BSG 2.01.

[selenak]

Full of unexpected geeky joy for the second day in a row, I bring you my reaction to the season 2 opener of BSG.




Oh, my angst-ridden Galactic Fleet and pursuing Cylons, how have I missed you. The fabulous ensemble-ness of the show continues; if this was anyone’s episode in particular, though, it was Tigh’s. Adama is his touchstone and saviour, and now that’s taken away… and lo and behold, Tigh doesn’t fall apart. I really liked that you couldn’t say in advance whether or not he was going to kill Boomer.The flashbacks give us some more backstory tidbits, though I suspect they were originally longer and got cut. The moustache on Adama worked for me, btw, mostly because I had a “wow, that’s the first time I really recognize Olmos as the same actor who was in Blade Runner” moment. “A new wife” implies Adama was married more than once, which is interesting.

What few Roslin scenes there were I loved. Her interaction with Lee was just right; she was sincerely sorry for his situation (and that Adama got shot), but also, strategist that she is, developing plans about what to do next. Loved her reaction to “I didn’t do it for you”. Because you see, unlike Adama, Laura gets that. As she got it in “Bastille Day” that Lee’s actions there were neither against nor about her, but because of the principle. And Lee gets that Laura gets it. Hence his last words to her before he leaves, addressing her as “Madam President”.

Oh, and the guard who asked to pray with her? Is so going to be her ticket out of the cell, if Tigh continues to keep her in there. Not that in a normal, non-bloody situation, a cell would be the worst place to be in for a power play, but the situation is dire, and she can’t afford to wait him out.

Between Gaeta on the Galactica and Tyrol and Cally on Kobol, there was much secondary character love in this episode, and it’s one of the many reasons why I adore this show. Was very amused by Cally’s “and you could carry something” to Baltar. Also that’s the announcement of fatherhood which snaps him out of his vision. *g* On a more serious note, it’s still an open question whether Six means one of her models and Baltar are going to have a child, or that the child CapricaBoomer carries will become hers and Baltars in a Holtzian manner.

Speaking of Boomer, or rather, the Boomers, I liked both in this episode. Felt immensely sorry for Galactica!Boomer, and thought Caprica!Boomer taking Starbuck’s ship was the smart thing to do, because if you were C!Boomer and heard several pronouncements on the part of trigger-happy Starbuck on how you deserve death, would you stick around? (Maybe she’d download but her child wouldn’t.) Of course, this leaves Starbuck and Helo sans transportation for now, but either they capture another, larger Cylon ship, or C!Boomer returns with one (and a gun of her own); I don’t think they’ll remain on Caprica for the rest of the season. Maybe two or three more episodes.

I must confess to a soft spot for Ellen Tigh. Naturally, she sees this as her chance to become the wife of the commander and probably is going to go Lady MacBeth on Saul. Couple that with the getting him dressed routine, and I’m charmed, fond of Machiavellian women as I am.

Cliffhanger! Can’t wait till next week.

Comments

[akadougal.livejournal.com]

You've encapsulated almost all my thoughts perfectly.

Apart from the copious sneering that went on about Tigh and Adama's moustaches.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

But! That felt so true to the 70s. (And the early 80s, if you count Blade Runner.) Ah, bad hair.

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

See comments on today's post (http://www.livejournal.com/users/thedeadlyhook/98698.html?#cutid1) by thedeadlyhook for some discussion of the flashbacks - yes, quite a lot was cut.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the confirmation. That's what DVDs are for, one hopes.

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

Unless they put the extra in later episodes.

[queenbookwench.livejournal.com]

A lot of people are saying that they don't see _any_ rapport between Lee and Roslin in that scene, and that the whole "Thank you for what you did for me"/"I didn't do it for you" exchange is evidence that Roslin doesn't get Lee any more than Adama does.

I think he probably is somewhat angry with her for the initial decision to ask Starbuck to go back to Caprica (he does say he doesn't agree), but is more just feeling helpless and frustrated with the whole situation. But I think there's still genuine respect and care (and maybe some UST, but that's just me :) ) on both sides. I feel like her telling Lee that he needs to distance himself from her is partly political, but also a genuine wish to see him not get hurt (any more than he already has) by the whole situation.

