his own conclusions from Tigh’s own slip ups. There are a lot of valid accusations and criticisms that could be made of Lee, but he would not stand before his father, his commanding officer, and lie. And he certainly is no coward.
I’d like to think that part of Adama’s behavior is based on fear. He’s lost two children now (if we count Kara as a daughter and I think we all do) and Lee is now the only child he has left. In his eyes, Lee’s abandoned him and not just as he did four years ago when he walked away and wouldn’t speak to him. In Adama’s eyes, Lee’s revolted against everything he believes in and it’s a betrayal he finds much worse and much more painful. I wish it could make me feel a bit of sympathy for Adama, but, no. He’s treated Lee like crap far too many times. And Lee’s given him chances to make amends, to get to know him. I was actually surprised to see Lee in his father’s quarters, volunteering advice on how to elude the Cylons, being the good soldier, reaching out as best he could to his dad and he, once again, was given no consideration.
I loved the Lee/Baltar/Lampkin scene. Jamie’s performance helped to convey so much. I was thinking back over the course of the series and I don’t recall ever seeing Lee Adama so confidant, so relaxed. He genuinely seemed at ease in his skin and that came through not just with the words or the way he smiled while speaking them, but his body language as he lay sprawled on the couch, discussing strategy as to how to save their client’s life. Lee Adama seemed happy. Not satisfied, not content, but happy. And Lee knows exactly who he is defending (James Callis’s reaction to being called pond scum was priceless) and, more importantly, what he is defending.
I believe that Lee is choosing to defend Baltar for the reasons he states - truth, justice, belief in the system. I also believe there is a bit of sticking it to the old man involved. I don’t blame him. His feelings and beliefs have been subjugated so many times and there is a point when you break instead of bend. I don’t feel he has reached the breaking point yet though. He’s made a choice to defend Baltar. He’s quit the military. But he hasn’t told his father what he thinks of him and everything he stands for. Until that comes, Lee is not free of his past and I don’t think the Adama’s have a hope of forming any sort of lasting relationship.
I got spoiled inadvertently for the reemergence of the Chamalla. beccatoria, a bigger spoiler whore than I ;), helped to clarify for me why it was being brought up now. As much as I love Laura and don’t want to see Mary McDonnell go anywhere anytime soon, I was actually happy that the cancer returned. I never bought that Hera’s fetal blood was a cure all nor did it feel it was a satisfying resolution. It just bought her time. And once again, she is the dying leader who will lead them to earth - another plot thread that was put on the back burner.
And I have a few random observations that doesn’t seem to fit anywhere in the above:
• Anders is a nugget now. I can see that. The two things he was focused on were the resistance and Kara and both are gone. I can also see him gravitating to something that Kara loved, that gave her life meaning, and thus he can feel closer to her. But someone needs to explain t me how his broken leg healed in two weeks. Lampkin still has cuts on his face and is walking with a cane.
• People are seeing Baltar as a god? Huh? I can see people sympathizing with his ideas after his manifesto was made public, but seeing he’s a god seems a stretch.
• Is Laura sharing visions with Six and Sharon now? That can’t be good.
• The Cylons are suddenly hot on the fleet’s tail. I think it’s more than a radiation signature. And why five Cylon base ships? Does it tie into the final five?
• Why would Lee be suspicious of a thermos? I guess that was one of Ron’s magoffins to set up the reveal in court.
• Head Baltar! Like his counterpart Head Six with Baltar, he’s conveying knowledge to Caprica that she doesn’t already have. It opens up a lot of interesting questions I have no answers to.
• Tory seems to be acting very odd.
• Helo in the course of two weeks has gone been promoted to CAG and now XO. Talk about the fast track for a guy who was demoted to mayor of dogtown not long ago. His weather speech and “a storm’s coming” remark left me groaning though.
• Jamie Bamber in a white dress shirt? OH MY GOD MAKE ME ICONS PEOPLE!
To begin with, yes, I am going to be critical of this episode later. It had several WTF’s? And I plan on writing one hell of a fanfic over the hiatus. ;) Which brings me to what you know I’ll be starting with…
”Captain Apollo, remember that? I always thought it had such a nice ring to it. I am so, so sorry for you now.”
OH. MY. GOD. I am still overwhelmed by that scene. I think I almost cried from sheer joy. They didn’t forget. They dropped the ball for a season and a half, but they didn’t forget. They went back to the mini series. One of my all time favorite Lee/Laura moments. And they twisted it and ripped my heart out with it. Oh, God, she pities him for what she thinks he has become, but he’s the man he’s always been, the one she has always turned to in the past. The one she entrusted with her life back on Kobol and the one she just recently trusted with revamping the law and seeing that Baltar received a fair trial.
