I am always struck by the cinematic quality of the filming and editing, especially at the beginning of the episode. With the exception of "Act of Contrition," "You Can't Go Home Again," and, of course, "33," most of the episodes in Season 1 are high-quality self-contained television episodes, with relatively straightforward plot lines. ("Colonial Day," "Tigh Me Up Tigh Me Down," and even "Litmus" are good examples.)
I think this quality is obvious in the opening 5 minutes, which signal immediately that this episode is different. The action switches back and forth between multiple scenes, a technique use in many of the best episodes (like "33," for example, and later in "Occupation"). Each scene tells a different story, but also shares high dramatic points with the other scenes, bringing them together thematically. Moreover, there is very little dialogue so that the viewer has to infer each character's psychological state (what they are doing, of course, is not exactly a secret).
In the first scene Adama and Lee are boxing. Lee is younger and faster, but Adama has experience and the patience. Moreover, Adama is clearly enjoying himself, so when Lee punches him in the stomach and asks, "Are you okay?" Adama just smiles.
Meanwhile, in Baltar's quarters .... If you watched the dance at the end of "Colonial Day" carefully, you will have noticed Baltar and Starbuck dancing together while Lee wanders around looking lost. Starback and Baltar always generated some heat, so now, fueled by alcohol, they are making love. When they start to climax Starbuck cries out "Lee!" putting the kibosh on the process. At exactly this moment Adama punches Lee, and Lee's face is pushed in the direction of the camera. What's his expression - shock? This anticipates Lee's expression during the card game when he watches Baltar and Starbuck and puts two and two together. IMHO Adama's remark to Lee - "You don't lose control" - is a metaphor for Lee's relationship with Starbuck. This explains why Starbuck is in bed with Baltar while Lee still hasn't figured out how to ask her to the senior prom. This character trait turns the Starbuck/Lee so-called romance into one of the most infuriating relationships in the history of television.
Interspersed between the Lee-Starbuck snippets, Boomer is in her quarters with a gun in her mouth, and Helo, on Caprica, discovers Athena. Athena puts her gun away and says, "Just do it." Helo shoots, misses, and wounds Athena instead of killing her. Is this deliberate or by accident? As Boomer tries to muster the courage to pull the trigger, her name is called over the PA, as if calling her back to life. When the sequences end both Boomer and Athena are still alive. The call to Boomer keeps her alive and functioning long enough to fulfill her destiny which, I think, is not just to shoot Adama, but also to find Kobol.
Baltar interrupts Boomer during her second suicide attempt and is probably responsible for taking her to the next (ultimately successful) step of pulling the trigger. This is one of those moments when Baltar really rises about himself. Six, who is a stand-in for the viewer, is deeply moved by his behavior and for once doesn't have anything to say. Baltar's compassion and concern for Boomer are especially touching given that he is gently steering her towards suicide. Boomer is completely isolated and fearful, and this is the only scene where she actually connects with someone who understands her state of mind. I am very ambivalent about Boomer in Season 1, and this is one of those moments when she is especially sympathetic because she is trying to do the right thing even though it means death. Boomer's destiny is fixed, and her efforts to control it are futile but nevertheless courageous.
The discovery of Kobol takes Roslin further down the road that she believes has been prepared for her. Unlike Boomer, Roslin embraces her destiny. When she describes what she sees on the surveillance photos to Elosha and Billy, she's looking at them and talking to them, but doesn't glance down to watch the gestures her hands make. My impression is that Roslin is also talking to herself. This experience is the final act that changes Roslin's understanding toward the prophecies. Elosha's (and Roslin's) interpretation of the experience (which is qualitatively different from the other visions), guides them to the next step, which is quite specific and concrete. I think that Roslin is now happy about her place in the story - the cancer that is killing her is also part of her role as a savior.
Roslin's new belief system does not change her underlying behavior, which is straightforward and business-like (pretty ironic, actually). This gives her credibility when she speaks to Starbuck. Based on Roslin's advice Starbuck does ask Adama about their journey to earth, and figures out for herself that Roslin is telling the truth and Adama is lying.
Meanwhile, back on Caprica ... The conversation between Helo and Athena, "You're not Sharon" / "I am Sharon," continues the exploration of the distinctions between Boomer, Sharon, and all the other Sharons. This is an ongoing debate throughout the series, and I have talked about this in previous posts. When does Athena's distinct personality emerge, and how does this affect Helo's love for her? Is he in love with both women? In later seasons it's clear that Helo's love is specifically directed to Athena and not (to paraphrase Roslin in Season 4) the whole line. The question of the 8's identity is extremely complex and interesting, and Gaeta also gets sucked into it in "The Face of the Enemy" webisodes.
By the end of this episode there are several story lines (Kobol, Roslin/Adama conflict, Starbuck's defection, and what will Boomer next). IMHO it is easy to keep them separate which says a lot about the exposition, and yet art has not been compromised along the way. That's a pretty big accomplishment. The tension for most of Season 2.0 is devoted to resolving these conflicting stories.
Some other thoughts
Reason Number 11 why Lee is a jerk
Actually this is Reason Number 12 if you count the the suggestion that wearing a pinstriped suit counts as Reason Number 11.
Anyways, regardless of your numbering convention, here is the next reason:
He is not smart enough to make a pass at Starbuck himself, and he gets pissed off when someone else does. He is just incredibly out of line, on both a personal level and as her commanding officer, when he basically calls her a slut in front of the whole deck crew. Me? I would have reported him for sexual harassment. Instead, Starbuck apologizes later in the episode. Why is she apologizing?
BTW, I don't completely hate Lee. I just hate it when he opens his mouth. Jamie Bamber has a great physical presence, and when he is moving around and not talking, Lee comes across as a more complex person (I feel the same way about the boxing in "The Dance" in Season 3). I also thought the card game was pretty good, Lee figures out what happened between Baltar and Starbuck based on eye contact and things unsaid, and his facial expression tells exactly when he puts two and two together.
Other Stuff
- James Callis does a great drunk. Is this based on personal experience (haha, no offense)? His sentences are coherent and they sound like Baltar, but they are slurred. He sounds exactly like a drunk trying to sound sober. He drops is guard, though, and his emotional twists and turns are there for everyone to see. The transition from arrogant to despairing is just perfect.
- How does Boomer know the planet is Kobol? How does Leoben know that the fleet will find Kobol? Just throwing it out there. I don't care because it adds to the sense that there are unseen forces at work, and I just go with the flow.
- When I first heard the phrase "Lords of Kobol," I had a good laugh. I don't think I have ever seen the word written in the course of the show, but close-captioning always spells Kobol with a "K," making it a homonym for Cobol (Common Business-Oriented Language). It is the first coding language to use English-like statements, making it accessible to ordinary mortals like me. My employer (and this is not unusual) is still maintaining a few COBOL programs developed before the dawn of humans. The history of COBOL is awfully interesting. Grace Hopper, a woman working for the US Navy, wrote the first COBOL compiler, which is the same as saying she wrote the software for the Cylons. In an interesting little aside she won the first "man of the year" award from the Data Processing Management Association.
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