#I just rewatched season 1 of the flash and am Having Feelings

[fantasy-the-final-frontier]

Time travel stories are just so human. People are defined by our choices, by our memories, by the events that shape us. Something bad happens, and we have to deal with the consequences. Time marches ever onward.

But what if you did have the power to change things? To go back in time and stop terrible things from happening? Time travel stories always have the conversation of what the unintended consequences might be - the butterfly effect and all that. And often changing the past means changing not just your own life, but everyone else’s life too.

And yet, how could you not change things? Do you really have another choice? If I have the power to stop something bad from happening, don’t I have a moral responsibility to do that?They say that the evil you know is better than the evil you don’t, but is that really true? Things were bad once, but they don’t always have to be.

And then there’s the side-effect of realizing what good things might disappear. Seeing the beauty that formed despite the horror and pain. Time travel is a dangerous gamble, and yet one that we cannot help but make time and time again.

It’s about having extra-human power but making the flawed (thoroughly human) choice. It’s about how every small act of kindness matters. It’s about the hope that maybe this time, things will be not only different, but better.

[thealogie]

I'm sorry but I'm about to treat your ask box like a confessional.

You kind of deserve it, though, because due to your Sherlock rewatch posts I've been forced to remember that 1. Sherlock is a show that exists and 2. that I wrote Sherlock fanfic when I was 13... about SHERLOCK and MOLLY.

In my defence, I was a deeply deeply deeply repressed bisexual who hadn't realized it yet - so all of the obvious and insane gay stuff between Sherlock and John just completely sailed over my head. Also propaganda worked really well on me as a child - so basically I was the ideal viewer for Moftiss lol. There'd be scenes where people mistook Sherlock and John for a couple and I'd go 'huh that's kind of strange that keeps happening' but then it would be played off as a joke and I'd go 'oh yes of course, silly me! Gay people only exist as the punchline! Sherlock and John would NEVER be interested in each other that way. I can't believe anyone would ever think that haha.'

Flash forward to 2017. I'm 17 years old. I've kissed other women by now and have had my brain chemistry rewritten by copious amounts of slash fanfiction. Still young, but wiser to the ways of the world than I once was. The last time I watched Sherlock, I had been 14 years old. Sherlock season 4 airs. I watch it with my mom. It's so bad my brain immediately initiates a trauma response and wipes all memory of Sherlock away. This continues for years. The only times I remember Sherlock exists is whenever I joyfully watch hbomerguy's Sherlock Is Garbage video while I'm knitting or painting or something. Also whenever I have to type in a password for an account I made when I was 13 - because my go-to password was 'SHERLOCKED' back then, unfortunately.

Flash forward to now. I'm 24 years old. And I start seeing your posts about Sherlock. Like a sleeper agent, it awakens something in me. Yesterday, I spent a perfectly good Saturday - one I could have spent doing literally anything else - reading Johnlock fanfiction. I am suddenly re experiencing the show through new eyes, seeing all the queerbait I never did before. Getting hate-crimed on the daily. I'm thinking about Sherlock at work, at my adult fucking job. I'm watching scenes from the show on youtube in my office, quickly and guiltily clicking away whenever a coworker comes to chat. I am considering doing my own rewatch. I am realizing for the first time that John and Sherlock were literally in love. It's the only lens through which you can view the show and still have it be somewhat enjoyable. They literally put Mary in a wedding dress shooting Sherlock in his mind palace on TV. I feel like I'm having a religious experience, I feel like I'm insane, I feel like I'm 13 again. This is all vaguely November 5th-ish for me lol.

Anyway. I just thought you should know the impact your rewatch is having on the population. Sorry for the novel in your inbox. I've been desperately trying to find my old Sherlock x Molly fanfic to read for the lols but I think I deleted it off ffnet. I am both having the time of my life while also desperately hoping I forget Sherlock ever existed again soon. So, basically - thank you/curse you for this.

This is perhaps the best ask I’ve ever received?? I converted a sherlolly shipper in the year 2023? Listen I’d never wish a season 4 rewatch on anyone but I would highly recommend watching s1-2 and the wedding episode for a truly out of body experience. I felt more strongly about this show/ship than any other in my life and it was STILL worse than I remembered

[scienter]

Skipped from TVD S3 straight to s6 & Holy shit! That was the Renaissance of TVD.I don't think I have enjoyed any season of Vampire Diaries like I did s6 after s2 and in my mind,they both get the top rank in the list of best to worst.Then,I thought why not give season s7 a chance.This was the first time I rewatched this season since it aired back when TVD was on and now I am most certainly questioning my life choices.🥲Honestly,how did we sit through such abysmal writing for 8 months or so?Were we sired?After the first episode,it felt like someone made me shut my eyes with the promise of feeding oysters only to point and scream "I just ejaculated in your mouth! HA! HA!" Anyway,there are a few things,specific to Caroline Forbes, that I picked up along the way:

1.Candice (& real life pregnancy)and Caroline Forbes-surrogacy: Keeping the non-consensual,gross aspect of the otherwise outlandish plot aside,I do believe with right motivation and willingness,writers could have easily worked around CA's pregnancy and given emotionally intimate scenes to SC that would have made their relationship layered and deeper.They simply chose NOT to. In fact, I noticed how they didn't use Candice at all not just in terms of her relation with Stefan but with regards to the whole Al**ick thing.Writers simply didn't create any compelling narrative that could convince anyone that Caroline was at all interested in pursuing anything with Ric that eventually led to an engagement. In fact, their sloppy attempt to sell motherhood and biology by giving two glimpses of Caroline's apparent growing attachment with the kids implied she saw the twins as an obligation in addition to her considering Ric as incapable of handling two newborns, leading her to Dallas, which basically served the bigger purpose:write CA out for her Maternity Leave. Post time jump,they could have easily removed her from this dynamic and put her with Liam or me and that wouldn't have changed nothing.Once again, they chose not to SHOW and simply explained the engagement as a decision of a heartbroken,abandoned woman by TELLING.I wonder what they would have done with her if TVD hadn't been renewed.Crossover to TO for ratings ploy?

2.Flash Forwards: I have nothing to say about this narrative disaster but I do think they changed their initial plans with respect to the FFs because CA did an interview where she said writers told her they were going three years in the future,right before she left for her ML,so that Caroline wouldn't have to be pregnant anymore AFTER candice came back from her leave.Does that mean they were originally going to go only a few months ahead in time but cancellation jitters made them change track?Guess,we will never know.

3.Future-Caroline character assessment : Plot contrivance aside, Caroline role-playing a doting mother and devoted wife-to-be & her happiness in the seemingly new life she built for herself is a metaphor for her being a victim of prolonged violence(physical and psychological).She was incapable of feeling anything anymore.She was in a wild state of depersonalisation and derealisation.She was an absolute victim.She just didn't care.She was putting up a class-act in that creepy arrangement but hey,as long as Caroline's "bold decision"(in JP's book) ensured M.Davis's employment,we are all good.

LMAO. Oh, yeah, I remember the whiplash of watching season 7 after season 6. Season 6 was one of the strongest seasons. Steroline was written well, we finally got Bamon, and Caroline had a touching story arc having to deal with her mother’s death. Season 7 on the other hand is in the running as the worst seasons.

I agree with your assessment of Ric and Caroline's relationship in season 7. It was awful. Having Caroline become the twins' surrogate is one thing – having her become their primary caregiver BECAUSE Caroline didn’t trust Ric to parent the twins himself . . . that wasn’t Caroline being a control freak – RIC ALLOWED CAROLINE TO TAKE OVER HIS DUTIES AS A PARENT BECAUSE HE DIDN’T WANT TO DO IT HIMSELF*.  There’s a name for this phenomenon: weaponized incompetence*

I don’t buy any defense of Ric’s actions here. Ric needed Caroline’s help! He was overwhelmed and didn’t know what he was doing! (1) Most first-time parents are overwhelmed because they lack experience. Parenting is on-the-job training. (2) Ric could have hired a professional nanny or an au pair to help take care of his kids. You know – paid someone to help take care of his kids. He didn’t. He was a selfish prick who took advantage of Caroline’s selfless and caring nature. He got a live-in nanny for free!

I hate that they turned Caroline – one of the strongest characters on the show – into Ric’s unpaid nanny. Ric and Caroline’s engagement was adding insult to injury.

I was so disappointed by the flash-forwards on TVD because I’d seen it done so well on The West Wing. Not that I was expecting TWW-level writing on TVD, but I did expect some level of competence.

*“Weaponized incompetence, also called strategic incompetence, is when someone knowingly or unknowingly demonstrates an inability to perform or master certain tasks, thereby leading others to take on more work.” [Psychology Today]

[jasntodds]

I really liked titans portrayal of Gotham city and the Gotham tv series portrayal of the city, and this may sound ridiculous to say but at least for my liking there is not enough Gotham in the batman movies I get that the focus is on batman and whatever loon he's facing but giving some deeper focus to the nitty gritty and utter strangeness of the city and 'average' Gotham citizens is something that I just require lol

I really did not know all that, oh my gosh you're telling me we are legit not gonna see that little bastard (said with such affection) Jason todd version ever ever again because one dude wants his universe to be the only one!?- that is some playground level nonsense and honestly with this many characters and this many storyline possibilities it is just unfair not to make a bunch of universes and that way fans can pick and choose which ones they wanna follow. Like I know some people didn't like the arrowverse (I fucking loved it) but if there's different options you don't have to watch the one you don't like cuz it's not the only one available y'know

Bruce killed the Joker for Jason (that is so huge) heaven above let titans live on for a little bit 😢 a redhood spin off with him attempting to clean up his own mental state and Gotham city with Barbara's help and we could've gotten to see more gotham villians heck Tim could have been included here and there in it cuz he's Robin now, bestie I wanna pull my hair out. And the fight scenes in titans was like near netflix Daredevil level beauty, the brutality shown in some characters (ahem dick and jason) contrasted with how you know that they're good inside that their heart is in the right place (esp dick) but you can visibly see the brokenness

I'm just getting back into titans now, it took forever where I am for season 4 to come on netflix and I still haven't watched s4 yet (I did skip all the way til nearly the end just to watch the episode with redhood lol but oh my seeing Tim be robin was cool)

I kinda really need to see Jason dealing with what he did to poor Hank (hank was one of my favs I cannot believe he didn't get to just nicely retire with dawn 😢)

Okay no but you're right!! I started rewatching Gotham like 2 weeks ago actually lmao and the pure joy the cutscenes bring me just because the city looks so GOOD is insane hjdgfkdh Both Gotham and Titans did a really good job at showing how gritty and gloomy Gotham is while also allowing it feel very organic and completely normal for everyone living there. (like the Titans being a little confused with Gotham stuff happening but you have Dick, Jason, and Babs just rolling with the punches). Tbh I think every Batman related movie/show needs to show the city more like Titans and Gotham because I think showing how Gotham IS explains a lot of why Bruce and the rest of the batfam and villains are the way they are

Nope!! I'm assuming we'll see a version of Jason and Dick (at the very least) at some point but they won't be Titans versions and won't be the same actors. LITERALLY WHAT I'M SAYING!!!! I physically do not care what his role is. He shouldn't be able to just be the only one (again same goes for Marvel). But yes exactly!!!!! Like if there are different universes with a bunch of content for all of them, then like................that's more money?? lmao At the end of the day, studios like making money and if there is only one universe and 1 version of the characters, like you said, some people won't want any part of it because they won't like it. But, if there's another universe for them to watch, they might like that one!!! I have NO desire to watch The Flash movie and it kind of ruins it because actor. But, the show?? It's one of my favorites and I loved Grant Gustin as Barry and Keiynan Lonsdale as Wally jkdfhgkdj (I mean the whole cast of the show tbh is so good). I know James Gunn probably thinks it'll work because he worked for Marvel and it worked for them but DC isn't Marvel lmao AND IT SHOULDN'T BE. DC should be different, that's what makes it fun but having to watch 30 fucking movies to understand shit is not fun when I don't like Miller or Momoa or the kid from Santa Clarita Diet who's gonna be in the Superman movie please I don't wanna watch THOSE to watch the shit I want to see (Blue Beetle, I will watch you soon). I wanna watch Titans lmao

OMG BUT TIM WAS SUPPOSED TO BE APART OF THE SPIN-OFF 😭😭😭 That's part of why I'm so angry. Jason is my favorite batfam member, immediately followed by Tim. And those two don't get along often in comics so ya know, the show was NICE and the spinoff could have been EVEN BETTER. (I also just adore Jay as Tim. He will also be MY Tim Drake). I could actually write a whole think piece of morality of Dick and Jason IN Titans lmao because yes the fight scenes were ALWAYS so good (I love the one in the alley in season 1 episode 1 with Dick as Robin idk and Dick and Jason's fight in the words in season 3 episode 4) but yeah no they did such a good job with showing how they can pull their punches but also fight to the death if they really need to but that doesn't make either of them bad. For both of them, it's about the greater good and they just have different viewpoints of what that means because they're both absolutely fucked up (which is also great because it goes the same in the comics and it makes them SO MUCH more interesting as characters). It shows no one is all good and no one is all bad.

jfghdfgfh omg it took so long!!!!! I hope you enjoy season 4!! It definitely wasn't as good as 2 or 3 imo but it was fun!! Episode 9 is really good!! I still smile like an idiot whenever I think about that episode with Jason lmao Tim finally gets his Robin suit thinking he's hot shit and Jason's like "Dude is gonna get his dumbass fucking killed LOL". Episode lives rent-free in my mind forever

Same though!! I need to know like what he did ?? Did he reach out to Dawn to offer an apology?? Did Tim tell Jason he met Hank when he died?? I don't know how he'd ever get over the guilt but I'd love to see the angst that could have brought us!! I wasn't a huge Hank fan but I was still jaw on the floor shocked when it happened and I felt so bad for him skdfh like poor Hank he didn't deserve to be exploded

[szkin-art]

I wanna get into gundam but I'm not sure which one I should start with. Do you have any suggestions? thanks! :3

OK, long post time~

TL;DR, the easiest way to start is from the beginning, and then just go in release order. Or check out one of the AU shows.

Either the original 1979 TV series (43 episodes) or the 3 Compilation Movies are a great intro depending on how much time you have. After that you can work your way through the main Universal Century saga (Zeta Gundam > ZZ > Char’s Counterattack > Hathaway’s Flash and Unicorn). Or check out the many, many UC sidestories and OVAs.

The Movies are currently available for free on youtube, but can also be found on Netflix. The TV version is on Crunchyroll, along with Zeta and ZZ. CCA and HF are on Netflix.

But outside of UC Gundam, there’s lots of AUs/other timelines that are specifically designed to bring new people into the franchise that you can check out. These are all standalone and don’t require any prior Gundam knowledge (but many of them are obviously more rewarding with that knowledge if you rewatch them later!)

I’ll just go over the ones I’ve seen and would recommend to a newcomer:

The Witch from Mercury

This is the brand new series that just finished airing. It’s a really good starter show, and is relatively short for Gundam at just 25 episodes. Covers some new territory for Gundam, with a school setting and more small scale corporate conflicts, but also has lots of traditional Gundam space politicking and war drama. Also the MC is a canon sapphic woman who’s relationship is central to the story. The Prologue Episode and First Season are available on Youtube (so is the Second Season if you live in SEA or have access to a VPN). Otherwise, Crunchyroll or sail the seas.

This would be my #1 recommendation out of the AU series for a beginner!

Iron-Blooded Orphans

The second-most recent Gundam show after WfM. It’s probably the darkest and grittiest of the AUs, really directly focusing on class conflict and the human cost of war - though it’s also got kind of a Shounen-ey vibe some people might like. Fan opinions are really split on this one - lots of people love it, lots of people really hate it. I personally think it’s great with some flaws. Also has multiple canon queer characters. It’s two 25 episode seasons. Available on Netflix, Crunchyroll and Hulu (I think).

Gundam 00

A good 2000s show. Two 25 episode seasons; season 1 is a bit slow IMO, but it picks up fast. It’s two 25 episode seasons + a movie. I think a lot of the political stuff in it feels a little dated now (it’s very clearly a post-9/11 work) but the character dynamics are excellent and the cast is extremely loveable and well developed. It’s available on Crunchyroll.

Turn A Gundam

Made in 1999, Turn A came just before the industry transitioned away from cel animation, and is gorgeous to look at - people call it ‘Ghibli Gundam’ for a reason. It’s also one of only two AU Gundams by the original director, Yoshiyuki Tomino, and is kinda his masterwork.

Turn A is a bit of a weird entrypoint for Gundam cause its very different from most of it - most of the series doesn’t include much open war, very few characters die, and the robot designs are quite unusual (being designed by an American, Syd Mead, who worked on Blade Runner and other stuff). It also includes some major callbacks to earlier shows, but IMO you won’t lose anything by watching it before other stuff.

It is however my favourite Gundam ever, so I am Obligated to mention it. It’s 50 episodes, not sure if its available legally outside the Bluray release, but you can find it easily enough online.

[shadowsong26x]

Yes, it’s been a while, yes, I’m aware that it’s no longer 2022, but here we are, back again with the Great BSG Rewatch of 2022!

Obligatory plug for Galactica Big Bang here, since that’s a thing now XD Signups will open July 1, I’ll be posting more about it here and on the event tumblr as we get closer to that. We also have a Discord!

Anyway, that shameless self-promotion aside, we’re picking up with Season 3! This is actually my favorite season overall--despite the fact that it doesn’t include my very favorite episode(/two-parter) and does include my least favorite episode (which we’ll get to in the back half of the season) along with a couple other storylines that irk me. It feels just...IDK, even though this is the real start of the ‘writing by the seat of our pants’ problems that are a Thing in the second half of this series, and it’s not actually all that cohesive, as a season it feels weirdly cohesive? Like, thematically, and so on. And anyway I just like it.

I am splitting this up into halves, like I did with season 2, and there aren’t any Extras in this round (I should probably track down the Resistance webisodes; I know I have the Face of the Enemy stuff, but not those). So this covers everything from Occupation through The Passage.

My notes on the miniseries and Season 1 can be found here; and my notes on the first half of S2 (plus Resurrection Ship and Razor) can be found here. My notes on the rest of S2 (plus The Plan) can be found here.

As before, my notes contain spoilers because I have seen the full series before. I’ve copied over a lot of quotes I like, some with commentary, some with just Flailing. Also some plot/construction notes, and some notes to myself about The Other Battlestar (which I swear I am actually working on; although it needs a better title lol) and a couple other self-indulgent AUs/potential fic projects, which I have deleted. There might be a few I missed, though.

Also, warnings. Very Very important content warnings: genocide, suicide, intimate partner violence, torture, and sexual assault, as well as a lot of other Violence. And, because we are living in a post-COVID world, plague/pandemic stuff. The torture warnings are particularly heavy for both halves of season 3.  Also, there’s quite a bit of dubcon in this first half. And a lot of fatphobia/diet culture BS. Feel free to send me an ask if you want more details.

That should cover it, so let’s get down to business to defeat the Huns wait wrong fandom. MOVING ON.

