BSG 4.03 Ties that bind

[selenak]

Ah, Cally. I used to like her in s1, and very early s2, but started to feel alienated when her hero-worship/love for the Chief began to be presented in an obsessive, crush-like way, and her shooting Boomer didn't help. (Nor did everyone but Tyrol treating this as a heroic deed. Mind you, this wasn't bad writing, and made sense in terms of how humans would respond to this kind of situation, plus it was preparation for the Pegasus three parter, where the Galactica saw this attitude carried to extremes.) Then, after a season of Cally continuing to crush on Tyrol and Tyrol showing not the slightest romantic interest whatsoever in her, though he came to forgive her for Boomer, and his old affection for Cally as a member of his team came back, we got the momentous squickness of Tyrol and Cally going from him inadvertendly breaking her jaw to them being married and expecting a baby within an episode. To me, the only explanation I could come up with was Tyrol felt so massively guilty after the jaw-breaking that he thought he had to make it up to Cally in any way he could, and that Cally was messed up enough to go for it. Their s3 depiction as a mostly happy couple always weirded me out because I couldn't believe we were supposed to see this relationship as functional. Not with the girlfriend murder on the one hand and the broken jaw on the other.

So, my reaction to events here? Firstly relief we got textual acknowledgement of how fucked up the very basis of that marriage was even without taking in the Cylon factor. I also could buy the disintegration of both Cally and the marriage under the strain of Tyrol keeping secrets, and then Cally's discovery of the nature of those secrets. The scene where he talks to her, not knowing what she now has found out, and we're completely in Cally's pov, hearing him as mechanic, seeing him out of focus, blurry, felt painfully real. Ditto for Cally losing it, knocking him out, the march to the airlock, the fact that Tory was able to talk her out of it and then her shock at what Tory did next. The problem to me wasn't with the goings-on per se, but with the larger context. Which was Cally going from a brave and vivacious character at the start of s1 to the Depressed Messed-Up Suicidal Housewife she exited as. Granted, everyone on this show hits the lows sooner or later, of either gender, but unless they're Billy, the male ones usually don't die. Just saying.

I got another item of my wishlist fulfilled when we finally saw Zarek again, and he actually got interesting stuff to do. Loved the scene with Lee (and the conference later, of course, but that was more a Lee and Laura scene). Tom, don't leave us again. You are wonderfully ambigious, and I actually believe you when you say you support Roslin per se but not as a benevolent tyrant. Of course, that doesn't mean you're not also playing your own game, but such is the nature of ambiguity. Also, you and Lee have such a fun dynamic. I don't 'ship the younger Adama with anyone, especially since the show has proven that romantic storylines are poison to his characterisation, but if I did ship him with someone, it would be you. When I'm not shipping you with Laura Roslin, of course. Ahem.

Why am I not surprised Bill Adama is into Chandler-esque noir fiction? I bet the scriptwriter had great fun with that pastiche.

Other than Zarek, my favourite scenes of the episode belonged to the Cylons. I ♥ the Cylon Civil War storyline. A lot. And was very surprised to read other reviews assuming that the Sixes and Eights all died. We saw the basestars attacked, but we didn't see them explode. Which is why I'm firmly convinced Natalie!Six and friends will be back next week. (At least some of them probably managed to execute a jump at the last second.) The escalation - Natalie being willing to kill the Cavills, Dorals and Simons temporarily to win, Cavill striking back by willing to kill the Sixes and Eights and Leobens for good - makes sense, as does the fact that it's CAVILL who makes that step to Cylon fratricide. He doesn't have the religious belief of the others, the feeling of solidarity, and he was the one who boxed the Threes back when. BTW, I win at guessing the Sixes would want to unbox the Threes so they can ask D'anna about the Final Five.

Best detail of the Cylon storyline: the Centurion not reacting until Natalie has said "please". I think one of the tests for Natalie and those models who support her will be if they're willing to leave the Centurions their free will when they're not obeyed, or whether this will make them fall back on Cavill's way of thinking. It could be the next step of development for them after the New Caprica disaster, where the Sixes and Eights originally wanted human/Cylon peace and when not welcomed with open arms (because of the whole genocide and arrival via occupation issue) allowed themselves to fall back on old patterns. Hopefully, this time they won't give up.

Least favourite detail: Boomer/Cavill, of course. Though I suppose it fits with the siding-with-Cavill-as-a-way-of-self-loathing-and-human-self-annihilation pattern. Given we get the Cally storyline played out within the same episode, it's just too much of that for me, though.

