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rivendellroseAh, the middle of the season. The part where all the really plotty stuff has been shoved to the sides at the end and the beginning, and the writers suddenly realize they need something to fill the gaping yawn in between. These two were better than "The Woman King," definitely, but there was still something... just slightly off about each of them, IMHO.
A Day in the Life
This one was pretty good, but it continues a strange trend I've noticed on the show: everybody in whose head we've spent any significant amount of time seems to have a version of their wife/husband/lover living in their head. I was totally fine with this when it was just Gaius (because, hell, he's crazy!), and when we found out that Caprica had the same thing I thought it was adorable. Tigh had a brief case of head!Ellen, and it just sort of made me feel sorry for him. But now Adama has a head!Apollo's-Mom, and I'm starting to wonder if, if they were separated for more than a few hours, we would get Tyrol's head!Callie, and Callie's head!Tyrol, and, god forbid, Apollo and Starbuck having head!Kara and head!Lee.
My point is, I see what they're going for - the people we love stay with us, blah blah blah, all that good stuff. That's great, it really is. And I like it for the most part. But I can't help but notice... have you ever met someone other than a writer who had other people living in their head? Because I haven't. Everybody I know who has that is a writer. And I've never even known a writer to have their spouse/lover in their head. One friend has a psychotic Roman emperor, but, again, she's a writer, and that's different. ;)
In short, I'm thinking perhaps that this is a case of writers forgetting that normal people don't work that way, necessarily. I could be wrong. And, again, I really do think it's an okay literary device, it's just... eh, I don't know. It was niggling at me, so I thought I'd make a note of it.
Other things about this episode: The whole thing with Callie and Tyrol was nice, but way too predictable. As soon as they walked into the messed-up airlock and were saying things like how nobody'd been in there since the clean-up crew sealed the leaks and all that, I knew they were going to get trapped so that they could work out their issues. *Yawn*
That said, I loved the stuff with Apollo and Adama, particularly Adama sending Lee his grandfather's books at the end. That was a-frakking-dorable. And Lee's reaction to a random box in his quarters - "It's from your father." "Is it ticking?" See, I like him when he's not being a complete moron!
And bitty!Adama in the wedding picture! So cute. ♥
And in my daily Helo check, we get him and Hotdog being all cute and manly-buddies together in the ready room... and then Hotdog is all "I have a weird rash," and Helo says "Hope she was worth it" andruns away moves a seat away. Cute little bit. (...Also, Helo has, like, too many legs to fit in those chairs. It's adorable.)
And Roslin and Adama. SO CUTE.
Dirty Hands
I knew this episode might have issues when, halfway through, The Boy and I started debating over whether this made Gaius Stalin and Tyrol Lenin, vice versa, or both a kind of conglomeration of both. *Sigh* Look, I get what they're going for here, and, as with "The Woman King," I think it's an issue that's worth dealing with. I just think that they're doing it waaaaaaay too heavy-handed a manner. I mean, honestly, when the little teenager shows up and starts freaking about he's not a farmer, he just worked on a farm for the summer to make money for college, and who is he supposed to talk to about this? and they send him right over to the refinery ship... did anyone honestly think that kid was going to get through the episode with all limbs attached? I mean, really. And then there's Adama, inexplicably threatening to execute Callie! Um, excuse me? Are we having a case of pod-characters again, because I'm pretty sure that's not the Bill Adama I've come to love over the last three seasons. But it's okay because we get a sudden insta-turn-around at the end!
...Which, granted, I was very glad for! But yeeeeeeeesh.
Good things:
Goodness is the baby they have playing Nicky adorable! Very cute little baby. As is Hera, I should say. Very cute kids.
The deck-girl who wanted to be a pilot finally getting what she wants at the end, and looking so happy while Starbuck is yelling at her. Bless! ♥
Roslin and Tyrol talking plans at the end. Very sweet. I just wish they hadn't had to go through all the stupid to get to that.
Adama to Roslin, after the Viper collides with Colonial One and Roslin's had to move her quarters: "You're always welcome in my beds. ...In a manner of speaking." Guys, seriously. Please. Just get together. Give it up, get together, and make us all happy. You're just too damned cute for words. ♥
A Day in the Life
This one was pretty good, but it continues a strange trend I've noticed on the show: everybody in whose head we've spent any significant amount of time seems to have a version of their wife/husband/lover living in their head. I was totally fine with this when it was just Gaius (because, hell, he's crazy!), and when we found out that Caprica had the same thing I thought it was adorable. Tigh had a brief case of head!Ellen, and it just sort of made me feel sorry for him. But now Adama has a head!Apollo's-Mom, and I'm starting to wonder if, if they were separated for more than a few hours, we would get Tyrol's head!Callie, and Callie's head!Tyrol, and, god forbid, Apollo and Starbuck having head!Kara and head!Lee.
My point is, I see what they're going for - the people we love stay with us, blah blah blah, all that good stuff. That's great, it really is. And I like it for the most part. But I can't help but notice... have you ever met someone other than a writer who had other people living in their head? Because I haven't. Everybody I know who has that is a writer. And I've never even known a writer to have their spouse/lover in their head. One friend has a psychotic Roman emperor, but, again, she's a writer, and that's different. ;)
In short, I'm thinking perhaps that this is a case of writers forgetting that normal people don't work that way, necessarily. I could be wrong. And, again, I really do think it's an okay literary device, it's just... eh, I don't know. It was niggling at me, so I thought I'd make a note of it.