Occupation:

And the opening bit has changed! At least adding that bit with Caprica waking up and her and Boomer(?) and A Random Five coming to accept the surrender.

Kara gets the previously-on!

…which then dives Right into Creepy!Leoben because Of Course, that whole Thing.

YAY MY 2000-YEAR-OLD DYSFUNCTIONAL ROBOT DRUNKS IN LOVE

I’m sorry I can’t take the moustache seriously XD

Oh that closeup on Ellen’s ring during the flashes of her and Cavil, and cut together with building a bomb and lighting candles in a temple and. I love this arc A Whole Lot guys, there will probably be not much intelligent Commentary, mostly just Flailing.

I do like the way this bit with Ellen is shot, without showing Cavil’s face for a very long time, to let you think it’s Tigh thinking about that while he’s in lockup.

Huh, Bill still wears his wedding ring, I don’t think I’d picked up on that before.

Chief’s post-timeskip facial hair is pretty great.

Aaaaaaand now we’re up to the Creepy Dollhouse.

Lol Cavil just casually putting on his sunglasses.

Aaaaand now we can see she was screwing Cavil. Or hear, at least, the face is still unclear, but given what she says and her attitude when she climbs off…

Yay, bombs!

And this just gets Creepier and Creepier the more we learn about Cavil and the Final Five.

Lol “we gotta get you processed. Bureaucracy, you know.” Cavil just enjoys frakking with him.

Awwwww, the way they Cling to each other when he gets out.

YOU ARE SO CREEPY LEOBEN

Niiiiiice they weren’t even sharp and went all the way through his neck.

Wonder how many times she’s done this. Given how casually he says “I’ll see you soon” probably Many.

And this music as she picks up the knife and finishes her dinner with her hand still bloody and she’s very Mannerly about that part and I love it.

Ooooh, and different words!!! And no survivor count.

BABY! Oh, poor Nicky, did you get screwed over by the narrative.

134 days into the occupation.

Mars day.

Lol Cavil’s air quotes on ‘god’

D’Anna is also only halfway paying attention; hard to tell how much attention Baltar is paying until they suggest executing him. XD

And Caprica’s like “nope” “just because he’s your favorite toy.”

Oooh, and she specifically looks to D’Anna on ‘anyone who wants to challenge that [he’s with me].’ I guess they were setting that up already.

Still wish we knew whether this D’Anna was Fleet!D’Anna or Downloaded!D’Anna or both (probably not both But)

YAY MY BEST BELOVED MOST IRONICALLY NAMED MAN IN THE UNIVERSE FELIX GAETA. AND THE PUPPY!!!!!

Puppy is very very important.

Baby!!!

Nice, dug-out cellar safehouses, that’s what I thought I remembered.

Ah, the Irony XD

So, Gaeta’s been passing stuff for weeks, which seems to have started after Tigh was arrested. I wonder if he tried other things before he worked out this system, or if it just took him a couple months to figure Anything out about making contact?

And Tigh and Cavil are using very similar “send a message” rhetoric, that’s interesting.

And yeah, can’t blame Sam for taking the ‘they’re not coming for us’ attitude. And this argument between him and Saul is just. Amazing, I love it.

And Tigh’s face with “any word on Kara” I love their relationship so much.

“Hi, honey, I’m home.”

Five times, apparently!

Lol the casual way he steps over his own dead body.

And she doesn’t kill him that time, interesting.

“I’m a patient man.” “You’re not a man.” “I’m willing to wait. You just need more time.” SO FUCKING CREEPY.

“To know the face of God is to know madness.” I feel like that’s come up before and every time I hear it it’s followed up with “To love another person is to see the face of God” in my head. IDK if I’m going anywhere with that but…there it is.

“Either way you’ll be spending the night with me” FUCK. “I do love you, Kara Thrace.” Ffffffuck.

Oh man how quiet the flight deck is.

YAY KAT

THIS FUCKING SUBPLOT I HATE IT SO FUCKING MUCH.

Hi Hoshi!

Oh shit collision.

Dee is so pretty. And deserves so much better.

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate.

“You’re weak, soft. Mentally and physically.” I HATE THIS SUBPLOT. I REALLY HATE IT.

Not Lee and Bill fighting, that’s whatever. The Fat!Lee subplot, it is every kind of. Fuck it. Just fuck it. I hate it so much I can’t even words.

Playing pyramid while planning a suicide bombing yay.

“Not the first time we’ve sent a soldier on a one-way mission.”

“Some things you don’t do, even in war.” “Maybe you’ll feel different when it’s you sitting in detention.”

And Bill and Athena, yay!!! I still like my headcanon for why her hair is the same exact length as her sisters here XD

“I don’t do guilt,” he lied, like a liar.

“I sat here consumed with rage at all the things that had happened to me. And at some point I realized it was just guilt.” And she does call her betrayal what it is. And talks about choosing to forgive herself and move forward.

This is interesting, I’d kind of like to watch this scene back to back with that one bit with Dee during the Kobol arc.

Dee is so irritated right now and I kind of want to fast forward past this entire scene except I’m Committed to a full rewatch and if I didn’t fast forward through some of the earlier bits like in Six Degrees or Captain’s Hand I’m not gonna skip this. Also Dee’s face is pretty.

“You lost your war. And you’re a soldier who needs a war.” Interesting.

…and that was slightly Awkward exposition “that’s one of the reasons I married you.”

If they had Felix on the ground with them they’d probably have more luck with the comms.

And yep, there is a Raptor because of course there is.

YAY CONTACT!

Her face when they make contact!!!!

Have hope. We’re coming for you.

<33333333333

Tory is also Very Pretty.

I am…actually not surprised that there are 200 people. There were always going to be the Majority of people, who keep their heads down and just try to survive, low-level cooperation as necessary, and then the people on the outer extremes of either Resistance or Collaboration. And there are always going to be enough people on that Collaboration fringe. And they’ll have a lot of reasons for it, it’ll vary from person to person, but…it’ll always happen.

Ohhhhhh this prayer. Even without watching Resistance and getting to know this guy it’s. It’s a Lot.

And Baltar decides at the last minute not to go to the ceremony.

Felix’s hair is so Floofy I love it.

As he BOLTS to the dead drop location.

Tigh makes a very good tactical point. But does allow for the strike to be aborted if Baltar isn’t going to be there but Chief doesn’t get the message in time and…yeah.

He checks the bowl a Minute too early if he’d been just a Minute later…

“They call this a suicide vest, but I think that really underplays the homicide involved.”

OH THAT SHOT WITH THE CRACKED MIRROR

Don’t look suspicious don’t look suspicious

Centurion jumpscare! But then it turns away and lets him pass.

BOOM

Precipice:

Bill gets the previously on, I think!

Subtitles that was not Starbuck

Yessssss prison conversation!!!!! I love the scenes with the two of them talking when one of them’s in prison. They’re just. Some of the best.

(Yeah, no real comments I just. I just love scenes like this with Laura and Gaius.)

“Their only crime was putting on a uniform.” I think it’s this episode or maybe it’s the next one where Bill has a really great line about the importance of symbols/uniforms and just. PARALLELS I LOVE IT.

Well that’s almost certainly not Philosopher!Cavil but he did steal his hat!

“Which side are we on? We’re on the side of the demons, Chief. We’re evil men in the gardens of paradise, sent by the forces of death to spend devastation and destruction wherever we go. I’m surprised you didn’t know that.” I LOVE THAT LINE SO MUCH.

I also love how, whatever other shortages there might be, they Never run out of cigarettes XD

1150 armed effectives, nice to have numbers!

“Eventually, your people will see you as heroes.” “Not tonight."

Oh right Cally got taken I forgot that.

Poor Nicky. Poor poor Nicky.

Oh man especially after “one of these days you’re just not going to come home” she said in the last episode and oh maaaaaaan.

I do like the Bright Colored Coats in that shot of the marketplace.

Yeah, destroying the launch keys would cause more problems than it solved.

And Lee’s not wrong about the weapons drop.

“Detention is run by a separate ministry.” “How do you do it? How do you help them day after day? How do you look yourself in the mirror?" And Gaeta just. Trying to keep his cover. But he promises to do what he can to find out. “Why don’t you try and do something?” He is. But he cannot say it. Especially not where they might be overheard.

And Jammer is having Emotions.

“I bet they’re in over their heads. At first I bet they thought they were doing something good at first. Get the Cylons off the streets.” “Then they were frakking idiots. What did they expect? …you know any names?” “…no.”

“One day when this is all over, guys like Gaeta are gonna get strung up. And guys like you and me are gonna be there tying the knots.” Knowing how Collaborators actually goes, and how Chief handles things in there…MAN.

AND THE CREEPY THING WITH THE TODDLER LEOBEN YOU’RE A CREEPER JUST STOP.

“I remember I blew the crap out of that place.” “It wasn’t a total loss. We were able to salvage certain things. Like your ovary.” CREEP. ER.

She is a very cute little girl, though.

“What’s that?” Lol.

Ohh, that little half-smile as he carries her down the stairs.

YAY COMMISSIONING ATHENA TO SEND HER AS A LIAISON!!!

Okay, 2000 civilians with the battlestars yay numbers.

Oh and that reference to the Centurions being carefully restrained.

“If we go back to New Caprica now, and we lose, then humanity just stops. And admiral stars don’t give you the right to make that gamble.”

And that’s why Bill splits Lee and Pegasus off as a failsafe. “I know why we left those people behind. And I know it was their choice to be down there. And I realize the survival of the human race outweighs everything else. But this time, I can’t live with it.” Yesssssss

And they hug. But they don’t get their music this time.

Leoben is still fucking creepy talking about their fake baby’s future.

No, Starbuck’s not gonna let the little girl starve but. Man.

And this conversation about suicide bombings I love it. I love Laura and I love Saul and just. Love all of this.

Yeah, Saul, you deserved that. And Sam’s face in the background like “oooooh shit”

“Sometimes I think that you’ve got ice water in those veins and other times I think you’re just a naïve little schoolteacher. I’ve sent men on suicide missions in two wars now. And let me tell you something. It don’t make a godsdamned bit of difference if they whether they’re riding in a viper or walking out onto a parade ground. In the end, they’re just as dead. So take your piety and your moralizing and your high-minded principles and stick ‘em someplace safe until we’re off this rock and you’re sitting in your nice cushy chair on Colonial One again. I’ve got a war to fight.”

Tigh has the BEST LINE in this arc.

And Boomer is like “this is fucked up” and Caprica’s like “yes it is but how else to we respond to suicide bombings”

And Boomer is having Emotions!

(Lol Kacey’s mom is going to get one foulmouthed toddler back XD)

And Boomer goes to see Cally! Who was the cause of her (first?) death!

“I want you and Galen to know that I’m happy for you, especially since you started a family. Something he and I talked about before.” “Can you get me out of here?” “I don’t know. I have nothing to do with internal security—” “Then frak off you stupid frakked up toaster. How many times do I have to shoot you anyway? If you can’t help me, then just go away and leave us alone!”

EMOTIONS

Oh man this scene.

Power substation is crippled, two weeks to repair.

Just this pan around the circle of Cylons.

Caprica’s face oh man.

And he looks to her for help and she tries to defend him and.

“The first act of Cylon on Cylon violence” lol no.

“Everything we do requires your signature.”

“They’re covering their existential asses.” LOL.

“Then we’ll find another President.”

So this is…probably the first time Caprica has been killed in front of him to make a point But.

And the other Sixes’ faces.

“She’ll be back.” “But if he pulls that trigger now you won’t.”

Oh man and the change of lighting when we switch to Head!Six.

Interesting implication that she hasn’t been around and turns up after Caprica gets shot and then. And then he looks down and he’s already signed, and they’re just. Lined up staring at him. And that one Five is a little out of breath.

And we get a closeup on Boomer’s face and. Oh man.

YAY SHARON AGATHON

Helo is so haaaaaaappy

Aww, their little smiles as they walk away holding hands.

“Looks good on you. Belongs on you.” Awwwwwwwwwwwwww.

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

“Can I ask you a question? How do you know? How do you know that you can trust me?” “I don’t. That’s what trust is. Good hunting, Lieutenant.”

Oh man Ellen’s faaaaaaace. And then Cavil asks about Saul and she freezes. And he’s asking for intel about the insurgency.

“We know he’s their leader. Why do you think we let him out of detention?” “I thought it was because of the twist.” “Well, yes, that too, for sure.”

“I want a specific place and a specific time of a very high-level meeting of the insurgency. If I don’t get it, we’ll pick up Saul again. And this time, he’ll lose more than an eye.”

And Saul’s reaction to hearing about Athena’s commission.

And Sam has the map for the meet! And hides it away when there’s a knock but pulls it back out when he sees it’s Ellen and oh man.

Yep, Sam knows how this part of things works, that’s why he’s on this council with the military guys.

And she takes the map when he’s planning to burn it and. Oh man. Her Face.

“Tell me you didn’t sign it, Gaius.”

“Have you even looked at the names?” “I’VE SEEN THEM. I’ve seen them, all right? There was nothing I could do.”

“No one enjoys the thought of mortal death, Boomer. But she tried to murder you. Maybe it’s God’s justice.”

AND THEN THERE’S THIS ASSHOLE (AFFECTIONATE)

And Zarek’s been in detention the whole time because he refused to collaborate.

Aww, Sam and Athena hug!!!

“Been a long time.” “Funny, I feel like I see you every day.” And her little half-smile.

And Gaeta is trying to find Cally in one of the trucks so he can help her.

Oh man and Kara taking Leoben’s hand there because. Oh shit.

“Last year. You tried to steal the election, didn’t you?” “Yes, I did.” “I wish you’d gone through with it.” “Me, too.” And on the one hand, when the Cylons turned up there was absolutely no choice but surrender (it’s everything he did After that that’s the problem). On the other hand, if she’d won, they never would’ve settled. So no one would’ve been in that position.

…but would something similar have played out on a less shitty planet if the Cylons caught up to them there? Interesting thought experiment.

And Jammer pulls Cally out of line and she obviously thinks he’s going to do Horrible Things to her which. Yeah.

Especially when he pulls out the knife. But then he cuts the tie and tells her to run and not look back.

And now all the police flee and Cavil just sidesteps as the Centurions show up. And Tom pulls Laura back and Cally is fleeing and she hears the shots and.

I love this arc a whole lot.

Exodus 1:

Chief gets the previously-on I think.

Maya! She’s like the only Wholesome named character in the entire canon. XD

Oh that shot of the empty socket.

“I want you to know that I would do anything for you.” And she was a split second from confessing and then Chief interrupts.

And he’s shaved!

And Saul cuts through Chief’s panic. “Take four men and get there ahead of the trucks. Chief! Pull it together. You won’t do her any good if you get caught too. Besides, the last thing your son wants is me and Ellen for parents.” There are so many levels of With Context there I can’t even XD

And Chief is still flailing while he looks for the coordinate list I love him. This relationship is very fucked up but I love him.

Yay Cottle’s in this episode!!!!

And Athena had her marines positioned for cover because she is Smart and so are they.

Chief’s learned a lot about ground ops since Kobol. So has Seelix.

“Where there are skinjobs, there are bulletheads. Break out the RPG.”

…oh man, that’s a thought. Chief, Cally, and Seelix were all on Kobol together (with Baltar). And now the three of them are here at that execution site. Does it mean anything? Probably not! But it’s a Thought!

Oh man, Chief holding Cally down under cover. And Jammer took his mask off.

Aaaaaand they find the map on Cavil.

OH RIGHT I KNOW THAT GUY. I forgot he was introduced this early but he’s in the Circle, isn’t he?

“They were waiting for us. Right where we thought.” Marine is like “yep I know my business thank you for listening” and then Sam gets the map back aaaaaand realizes Ellen sold them out and. Oh boy.

“Been a while since I had a woman throw me to the ground. Not quite as much fun as I remember.” LOL.

And Seelix makes sure the gun is out of range so Cavil will die slow.

And now Whichever D’Anna This Is is having Visions! I do love the really cool greyed-out lighting effects for this whole thing. And she sees the bodies, and hears Hera crying and sees herself picking the baby up.

“It doesn’t matter to me, really.” “You can stop that right now. My ego’s not so fragile as all of that.” Lol I forgot that bit was in there. “These things happen. Or they don’t happen.”

Okay Doral is not Entirely wrong about the importance of sanitation (and also that ‘lack of toilet paper’ comment hits a little different post-COVID lol)

“Four months of this, Gaius. Four months of watching you slip further and further down into this well of self-hatred and loathing. Do you know what I’ve given up for you? Do you?” “Do you know, what with the occupation and everything. I really can’t say I’ve given it that much thought recently.”

And this is why I headcanon that they actually don’t talk that much during this period. Not about anything serious or real. Except when he lashes out like this. They don’t talk about what they did. What they’re doing. It came up in a fic I wrote ages ago (which probably should’ve been two fics, it was two conversations) but like…yeah.

And then he says “Don’t go. …please.” And she watches him drink, and she does come back. Because they do love each other, even if there are these hollow places between them, these things they can’t say. (I do ship them very much; I do love their ending together; and I have��many more things to say about this period in their relationship but that is not the purpose of these notes lol.)

And that is actually Good Parenting, to apologize to the little girl and say it was because “I was upset with myself, not with you. Grown-ups do stupid things sometimes.” I love Kara a whole lot.

And Kacey grabbing her finger as she turns to leave and FEELINGS.

And Leoben is watching them.

D’Anna going through the city, seeing little flashes from her vision/nightmare…

[yeah there are reasons she’s another one I headcanon as force-sensitive for crossover purposes darth lawless is a cylon]

“Don’t be afraid, I know who you are, what you are. Poor thing. You must be terrified.”

“Zeus sees all. Sees you, Number Three. Sees your pain, your destiny. All the gods weep for you.” Oooooooooooh.

“There’s no Zeus. No other god but God.” “You don’t believe that anymore. You don’t know what you believe, and that is why you’re here.” “Not true. I don’t even know why I’m here. Stupidest thing I ever did.”

I’m really loving this scene more than I remembered omg.

“I have a message for you, from the one you worship. He speaks through me to you, just as he does in your dreams. The message is: the fruit born of two peoples is alive. A child named after the wife and sister of the all-knowing Zeus. Hera lives.” “That’s not true. The child is dead.” “You will hold her in your arms, and you’ll know for the first time what it is to feel true love. But you’ll lose everything you’ve done here.” And D’Anna is crying. “…wish I had some chocolate caramels.”

Okay but I love this oracle I want twelve.

Aww, Dee and Helo are being cute. “Will you quite looking at me like that?” “Like what?” “Like we’re never gonna see each other again. We will.” “Take care of the Admiral?” “Take care of his son.”

And this goodbye/separation ceremony I love it so much.

Racetrack reads from the Scrolls, I think! I can’t always recognize her out of her helmet, I’ll admit…

“Always together.” And then the hugs. My heart.

