Lee Adama Is A Total Badass (Top 10 moments)
I don't suppose anyone on LJ is still about to read this, but alas, I still have three hours to kill. So here goes! Lee's badassery, by popular demand.
I noticed in a lot of reviews of "Revelations" how surprised people were by Lee's badassery...whereas to Lee fans, he just met their expectations.
I hope this picspam shows not only why I love this character for his principled toughness, but also that he has proved himself to be a good man in a crisis, well-seasoned in the pressures of command. While he could never hold the #1 spot while Adama and Roslin were around, and "Revelations" tested him as he never had been before, the way he rises to the occasion is nothing new.
Here are 10 great Lee Badass moments from all seasons.**
(** Please note that I also really wanted to cheat and put Razor in there as #11, because I really think it's one of his highest points of heroism -- but that would take a lot more discussion, so I'll save that for another post!)
1. Saving Their Collective Asses (Miniseries)
Lee often is placed in a position of having to argue in favor of painful-yet-necessary choices. In the miniseries, he is the first one to realize that the FTL ships will have to jump away from the survivors without jump capabilities--as much as they all hate it, it's really a numbers game. All humanity might be wiped out. Roslin refuses because she is unwilling to abandon the helpless.
He won't disobey her direct order ("You're the president") but in a moment of quick thinking, races down to send a burst of energy from the pulse generators in order to make it seem to the Cylons as though they all were wiped out on Dradis.
Captain Apollo saves the day, and Roslin realizes he's right about leaving. But then he has to order the jump and listen to the pleas of the other civilian captains ringing in his ears as he does so.
It's the first of many times they are forced to play the numbers game. It doesn't get any easier -- but right from the get go, Lee proves that he's tough enough to do it.
2. Leading the pilots through 6 straight days of battle + firing on the Olympic Carrier (“33”)
He never wanted to be CAG, and he's not very good at it (yet). In spite of all that, he keeps it together and keeps his pilots together for six straight days of attacks coming every 33 minutes.
Then he only has to kill a ship that is probably full of 1,300 civilians. Over Kara's objections, he fires.
Tough but necessary -- we only see how much this costs him later. And then he goes to write the flight schedules for the next day.
3. Making these bitches take their elections in “Bastille Day”
I love how he not only reads Zarek perfectly but dismantles him psychologically. He concludes that Zarek wants to die, doesn't want elections, and wants chaos in the fleet. So once he gets the drop on him, he gives him the elections, imposes order, and makes him live.
Then he tells the irate Roslin and Adama that he's only committed them to following the law, pointing out that their positions of power rest entirely on the rules of the old system. Want new rules? Then you're not admiral or president. I love Lee!
4. Hand of God
Lee's not a reckless hotshot -- he's more conservative than Starbuck, he keeps his eye on the percentages. But "Hand of God" proves that he will pull out the totally insane option if everything's on the line and it's the only one left, busting out some retina-detaching moves of his own.
The fleet is saved! Hooray!
(Plus, the way he says "Oh no Lee, don't do this" even as he enters the tunnel makes me giggle every time.)
5. Taking out the Cylon boarding party / saving the whole ship from being vented (Valley of Darkness)
Cylon centurions that can't be taken out by ordinary bullets board Galactica, cut the power, and tear people up. Who should meet them but a group of fresh-from-battle, foolishly smiling, happy Viper pilots!
Spattered in the guts of his comrade, Lee fires in vain, only to be saved by marines with rounds that can take them out. That's the good news. The bad news? There's more centurions out there, and the marines are out of ammo. Everyone else freaks the hell out at this news, but Lee says:
"Let's go toaster shopping." <3 <3 <3
He fires off orders and takes charge. He meets up with other crewmembers and Roslin, gives the President more marines for protection, and sends her in the direction of safety. He gets them to the small arms locker for ammo and finds they only have five rounds. Because it's THAT KIND OF DAY. He contacts the CIC and learns that oh yeah, the centurions are headed for Aft Damage control, and if they get there, they can vent contents of the entire ship into space. So they'd better barricade and make those five rounds count, or it's all over.
Guess who makes the last round count. I love that he manages to keep it together even though he himself is afraid (he murmurs to himself adorably, "Headshot, reload, headshot").
After saving all their asses AGAIN he then goes to sickbay to kiss his wounded father on the head, where Tigh proceeds to bitch him out for betraying the old man and tells him he's unfit to wear the uniform. Just another day in the life of Lee Adama!
