shallowness (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shallowness) wrote2021-05-15 12:02 pm
shallowness) wrote2021-05-15 12:02 pm
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Gattlestar Balactica double-bill
I had to gee myself up to watch BSG, but at least I then decided to follow the first episode with the next immediately, even though my problems with this season continue.
4.3 (or 4.5) ‘The Ties That Bind’: I was more icked out by the fact that Boomer and one of the Ones hae a thing than feeling anything much about Tori killing Cally. As for Tori, the way she’s written from episode to episode is so inconsistent that I can’t even… Okay, she’s having an existential crisis, but in her case it seems to be by becoming a less interesting Six? Her takeout from being forced to have sex with Gaius, (and not getting much intel,) is that she wants to Feel Everything. Sadly, Tyrol wasn’t interested, even in the midst of his own existential crisis, and then Tori was into her whole being stronger thing, and fine, killing Cally was an act of self-protection, and Cally just walked into it as soon as she walked into the airlock.
We learned that Cally has been depressed, and with Mickey constantly crying, possibly because of all the tensions between his parents – Tyrol had forgotten being a better husband and father because EXISTENTIAL CRISIS, not much chance of getting better. The Doc might have testified that she wasn’t suicidal, but then again, she could have taken an overdose, so I presume this will go down as an apparent suicide. They did a good job of showing Cally’s troubled state of mind, and there was a noble attempt to show the writers remembered her and Galen’s history, although I was so not interested in revisiting it with the knowledge that the writers have now decided he’s a Cylon. Cally not going to tell someone, (the Doc, Adama) after knocking out Tyrol (nice reversal of his referenced violence against her) and her actions during the encounter with Tori made sense, even if she sealed her own fate.
I couldn’t work myself up to be angry or sad, though. (Was depression in the viewers what they were going for?)
So Lee’s ‘job in Government’ was to somehow be appointed some kind of representative sans election or something? Democracy schemocracy. And Varek was on Laura’s side and …huh? Surely he’d just have to wait out her death? I didn’t fully follow this. Maybe he’s trying to mess up Lee’s reputation as a politician pre-emptively.
Bill was a good boyfriend with the reading, but the press finding out about Kara’s special mission was causing Roslin political problems she could have done without.
And it seemed like an interesting set up on the Demetrius. I’d assumed it was just her, but we learned that Kara was commanding a small crew, which included Felix (so between his ability to retrace the jumps and Kara’s Earth sense, I didn’t understand why they were finding it so difficult), along with grumbling redshirts, Helo and Sam. The wrong pretty boy as far as my investment goes got attention as Kara showed some more of her damage to her husband. (Who unbeknownst to her is having an EXISTENTIAL CRISIS. And knew nothing about Cally.)
Meanwhile, the ramifications of the Cylon civil war continued, with a One entering negotiations with the Sixes and not Boomers, who wanted Deeanna back into the mix as they argued over their unity and direction and souls. Unlike me, they didn’t think he was conceding too easily. So all the Sixes bar Caprica and all the not Boomers are really and truly dead? Really, there should be more models on some other ships, because the Cylons can’t be focusing all their activity on some ships, SURELY, and, moreover, what was the point of teasing trouble ahead with the Sentinels having greater consciousness now? But at this point, who knows/cares? Boomer maybe realised her new boyfriend was fairly ruthless.
I realised that that was a lot of female characters killed. I mean, there’s only Boomer and all the male Cylons left on that ship/those ships/of the Cylons, except for the hybrids. APPARENTLY.
And the next episode 4.4 (4.6) ‘Escape Velocity’ was mainly about manpain, so I was rumbling about the default male POV.
Other than maybe Roslin. I continue to suppose cancer treatment and other problems explain Laura not noticing that her aide is still acting funny (heartless at the funeral). Bill continued to read, heartbreakingly for her, as Lee raised some very valid points about Roslin’s use of power (it would have been so much easier if she’d spaced Gaius ages ago, because he continues to have a corrosive effect on her compass).
Gaius seemed to be getting some character growth, as he acknowledged his own faults, before letting Six (and it’s Six again) urge him towards being a most unlikely messianic figure
I was deeply unimpressed by the self-help gubbins he spouted to his groupies, even if it tied in thematically. But I was amused by the visual of Six literally dragging him like a wounded marionette to get some more punishment from Roslin’s guards. Painting it as a war between the old and new religions was mildly interesting.
In the early morning ceremony, I think we heard poor Cally’s full name for the first time.
I’ll just note that we never saw Mickey at all during this episode, so he was probaby crying for his mama at someone else. The show hasn’t really gone after his special status yet, Cally hadn’t got as far as registering what his daddy was meant for her son. The only hint towards this was what Tyrol hallucianted Adama saying.
So, lots of grieving widowerness (because manpain is sufficient justification for killing lots of female characters), with Tyrol’s memories interfering with his work, leading to his finally uttering some bile about his shrew wife having been the best of limited options, because, with retconning irony, his first love was a Cylon. He managed to go far enough for Adama finally sack him. Of course, as we could see Tyrol’s flashbacks, just as we had Cally’s in the previous ep, we knew it was more complicated.
I found this less obnoxious than Tighe’s weird fascination with Caprica as an example of who he was, possibly, but also merging in his mind with the dead wife who he’d killed for collaborating with the Cylons. More retconning irony. But my lack of sympathy continues. I noticed that the watchers’ sympathies seemed to have no rhyme or reason. And I have no idea what was going on with Caprica, who started off in an interesting place, acknowledging that she had the blood of millions on her hands and then…failed to recognise her fellow Cylon and was willing to be whatever he needed her to be (because ???) Also Ellen in a wig just looked weird (in an episode in which Laura Roslin commented on her own wig.)