AND A FISTBUMP

“If I’m not back in 18 hours, find Earth.” “Yeah, right.” “I’ll see you at the rendezvous point.” “18 hours. Try not to be late.” “I’m getting old, I’m a little slow. But I’ll be there.” AND NOW WE GET THE MUSIC AND I DON’T LIKE LEE AND. EVERY. GODDAMN. TIME.

“Don’t make me cry on my own hangar deck.” FUCK YOU I’M CRYING YOU CRY WITH ME.

PUPPY!

“You don’t care who I am, do you? All God’s creatures in your eyes.”

YAY COTTLE! “Can’t sleep?” “Bad dreams.” “Didn’t know you people had dreams.” “Sure. Everybody dreams, Doc. That human or cylon blood?” “Cylon. One of the Fives got pretty shot up today by the insurgents. But he’s gonna make it.” “You could’ve let him suffer.” “That’s not what I do.” YES I LOVE HIM SO MUCH.

And now D’Anna (D’anna? Which is correct lol) turns the conversation to Hera and Cottle is like “…ah yes. That mess. Yay.”

“When that child died on Galactica, why did you cremate the body? The first cylon-human hybrid, and you threw it into the incinerator?” “It wasn’t my decision. It was the President’s call. I was just following orders.” “…that’s a very funny thing. ‘Cause this stuff all looks the same.”

…I don’t think this is the same dog that Lampkin later gets, I think he gets a yellow lab but I might be misremembering. The POINT is there are possibly TWO ENTIRE PUPPIES in the fleet.

“They left me in the hot sun with a bullet in my guts.” “What a noble race you are.” Shut up, Doral.

“Skin’s a lot tougher than you think.” Yikes. “Now that’s three for me. Three downloads. The first I just got a headache, but I could handle it. Now it’s worse and worse. This time it was like a white-hot poker through my skull. It’s not worth it. None of this is worth it.”

“He’s right, you know,” Gaius says quietly. While crying. …oooooooh. “It’s not worth it. Which is what I believe I’ve been telling you all along.” “Caprica, can you please control him?” “Why don’t you just shoot me, if that’ll remedy the situation?”

Watching Boomer in this scene, as she listens to Cavil’s story and is having Emotions and…knowing where that relationship is going (assuming this is Primary Cavil which. It’s hard to tell, but one can assume if there’s only one One in the scene it’s Probably him unless otherwise specified? Especially for Important Shit like overseeing the mass execution and these meetings.) and also her whole story arc in general. Man.

Caprica’s more ‘I don’t want to hear this but I’ll listen because I am the main reason we’re here.’

And the little glare she shoots Doral when he tells her to control Gaius.

Also the way D’anna was watching Gaius talk.

Oh, and while he was saying ‘why don’t you just shoot me’ Caprica apparently turned away, because she spins back around when Doral suggests cracking down harder.

“Consensus used to be so easy. Now look what they’ve done to us.” Oh, it’s not just this, though it definitely accelerated the fissures here. But.

“Worst comes to worst, we can always just nuke the city and be done with it.”

Aww, Athena refusing to give up her dogtags.

“Thanks for the concern. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.”

And Ellen gets dragged in and is Shocked to see Athena and. Oh man. Oh man oh man oh man That Scene is coming up and. GDI I’ve already cried once this episode.

“Where is my husband I want to speak to my husband!”

And Sam asks Athena to keep an eye out for Starbuck “I don’t know if she’s alive or dead, but it’s been four months.” “I’ll do what I can.”

“We’ll keep her on the move, along with other high-value targets. She’ll never stay in one place longer than two or three days.” I wonder who the other high-value targets are?

And Sam doesn’t know why Maya is so valuable, but he trusts Roslin and he will keep her safe. “How far do you want me to go? If it looks like the Cylons are gonna capture them…” “No. Don’t let it get to that point. That’s all.” He does asks what’s so important, and gets the “she may very well be the shape of things to come. That’s either a blessing or a curse” answer, which is vague, but enough for him to figure it out, maybe???? But he was clearly going to do it regardless of the answer, which is I think why Roslin actually let him in on the secret? That was a FASCINATING little moment omg gotta watch it again.

OH MAN ESPECIALLY SINCE THIS FLASHBACK COMES IMMEDIATELY AFTER HIS CONVERSATION WITH ATHENA AND HE KNOWS BUT. BUT BUT BUT OH MY FUCKING GOD.

…I wonder what the original purpose of this dug-out room where they’re having this conversation was. Maybe they just had the basement-type storage under several of the tents? They probably couldn’t’ve started digging them after the occupation, it would’ve drawn too much attention…

His FACE as he puts the pieces together and OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD I NEVER NOTICED THAT BEFORE BUT HE KNEW SAM KNEW AND HE’S ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO’S KNOWN/WORKED WITH ATHENA THE LONGEST IN SOME WAYS SO HIS CHOICE NOT TO TELL HER IS OH MY GOD OH MY GOD THIS IS BREAKING ME HOW DID I NOT NOTICE THIS SHIT BEFORE OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD.

…ahem. I’m okay. Um.

holy shit though omgomgomg

…right, back to D’anna.

She’s wandering through the city, focusing on babies…but that one’s too young to be Hera.

And now the Resistance is talking weapons.

“No Pegasus, just Galactica.” “Why?” “Don’t know, sir. Way beyond my paygrade.”

Zarek asks if they’ve rehearsed. …he’s keeping to his carefully-constructed persona here, but I imagine that if he wasn’t satisfied with what Chief et al are telling him…if anyone knows how to sow chaos, it’s him. [if I write for GBB along with running it, one of my possible ideas (since most of my Ideas are way too long lol) is to do something Zarek-focused; possibly surrounding his original arrest…]

((and there’s this sam knew sam knew sam knew in the back of my brain that I’m not gonna stop thinking for a while lol it’s like https://64.media.tumblr.com/0ac9d8e9014935480bcfb5b3e643c385/f3631f541e57a655-5c/s1280x1920/7280e89354e384b744b17c5be078c1c177d243f3.jpg ))

And Mathias is pointing out that “when there’s shooting and chaos and panic it’ll be different” and Roslin doesn’t exactly tell her she’s wrong but…like there’s nothing else we can do about it, we have to trust we’ve prepared enough and hope for the best at this point.

“I trust you because I trust him.”

And then Ellen gets brought in.

Athena walking through the town, getting Looks and a bottle thrown at her and she just. Keeps moving.

And they confront Saul and Ellen with the map and.

“He said…he said he’d kill you.” “Who said it?” “One of the Brother Cavils. I did it for you, Saul. It was all for you. I had to. I didn’t have any choice. Don’t you see that?” and their FACES oh my god my beloved dumpster fire 2000-year-old robot drunks in love I can’t take it.

And Athena just puts her hand into the datastream, no unsettling self-injury this time Thank Fuck.

Oh, nice, voice-activated storage!!!

And D’anna (or some Three) interrupts. “…my God, it’s you.” Athena pulls a gun. “You’re betraying your own people. For what?” “I’m a Colonial Officer.” “You’re not one of them.” “I gave them my word.” “That’s not what counts. It’s who you give it to.” “I’m gonna have to shoot you now.” “Hera lives.” Oh, okay, it is D’Anna. “…what?” “Your daughter Hera is alive. Your new friends tell you that?” and Athena’s face and her flashbacks and oh maaaaaan.

“They faked her death and hid her from you.” “You would say anything—” “I had dreams. I had strange dreams that made me question my faith. Made me question God. And in the dreams, there was a human oracle, so I went to see Dodona Selloi.” “I’m not going to kill you, but I’m going to wound you so you can’t warn the others.” “The oracle said that the fruit born of two peoples is still alive. That Hera lives and I would hold her in my arms and I will know true love. Put down the gun, and when I find her, you can hold her, too.” And Athena kneecaps her. “Adama wouldn’t lie to me.” “You’re wrong. YOU’RE WRONG!”

Just. Athena’s face during that whole thing.

Enough fuel to make at least one jump! And she congratulates him on his son! “What’s his name?” “Nicolas, after Cally’s grandfather.” “You remember when you helped Chief spread Hera’s ashes? You actually saw the ashes?” “Yeah, of course. Why?” “Nothing. …just make sure Cally never lets her kid out of her sight.”

EMOTIONS.

And Helo is just bursting with pride when he reports that his wife successfully got the launch keys.

And Kat is fidgeting in the rec room and Racetrack is pacing and picks up the phone when it buzzes and IT’S ON!

“You’ve heard the news. You know the mission. You should also know that there’s only way this mission ends. And that’s with the successful rescue of our people off of New Caprica. Look around you. Take a good look at the men and women that stand next to you. Remember their faces. For one day you will tell your children and your grandchildren that you served with such men and women as the universe has never seen, and together you accomplished a feat that will be told and retold down through the ages and find immortality as only the gods once knew. I’m proud to serve with you. Good hunting.” YES YES YES YES YES.

…apparently Captain Kelly was in that episode??? I always miss him, lol…

Exodus 2:

Previously on from Bill!

“I’m having trouble accepting this.” “I know but we have to push forward. Keep the fleet together. Find Earth.”

“I haven’t given up hope.” “Yes, you have. I saw the look on your face when you got back from Galactica. Like you were never going to see him again.” “Am I that easy to read?” “Just to me.”

“No matter what the cost. No matter who we leave behind.” “You can do this. You can get us there. You are the commander of this fleet, and you will guide us to safety.”

(I don’t have a lot of Thoughts on this scene because I generally don’t have a lot of thoughts on Lee, but I do get flashes of why he and Dee love each other, even if she was his second choice.)

Oh no oh no oh no.

Sam pushing at Tigh with all the reasons and he’s like “I get it, all right?” “You know what has to be done here. If you don’t want to do it, I understand. But believe me, Colonel, someone is gonna do this. Now it would be better for her sake if it was you.”

His FACE oh my god oh my god oh no my heart.

(look I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; Tigh grows on me more and more with each rewatch and so this is gonna kill me I will be deceased he is now one of my favorites and he and Ellen are just. Oh my god.)

“I had to do it, Saul. I had to. It was all for you. And I want you to know that I would’ve done anything to save you.” “I know. I know. It’s all right. It’s going to be all right.” “No, you don’t understand. I got you out of detention, Saul. It was me. I got you out. I went to see them, the Cylons. Finally got to the one (One?) in charge. And I got him to notice me the way men notice me. I slept with him. And I felt like puking every time he put his filthy hands on me. But I smiled and I faked it to save you, Saul. But you listen to me. I’d do it again. Frak anybody. Do anything. Even gave ‘em the map. I didn’t want anybody to be killed.” And he holds her and she’s crying and. And his face. And. And then he gives her the poisoned cup, and she nods a little. “I could use the drink.” And the LOOK they share. And. Kate Vernon has said she knew and she’s DEFINITELY playing it that way and oh my god his face and how calm she is and. “You’ve always been there for me when I needed you. Oh, I’m exhausted. I feel like I could just curl up here. Should’ve listened to you, Saul. Should’ve stayed on Galactica.” “Don’t worry about any of that now. You just…you just go to sleep.” “I’m sleepy…”

BAWL. ING.

I don’t even care that that was Really Fast for an orally-consumed poison to work I just.

“I love you, Ellen. Do you hear me?”

((this will come up again on the algae planet arc but…like…we have these instances of someone murdering their spouse, and that’s usually a certain Thing, especially when it’s a man murdering his wife, as both cases are, especially in a show with this much intimate partner violence, and yet. AND YET. Both murders are just. EMOTIONS. FEELINGS. BAWLING. FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK.))

And the way he cries over her body and just. That last line of his. “I love you, Ellen. Do you hear me?”

FUCK FUCK FUCK.

Gaeta is just sketching; Baltar is drunk and rambling. “And where are we now? And more to the point, where’s Laura Roslin? Where’s Tom Zarek? At large. Whereabouts unknown. Free, at any rate. Probably with Colonel Tigh. Solidifying the insurgency’s hold on the public’s imagination.” “What would you have us do, Gaius?” D’Anna asks. “Leave. Pack up your Centurions, and go. Please. Go.”

And D’anna’s like “would you really leave us alone if we did that? Or would you raise your children to continue the war? Would you tell them to tell that story to their children, and their children’s children, so that one day they could go out among the stars and hunt the Cylons once more?” “Blood for blood. It has to stop one day.”

OH SHIT. OH SHIT, I THINK HE SAYS THE SAME THING WHEN HE’S TALKING CAVIL DOWN IN DAYBREAK. “Blood for blood. It has to stop one day.”

And ALL OF THE THINGS are exploding!

((Man, the Fours generally get…not a lot to do. I think one Four has had one line in this entire arc.))

Tory coordinating the evacuation!

OF COURSE THERE ARE WEAPONS HIDDEN UNDERNEATH THE PYRAMID COURT

Sam’s running the attack on the detention center.

And the maneuver from the beginning of this arc! Only now it’s For Real. And they do pull it off yay!

And there’s chaos in the office and Caprica goes over to Gaius who is just. Slumped over in the corner. “For nothing. All for nothing.” “We’ll start over, Gaius. A new city to rise from the ashes.” “It’ll be buried. Buried like the cities of old. Consumed by the wrath of God.”

And Boomer (probably) reports that the drone thing worked and we have two battlestars in orbit! “Adama’s back.”

And Leoben hits Starbuck when she tries to overpower him/kill him again to get out the door.

“You’re coming, right?” “My ship’s up there.” “You sure have a sense of the dramatic.” LOVE IT.

“Hey, you, you were on Galactica right?” “I didn’t do anything!” LOL But also poor Jammer. ((also the Parallel to when Helo singled out Baltar in the miniseries i love it))

“All hands, brace for turbulence.”

A second line for Simon! “Where’s Galactica?”

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES DROP THE BUCKET!!!!

FIRE!!!!!!

And Chief’s FACE while he watches this happen torn between “thank fuck” and his mechanic brain SCREAMING

“Well, this oughta be different” LOL HOTDOG

Oh, there’s Kelly.

And the Backlash when Galactica jumps away!!!

And they have Explosives for the prison!

Sam finds Kara yay!

And he’s so relieved she’s breathing and he kisses her “I’m gonna get you out of here” and oh no Kacey

There are too many baseships, they can’t hold off four, they were hoping to hold them off long enough for the civilians to escape and I mean I know how this ends I’ve seen it before but just. Bill’s voice when he says “we can’t hold off four” omg

Bill is running cords and there’s a medic (I don’t think Ishay?) there. And they don’t have their jump drive. And.

“Then that’s it. It’s been an honor.”

And this MUSIC

And then SUDDEN UNEXPECTED PEGASUS

“Damn you, Lee.” “…thank you, Lee.”

Love it.

And Lee is sacrificing Pegasus, putting it right in the center of the basestar formation.

And Kara wakes up and is like “put me down!” and she kisses Sam “is it really you?” “it’s really me, come on, we have to get back to the ships.” “where’s Kacey?” “who’s Kacey?” and yep Starbuck’s running back and Sam goes after her “GODSDAMMIT KARA NO!”

A third line for Simon! “There’s a heavy raider ready to evacuate us.”

The Cylons are pulling back, D’anna says she’ll stay behind to set off the nuke.

“You should go as well, Caprica. …and you. I don’t think you’ll want to be here after we’ve gone. There’s a place for you, too.” “For me?” “You were right and we were wrong. Should be some reward for that.”

“Gaius, we should go.” “I just want to sit here and die.” “You’re gonna get your wish, Gaius.” I LOVE YOU FELIX. And I do remember this confrontation and I love it so much.

Only a few civilian ships left on the ground.

“I believed in you. I believed in the dream of New Caprica.” “Gaeta, we all did,” Caprica tries, and he turns the gun on her. “No! not him. He believed in the dream of Gaius Baltar. The good life. Booze, pills, hot and cold running interns. He led us to the Apocalypse, and I—and I—I turned out to be…” “An idealist,” Gaius says quietly. “There’s no sin in that. Everything you say about me is true. Every word. But you have to listen to me. The Cylons have a nuke in this complex. Nobody…I mean nobody is getting off this planet alive unless I stop D’anna.” “Gaius, she’ll kill you.” “Then she’ll kill me. Or it’ll be down to Mr. Gaeta. Either way, the human race dies with me. Go ahead, shoot. What are you waiting for?” and he pulls the gun up under his chin and says “please. I’m begging you, please.” And that shot of their hands together on the gun. and Felix…still an idealist. Some part of him still a little bit in love with the best parts of Gaius. Gives him the gun. “You have one chance to put things right. Do you understand me? Get the frak out of here! Stop that nuke! Go!”

And Caprica pulls him away, his eyes still locked on Gaeta and. Man that’s another one of my favorite dynamics in this series, all the things that happen between these two. ((there’s a reason I had two versions of my ‘no one mourns the wicked’ icon for these two; one with this scene, the other with gaeta’s execution))

(his finger was actively on the trigger, too, before Gaeta’s hand joined his)

“Good work, and I’ll see you on the other side,” Lee says, when he gives the order to abandon ship.

“You too, Commander.” “Yes, sir.” Lol. But he does take a moment to say goodbye to Pegasus, which has been his home and his command for like a year and a half. “Thank you,” he says.

FUCK I’D FORGOTTEN THAT PEGASUS JUST. STRAIGHT-UP BATTERING RAMS A BASESTAR TO DEATH. TAKING IT WITH IT. WELL FUCKING PLAYED.

And then that piece of debris with the name of the ship.

And it’s eerily quiet under Starbuck yelling for Kacey. And Leoben comes down the stairs with the little girl. “I knew you’d be back. I saw it.”

LEOBEN. STOP. FUCK.

“Say the words. I want to hear it. And I want the rest of it. Like I told you.”

FUCK YOU.

“Fine. You win. I love you.” “Say it again.” And Kacey just looking up at the adults like ? “I love you.” “Now the rest.” And there’s a kiss and. Yikes. Just. Yikes.

“Was it everything you thought it would be?” “That and more. I’ll never forget this moment.” “Neither will I.” More kissing, and then she stabs him. And twists the knife. And Kacey looks down at his body, and here comes Sam!

“I’ll explain later. Let’s move.”

And Caprica and Gaius are looking for D’Anna. And they hear the baby crying!

“Frakking liar,” D’anna says, and then she hears the crying, too.

Poor Maya. Poor, poor Maya.

And Head!Six! “It’s her, Gaius. The first of God’s new generation.” “Hera,” he says.

“It’s a miracle,” Caprica says. “God spared her.”

And he stands up, holding her, as D’anna comes out of the tent.

“Hera,” she breathes. “Can I hold her?” And he hesitates for a moment, and then lets her take the child. And then he turns the gun on her.

“No!” Caprica says. “She won’t set off the nuke. Not anymore. Come on, Gaius. We have to go.”

And he follows her through the ashes and away.

And that shot of Laura back at her desk is Amazing. “All right. I’m ready to go.”

Chief’s face on seeing Kara with a baby. “I thought you were dead!” “Yeah, so did I!”

And then Kacey’s actual mom!!!

And that frozen heartbreak on Kara’s face, and then she forces a smile and.

“But you saved her. Gods bless you.”

That wild look on Kara’s face oh man oh man oh man.

