BSG Someone To Watch Over Me and SCC 3.16
Feb. 28th, 2009 05:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakOr, two episodes about visionary women and men whose reality is in doubt.
Battlestar Galactica
The title Someone To Watch Over Me will always evoke a rather adorable Voyager episode to me, with a plot shamelessly stolen from Pygmalion, in which the Doctor falls in love with Seven of Nine. Which leads to some great duets, good comedy and romantic angst. Figures BSG would go for the mind trip instead.
I figured out the composer Kara was talking to wasn't "real" early on (no other characters talking to him is always a giveaway), and then it was obvious it had to be her father. Which encreases the chances that said father is also the Daniel prototype whom John Cavil got so jealous of that he poisoned the entire line about 99%; I can't think of much else that would still make sense, especially given the return of All along the Watchtower and the fact both Kara and Hera remember tidbits of that tune, as do, of course, the Final Five. We also get reminded of the Cylon ability to project in this episode, which in turn reminds me of Maelstrom and Kara's Head!Leoben there, who knew such a lot about Kara and her mother. I'm not necessarily saying that Kara's Head!Leoben then and her Head!Father now are one and the same - though with the show's tendency to go for the Freudian recently, who knows? - but I find it interesting that there is some physical resemblance between them - they must have noticed when casting D. Thrace - and of course Leoben now as an avator wouldn't do anymore, given he's run away when confronted with dead and living Kara.
So, Kara Thrace: last generation's Hera? Who inherited the Cylon ability to project, hence Head!Leoben and Head!Dad? (In which case, of course, we still have to wonder about Baltar doing the same, but that's another chapter.) What we hear about her childhood jives with earlier information; her mother Socrata was the one who dealt out pain and abuse but also special destiny talk and of course was the warrior, while her father provided music and pride but then vanished, which left Kara choosing the warrior path and Bill Adama, who deals out both pain and pride, as a replacement parent.
Meanwhile, in the other plot, Boomer makes herself the most unpopular person on lj world, with review after review declaring her evil. Why yes, of course this makes me sympathize with her. Okay, seriously now: I much prefer this to the cameos we've gotten since Downloaded and until No Exit, because this I can make sense of, though of course I still hope that she's actually going for a double play and Cavil won't get Hera, either. But I can understand the whole sequence with Helo, that mixture of maintaining her cover AND delivering a giant frak you payback to Athena. Basically, she's doing to Athena what Athena did all the way back in season 1 and then 2 - first pretending to be Boomer, then taking Boomer's place. (And Helo loses at Eight recognition, though I suppose one can say Tyrol has an advantage, being a Cylon as well; it's been established since early s3 that the "skinjobs" can tell each other apart.) Something I'm still not sure of is whether Tyrol killed the Repair Unit Eight or just knocked her out, the way Boomer did Athena. Though given Repair Unit Eight does not look as bad as the very much alive Athena does, I currently think it's the later.
Speaking of Tyrol... poor Tyrol. Though I think Boomer meant just what she said in her last goodbye to him. (She did ask him to come with her, too.) Something that keeps feeling completely sorry for him, though, is that when he sees the vision of his and Boomer's imaginary daughter, there is no thought of Nicky, who might not be his biological son since the retcon but whom he raised all this time.
Roslin passing out: well, she does have Hera's blood in her. Also, given how the Opera House vision ends, I think it's a given Hera won't end up with either Boomer (with or without Cavil) or Athena, but with a Six, and whom do we know who has just recently lost a child?
Lastly: Helo finding Kara's stuff for her proves that as a friend, he can't be bettered. Hooray for Helo 'n Kara friendship, one of the few relationships on the show which at no point got sexualized...
On to the other show featuring women and robots!
The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Here, too, I guessed the twist early on, as soon as we had established Sarah was flipping between two realities. At first glance, the one with her recent first human kill seemed to be the less likely one, but not if you consider the overall story and especially Sarah's backstory. There is no way she'd voluntary go to a clinic for weeks, not with her history of having been locked up in one, and there's no way John (or Derek) would think this was a good idea. Also, I'm a genre fan and have watched BTVS and Lost, not to mention Farscape. If it's just one episode, the reality with the hospital is never the real deal. What I wasn't sure about was whether the Sarah-in-the-truck reality wasn't also false and a dream, and if we hadn't seen the blood and her hands at the end covered with bandages, I still wouldn't be true. In any case, I found both realities fascinating in what they say about Sarah.
