BSGblogging 4.2
I quite enjoyed tonight’s episode, especially the performances. Mary McConnell’s reaction work in the opening scene with ranting Starbuck was wonderful, and by the way it’s entirely “realistic” that she would miss her pistol shot from close range. I liked Sackhoff’s work on the rant too; indeed, pretty much everything she did this episode. The one character whom the writing consistently failed tonight was Admiral Bill Adama, who became a collection of lines Edward James Olmos couldn’t quite turn into a part.
But I liked the way Starbuck’s very willingness to offer to risk her life to President Roslin’s trust convinces Roslin – apparently wrongly – that Starbuck must be a Cylon. On one level, it exemplifies the way mistrust makes even virtue suspect. On another level, it’s a metacomment on a certain thing science-fiction can do that can be either a benefit or a cost: it recontextualizes the human in ways that can offer more meaning, or less. Samuel R. Delany famously characterized “science fiction” as the genre in which what we think of as metaphors could become literal statements: “She turned on her left side” might not be about restlessness but a cyborg. But it also offers the possibility, in Galactica’s cosmology, that what appears to be an act of selfless bravery is instead the sign that a Resurrection Ship is nearby.
Meanwhile, we appear to have our Reveal of the final Cylon. This could be good or bad, and after so much inconsistency by the brain trust of the series, you shouldn’t count on either. Every time a character on BSG turns out to be “really” a Cylon, there’s a real risk the character becomes retroactively less interesting. Oh – he was just that way because he’s a cybernetic nemesis. Oh – she only did that because she’s programmed to. The first Lucy Lawless episode, “Final Cut,” suffered from this very problem. (”Oh. She only made that documentary because she’s a Cylon.”) The best Cylons have been the ones whose identities were revealed to the viewer early, so that the show built their identities as Cylons in full view. Retrospective (and very possibly retroactive) Cylon reveals risk turning characters into plot devices.
Admittedly, one possible wrapup I’ve enjoyed contemplating for years is, “Everybody’s a Cylon!” Literally everyone, from Grandpa Simpson to Baby Hera. Maybe a bit too Buffy Finale, I’ll grant you.
In the particular case of Seeming Cylon Twelve, though, I could see it working. Particularly I could see it working if it turns out that the apparent Twelfth Cylon was something of a botch job. Then the character transitions from a deeply warped Human of Destiny to a deeply warped Cylon one. That could be cool.
Meanwhile, the mystery of what happened to Kara Thrace during those two months deepens, since the Other Side seems completely oblivious to it. So what happened to her ship and so on. Is Earth populated by Organians, for instance? Cause that would suck.
Comment by Sean —
April 12, 2008 @ 1:35 am
“Meanwhile, we appear to have our Reveal of the final Cylon.”
We do???
Comment by Jim Henley —
April 12, 2008 @ 1:47 am
Don’t you think that was the significance of the Virtual ****** appearing before the real ****** for, I think, the first time? And we’ve seen Virtual ****** appear before *** too. I don’t think we’ve ever seen a human Virt.
Comment by Avram —
April 12, 2008 @ 1:57 am
Samuel R. Delany famously characterized “science fiction” as the genre in which what we think of as metaphors could become literal statements
I was just thinking of that Delany passage earlier today, while recalling Bruce Sterling’s Zeitgeist. At first glance the book appears to be a mimetic novel about rock musicians and mobsters. There’s a conversation early on which contains what appears to be exaggerated non-literal braggadocio. As the book continues, it turns out to be a fantasy story, and those non-literal brags? Actually literal statements of fact.
And I missed the “reveal” Jim’s talking about, too.
Comment by Avram —
April 12, 2008 @ 2:05 am
Do we really need spoiler figleaves down here in comments?
Jim, it’s seemed to me since sometime last season that the writers are pushing us to see the vision of Six in Baltar’s head as a messenger from The One God. I figure the vision of Baltar in Caprica Six’s head is likewise.
In all the Abrahamic religions, there’s a tradition of associating godliness with the love of others, which is why God appears to both these characters in the form of someone they love.