Bill welcoming everyone aboard and Helo and Athena HUGGING and

And then Lee and Dee getting off their raptor and Bill like. “I guess you didn’t understand my orders.” “Never could read your handwriting.” MORE HUGS

“Permission to come aboard sir.” Oh, Saul. Oh poor Saul. “Permission granted.” And they exchange salutes, and. And the looks on their faces. “You did it. You brought ‘em home, Saul.” “Not all of them.” “I’m sorry.”

EMOTIONS. SO MANY EMOTIONS.

And then Bill is pulled away by the celebrating evacuees and Saul is just. Broken. :((((((( and back to Kara’s face and. And and and.

Oh, and there’s Gaeta leaning uncertainly against a raptor and.

EMOTIONS. THAT IS ALL.

“We’re still double-checking the manifests, but it doesn’t look like Maya made it off New Caprica.” “What about the baby?” And Tory just shakes her head. “I was there when the two guards left to take them to their ship. I don’t know what happened. I’m so sorry. I let you down, and I know that.” “No, you didn’t. it’s not your fault.”

…want to remember this for when I get to S4.

“This is bigger than us. This is life.”

And shaving off the moustache!

The FUCKING LIGHTER MUSIC AGAIN

Collaborators:

Gaeta gets the previously-on!

Oh, Jammer.

And Chief isn’t super thrilled about this whole situation but he’s doing it. It is really interesting to watch the faces/feelings/reactions of the different people in the circle.

Oh man Chief just quietly asking “did you do it.”

Okay, three days off of New Caprica at this point. I do love timeline markers! Don’t think we get a whole lot after this (except in No Exit?) but they’re nice while they last, lol.

And Chief didn’t watch the execution, his back was turned. Everyone else did.

Anders is starting to doubt the mission of the circle. Chief…isn’t doubting in the same way, but he hates it.

Nicky is such a cute pudgy baby I wanna squish his li’l cheeks I love him.

Chief asking Cally if Jammer was telling the truth. Too late to change his decision, and it wouldn’t have changed anything either, but he just…wants to know.

“How did you know about that?” Good question Cally.

Back to the usual titles! 41,435.

RIGHT THIS BIT. I love the blooper where Mary McDonnell and James Callis both crack up when she goes in for the kiss. XD

“Oh no.” “What?” “I’m dreaming, aren’t I.” Yes, you are.”

Oh right, the part where he’s just. Naked. For a good chunk of the episode.

I will say that, while this show doesn’t get nearly up to Spartacus’ level, it is pretty good about equal-opportunity nudity. And a fair amount of the nudity isn’t really sexual, just…naked.

…wonder what the last three days on that basestar have been like.

And Sam is trying but he doesn’t really know how to help Kara, and she doesn’t really know what she needs from him, and…

Three more days to swear in a new Quorum! And then we play musical chairs with the Presidency XD

“The whole thing should take less than an hour.” “You’re stepping down without a fight. That means you want something. Why don’t you put your cards on the table, and let’s see if it’s a price I’m willing to pay.” And yeah, Tom’s like “yeah I’m a realist, I know I’m not gonna actually hold on to power, especially since Bill doesn’t like me. But I want to be part of the new government.”

The thing about Tom here is that…yes, he stood up to Baltar/the occupation regime. He is very good at making a gesture/statement/Point like that. It’s a significant chunk of What He Does throughout the course of the series. But there’s these sort of two sides of him, when it comes to his approach as a public/political figure--making a Point, and being ruthlessly practical. Part of him believes at least a portion of his own rhetoric, part of him just wants power. He cultivates being liked as a means to gain and hold power (as a contrast to Baltar, who cultivates power as a means to being liked/respected, or Laura who just wants to get shit done and knows she can do it/looks at the alternatives and…yeah.) Anyway, the point I’m trying to make is that, if he’d been in Baltar’s position on New Caprica, meaning if he’d been President and not VP when the Cylons showed up…I genuinely don’t know which side of him would have won out. Because like I’ve said a couple times, once we get to that point, surrender is the only viable option. And part of Zarek would know that. But he’d also know that, once he made that call, his political career/power base would be absolutely destroyed. Especially given the specific reputation/persona he’s spent the last two years building. Even if he’d managed to get out of Cylon custody and work with the Resistance, even if the alternative to surrender is, best case scenario, he gets shot and they keep going down the chain of command until they find someone who will…so, does President Tom Zarek do the practical thing, or does he take a Stand? As VP, he can afford to take a stand, and show that courage that the Fleet needs, as Laura puts it.

…yeah, there’s a reason my Zarek tag is “and then there’s this asshole (affectionate)” and I might write about him if I write for GBB along with running it. He’s just. Fascinating. There’s so much to dig into here (I mean, there is for most of the characters, that’s kind of what this show Does, but).

…ANYWAY that tangent aside. Presidential musical chairs, resume.

Poor poor ironically named Felix Gaeta. I just wanna give him a hug.

“Who gave this man permission to enter the CIC?” Can’t really blame Tigh. And Helo’s like “Admiral ordered it, to fix the comms.”

And Gaeta just quietly stands there and takes it. “Do you know where my eye is?!”

Bill’s trying to get Saul calmed down, and…yeah, this is all very messy.

“Oh yeah. Just go to sleep. Forget about it all. Just forget about everything. Well I’m not forgetting. I’m not gonna forget.” I really love this in contrast to the way he is very Insistent on keeping things within correct bounds when working with the Circle when Connor wants to be Excessive.

57 more people to try in absentia, three days to do it. “Stop wasting time bitching and moaning. We all knew there was a clock when we signed on to do this.”

Yeah, like I was just saying. Connor “Most of these fraks are so guilty they stink. I can get through 50 of these things in an hour.” And Tigh slams his head into the table, and his voice is. So calm. And like. We know damn well Saul doesn’t have a problem shouting, he does it all the time. And just. Damn. “You think we’re thugs, handing out punishment on a whim? Jammer didn’t get airlocked because you thought he was guilty. There was evidence. You read the witness statements. He was tried and convicted by this circle. This is about justice. You got that? Justice!”

And now Gaeta’s name comes up.

And Tigh is like “You think I want to do this? I stood next to him in the CIC for four years. He was like family. But the fact remains he was Chief of Staff to Gaius Baltar, and that alone is enough to convict him.”

Anders is like “we don’t have any hard evidence, no witness statements, it’s not enough.” Chief agrees. Tigh points out that Baltar probably wasn’t directly running things because…the man has certain skills but. “He was the public face, but Gaeta was the brains. Everyone knew that.” And…honestly, during the year before the occupation, that’s almost certainly true. If only because Gaeta knew if he didn’t do it, Zarek would. Anything that actually did get done was probably mostly Gaeta. …or Zarek, depending on the specific thing.

“We don’t know what Gaeta did or didn’t do when he saw that list.” And Barolay’s like “you see a list like that, and you do nothing about it?”

And they call the question. And Sam’s like “No. I’m done. War’s over for me. I’m sorry.” Conner wants to push ahead without him, Jean’s like “we do need six votes.” Chief’s like “we don’t have six votes, I’m out too.” And Tigh, whatever his other personal feelings, has to agree. Because he wants to do this right. This is about justice.

Oh my god D’anna is so pretty in that dress.

“How are you, Gaius?” “…I’m alive, I suppose that’s something.”

((Also it is. Definitely my headcanon that the pills are 95% to shut Head!Six up. They didn’t really work; she was quiet for other reasons, but.))

The way her fingers linger when she hands them to him, though. And the way he pulls away when she sits down on the couch. “You’ll have to excuse me, I’m slightly confused. …how long have I been here, exactly?” “Three days.”

And the vote to let him stay/live is deadlocked. Three to three. And the Sixes are the swing vote, which surprises him. (I…wonder if it’s along the same lines otherwise as the Cylon civil war? The Threes are definitely voting to let him stay; the Ones are definitely voting to ditch him; the Fives probably follow the Ones’ lead. Probably the Eights are voting in his favor, but the Twos and Fours…)

Aaaaand yeah there are Missing Persons reports that Lee has to bring up. And ‘thousands’ of people got left behind on New Caprica, which is helpfully vague ((for fic/rp numbers I’ve used whatever number feels right in the moment))

Lee’s like “no, these are people we know got out, like Jammer.” “…yeah, I just saw him yesterday.”

So, thirteen people are missing, that means thirteen Circle executions. Plus 57 people left to try. Given that they were complaining about the time constraint for the remainder, probably we can assume no more than half of that have already been tried, especially since it probably took Zarek a day or so to set things up, pick his people, etc. There are 70 people on the list For Sure. If we assume maybe a handful don’t get convicted (or aren’t known to have gone missing after evacuating the planet)… 75 is a nice round number of people for Zarek to prioritize. Or maybe 72, that’s a multiple of twelve. Or 84, maybe. I don’t think any higher than that, though.

Ugh this FUCKING subplot again I hate it I hate it I hate it so much. “Hey, I dropped half a stone.” “Keep jumping.” HATE.

And Gaeta is isolated, and Starbuck is glaring at him from across the room, and she approaches and he…wants to believe she’s willing to talk to him. But he’s wary and. Can’t blame him.

“I heard about your situation.” “Right. I just try not to think about it anymore. You know? Kinda like you.”

“What do you want me to say? Maybe I could’ve done more, but when the Cylons landed, I thought it was important for me to keep my job. To help from the inside.” “By propping Baltar up and letting the Cylons walk all over us?” “No! I fed information to the resistance. I set up dead drops. There was a dog bowl. I passed along Cylon positions, internal memoranda…” “Riiiiight, Felix. You’re a frakking hero.”

And he leaves. Because what else can he do at this point.

And Caprica looks so sad. “Whatever feelings I had for you have to stop. I let my feelings cloud my judgment. I protected you. I gave your species a second chance. I even turned against a sister Cylon, and for what? I’m a Cylon, Gaius. Somehow I lost sight of that.” “You are much, much more than a machine. You’re a person. A real person. A woman. And you’re in love with me. And it hurts. I know it hurts. But believe me, I am the only one that can make it better. Don’t you see? I am the only one.” …yeah, you started out okay there, Gaius, if you had stopped with ‘I know it hurts’ or pivoted to ‘because it hurts me too’ or something along those lines…buuuuuuut nope. XD

He's not allowed out of the room, Centurion blocks his way. And then belatedly. “And I need you too! ……….maybe I should’ve started with that.”

((once again, resisting the urge to go on a long tangent about the two of them and their relationship, lol. Look, I love them, I’m invested in their eventual happy ending; I get very different things from the two of them than my other primary ships in this fandom; there’s a Lot to unpack particularly in this phase of their relationship and why it falls apart here despite the fact that they never stop loving each other and Because Destiny Said So is in play.))

Kara joins the Circle! And Tigh is very, very clear on the rules, because it is important to him. …probably because that’s one of the ways he can live with himself. Especially after Ellen.

And it really is interesting, the way Sam (and Chief) are trying to walk away from the hell they went through, trying to move on and keep living. Sam walks away, decides he needs a clean break; Chief stays involved because maybe he thinks the Circle needs someone with that perspective on it. And Tigh in his own way is clinging to that…especially given his line about being demons down there on that planet. Clinging so hard to doing this right. To making it justice, and not chaotic vengeful bloodshed like it was before.

“It’s not about settling scores or personal grudges. It’s a jury.” “We’re just dealing with the worst of the worst. People who did more than put on an NCP uniform or make a deal with the Cylons.” Yeah, because…well, like I said before, the Vast Majority of people are going to mostly keep their heads down and try to survive. And that is going to involve, for a lot of them, a limited level of cooperation, and where you draw the line between that and collaboration is important. And, like, look at Cottle and his sense of medical ethics. (lol if Zarek did try to put him on the Circle’s list he was definitely acquitted, but I genuinely don’t think his name came up. Just. A thought that occurred XD)

“None of this is legal, right?” Kara asks. “No, it’s legal,” Chief says. And shows her the orders from Zarek. “…you’ve got to be kidding me.” And Tigh asks for her commitment. And she’s in.

They give her a minute to go over the evidence. And Chief once again points out that they don’t know what Gaeta might have done when he saw that list.

…I bet Chief is wondering if Gaeta was his source. I’m sure a part of him is hoping he was. He likes Gaeta, Gaeta is a likeable dude. He liked Jammer, too, but Jammer’s guilt was a lot more unambiguous and also he wasn’t in a position to be the inside source. [for crossover purposes where I headcanon Chief as Force-sensitive…possible evidence? Lol.]

“My gods, the whole things like a bad dream, only we woke up and the traitors are all still here.” And Kara votes guilty immediately. Seelix says it has to be unanimous, and turns to Chief, who’s the last to vote. And Sam interrupts to talk to Kara. Tigh agrees because she’s already voted. …there’s a Thing here, about Tigh and his sense of duty and loyalty, but I can’t quite find the words for it. Maybe when I get to Crossroads.

“I quit because I’m not looking for ways to keep killing people.” “I need this, Sam.” “What, throwing a few people out an airlock is going to make you feel better about yourself? Because believe me, those aren’t the people who kept you locked in that room.” “They’ll do! And not just for me, but for every person we left back on that planet. Someone’s gotta pay. So you can either get with it, or you can get lost.” “Is that what you want, Kara? You want me to leave?”

“A lot of good people had to pay the price for what they did. Choices they made on New Caprica. Like my wife. And I liked her a lot more than I like Gaeta.” I do love that line.

“Look, Sam…I’m in a different place now. I…I don’t know how else to explain it to you. But I got out of that cell, and it’s like someone painted the world in different colors. And I look at you…and I wanna tear your eyes out just for looking at me. I just wanna hurt someone, and it might as well be you. So you should probably go before that happens.” :((((((((((((( I want to hug both of them so much.

“Baltar, not Gaeta.” “It’s the same damn thing.” “He’s right, Chief. A lot of people died because of them.” And Chief caves, and votes guilty.

Oh no oh no he’s giving her back the dog tags I’m gonna cry :((((((((

“Sam—” and then she pulls him back and kisses him and. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. And then she walks away. And that shot of him alone on the deck in semi-darkness I just. Babies. I love them.

And Gaeta is offered a chance to defend himself…after conviction. And he looks to Chief, who begs him to talk. “We’ll listen.” And then Connor cuts in. And Jean is like “say something.” And Felix says, “what’s the point? I already tried to explain. I’m not gonna beg.” And I can’t really blame him. “Too bad you didn’t grow that spine four months ago,” Tigh says. And Felix remains quiet. But Kara, in her blind unfocused rage and pain, saves him. Unintentionally.

“Beg. Beg.” “Thrace—” “No. Beg. Come on, Felix. Tell ‘em how you were working for the resistance the entire time. COME ON! Tell them about all the important information you gave them. Tell them about the messages, and the dog bowl, and everything else.” And that catches Chief’s attention! “What? What did she just say? What did you say to her? Tell me. What did you say to her?” “There was a yellow dog bowl. It was a signal. It meant there was a message in the garbage dump. I turned it over. It was a signal. It meant there was a message in the garbage dump.” “…that was you. Oh, my g—” And he cuts him free. “There was a yellow dog bowl. I used it. You were wondering who the source was, Colonel. There’s no other way he could’ve known. He’s the only other one who would’ve known.”

And Gaeta just quietly says. “I did what I could.” And slowly gets to his feet. “I don’t know what else I could’ve done.” And he walks through them and away. And the Look Chief and Tigh share.

And Bill and Laura are calling Zarek on this crap. …and Tory is there, too! Because all of the Five have to be involved in this (except Ellen). I doubt she says anything but the fact that she’s There.

“They have a jury. But they don’t get lawyers. They don’t get to showboat for weeks on end while they find ways to blame the system. And they don’t get lasting fame as martyrs or innocent people just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They just disappear. Now. In the grey twilight between the long night of the occupation and the dawn of a new era. You come into office clean, without their blood on your hands.” “Well, thank you. That’s very poetic.” A) I love the look on her face that’s like “someone’s speaking from Direct Personal Experience don’t think I’ve forgotten how you became a household name Tom” and B) just the way she cuts him off I love everything about this. And the boundaries she works to set, just like when she and Tigh were arguing about suicide bombers on New Caprica.

“You think by making the trials public, you’ll find justice?” “Yes, I do.” “Come on, Laura, you’re not that naïve. Let me tell you what’ll happen, if these cases go to trial. It’ll consume this fleet for months, maybe years. People will be lining up to testify against their neighbors. It’ll be a circus, an entertainment for the mob, and you’ll be signing death warrants every day. Is that how you want to spend your term, Laura? As executioner-in-chief?” he’s not Entirely wrong here and she knows it and she hates all of it. Which is why she does what she does next; if he hadn’t had the Circle in play, maybe she would’ve done something different re: the amnesty (like she says she was planning to do), but…again. He’s Not Entirely Wrong. But definitely after Zarek did what he did, she’s backed into a corner there.

Also oh man her speech playing over Kara hanging up the dog tags Sam gave her back and Saul finding Ellen’s clothes and hanging them up and…

“We all feel the need for justice, and we all feel the need for vengeance, and telling the difference between the two can be difficult at times.” And the way it panned over Zarek and Bill there was. Amazing.

And cutting to Baltar and Caprica on the basestar when she says “we are all victims of the Cylons, and none of us can be impartial.”

Caprica leaving Gaius clothes; she did vote to let him stay in the end.

“There will be no prosecutions. I am issuing a general pardon for every human being in this fleet. This will not be a popular move today, but I truly believe this is the only way for us to move forward in strength. In the spirit of healing and reconciliation.” And that it goes to Tory when she says that.

And lol once again Bill leads the applause for Laura I love it.

Gaeta still eating alone. Until Chief goes over to him.

I do appreciate that Gaeta didn’t have to cut his hair again when he resumed his military position. I like Floofy!Gaeta XD

Torn:

This weird-ass fucking arc here we go!

Baltar gets the previously-on.

Hurray for beachside fantasies! ((…I mean, I know some of it is because of the lakehouse, but it is interesting how many of his fantasies involve water. Mostly in context of the Selkie AU which I probably will write more of someday XD) And Head!Six is back. “I thought you’d abandoned me to your Cylon comrades.” “Would I do that?” “You’ve always been more…unpredictable than your flesh and blood counterparts.” “A man who loves women as much as you do should’ve learned that a long time ago.” “I’m a slow learner.” “Then take this period to learn all you can about the Cylons. You’ll need it in the days ahead.” And now she tells him about projection! “What are you, really? You’re either connected to the woman I knew on Caprica, or you’re a damaged part of my subconscious struggling for self-expression. So which is it?” “I’m an angel of God sent here to help you. Just as I always have been.”

And he’s no less afraid (of her) when he wakes up, for all he pretends not to be in the dream.

((and now I’m distracted by wondering where the clothes he was given came from. Were they. Like. Just what he was wearing when they left New Caprica, only cleaned? Did they get taken from one of the Fives? I mean, they’re a little too…sedate in color for that But XD))

Yeaaaaah time would Absolutely not feel real in that room, especially when he’s alone most of the time.

“We’re all part of one big ecosystem.” “…yes, I can feel it breathing…” that’s Fascinating and I love it.