In the clinic, she's instinctively distrustful to the person in charge, with authority over her, and equally instinctively bonds with a fellow patient, though theoretically that fellow patient could have been a plant, not the doctor. But Sarah's subconscious insists on casting the doctor as the bad guy, the stealer of all her dreams and all that makes her human, while her fellow patients are the ones she bonds with but ultimately can't save, though she wants and tries to. The doctor also resembles Cameron a little, Cameron if she wore her hair up, and she behaves more and more like a Terminator through the story, adopting Cameron's mannerisms as well. Meanwhile, the clinic story also features real!Cameron, taking Sarah's place with John (making him breakfeast, protecting him) while also displaying her physical attractiveness. There are lot of Sarah's anxieties here, and there is an interesting mirroring between both realities in one point that hadn't shown up in the series before. In clinic world, her fellow patient talks about her weakness for young men and purrs at John when he shows up. In truck world, her kidnapper asks her whether she's just talked to her boyfriend, whether she and John are Bonnie and Clyde. No, I don't think this expresses surpressed wishes on Sarah's part, but I do think she was more comfortable with John as a child (remember also the way she bonded with child!Martin) and that the fact he's nearly grown up, which includes him being interested in sex, is one more thing she's disturbed by. Also, note that the John Sarah's subconscious produces might be disconcertingly close to Cameron and occasionally eying her in unbrotherly ways, but he also always does what he's told, and is there when Sarah needs him to be there. And then he's dead, which might or might not be connected.
"The first is always the hardest." Once I was reasonably sure the truck reality was what Sarah really experienced, I was somewhat uneasy that the show seemed to pull a fast one in getting Sarah out of the fact she had killed a human now, and that after the very moving storyline with his widow last episode... but then I decided they wouldn't do that, and indeed they did not, putting Sarah through a replay where she has to make the same decision, again. Sarah reaching out to the man in between, trying to convince him to join her and go on the run with his wife, trying to save him, was very Sarah, who despite everything still has a core belief in human potential and human goodness - and she has to, else why bother saving humanity? - though she fails, as in the other plot thread with the patient. But she is able to save herself. And thus makes it through one more night.
Battlestar Galactica
The title Someone To Watch Over Me will always evoke a rather adorable Voyager episode to me, with a plot shamelessly stolen from Pygmalion, in which the Doctor falls in love with Seven of Nine. Which leads to some great duets, good comedy and romantic angst. Figures BSG would go for the mind trip instead.
I figured out the composer Kara was talking to wasn't "real" early on (no other characters talking to him is always a giveaway), and then it was obvious it had to be her father. Which encreases the chances that said father is also the Daniel prototype whom John Cavil got so jealous of that he poisoned the entire line about 99%; I can't think of much else that would still make sense, especially given the return of All along the Watchtower and the fact both Kara and Hera remember tidbits of that tune, as do, of course, the Final Five. We also get reminded of the Cylon ability to project in this episode, which in turn reminds me of Maelstrom and Kara's Head!Leoben there, who knew such a lot about Kara and her mother. I'm not necessarily saying that Kara's Head!Leoben then and her Head!Father now are one and the same - though with the show's tendency to go for the Freudian recently, who knows? - but I find it interesting that there is some physical resemblance between them - they must have noticed when casting D. Thrace - and of course Leoben now as an avator wouldn't do anymore, given he's run away when confronted with dead and living Kara.
So, Kara Thrace: last generation's Hera? Who inherited the Cylon ability to project, hence Head!Leoben and Head!Dad? (In which case, of course, we still have to wonder about Baltar doing the same, but that's another chapter.) What we hear about her childhood jives with earlier information; her mother Socrata was the one who dealt out pain and abuse but also special destiny talk and of course was the warrior, while her father provided music and pride but then vanished, which left Kara choosing the warrior path and Bill Adama, who deals out both pain and pride, as a replacement parent.
