The Ties That Bind (403)

[jenks]

I was half enjoying this until the end, and then it went a bit mental. I've got no problem with characters deaths, but it seems really convenient that she just went straight for the airlock and didn't just tell someone, anyone that they were Cylons on the way. I know she was bit ****ed in the head by then and on loads of meds but that's not good enough imo. The last scene kind of made the majority of the episode seem pointless, I mean when you think of what was actually conveyed...

[AutumnDream]

The way I saw the Lee thing was, he was trying to help her out by shutting up the various people bickering. She shot him down, basically being ungrateful and humiliating him. So he decided to make her squirm a little because that was a pretty uncool thing for her to do. I dunno, it seems like Laura is just holding the grudge as she usually does. She's been getting pretty hardcore. Lee could have been more mature about it but she wasn't exactly undeserving.

[metabog]

Nooooooooooooo... *sniff*

That was horrible but memorable.

And they're going to unbox the D'Anna's, yeepeeee!!!

And Kara, lol i just wanna frakk!! and frakk and frakk and frakk!!!

[SoulReaver]

I've mixed feelings about Tori : on one hand what she did although tactically wise, was morally wrong - on the other hand it was Cally who went to the airlock in the 1st place and she was about to take an [innocent] kid along with her, her own kid at that. plus she was one helluvan annoying brat to begin with :|

how the civil wars between 1,4,5 & 2,6,8 plays out should be interesting to see (btw this will seem like hindsight but I swear to gods it isn't, I could smell that ambush the moment Cavil started agreeing to the other camp's terms )

Tyrol doesn't even seem to care that Tory killed his wife and the mother of his child, especially going on what they showed in the previews for next week.

more like Tyrol doesn't even seem to know about it

Anyone notice Weapons Lock 1701D?

red alert shields up

these are the voyagers of the starship Galactica. its continuing mission : to seek out new life & new civilizations Earth (frak the rest, they've trouble enough with their own lives & civilization -)

[Dusk]

Awwwww frak! That was a jaw-dropper! What the hell has happened to Tory? Perhaps she simply feared that Cally would tip off Roslin and Adama about Galactica's Cylon posse. But woah, that's just cold. Right up to the end I thought it was surely a dream of hallucination. Wasn't I surprised?!

And yet, it wasn't the death of Cally that had me worried, but the possible extinction of the 6's and 8's. They cannot be purged, they are my favourite models!! There surely must be a way they escaped the onslaught. I dearly hope so anyway. And I was hoping to see D'Anna... hopefully soon.

I am also shocked that Starbuck got such a heady crew. Interesting.

Major annoyance at Lee digging at the President and being manipulated by Zareck. I just hope in the end Lee fights for Roslin and doesn't antagonize her.

Next week looks like more of the Baltar plot, which for me is the weakest of Season 4's threads at the moment.

[Mongoletsi]

Those 4 found out they were Cylons because of All Along the Watchtower, a Bob Dylan song, hence the Dylan 4.

That's not a bad name for them actually.

Which reminds me; we keep hearing how Lee, or Roslin, or Gaeta, or... well a load of people may be the fifth. But none of them appeared to hear the music - and the others were certainly affected massively by it, so no chance the fifth person would be able to disguise it me thinks. Which leads us to; the fifth must be somebody who wasn't with the fleet at the time (Starbuck/Kendra Shaw) or somebody we didn't see (Zarek?).

I know it's been debated over and over. This episode was clearly meant to make us think Starbuck is the 5th. But we "know" she's not because; a. It'd be too easy for the writers, and b. She's in the "Last Supper" picture (as is Roslin and Lee Adama) - if you didn't know, RDM has categorically stated that anybody in the pic who isn't already "revealed" isn't a Cylon.

Conjecture aside, I think S4 has got off to a hammy, cheesy, and altogether "over the top" start and isn't any improvement on S3 (which started well, but...) It's still good, but not as good as I'd hoped - we'll still lap it up though But lately stuff has been bothering me... the latest being, why do the Cylons always jump in, some distance away, allowing fighters to be scrambled and the fleet to jump? Why not jump in right on top and mince the fleet?

Yeah slowly getting a bit irritated/bored by it - perhaps cos of the massive wait raising expectations so much?

[turtlesstartedit]

[QUOTE=Dusk;8097636
And yet, it wasn't the death of Cally that had me worried, but the possible extinction of the 6's and 8's. They cannot be purged, they are my favourite models!! There surely must be a way they escaped the onslaught. I dearly hope so anyway. And I was hoping to see D'Anna... hopefully soon.]