6. Mutiny to save the Government ("KLG II") + springing Roslin and orchestrating the escape ("Scattered")
Should the civilian government fall just because the President makes one bad decision? Lee's glock says: NO!
I also love what he tells Roslin, later: "I didn't do it for you." (Try getting his father to realize Lee is motivated not by personal loyalties so much as principle.)
Then, while incarcerated, he gets many in the crew on Galactica to collude with him and orchestrate The Great Escape, even bringing Zarek in on it (because he might be a crafty devil, but he's a crafty devil who's anti-military-dictatorship). When Tigh detects the escape, he threatens to shoot Lee's Raptor down, even if he is the old man's son. Lee's response? "Then do what you have to do, Colonel." I translate this as "Go ahead, kill me, try explaining that to the old man. I double dog dare you."
And they get away.
7. Taking the Con in an Ambush ("Captain’s Hand")
He's been Major for about two weeks when all of a sudden he's handed the Con of the Pegasus -- in the middle of an ambush, with non-functioning jump drives. Welcome to the big leagues!
Lee gives himself exactly three seconds to let “I have the Con” sink in before he kicks it into high gear and wins the battle -- his first taste of supreme command, and a good sign that he'd be able to rise to the occasion.
8. Saving the NC rescue op by sacrificing the Pegasus ("Exodus part II")
How do two undermanned Battlestars take on twice as many Baseships and a planetful of toasters and win? A: They can't. So you make one ship's inevitable destruction work for you.
Mr Dionusia is so full of flail over this moment, he calls it “the OTHER Psychotic Act of Badassery” (because everyone remembers Galactica dropping into the atmo, but forget the poor Peggy). Mr Dionusia is right. This is a crazy, crazy move that saves them all, and I love watching the abandoned Pegasus slice through two Baseships all by itself.
Also -- though he will never stop beating himself up for it -- let's not forget that Lee's argument that they needed to jump away in LDYBII preserved both of these ships in the first place.
9. Speech at Baltar's trial ("Crossroads")
Not everyone appreciates this speech as I do (to say the least, heh) but his courage and resolve to take an unpopular stance is something I admire tremendously. It doesn't matter that he hates Baltar's guts; even people you don't like deserve trials. His primary motivation is that he truly believes defending Baltar is the right thing to do.
In this speech, he's not speaking about pie-in-the-sky idealism -- he knows they're a gang, not a civilization anymore. In terms of guilt, he places his sins at the top of the list (including the Olympic Carrier...oh, Lee). But he points out not only that the case against Baltar is based on emotion rather than evidence -- he also notes that humanity has only been able to struggle along and survive as long as it has by continually granting pardons to the undeserving.
It reminded me of Roslin's decision to grant amnesty to all collaborators at the initial fleet reunion. If humanity is going to make it, at some point they have to make a decision to stop tearing themselves apart.
10 Saving the entire Fleet/brokering the peace deal during the shortest Presidency on record ("Revelations")
Lee is the kind of guy who keeps his professional cool in extreme crisis situations. He has to rise higher than he ever has before to meet the demands of this standoff.
What's especially cool about the way he steps up here is that once he learns the president is still alive, he just assumes they'll follow her orders -- yet is ready the second his father defers to him as "Mr. President." And the touching way he took care of his dad in his collapse also made my heart melt.
Now, Tory might not know a damn thing about Lee Adama, but he does have a core of steel. Faced with an adversary who kept escalating when she should have backed down, he held firm because he had no other options. When Kara gave him a new barganing chip with the location of Earth, he realized that at this point in time, risking trust can be strategic.
It's not illogical as it may seem; it was the only choice left that didn't involve mutually assured destruction. And yes, it was rushed -- it by no means healed the rift or made everything magically better between human and Cylon -- but it was a peace forged of necessity, and it pulled them all back from the brink of destruction. I really doubt that Zarek or some other Quorum member would have been able to do the same.
One of my favorite moments in the entire season is when Roslin turns to him and says, "You were handed a crisis, and you knew exactly what to do."
Aww, you guys. Don't ever fight. <3
___
I hope I've shown that Lee has a long record of making life-and-death, fleet-saving leadership decisions. He's not always right about everything, but he does know very well what it's like to hold command -- the kind of situation where if you make a mistake, people die, and every decision carries a risk to all of humanity. I'm sure his job isn't yet done.