Meanwhile, in the other plot, Boomer makes herself the most unpopular person on lj world, with review after review declaring her evil. Why yes, of course this makes me sympathize with her. Okay, seriously now: I much prefer this to the cameos we've gotten since Downloaded and until No Exit, because this I can make sense of, though of course I still hope that she's actually going for a double play and Cavil won't get Hera, either. But I can understand the whole sequence with Helo, that mixture of maintaining her cover AND delivering a giant frak you payback to Athena. Basically, she's doing to Athena what Athena did all the way back in season 1 and then 2 - first pretending to be Boomer, then taking Boomer's place. (And Helo loses at Eight recognition, though I suppose one can say Tyrol has an advantage, being a Cylon as well; it's been established since early s3 that the "skinjobs" can tell each other apart.) Something I'm still not sure of is whether Tyrol killed the Repair Unit Eight or just knocked her out, the way Boomer did Athena. Though given Repair Unit Eight does not look as bad as the very much alive Athena does, I currently think it's the later.
Speaking of Tyrol... poor Tyrol. Though I think Boomer meant just what she said in her last goodbye to him. (She did ask him to come with her, too.) Something that keeps feeling completely sorry for him, though, is that when he sees the vision of his and Boomer's imaginary daughter, there is no thought of Nicky, who might not be his biological son since the retcon but whom he raised all this time.
Roslin passing out: well, she does have Hera's blood in her. Also, given how the Opera House vision ends, I think it's a given Hera won't end up with either Boomer (with or without Cavil) or Athena, but with a Six, and whom do we know who has just recently lost a child?
Lastly: Helo finding Kara's stuff for her proves that as a friend, he can't be bettered. Hooray for Helo 'n Kara friendship, one of the few relationships on the show which at no point got sexualized...
On to the other show featuring women and robots!
The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Here, too, I guessed the twist early on, as soon as we had established Sarah was flipping between two realities. At first glance, the one with her recent first human kill seemed to be the less likely one, but not if you consider the overall story and especially Sarah's backstory. There is no way she'd voluntary go to a clinic for weeks, not with her history of having been locked up in one, and there's no way John (or Derek) would think this was a good idea. Also, I'm a genre fan and have watched BTVS and Lost, not to mention Farscape. If it's just one episode, the reality with the hospital is never the real deal. What I wasn't sure about was whether the Sarah-in-the-truck reality wasn't also false and a dream, and if we hadn't seen the blood and her hands at the end covered with bandages, I still wouldn't be true. In any case, I found both realities fascinating in what they say about Sarah.
In the clinic, she's instinctively distrustful to the person in charge, with authority over her, and equally instinctively bonds with a fellow patient, though theoretically that fellow patient could have been a plant, not the doctor. But Sarah's subconscious insists on casting the doctor as the bad guy, the stealer of all her dreams and all that makes her human, while her fellow patients are the ones she bonds with but ultimately can't save, though she wants and tries to. The doctor also resembles Cameron a little, Cameron if she wore her hair up, and she behaves more and more like a Terminator through the story, adopting Cameron's mannerisms as well. Meanwhile, the clinic story also features real!Cameron, taking Sarah's place with John (making him breakfeast, protecting him) while also displaying her physical attractiveness. There are lot of Sarah's anxieties here, and there is an interesting mirroring between both realities in one point that hadn't shown up in the series before. In clinic world, her fellow patient talks about her weakness for young men and purrs at John when he shows up. In truck world, her kidnapper asks her whether she's just talked to her boyfriend, whether she and John are Bonnie and Clyde. No, I don't think this expresses surpressed wishes on Sarah's part, but I do think she was more comfortable with John as a child (remember also the way she bonded with child!Martin) and that the fact he's nearly grown up, which includes him being interested in sex, is one more thing she's disturbed by. Also, note that the John Sarah's subconscious produces might be disconcertingly close to Cameron and occasionally eying her in unbrotherly ways, but he also always does what he's told, and is there when Sarah needs him to be there. And then he's dead, which might or might not be connected.