Kara and Sam: are channelling s6 Buffy and Spike. Since I do not love Kara the way I love Buffy (I like her, but even back in s1 I didn't love her), I am tempted to fast forward during those scenes as I do upon rewatching BSG with the Kara-and-Lee scenes post-Colonial Day and pre-Maelstrom. Mostly, during those sections of the episode I was busy wondering who on earth is supposed to protect Galactica if all the pilots are off gallivanting with Starbuck.

Comments

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

I haven't gotten a chance to watch the episode yet, but your icon encourages me!

[selenak.livejournal.com]

*grins*

[crossoverman.livejournal.com]

Actually, it was established in an earlier episode that Laura likes the pulp detective novels and here Adama was nice enough to read them to her here - because I think he said they weren't his type, when this was first brought up.

I'm glad they clarified the fucked up nature of Cally and the Chief's relationship. Although I can grasp that once they were past that, a relationship could work. The killing of Boomer is a bigger obstacle for me - and yet that happened at a time where everyone was still vehemently anti-Cylon.

So glad Zarek is back, too.

[skywaterblue.livejournal.com]

Which was Cally going from a brave and vivacious character at the start of s1 to the Depressed Messed-Up Suicidal Housewife she exited as.

The fans got to her. I can't decide if that makes the subtext of this episode better or not, since I think the reading we're intended to take is that Cally's death is a tragedy and yet I know that there's a good portion of the audience sitting at home cheering about it 'cuz they never liked her much.

(I think it's actually more depressing to me to realize how many good people whose opinions I otherwise respect seem to think the airlocking 'makes Tory interesting', which I suppose it does but doesn't solve the underlying problem of them never having bothered to give her a characterization besides 'the person who now has Billy's lines, but mean.' The way I see it, Tory still hasn't fundamentally become a character ; she still just does whatever the plot requires.)

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Re: Tory - I see what you mean. Mind you, she could develop as a character as the result of the airlocking (better make that the basis of characterisation than her having had sex with Baltar or that weird thing with Anders), but that will have to happen in future eps and hasn't yet here.

I can't decide if that makes the subtext of this episode better or not, since I think the reading we're intended to take is that Cally's death is a tragedy and yet I know that there's a good portion of the audience sitting at home cheering about it 'cuz they never liked her much.

It's the Jason Todd and Adric problem, I guess - their demise is told as a tragedy but the reader/watcher can't help but be aware the decision probably was made based on massive unpopularity with the viewers/readers as well. (Although, with this show, it might have been made were Cally the most popular recurrent character ever. Who knows.)

[skywaterblue.livejournal.com]

Right. Let's see if they do anything with it. Given that Tory's been around for, what, two seasons now without much development I have very slim hopes on that matter.

It's the Jason Todd and Adric problem, I guess - their demise is told as a tragedy but the reader/watcher can't help but be aware the decision probably was made based on massive unpopularity with the viewers/readers as well.

I think the difference is that I've always kind of assumed that the hate for Cally (at least a certain militant strain of it, until the punching/marriage, because I've been aware of it WAY back to before she shot Boomer even) was motivated by a perverse anti-feminism. Sort of like a certain type of the fanboy that hangs out in official forums or TWoP found her a convenient replacement target. I've tended to view everything they've done with Cally since mid-First Season in that light as reaction to that segment of the audience, and consequently, her weird character trajectory.

But then again, I'm strange, because I never thought she was that bad an actress either. I always figured the role she was playing was exactly what it was as promised: girl who entered the military to get the bonus to go to dental school later.

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

My reaction to the Cally storyline (in this episode and in general) is pretty similar to yours, but best summed up with this quote:

The problem to me wasn't with the goings-on per se, but with the larger context. Which was Cally going from a brave and vivacious character at the start of s1 to the Depressed Messed-Up Suicidal Housewife she exited as. Granted, everyone on this show hits the lows sooner or later, of either gender, but unless they're Billy, the male ones usually don't die. Just saying.

Zarek and Doc Cottle had a welcome return - I may have squeed at both of them. I have no idea why Lee should trust Tom, though. I mean - he's Zarek.

Cylon Civil War: I doubt they've really killed all the Eights and especially Sixes and Leobens for storyline reasons, but I am pretty sure that at least one of the basestars exploded, so I can see why people seem to think they didn't make it.

