Home, Part 1 (206)

[microzstar]

I am such a happy little shipper right now.

ME TOO. Wow, that was absolutely amazing. I loved L/K's banter and him kind of letting it slip that he loves her... it was an interesting scene because you could tell Kara was being sulky about Anders, and that Lee was very confused. But by now, Lee has of course realized that he loves Kara, and when he let it slip, she picked up on it and I think she realized that she shouldn't be focused on Anders so much, because he's out of the picture for the time being, and Lee is right there, in love with her. They were so cutteeeee!

I also loved on Kobol, when they were shooting Centurions together *squeals*

[Liebestraume]

So where is Home...

"Home is where the heart is," there goes the saying. It's an old cliche, no doubt, but it would not have been a cliche if it hasn't been repeated so often. And, it would not have been repeated so often, had it not a lot of truth in it. As it were in this episode.

There was a small scene that really struck me: when Adama was telling Tigh and the new CAG about the ship being a family, he glanced down to a picture of his two sons. It spoke of so much loss, for Lee was now as dead to him as Zak had ever been. It also underscored his emotional state; from past experience. we know he doesn't make the best command decisions when his (immediate) family was involved.

Small scenes like this is how BSG reveals characters' flaws while endearing them to us at the same time. It is especially true in the case of Adama who, in a lesser hand would have become the archetypical "wise old man" -- all pathos but deviod of true feelings. This is why he managed to garner my sympathy in his "fight" with Roslin, even though I firmly believe he was wrong to summarily dispose the democratically elected president.

The lack of sympathy for Roslin is more than made up by my tremendous respect for her personal courage and commitment. (I still believe) it was wrong of her to go to such length to act on a particular brand of religious belief while being the governer of all people, no one can fault her for lack of rationalism (in tactics) or personal cowardice. As for her leadership, I believe LoneStar said it best,

She is no PC president. I love her for that.

As for the younger generation, totally loved that "7-year-olds-on-playground" scene. And wondered what Freud would have made that Pyrimid ball. ...

Ok, I’m not exactly sure I want to know why Lee smelled it though….. I’ll just go with it was akin to the act of smelling an old baseball glove..…

... and wonder why you are not exactly sure you want to know . Yeah, much better to think he was trying to remember the smell of home.

I like practically all types of Lee/Kara interactions -- from fighting by each other, to fighting with each other, to just goofing off -- because I really buy their friendship. Not just the comradery borne out of military service together, nor some codependency because each can't function without the other. They just seem enjoying being with each other, and being themselves when with the other. It is rather ... sweet.

No one as yet has come home... but perhaps next week they will...

I am far frae my hame, an' i'm weary aften whiles,
For the longed-for hame-bringing an' my Father's welcome smiles.
- E. W. Ellsworth

(and, no more cliches, I promise )

[FeloniousMonk]

that kiss was an embarrassing moment. what a doofus

lol adama sucks at press conferences. helo's a dumbass

[Liebestraume]

that kiss was an embarrassing moment. what a doofus

Embarrassing for whom?

Well, granted he was rather ... enthusiastic about the reunion (well, actually they both were), but sometimes instincts just take over. Ain't nothin' wrong with that.

Besides, no one abroad Astral Queen (was it?) seemed to think it embarrassing.

Agree the point about Helo, though.

[microzstar]

Starbuck tossing the Pyramid ball reminded me of Steve McQueen in “The Great Escape” and ha, they’re on a prison transport ship. Ok, I’m not exactly sure I want to know why Lee smelled it though….. I’ll just go with it was akin to the act of smelling an old baseball glove..…

You know what? (And this is just my opinion) but I think he smelled Anders... heehee. I mean, like come on. Apollo caught a whiff and was like WHOA OTHER MAN SMELL and... I don't know. That's just how I explained it. Because then we see Starbuck looking away like "Ummmm yes, I hope he didn't just smell what I think he just smelled."

Wow, I really can't wait until the next episode... I can't believe I have to wait a whole week! Aaaah....

[FeloniousMonk]

Embarrassing for whom?

Notice her reaction? Doesn't look like it was expected or welcomed. The "i love you" scene was written by a sixth grade girl, it seems.

also, may get lynched for this but he's kind of a pansy.

[Gargen]

i thought from the preview that the whole putting the fleet back together was adama was gonna go kick the presidents ass not join her

[LoneStar1836]

There was a small scene that really struck me: when Adama was telling Tigh and the new CAG about the ship being a family, he glanced down to a picture of his two sons. It spoke of so much loss, for Lee was now as dead to him as Zak had ever been.

That was such an effective scene. For Adama to consider Lee dead to him.......wow.......that's what I love about this show....all the little touches in the dialogue and character details that make the characters seem so real that you can almost feel their pain.

You know what? (And this is just my opinion) but I think he smelled Anders... heehee.

LOL! Yes, for the briefest of seconds that thought crossed my mind as well, but I’m sticking with the baseball glove comparison ("Field of Dreams" is one of my all-time favorite movies) – he was trying to recapture the smell of home.

And wondered what Freud would have made that Pyrimid ball. ...... and wonder why you are not exactly sure you want to know

Hehe. Freud can go psychoanalyze someone else.

[saapad]

<i>"You know what? (And this is just my opinion) but I think he smelled Anders"</i>

Yeah, that's exactly what I figured as well. But the "smell of home" explanation also makes sense.

Anyway, I thought the episode was excellent as always, with some very powerful scenes.

The Lee/Sharon scenes were fantastic. When he first saw her come around the corner the camera slowed, and the interesting thing is that she was looking nervously at him and him alone (as if expecting the ensuing outburst). The gun wasn't simply held to her head but pushed painfully against her cheek, which you could see clearly.

