BSG 4.11: Sometimes a Great Notion
Jan. 17th, 2009 02:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
weewarriorYes, I said I wouldn't review the show anymore, but that was tied to my distaste for most of Season 4; this episode, however, I enjoyed. Well, "enjoyed," but the feeling was cathartic as opposed to pure punishment, like some of the others. Let's proceed posthaste to some scattered tidbits:
- Oh, Dee. Oh, Sweetie. I actually liked how they set this up - much better thought out than Cally's swan song, for instance, and well-composed, from her finding the ancient wishbones, duplicates of her own, to her playing with Hera and having that last date with Lee, to that conversation with Felix. And then her smile dropping from her face like a mask as soon as he's gone and she has sorted out her things, and her just pulling the trigger. It was symbolic for the desolation of the fleet, but it was done in such a way that she still remained a person of her own and didn't become just another Dead Woman. Well done.
- Also well done: the small reactions of the fleet, mostly shown when Adama walks through the corridors: the "Frak Earth" graffiti, the fighting pilots, and people just sitting there numbly, but also that one couple who were comforting each other. Helo and Athena playing with Hera also falls in that category - and speaking of Helo, I liked the small scene when he tried to comfort Dee in the raptor.
- I enjoyed Roslin burning the Prophecies of Pythia more than I probably should, but I never quite bought this storyline for her. Even with cancer, I couldn't see her actually believing in them, she just seems too grounded in an expressively rational, scientific way of thinking.
- I'm not sure if Adama trying to get Tigh to kill him worked for me as a scene in itself, but I loved what I know to be a small bit of improvisation on Michael Hogan's part: apparently, EJO got so passionate in pushing the glass of whiskey over the table that it almost slid off, and you see Hogan catching it and carefully placing it back on it's designated place without once breaking character.
- A Mr. Hoshi sighting! People who have seen the webisodes may understand my excitement a little better than others.
And now for the really big reveals:
- The thirteenth tribe being Cylons was a bit of a surprise, but it's interesting to see that they kept up the grand old Colonial tradition of bombing themselves to smithereens. And apparently they were able to get reborn? And in inconvenient moments they remember their past lives? Those particular glimpses I enjoyed, though Sam's previous life as a rock star/street singer/amateur guitar enthusiast was a bit lacklustre. Then again, it might explain why they apparently chose "All along the Watchtower" to reactivate themselves.
- Kara is dead but also here: I'm with Leoben on this one. I have no idea what this is about. Maybe she is a god? Or an angel, like the Head!characters? Or just a figment of the collective imaginations of everyone around her? No frakking clue.
- Ellen is the final Cylon: I can live with that. It was foreshadowed as far back as Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down, when Baltar refused to reveal what her actual test result was, and it explains why D'Anna didn't say anything, given that Ellen was dead when she came to the fleet. And even though I find the notion of eternal soulmates tiresome, I can live with Ellen and Saul being an eternal couple. Although I am honestly wondering what the Academic Tighs would have thought about being reborn as a Drunk and a Whore. Kudos to Kate Vernon: I read an interview with her that was published after the episode aired, and she kept that secret for two years. Very resourceful.
- Oh, Dee. Oh, Sweetie. I actually liked how they set this up - much better thought out than Cally's swan song, for instance, and well-composed, from her finding the ancient wishbones, duplicates of her own, to her playing with Hera and having that last date with Lee, to that conversation with Felix. And then her smile dropping from her face like a mask as soon as he's gone and she has sorted out her things, and her just pulling the trigger. It was symbolic for the desolation of the fleet, but it was done in such a way that she still remained a person of her own and didn't become just another Dead Woman. Well done.
- Also well done: the small reactions of the fleet, mostly shown when Adama walks through the corridors: the "Frak Earth" graffiti, the fighting pilots, and people just sitting there numbly, but also that one couple who were comforting each other. Helo and Athena playing with Hera also falls in that category - and speaking of Helo, I liked the small scene when he tried to comfort Dee in the raptor.