"The first is always the hardest." Once I was reasonably sure the truck reality was what Sarah really experienced, I was somewhat uneasy that the show seemed to pull a fast one in getting Sarah out of the fact she had killed a human now, and that after the very moving storyline with his widow last episode... but then I decided they wouldn't do that, and indeed they did not, putting Sarah through a replay where she has to make the same decision, again. Sarah reaching out to the man in between, trying to convince him to join her and go on the run with his wife, trying to save him, was very Sarah, who despite everything still has a core belief in human potential and human goodness - and she has to, else why bother saving humanity? - though she fails, as in the other plot thread with the patient. But she is able to save herself. And thus makes it through one more night.
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no subject
Date: 2009-02-28 09:10 pm (UTC)I'm not sure the killing of whatshisface was so much self-defense as rage at his actions towards her mingled with He Knows Too Much. After all, Skynet knowing that an appropriately-aged woman and her teenage son were the culprits would be enough to turn LA upside-down. Cameron, for instance, wouldn't hesitate to kill him.
Although, they did cheat a little in showing scenes in the dream world that Sarah wasn't privy to. As good as Summer Glau looks in a bikini (and as funny as the vending machine bit was, especially the "What's wrong?"/bag of chips falls down), Sarah's unease with Cameron's connection to John was conveyed much more effectively with the scene in the food court.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-01 05:43 pm (UTC)It was. I so love the writing of this show, and the way it uses the visual to show and tell.
The killing of whatshisface: yes, though when she asked him "are you real" before she shot him I wondered whether she was searching for a reason not to do it?
They did cheat a bit, though you can fanwank it by declaring it's plausible Sarah's subconscious would come up with such scenes as well. You're right though, the scene in the food court said all these other scenes conveyed already.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-02 02:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-01 12:44 am (UTC)I'm a Helo/Athena shipper, and I'm pissed at Boomer for this, and I still find myself madly nodding my head at the above. I love the symmetry of it even though I'm pissed Ron had to wreck the only happy couple in the universe. Their entire relationship having started on a lie has been the elephant in the corner of the marital room for the past few years. At least now it's being dealt with.
Oh, Boomer. I kind of want her dead, and at the same time, I'm shaking my head at her unfailing ability to take a bad situation and make it even worse for herself. She just keeps making these really bad choices because she's miserable, and amazingly enough, she never feels better. I was so hoping she'd broken that cycle in "No Exit". I suppose it's possible she's playing a triple-cross, but given how little time they have left to wrap up the series, it seems unlikely. I wish she was, though.
That girl just can't see the wood for the trees. Ever since "Downloaded" she's been eating her heart out over Tyrol not forgiving her for her past actions. In this ep, she finally gets what she wants: Tyrol first admits he still lmisses her and then betrays everybody else to keep her alive. He might as well have spraypainted, "Dear Sharon, I love you and I want a second chance" over a bulkhead. He didn't let her go so she could kidnap Hera, though, and now the chances of him ever trusting her again have become...one in a very big number. If she'd just THOUGHT for a moment instead of getting tunnel vision and going about her vengeance gig. The first time around, her relationship with Tyrol got sabotaged through no fault of her own. This time, she sabotaged it. It's enough to make me want to slap her for being so damn SILLY. Destruction and self-destruction are all very well if you have no other options, but when a more positive option has just been handed to you gift wrapped... Sigh. Poor Boomer really is her own worst enemy. She's always had bad luck and bad timing, and then she put a whole series of epically bad decisions on top of all that. Cavil sure knew which Eight was vulnerable to manipulation.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-01 05:53 pm (UTC)*nods* I mean, I have no doubt Helo is in love with Athena now, with the Athena he got to know through these last years. But he did originally fall in love with Boomer, and she did prey on his memories of Boomer to form that initial bond - and everyone else's when she first came back with thim, when relating to Kara or Tyrol, for example, though of course she also then carried the burden of everyone distrusting her because of Boomer shooting Adama.