In the middle of all this we had a pointless visit to the Demetrius…just to show us that Kara is still damaged over there. I’d have rather caught up with Athena or Dee.
4.3 (or 4.5) ‘The Ties That Bind’: I was more icked out by the fact that Boomer and one of the Ones hae a thing than feeling anything much about Tori killing Cally. As for Tori, the way she’s written from episode to episode is so inconsistent that I can’t even… Okay, she’s having an existential crisis, but in her case it seems to be by becoming a less interesting Six? Her takeout from being forced to have sex with Gaius, (and not getting much intel,) is that she wants to Feel Everything. Sadly, Tyrol wasn’t interested, even in the midst of his own existential crisis, and then Tori was into her whole being stronger thing, and fine, killing Cally was an act of self-protection, and Cally just walked into it as soon as she walked into the airlock.
We learned that Cally has been depressed, and with Mickey constantly crying, possibly because of all the tensions between his parents – Tyrol had forgotten being a better husband and father because EXISTENTIAL CRISIS, not much chance of getting better. The Doc might have testified that she wasn’t suicidal, but then again, she could have taken an overdose, so I presume this will go down as an apparent suicide. They did a good job of showing Cally’s troubled state of mind, and there was a noble attempt to show the writers remembered her and Galen’s history, although I was so not interested in revisiting it with the knowledge that the writers have now decided he’s a Cylon. Cally not going to tell someone, (the Doc, Adama) after knocking out Tyrol (nice reversal of his referenced violence against her) and her actions during the encounter with Tori made sense, even if she sealed her own fate.
I couldn’t work myself up to be angry or sad, though. (Was depression in the viewers what they were going for?)
So Lee’s ‘job in Government’ was to somehow be appointed some kind of representative sans election or something? Democracy schemocracy. And Varek was on Laura’s side and …huh? Surely he’d just have to wait out her death? I didn’t fully follow this. Maybe he’s trying to mess up Lee’s reputation as a politician pre-emptively.
Bill was a good boyfriend with the reading, but the press finding out about Kara’s special mission was causing Roslin political problems she could have done without.
And it seemed like an interesting set up on the Demetrius. I’d assumed it was just her, but we learned that Kara was commanding a small crew, which included Felix (so between his ability to retrace the jumps and Kara’s Earth sense, I didn’t understand why they were finding it so difficult), along with grumbling redshirts, Helo and Sam. The wrong pretty boy as far as my investment goes got attention as Kara showed some more of her damage to her husband. (Who unbeknownst to her is having an EXISTENTIAL CRISIS. And knew nothing about Cally.)
Meanwhile, the ramifications of the Cylon civil war continued, with a One entering negotiations with the Sixes and not Boomers, who wanted Deeanna back into the mix as they argued over their unity and direction and souls. Unlike me, they didn’t think he was conceding too easily. So all the Sixes bar Caprica and all the not Boomers are really and truly dead? Really, there should be more models on some other ships, because the Cylons can’t be focusing all their activity on some ships, SURELY, and, moreover, what was the point of teasing trouble ahead with the Sentinels having greater consciousness now? But at this point, who knows/cares? Boomer maybe realised her new boyfriend was fairly ruthless.
I realised that that was a lot of female characters killed. I mean, there’s only Boomer and all the male Cylons left on that ship/those ships/of the Cylons, except for the hybrids. APPARENTLY.
And the next episode 4.4 (4.6) ‘Escape Velocity’ was mainly about manpain, so I was rumbling about the default male POV.
Other than maybe Roslin. I continue to suppose cancer treatment and other problems explain Laura not noticing that her aide is still acting funny (heartless at the funeral). Bill continued to read, heartbreakingly for her, as Lee raised some very valid points about Roslin’s use of power (it would have been so much easier if she’d spaced Gaius ages ago, because he continues to have a corrosive effect on her compass).
Gaius seemed to be getting some character growth, as he acknowledged his own faults, before letting Six (and it’s Six again) urge him towards being a most unlikely messianic figure
I was deeply unimpressed by the self-help gubbins he spouted to his groupies, even if it tied in thematically. But I was amused by the visual of Six literally dragging him like a wounded marionette to get some more punishment from Roslin’s guards. Painting it as a war between the old and new religions was mildly interesting.
In the early morning ceremony, I think we heard poor Cally’s full name for the first time.
I’ll just note that we never saw Mickey at all during this episode, so he was probaby crying for his mama at someone else. The show hasn’t really gone after his special status yet, Cally hadn’t got as far as registering what his daddy was meant for her son. The only hint towards this was what Tyrol hallucianted Adama saying.
So, lots of grieving widowerness (because manpain is sufficient justification for killing lots of female characters), with Tyrol’s memories interfering with his work, leading to his finally uttering some bile about his shrew wife having been the best of limited options, because, with retconning irony, his first love was a Cylon. He managed to go far enough for Adama finally sack him. Of course, as we could see Tyrol’s flashbacks, just as we had Cally’s in the previous ep, we knew it was more complicated.
I found this less obnoxious than Tighe’s weird fascination with Caprica as an example of who he was, possibly, but also merging in his mind with the dead wife who he’d killed for collaborating with the Cylons. More retconning irony. But my lack of sympathy continues. I noticed that the watchers’ sympathies seemed to have no rhyme or reason. And I have no idea what was going on with Caprica, who started off in an interesting place, acknowledging that she had the blood of millions on her hands and then…failed to recognise her fellow Cylon and was willing to be whatever he needed her to be (because ???) Also Ellen in a wig just looked weird (in an episode in which Laura Roslin commented on her own wig.)
In the middle of all this we had a pointless visit to the Demetrius…just to show us that Kara is still damaged over there. I’d have rather caught up with Athena or Dee.