There are other 6's and 8's around (see my previous post)... they won't become extinct. Who knows about the 2's though...

[Apollux]

But lately stuff has been bothering me... the latest being, why do the Cylons always jump in, some distance away, allowing fighters to be scrambled and the fleet to jump? Why not jump in right on top and mince the fleet?

That has been on my mind for a long time as well.

And for those wondering if there are more 2s, 6s & 8s (aside from those already onboard Galactica/Demetrius)...

Spoiler:

The filtered spoilers, by Sci-Fi to boot, clearly say that they are more than a couple and in two episodes from now the Demetrius will find and rescue some (if not all) the survivors from the Cylon vs Cylon ambush.. so yeah, they are pretty physically close to each other.

[MarshAngel]

I was half enjoying this until the end, and then it went a bit mental. I've got no problem with characters deaths, but it seems really convenient that she just went straight for the airlock and didn't just tell someone, anyone that they were Cylons on the way. I know she was bit ****ed in the head by then and on loads of meds but that's not good enough imo. The last scene kind of made the majority of the episode seem pointless, I mean when you think of what was actually conveyed...

I think it became overwhelming at that point. If those four of all people could be Cylons, why trust anyone at all? When you're at that point nothing and no one matters. To inform someone would suggest that she cared about the outcome and decisions that would be made and I don't think anything mattered at that point but ending it for herself and anyone who got in her way. I bet that if she'd had a bomb in hand she wouldn't care about the collateral damage either.

I am also shocked that Starbuck got such a heady crew. Interesting.

I was surprised by that as well. It seems a big risk to send off so many good pilots on a trip that might go nowhere and, as far as they know, may be led by a cylon.

[SoulReaver]

but the possible extinction of the 6's and 8's.

very unlikely. maybe those caught in the ambush were taken out but that was only a fraction of them
plus they may even have the centurions on their side (depending on how many of these were "freed")

[Lightbane]

Damn... Cally is DEAD!! So did not expect that! Tory is sooo evil, of course she did it to protect the secret.. but she had a sort of cold mocking on her face when she hit the release button.

The Demetrius is looking quite interesting now, Kara seems to be more of a loony then she was before!

There were hints in that episode that seemed to lead the other characters to suspect that Lee or Kara could be the final cylon, because what Kara said to Sam it seemed to make it suspect to him that she could possibly a cylon, and I think it was Lee talking to Tigh that might have sprung something there.

Now does everybody think that the fifth is unknowing like Boomer was? Or do you think this person knows it and is hiding it?

[omega431]

But lately stuff has been bothering me... the latest being, why do the Cylons always jump in, some distance away, allowing fighters to be scrambled and the fleet to jump? Why not jump in right on top and mince the fleet?

Yeah slowly getting a bit irritated/bored by it - perhaps cos of the massive wait raising expectations so much?

Because they don't know exactly where they are and what their velocity vector is before they jump in (which raises the question of FTL communications). They could jump into the fleet and have a ship inadvertently ram them or even jump right into a ship. You want a wide safety margin. Not to mention in this case I don't know that the Cylons knew they would find the Colonials there.

[entil2001]

When a series is working towards a pre-determined end date, the production staff has a tendency to look towards less conventional storytelling. After all, the opportunities for creative expression are fewer and fewer with each passing week. Doing something unusual is pretty much a “now or never” proposition.

This is mostly applicable to the scenes related to Cally and her state of mind. The camera work is designed to communicate her psychological state, particularly the mixture of antidepressants and sleep depravation. Because this dominates the episode, given her eventual death, the effectiveness of the unusual technique is tied directly to the success of the episode. For my part, I thought it was a bit forced.

Similarly, I had some issue with Cally’s mindset that it might be all right for Tyrol to hit her, because then at least she’d know that he felt something towards her. Even if it has already been established as something she might believe (after the events of “Crossroads”, in particular), it’s not something that necessarily needed to be reinforced. Tyrol’s savage beating of Cally, followed by their relationship and marriage, was always a sore spot for me.

It’s troubling, then, to see similar logic now applied to the Sam/Kara relationship. Granted, Kara is in a deeply disturbing psychological state, but it’s the effect of her status as visionary and prophet. Pushing Anders to his limits, hoping he’ll lose control and take her along for the ride, just doesn’t feel right. Then again, everything about Kara since her return has been confusing and contradictory.

Speaking of Kara’s current role, now that Kara’s visions are emerging, other astronomical evidence is beginning to suggest that Earth is not far away at all. The gas giant in Kara’s memory looked suspiciously like Jupiter (tying into the “Eye of Jupiter” reference rather nicely), and in two instances, the constellation of Orion was plainly visible in its familiar configuration, which is only visible from Earth’s general location!

