Sunday's Galactica
Kevin D.
Well, it appears our gracious host has forgotten about this week's Battlestar Galactica.
I'd say no spoilers but since it aired two days ago I'll put my thoughts on the front page but keep the text hidden just in case.
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So, D'anna has been boxed. I wonder if that is why the other five Cylon models were boxed as well. The collective agreed that each one had wandered too far from the group think. Became too independent. Notice that D'anna said that Brother Caval would follow down the same path. Perhaps this is just part of natural Cylon evolution?
It would also appear that one of the missing five is active amongst the humans as well given Dianna expression to one of the five she saw in the Temple of Jupiter. That's the only possibility that makes sense.
Looks like the seeds have been planted for Starbuck's "departure." She's had visions of the symbol in the Temple of Jupiter. Something she's couldn't have possibly seen previously. I wonder if, perhaps, she's one of the five. Though, I don't like the idea of Cylons only having destinies like Baltar and D'anna. However, Starbuck seems to be the most religious amongst the human cast. That certainly seems to be a Cylon trait. Heck, Roslin believed herself to be the prophesied one to bring humanity to Earth but she doesn't seem to be getting particularly religious. I know if I saw a prophecy about myself in my culture's religious text I'd be cozying up to the gods rather quickly.
And Baltar is back in possession of the fleet. I'm looking forward to his trial. I know that Lee defends him. Honestly, I think Baltar should get off. He may have rubber-stamped Cylon measures against the people of New Caprica but even Roslin and Adama, if they can look past their hatred of the man, must realize that had he refused he'd have been killed and someone else would have taken his place. Given that President Roslin already issued a blanket pardon for everyone that collaborated with the Cylons I cannot see how Baltar's sin was any worse. Hell, at least the people that joined up with the New Caprica Police had a choice! No one put a gun to their head to join. Baltar had a gun to his.
Caprica Six is now being held on Galactica too. Should be interesting to see what they do with her. She knows she cannot go back to the Cylons because she helped Athena escape with her kid. Her only hope lays with humanity. If Athena can flip sides why can't she? It was also interesting to see how Boomer has grown to hate humanity.
So, I think this second half of the season is off to a good start. I have high hopes for the rest.
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Overall it was a good episode. I still don't know if the show is going to survive past this season, but we'll see.
I don't think the other 5 models were boxed, Kevin. I think they have no idea who or what they are. Which I find interesting to say the least.
I am amused that Baltar thinks he may be a cylon, wants to believe he's a cylon. That's pretty funny because I was speculating that he might be a cylon all the way back in season 1, and I got flak for that. Clearly the creators had that possibility in mind all along, and were at least hinting at it. It could of course just be an attempt at throwing us off, of course. I guess we'll see at the end of this season.
It's also pretty clear that Lucy Lawless either got too expensive for the show's budget, or, she wanted off the show for a while. ;-)
(Psst, Kevin: her name's spelled D'anna. I fixed your entry. ;-)
Don't forget, it was the Chief who found the temple.
And I still can't reconcile that with the fact he went aboard the plague ship and didn't bring back the plague. He volunteered with the confidence that he couldn't be infected -- but this act is bracketed by his questioning whether he's a Cylon? WTF?
So, the fear of death overrode his hopes of being a Cylon in that particular instance.
See, it all makes sense!
Now that they have Hera, Baltar, and Caprica Six aboard Galactica, it's time for them to end things. If they go past this season they're going to lose a lot of their audience, so spend the next twelve episodes (and perhaps some series end extravaganza) showing the Other Five, finding Earth, resolving the Apollo-Starbuck thing, marrying Adama and Roslin, punishing Baltar, and all that stuff.
Good point: the prophecy says that a dying leader will show them the way, but Roslin's not dying anymore. It would make sense that she's not the leader and never was.
I don't think that Starbuck can be a Cylon, though, given their efforts to capture and "tame" her. It's possible that there's an explanation that would let her be one, though.
Had she died when they all thought she would then she clearly could not be the prophet because they were nowhere near Earth. And she could still yet die. Cancer has a habit of coming out of remission. So, it's entirely possible that the gods allowed her this respite to fulfill her destiny at which point she will die.
And I disagree with your pronouncement that the show should end this season or risk losing viewers. In my experience seasons 3, 4 and 5 tend to be the best. By then the show has found its legs and it moving at a brisk pace. I'd like to see it go 5 or 6 seasons. I think that's a reasonable length.
I get what you're saying, but here's the thing in my mind: how long can you run a show based on a chase? Prison Break got their folks out of the penitentiary (like how I avoided using "prison" twice in the same sentence?) at the end of the first season, and so while they're on the run, a definite goal has been met.
While I could be wrong, I don't see how they can continue on at this pace. Helo shooting Athena was a shock to me, but I was dismayed that she achieved her objective and even brought Caprica Six with her before the episode was even over. Unless they've got a completely new dimension to flesh out which they've been nursing along, I can't see what else there is for them to do without a significant loss of momentum.
Then there are the religious aspects. Is Roslin the prophet spoken of? What is Kara's destiny? What did D'anna see between life and death? Who are the Final Five? Why do they seem to exist in that place? Does this mean the colonial gods are false gods? If so why does their prophecy seem to be accurate?
And on and on and on. To sum up Battlestar Galactica as a chase is as like saying The Lord of the Rings is about Frodo taking a ring to a volcano. It's essentially accurate but misses so much!
I think that's by design. Ron Moore has stated that he strives with the show to never give quick answers. He wants the viewers to decide. Perhaps it's this kind of story telling, the kind that does away with clearly defined good guys, that says something about our moral state today.
I don't know. I know who I think are the good guys, warts and all, and knowing that anyone of them could go is scary and keeps my butt in the seat.
Tolkien was crafting a tale of morality. His story was about life and death and good versus evil.
BSG isn't that kind of story. Is it less because of that? I don't think so. There's plenty of room for stories like BSG.
I do think that each forces us to examine ourselves. They just go about it by differing means and therefore highlight different areas to examine.
I adore Tolkien. I love what he did and, perhaps even more, what he was trying to do. His stories, for me, make me look at more spiritual matters. More philosophical matters.
BSG makes me look at the here-and-now.
BUt that's just me.
Of course we all lose our tempers now and then. Dean freely admits to being imperfect in this regard, which is why regulars to this establishment will generally be cut more slack than people who we don't know very well.
Still: behave like an adult, or go find somewhere else to play. Thanks.