Sunday, January 18, 2009
Galactica: Sometimes a Great Notion (air date 1/16/2009)
Both the humans of the Colonial fleet and their Cylon allies fight against the emotion of overwhelming despair as they try to understand what happened to the 13th Tribe. Dee reconciles with her husband Lee Adama despite being devastated about the discovery of Earth. Kara finds a puzzling and disturbing clue regarding her identity.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
12 comments:
Fantastic. THAT'S how you follow up a cliffhanger. Star Trek:TNG was notorious for creating great cliffhangers and never having the ability to match the greatness in the follow-up episode. Not here.
The 13th tribe were all Cylons. WHAT?! This obviously changes everything. I honestly don't know what to make of this, but I like it.
Ellen Tigh is the 5th Cylon! Sorry it wasn't Gaeta, Robert. But we forget an important piece of info that was given in the mid-season finale... the 5th Cylon wasn't part of the fleet. That narrowed it down to someone on the Cylon base ship (Roselyn or Baltar) or someone who was dead. Makes perfect sense. My guess was always Admiral Cain. I like this better.
Ellen told Col. Tigh that they would be reborn, together. So these 13th tribe Cylons can resurrect, presumably without a resurrection ship. But are they reborn as children? Adama knew Tigh as a young man. Are Ellen and Tigh destined to be together for all eternity? Earth was nuked 2000 years ago. OUR Col. Tigh isn't 2000 years old (unless they age at a diffeent rate). Have Ellen and Saul been reborn hundreds of times together? How did these two (and the rest of the Final 5) make it back to the colonies?
What's up with Starbuck? Did someone use resurrection technology on her, a human? Is she something different altogether? A hybrid? I'm just guessing. I got nothing.
And the best part of the whole episode... Dee shoots herself! Wow! Who saw that coming? Unbelievable. I love how they dealt with the disappointment of finding Earth destroyed. Another show would have just had the Captain give a moving speech and moved on.
One more thing. Is it a coincidence that The Chief, Ellen and Saul died in the same area on Earth and they are 3 of the Final 5? Anders found a guitar. Was that supposed to be HIS guitar? Dunno.
We watched it twice, so I picked up a few things...
When Ellen tells Tigh, "Saul, it's been arranged. We're going to be reborn again," what's with the "again" at the end? Not just reborn, but reborn AGAIN. Was this not their first rebirth?
My crazy theory this weekend is that Tigh was the Baltar of Earth, and Ellen was the Caprica Six of Earth.
But then I got to thinking about one of my favorite shots from the first half season finale, where they show the silhouettes of the ships first entering Earth's atmosphere. They never actually show the planet enough for the viewer to identify it as Earth. They say "constellations match," but we don't get to seem them.
So is it Earth, or are they once again toying with us by way of our interpretation of a prophecy. A dying leader did indeed lead the people to a "promised land," but nobody ever said that land would be either habitable or Earth.
But then again I thought Zak Adama was going to be the "not in the fleet" final cylon...
We still don't know who or what is projecting imagines of Six/Baltar into the minds of Six and Baltar, not to mention the one time Kara saw images of Leoben in her mind. Last season on the Demetius, Leoben told Kara that she was some kind of angel. Now, I don't know enough about the 80's BSG mythology to tie it all together, but I think there is still an Iblis/Angels thing at play here. And that's what is responsible for Kara's rebirth.
So on Caprica, was Cylon technology invented or rediscovered? I'm guessing the latter.
Were the Lord Of Kobol the first skinjobs? Were they like political/religious bigwigs who sought immortality through uploading their consciousness into new bodies?
Does the time it took Ellen, Tigh, Anders, Torrey, and Tyrol to be reborn have anything to do with the distance from Earth to Caprica? Maybe they were 2000 light years away, and the upload only traveled at the speed of light?
On Earth, or the planet we're assuming is Earth, I'm thinking "why just those five?" Ellen and Tigh had been reborn before, so they knew about it. Tyrol, the great mechanic, helped build it. Anders was a famous rock star (not unlike being a famous athlete), so he was invited and could afford it. I'm grasping here...
Man, this show keeps setting the bar higher and higher, and then it keeps TOTALLY delivering. Drunk Adama walking through the ship in chaos, ignoring brawls and vandalism only to demand the firearm from some random dude. Off the hook.