Cavil and Boomer: ugh. Seemed pure writer fantasy to me, but your explanation makes sense on a Watsonian level at least.

Kara and Sam: It didn't help that I'm more interested in every single other person on the Demetrios than those two, excluding maybe Seelix. I found some amusement in Kara's Capt'n Ahab impression, though.

I was busy wondering who on earth is supposed to protect Galactica if all the pilots are off gallivanting with Starbuck.

I guess that would be ... Hot Dog and Racetrack? I'm much more worried about Ops, since while Dualla is very competent, losing both Helo and Gaeta while Tigh is in his latest existential crisis can only mean bad things.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

I have no idea why Lee should trust Tom, though. I mean - he's Zarek.

Well, I didn't interpret it as trust as much as being willing to have a look at those documents Zarek provided without automatically concluding they must be forged, and work together based on possible shared interests. And let's not forget, Zarek since those s1 days has done several things to at least earn some limited trust; he did not cooperate with the Cylons, despite everyone's assumptions in Colonial Day he just wanted the Veepship so he could off Laura Roslin at the first opportunity he has been her VP for quite a while know without harming her in any way, and let's not forget, back in ye olde s2 days it was actually Lee who approached Zarek for asylum for himself and Laura when they were on the run, which was provided, so I think Lee assumes that if you keep in mind he probably has some goal other than what he's telling you as well, you can work with Zarek and get what you want.

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

I like that interpretation, and will file it as preferable to my own. ;)

[akadougal.livejournal.com]

As ever, I adore your reviews.

I felt that the killing of Cally was something of a cheap shot and not fitting dramatically with the flow of the show. I'm interested to see where it takes us next but surely there would have been more drama in Cally being considered something of a Cassandra figure, what with the drugs and everything. I seem to be in a minority who liked Cally and, oh god yes, had problems with the happy marriage. My internal consistency brain went survivor's guilt and affect of New Caprica happy weed to explain the relationship.

Desperately do not care about Kara or even Lee in this episode, although it was good to see Zarek back with an agenda.

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

Kara and Sam: are channelling s6 Buffy and Spike.

And all of likeadeuce's kinks.

At least, the ones that don't involve Tom Zarek in a suit.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

As long as someone's kink was channelled. *g* (I found it vaguely unpleasant myself, especially since I was wondering whether the episode was deliberately paralleling Sam and Cally, but then, neither of the participants ever made me think "oh, hot!" at any time during the show. With basically everyone else declaring Kara makes them bisexual, I know I'm in a minority there.)

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

I don't really think that Kara/Anders and Tyrol/Cally are comparable, as Kara and Sam have a basic level of equality and competition that's been part of their relationship from the start. But then, they are the only part of the quadrangle of doom that I ever cared about, and while she obviously used him at various points to get to Lee, that wasn't all there was to their relationship. I also really don't think it's comparable to Buffy/Spike beyond a superficial level, as Anders and Spike don't have much in common (although, I suppose, after she told him she'd shoot a Cylon, they have sort of sekrit slayer/vamp thing going).

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Oh, I agree that Kara's and Sam's relationship wasn't all about her Lee issues - actually I think Lee-related stuff is a comparatively minor part of it. And in both s2 and s3, I'd say they have unquestioningly the healthier relationship when compared with Kara/Lee, and it always impressed me that Kara told Sam things like her backstory with her mother, or Leoben making that prediction about her, that she didn't tell anyone else. However, in the place they're right now, with Sam having just discovered he's a Cylon and not nearly yet having come to terms with it, and Kara not even sure what she is at all (she at least knew that in the previous seasons), and every emotion tenfold magnified, I think they should probably take a break.

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

*nods*

I'm not saying it's a particularly good relationship choice, or for that matter a storytelling choice for the episode (as somebody else said, there are more interesting things going on in that crew -- what the hell is Athena doing there, for one thing, and who is watching the magic cylon baby?)

But Sam/Kara is a relationship dynamic I particularly like and I hope we do get more of it. Unlike Spike with Buffy, I do think Sam's primary interest is in helping Kara, he just doesn't have any idea how to do it. This is not Spike-bashing, as you know I like the little bugger, and I do think he cares about Buffy, but he's too overwhelmed by getting what he's always wanted out of her to be thinking straight; whereas Sam knows a relatively more stable side of Kara, and believes -- despite what she's telling him -- that she loved him when she was well, I've got more sympathy for him here.