Some interesting revelations about Sharon and the cylons that relate to my conjectures following last week's episode (see the thread for "Farm"). First, Sharon "chose" to be here, indicating her autonomy on some level. Seondly (and more importantly), she mentioned to Lee that "It doesn't work like that. I'm not wired in." There's no Borg drone thing going on here, nor is there any shared consciousness. Which makes me wonder about the supposed information download following death - are they lying, or is that the only circumstance in which a direct link between the cylon body and a central repository be made (i.e. they can only be "wired in" if they are unconscious/dead).

The bungling of the new CAG was hilarious (btw: what does CAG stand for?). It made a good theme for the Galactica story during this episode (as opposed to the Kobol story) - there was no Cylon-induced emergency, nor mutiny in the crew, nor anything that would have brought the characters into severe pressure and discomfort, and yet there it was. The podcast talks about this episode showing Bill Adama's inability to "move on," and I totally agree that this was the best way to portray it.

Also an interesting thing I noticed about Saul Tigh. Is it just me or has Saul benefitted somewhat from his stint as Commander? He seemed much more comfortable in his role as Adama's second this episode (as opposed to certain circumstances in Season 1, and especially the occasion in the Mini-Series with Chief Tyrol and the order to vent the decks on fire). He even questioned Adama's decision at one point (which was somewhat unexpected given his hero-worship in the first few episodes of this season). The fact that he was annoyed Adama had already chosen a new CAG before asking for his suggestion reveals that Saul has something of his own mind now (which is good). I really think the Commander stint was a turning point for Saul's career and his own commanding abilities. Although he totally bungled the job, there's no doubt that he gained something very concrete from it.

The "family" theme and the heart-to-heart with Dee was probably the best part of the episode. If you remember the podcast from previous weeks, RDM mentioned that after the shooting incident Adama felt more "down to earth" (EJO even said it aloud last episode). RDM went on to say that for a brief period following his return, Adama would display more sentimentality and emotion than his character is accustomed to (as is evidenced by his announcement on the bridge on his return, and his crying over GBoomer's body at the end of the episode). Although Dee's conversation with him was significant, I think it's this that plays more of a role in his decision at the end of this episode to reunite the fleet - something that the old Adama would never have done. I purposely turned off the TV before they showed previews for next week, but I imagine that there'll be some loss of face for him and the rest of Galactica, or at least a display of weakness. The old Adama would never have backed down from a decision that he believed was right, but this Adama is willing to take the shot to his pride in the interests of the fleet, and most importantly, his Galactica family (remember, his feelings for Kara are also very strong and family-like).

The repoter scene was interesting, when the reporter asked him if it was true he had made up all that nonsense about Earth. It makes sense, because if he was the one who initially put out the idea, how is it that he wasn't at all enthusiastic about supporting Roslin with her Kobol objectives? That's how it would appear the the fleet, and the only conclusion they could reach is that it's all nonsense. And ironically, that conclusion seems to be closer to the truth than Adama is willing to admit (see discussion at the end of Mini-Series between Roslin and Adama).

Anyway, gotta go now. More later (yes, there's more).

[FeloniousMonk]

Commander, Air Group

[Nessauk]

helo's a dumbass

Why? Because he fell in love with a Cylon? Does that mean that Chief Tyrol is a dumbass too?

[kiwigater]

They DO delight in torturing me don't they ANOTHER "to be continued"

yeah, my inner shipper was sqeeing at the Kara-Lee stuff Except now of course I want MOOOOREEEE

I was so happy when Adama said he was gonna reunite the fleet - I really hope it's in a good way, more conflict is so not what they need right now.

I couldn't help thinking when watching the previews for next week "Oh god, not AGAIN" at the bit with Sharon saying " You take the son, I'll take the Father" ..... I'm not delusional right, she did say that, promptly followed by a clip of Sharon rounding on the Old Man with a gun.... again.... WAAAA!

[Easter Lily]

Why? Because he fell in love with a Cylon? Does that mean that Chief Tyrol is a dumbass too?

I think I prefer the word "naive"... Naive to think that the rest of the fleet would have forgotten the act of genocide that the cylons committed, naive to think that the remnants of humanity would just allow a cylon to live among them without some degree of prejudice and naive to think that the cylon would not be looked on with hatred.
He forgot about his own initial reaction, which was to run and then reach out for his sidearm.

[Easter Lily]

I've been watching the miniseries and I noticed that Dee was also in some way instrumental in getting Adama to change his mind about leaving the civillians behind.
Don't know if it was an intentional recurring motif but I thought that was interesting.
The old man seems to have a soft spot for his crew, doesn't he? He really does see them as family. That's why Roslin, Lee and Kara's "betrayal" hit so hard... because he does take it all so personally.

[Nessauk]

I don't think I could say he was naive or a dumbass, or whatever context people choose to take. Helo was unfortunate that he didn't know Boomer was a Cylon prior to them developing a relationship, plus he's now tied to the knowledge that she is carrying his baby.

For Lee it was easy for him to out his sidearm. Lee's only current emotional attachment to the Cylons (esp Boomer) is vengence over the shooting of his father. Helo on the other hand now has the emotional attachment that Boomer is carrying his child. If I was him, or you put yourself in the situation where the mother of your child was not the person you thought they were, I don't think I could go through the act of killing that individual -after all its not the fault of the child. I'd like to think that if he was to meet another Boomer, or indeed if Boomer hadn't fallen pregnant, then he'd have done the smart thing and shot her.