In conclusion: go Lee!
I noticed in a lot of reviews of "Revelations" how surprised people were by Lee's badassery...whereas to Lee fans, he just met their expectations.
I hope this picspam shows not only why I love this character for his principled toughness, but also that he has proved himself to be a good man in a crisis, well-seasoned in the pressures of command. While he could never hold the #1 spot while Adama and Roslin were around, and "Revelations" tested him as he never had been before, the way he rises to the occasion is nothing new.
Here are 10 great Lee Badass moments from all seasons.**
(** Please note that I also really wanted to cheat and put Razor in there as #11, because I really think it's one of his highest points of heroism -- but that would take a lot more discussion, so I'll save that for another post!)
1. Saving Their Collective Asses (Miniseries)
Lee often is placed in a position of having to argue in favor of painful-yet-necessary choices. In the miniseries, he is the first one to realize that the FTL ships will have to jump away from the survivors without jump capabilities--as much as they all hate it, it's really a numbers game. All humanity might be wiped out. Roslin refuses because she is unwilling to abandon the helpless.
He won't disobey her direct order ("You're the president") but in a moment of quick thinking, races down to send a burst of energy from the pulse generators in order to make it seem to the Cylons as though they all were wiped out on Dradis.
Captain Apollo saves the day, and Roslin realizes he's right about leaving. But then he has to order the jump and listen to the pleas of the other civilian captains ringing in his ears as he does so.
It's the first of many times they are forced to play the numbers game. It doesn't get any easier -- but right from the get go, Lee proves that he's tough enough to do it.
2. Leading the pilots through 6 straight days of battle + firing on the Olympic Carrier (“33”)
He never wanted to be CAG, and he's not very good at it (yet). In spite of all that, he keeps it together and keeps his pilots together for six straight days of attacks coming every 33 minutes.
Then he only has to kill a ship that is probably full of 1,300 civilians. Over Kara's objections, he fires.
Tough but necessary -- we only see how much this costs him later. And then he goes to write the flight schedules for the next day.
3. Making these bitches take their elections in “Bastille Day”
I love how he not only reads Zarek perfectly but dismantles him psychologically. He concludes that Zarek wants to die, doesn't want elections, and wants chaos in the fleet. So once he gets the drop on him, he gives him the elections, imposes order, and makes him live.
Then he tells the irate Roslin and Adama that he's only committed them to following the law, pointing out that their positions of power rest entirely on the rules of the old system. Want new rules? Then you're not admiral or president. I love Lee!
4. Hand of God
Lee's not a reckless hotshot -- he's more conservative than Starbuck, he keeps his eye on the percentages. But "Hand of God" proves that he will pull out the totally insane option if everything's on the line and it's the only one left, busting out some retina-detaching moves of his own.
The fleet is saved! Hooray!
(Plus, the way he says "Oh no Lee, don't do this" even as he enters the tunnel makes me giggle every time.)
5. Taking out the Cylon boarding party / saving the whole ship from being vented (Valley of Darkness)
Cylon centurions that can't be taken out by ordinary bullets board Galactica, cut the power, and tear people up. Who should meet them but a group of fresh-from-battle, foolishly smiling, happy Viper pilots!
Spattered in the guts of his comrade, Lee fires in vain, only to be saved by marines with rounds that can take them out. That's the good news. The bad news? There's more centurions out there, and the marines are out of ammo. Everyone else freaks the hell out at this news, but Lee says:
"Let's go toaster shopping." <3 <3 <3
He fires off orders and takes charge. He meets up with other crewmembers and Roslin, gives the President more marines for protection, and sends her in the direction of safety. He gets them to the small arms locker for ammo and finds they only have five rounds. Because it's THAT KIND OF DAY. He contacts the CIC and learns that oh yeah, the centurions are headed for Aft Damage control, and if they get there, they can vent contents of the entire ship into space. So they'd better barricade and make those five rounds count, or it's all over.
Guess who makes the last round count. I love that he manages to keep it together even though he himself is afraid (he murmurs to himself adorably, "Headshot, reload, headshot").
After saving all their asses AGAIN he then goes to sickbay to kiss his wounded father on the head, where Tigh proceeds to bitch him out for betraying the old man and tells him he's unfit to wear the uniform. Just another day in the life of Lee Adama!