"Frak Earth"
WOW! So Gaeta is not the 5th. Helen? Yeah I can see that. All of the clues that the Old-Man Hybrid said in Razor that I applied to Mr. Gaeta also apply to Helen and with more significance. "And the 5th, still in the shadows, will crawl toward the light, seeking redemption during the howl of great suffering." Sure many people are seeking redemption but only Helen is seeking redemption from the other 4 cylons because she betrayed them all back on New Caprica when they were part of the Resistance. That is why she had to die. So now she has to seek their redemption and anytime they show the final 5 in the Opera House, they are all bathed in a bright light. I LIKE HELEN BEING THE 5th. It explains why D'Anna said at the end of Season 4.0, that there were only 4 final cylons in the fleet. Helen was dead already.
Earth is the cylon homeworld and doesn't belong to the humans. If you remember, last year I stated (during the Eye of Jupiter episode) that the reason that the final 5 cylons and the 5 priests of the temple as wriiten about in the ancient scriptures were one in the same, is because the 13th tribe consisted of another intelligent race of beings called cylons. We already know from that episode and many others since then (as Baltar preaches) that both the humans and the cylons pray to the same God (the one-true God). So I believe that God created two races of beings, humans and cylons. It makes sense that the 13th tribe were cylons. Why? Because there were 12 human Gods which represented the 12 colonies, so the 13th tribe had to be something else other than humans.
Another thing to remember is that everyone, including the cylons, ASSUMED that the 13th tribe were humans. But the Hybrid told Starbuck that, "the final 5 are from the home of the 13th." Notice she doesn't say the 13th tribe of humans. It was Natalie (Six) that made the assumption that the 13th tribe was human. So yes, the planet they found was Earth and yes it's the cylon homeworld. The one common thread in this show is that the cylons and humans are meant to be together even when there are those from each side that are trying to destroy each other. "All of this has happened before and will happen again."
Chairman, All five of them lived in the same area. Chief, Tory & Anders all lived in the same building. When Anders realized that he was the one that played that song they heard at the nebula, both Chief and Tory realized that they heard Anders playing that song on his guitar. As for Tigh and Helen, it wasn't clear to me if they lived in that building too but they did live nearby.
Questions:
1) Who is Starbuck? A dark angel?
2) Why is Hera so important and why must she be protected? And from whom?
3) Will Six give birth to Tigh's baby?
4) How do the final 5 become re-born and how old do they get before being re-born?
5) What is the cylon plan we keep hearing about?
6) What was up with Dee shooting herself? That came out of no where.
So many questions and it's only the first episode of season 4.5, I can't wait until Friday night.
I LOVE THIS SHOW!
Dee shooting herself was simple. She couldn't take the disappointment of Earth being destroyed. She was crushed. She had already lost Billy, then divorced Lee. She had nothing to live for. She wanted one last happy memory and she wanted to die happy.
I just had an idea that blew my mind. Ellen is the 5th. When Tigh killed her, she presumably resurrected. But these "special" Cylons don't resurrect like the others. And they age. So I figure they must resurrect in the womb, like reincarnation. Didn't Tigh impregnate a Six model? That baby will be Ellen! In a different email thread, Lohan thought that Hera might be Ellen, but didn't Ellen die after Hera was born? If not, then I really like Hera as Ellen.
The biggest clue to Starbuck for me is still her ovaries being harvested, but is that a red herring or actually something that will come into play.
My guess on tying it together is Cavil experimenting on humans to try to create a hybrid or new model. Its a stretch, but who knows.
I like your idea that Saul's kid is Ellen, but the timing is off not that that matters. Ellen died at least a year ago when they left New Caprica. It does beg the question of which baby is in the Opera House. We've always assumed Hera, but maybe it is Six' baby and Boomer and Laura going after it represents the Humans and the Cylons going after it.
My guess is Ellen will be back and not just in hallucination form. Prolly in the final episodes.
Killer opening episode. I'm stuck on the confusion on Leoben's face as it becomes clear that Kara crash-landed on Earth only to return in a newly-untouched viper. His face - and then running away - when it becomes clear that the mangled corpse on "earth" is hers makes me wonder if anyone - cylon or human - knew this was coming. And if they didn't know this was coming, what other surprises are in store for us?
We've ID'd all the cylons - which was supposed to be the big reveal - and yet there's now more questions than answers. Great writing. (And not in that Lost version, where it doesn't seem to be wrapping up all the loose ends).