And then Caprica comes in and D’Anna pulls away a little. And they start asking him questions about Earth. “Do you know how to find it?” “Not really, no. That’s unfortunate. There was a hope—my hope—that if you knew about Earth, it would justify keeping you alive a little longer.” “Wait. Wait! When I say I do not know exactly where Earth is, that is not to say I don’t know a great deal about it’s possible location. I spent hours—days—weeks—months!” Lol. I mean, he’s actually probably telling the truth here; along with the other projects he was working on for the science part of his job. But just. Watching him flail after D’anna pulls that “what a shame” thing.

And Caprica is still being a little distant. “We’ll get back to you.”

And he asks the real question! “Why do you care about finding Earth?” and the look on his face when D’anna tells him “we’ve decided it’s going to be our new home.”

41,422!

Back to training exercises; Lee and Starbuck are back in their cockpits, Helo is still acting XO.

Aaaaaand collision when Starbuck ignored orders and went out of formation.

“How’d you land this thing?” “Pointed it towards the deck and stopped when I got here.” Lol.

Lee benches Starbuck which. Yeah honestly kinda fair at the moment.

And Tigh is hallucinating Ellen’s voice! And he goes into the hall looking for her and…

…

Yeah.

https://textsfrombsg.tumblr.com/post/6491550426/submitted-by-derevko

Awwww, Kacey!

“Gimme a hug!”

I wonder when it changed from Camp Oil Slick to Dogsville.

“The last thing I need is a two-year-old friend. And Kacey does not need me in her life. So do us both a favor and don’t bring her around here again.” Can’t really blame Julia for being Annoyed, but also…yeaaaaaaaah.

FUCK THIS SUBPLOT WITH A RUSTY SPOON.

And yep, he wasn’t lying, Gaeta’s building on the same research. “If there was one thing I learned about Baltar, it was his extraordinary capacity for self-preservation. I think he wanted to find Earth because he wanted to get there.” That is. Certainly at least partially true. And also probably part of it was that it was an interesting and challenging Science Problem for him to solve.

“Initially, I thought the doctor might be off his meds as well.” That shouldn’t be as funny as it is XD

I do love that little flash of her soft smile as they’re walking down the hallway and he’s bitching about his conflicted feelings.

Random naked Eight doing her naked Tai Chi because Eights are just very comfortable with their bodies XD and he’s distracted for a moment because…well, yeah, and then he’s like “…sorry, didn’t mean to intrude.” And LOL him putting his hand up to cover his eyes as Caprica drags him away.

And he gets her to actually explain projecting. “Have you ever daydreamed and imagined you were somewhere else?” “…I have an active imagination.” LOL “We choose to see our environment in any way we wish. You see us as standing in a hallway, but I see it as a forest. Filled with trees, birds, sunlight…” “Like the walks you and I used to take. On Caprica.” “…the aesthetic is what gives me pleasure. Not the specific memories.”

I wonder if they can do this outside of basestars, or if they need the network/datastream to do it?

“Instead of looking at blank walls, I choose to surround myself with a vision of God’s creation.”

And now he’s back on the beach with Head!Six. …and starts to wonder if it’s the same. “Is it a coincidence?” she asks. “What are you saying? Is there a connection? Because of my experiences with you—am I a Cylon?!”

And back to Caprica. “What was that?” “…nothing. Just thinking out loud. Silly me.”

((Like, I know that the writers specifically had a rule that anyone other than Roslin or Adama was fair game for a Cylon reveal, but I genuinely think that it could never have been Baltar. It would have broken too many mythology and thematic rules. He and Helo are the ones who never could be Cylons because of the way the narrative is structured around them; Bill and Laura could never be revealed as Cylons because of the emotional rules/core of the story.))

And Racetrack is willing to fly second chair for Athena, and calls her Boomer, and she’s like “…that was someone else.” And then Helo gets everyone to pitch new callsigns and most of them are terrible jokes (as callsigns often are) but then someone suggests Athena and. Yep! …and by someone I mean Hotdog XD “usually accompanied by the goddess of victory” and the little SMILE the Agathons share and their hands and that little kiss and I love them.

Aaaaand in comes Tigh who’s still in a Mood.

Dead Man’s Chest is apparently another card game besides Triad!

Aaaaaaaand now Kat is needling at the gap/wound between the people who were on the planet and the people who were in the fleet and.

Helo does briefly step in to defend the crew, but knows when to back down, even when Tigh takes a…not even really a shot at Athena, more at the whole Situation. “While you were pinning wings on your Cylon girlfriend, our people were strapping bombs to their chests to take the bastards out. So forgive me if I don’t get all misty about your sacrifices.”

Kara and Saul have never gotten along quite as well, it’s a problem.

“You seem distracted, Gaius.” “…do I?” “You can rest easy. Your navigational data and your rescue of the child have gone a long way to convincing the others, for now.” And then he’s doing the math, and she starts softening a little, “I used to think that you and I might have a baby one day…”

(still clinging to my headcanon that the glowyspine is related to conception, even though I know there’s an Official explanation)

“There are twelve Cylon models, but in the entire occupation, I only ever saw seven. Here, only the same seven. Who are the final five?” “I can’t talk about them.” “Can’t, or won’t?” “I can’t. it’s complicated, but we don’t talk about them.”

Aaaaand now we get to the Actual plot of this episode! “Six, we have a problem.”

Basestar hybrid yay!!!!

The datastream here is fairly literal and it’s kind of beautiful.

And that Four does seem to think the disease would download with the victims which…I don’t think that makes a whole lot of sense but what do I know. …but it is probably better to assume it might and take precautions just in case.

And Head!Six orders him to volunteer. “You have to prove to them you can be counted on in an emergency. Show them you’re worth keeping alive.” “And if you are a Cylon, one of the five you haven’t seen yet, wouldn’t you rather just die and get it over with?”

And he does volunteer, and Caprica’s face when she says “what?”

“A truly selfless act…” Well. Not really. But.

“Here’s to knowing that someone will always have your back.” “The sentiment’s good, but in my book, trust is an overrated commodity.” And everyone’s drunk and everyone’s still hurting and Kat and Kara are always good at Escalating a situation.

“Every colonist that landed on New Caprica was loyal…to a point. It was amazing watching those people that you thought you knew go over to the Cylons.” Yesssssssss.

And Helo’s like “I…really don’t want to talk about the problems Tigh and Kara are causing, in part because Kara is one of my best friends, and in part because after my own experiences in occupied territory and coming back to the fleet, I do get it. But the Admiral is asking me directly, so…I can’t not.” “Suddenly, it’s like if you weren’t in the ground war, you can’t be trusted.” “They’re destroying morale and unit cohesion.” “They both know better.” “I don’t think they care, sir.” Right now, no.

“Atrophy. Don’t ask me how. I’ll be dead in a thousand light years.” I really genuinely love the basestar hybrids, they’re Amazing.

Also the way all these…disconnected/sort of floating/almost…dissociated isn’t the word I want but. Just. The Vibe of these sequences on the basestar during these first couple episodes is Really Cool.

Also Baltar in a flight suit is the weirdest fucking visual XD

Lol, of course the Twos are the ones who pay attention to the Hybrids’ babbling.

“She is the baseship in a very real sense.” “Mind gone mad.” “She experiences life very differently than we do, Gaius. She swims in the heavens, laughs at stars, breathes in cosmic dust…maybe Leoben is right. Maybe she does see God.”

And that ‘to know the face of god is to know madness’ (with the ‘to love another person is to see the face of god’ corollary) pops back into my head…

Oh man the creepy floaty dead raiders.

He’s trying to be detached and analytical but. His face. At least until he sees the beacon they brought on board.

“I would never do anything to hurt you.” Oh, man, this scene with this Six. Just. Oh shit. And she asked him to kill her, and he doesn’t want to, and then she accuses him of doing this on purpose and does she believe that or is she trying to get him to do what she asked in the first place and then he does and. Man.

Oh shit. “I see nothing. Nothing of consequence. There’s nothing left to do here.”

“Whatever you think I did, I didn’t do it, honestly!” “We followed your coordinates and found a disease with no treatment or cure.”

And they’re arguing and then D’anna just slams her hand into the datastream. And they have to abandon that basestar. And the Hybrid is screaming.

“Mists of dreams drip along the nascent echo, and love no more. End of line.”

“The Hybrid objects.” “She doesn’t get a vote. Jump the ship.”

“You noticed nothing suspicious on the infected ship?” And Caprica finds the proof he’s lying when he says ‘nothing,’ as she goes through the pictures he took.

And Bill goes to talk to Kara and Saul.

“Give me your sidearm.” “…what?” “Your sidearm.” And she has no idea what’s going on, but she does pull out the gun for him. He cocks it and tosses it back on the table.

“There’s a live round in that!” Tigh says. “One of you, I don’t care who, pick that up and shoot me,” Bill says. “Admiral, I don’t—” “I didn’t say to talk. You’ve done enough of that already. I said to pick up that weapon and shoot.” “You gonna turn the rest of my pilots against each other? Poison the crew? You’ve already done that. Both of you.” “Yeah, well, if you’re looking for an apology—” and he shoves her chair over. “You were like a daughter to me once. No more. You’re malcontented and a cancer. And I won’t have you on my ship. So you have a choice. You figure out how to become a human being again and an officer, or you can find another place to live, off of this ship. You’re dismissed.” That first bit was a lie, she is still his daughter. But. “You gonna kick me out of my chair, too? Don’t patronize me. Say what you came here to say.” “If you need time, Saul, you take all the time you want. But I gotta run a ship. The last thing I need is a one-eyed drunk sitting down here sowing discontent and disobedience. So I’ll tell you again Saul. You can pick up that gun and kill me, or you can go back to your quarters until you’re ready to act like the man I’ve known for the past thirty years.” And Saul empties the gun. “That man doesn’t exist anymore, Bill. And you won’t be seeing me again.”

Man. Just. The way he gets from there to how he reacts to the Reveal at the end of the season I just. I love Saul. Every time I watch this show, I love him more and more.

And Kara is cutting off her hair and everyone’s just kind of baaaaaacking away from her and her knife. But she is resetting, as best she can.

And Saul is just. Back in his quarters. Drinking.

And she goes to see Kacey yay!!!!

Who really is a very adorable two-year-old. And probably swears as much as Kara now XD

Oh Kara’s face when she holds her my heart :(((((((((

And Saul staring at the picture and holding Ellen’s jacket and……..man.

And Racetrack is so excited to see the nebula! And Athena’s like “something is Off” and then they see the drifting raiders and the basestar and… “When God’s anger awakens, even the mighty shall fall.” “Frak, Athena, we need to get out of here!!!”

A Measure of Salvation:

Previously on is…Lee, maybe? Maybe Helo? Does Helo ever get a previously-on?

Oh man the way they keep cutting to Athena as they board the basestar and. Anxiety.

Also everyone else has a helmet even lee why doesn’t she get one.

(also lol because Dean Stockwell is Sir Not Appearing In This Two Parter there are no dead Ones XD At least the Fours get stuff to do this episode…)

Oh, man, Athena’s face when she kneels next to her dead brother.

And now she’s putting her hand in the data stream and I know she’s immune but aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Oh god the datastream is all sludgy. “You sure you want to do that?” “It’s how it works.”

And Lee’s brevet promotion to Commander has been revoked, he’s back to Major.

Five living Cylons! A Two, a Four, a Six, an Eight, a Five.

And they’re praying.

Athena cradles her sister Eight’s head. Eight calls her a traitor, then tells her to save herself. “Get away from us.” And the Six tells her the same thing that other Six told Gaius.

“Infected?” “…son of a bitch!” Lol Matthias’s tone XD

“Uh, Galactica, Apollo. We have a situation down here.” You sure do!

((lol imagine if their recon ran into Gaius and the other basestar that would’ve gone real weird real fast I’m sure someone’s written that fic but))

41,420! …wait, who died in the last episode I’m confused.

Yay Cottle! And yeah, this is Absolutely the kind of shit the military would have an Established Procedure for, he just has to brief command on the specifics since it’s his department.

And yeah, while Cottle wanting the beacon to study makes sense, Bill deciding it’s too risky also makes perfect sense, so he doesn’t fight it and just moves on to the question of the five survivors/prisoners.

“How many prisoners?” “How many you got?”

And the basestar goes Boom!

“Massive energy discharge from the basestar! …it exploded, sir.”

Back to the other basestar for a little light torture!

“How long have you planned to betray us?” Yeah, because that was a STUPID lie you told. Like. I get that you were panicking because of that Six and what she said but like. Lying about the beacon when you already have a picture of it is going to cause you way more problems than it solves!

And Caprica’s crushed face, and D’anna’s disappointment.

“You’re only making this harder on yourself.” “We know about the beacon, Gaius. You knew it was out there. You knew it contained a deadly virus.” “This is a most profound understanding. Yes, I did discover it on the baseship, and I should’ve told you sooner, but I thought you’d link me to the virus, I was wrong, it was a mistake, it will never happen again, and…”

And Caprica is on the edge of tears because after everything she does still love him. “I’m sorry, Gaius.” As the Centurions come in.

And D’anna’s little sad smile. “Things would have been so much simpler had you only told the truth.” And she adds, very matter-of-factly, “We think you know more about this virus, and we intend to find out.”

“Relax. Have a drink.” Head!Six says. “I can’t. The pain.” “It’s all in your head, Gaius. Pain, pleasure, they’re all just neural impulses sent to the brain. You decide how to interpret them. They can be pleasant…or unpleasant.”

[gotta love when I’m watching this particular torture scene and the dog interrupts saying ‘throw the ball plz’ XD]

[I did in fact pause to throw the ball what kind of monster do you think I am]

And Caprica’s face as she listens to him scream, and turns and walks away. And the look D’Anna gives her is soft, and sympathetic. Almost empathetic.

“I want it to stop, Gaius. I don’t want you to feel this pain. And neither does Caprica, do you?” “No.” “I love you,” he says, looking at Caprica, and her face oh man.

“You feel anything yet?” “Yeah, I feel sick. Sick of you bugging me.” “You didn’t touch any infected skinjobs.” “Not my fault you’re clumsy.” “You can kiss my infected ass.” Lol I love Hotdog. And Racetrack. I’m getting better at recognizing her out of her helmet!

“Well, you can kiss it, but it’s not infected.” LOL COTTLE I LOVE YOU.

And humans are immune but Athena still might not be so she has to stay in quarantine. And oh no Helo waiting outside and his face. “Please tell me she’s okay.” And Helo very briefly accuses Cottle of prejudice, but is more focused on reassuring Sharon as best he can and then “you come for me the second you know” and I love those two so fucking much.

Cottle goes to check on the prisoners, and has them take the Five. “He’s the furthest gone.” And he can’t cure them, but he can keep them alive.

And some medical technobabble about a vaccine but Cylons have an antibody that will break it down so it won’t function as a cure, and they’ll need several injections in close intervals. It’ll treat it but not cure it.

Lee asks “should we bother keeping them alive.” Which. …I mean, yeah, it does need to be asked. Helo suggests keeping them alive to question for intelligence. And Bill agrees, with Roslin pointing out that dangling the vaccine as a bribe to get them to talk might work. “They don’t need to know it’s a stop-gap.” So far, so good, but I do know how this meeting ends soooooooo yeah.

Hey, we’re using Helo’s name! “Karl’s wife called it ‘the prayer to the cloud of the unknowing’.” I think that’s. like. One of three or four times in the Entire Series someone calls him Karl, lol. “She said they only use it when they’re facing an imminent death that’s final, no chance of resurrection. They were ready to die.” And Laura points out, just because they’re ready to die doesn’t mean they don’t want to live/none of them would take the chance if it was offered.

And the Four takes it!

God I love his voice.

“It infected everything. Baseship. Raiders. Centurions. Until we were finally abandoned by the other Cylon ships.” “Why not just put you under quarantine until they found a cure?” “Fear of spreading the disease. They told us there was a bioelectric feedback component to the pathogen, it corrupts how our brains manage our immune systems. If one of us dies and is resurrected, the disease will follow, infecting the resurrection ship and the fleet.” I still say this makes very little sense, but again if there’s Even A Chance I can understand not wanting to take the risk. “Why were you in this area?” “We were sent here to look for the lion nebula. Baltar…said it would point the way to Earth.” And reveals that Baltar is alive and on the baseship, helping them find Earth! Huh, I thought they didn’t know until the algae planet, guess I misremembered.

“We want a new beginning. Much like you. I gave you information. She said that there was a cure.” “Doc Cottle will be giving you the medicine.”

The Fours really do need more love [which is why there’s one in TOB]

…I still feel like it’s weird that Lee is the one who immediately jumps to genocide via biowarfare. I mean, not that he’s willing to do it, but that it was his idea. …granted, I’m not sure whose idea it should have been, out of the people in the room. But…ah well, this is a Weird Ass Arc anyway.

“You sure the virus will download into a new body?” “The Cylons are sure of it.” Again, even if they’re not sure, making the choice to sacrifice the infected basestar Just In Case is a horrible but…you can see the logic of the decision. Even if the Hybrid objected. So, if we’re going this route, following that same logic only in reverse “we can’t be sure but it’s worth trying.” “The fact that they left their wounded out there to die alone with no hope of rescue tells me all I need to know.”

And Helo is the one who calls it what it is. Using the word genocide.

“They’re not human. They were built, not born. No fathers, no mothers, no sons, no daughters.” “I had a daughter. I held her in my arms.” “She was half-human. These are things. Dangerous things.” “You can rationalize it any way you want. We do this, we’re no different than they are.” And Laura says, “I respectfully disagree. They started this war, and not being content with wiping out billions of human beings, they pursued us relentlessly through the galaxy, determined to wipe us out.” And then Helo brings up what they were trying on New Caprica which. Was a Mistake. Because he’s not wrong but that is Not the argument to use.

((also this whole situation is…weird, the writing is weird, Choices Were Made.))

“You would serve your fleet better if you would remember that the Cylons are a deadly enemy of the human race.” “I’m talking about right and wrong. I’m talking about losing a piece of our souls. No one wants to hear that, right? Let’s keep it on me. Yeah, I’m married to a Cylon. Who walked through hell for all of us how many times? And she’s not half anything. How do we know there aren’t others like her? She made a choice. She’s a person.” This is absolutely true; but there’s a point (and we’re past that point) that you can’t wait and hope for that. “They’re a race of people. Wiping them out with a biological weapon is a crime against—it’s a crime against humanity.” “But they’re not human, they’re programmed,” Lee says. “We will take your input under advisement,” Laura says. “Thank you both.”

And once again, we have a lot of that same rhetoric used—for the suicide bombers, for how the Circle was supposed to operate…that recurring theme of ‘we have to be worthy of survival’/’there are some boundaries we have to maintain/some lines we Cannot Cross or we will lose ourselves.’ And the Pegasus arc, too. And just. …again, this arc is weird for a lot of reasons but it does hit hard on that point once again and does so fairly well.

