Thoughts on BSG finale.
Mar. 11th, 2006 01:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieMmmmmm, good solid ep. Not my favorite of the season (that still goes to "Downloaded") but pretty good. People seem to either love or hate it, but I am in the minority that did neither. I liked it but no passionate OMG either way.
OK, to start off with the most important thing: hair!!! WTF? The only thing I can imagine is that the atrocious hair state (Adama's pornstache, Apollo's pompadour, Tyrol who has something die on his face) is supposed to symbolize the general malaise of the colonists in settling on this desolate world under useless leadership. Because otherwise the only explanation is their stylist has gone insane after feeding Apollo all that lard that gave him a beer belly and a bloated face.
Oh, and Cylons at the end? I was cheering. The 'living on planet in boring primitive conditions with all the cool military types doing boring stuff' would have made for a dull show. But now that the Cylons are back we'll get more conflict and drama and fights. Yay. Plus, we have Leoben looking for Kara (I guess torturing someone really does create bonds where they want to follow you like a puppy), and Sharon, Tyrol's Sharon is back (of course, meanwhile Tyrol got Cally knocked up, hmmmm), and Baltar's Six, the one he's been seeking ever since and trying to recreate so disastrously, is back too.
I also foreseee that Anders is not long for this world, what with pneumonia, no meds, the need for Kara angst, and the fact that he is a guest actor. They might as well buy him a red shirt. He's cute but I won't miss him.
OK, now to everything in the show itself.
Helo/Boomer continue their theater of angst. She didn't say that the elderly priest was a Cylon. Do I blame her? Not one bit. She did tell Adama earlier, face to face, that she knows what the fleet Cylons look like and she won't turn them in. How much less likely is she to betray one of her species now that she believes (not without reason) that humans killed her child. Though I don't think it's active planning on her part, she just doesn't care. That scene with Helo and her and the cell again and the phone was painful. I don't blame Helo for losing his temper (though I still think he was naive to think that after this mission Adama would let her roam. But then the boy's always been an optimist) and Sharon's telling him she cares about nothing, not even him, because her baby is dead? So painful and real and .... And I love Helo telling her he is not giving up on them. Every ep I love that man a little more.
Planet settlement didn't bother me. In fact, it was a logical conclusion of everything that came before. They had to go there, and in addition doing nothing but being chased all the time would get tiresome. Also, the show loves to split up its cast. The year-forward was a risky thing to do, and we'll see next season whether it paid off, but kudos to RM & Co. for daring to rewrite the framework and try something different.
And now on to Kara. I generally like the girl, but I wanted to smack her so hard during the scene with Anders and Lee. I can see why she and Apollo haven't talked since. If someone behaved that way to me, there'd have to be nice long talks and apologies before a friendship could resume and Kara is not the girl for either. I am all for PDAs, but there is a limit what you do with someone standing right there: you don't ignore him like he's a statue, especially when he is your best friend meeting your boyfriend for the first time. You do NOT insult his girlfriend to his face. You don't go to second base with him right there. And that's just if he is your friend. It would have been truly rude if the guy was (e.g.) Helo. To do this if the friend in question is someone you were trying to frak on a table a month or so earlier, and someone you know has or had some feelings for you is just...it's not just rude, it's really thoughtless and lousy. Kara's tendency to drink and to not realize the effect of her thoughtless actions on others really finally caught up with her. That scene was kinda horrible to watch.
Also? If you are going to frak, lock the damn hatch!
Anders? My impression of him as cute but dumb as a box of bricks continues. He is also not on the same playing field as Starbuck. watch him trying to catch on what Kara means when she wants to do the suicide pact.
At the end, Kara got Anders and is on the planet and she is not happy. When she is extatic to see Tigh and Ellen, you know she is desperate. And no, I don't think it's because of Anders (though I think daily living killed off any giddiness she had for him. Hmmmm, I wonder if his character is like Zack's. Plot bunny!) She is not meant for peace and living on the ground. She is an adrenaline junkie, a pilot. And this is not working out for her. I wonder how she ended on the ground and not in the skeleton crew.
Roslin: it was logical she would try to fix the election. She's been getting more and more 'I am right" and giving off autocratic vibes as the season progressed. It's a dangerous thing to truly believe you are the best alternative out there. But when the push came to shove and Adama 'shamed' her, she did the right thing. Oh, and I can definitely feel the OTP between Adama and Roslin.
But of all the storylines, the one most interesting to me was Baltar's. Not just the self-importancy of the weak man new post election manner either. I was interested to note he still had illusions about Roslin and her honor. All his few remaining illusions (Roslin and Six) were shattered in this ep: he found out that Roslin fixed the election and Gina? Well, I think the best acted scene the whole ep was when he found out Gina blew up Cloud 9. Even though his brain might know the Sixes are different, he keeps seeing them as his Six. But they are not, even though Gina has her reasons for latching on to him (gratitude) and that is why she sleeps with Baltar I think: she cannot shuffle off this mortal coil without paying her debt (and look at Baltar with her: he is like a suitor, uncertain, eager to please).
Of course, now he knows he is in position of destroying humanity not once but twice. And the first time it was (somewhat) forgivable as he didn't know who she was. But this time he knew who she was and gave her a nuke with his own hands (why? Cause the boy is all about pleasing his significant other). And with that nuclear blast not only did Gina call Cylons on their head yet again (something else Baltar must live with), but I think it killed any chance his presidency had of being effective. He wouldn't have dealt well with pressure anyway but after this, there was no chance. Any sanity Baltar has is probably leaving by the back door after all of this.