Lastly, the scene with Adama in a drunken rage, unable to live with himself, was some of the best television I've ever seen. I thought it was the perfect counterpart to Dee. I think she offs herself to show the spectrum of human emotion. Both Dee and Adama have invested so much in the survival of the fleet, but in different ways. Dee pegged her hope to Earth, and when Earth wasn't the "promised land," she found solace in the only thing she loved (Lee) and then bid farewell. Through it all, Adama built his hopes on just pushing from place to place, giving the people hope that there was an end. When he reached the end, only to find out his best friend in the world was a toaster, he couldn't take it. But Adama is too strong to do it himself. He goads Tigh to do it. Dee and Adama are profiles in depression, their stories told through their strengths. I loved the duality.
About Dee: Kristi was telling me that people who are suicidal are often happiest just before they kill themselves, as if the decision to kill yourself lifts the burden. She read that in a psych/nursing class...
I'm stuck on the "it's not earth" thing. The shot of north america to end season 3 was so powerful, I can't believe the writers wouldn't give the viewers some concrete imagery of Earth in ruin. If they don't show us something this week, I'm totally on to something.
Hey, isn't the timing off for the final five's rebirths? They all die in the nukes at about the same time, right? But Tigh is way older than Anders, Tyrol, and Torrey. So it seems unlikely that they're reborn into the womb.
I really wanted the nukes that killed the final five in their flashbacks to be the result of Kara crash-landing on the planet, but the timing doesn't jive.
I've been reading this great spoiler-free BSG reference guide. There is a wealth of info on colonial religion:
http://en.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_Twelve_Colonies#The_Lords_of_Kobol
Based on what we learned in the Temple Of The Five and on Kobol, the cylon god was one of the original lords of Kobol. The five priests of the temple (on the algae planet) worshiped this fallen lord.
Also, the Temple Of The Five was 4000 years old. The beacon that led them there was 3000 years old. It suggests that life started on Earth and THEN went to Kobol.
I'm thinking humans started on Earth, built cylons, and the cylons rebelled. Most humans fled to Kobol, the cylons fled to the planet where Kara's corpse would end up. The humans on Kobol were led by 12 lords who were actually skinjobs. One of these lords turned on the others, leading to the exodus from Kobol. 12 of the 13 human tribes go off to found the 12 colonies. The 13th tribe goes back to Earth. The one "fallen" lord of Kobol took his/her cylon rebirth technology to the planet where Kara's corpse would end up and made a deal with "the final five," then nuked the planet. Eventually, somebody on Caprica discovers the long lost cylon technology, re-awakening the "final five" in the process. All the while, the 13th tribe of humans who had returned to Earth flourish and become us, the viewers.
Baltar is being manipulated (via the virtual Six and virtual Baltar) by the fallen lord of Kobol. Kara was recreated by whatever being or force exists to counter-balance the fallen lord of Kobol...Hera?
Shunanimous makes a good point about the timing of the Final 5 rebirths. But the Final 5 died on earth 2000 years ago. Maybe they've continually been reborn since. That would account for their age difference. It still doesn't explain how they got back to the colonies, though.
The second I saw that wrecked bridge and the skyline, I thought that was the Brooklyn Bridge. It's a famous shot used in a lot of movies. I guess I have no proof, but I'm guessing that this is Earth.
Click to see Brooklyn Bridge
shunanimous said...
I'm stuck on the "it's not earth" thing..."
IT WAS CONFIRMED AFTER SEASON 3 AND AT THE END OF SEASON 4.0 BY ALL OF THE CAST AS WELL AS RON MOORE AND DAVID EICK, THAT THE PLANET THEY FIND IS INDEED EARTH. WHAT KIND OF EARTH WASN'T KNOWN UNTIL THIS PAST FRIDAY'S EPISODE.
shunanimous said...
Also, the Temple Of The Five was 4000 years old. The beacon that led them there was 3000 years old. It suggests that life started on Earth and THEN went to Kobol.
THIS COULD VERY WELL BE. REMEMBER THE PHRASE THAT WAS READ AT THE BEGINNING OF EVERY OLD-BATTLESTAR GALACTICA SHOW? "LIFE HERE BEGAN OUT THERE,..." EARTH IS THE CYLON HOME WORLD OR PERHAPS WHERE THE CYLONS (NOT THE MACHINE RACE) GOT IT'S START. IT'S ALSO PRETTY OBVIOUS THAT THE FINAL FIVE ARE ACTUALLY THE FIRST HUMAN LOOKING CYLON MODELS OR AS AARON DOUGLAS SAID AT THE END OF SEASON 3 AT COMIC CON, "WE ARE LIKE CYLON GODS." SO YES, THE SUGGESTION IS THAT (CYLON) LIFE STARTED ON EARTH AND THEN WENT TO KOBOL.
