Thoughts on "A Disquiet Follows My Soul"

[katie_9918]

I'm sort of cheating here, because I've had a couple of days to not only digest everything that happened, but also to read other reactions and talk to some people about this episode. My reaction is still somewhat mixed, but my feet are planted firmly in the "great episode" camp.

Comments

[katie_9918]

Yeah, that's the interview I was talking about and while I do very much appreciate the fact that RDM wasn't just shrugging and going, "Hey, that's the way things are," I also think the explanation was kind of lame.

And I think he knew it too, which is why he did spend some time saying that, no, Cally is not a bad person, there was just this relationship she was starting to get into and then the Chief all of a sudden proposed and she accepted. Then she found out she was pregnant.

I like that he seems to realize he sort of threw her under a bus and was very careful to absolve her from as much as he could. Ultimately, there is no whitewashing the fact that she lied to the Chief and unfortunately, it might have worked out better for her if she had told the truth. Who knows, maybe with Cally there in front of him, Hotdog might have taken some responsibility.

It's interesting to consider.

All for the sake of keeping Hera "special."

[laurandbillever]

yeah, I didn't like the change of the father either.... That makes Hera even more creepy :D We will wait and see :)

[katie_9918]

Hera's always been creepy and I fully admit that part of my disgruntled feelings over her being special stems from my dislike of Athena and Helo.

It's like, "Let's drag Cally through the mud AGAIN."

[laurandbillever]

yeah.... poor Cally...

[sidhe1]

i think you're right that this was the "Penumbra" episode of BSG. It certainly seems to be setting up a lot of things to play out in the rest of the series. Should be interesting to see where they go with all the threads they have on the loom. Lynn should be pretty thrilled--it looks promising that there will be lots of Richard Hatch! LOL.

I am sure you'll disagree, but I always hated the idea of Cally and the Chief. I think it's a *horrible* message for younger girls who might be watching the show--it's okay if he beats the shit out of you if he didn't know he was doing it, or if he felt bad about it later. No matter what the reason, I can't condone or justify anything of the sort. That's definitely not a message I'd want my daughter to get, or my son for that matter. That's just me, though. :) I don't necessarily like Cally/Hotdog or the lame thing about Nicky's true parentage, but I just can't be angry about it in light of my feelings about the Cally/Chief relationship in the first place.

[katie_9918]

See, for me, the entire issue of the Chief and Cally is context. It's not like she did something to piss him off and he beat the crap out of her. He didn't even realize he was doing it at the time. He was under a lot of stress and having nightmares and all that other garbage and he was asleep while it happened

[sidhe1]

Yeah, sorry. I know what you're saying but I don't care what sort of excuse or rationalization they give. There is never any excuse or rationalization for a man to hit a woman and to suggest that there IS a time when it's okay, or at least forgivable, is inexcusable to me. I don't care if it was an accident or unknowing or if he felt bad or what. If others think otherwise, that's their choice. Maybe that makes them better people than I am, I don't know. But for me, it will never be acceptable under any circumstance, even if it's just in a TV show. :/

[katie_9918]

For me, it's like sleepwalking out of the house, getting in a car, and hitting someone. Horrible, for sure, but a complete accident.

He was asleep at the time, which makes all the difference to me. He literally had no clue.

If he'd been even a little aware of what he was doing, I'd agree completely with you. If he'd shown any sort of tendency toward violence against Cally before that, I'd agree with you. True, he did beat the crap out of Helo, but that was a fight and he stopped himself before he did any real damage.

This wasn't a violent person at the time. And he's still not a violent person unless sufficiently provoked. And I don't think he's ever displayed tendencies toward hitting females at any time before or after he sleep-pummelled Cally. That's why I think it's forgivable, and understandable that Cally was able to forgive him.

Normally, I do think this is a black and white issue, too. But it's not like he lost control for a second and smacked her. He didn't even know what he was doing.