Back to the torture porn! …well I think I’m funny. …although actually the torture isn’t super graphic. Although the minimal BGM, just the machine whining and Baltar’s shaky breathing and occasionally screaming is. Effective.

“I can guide you through the torment and beyond, but you have to do the work.” “I’ll do anything,” he tells Head!Six. and D’anna hears him. “Tell us what we want to know,” she says, softly. “Look at me,” Head!Six says. “When you make love to me, you don’t always think about me.” LOL. “Your mind wanders, I know that. You think of equations, puzzles, your laundry…” okay I love that ‘equations’ is on that list just. What a Delightful character note. “It’s the nature of the mind to disconnect from the body, enjoining on its own. Separate your mind from your body. Keep your mind in that room. Use your intellect against her. Reason. Logic. Analysis. Find the holes in her psyche.” “I can’t—the pain—” “The pain’s only in your body. So keep your body here with me. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”

“This is what the absence of pain feels like,” D’anna says. And that little almost wink. “It’s easy to forget.” This is so fucked up I love it.

“It was a coincidence.” “There’s no such thing as coincidence. God wills the universe according to his design.” “Focus on her. As a Cylon, not a woman. Be a scientist. Examine her faith.” As she starts undoing her dress.

“I’m a scientist. And as a scientist, I believe if God exists, our knowledge of him is imperfect. Why? Because the stories and myths we have are the products of men. The passage of time. Religion in practice is based on a theory. Impossible to prove, yet you bestow it with absolutes like “there is no such thing as coincidence.”” “It’s called faith.” “Absolute belief in God’s will means there’s a reason for everything. Everything. And yet…you can’t help asking yourself how God can allow death and destruction and then despise yourself for asking, but the truth is, if we knew God’s will, we’d all be gods, wouldn’t we?” I love that last line so much. “I can see it in your eyes, D’Anna. You’re frustrated. You’re conflicted. Let me help you. Let me help you change. Find a way to reconcile your faith with fact. Find a way toward a rational universe.” As she’s selecting her next torture instrument.

“Give your body to me. Only your mind is there. Feel me. Feel this where she wants you to feel pain. Look at me. Look at me, Gaius. Do you want me to believe you’re worth saving? Do you? Say it.” “I want you to believe in me! Don’t stop! Don’t stop! Please! Please, don’t stop! You have to believe in me! You’re all I have left!” and D’Anna’s face, because as far as she knows, he’s talking to her. “Now tell me you believe in me. Tell me you believe in my strength!” “I believe in you! I believe in you.” And he whispers, crying, “I love you with all my heart.” And that’s. that’s a lot of blood from his ear. Wow.

And D’anna just sort of…petting him as he passes out.

YAY ATHENA IS OKAY! “Something about fetal blood cells, whatever, I’m immune” aww that tacklehug the way she jumps up to him I LOVE THEM THEY’RE SO CUTE ONLY GOOD THINGS FOR THE FIGHTING AGATHONS. “Our baby saved my life. She’s gone forever, and she saved my life. Hera kept us together.” And she’s unfastening his belt for Victory Sex and he can’t help thinking about the genocide that’s being discussed, and he tells her what the plan is. And she starts crying. “The infection’s gonna spread everywhere.” And he’s crying a little, too. That shaky breath before it cuts to Bill and Laura.

(Also I love her curled up in her chair super cute.)

“There’s a point I’d like to make,” Bill says. “The law forbids me to use biological weapons without a direct Presidential order.” “Which means you’re passing the buck.” “On this one, yes. Helo’s right on one thing. We start destroying entire races, even mechanical races, we’re liable to tear off a piece of man’s soul.” “The Cylons are coming to Earth. If they find us, they’re coming for us. Those are the stakes. They always have been, Bill.”

And Athena is. Not going to fight it. “You think I don’t know that? I made a choice to wear a uniform. To be a person.” “You were a person before you put on that uniform, okay? You were a person before I fell in love with you. You don’t have to prove that.” “I have to prove it every day. Let me tell you something, Helo. My people may die. My entire race may be wiped out. But this Cylon will keep her word, even if that means she’s the last Cylon left in the universe. Can a human being do that?”

“Posterity doesn’t really look too kindly on genocide.” “You’re making an assumption that posterity will define this as genocide. If they do, at least there’ll be someone alive to hate us for it.” …yeah. Yeah, that is a point she’s making. I don’t know that it outweighs the rest, but…it is a point. “The Cylons are our mistake. We created them.” And she gives the order. “The use of biological weapons is authorized.” “So say we all.” “So say we all.”

Athena is even flying in the mission oh man.

Starbuck’s back in her cockpit, yay!

And Helo is Doing A Thing because Helo is a Good Man and he will not cross this line, even if it means he has to cross another.

Gotta love when murdering five people is the lesser of two evils.

And there’s Something about Gaeta relaying the ‘terminate the prisoners’ order after All of the Everything.

And Lee is leading the execution party. Along with Matthias. Only to find the prisoners are all already dead in their cell.

“They were dead before the resurrection ship was in range. They didn’t download the disease. We missed our window.”

“Seems like they’re always coming for one of us.” Aww, Helo. “I’m not a traitor. I love my people. I love this ship. Besides you, the first thing I wanna see on any morning are the lights in that CIC. I did what I thought was right. If it was a mistake, fine, I can live with that. It’s you I can’t live without.” And she holds him. And I love them both so much. “I’ll always love you, Helo.”

“Someone did this manually,” Bill says. “Someone?” Laura asks. “Seems to me there’s only one or two likely suspects. Who will lead the investigation?” “No one. I’m closing the book on this one.” “How convenient.” And it was an accidental contamination based on Cottle’s findings. “According to Cottle, the virus was an exact match to one reported over 3000 years ago, right around the time the 13th colony left Kobol.” “The beacon was a signpost to Earth.” “We’re on the right trail.” “So are the Cylons.”

Well that was certainly a two-parter! But I love Helo and Athena so goddamn much, that’s what I’m choosing to care about right now, lol.

Hero:

Another weird one, hurray. Uh, to be completely honest, I have very little memory of this episode? I mean, I remember the broad/overall plot but no real Specifics. …probably because none of this is ever mentioned again.

Bill gets the previously-on!

Hi Corinne!

I think these flashbacks are recent enough that we won’t have to see that crappy wig from the ones in the beginning of S2, at least.

LOL THE PAINTING I FORGOT ABOUT IT.

Laura’s hair is really cute here.

Awwww, Billy gets mentioned!! I love Billy and I miss him a lot.

45 years in the military which just. Highlights the way the Caprica retcon makes absolutely no sense.

((as ‘one last time’ from Hamilton starts playing in my head… “after 45 years of my life/dedicated to its service with an upright zeal…”))

I forget what CBDR stands for, I know it came up at one point. I do not care enough to Google it but.

Lol did Bulldog also bring his own brain to the party.

Helo’s ‘huh?’ face is great.

Starbuck got her haircut evened out, I see.

Starbuck’s ‘wtf’ face is even greater.

41,421! Bulldog Immediately gets added to the count, I love it.

…they are actually still using the Cylon detector XD I guess at some point it got tweaked and put back into use? Or a different one got built, IDK. But yeah, that’s definitely a useful thing to know.

Lol, Cottle. “The conspiracy theorists are going to be disappointed.”

Okay, so Bulldog went missing three years ago, which means… if we add up the ~10 months of S1 + S2, plus the two timeskips, plus however long between the exodus and now, it’s been somewhere between two and two and a half years since the miniseries. So the Valkyrie mission has to have been between six months and a year, give or take, before the attack. Maybe a bit longer, to allow for rounding. And since Cylon infiltrator agents like Caprica and Boomer had already been in position for at least a year at that point…yeah, no, this stealth mission did not kick off anything, even before the Final Five reveal stuff Conclusively proves otherwise.

…now I want noodles.

((…I keep calling them ‘basestars,’ but I keep hearing ‘baseships.’ Did I…did I totally make up ‘basestar’ lol.))

“After a while I felt the institution no longer had anything to offer me, so I left.” Lol.

“Thought maybe the Cylons had beaten the bullshit attitude out of you.” LOL.

Ooooooh was he on the infected basestar??? Or did a second one get infected and also cut off? But then where did the pursuing raiders come from…?

Hi, Random Three! (oh man especially since this comes off the episode of a different D’Anna torturing Baltar…I wonder if they do most of it? I had assumed it was the Fours because doctors, but…)

Okay, yeah, it was about a year prior to the attacks, I did do the math right!

And of course the Taurons were causing issues; which given that Adama is ethnically Tauron…

Roslin is…about 85% sure this cover story is just that, I think. Especially when Bill says ‘there was no distress call, no sign of ejection, so I just left.’

So she asks Tory and Bulldog to leave, Tory will see if she can track down any family, and LOL THE LOOK SHE GIVES BILL. “So, you gonna tell me what really happened?” And he just says “you’ll have to trust me. It’s my mess, I’ll fix it.”

And this dream sooooort of supports that the Primary Three is Final Cut!Three instead of Downloaded!Three? Both being on Galactica and also I thiiiiink that’s the same yellow shirt? Except they can access each other’s memories in the datastream…

And the door says ‘end of line.’

I really love the super casual threesome reveal XD (way back when I wrote something about how D’Anna brings Caprica in for it; I found it on an external hard drive a while ago; I can post it somewhere if anyone actually wants to see it)

Hurray for the creepy eye socket and Tigh in his Dark Place still. But he actually is together enough to have this actual conversation with Bill when he comes in to tell him about Novacek. “So are you here to talk to your friend or your XO?” …well, closer than he was last time we saw him, at least, but maybe not fully there yet XD. “Last time I checked I was neither. Oh, yeah, I get it. This is gonna be a little complicated for you, Admiral. You gonna tell him what you did?” “I did what I had to do.” “So tell him.” “It’s not gonna make a difference. It’s in the past.” “You’re equivocating.” “I don’t know why the frak I came here.” [if I ever do actually do a soulmate AU, even though I’m mainly interested in how it would impact Caprica and Athena coming from Cylon culture ((since it would not be an ‘everyone has a soulmate’ AU)) …anyway, there are a Couple reasons why I’d write it out that Bill has two—Laura (romantic) and Saul (platonic) but just. I love the scenes the two of them have together.]

…still doing the thing with Ellen’s clothes, I see.

Saul not quite sure what to do with the hug, lol.

“Drink?” “You have no idea.” “Yes, I do.” …ow.

Ooooh, and that scene paralleled with Bill and Lee talking.

“He still does his share of ass-covering.” LOL.

Aaaaaand, yep, Saul is going to spill the beans but in fairness when he brought it up he thought Bill had told him. “…he didn’t tell you, did he. That son of a bitch.”

“I shot him down.” “If you did, you had your reasons. You were following orders, preventing something worse, right?” “No. I shot him down to avoid detection. Protect the mission. So it wouldn’t be discovered by the Cylons. The sole purpose was to ascertain the likelihood of a Cylon strike.”

Oh man Lee’s face as he’s putting all this together.

“You’re saying that…that we knew they were out there? That they could launch an attack on the Colonies?” “We didn’t know anything for sure. there were theories in some circles that the reason the Cylons had stayed dormant for so long was because they were building a war machine, preparing a strike.” “But I thought…I thought that no one had seen or heard from the Cylons in over 40 years.” “That’s true. …partially. The Admiralty had grown restless with the Adar administration. They thought we were resting on our laurels, unprepared to protect from an attack. My mission was to escort a recon ship just over the armistice line, gather evidence.” “And if the Cylons discovered you across the line…then they would see that as…” “An act of war.” Again, even at this point, the timeline adds up—maybe Bulldog’s mission sped things up, but preparation for the attack was already underway and had been for at least a year; we’ve known that since the miniseries, since Caprica and Gaius had explicitly been together for two years at that point.

“Don’t do this,” Tigh says in the flashback. “Think about it. You don’t want to do this.” “Do you have any idea what it will mean if he’s discovered?” And Bill gives the order to launch a ship-to-ship missile.

“The sooner you admit [that you know it’s true], the sooner you’ll get that haunted look out of your eyes. Sometimes surviving can be its own death sentence. I know that.” Saul. Ow. :((((((

“All those years, I told myself I didn’t know what they were. But I was just lying to myself. Pretending that it couldn’t be true. …it is true. I started it. Initiated it.”

Again. We already know the math doesn’t add up, and I think…I think if he weren’t in the moment of confronting his guilt and all the feelings Bulldog brought up, he would probably realize it, because Boomer had been under his command for two years, which means the Cylons were already sending their agents in at least that long ago. (Although…timeline conflict here; I thought she had only ever been on Galactica?)

And Lee is trying to absolve his guilt. “They put you there. You had no choice. You were one mission, you were one man. One man.” “It only takes one,” Bill says, which is true.

Awwwww, Caprica checking in with D’Anna, being a good girlfriend. “I think God’s trying to tell you something.” “It’s about Gaius, isn’t it?” “No, it’s not. It’s about something much bigger than that.”

Right, this is the part where D’Anna keeps setting herself up to download for Revelation purposes. And ordering the Centurion to forget.

OOOOOH FLASHES OF THE TEMPLE. …and these memory bits come from Downloaded so IDEK anymore.

I really do wonder what the resurrection goop is.

“There’s something beautiful, miraculous, between life and death.” And the other Three and the Six are. Concerned.

Starbuck is watching the footage of the dogfight and has Questions. “Why the hell do they keep missing?” Because, yeah, they’re missing by a fair margin.

Bulldog doing pushups again, sometimes on fists, sometimes on flat hands.

Oooh, and Kara brings her concerns to Saul! “Novacek was hit and smoking, flying straight and level. Any nugget could have made that shot. They let him escape.” “…Cylons don’t do anything by accident.” “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking, too.”

…Bulldog, if you choke him with the pipe, he’s not gonna be able to answer your questions…

“When I saw they left that door wide open for me…” “Is that what they did? Did they leave the door open for you? Did they let you escape?” “That’s not what I meant! That’s not the truth! I beat them! I beat them at their own game! I frakking killed her, and I escaped! You trying to take that away from me?!”

Goddamn Tigh is frickin badass at hand-to-hand I love it. Even with one eye and coming off an unknown length of time spent drunk and grieving.

“The truth hurts. But it’s better to know the truth than live a lie. We’re all soldiers. We’re all expendable. We did what we had to do to protect the mission. It’s ugly, but there it is. The Cylons let you go. The question is why? Ask yourself that, Danny. Because up until a minute ago you were doing exactly what they wanted you to do. You almost gave them what they wanted. Tell you a dirty little secret, the toughest part of getting played is losing your dignity, feeling like you are not worth the oxygen you are sucking down. You get used to it. You start to believe it. You start to love it. It’s like a bottle that never runs dry. You can keep reaching for it over and over and over again.” “So how do you put that bottle away, Saul?” “I don’t know. One day, you just decide to…get up and walk out of your room.”

…there’s a Whole Heck Of A Lot to unpack there holy shit. About. About a lot of people, about a lot of storylines. About Boomer, about Gaius, about Ellen, about…damn. Tigh says the coolest things no wonder he grows on me more and more with each rewatch.

((also I do find it interesting that, despite being a lieutenant (i.e., same rank as Kara and Helo and most of the other main military people except Lee were at the start of the series), Bulldog is on first-name terms with Bill and Saul in a way that pretty much no one else is.))

“Your resignation? You have got to be kidding me.” “I said before, we can’t hide from the things we’ve done. I see no other way around this situation. Maybe it’s time, Laura.” “Sit down, Bill. I think you’re being naïve.” “Naïve?” “Did it ever occur to you that the Admiralty may have set you up to provoke a war they wanted? It’s naïve to think that horrible things that we can’t understand have simple explanations, because simple explanations make us feel like we have control when we don’t. We know why the Cylons attacked us. And it wasn’t any one thing, oh my gods. We did a thousand things, good and bad, every day for 40 years to pave the way for those attacks.” AND ALSO THEY WERE DEMONSTRABLY ALREADY UNDERWAY FOR A YEAR BEFORE THE VALKYRIE MISSION. Even though they don’t know much/anything about Caprica’s mission, they do know that Boomer was in place for at least two years, discounting if she actually went to an Academy or all of her records there were backstopped, we don’t know. “Something has to be done.” And she still wants to give him the medal. “This was before I heard about this resignation of yours. So, hmm. I’d like to propose this. You seem hell-bent on paying some kind of penance for whatever it is you think you’ve done. So instead of resigning, why don’t you get up and walk out of here, meet me on the port deck tomorrow evening, and let me pin a frakking medal to your chest?” “I can’t.” “It’s not for you. It’s for them. Stand up there, acknowledge your fleet, and give them what they need: a hero. And that’ll be your penance. Even if it kills you.” She is very much not wrong and I love her.

I wonder who those three random civilians on the dais are.

Aww, Cottle sees him off and there. …may actually be a psychiatrist/psychologist/therapist in the fleet??? Given that Cottle is specifically sending him to a Dr. Stoffa and we’ve already confirmed that he’s physically okay. “It’ll take time,” he says. Which. Yep.

And Bill gives him back his uniform, and Bulldog tries to refuse, but. “Once a pilot, always a pilot.” “Yes, sir.” And they exchange another salute, this one much less Tense than at the beginning of the episode.

…I think they reordered these scenes, unless this is Supposed to be a flashback? Since Bill is in his blue uniform with Bulldog but in his dress greys for both the medal ceremony and the next scene in his quarters…I think reordered, since they don’t cut back to the medal ceremony which would’ve made more sense for a flashback.

Saul has an actual Eyepatch now, yay! The real sign his coming out of his dark place.

“I heard you won a medal.” “Yeah. They give ‘em out for anything these days. Good behavior, attendance, playing well with others…” And the LOOKS ON THEIR FACES. The way Saul won’t quite look at him, and the way Bill is looking at Saul, and…I love them. “I need you back in CIC. It’s just not the same without you there, intimidating the inmates.” “No, that’s not what I came here to talk to you about.” “Okay.”

…Saul has been keeping himself shaved while in his dark place.

“You want to tell me what happened to Ellen?” “…I could use a drink.” “Me, too.” I love these two and their relationship A Whole Lot.

Yeah, that was a Weird one, and there are some issues with continuity/etc., but I have to say I genuinely like it, for the Bill and Saul stuff. So, there it is. XD

Unfinished Business:

I have admittedly mixed feelings about this one XD Mostly because I have zero patience for the Quadrangle of Why subplot, and while it’s been around since at least mid-S2, this is where it really kicks in. But I really love the Bill and Laura flashbacks, and some of the other stuff is great.

And also I used As Long As You’re Mine for this episode on my S3 mix and I have never been prouder of a fanmix decision in my life XD

Lee gets the previously-on.

Still can’t take the moustache seriously, though.

First people in the ring are Lee and Helo!

Okay but that flashback location looks like it would have all the same problems as sex on the beach. Namely sand/dirt in places where you really don’t want it.

Lol Helo’s little ‘come at me’ gesture.

Dee is super pretty and deserved so much better.

And even if their relationship is in a weird place, Kara is still inviting Sam over for sex. “That was exactly what I needed.” “Glad to be of service.” And he’s going along with it, but.

