The Disquiet That Follows My Soul (412)

[ShipperWriter]

the possibility of adama being the dying leader has occured to many people, especially after the obvious pill popping of this episode
and, the shot of him and 'mom' dying or stayig behind to die as the kids explore the promised land...is something i'd see this show doing

Hi, quick intro: I love BSG, Bill/Laura and Lee/Kara.

Anyhow:

I recently read somewhere that Adama popping pills was a brief thing, not a lasting disease or anything like that. I'll copy the article when I find it.

I'm a shipper, obviously, so I am really hoping that Bill and Laura both make it through the end. Hopeless romantic and all that ...

I got goosebumps when Six and Tigh were having the ultrasound done, and she said that the baby was the future of the Cylon race ... because correct me if I'm wrong, but all the human-Cylon wars started because the Cylons rebelled against their masters. And while there are some toasters that I would like to see bite the dust *cough* Anders & Cavil *cough* I somewhat pity the ones that recently found out they were Cylons ...

More later ... lurking at work ...

[HAL2100]

Yeah I've been thinking about that. But wasn't the Dying Leader meant to lead them to The Promised Land. Nothing in the prophecy detailed what state the promised land would be in

But who ever said that Earth was the Promised Land? Isn't that just something else that we've all assumed.

[HAL2100]

After about 5 seconds of reading that link, I realised it to be the work of Fan Fic. Absolute rubbish, pure and simple.

Yes, it's plausible, in the sense that it wraps everything up and tells a nice story. But so does The Holy Bible and I personally don't find that particular book to be even slightly plausible.

That article doesn't fit with any of the mythology revealed so far in the show, nor anything TPTB have commented on.

Just Say No.

At any rate, I'm impressed with it even if it's nothing to do with anything. I can still appreciate it. Secondly, about half-way through Babylon 5, J. Michael was pulled aside at a fan convention by a fan who told him her theory on the where things were going. He smiled and said that's nice....as he bit his tongue that she had figured out all of the major plot points and the end of the story.

[tricky]

cast list for final episode:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0993922/

Can't believe no one is talking about this cast list!

Some interesting people appearing in the last episode:

Spoiler:

Zak Adama and Duella! Dream Sequence or Resurrection?

As well as a Police officer and two characters from the Episode "Crossroads".

Interesting. And NO Ellen Tigh, as far as I see.

[entil2001]

One would expect things to calm down a little after the relentless events of the previous episode, but that's not quite what happens. Instead, the fallout continues, the body count mounts behind the scenes, and the delicate fabric of Colonial society threatens to tear itself to ribbons. More than that, we get a chilling reminder that the heroes of the story are hardly white knights.

Adama is walking around, picking up all the pieces, trying to maintain some sense of order, personal and professional, in the face of crushing loss and despair. Adama also doesn't seem to be doing so well physically; he appears ill. It's impossible to tell if that's just the result of his attempt to contain his psychological and emotional pain or something more medically serious. Whatever the case, Adama is just barely holding things together.

Part of his problem is Roslin's decision to abandon her duties as President. All things being equal, Zarek has every right to step up to the plate and pursue his own agenda in her absence. It's also hard not to see his point of view. Working with the Cylons and trusting in their technology, even when it holds the promise of aiding Humanity's survival, must sound like insanity. After all, as more than one person points out, Humanity wouldn't be fighting for survival if it wasn't for the Cylons in the first place!

All of this harkens back to Adama's initial questions about Humanity's worthiness to survive. Ever since the Cylon attack, Humanity has been at cross-purposes. On the one hand, they continually try to overcome their own worst impulses to fight the enemy and survive another day. On the other, the hope they've held for years now is deliverance. They’ve been striving to find Earth because, in the minds of many, Earth would have magically solved all their problems.

Of course, even if it had been inhabited by the descendents of ancient Colonists, how could it have lived up to expectation? Unless they were advanced far beyond the fleet's standards, they would have been in rather sudden dire straits. As it stands, Earth had become a symbol for the ultimate external solution to Colonial problems.

Yet isn't that what started this entire problem in the first place? Humanity sought to ease their burdens and externalize tasks and responsibilities onto the Cylons they created, never once thinking that their mechanical servants would turn on them. And this is despite a religious order that knew of prophecies and histories that warned of just such a fate! In a very real sense, the Colonists are best defined by their penchant for passing responsibility for their survival and well-being to others.

Which is why Adama, Roslin, and those following them have been portrayed as the heroes of the story, even though they've been terribly flawed and questionable in their methods. These are the people getting things done when the times require it. They're making the hard sacrifices. As a result, it seems unnecessary, even traitorous, for someone with Zarek's reputation to question their right to represent the fleet.

But the episode goes out of its way to show that Adama doesn't really have anything on Zarek. The man can be a rabble rouser, and he has some questionable connections, but Adama blackmailed him into getting out of the way of progress as Adama defines it. (And there's no question that this is Adama's call, not Roslin's; Roslin seems to be going along with it more than pushing for it). This ties back into the notion that some colonies, like Caprica, were more powerful and entitled than others.

Which, in turn, ties into one reason why permanent alliance with the rebel Cylons would be a rather good move. If Adama is serious about moving on from the disappointment of Earth and finding a new direction and path, then bringing the Cylons into the fold and giving them a voice (perhaps a thirteenth seat on the Quorum?) is the best option. It still won't be a perfect solution, because resentments will linger for generations to come, but all the signs point to the notion that merging the two into one society is the only viable course.

There is another source of pressure, of course, and that would be the child of Tigh and Six. Even as the "importance" of Nicholas is wiped out of the equation with an unexpected paternity switch (shall we drag Cally through the mud some more?), this new child points to two things: a possible future for the Cylons as an evolving species, and the unique nature of the Final Five.