Evil behavior, on the other hand, is caused by selfishness. So a vision of one’s self would be from…
Comment by Steve Ely —
April 12, 2008 @ 5:31 am
How can the fleet find a sewage recycling ship suddenly superfluous?
On the other hand, I guess, how can we suddenly decide at the end of three seasons that now Tyrol and Tigh are Cylons because they heard a song? So, whatever. Send some sewage ships on supposed sustenance scouting. Fine.
Meanwhile, I guess it’s possible that Jim’s right with his Reveal theory, but his clue didn’t signal that to me and I guess not to some others, so it’s pretty interesting that it struck him as so obvious. I do look forward to seeing more of those Baltar dialogs. Plus, I want to see Inner Six appear to Caprica Six. That’d be fun.
Also, the reason for Boomer casting her vote with Cavil is very intriguing. I’m probably more curious about that than anything right now.
Comment by Donald Johnson —
April 12, 2008 @ 11:12 am
I’m sorta curious about what happens in Cylonland now that the metal guys have free will. I’d also like to know how they lost it–since skinjobs were apparently invented after the original Cylon revolt against humanity.
Cylons themselves (with the exception of the atheist model) seem to think God designed them in some way, so the whole question of their origins needs to be cleared up.
“admittedly, one possible wrapup I’ve enjoyed contemplating for years is, “Everybody’s a Cylon!†”
I’ve wondered that too. We don’t know if the earth in the show is 2008 or long before now or long after, but I wonder if somehow or other it turns out that we (the earthdwellers) ourselves turn out to be Cylons. Not that I’ve thought of a way to make that plot twist work.
I’m eager to see the answers the writers supply, but I also expect to be disappointed.
Comment by Avram —
April 12, 2008 @ 12:28 pm
Or maybe it’s the “Master’s Tools” post that should have the spoiler warnings.
Steve, I wondered the same thing about the sewage recycling ship. Maybe they’ve got more than one? Maybe this one’s recycling equipment broke down and is beyond the fleet’s capacity to repair?
Comment by Jim Henley —
April 12, 2008 @ 12:30 pm
Honestly guys, if the “surplus sewage recycling ship” explanation bothers you, you’re looking for things to complain about.
Comment by Gary Farber —
April 12, 2008 @ 12:54 pm
Here ya go, Jim.
I strongly doubt Baltar is a Cylon, to the point where I’m almost certain he isn’t, simply because they’ve been dangling him as an obvious possibility so heavy-handedly so long.
I also doubt Laura or Adama is a Cylon.
That, on the other hand, Cylons and humans will reconcile and accept each other as the same race, at the end, seems inevitable and obvious to me.
Alternately, they destroy each other save for the beginnings of a new race left to start on Earth. Child of Adama?
Comment by Avram —
April 12, 2008 @ 2:22 pm
Also, it would totally rock if Earth were populated by Organians!
Oh, wait, you mean in the show. Yeah, that’d suck.
Comment by Jennifer —
April 12, 2008 @ 4:15 pm
I’m starting to lose patience with this whole hidden-Cylon final-five business. Skinjobs have supposedly only been around for about 40 years, right? I am not yet quite old enough to say this from personal experience, but: barring some debilitating brain injury, I think I’d need a hell of a lot more than 40 years to completely forget about the existence of five-twelfths of my entire family. (”Hmm, I’m pretty sure I have at least one sibling. Is it male or female? What the hell was his or her name?”) And I have a fallible human brain, not a sleek computerized Cylon one.
And if Tigh’s been a Cylon for these 40 years, that means Skinjobs show signs of aging, as I highly doubt Tigh had the same physical appearance 40 years ago. But none of the other models appear to show similar signs.
Comment by Avram —
April 12, 2008 @ 4:33 pm
Jennifer, if Tigh’s a Cylon, then some of his background is manufactured fiction. We don’t know how much. We know he met Adama about 20 years after the war, but for all we know he popped out of a mold a few days before that, and all his war career is computer hackery.