And I loved the whole praying Marine thing--that appalled look on her face, followed so quickly by "how can I _use_ this?.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

I feel like her telling Lee that he needs to distance himself from her is partly political, but also a genuine wish to see him not get hurt (any more than he already has) by the whole situation.

Same here. One of things I love about Laura is that genuine feeling and strategic thinking/calculation isn't mutually exclusive. The first thing she asked Lee was "what did they do to you?" (because well, blood on his hands).

And I loved the whole praying Marine thing--that appalled look on her face, followed so quickly by "how can I _use_ this?.

Yes. Laura Roslin, Slytherclaw par excellence.*g*

[queenbookwench.livejournal.com]

I like that about her too--the mixture of caring and political calculation, mysticism and rationality. I loved the setup of that scene, that Lee, after having already been through all this emotional trauma, is suddenly faced with someone who knows nothing about the worst part of it. And I think she's really concerned for Cmdr. Adama, for his own sake as well as Lee's. I think an important facet of Roslin's character that a lot of people seem to have overlooked is that she sees herself as the voice and representative of the civilians in the Fleet, as a counterweight to the military mindset of _Galactica_. She's constantly reminding the Galactica people of how civilians are feeling/reacting to certain events, like in "You Can't Go Home Again" where she points out the impact the extensive use of resources in the search for Starbuck is having on the rest of the fleet. Also, in some ways I think it might be a weakness of hers that she's so focused on the ultimate goal that she can put human concerns aside. Cmdr. Adama (her mirror image)'s weakness is that he finds it difficult to do just that.

Hee. Slytherclaw. We so called her. :)

[(Anonymous)]

I've always liked Tigh in all his hardass, screwed up glory and this episode made him possibly my favorite for the moment. We got to see him rise to the occasion and through the flashbacks we got to see how far he could descend. Trying to committ suicide by lighting yourself on fire makes GalBoomer's attempt look well adjusted.

[meganinhiding.livejournal.com]

Oops. Forgot to login first.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Quite. And naturally that was Ellen on the bed behind him. Wouldn't want to leave her behind alive. Which reminds me of him burning her picture in the miniseries while looking at it in his bunk. And him making the decision to seal off the fire-riddden compartment, condemming 83 people to die through burning but saving the ship. Fire is definitely associated with Tigh on this show.

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

squee, I'm glad you got the show.

I can't tell you how much I want to make a Starbuck bitch-stole-my-ride icon, but I'm afraid that is potentially too spoiler-y for those who haven't gotten a chance to see it yet!

The bad-hair flashbacks amused me because of the bad hair on the old series, though I'm not sure that was intentional -- I wonder if flashbacks/backstory are going to be a staple of the season (which I think would be cool, since the first season was so focused on the present, with very little backstory aside from the Kara/Zak situation) or if they were just a device to get Olmos in this episode and will fade when he's better. (Like the beginning of Buffy S3, where they had to come up with a way to fit Angel into a flashback or dream sequence, pretty much every week!)

I kind of felt like this week was for the boys, and we should see more of Roslin and Starbuck in part 2 -- though what they had was definitely quality.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Like the beginning of Buffy S3, where they had to come up with a way to fit Angel into a flashback or dream sequence, pretty much every week!

Good parallel, and yes, that could be it. After all, calling him on the set just for a few shots of him lying around unconscious must seem like the waste of a good actor. I do hope for more flashbacks.

[smashsc.livejournal.com]

(-:

I'm hoping for more flashbacks too but, instead of them all being Tigh & Apollo flashbacks, I hope they are sort of a roving flashback. It'd be a great way to keep Olmos in scenes while Adama is still out and it'd make great narrative sense as well - the more time that passes the more people hang on to little memories of the time before.

I thought Roslin was a bit off. Her sincerity didn't read quite as true to me as it did to you. It worked for most people though, so maybe I just need to watch it again. (oh, the hardship)