The Colonists would be very wise to forge this alliance before the Cylons come to the odd conclusion that they don't really need the humans at all. Or they need to figure out what makes the Final Five so special, such as the strong possibility that they are the end product of the previous cycle's Human/Cylon genetic merge, ala Hera. And all of this has to come to light before the alliance pulls itself apart.

Fresh off the events of "Face of the Enemy", the webisodes devoted to Gaeta, we see him emerge as the fanatical anti-Cylon warrior under Zarek's tutelage. A lot of people in the fleet are going to be willing to march for that cause, and it is not going to be pretty. Gaeta is essentially plotting a coup, and those are seldom without bloodshed.

The wild card in all of this is the rise of Baltar's cult, still percolating in the background. Given his previous leanings, would he marshal his followers to back Adama's alliance with the Cylons? It seems like a reasonable assumption, but with Baltar, who can say? It would be rather interesting if Adama and Roslin were forced, by circumstance, to ally themselves with Baltar. The way things are going, however, anything seems possible.

One final word: Ron Moore did a bang-up job with the direction of this episode. He avoided the usual pitfall of trying to introduce "trick shots" to prove that he has a unique perspective to show, and his style meshed with what has been prevalent to date. Moore had some great comments to make about the experience on the official podcast, and I would recommend that to those interested. He also mentions that a longer cut of the episode will be on the eventual DVD set; something tells me that will be the case for most of these final episodes.


John Keegan
Reprinted with permission
Original source: c. Critical Myth, 2009
All rights reserved
Link: http://www.criticalmyth.com

[L-S]

Mary McDonnell does a wonder (and the writers, too) at rendering sympathetic and appealing a character (the President) who had grown so strange, and stale, and off-putting, and mentally-ill, and disturbing.

A few episodes ago, her character was mumbling like a deeply schizoid monster, while allowing to die a man (Baltar), bleeding to death - and then, in a moment of strange but human kindness, re-bandaged him.

She gives up the poisons, and a little yoga, and a jog later, feels life creeping and coursing back ... and gets frisky!

Very nice, touching, even if the visual image was more than some wanted...

What was it about the performance that grew so unnerving, during her "High Priestess" phase? She was written and played as unflappable, but increasingly inhuman. Nice to see the heart and soul in a character who was earlier quite sympathetic.

Nice to see the writers giving her a break - she was always a school-teacher, doing her best, in over her head - and now, she's taking herself off the hook: "I'm just a person, and a woman."

Very nice stuff, team BSG...


On the other hand, The "whose Hot Dog was it" subplot and all it entailed was truly execrable, not from the actors, but the silliness, oh, the silliness. Straight from the Telenovellas...

"?!QUE! No Estoy el PADRE!!! DIOS MIO!!!"

Looking forward to next week, signorinas y signors!

[GateTrek2004]

Can't believe no one is talking about this cast list!

Some interesting people appearing in the last episode:

Spoiler:

Zak Adama and Duella! Dream Sequence or Resurrection?

As well as a Police officer and two characters from the Episode "Crossroads".

Interesting. And NO Ellen Tigh, as far as I see.

I'm thinking its a dream/memory of something in the past cause if

Spoiler:

Zak Adama and Dee are in this in ACTUAL PHYSICAL FORM, then my thought that EVERYONE'S A CYLON will be proved!

[Skydiver]

maybe not

Spoiler:

what if they all die and go to 'heaven'....and see all that have gone before them???

so not a flashback, not a dream sequence, but a dying person's 'vision' of what's waiting for them

[rarocks24]

Hubby and I were amazed at how spacious the cells on the galactica are, I would think smaller would be more effficient.
I think it is great that Gaeta has grown a set, he needed to! hooray for the rebellion.
baltar does something besides preach... he gets a lot of "action" (although for the life of me I don't see the attraction )

Like walking in your parents *gets a nervous twitch from 30 years ago *


Pure spite! that's my theory

Spoiler:

oh and that she is count Iblis.

I agree with you about Gaeta, totally understandable.


Ever heard of the United States Congress????? around 535 of the biggest idiots on the planet!!!! (uh huh this bailout will help the little guy! ) oh yes people are that stupid , especially in a group --- it's called groupthink.

Correction, the majority of Congress is stupid. The minority thinks this bailout is as useful as a boat anchor with no boat.

[Skydiver]

points up at the topic

Let's not get derailed please

[HAL2100]

Can't believe no one is talking about this cast list!

Some interesting people appearing in the last episode:

Spoiler:

Zak Adama and Duella! Dream Sequence or Resurrection?

As well as a Police officer and two characters from the Episode "Crossroads".

Interesting. And NO Ellen Tigh, as far as I see.

...but no Elosha!

[g.o.d]

Ellen will be in 7 episodes

[HAL2100]

i seem to recall Moses, after doubting the spring, was told by god that he couldn't ever enter the promised land...so when they got there, he and his wife stayed outside, watched hte rest of the people go in, and were content.

their job was done and their mission accomplished and they didn't NEED to actually set foot in the promised land. it was good enough to be there and know that hte kids were safe and then they were ready to die

I'm seeing the same type of thing happening to adama and roslyn

Actually no, as I recall his doubt resulted in the Jews marching all around the area outside the Promised Land until Moses died.

[HAL2100]

maybe not

Spoiler:

what if they all die and go to 'heaven'....and see all that have gone before them???

so not a flashback, not a dream sequence, but a dying person's 'vision' of what's waiting for them

If Heaven is New York City...

[smortt]

If heaven is New York city then we're really screwed