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BSG Someone To Watch Over Me and SCC 3.16
Or, 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.
no subject
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
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
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.