BSG: The Woman King

[lizardbeth]

hmm... I'm so conflicted, I can't decide.




The Good

Character moments were what saved this one, for me:

Helo. Without many clothes. Hi-Res Screencaps STAT!

A Cylon folding a little kid's laundry. My favorite scene of the episode. So adorably domestic and yet amazing when you think back to where these characters started. And Hera continues to be the cutest thing.

The scene in the bar -- a nice conglomeration of the ensemble for a change. And heh, Kara rolling her eyes at Dee and Lee (and I'm going to take is as given in this episode that at least three-quarters of the triangle are okay, since Kara and Lee were friendly in the first scene too. Yeah, in theory there should be more lingering angst, but whatever. I'm just going to be glad it's over).

The Sharon and Caprica scene, with Sharon thanking her and then Head!Gaius' appearance. YAY!

The wise choice of snipping Helo's confession. "here, yes, we are adressing this, so let's shoe horn it in..." We already know Adama 'knows' he did it and has let it go, there was no need for it to be there (although I guess I'm glad they realized that some would like it addressed).

I like the little bit of Agathon squabbling. And Helo going for a gun before opening the door, while Sharon went to pick up Hera. They both are still very aware that someone might try to hurt one or all of them.

The continuity whore in me particularly liked the confirmation that Zarek is, in fact, Vice President and that he still thinks show trials are a bad idea.



The Bad

Prejudice is bad, y'all. Dissent is good. Any questions? Now that we've disposed of the theme of the episode, moving on...

Have the PTB completely forgotten how to plot a one-hour drama? Or how to give a character some reasonable motivation? Because Dr. Roberts made no sense. At all. Even supposing he was that much of psycho, would he seriously have been THAT out of control to try to poison Dee? Did he think no one would notice? She's the Admiral's daughter-in-law for crying out loud!

So we've had the Leoben arc cut out. That's bad enough (though forgiveable if Anders took most of it over, which is what I suspect happened). And there was some stuff about the Sagittarans cut out before this, right? Is that why we ended up with an episode where Zarek - Mr.Sagittaran Terrorist Himself appears, and yet he was not involved in the Sagittaran subplot at all? That also made no sense. He was the frakkin' Sagittaran rep to the Quorum after all. One might assume he has some popularity among them -- why wasn't he there trying to calm the situation? Dumb, dumb, plotting.



The Hmmmm: speculation and hypotheticals

1.
So Jean Barolay came back in the two-parter. Charlie Conner was briefly back in this one, and Seelix is in the next one. Were I the one writing for this show, those would be deliberate reminders, preparing the audience for the return of the Circle and/or New Caprica Resistance. Had I more faith in the PTB lately, I would be very suspicous that they're "hanging guns on the wall", with the triggers to be pulled later. As it is, I'd really like it to be true, because it would show an attention to plotting which I'm not sure is there anymore. (along similar lines, Sam was nowhere to be seen in this one -- giving me yet more fodder for my Sam-on-Super-Sekrit-Mission fanon. *g*)

2.
I love Helo, and I'm glad we got so much Helo (both, ahem, literally and figuratively). BUT on further reflection I think this should really have been Lee's episode. Who's the one with the close personal connection to a Sagittaron? Lee. O' course, it would take some restructuring of the episode, since Lee's CAG and he wouldn't be wandering down on deck, but why not let Dee have come to him with the concern? Or Zarek. I mean, seriously, there were so many ways the PTB could have made this work for Lee. After all, Lee used to be the voice of conscience on this show, and it would be nice to show he still has one (and that he has a use other than being part of the Quadrangle of Doom). This seems like a lost opportunity for Lee. And a lost opportunity to get another character to share the burden of always being right on this show.




Now, off to watch Heroes. And then finish my Shagathon fic (PLEASE, muses of Kobol, let me finish it tonight!)

Comments

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

Well, Roberts wasn't going to kill Dee--whatserface just had a crusade against him. Not only is Dee the Admiral's daughter, she's also one of those very people he says they need--the ones fighting the good fight. The sedation was so she'd sleep through the worst of the symptoms.

[mamaboolj.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on the good and the bad. The Roberts storyline itself of racism didn't do much for me either, in part because the "issues" have been addressed so much elsewhere. Yep. The Helo fangirl and the family woman side of me are what made me squee at this episode.