So the fleet should actually be very close to the end goal now. In fact, based on the map acquired in “Home”, they should be able to figure out the right coordinates. They know where the nebula in the Sagittarius Cluster is located on the “Home” map, and the star field probably included the constellation of Orion. All they should have to do now is find the Gemini part of the “Home” map and plot a course. It should be fairly easy.

Of course, at the same time, ever since finding the Ionian Nebula, Roslin has been resisting a number of actions that could complete the exodus to Earth. Not only that, but as seen in the surprisingly entertaining Quorum scenes in this episode, Roslin has been slowly but surely consolidating power and authority. Zarek is concerned, despite feeling that Roslin has her heart in the right place.

Lee might be advised to question both motives: Zarek could be supportive to Roslin in the hopes of taking her place when she dies. It certainly would make sense for Zarek to take Lee under his wing and secure a political ally. Roslin’s motives, however, are more elusive. If the fleet is really as close to Earth as it seems, could she be subconsciously trying to point them in the wrong direction? I’m waiting for the one solid moment that will point to Roslin acting out of character.

That moment came for Tory in this episode, and it has ruffled some feathers. The writers clearly had something in mind for each of the four new Cylons, in terms of how they would react. Tigh is still pushing for everyone to act normally, and Tyrol is trying to maintain a sense of balance (and clearly losing the battle). Anders is dealing more with his identity with his relationship to Kara to change in any other way.

That leaves Tory, the one with the least complicated background, to be the recently-emergent Cylon with a calculated edge. In this episode, she seems to revel in the opportunity to be more than the simple aide to Roslin that she’s been. She sees Cally as a problem, recognizes Nicky as something important, and she acts accordingly to resolve the issue. I wouldn’t call it evil, but she’s certainly no longer thinking and acting out of purely human concerns.

If all characters are created equal, then it’s not really a problem for Tory to take this direction. After all, she is the only one of the four newly-revealed Cylons without a massive history. But on top of Cally’s death, this is another female character (and one of color, for that matter) to take a negative turn. And that’s in addition to Kara’s mental breakdown and Roslin’s health issues. And of course, there’s also the Cylon situation. In the latest round of the now heated Cylon Civil War, the male Cylons effectively wiped out a huge chunk of the female Cylons. The writers might consider striking a balance before much longer.

The Cylon Civil War serves to keep the Cylon fleet away from the Colonial fleet for a time, but it also weakens the Cylons enough that their numbers might be too low to annihilate the Colonials. That, in conjunction with the intervention of the Final Five, could bring about the circumstances of the series’ conclusion. Boomer is clearly an important part of the equation, and I suspect that the severity of the current conflict may be her doing.

Ultimately, despite the high profile death at the end of the episode, this episode felt like it was missing something. Maybe it was my dissatisfaction with the style choice with Cally’s perspective, or my distaste for some of the psychology at play. Generally speaking, I like where the story is heading, but this was not how I would have preferred to get there.


John Keegan
Reprinted with permission
Original source: c. Critical Myth, 2008
All rights reserved
Link: http://www.criticalmyth.com

[MarshAngel]

...But on top of Cally’s death, this is another female character (and one of color, for that matter) to take a negative turn. And that’s in addition to Kara’s mental breakdown and Roslin’s health issues. And of course, there’s also the Cylon situation. In the latest round of the now heated Cylon Civil War, the male Cylons effectively wiped out a huge chunk of the female Cylons. The writers might consider striking a balance before much longer.

That's just silly. Fiction is free to to take on real life politics and social problems without needing to be subject to them. If this is a case of art imitating life then its worth noting that life doesn't make much of an effort to be fair on issues of race and sex by trying to balance the numbers. What possible enhancement to the plot could be gained by ensuring that color and sex is even?

[GateofDOOM]

Heh. I guess I'm the only person who feels Roslin is getting to big for her britches and seriously needs to be reigned in? When Lee was ratting her out in front of the quorum I was thinking, "Go Lee! Get her, get her, get her!"

She definitely is holding a grudge towards Lee because of the Baltar trial, and I'm not saying what Lee did was the best thing ever, but she needs to understand that not everyone in the fleet is going to agree with her. It's starting to feel like we're getting our dying leader and ramping her up to paranoid and controlling. I guess she's afraid of letting someone else take the helm from her and then leading the humans to disaster (like Baltar did), but she is starting to go overboard. This is not a good combination IMO and I really think Lee needs to push the issues he can.

I also think that some of the stories this season are moving a little slow or are missing something. I'm sure how I feel about this season yet.