Laura, you’re hurt, I get that. Your young prince just seemingly turned on you. It may not be fair, it may even be a bit low, but he’s doing exactly what any good defense attorney would. You are taking chamalla. It does affect your judgment. He of all people does know this. He has to use it. And look at him. It’s killing him. He still respects you. He doesn’t want to hurt you.
Jamie just killed me in that final moment. His voice cracking; the look on his face when she tells the courtroom that her cancer is back, then turns and looks him right in the eye with the withering ‘Is this what you wanted?’ look. No, it’s not. I don’t think Lee thought Laura had turned into a chamalla addict. They are back on the road to earth. Either he thought she was using it to help lead them there or he suspected she was ill again, but just didn’t want to have it acknowledged. He was obviously devastated when she revealed the truth.
Oh, yes, Adama knew. How long, I’m not certain, maybe she told him in CIC, but I think it was clear he knew. It saddens me that two years ago she entrusted Lee with her secret and now it’s his father that is the one she trusts. It goes to show how much has changed and I feel a lot of that is her doing. Her collusion with Adama over Cain’s assassination broke something in Lee and damaged their relationship severely. And while she claims to still trust him, she never sought to regain trust from him. The thing is, even if things were better between them I’m not sure Lee would have done anything differently.
Oh Dee, you really don’t understand. Please take your contempt, irrationality, and hypocrisy and go wherever Boxey went so I never have to see you again. I cannot fathom how she put up with her husband being in love with another woman and his infidelity, but can’t stand living with him now because he is trying to protect the law and ensure that a man, no matter how guilty he may be, gets a fair trial. It’s blatantly obvious now that she never knew the man she married. Hell, she didn’t marry Lee Adama, she married Commander Adama. And where does her election tampering fit into this? Did she forget about that? The system is broken and deserves to be taken apart. Is she the one to do it? She has a right to make things right, but Lee doesn’t? I have so much rage at her right now.
And Lee has sacrificed everything, his relationship with his father, with Laura, he knows he’s alienated himself from most of the fleet, and now his wife abandons him. He’s put his ass on the line for something bigger than himself, bigger than all of them, he’s trying to preserve one of the things that make them human, make them different from the Cylons and he knows there is a price to pay. He accepted that when he agreed to help Lampkin. But then to find out your wife never saw you?
Dee managed to deflect my Adama rage for a moment. I am just at a loss as to what to make of him anymore. He’s a man out of control, a terrifying prospect for a military commander, and I’m trying to figure out exactly why.
Throughout Season 1 and even through the mutiny/revolt of early Season 2 I still think I could have perceived Adama as a fair judge. But not when he proclaims the “traitorous piece of garbage Gaius Baltar, doesn’t even deserve a trial”. His actions on the stand showed extreme personal bias. Tigh, his friend, is made to reveal the truth and he attempts to shut down the cross-examination. Lee, in his opinion, attacks Laura and he tries to end the questioning and threatens to hold Lee and Lampkin in contempt. I was thrilled when the female judge (the chief justice?) shut him down. I can’t say it was the humiliation he deserves, but Lee should take some pleasure in his being put in his place.
Who thought it would be a good idea to put Tigh on the stand? And if you are going to do that, make sure there is someone around to ensure he doesn’t drink. That was painful to watch. Michael Hogan was awesome in conveying the breakdown that I think many of us expected Tigh to have sooner. I’m not sure what was harder for Tigh to reveal that he had killed his wife or that he felt he had to do it because she was a traitor and deserving of the same fate as the thirty-three that he had killed in the suicide bombing.
Tigh’s testimony also revealed that in a rush to judgment, or I should say condemnation, the prosecution is not well prepared. Lampkin was able to tear apart Tigh’s testimony to the extent that Lampkin probably could have called for a mistrial. Tigh, supposedly a star witness, admitted he’d do anything, including lie, to see Baltar die.
I think my breaking point with Adama came in his scene with Tigh. He forgave him for showing up drunk in court. He tells Tigh he’s never embarrassed him. And I could actually accept this unwavering acceptance of his friend if he’d show just a sliver of the same sort of acceptance and compassion towards his son.