I see where you're coming from with Lee as the better man for the job. He probably is a clearly better choice in terms of his marriage and sympathies with the Sagittaron resistance. But Helo was given the assignment for other reasons. Plus, Lee was needed as CAG, I guess. And, the writers wanted a conflicted Helo episode so they found a boyscout thing for him to do to vindicate himself--which is fine with me ;)

[weissman.livejournal.com]

I believe Helo's angst came on two fronts in this episode, first the problems with the refugees and his obsessiveness in finding the truth (which is really his wish to be known for more then being married to Sharon. Its an identity thing) and his lingering guilt over his actions in AMoS

1. I don't think this was Lee's episode the refugees were Helo's responsibility. I would have been disapointed in Helo if he hadn't acted in regards to the refugees, they were and that's just not Helo.

2. It's common knowledge that Helo cares about people, think about it people under his, if not care, supervision were dying suspiciously. Given that Helo and Sharon are two of the most consistant characters on the show I think the un-Helo like thing to do would have been to sit back and do nothing. It's also obvious that Helo was also being a little obsessive in this episode to that point that even Sharon called him on it. As far as doing the right thing vs. the moral thing. I would imagine that as the Officer in Charge (OIC) it was his responsibility to determine if a wrongful action had taken place. I mean if evidence had made itself available that Dr. Robert was in fact not doing anything wrong Helo would have discontinued his actions. The further Helo dug the more incriminating evidence presented itself. It was almost like Helo was a detective in this episode looking for a murderer, which he found. Even though it was obsessive his examintion of Dr. Cottles papers did expose a pattern of abuse by Dr. Robert.

3. I do think Helo's obsessiveness stems from his feelings in that the only thing people see when they look at him is his connection with his wife, Sharon, and his daughter Hera. He wants to be know for himnself.

second: his lingering guilt over his actions in AMoS

In the initial scene in the episode, Helo is having a sleepless night, undoubtedly this is from his actions in AMoS. If you watch the deleted scene in it's entirety, as posted at SciFi. Helo pretty much details and confesses his action to Adama, Adama pretty much lays out the consequences and then in as so many words tells Helo to drop it. Think about the ramifications of Adama telling Helo to drop it.

No more lingering guilt. Un-official approval if you will.

Bob

[lizardbeth-j.livejournal.com]

admittedly I wasn't paying all that much attention by that point but I wasn't sure he was telling the truth about the sedation. But if he was, then okay (though I'm not sure her not being in any real danger makes the climax any more satisfying). But it was good to see Dee got some time at least.

[lizardbeth-j.livejournal.com]

But Helo was given the assignment for other reasons. Plus, Lee was needed as CAG, I guess. And, the writers wanted a conflicted Helo episode so they found a boyscout thing for him to do to vindicate himself--which is fine with me ;)

I don't really have a problem with Helo in the episode, as it's set up. Because yeah, of course Helo's theere dealing with the refugees plus he's mr. crusader, so naturally he'd look into it. I just think there were ways the episode *could have* been structured that could have made it better for Lee. As a helo fan, it was cool. As a fan of the whole ensemble, I just kinda wish that someone else had been the one. And Lee needs the help, frankly, that Helo doesn't.

But then I wouldn't want to trade out all the fabulous Agathon domesticity so -- AAH! Conflicted!

[lizardbeth-j.livejournal.com]

As the episode is set up, no of course it wouldn't work to have Lee involved. Helo's the one on the ground, he's the one seeing it, and he's mr. crusader so he's going to look into it. This is why I put it in the speculation section, because it's not a flaw in the episode, just something I was thinking about.

HYpothetically, there were SO many ways the episode *could have* been set up to get Lee involved in Helo's place. Keep in mind I'm no Lee lover, and I'm not interested in him on screen for the sake of having him on screen. I don't care about him much at all, but that's part of the problem really. Lee's weakness in the ensemble hurts the SHOW. And here, when there was a perfect opportunity for him to do something much more personal to him and important than the travesty of Black Market, he didn't get a chance to do it. That's kind of a shame, I think.

Now, would I trade Lee for the adorable domesticity of the Agathons? Well... no, not if that was my choice. But that's because I'm a Helo fangirl. And as a Helo fangirl, I'll take the wonderful moments that we got and just wish that he'd had a better plot to be in.

[weissman.livejournal.com]

I am Helo and Sharon fanboy so I can identify with you

Bob

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

Cottle confirmed it, iirc. And, really, there'd be no point in him killing Dee--he was killing the people who were, as far as he was concerned, useless. Dee was a Galactica officer. That would be a waste of manpower.

Also, also! Maybe they will bring my beloved Jean back, so I can be happy? *crosses toes*