((because this is the point where it’s Apropos: https://textsfrombsg.tumblr.com/post/7085786879/derevko-not-even-kidding-i-bet-this-is-what …and also possibly this one: https://textsfrombsg.tumblr.com/post/18017419131/derevko-kara-can-be-pretty-blunt-in-her-texts ))

…Sam also deserved better.

Ah, he decides to hold her bra hostage so they can try to have a Feelings conversation. “I want our marriage back.” “And what if I’m not ready for that?” “I don’t know. Maybe you’ll never be. Maybe because I’m not what you really want after all.”

Yeah, Kara, don’t…don’t hide from your feelings with one man by running to another. ((which is why her having Angry Sex with Kat doesn’t hit the same buttons because that’s a very different relationship dynamic.))

AW YAY FIGHTING AGATHONS IS AN ACTUAL CANONICAL NICKNAME

“He’s a tough little frakker, I’ll give him that.” I love you so much Helo.

Oh, good, they straight-up establish that Cottle’s observing.

Ugh did we Have to bring back the fatphobic jokes again WHY I thought we were DONE with that bullshit.

And Cottle is the one who says ‘nope, Lee is done here.’ And Lee is Not Thrilled at him.

“I’m done, Kara.” “I’m not.” Aaaaaand Dee watching from afar and. Sigh.

“Now who’s biting off more than they can chew, Captain?” “Not me from where I’m standing, Major.” And yeah that was a very. Charged. kiss-or-kill distance moment.

41,422! I guess someone had a baby since last episode??

Okay, flashback to 17 months ago, which is 8 months before the occupation, so 4 months after the initial settlement, give or take. Which means…this episode takes place 5 months after the exodus, give or take a couple of weeks for the actual plot of those four episodes.

“Awww, that’s such a load of crap.” “There’s an open bar!”

I love that outfit on Laura.

“I do not gaze at—” sorry wrong fandom XD and a very different dynamic but the way he looks at her there XD

Aww, her dad was a fight fan!

“Did you throw your tags in there?” “I wish. All the frustrations that I have--” lol the way he cuts off there.

Is Gaeta managing the bookmaking XD

I love Kara’s Challenge smirk.

And yeaaaah of course Starbuck wiped the floor with Hotdog.

XDXD Gotta love a noodle incident. “So then they come back to the locker room with the same set of handcuffs and two straws!”

Awwww, Saul looks so happy in the flashbacks, and I love this little bit with him and Ellen.

“Did I ever tell you how happy I am I married you?” “Not once.” “Then I’ll save it for a special occasion.”

And Gaeta is so happy to talk Infrastructure but then he has to go talk to the finance minister and I love him, he’s so cute. “Oh, my gods, I didn’t think he’d ever leave” LOL LAURA. The one thing she doesn’t miss about the presidency is having to listen to stuff like that XD And then Bill says he’s a good kid and I love all of them so much.

Yes that was a Very Transparent invitation Laura was giving you, Bill XD

And Bill is starting to spot some Discipline Issues he needs to fix in the present.

And awwwww, him and Chief having a drink 18 months ago because Cally is pregnant. “First boy born on Galactica.” I love them a lot. Except Cally doesn’t want him born on the ship. “And neither do I. not if he can grow up breathing fresh air.” And Bill initially refuses to let him.

YES KAT KICK HER ASS I HAVE NO IDEA WHO SHE IS BUT I LOVE YOU AND ALSO I REMEMBER WHAT THE NEXT EPISODE IS I’M GONNA CRY.

And Bill is making a point of putting his tags in. “Chief! Get your fat, lazy ass up here.”

And Helo wrapping his hands. “Make ‘em tight.” “Yes, sir.”

…hey was that Zarek in the crowd? Probably not, Richard Hatch is too expensive/important for a two-second cameo but it kinda looked like him XD

And Bill gets off one heck of a punch as soon as the bell rings and everyone’s like OOOOOOOOOOH

“Get up, Chief. We’re just getting started.”

And Chief in the past is trying to put the best face on it. “There’s doctors, sickbay, medicine…” And Cally is trying to look on the bright side, too. And that little kiss, poor babies.

((yeah they totally had sex in that hammock))

“Maybe we should just enjoy this.” “I am.” MY HEART.

“This how you fight your enemies, Chief? How you fight for your life? No excuses. Show me you’re a soldier.” And the look on Chief’s face, omg.

“Is that what you want? Is that what you want, Admiral?”

Aaaaand Kara using this as an excuse to needle Lee.

“You literally drank Anders under the table.” Lol.

I do love all the random couples slowdancing in the background while Lee and Kara are having that conversation.

And Cottle wants Bill to tap out but he refuses and I LOVE LAURA HERE OKAY. “He’s swinging wild, so hit him with a left hook” I LOVE HER SO MUCH YOU GUYS

“You wanna win?” “I’m not gonna win.” Yeah, that’s not the point he’s making here.

And then the next morning Bill changes his mind and lets Chief and Cally muster out. “I’m gonna miss you, Chief. I wanna wish you good luck.” And this music in the background and the look on his face when he smiles and Cally’s FACE. And “I want you guys to have at least a dozen.” “We’ll see about that” and she kisses his cheek and MY HEART.

And the way the same music continues as they go back to the fight scene where Chief is pounding the crap out of Bill.

And then it goes very quiet because he has his Verbal point to make. “When you stand on this deck, you be ready to fight, or you dishonor the reason why we’re here. Now remember this: when you fight a man, he’s not your friend. Same goes when you lead men. I forgot that once. I let you get too close, all of you. I dropped my guard. I gave some of you breaks, let some of you go, before the fight was really over. I let this crew and this family disband. And we paid the price in lives. That can’t happen again.”

And the way Laura takes his arm to help him down awwwwww.

And Tigh says it’s over. “So, what, you’re just gonna call it?” Kara says, because she hasn’t fought Lee yet, which is what she really wants to do.

“It’s over, Kara.” “So, what? You have the guts to try and frak another man’s woman, but not to fight one? I wonder if Dee knew what she was getting. Think she would’ve settled for sloppy seconds?” And he hits her. “Truth stings, don’t it?” “You want a fight, Captain? You’ve got it.”

I really do love her Fight Me smile.

And she took off her tanktop for this one, she didn’t with Hotdog.

And Dee comes in and. The look on her face. Poor Dee. She deserved so much better than this bullshit. (like, yeah, she’s not…it is kind of hard to forget the way she handled ending things with Billy but that doesn’t make the way Lee and Kara screw with her and Sam at all okay.)

“I’m not getting married.” “Then what’s the point, Kara? You love him, right?” “Where are we going with this, Lee?” “That’s the question, isn’t it. Where are we going?” ugh, I’m already exhausted. “Is this how you want to spend [the rest of your life]? Is this who you wanna spend it with?”

And Sam shows up to the dance and finds Dee. “What’s going on?” “What does it look like?” “Looks like they’re trying to kill each other.” “That’s one perspective.”

Again, I feel like fucking in this dirt is a Poor Life Choice. …I mean, not just for all the Relationship Drama reasons, I mean because dirt/sand in Uncomfortable Places. I guess they did at least Try to layer their jackets/etc. on the ground to prevent that but Still.

“Well that makes things more complicated.” “Yeah.” “What are we gonna do?” “What are we gonna do? We accept it. Tomorrow, I tell Dee, you tell Sam.” “Just like that?” “Just like that.” And right after Dee transferred to Pegasus to be with him. “Yeah, we tell them how we feel. We shout it to the skies. What, you don’t think I will?”

This shouting to the sky bit is so dumb in all the best ways and would be Super Adorable if it weren’t for the entire Quadrangle of Why that comes from it.

Also how drunk are you two right now I assume Very.

Aww, Helo cheering Starbuck on.

…you know, Kat is another person who almost never gets called by her actual name? Always her callsign. I don’t know if anyone ever says Louanne out loud.

Aaaaand now it’s going in an MMA direction which is probably against the rules but Kara and Lee are beyond caring at this point, Cottle’s gone, Saul may be, too…

“You look like you had a good time.” LOL.

“It’s been a hell of a morning. You missed all the excitement.” “Problems upstairs?” “No, good things. Kara got married.” “…what?” “Yeah, about an hour ago. Found herself a priest, went down by the river, and got married. …you okay?”

Yeah, Kara, it’s…really not cool to run from your feelings with Sam by going to Lee and run from your feelings with Lee by going to Sam.

“She deserves it. We all deserve to be happy. I gave her permission to muster out, along with Chief and Cally, a few of the others. So it’ll be up to us to make sure there’s no mass exodus.”

…I think this is the same music (or very similar) as what was playing in the Opera House vision with Baltar and Head!Six on Kobol?

Anyway Lee is not listening and…yeah, his face as he goes to meet Sam and Kara.

And Sam is just Elated and missing the other Drama because he just got married!!!!!

“No, it was crazy, she comes down, she wakes me up, she pops the question, drags me down to the priest, and bang, like that, we’re married!” “So it was your idea.” “Yeah. It was my idea.” “…do you guys want a minute to, you know, talk?” And Lee just tells him congratulations and good luck before walking off with a “you’re gonna need it” parting shot. …and going to make out with Dee.

((at least this time, unlike at the end of S1 when he was being an UTTER ASS, he kind of has room/reason to be pissed at her.))

Oh, Sam and Dee in the crowd, watching as Lee and Kara’s fight winds down. They’re both wobbling, but they won’t quit.

And they wind up hugging, and Sam has to look away briefly, and Dee just keeps watching, with this blank but devastated expression. And I just. Those two deserved so much better.

…yeah, I guess my final thoughts on this episode are I really love everything about Bill’s half!

The Passage:

Aaaaaand now I’m gonna cry.

Either Starbuck or Kat for the previously-on, I think.

Ah, yes, the flashback to the JUST HAVE ANGRY SEX episode aka Scar.

…do we ever see any of the male models download? I think we see Ellen later, and I know we’ve seen Sixes and Eights and now Threes…

Aaaand the food processing is contaminated, but Sharon is looking for a route to the planet where they can harvest algae. 7-10 days on current rations if it doesn’t work and oh my god Helo trying to stay Calm and Professional but he’s so worried about whether or not Sharon will make it back through the radiation okay especially since she’s late back and my heaaaaaart.

“I gave it to Cottle.” “Right, after I gave him head.” Lol.

The pilots divvying up crumbs, man.

41,420 again! So…two people died since the last episode, I guess?

Also this vaguely unsettling and largely repetitive piano music for the Basestar stuff. And D’anna quietly moves Gaius’s hand, lol. But he wakes up, she tells him not to wake up Caprica, and that she has things to do. “I’ll never understand what you all do all day long. Where do you suppose she takes herself off to, then?” “You’re not the only one asking that.” “I’m not?” “She’s been doing things.” “…doing things?” But Caprica falls back asleep before answering him.

Awwww, Helo hovering. And Athena’s nose is bleeding, as she goes into decontamination.

And Helo just takes her hands ‘are you okay’ and she gives him a quick nod before reporting to Bill and Lee. “She’s a Cylon, she can handle a radiation dose that big.” “We think!” Helo snaps.

“Nausea from the radiation exposure will take care of our appetites.”

“We’re all flying solo on this mission, so there’ll be no one to bitch slap you if you start to drift or start seeing little toasters on your ass.” Lol, Kara.

Aaaand that’s how Kat (or Sacha) gets caught; one of her friends from her old life catches her. “My name isn’t Sacha. It’s Captain Louanne Katraine. Sacha and you were a long time ago.” Awww, yay, she got promoted! Probably when she was CAG earlier but she didn’t get demoted back again which I appreciate.

Back to the basestar “could you believe I’m lost again” lol Gaius. “If I spoke to the relevant Simon, would I actually find out you were at this meeting?” “Who would tell you anything about my business?” “So, it’s true?” “Caprica?” and he quickly shifts to put her on the defensive in a different direction. “Did you know you have some dried goo in your hair?”

“Do you have any idea what you are accusing me of?” “Yes. Intentionally killing yourself over and over so you can download over and over. But death’s just a revolving door, isn’t it?”

Aaaaaand of course her ex is blackmailing her.

“Since when is it a crime to take care of your own? Remember, I know who you are. I know how to make you happy.” And he goes in for sex, and she rebuffs him.

And all those shots from the top of the stairs…was that to indicate Kara or someone else was listening in?

YAY TIGH IS BACK AS XO!!!

Or he’s hovering outside the door, working himself up to coming in and aww Bill’s little smile.

Felix and Dee are like “don’t make it weird don’t make it weird don’t make it weird” and then people start applauding and my heaaaaaaaaaart.

“Enough! Don’t you people have jobs to do?!” And Bill and Gaeta are the ones not making it a Thing. Bill just quietly says “welcome back”

Tigh looking at the sigil/symbol on the wall <3333333

Helo trying to talk Hotdog through “ease up on the throttle, this is not a viper.”

Aaaaaaand they lost one ship on this first jump through. :((((((

Aaaaand Kat’s patch is black. But she found her ship that she thought she’d lost!

Or maybe not.

Her face when she comes out of the decon shower oh man. :(((((

And Hotdog pukes on the deck. Not for the first time.

She looks around at the other pilots, many of whom are. Not Doing Okay. Helo’s doing better than most, at least. Which is why she picks his patch to steal, probably.

“We gotta get better at tracking our sheep. Racetrack, don’t call out coordinates to the wrong ship.”

And Kara watches Kat go, but helps up one of the others first.

100 marines down, 200 close to it, civilians causing Problems on the other side…

“I heard they were eating paper. Is that true?” “No. Paper shortage.” And they both start laughing because what else can you do at this point.

Oh, this is where Starbuck sees Kat and her ex, because he’s still hanging around, and she’s checking out one of the raptors and sees them arguing on the catwalk.

“So, when you resurrect, you see the faces of the final five Cylons? The ones that no one’s seen.” “Why do you want to know about them?” “I could be a Cylon. I would stop being a traitor to one set of people, and be a hero to another. And have a place to belong. You would help me understand my destiny. Have you seen my face?” “Your face? I can’t remember.” And she’s been trying to draw while it’s still fresh on her mind, but nothing much comes out. “Cylons, humans…we’re all just trying to discover who we are, aren’t we?”

Aaaand Kat’s ex flirting with random girls, and Starbuck approaches him, calling him by name. and then she goes to confront Kat.

“I took the name Louanne Katraine from a girl who died two days before the attack on Caprica. Got me through the background checks.” “Yeah. Times were rough. Keep going.” “I was a drug runner. Enzo was my supplier. What do you want? We were truckers, okay? We just moved stuff.” “People. You see, some think that that’s the way the Cylons infiltrated Caprica. They seeded themselves in the outer colonies and then used criminals to get them into the capital. Anyone who’s found guilty of helping the Cylons is considered a traitor.” “We didn’t carry Cylons.” “How do you know?” “Because nobody knew they looked like us!” “Then how do you know you didn’t?!” and then the way Starbuck leans in. “You think I’m a traitor. You think I’m a traitor?” “No. I don’t think you’re a traitor. You’re a smart young woman. That’s what the old man said. You’re just not smart enough to accept who you are. You see, you lied your way into the company of good people.” And they’re at kiss-or-kill distance and Kat is crying and begs her not to tell Bill. “Please don’t, or I—” “Or what?” “Please just let me tell him myself. Please, just let me. Can you do that?” and Starbuck is…the way she looks at her then. And then she just says ‘gods’ half under her breath and walks away.

And D’Anna and Gaius are going back to the Hybrid.

“This is where you got the idea to start…intentionally downloading? …let’s see what we can find out.” And he approaches the tank, kneels next to her, and rolls up his sleeve. “What do you think you’re doing?” And he closes his eyes and visibly braces himself, slowly lowering his hand into the tank. “Don’t touch it!” but then the Hybrid grabs his arm and looks directly at him which is New. And the Terror on his face omg. “Intelligence. A mind that burns like a fire.” “…yes, I’m here.” “Find the hand that lies in the shadow of the light. In the eye of the husband of the eye of the cow.” And he pulls back and he seems like he’s in pain, and her head returns to its regular orientation. “Are you all right?” D’Anna asks. “It just speaks nonsense, right?” “…I don’t think anything it says is nonsense. The husband of the eye, the eye of the…Hera. Hera, sometimes referred to as cow-eyed Hera. And the husband of Hera…” “is Jupiter. The Eye of Jupiter. It’s written about in the ancient texts. My god…could there be a connection between their gods and ours? What does it mean?” “It’s a location. A planet, hidden in the shadow of light, probably a cluster of stars…that’ll lead us to the Eye of Jupiter, and to the hand hidden in the shadow of light.” As he stares at his hand, and his logic brain keeps going. “Probably some kind of artifact. As in five. Five faces. Now all we have to do is find the right planet.” And he drags his sleeve back down so slowly.

Kat studying her reflection in the mirror, struggling to decide what to do. She finds her hair is falling out. Checks her patch, thinks, remembers “accept who you are.” Goes to see Enzo. “Thieving bastard. You’re going to cost me everything I’ve got.” And then she has sex with him, and running her hand along the raptor, and…yep, breaks into Helo’s locker to steal his patch.

God she looks like hell. Poor Kat.

Oh noooo she lost her last ship too…

And they have to jump, but she refuses to lose another one, so she stays to look for Faru Sadin, even though her patch was already black and—oooh, algae planet has Rings!

…huh, I guess either of the two seats in the front of a raptor can be used by the pilot? Because some of the pilots seem to be on the right and some on the left.

And her stolen patch is black now, too, and. And and and.

Aww, Saul. “Come on, Kat (or possibly kid?). Come on home.”

And that calm look on her face as she spots Faru Sadin and then she brings them home my heart.

“Galactica, Kat. Mission accomplished.” And her face. And. And I know what’s coming. And. :(((((((((

And Helo starts a round of applause for her and and and and she’s barely standing as she comes out of her raptor, but she puts her arms up for Victory and takes off her helmet and reaches up to take off her helmet and then Lee realizes and glances to the side and then she collapses and.

MY HEART. “I don’t think we should end the way we ended.” “Listen. Everybody is stuck with the things they’re not proud of. That, uh, that thing about good people, I…I didn’t mean that.” “Yeah, I know.” And Starbuck gives her sleeping pills. “Enough,” she says. “Take ‘em if you want.” BAWLING. “Thank you.” “…Igottago.”

And the way Bill puts his hand on her shoulder as she flees and goooooooooood.