The sad truth is that Tigh is the closest person to Adama. They have had a thirty plus year relationship that has weathered a lot of bad patches. Adama can’t say the same with his own family. He’s been estranged from all of them. But why can he forgive Tigh and not Lee? Is it because, ultimately, Tigh will fall in line with Adama? Lee is not willing to stagnate in the role of military officer. Perhaps he was when he saw that there was nothing else for him, but Lampkin has opened a door for him and he has chosen to walk through it. Lee is turning towards something else in his life, searching for purpose, but Adama only sees this as Lee turning away from him and what he believes in. Just as Dee fails to understand, Adama can’t see that Lee is growing, changing, or not really changing, but trying to find the man he should be, the man he wants to be. He’s an idealist who has tried to live up to the sometimes impossibly high standards he has set. Sometimes he succeeds and other times fails miserably. When he stops trying, he falls into lethargy, despair, and depression. But I guess as long as he does it in uniform, complies with the old man’s orders, that’s OK.
Adama calling Lee a liar and a coward shows how completely irrational he has become. His friend is hurt, so he attacks and blames his son. How the hell would Lee know about Ellen? And it was clear in the courtroom that Lampkin drew his own conclusions from Tigh’s own slip ups. There are a lot of valid accusations and criticisms that could be made of Lee, but he would not stand before his father, his commanding officer, and lie. And he certainly is no coward.
I’d like to think that part of Adama’s behavior is based on fear. He’s lost two children now (if we count Kara as a daughter and I think we all do) and Lee is now the only child he has left. In his eyes, Lee’s abandoned him and not just as he did four years ago when he walked away and wouldn’t speak to him. In Adama’s eyes, Lee’s revolted against everything he believes in and it’s a betrayal he finds much worse and much more painful. I wish it could make me feel a bit of sympathy for Adama, but, no. He’s treated Lee like crap far too many times. And Lee’s given him chances to make amends, to get to know him. I was actually surprised to see Lee in his father’s quarters, volunteering advice on how to elude the Cylons, being the good soldier, reaching out as best he could to his dad and he, once again, was given no consideration.
I loved the Lee/Baltar/Lampkin scene. Jamie’s performance helped to convey so much. I was thinking back over the course of the series and I don’t recall ever seeing Lee Adama so confidant, so relaxed. He genuinely seemed at ease in his skin and that came through not just with the words or the way he smiled while speaking them, but his body language as he lay sprawled on the couch, discussing strategy as to how to save their client’s life. Lee Adama seemed happy. Not satisfied, not content, but happy. And Lee knows exactly who he is defending (James Callis’s reaction to being called pond scum was priceless) and, more importantly, what he is defending.
I believe that Lee is choosing to defend Baltar for the reasons he states - truth, justice, belief in the system. I also believe there is a bit of sticking it to the old man involved. I don’t blame him. His feelings and beliefs have been subjugated so many times and there is a point when you break instead of bend. I don’t feel he has reached the breaking point yet though. He’s made a choice to defend Baltar. He’s quit the military. But he hasn’t told his father what he thinks of him and everything he stands for. Until that comes, Lee is not free of his past and I don’t think the Adama’s have a hope of forming any sort of lasting relationship.
I got spoiled inadvertently for the reemergence of the Chamalla. beccatoria, a bigger spoiler whore than I ;), helped to clarify for me why it was being brought up now. As much as I love Laura and don’t want to see Mary McDonnell go anywhere anytime soon, I was actually happy that the cancer returned. I never bought that Hera’s fetal blood was a cure all nor did it feel it was a satisfying resolution. It just bought her time. And once again, she is the dying leader who will lead them to earth - another plot thread that was put on the back burner.
And I have a few random observations that doesn’t seem to fit anywhere in the above:
• Anders is a nugget now. I can see that. The two things he was focused on were the resistance and Kara and both are gone. I can also see him gravitating to something that Kara loved, that gave her life meaning, and thus he can feel closer to her. But someone needs to explain t me how his broken leg healed in two weeks. Lampkin still has cuts on his face and is walking with a cane.
• People are seeing Baltar as a god? Huh? I can see people sympathizing with his ideas after his manifesto was made public, but seeing he’s a god seems a stretch.
• Is Laura sharing visions with Six and Sharon now? That can’t be good.
• The Cylons are suddenly hot on the fleet’s tail. I think it’s more than a radiation signature. And why five Cylon base ships? Does it tie into the final five?
• Why would Lee be suspicious of a thermos? I guess that was one of Ron’s magoffins to set up the reveal in court.
• Head Baltar! Like his counterpart Head Six with Baltar, he’s conveying knowledge to Caprica that she doesn’t already have. It opens up a lot of interesting questions I have no answers to.
• Tory seems to be acting very odd.
• Helo in the course of two weeks has gone been promoted to CAG and now XO. Talk about the fast track for a guy who was demoted to mayor of dogtown not long ago. His weather speech and “a storm’s coming” remark left me groaning though.
• Jamie Bamber in a white dress shirt? OH MY GOD MAKE ME ICONS PEOPLE!