Other things about this episode: The whole thing with Callie and Tyrol was nice, but way too predictable. As soon as they walked into the messed-up airlock and were saying things like how nobody'd been in there since the clean-up crew sealed the leaks and all that, I knew they were going to get trapped so that they could work out their issues. *Yawn*
That said, I loved the stuff with Apollo and Adama, particularly Adama sending Lee his grandfather's books at the end. That was a-frakking-dorable. And Lee's reaction to a random box in his quarters - "It's from your father." "Is it ticking?" See, I like him when he's not being a complete moron!
And bitty!Adama in the wedding picture! So cute. ♥
And in my daily Helo check, we get him and Hotdog being all cute and manly-buddies together in the ready room... and then Hotdog is all "I have a weird rash," and Helo says "Hope she was worth it" and
And Roslin and Adama. SO CUTE.
Dirty Hands
I knew this episode might have issues when, halfway through, The Boy and I started debating over whether this made Gaius Stalin and Tyrol Lenin, vice versa, or both a kind of conglomeration of both. *Sigh* Look, I get what they're going for here, and, as with "The Woman King," I think it's an issue that's worth dealing with. I just think that they're doing it waaaaaaay too heavy-handed a manner. I mean, honestly, when the little teenager shows up and starts freaking about he's not a farmer, he just worked on a farm for the summer to make money for college, and who is he supposed to talk to about this? and they send him right over to the refinery ship... did anyone honestly think that kid was going to get through the episode with all limbs attached? I mean, really. And then there's Adama, inexplicably threatening to execute Callie! Um, excuse me? Are we having a case of pod-characters again, because I'm pretty sure that's not the Bill Adama I've come to love over the last three seasons. But it's okay because we get a sudden insta-turn-around at the end!
...Which, granted, I was very glad for! But yeeeeeeeesh.
Good things:
Goodness is the baby they have playing Nicky adorable! Very cute little baby. As is Hera, I should say. Very cute kids.
The deck-girl who wanted to be a pilot finally getting what she wants at the end, and looking so happy while Starbuck is yelling at her. Bless! ♥
Roslin and Tyrol talking plans at the end. Very sweet. I just wish they hadn't had to go through all the stupid to get to that.
Adama to Roslin, after the Viper collides with Colonial One and Roslin's had to move her quarters: "You're always welcome in my beds. ...In a manner of speaking." Guys, seriously. Please. Just get together. Give it up, get together, and make us all happy. You're just too damned cute for words. ♥
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no subject
Date: 2010-10-27 09:50 pm (UTC)I found that really powerful as a callback to Cain and the Cain/Adama parallels in the Pegasus arc. But then I was always suspicious of Adama. For that reason I am not in love with the Roslin/Adama pairing, because I'd rather have her check-and-balance him as a political rival.
god forbid, Apollo and Starbuck having head!Kara and head!Lee.
This is...really hard not to say anything spoilery in response to. You'll see why very soon. But the head!people are really important in the show's mythos, it seems. (And god might forbid it, but which god?)
no subject
Date: 2010-10-27 09:59 pm (UTC)I love them as checks-and-balances, to be sure, but... I admit, I'm also very fond of both of them personally, both as individuals and as a couple. Which is not to say I haven't hated some of the things they've both done over the course of the series, but... extenuating circumstances, I suppose? The thing was, in the Cain/Adama thing, I always felt like we had pretty clear lines that Adama wouldn't cross that Cain was happily dancing right over - I never particularly felt like he was in danger of becoming her. She reminded me more of if Tigh were in charge of the Galactica, honestly.
You'll see why very soon. But the head!people are really important in the show's mythos, it seems.
Ooooo. Very interesting. I'll look forward to that, then!
(And god might forbid it, but which god?)
A very good and tricky question around here. I'll admit, I've been less than impressed with how they've handled the polytheism - we seem to get a fair bit of attention on the Cylons' singular god, less so on anything of any kind about the colonists gods. Just a petty little gripe as a student of classics and religion, but, as someone who still considers herself at least half of the pagan mindset, I find it a little annoying.
no subject
Date: 2010-10-27 11:22 pm (UTC)I'm thinking of Elosha's conversation with Gaius on Kobol in which she explains that the humans and the Lords of Kobol lived together at peace until one of the Lords decided that he was greater than the other, and Six interjects (to Gaius) "Blasphemy! There was only ever one God." So the same stories exist in both traditions, and the same places are sacred, they just mean different things.
I'll have more to say about this after you watch the next episode. (Which I found both upsetting and inspiring of thinky thoughts.) And even more after you've finished the series.
no subject
Date: 2010-10-27 11:18 pm (UTC)Ugh, A Day in the Life. Like, I love the Adama/Roslin parts so much (and that was what I was referring to when I said that there were later things that made me question whether they'd slept together on New Cap), but ugh, head Carolanne. No. So much no. Besides the fact that the casting on that character was dreadful, she just...I don't know, it was awful and made me cringe. I just FF those parts.