Re: Boomer and her ability to make the wrong choice - true, though at least now they're showing her making that choice. What irritated me before No Exit was that after Downloaded, the brief glimpses we saw of her showed her doing things without adequatly explaining why she did them, or showing how she got to that point, and it all could be traced to the initial screw-up by fate in being a programmed Cylon. This time, we've seen her make her own choices. Bad ones, but at least they were her own, and she's responsible. And I could also see how she got there, because while Tyrol proved he still loved her and wanted her back, the rest of both humans and Cylons wanted her dead (which is not a little hypocritical on Adama's part because how come those two shots a programmed Boomer fired at him are less forgivable than nuking Caprica, which is what Caprica Six is more directly than your avarage Cylon responsible for?), so even if she was tempted to genuinely leave Cavil behind - there was clearly no alternative place to go. And that desire for vengeance must have festered...
ETA: where do you think she'd have gone if Tyrol had said yes when she asked him to come with her? Back to Cavil or trying to find some planet with an atmosphere with that raptor? *has genuinely no idea*
no subject
Date: 2009-03-01 08:05 pm (UTC)But regardless, Athena and Boomer are probably the closest of any two Cylons because they share two years of real memories (Boomer's pre-apocalypse time on Galactica) and a whole lifetime of fake memories (Boomer's childhood). They may have made radically different choices, they may loathe each other, but they're still mirror images of each other. The Athena personality wouldn't even exist without Boomer's implanted memories, never mind the life she created for herself these past 4 years. It's really FASCINATING.
And yeah, excellent point that Boomer has this inability to forgive, but so do the Colonials and the Rebel Cylons. I think the Adama/Roslin stuff was just plain lazy writing, though. The key factor is not that she tried to kill Adama while a sleeper. The key factor is that despite her good memories of life among the humans, she participated in the New Caprica occupation even after it became obvious that her "Downloaded" dream was toast. And then unlike Caprica (who did the same thing), she didn't regret it, save Hera's life, and abandon her own people for imprisonment on Galactica. And then, she worked with Cavil against the 268 faction and helped him slaughter her siblings. At this point from a practical POV a person might be wondering who she's going to betray NEXT.
That said, she DID have her "come to Jesus" moment like Caprica, when she grabbed Ellen and came to Galactica to face the music. And like Athena and Caprica before her, they threw her in the brig. And perhaps like Athena and Caprica before her, after a few months or years she would've been trusted. The rebel Cylons not being content to let her moulder in the brig indefinitely and instead wanting a show trial for their scapegoat pushed matters. Tyrol wouldn't have sprung her without the threat of her execution. So, go rebel Cylons for responding to her apparent repentance with bloodthirstiness. They too can't step out of the cycle of revenge long enough to give Boomer a shot. Just like Boomer can't step out even when Tyrol gives her a shot. One wonders if Cavil predicted that his errant siblings would be thirsting for revenge against the only Cylon from the other side who was available to punish (ignoring the fact t hat she MADE herself available for punishment, which would suggest regret), and would thus precipitate matters.
I really don't know what she would've done if Tyrol had said yes. Taken him back to Cavil or headed for some planet where they could disappear (New Caprica and Kobol are both suitable, and while they wouldn't be suitable for mass settlement because the 145 know where they are, two people could probably disappear very easily). Also, would she have put the supply chest back outside the Raptor before they left? If she'd gotten her happily ever after ending but then Tyrol realised they had another passenger aboard, he'd have been furious. I dunno, I really don't.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-03 10:16 am (UTC)The rebel Cylons doing exactly what Boomer does and putting vengeance - with Boomer as the only one from the other side they can get their hands on - above all: to me, it underlines again how young they are, relatively speaking, because it is a very adolescent reaction.
Lastly: let's consider the irony for a moment - Athena shoots Nathalie, who hasn't done anything to her and didn't have plans about abducting Hera, because of her opera visions and Hera painting Six-es. Athena gets a few days in the brig on the human side, and the rebel Cylons don't demand any consequences, probably because they know they would get downturned anyway. Then along comes Boomer, and if she had second thoughts about both what she did and what she was planning to do (there was time in the brig, and as you say, Tyrol breaking her out really depended on her life being under immediate threat; she doesn't appear to have had a back-up plan, or if she did she didn't start on it), these were certainly dispersed when death was on the cards.