According to his entry on Battlestar Wiki, at least two of the three ships Tigh supposedly served on in the first war were destroyed. The third may have been too; we haven’t been told.
That’s suggestive in two ways: Maybe a Cylon Tigh building a history for himself well after the war used destroyed ships to cut down on the number of people he’d have saying they don’t remember him being there. Or maybe a Cylon Tigh served in the war, and (consciously or subconsciously) sabotaged the ships he was serving on.
Anyway, it’s plausible that skinjob Cylons do age normally, but when they resurrect they get reset back to their default age.
Comment by Chris Newman (CMN) —
April 12, 2008 @ 11:21 pm
I’m with Donald. If the toasters were the original cylons, then they must have been architects of their “evolution,” the creators of the hybrids, etc. Right? How did they wind up not merely subordinate to their skinjob creations, but lobotomized by them. And if you were a gleaming metal firearms included kickass centurion who suddenly got free will, would you be inclined to take orders from the skinjobs? It looks like this issue will be addressed, as the preview has 6 giving an order to a centurion and adding “please.” Exactly how many of them did 6 and her pals free up, anyway?
Comment by Eric Scharf —
April 14, 2008 @ 2:59 am
I was extremely happy with this episode, particularly the scenes with Kara and Laura, Laura and Bill, and Lee and Kara (those are your tentpoles, folks; you really have to work hard to screw up Sophocles).
I’m especially pleased that Kara called Laura out on her faith, and that Laura all but admitted that she had been depending upon Bill to be the Logical Voice of Reason. Between those two, it was entirely understandable for Bill to reach for the bottle. That Saul hasn’t been immediately available to pour should raise some suspicions in Bill.
Saul’s contribution to the “recon” of Baltar made me think that on some level he misses his days in the insurgency when he didn’t have to worry about regulations and civilian control. This kind of adolescent liberation is at the center of the puerile “Who else is a Cylon” trope; writers, viewers, actors, and characters are all seduced by the possibility. The series could do worse than to mock this speculation by having an outbreak of people re-inventing themselves, each convinced that he or she is “the Final Cylon.” Alas, we probably don’t have room left in the season (at least I hope we don’t).
As much as I think Lee will be at the center of the series climax, I thought his mustering out dragged out a little too long in this episode. The ready-room party seemed clipped, whereas the full-dress salute seemed gratuitous (and usually I’m a sucker for military ceremonies with pipes in the soundtrack; the christening of the stealthship in “Flight of the Phoenix” still chokes me up). Since we know this cast can deliver drunk dialogue, I’d rather have had a longer party scene and dumped the salute. Still, Lee’s line to Dualla was simply perfect.
(BTW, did anyone catch who the new CAG is?)
I’m also a little excited about the Cylon Civil War; as disappointed as I have been with the Cylons’ backstory, I think Moore & Co. have the right instincts to start knocking down the pillars of Cylon society as we move towards the climax. A little less “Destiny” and a little more “Improvisation” will make for a better story.
I don’t know what they’re trying to do with Baltar talking to Virtual Baltar (c’mon, everyone talks to themselves; it’s only because we’ve been watching Virtual Six for years that Virtual Baltar seems jarring), but as I’ve said before, all of Baltar’s humor and pathos are critically dependent upon his humanity. He’s not a Cylon; he’s an Objectivist.
Comment by Mr. Obscura —
April 14, 2008 @ 9:43 am
Baltar (or Starbuck, or Adama, or Roslin, for that matter) as the final Cylon would be the final insult of Moore and Eick to this erstwhile fan. Unless they go with the “everybody’s a Cylon” theme, which has some possibilities.
That said, I loved the ep. Much better than 4.1. As Eric said, the scenes between the tent poles were wonderful, and a reminder of how good this series can be when it wants to.
To me, the central question of the new BSG has always been, “Are the Cylons people?” My answer has always been an unequivocal yes, and a resolution in which the humans and Cylons acknowledge their similarities, and need for each other, would be satisfying to me.
