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Battlestar Galactica: The Son Also Rises

Lee: "Dad, I'm fine."
Adama: "No, you're not."
Lee: "Why?"
Adama: "Because I'm not."

I don't know whether it's just depression over losing Starbuck or a general feeling of malaise about where Battlestar Galactica is going, but this was the sixth episode in a row that just didn't do a lot for me. (I went back and counted.)

That being said, the growing conflict between Lee and his father was cool, and Lee's reaction to Starbuck's death wasn't at all what I expected. Lee and Adama actually argued about which of them was more devastated by Starbuck's death, taking father/son conflict to a new level. Their grief appears to be pushing them in opposite directions, much like when they clashed about Roslin. And we all know how much fun that was.

The trial is, in fact, turning into a circus, and I'm looking forward to it. There's no legal precedent. We have five ship captains as judges, including Adama, who has already decided that Gaius is guilty. Caprica Six may very well be a witness of some kind. And we have a delightful new character, Gaius' kleptomaniac public defender, Romo Lampkin (Badger, from Firefly). (Note from later: This must have been before Mark Sheppard started appearing in pretty much every show I watch.)

Lampkin seemed exhausted, jaded, almost suicidal. And yet, he kept saying the most unsettling things to get a rise out of people. And he stole strange stuff, which was outright bizarre. The sunglasses he constantly wore probably symbolized the fact that his motivations were cloaked. (He took them off for the first time when he was talking with Caprica Six about love.)

The cat he carried around probably symbolized something important, too. The obvious answer would be his dead wife, but I think it's probably more complex than that. Does he just like to make people uncomfortable? Taking a cat everywhere you go will do that.

Bits and pieces:

— This week's survivor count: 41,399. One missing. Guess who. Katee Sackhoff's credit card was out, too. This did not make me happy.

— My favorite scene was Adama going through Starbuck's citations and disciplinary notices, and laughing and crying over the photo of her in the mustache and glasses.

— Lee wasn't a basket case, but Anders was. His emotions have always been closer to the surface. He almost seemed to want to bond with Lee. They have a major loss in common now.

— Wasn't surprised that Kelly was doing the bombing. He was so obviously pointed out in the initial scenes.

— Lampkin's cat saved a lot of lives. Cats are good. Are there other cats in the fleet? Will the Colonial feline population survive?

— Prosecuting attorney Ms. Cassidy was mentioned but not seen. Let's hope she's as interesting as Lampkin.

— This week's bonus scene: the beginning of a Cally/Athena face off.

Quotes:

Six: "He was narcissistic, self-centered, feckless and vain. I'm the one who should have stabbed him."
Roslin: "Things are looking up."

Lampkin: "Does your love hurt as much as mine?"
Six: "Yes."
Roslin: "I feel like part of our world just fell down."

Three stars?

Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

4 comments:

  1. I think my favorite scene was Roslin freaking out when she saw the cat. Of course nothing beats Dean being scared by a cat, but this was only most interesting. :D

    Mark Sheppard, oh how I love him as an actor. He brings an enormous presence to the episode. His manipulations of everyone around, wonderfull. I hope he's one of the final 5 so that we don't lose him after the trail.

    Strabuck removed from credits was a nice move before the in my opinion inevetiable comeback. I predict it as part of a multi-cliffhanger at the end of the season finale.

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  2. Love Mark Sheppard. I squeed when he came on the screen.
    I have found these last two episodes much more engrossing than the three preceding them. Those I fast-forwarded through. I was quickly losing interest, so I am glad these two ep's have pulled me back in.
    I am with Patryk though, I am convinced we have not seen the last of Starbuck. She was just too important (all that destiny stuff) to just write-out.
    The best part for me was when Lampkin was discussing love with Six and they kept showing Lee's reactions...everything that was being said applied to his relationship with Starbuck as well.

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  3. I love Lampkin, but mostly because of Mark Sheppard. I was surprised it was someone we knew placing the bombs, but despite me earlier claiming retcon on the whole Lee loves law thing, it worked I think.

    Episode felt like a good setup for the remaining trial episodes and I liked it. Looking forward to the end of the season!

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  4. Romo-san looks so cool with the zoom into him putting his shades on. A toast, my friends, to a worthy Starbuck replacement! He's so deep, arguably a little TOO deep to fit on the show, but let's see how they do with him.

    ReplyDelete

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