Incidentally, as I said in a comment below, I think I know why Cavil would want Hera. After all, he originally wanted Ellen to rebuild a resurrection ship for him, and she insisted she could do so only with the help of the other Four. Now Cavil would know there was no way the others would cooperate, but if he has Hera, aka the future of the Cylons and humans, he has a shot at blackmailing the Five into rebuilding resurrection technology. (Being Cavil, he wouldn't be interested in biological procreation, on the contrary, so it can't be Hera herself he's interested in.)
no subject
Date: 2009-03-01 03:16 am (UTC)Regarding Kara Thrace? We have both come to the same theory. I've long thought that Kara was related to Daniel the 7th cylon. The artist. We see aspects of the artist in Kara - her drawings - and paintings. Now, with the trailer of Caprica - which appears to focuses on a Daniel and Adama - I'm guessing that may be true. She may not be the original Daniel's offspring, but is possibly - his grandchild or granddaughter by his son. We don't know. At any rate, I think you are correct, I think Kara is the last generation's Hera, capable of being reborn. Also this fits with her call signature - Star Buck. And it fits with Kara's connection to Hera, as well as her connections with Sam Anders, Tigh, and to a degree Helo and Athena/Boomer. Plus it's a nice twist on the first versions BattleStar Galatica story featuring Star buck - where he disappears to a planet, presumed dead, and his son, a mystical being, is a gift from the stars and had led the Galatica to earth. This kid and the subsequent storyline appeared in the badly done and brief BattleStar Galatica finds earth series that was shown sometime in the early 80s.
Regarding Sarah Connor? What I liked most about the episode was the references to the demon women of the dreams. It reminded me of the Buffy episode about a demon who kills people when they are sick. And to a degree of Nightmare on Elm Street. The native american legend of a demon who invades our dreams and steals our consciousness. In Sarah's dream world - the demon is not an alien, and not a devil, but a terminator, a machine. Who notably is more frightening and more destructive to her than the man holding her captive. We are led into believing the dreamscape is the safer place, but it is not - it is her reality, as dark and frightening as it is, that is the safer one. And in the dream, as in the legends, the coyote provides guidance, provides counsel, but can coyote be trusted? He appears as a dog - warning of the demon in her reality, and as a man with a tattoo, who is of native american descent - and provides a dream catcher - which catchs nightmares. As she leaves the nightmare behind, she passes him in her truck in his true form - coyote, watching her from the road.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-01 06:05 pm (UTC)Re: Kara - one thing I'm very curious about, if she is capable of being reborn and that explains the existence of her dead body, where did the second body and the new identical ship come from? Who grew/manufactured it? Clearly, it can't have been either one of the Seven nor of the Five. Which would mean either that the original 13th Tribe, who had resurrection technology, weren't completely wiped out (with the exception of the Five)... or maybe that Daniel is still around and somehow responsible. We'll see.
I think I figured out why Cavil would want Hera, btw. After all, he was trying to make Ellen build new resurrection ships for him, which she said she needed the other four for. Now they wouldn't do it voluntarily if Cavil asked, but they might do it if blackmailed with Hera - that she otherwise would die - as they see Hera as the future.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-01 06:23 pm (UTC)So neither is the original. They have the prior one's memories.
Yes, I've been wondering the same thing about Kara - if she can be reborn - where did it happen? It could have happened at the resurrection ship - since it wasn't destroyed at the point. But she was nowhere near it, nor does Cavill demonstrate any knowledge of Kara. So I can't see that being the explanation. I'm guessing either Daniel is still around or the 13th tribe's remanents are.
The Daniel explanation actually looks viable - since they are centering the new series, helmed by Jane Espenson, around two families - young Daniel (Eric Stolz) and young Adama. According to the trailer I just watched last night - Daniel is responsible for creating new artifical life or clones/artifical skin-jobs - not sure if these are the 8 cylon copies or not. But we know Daniel was supposed to be the missing 7, and if there were numerous copies?
Also, they had problems with Daniel - but that's not explained.
I'm thinking this episode - is building up to that explanation, which would lead neatly into the Caprica prequel.
Yes, agreed. Cavill either wants to blackmail them into rebuilding the resurrection ship - which Ellen was responsible for putting online, or he may see Hera as the future of his kind? I'm guessing you are correct, the first makes more sense, since Cavill doesn't want to be human, he wants to be a machine. He hates the human part of himself.