- I enjoyed Roslin burning the Prophecies of Pythia more than I probably should, but I never quite bought this storyline for her. Even with cancer, I couldn't see her actually believing in them, she just seems too grounded in an expressively rational, scientific way of thinking.
- I'm not sure if Adama trying to get Tigh to kill him worked for me as a scene in itself, but I loved what I know to be a small bit of improvisation on Michael Hogan's part: apparently, EJO got so passionate in pushing the glass of whiskey over the table that it almost slid off, and you see Hogan catching it and carefully placing it back on it's designated place without once breaking character.
- A Mr. Hoshi sighting! People who have seen the webisodes may understand my excitement a little better than others.
And now for the really big reveals:
- The thirteenth tribe being Cylons was a bit of a surprise, but it's interesting to see that they kept up the grand old Colonial tradition of bombing themselves to smithereens. And apparently they were able to get reborn? And in inconvenient moments they remember their past lives? Those particular glimpses I enjoyed, though Sam's previous life as a rock star/street singer/amateur guitar enthusiast was a bit lacklustre. Then again, it might explain why they apparently chose "All along the Watchtower" to reactivate themselves.
- Kara is dead but also here: I'm with Leoben on this one. I have no idea what this is about. Maybe she is a god? Or an angel, like the Head!characters? Or just a figment of the collective imaginations of everyone around her? No frakking clue.
- Ellen is the final Cylon: I can live with that. It was foreshadowed as far back as Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down, when Baltar refused to reveal what her actual test result was, and it explains why D'Anna didn't say anything, given that Ellen was dead when she came to the fleet. And even though I find the notion of eternal soulmates tiresome, I can live with Ellen and Saul being an eternal couple. Although I am honestly wondering what the Academic Tighs would have thought about being reborn as a Drunk and a Whore. Kudos to Kate Vernon: I read an interview with her that was published after the episode aired, and she kept that secret for two years. Very resourceful.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-17 03:14 pm (UTC)I noticed that! Of course it was improv.
Although I am honestly wondering what the Academic Tighs would have thought about being reborn as a Drunk and a Whore.
How do we know they were academics? I didn't catch that, but I've seen a couple people menton it.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-18 02:37 pm (UTC)One of the things I hate most about BSG ending is that I won't have Michael Hogan on my screen regularly. He's such a good actor, and who would have thought that about Tigh back in the mini series.
How do we know they were academics? I didn't catch that, but I've seen a couple people menton it.
The clothes, but also the way they talked. As the Colonel, Tigh usually has a very gruff, clipped voice, while this man spoke very clearly. Also, the way Ellen addressed him was so different - this was a woman of much better education than original Ellen I think.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-17 10:22 pm (UTC)I agree and that's a really nice way to put it.
A Mr. Hoshi sighting! People who have seen the webisodes may understand my excitement a little better than others.
Hah, I haven't but I did hear something about Gaeta having some kind of boyfriend in the episodes. So, is Hoshi the one? Are they actually together?
Kara is dead but also here: I'm with Leoben on this one. I have no idea what this is about. Maybe she is a god? Or an angel, like the Head!characters?
That scene actually chilled me to the bone and a big part was due to Leoben's reaction. He was always so condescending and secure around Kara, that's why him backing away in fear was just creepy. In addition to Kara seeing her own corpse, of course. *shudders*
I don't think she is one of the Head!characters, though because too many people see her and she is too physical for a collective imagination.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-18 03:28 pm (UTC)Yes, and yes. Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he actually survives.
That scene actually chilled me to the bone and a big part was due to Leoben's reaction. He was always so condescending and secure around Kara, that's why him backing away in fear was just creepy. In addition to Kara seeing her own corpse, of course. *shudders*
Yes, it was eerie, all the more due to Leoben. The guy isn't rattled when he is tortured or about to die of radiation (btw, whatever became of the Cylons reacting negatively to that? Shouldn't any Cylon who was down on Earth have dropped dead by now?), so something scaring him must be truly out there.
Maybe Kara is the missing link? (Between humans and Cylons in this case.)