The way this show is written we all have to realize that Earth doesn't have to be where humans are from. NO CONCRETE evidence has ever been offered to say that Earth is where humans are from. It was only speculation in the scriptures that Earth was where the humans had settled. NOTE: I said settled and not were FROM there. The 13th tribe was never factually connected to humans, it was just known as the 13th tribe. Every time that the 13th tribe was connected to the humans, it was based on assumption and not fact. Now we know for sure that the 13th tribe was indeed cylon.
So Earth is where the human-like cylon race is from. I think they left Earth and settled on Kobol. Co-mingled with the human race and then created the mechanized cylons (like they did on Earth as we just learned this past Friday). Because this human-like cylon race looked human, perhaps they were mistaken for human and that is why we have heard that the mechanized cylons were created by man. The mechanized cylons rebelled against the 12 colonies, just like they did on Earth and probably just like they will later this season. That's a guess. Remember that at the start of the cylon revolution, the centurions were given the voice of reason by the cylon rebels. I would think that the centurions will rise up against their skin-job masters before this season ends.
I still have to scratch my head as to the whole "re-born" thing. I don't think we can look at this from the knowledge we have about the current skin-job cylon resurrection. It's obvious that these original cylons exist and resurrect in more of a spiritual nature which may have some bearing on why they do not seem 2000 years old. But as for Starbuck? I think she is similar to Count Iblis from the old series. A Dark Angel. Like Count Iblis, she too died in a shipwreck only to come back to life.
As for this Cylon Plan we kept hearing about in Seasons 1 & 2 (you didn't hear it mentioned after that), it will be revealed in the TV movie called THE PLAN, which will air in June 2009. This movie will be told from the cylon point-of-view.
Chairman Said:
"Maybe they've continually been reborn since"
Good call.
"The second I saw that wrecked bridge and the skyline, I thought that was the Brooklyn Bridge."
Ditto. The structure was so ruinous, it could have been anything...but it sure SEEMED like the Brooklyn Bridge. I expected something more visually concrete this passed week, but when it didn't happen, I became suspicious. I think that hint of NYC is a trick, but we'll see if they give us something this Friday.
GaetaIsThe5th said:
"IT WAS CONFIRMED...THAT THE PLANET THEY FIND IS INDEED EARTH"
Sure, but didn't the cast and crew once confirm that Starbuck was indeed gone for good after her apparent death in Maelstrom? Didn't they even go so far as to cook up some "pissed off Katie Sackoff" anecdotes?
Just saying, take nothing for granted. The planet they found may indeed be the "Earth" described in Pythia, but it still may not be our (the viewer's) Earth. And I'm totally discounting any prospect of time travel or dimension hopping.
I think BSG ends one of three ways: Galactia finds our earth in the past, present, or future. Either they find our civilization at the dawn of ancient Greece, during the superbowl, or in our future when we're ready for space travel or building our own cylons. Just a gut feeling, but a nearly-identifiable leg of the Brooklyn Bridge isn't enough to shake it.
And neither Rosalyn nor Bill Adama make it to that last scene. President Lee Adama. Commander Agathon.
As for the rest of my theories about the chronology of events, I'd be surprised if even 40% of it is accurate. My theories typically have a shelf life of less than one week...
I've never watched the original show, so I defer to you guys about all that Starbuck/Iblis stuff. But I think a copy of Ellen shows up to give us the "cylon god" ("He who shall not be named" but is worshiped by the Final Five).
shunanimous said:
Just saying, take nothing for granted. The planet they found may indeed be the "Earth" described in Pythia, but it still may not be our (the viewer's) Earth. And I'm totally discounting any prospect of time travel or dimension hopping.
I TOTALLY AGREE. THE EARTH THEY FOUND IS NOT OUR (THE VIEWERS) EARTH. I DON'T THINK OUR EARTH IS EVER GOING TO BE FOUND. THE STORYLINE DOESN'T SEEM LIKE IT'S LEADING IN THAT DIRECTION AND I THINK RON MOORE & DAVID EICK WANT TO AVOID THAT AWFUL STORYLINE OF GALACTICA 1980, WHERE THE GALACTICA FINDS OUR EARTH. IT WOULD BE BETTER IF THEY NEVER FIND OUR EARTH, WHICH I THINK WOULD MAKE THE CURRENT STORY ARC, MORE CONFUSING.
Post a Comment