6. Mutiny to save the Government ("KLG II") + springing Roslin and orchestrating the escape ("Scattered")
Should the civilian government fall just because the President makes one bad decision? Lee's glock says: NO!
I also love what he tells Roslin, later: "I didn't do it for you." (Try getting his father to realize Lee is motivated not by personal loyalties so much as principle.)
Then, while incarcerated, he gets many in the crew on Galactica to collude with him and orchestrate The Great Escape, even bringing Zarek in on it (because he might be a crafty devil, but he's a crafty devil who's anti-military-dictatorship). When Tigh detects the escape, he threatens to shoot Lee's Raptor down, even if he is the old man's son. Lee's response? "Then do what you have to do, Colonel." I translate this as "Go ahead, kill me, try explaining that to the old man. I double dog dare you."
And they get away.
7. Taking the Con in an Ambush ("Captain’s Hand")
He's been Major for about two weeks when all of a sudden he's handed the Con of the Pegasus -- in the middle of an ambush, with non-functioning jump drives. Welcome to the big leagues!
Lee gives himself exactly three seconds to let “I have the Con” sink in before he kicks it into high gear and wins the battle -- his first taste of supreme command, and a good sign that he'd be able to rise to the occasion.
8. Saving the NC rescue op by sacrificing the Pegasus ("Exodus part II")
How do two undermanned Battlestars take on twice as many Baseships and a planetful of toasters and win? A: They can't. So you make one ship's inevitable destruction work for you.
Mr Dionusia is so full of flail over this moment, he calls it “the OTHER Psychotic Act of Badassery” (because everyone remembers Galactica dropping into the atmo, but forget the poor Peggy). Mr Dionusia is right. This is a crazy, crazy move that saves them all, and I love watching the abandoned Pegasus slice through two Baseships all by itself.
Also -- though he will never stop beating himself up for it -- let's not forget that Lee's argument that they needed to jump away in LDYBII preserved both of these ships in the first place.
9. Speech at Baltar's trial ("Crossroads")
Not everyone appreciates this speech as I do (to say the least, heh) but his courage and resolve to take an unpopular stance is something I admire tremendously. It doesn't matter that he hates Baltar's guts; even people you don't like deserve trials. His primary motivation is that he truly believes defending Baltar is the right thing to do.
In this speech, he's not speaking about pie-in-the-sky idealism -- he knows they're a gang, not a civilization anymore. In terms of guilt, he places his sins at the top of the list (including the Olympic Carrier...oh, Lee). But he points out not only that the case against Baltar is based on emotion rather than evidence -- he also notes that humanity has only been able to struggle along and survive as long as it has by continually granting pardons to the undeserving.
It reminded me of Roslin's decision to grant amnesty to all collaborators at the initial fleet reunion. If humanity is going to make it, at some point they have to make a decision to stop tearing themselves apart.
10 Saving the entire Fleet/brokering the peace deal during the shortest Presidency on record ("Revelations")
Lee is the kind of guy who keeps his professional cool in extreme crisis situations. He has to rise higher than he ever has before to meet the demands of this standoff.
What's especially cool about the way he steps up here is that once he learns the president is still alive, he just assumes they'll follow her orders -- yet is ready the second his father defers to him as "Mr. President." And the touching way he took care of his dad in his collapse also made my heart melt.
Now, Tory might not know a damn thing about Lee Adama, but he does have a core of steel. Faced with an adversary who kept escalating when she should have backed down, he held firm because he had no other options. When Kara gave him a new barganing chip with the location of Earth, he realized that at this point in time, risking trust can be strategic.
It's not illogical as it may seem; it was the only choice left that didn't involve mutually assured destruction. And yes, it was rushed -- it by no means healed the rift or made everything magically better between human and Cylon -- but it was a peace forged of necessity, and it pulled them all back from the brink of destruction. I really doubt that Zarek or some other Quorum member would have been able to do the same.
One of my favorite moments in the entire season is when Roslin turns to him and says, "You were handed a crisis, and you knew exactly what to do."
Aww, you guys. Don't ever fight. <3
___
I hope I've shown that Lee has a long record of making life-and-death, fleet-saving leadership decisions. He's not always right about everything, but he does know very well what it's like to hold command -- the kind of situation where if you make a mistake, people die, and every decision carries a risk to all of humanity. I'm sure his job isn't yet done.
In conclusion: go Lee!