OK, to start off with the most important thing: hair!!! WTF? The only thing I can imagine is that the atrocious hair state (Adama's pornstache, Apollo's pompadour, Tyrol who has something die on his face) is supposed to symbolize the general malaise of the colonists in settling on this desolate world under useless leadership. Because otherwise the only explanation is their stylist has gone insane after feeding Apollo all that lard that gave him a beer belly and a bloated face.
Oh, and Cylons at the end? I was cheering. The 'living on planet in boring primitive conditions with all the cool military types doing boring stuff' would have made for a dull show. But now that the Cylons are back we'll get more conflict and drama and fights. Yay. Plus, we have Leoben looking for Kara (I guess torturing someone really does create bonds where they want to follow you like a puppy), and Sharon, Tyrol's Sharon is back (of course, meanwhile Tyrol got Cally knocked up, hmmmm), and Baltar's Six, the one he's been seeking ever since and trying to recreate so disastrously, is back too.
I also foreseee that Anders is not long for this world, what with pneumonia, no meds, the need for Kara angst, and the fact that he is a guest actor. They might as well buy him a red shirt. He's cute but I won't miss him.
OK, now to everything in the show itself.
Helo/Boomer continue their theater of angst. She didn't say that the elderly priest was a Cylon. Do I blame her? Not one bit. She did tell Adama earlier, face to face, that she knows what the fleet Cylons look like and she won't turn them in. How much less likely is she to betray one of her species now that she believes (not without reason) that humans killed her child. Though I don't think it's active planning on her part, she just doesn't care. That scene with Helo and her and the cell again and the phone was painful. I don't blame Helo for losing his temper (though I still think he was naive to think that after this mission Adama would let her roam. But then the boy's always been an optimist) and Sharon's telling him she cares about nothing, not even him, because her baby is dead? So painful and real and .... And I love Helo telling her he is not giving up on them. Every ep I love that man a little more.
Planet settlement didn't bother me. In fact, it was a logical conclusion of everything that came before. They had to go there, and in addition doing nothing but being chased all the time would get tiresome. Also, the show loves to split up its cast. The year-forward was a risky thing to do, and we'll see next season whether it paid off, but kudos to RM & Co. for daring to rewrite the framework and try something different.
And now on to Kara. I generally like the girl, but I wanted to smack her so hard during the scene with Anders and Lee. I can see why she and Apollo haven't talked since. If someone behaved that way to me, there'd have to be nice long talks and apologies before a friendship could resume and Kara is not the girl for either. I am all for PDAs, but there is a limit what you do with someone standing right there: you don't ignore him like he's a statue, especially when he is your best friend meeting your boyfriend for the first time. You do NOT insult his girlfriend to his face. You don't go to second base with him right there. And that's just if he is your friend. It would have been truly rude if the guy was (e.g.) Helo. To do this if the friend in question is someone you were trying to frak on a table a month or so earlier, and someone you know has or had some feelings for you is just...it's not just rude, it's really thoughtless and lousy. Kara's tendency to drink and to not realize the effect of her thoughtless actions on others really finally caught up with her. That scene was kinda horrible to watch.
Also? If you are going to frak, lock the damn hatch!
Anders? My impression of him as cute but dumb as a box of bricks continues. He is also not on the same playing field as Starbuck. watch him trying to catch on what Kara means when she wants to do the suicide pact.
At the end, Kara got Anders and is on the planet and she is not happy. When she is extatic to see Tigh and Ellen, you know she is desperate. And no, I don't think it's because of Anders (though I think daily living killed off any giddiness she had for him. Hmmmm, I wonder if his character is like Zack's. Plot bunny!) She is not meant for peace and living on the ground. She is an adrenaline junkie, a pilot. And this is not working out for her. I wonder how she ended on the ground and not in the skeleton crew.
Roslin: it was logical she would try to fix the election. She's been getting more and more 'I am right" and giving off autocratic vibes as the season progressed. It's a dangerous thing to truly believe you are the best alternative out there. But when the push came to shove and Adama 'shamed' her, she did the right thing. Oh, and I can definitely feel the OTP between Adama and Roslin.
But of all the storylines, the one most interesting to me was Baltar's. Not just the self-importancy of the weak man new post election manner either. I was interested to note he still had illusions about Roslin and her honor. All his few remaining illusions (Roslin and Six) were shattered in this ep: he found out that Roslin fixed the election and Gina? Well, I think the best acted scene the whole ep was when he found out Gina blew up Cloud 9. Even though his brain might know the Sixes are different, he keeps seeing them as his Six. But they are not, even though Gina has her reasons for latching on to him (gratitude) and that is why she sleeps with Baltar I think: she cannot shuffle off this mortal coil without paying her debt (and look at Baltar with her: he is like a suitor, uncertain, eager to please).
Of course, now he knows he is in position of destroying humanity not once but twice. And the first time it was (somewhat) forgivable as he didn't know who she was. But this time he knew who she was and gave her a nuke with his own hands (why? Cause the boy is all about pleasing his significant other). And with that nuclear blast not only did Gina call Cylons on their head yet again (something else Baltar must live with), but I think it killed any chance his presidency had of being effective. He wouldn't have dealt well with pressure anyway but after this, there was no chance. Any sanity Baltar has is probably leaving by the back door after all of this.