But, to echo Donald, I expect to be disappointed.
Comment by Richard Cownie —
April 14, 2008 @ 1:31 pm
I don’t see Baltar being a Cylon. I saw the Baltar – head Baltar stuff as being just excellent comic relief. What’s funnier than on clown ? Two clowns.
My own paper-thin theory about the final Cylon is *Lee* Adama. Just because when Leoben whispered in Roslin’s ear, he said “Adama is a Cylon”. And even though a) he was probably just messing with her head and b) he wouldn’t know who the Final Five were, I tend to think the writers would enjoy the irony of having that whispered suggestion turn out to be true.
Comment by Eric Scharf —
April 14, 2008 @ 2:00 pm
Richard: My own paper-thin theory about the final Cylon is *Lee* Adama.
While I’m reserving judgment on how they explain the Final Five’s backstories, I’m prepared to be happy with Lee being a Cylon (which is more than I can say for Kara).
Comment by Richard Cownie —
April 14, 2008 @ 2:28 pm
I’m not sure if my theory stands up: after the business with the raider scanning Sam and then calling off the attack, presumably we have to postulate that any other Cylon who met a raider close-up would have triggered the same response. For Tigh, Tory, and Tyrol, that isn’t a problem. And then Sam only just qualified as a pilot, so it fits his backstory as well (though you’d think Centurions would do the same, and he’s been in firefights with them … but perhaps we can allow some latitude for difference between Centurions and Raiders).
But that leaves me wracking my brains to think just what happened each time Lee was in combat as a Viper pilot. Did he get close up to any raiders in “Hand of God” ? Maybe not, since he was in the hidden assault squadron that only attacked once the raiders were decoyed away.
Comment by Eric Scharf —
April 14, 2008 @ 3:25 pm
But that leaves me wracking my brains to think just what happened each time Lee was in combat as a Viper pilot.
I think it’s been established that the degree of continuity you’re looking for is beyond Moore & Co.’s ambit.
Alternately, we haven’t been given any reason to believe that all of the Final Five give off the same recognition signal as Sam; as “miracles” go, Sam’s first Viper mission coincidng with the one time the basestars got the drop on the Colonials is rather tame.
I’m slightly worried that the Cylon Civil War precipitated by Sam’s recognition signal will turn out to have been indispensible to The Grand Plan of whomever set up (current) Cylon society, and that would exceed the plausibility limit (for me).
What I want to know is how the Cylons keep finding the Colonials. A retcon bullshit reason would be dissatisfactory, but Moore & Co. haven’t even done that much.
Comment by Derek Copold —
April 14, 2008 @ 6:14 pm
I identify with this review. It catches all the problems.
Great statement here:
compare the Season 4 Cylons with the omnipresent nightmares that fueled this show’s premiere – and still finest – episode, “33.†Back then, the Cylons were fierce, unrelenting, and attacked every 33 minutes with mechanical, unfeeling precision. They held all the cards. They were hunting the human race to extinction. And, yes, they had a plan.
Now we’re left with the ludicrous spectacle of squabbling Cylons who settle their differences in makeshift caucus meetings based on the rantings of naked women lying in bubble baths. Remember when the Cylons infiltrated the human networks and shut down the fleet because they were wired into everything? Now they agree on nothing and can’t even get everyone together for a roll call vote.
I was again annoyed by what Moore is doing to Lee Adama’s character. He pretty much wasted several minutes on a farewell ceremony that would not have been normally been so happy. Oh, boy, the major’s quitting in the middle of a fight for our survival to be crony of Tom Zarek! Pop open some champagne! I mean, really, no one demurred? Said, “Hey, Lee, why don’t you reconsider who you’re leaving in the lurch?”
Comment by Jennifer —
April 14, 2008 @ 6:40 pm
Yeah, I’m not ordinarily gung-ho about the military, but in a situation where the very survival of humanity is at stake, I don’t know how much admiration I’d feel for one of our few accomplished fighter pilots who decides to drop out and follow his bliss instead.