“Admiral, I…I’m so sorry.” “I’m not here to lecture. I’m letting you know about a promotion. I’m making you CAG again.” “…sir, you know I’m not getting out of here, right?” “You earned it. What you did was harder than facing a bullet. And you did it without putting one other soul in harm’s way. Don’t know if I could’ve done that. I wish there was something more that I could give you.” “No. it’s good. I’d like to be CAG very much. Thank you. …sir, there…there’s a thing. A reason why you might not want to do this. Kara knows what it is, but I wanted to tell you myself.” “I don’t need to know anything other than what I already know. When you were CAG, you protected your people. Made them feel safe enough to be brave. What you were gonna say, does it change that?” and he goes to get a chair to sit with her and BAWL. ING. “Are you…you staying?” “Oh, I’m staying. I love this sickbay, in a way. Reminds me of where my son Zak was born. Carolanne was so happy. She was convinced both times that she was having a girl. So it was a surprise at the end.” “Did you want a girl, too?” “Yeah. Three’s a good round number.” GODDDDDDDDD MY HEART I CAN’T TAKE IT. And then he changes the board and ;____________;

AND THERE’S A BIT OF WANDER MY FRIENDS IN ALL STRINGS AS THE OTHER PILOTS WATCH HIM DO IT AND FUCCCCCCCCCCCCK

And Kara puts her on the memorial wall.

God fucking damn it that episode. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

[harmonyspopculturecorner]

Comfort Media

Think about when you’ve been having a long day… or when you aren’t feeling the best… or even when you just feel like you need something to keep your mind off of everything going on in the world. What do you find yourself being drawn to? Some music that you associate with driving down the road, friends by your side? A fanfic that you found late one night and had you kicking your feet with how cute the plot was? Or maybe even a show that you know more dialogue to than you’d like to admit? Any piece of media that makes you feel at home, safe, relaxed… like you can turn your brain off for a while. That’s what I’d call comfort media.

Now, the idea of comfort media isn’t necessarily a new one. People have always had media that they choose to indulge in no matter how many times they’ve watched, listened, or read it. However, during the pandemic, when our world was literally turned upside down, this idea became more of a forefront. It took me until the pandemic to put a name to it, and since then I’ve realized that I have a few different pieces of comfort media.

My comfort media doesn’t have a theme… an anime, a music group, literary couple fanfiction, children’s cartoon, superhero animated show, and YouTube comedy. All of these are different, but all of them bring me a sense of relaxation at different times when needed.

One of my indicators that I am building up stress  is the urge to put on ‘Ouran High School Host Club’. This was one of the first anime I ever watched, and it remains one of my all-time favorites. I could quote countless episodes, and even list their titles in order (This is no lie, my friend can attest to looking at the episode list while I recited the titles off on a video call). ‘Ouran’ is my comfort because I don’t need to think while watching it. I can put it on in the background and easily be doing work… all while keeping focused and gradually calming myself down.

The shows ‘Scooby-Doo’ and ‘Young Justice’ season 1 do the same thing. ‘Scooby-Doo’ could be listed as my favorite piece of media ever. It’s classic, the stories are fun, the characters are relatable, and most importantly… It's my childhood. To this day, I still have two shelves worth of the ‘Scooby-Doo’ movies and show volumes. It doesn’t matter if I know who the ‘Miner 49er’ is already - I’m going to watch the episode and follow along as the gang finds clues, gets chased, sets a trap, and finally catches the criminal. 

‘Young Justice’ is, overall, an underrated show in the DC Universe. It was what really roped me back into liking superheroes. Growing up I watched ‘Teen Titans’, but I fell away from superhero media for a few years. Then, a friend suggested I watch ‘Young Justice’, and I was right back in. All 4 seasons of this show are great, but if I’m going to do a simple rewatch, it’s going to be the first season. There’s something about the original team of Aqualad, Robin, Kid Flash, Superboy, M’Gann and Artemis that always puts a smile on my face. The characters all have great chemistry, the storylines for the first season were clever, thought out, and reasonably challenging for the target audience. (Though not too complicated where you have no clue what’s going on) So, anytime I am beginning to feel my anxiety building I can throw ‘Ouran’, ‘Scooby-Doo’, or ‘Young Justice’ on the TV and instantly relax.

When I am just having a bad day, there are a few pieces of media I’ll turn to. First is something every nerd knows about: fanfiction. I read fanfiction for basically every media I enjoy, but there’s a specific kind I turn to when I need a smile:‘Percabeth’ fanfics. ‘Percabeth’ is the pairing of Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase from Rick Riordan’s ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ series. I absolutely adore this couple more than words could describe. They’ve been through hell within their stories (I mean they’ve literally walked through Tartarus together). The fanfics I read give them the happiness and love they deserve. Instead of focusing on  battles and life-threatening situations, the fics I  read for this couple focus on the mundane. We get to see between the battles, helping bandage each other up and even watch them go through relationship growing pains. My favorite is glancing into their future, watching them live out their lives attending New Rome University together. Whatever the situation, seeing the creative stories fans write for these two never fails to make me smile.

The next thing I turn to on almost a daily basis (even when I’m not having a bad day) are ‘Smosh Videos’. I used to watch Smosh back when they first started on YouTube: Just two friends making silly skits and videos. I had no idea they eventually grew into a company with a whole cast, crew, and studio… until my friend put on an episode of ‘Eat It or Yeet It’ because they knew how picky an eater I am. Since then, I am always watching their newest videos. I even have the notifications on! The variety of their videos are fun and can appeal to many people. For example, you can find a plethora of new party games to play with friends from Smosh’s ‘Board AF’ series. Even my dad gets a laugh out of the crazy food crimes Garrett commits for ‘Eat It or Yeet It’!

My final piece of comfort media, the one that I truly hold closest to my heart, are ‘BTS Music and Videos’. Basically everyone has heard the name BTS, and there’s not really a need to explain why. They’re global superstars, not only for their music and talent, but because of their meaningful messages and love they share. I have so much to thank BTS for… they helped me begin to see my own worth and learn to love myself, they introduced me to a culture that led me to an amazing year of living abroad… and most importantly because of them I have two of the most important people in my life. Anytime I listen to BTS’ music or watch one of their videos I can’t help but smile. Nothing but good memories come from them, and that’s the ultimate comfort.

Comfort media can be different for everyone, and it can shift throughout our lives. However, one thing remains the same: These pieces of entertainment are a simple place to turn to when you just need to sit back, relax, and let the world fall away for a bit.

Thank you for reading! This is all simply my own opinion and thoughts on the concept of comfort media. I’d love to know your thoughts and what makes comforting entertainment for you! Feel free to comment and even share your comfort media too!

[basterbinkers]

oh my god i have been dying to talk about livio for days now after rewatching tristamp with my brother because my god. trigun stampede absolutely has a plan for him. okay this is going to be a long post, so more under the cut. buckle up.

like, i get it. when i first saw the posts comparing tristamp livio's design with his trimax design, i was a little disappointed. it seems like such a downgrade, right? even before the end of trimax with livio's more cowboy-esque design, seeing these two designs side by side feels like it's not even a contest as to which is better.

however, i'm extremely skeptical that this is meant to be THE livio design that tristamp will stick with, and not just for the post above this one. towards the end of episode 7, legato tells zazie the beast to pick up livio's body as "he can still be useful." BUT. much more compellingly, in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it image during the flash of livio's memories that plays before he offs himself around midway through episode 7, you find this as livio stares into his own reflection.

razlo the tri-punisher of death.

i haven't seen a single post addressing this, although i wouldn't doubt that at least SOMEONE has to have brought it up. i didn't see it on my first watch, as i read the manga after watching the show, but i absolutely recognized him in my second watch.

as a sidenote, i'm very curious to see how studio orange addresses the concept of DID in livio's story, given that the manga seems to treat his livio/razlo case as something like that, and having a more bloodthirsty and violent alter is something that has been criticized in DID representation in the past (e.g. glass (2019). if tristamp chooses to change livio's backstory to avoid that, i'm honestly speculating that conrad revives livio someway that brings him back Wrong (and maybe thicker and more muscular, because we all know what we want) (but also the idea of wolfwood having stayed himself and human-looking while livio has been forced to become more and more monstrous to survive? [chef's kiss]. that i would live to see it.)

i'm also speculating that tristamp season 2 might have a more general theme of transformation in all its main cast. by the end of season 1, we see that meryl has gone through a major character change over the course of the two years post-JuLai. not only has vash seemed to have lost all his memories and now goes under a different name, but even during his final fight with death, his change in hairstyle is suddenly much more reminiscent of his manga design, and i would not be surprised if this was a permanent change in seasons going forward.

given the change in the other two, wolfwood is almost certainly going to have a change in design or character as well (very exciting), and even knives is going to have to be resurrected by legato bluesummers if tristamp is going to follow the manga in that regard (which, in all likelihood, it will). the only character whose future i'm a little anxious about is elendira just because of how much i love her character in the manga and how different her characterization has been in tristamp, but even there, i am cautiously optimistic.

all in all, i'm absolutely thrilled by studio orange's choices so far, and while i try not to be too confident in any adaption, i'm very much looking forward to see what tristamp has to offer.

whenever people criticize stampede for differences from 98 or trimax i'm always like HOLD ON LET THEM COOK because of stuff like this. i actually have so much more confidence in studio orange for getting stuff right later on in the series than i normally would bc of stuff like this (like for trans adult elendira, or chunky livio/razlo, and obviously for milly).

like look at THIS, where they took an ENTIRE visual and musical storytelling motif from ONE PANEL of the manga. they're COOKING on levels unimaginable.

[kitkatt0430]

4, 8, 11, 15 and 18 for AO3 wrapped!!

4.) What work of yours has the most hits?

The Man in the Lightning has gotten the most kudos of my fics this year, with 126 kudos. It's sequel, Closer and Closer Still, has almost as many at 121 kudos. I really didn't expect quite that much attention on either one, so I am a bit surprised.

Though my 'all time' highest kudos is currently on Seen in Evidence, written in 2020, with over 600 kudos. The Olivarry shippers seem to have enjoyed it a lot. I know last year the all time fav was still Poking the Poodle (And Other Ridiculous TvTropes), so Seen in Evidence must have gotten a lot of kudos this year.

8.) Pairing you wrote the most for this year?

I wrote 6 Cisco/Hartley ships which makes it the pairing I wrote the most for this year. It's closely followed by Cisco/Harry at 5 fics.

11.) What work took you the longest to write?

Well the latest chapter of The Curious Case of Harrison Wells was partially done for at least 2 years before I finally finished it this year. Though I don't know that it counts since the fic itself is still unfinished and, uh, I haven't started on the next chapter yet.

For a finished fic, probably Welcome to 2015 which I think was a WiP for at least a few months before I completed it.

15.) What WIP are you taking into next year with you?

A lot. Um... so just a few:

I had a WiP for Xander/Larry for BtVS but I forgot to save it and a post update forced reboot seems to have eaten it since libreoffice only retrieved a blank document (which is unusual, normally it's retrievals of unsaved docs go really well). So... I'm either gonna re-write it or wind up with something completely different. I'm a bit miffed about it, tbh, because I could have sworn I had saved it. But it is nowhere to be found. So I must not have. *sigh*

The Man in the Lightning series is gonna have a few more fics for it, taking it through parts of S1. Next up is Barry telling Iris that he's the Flash, Iris realizing Barry isn't joking about dating a time traveler with fuzzy morals, and Eobard learns that Iris does not need super powers to be intimidating when she gives him her version of a shovel speech.

Season 2 AU where Zoom kills Harry after taking Velocity for the first time, not realizing he'd need someone to fix the problems with it later. So it's E2 Jerrie Rathaway he kidnaps instead of Jesse, in order to manipulate Harry's successor at STAR Labs - E2 Hartley - into doing his bidding. Thus it's E2 Hartley, not Harry, who comes through to E1 looking for help to stop Zoom. - I feel bad killing off Harry, but the fic doesn't really work if I don't. Jesse will still wind up involved later on, though.

I think the time to rewatch Fringe has come, which I'm hoping will finally get me over the block I have on my Fringe x Flash fic, starting with Astrid pulling together her own Fringe investigation team to look into meta humans. I have lots of ideas for an alt Season 1 and Season 2 (for the Flash) for this series including Ronnie surviving the singularity. Don't want to give away how, though, since that's a long ways off. ;) I intend for William Bell to pop up as one of the recurring villains of the series, who sees metas as interesting test subjects. He may or may not team up with Eobard at some point, but that depends on where I take the S1 plot.

18.) The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

Hmmm... I think maybe Iris? She's always a bit of a difficult character for me and I worry about getting her voice right a lot. Sometimes things will just click and I can churn out a fic for her in no time, but sometimes it's just a struggle to find the right words for her.

[lightninggavemeabs]

S1E1 commentary cuz why tf not

okay who fucking knows if I'll keep up with this but I want to try it.

Season 1 is one of my absolute favorites, I think the storytelling is exceptional and it really set the foundation for the rest of the show. I've rewatched this so many times because I love it to death. I mean, right from the beginning. That intro sticks in people's heads. It's iconic. We see the flash running impossibly fast, and then cut to barry running pathetically slow. It's perfect.

The characterization of Barry Allen is subtle and immediate. We immediately get to see him interact with his coworkers, his superiors, in a way that shows his personality perfectly. He's clumsy, but brilliant enough to be kept around. He's a hard worker when he's not totally distracted. He's also a little bit goofy.

There's also the interaction between Iris and him in the lab where he tells her she looks amazing and for like half a second he has this disappointed look on his face that tells the audience everything they need to know and it's really a testament to Grant Gustins talent that we could get that information about their relationship in like two seconds.

Then of course we get Wellses speech, which I feel needs to commentary. We also get to watch our protagonist, our hero, fail to stop a crime. He gets his ass kicked and it's fun! Because we know what happens next, or most of us do.

It really amazes me how much of the storytelling in this show is dead silent. Barry walking around his lab, alone, listening to the news, looking at his murder mystery board, only for lightning to strike. It's the night that changes his life but it seems so innocuous.

And then we meet Caitlyn/Cisco who I immediately fall in love with because he's playing Lady Gaga for that guy in a coma that's just around?? for months??

And then when Barry's discovering his powers and he just starts running super fast through the city and crashes into some van? Not to mention: there is canonically a random laundry guy who knows who the Flash is. He saw Barry run and he saw his face. Really the most goated character because he doesn't say shit.

Also, there's the

Barry: You seem kinda depressed

Caitlin: because I am

it's something that definitely should make me laugh but I always have a little chuckle at it because it's like Barry, you dumbass.

I really love the music that's playing when Mardon shows Barry his powers.

Joe West ranting about how Henry killed Nora because he's so certain that nobody has any weird magical powers is so painful to watch sometimes, especially when Eddie comes up and confirms Mardon's alive immediately afterward. Yikes.

"You're not a hero, you're just a young man who was struck by lightning" - Wells Season 1

Okay, fuck these police officers who let a child sneak in and see his mother's corpse you're doing a bad job. Also, Joe is like, guess I'm a father of two now (oof)

And then the cut to him talking to the Arrow, because obviously he needs a mentor.

And the "Cool." "Cool." it's so lovely.

also "I am god" "Shut the hell up" IMPECCABLE

convinently knocking eddie out so Joe can learn about Barry's abilities. That was a plot concussion.

"he can do it, I know he can do it" because Cisco has always been Barry's biggest fan. Right from the beginning, he believed in the Flash. Do you think he knew what the flash would someday become?

and everyone smiling in the control room once mardon's dead. beautiful.

joe, with tears in his eyes, apologizing for not believing Barry for all those years, truly breaks my heart. Joe West, dadliest of dads. The conversation between Barry and Henry, too, is completely heartbreaking. Henry saying that Barry needs to stop worrying about him and live. It's beautiful.

"I've made some new friends" YEAH YOU HAVE BARRY.

and of course we end on the obligatory 'harrison wells is not who he seems' scene. this whole season is basically this happening. we also get our first glimpse of THE newspaper. this episode is an incredible start to an incredible season.

I think i'll do one of these on every episode i feel deserves one. I don't know how many that will be., Anyway I'm going to go try baking bread. See yall :)

[enigmaticxbee]

✖️ 10x06 My Struggle II

The one where... Scully tries to use her alien DNA to save everyone - and especially Mulder - from the apocalypse plague.

Tagline: This is the End

Best: I’ve honestly got nothing.

Worst: This entire episode. But if I have to pick just one thing… Why would you keep Mulder and Scully apart for the entire episode?? In the season - at that point the expected series - finale?!! Whhhhyyyyyyy!!??!?! I truly don’t understand why CC thought we wanted to spend an hour being ranted at about chemtrails rather than see these two characters iconic for their chemistry as partners - brought back for a highly anticipated six part LIMITED series - on screen together. And how everyone else working on this show let this happen.

❌ Flashlights

❌ Woods/Desert

❌ Slideshow

❌ Autopsy

❌ Evidence Disappears

❌ Scully Misses It

✔️ Mulder Ditch

❌ Sunflower Seeds

✔️ Voiceover: Scully opening VO

✔️ Catch Phrase: CSM (IWTB)

✔️ Scully is a (Medical) Doctor

❌ Mulder is Spooky

❌ Scuuullllaaaaayy! Muullllderrrr!

❌ Fox/Dana

❌ Inappropriate Touching (that I am here for)

❌ Casual Scully

✔️ Casual Mulder

❌ Trench Coats

❌ Bad Tie Watch

❌ Glasses Watch

✔️ Taking! It! Personally!: Scully

50 States: South Carolina x2 & DC x105 (44/50)

Investigate: Apart

Solve Rate: 67%

✔️ Bechdel Test: Look, I never said passing the Bechdel Test would make it a good episode of television

MSR: 🐝🐝

Goriness: 👽👽

Creepiness: 👽👽

Humor: 👽

Rewatch Thoughts:

William check-in: The cliffhanger is ridiculous - and as we later found out would get completely wiped away - but when this originally aired I was at least intrigued by the idea that another season would entail finding William to save Mulder - those are some good stakes at least.

Break-up check-in: Doesn’t matter, there are only 2 minutes left in the episode when they finally appear on screen together 🤪

Oh great, the slap photos down on the table and recap the series opener is back 🙄 - Scully’s version this time. If they’re going to do this at least set it to music and make me FEEL something about these flashbacks like in the 9x06 Trust No 1 opener!

I think this is the first time I’ve rewatched this since finding out in the season 11 opener that this is all William’s vision (or whatever)… So is Scully walking into the office at the beginning “real” and that first flash of her eye the vision starting? That eye moment would indicate that CC knew the whole time that it was a vision and that he wasn’t really going to go through with the apocalypse… When watching originally I assumed that he created a cliffhanger for the purposes of getting picked up for another season and then when it did get picked up he came up with the vision as a way of getting out of it and back to the status quo - but somehow it makes me madder that he NEVER intended to give us a satisfying ending to this cliffhanger and follow through on the consequences of the start of the apocalypse!!

Science fiction or science fact 🙄

Tad O’Malley says the events of the first episode happened 6 weeks ago so there’s that marker of time at least

Ugh Agent Einstein is back - and is somehow one of the better parts of this episode, which tells you how bad the rest of it is

Scully calls the nurse Nurse again 🙄

Oh god, the Mulder driving scenes, I’m having flashbacks to the season 11 opener, I forgot about these 😫

Oh hey, she does know the nurse’s name - it’s Sandeep

Scully: It makes no sense. Truer words…

The character assassination of Monica Reyes is infuriating. I just… the minute it leaves the screen I’m like that never happened and I forget it completely. It makes no sense.

Look, this is a show with aliens who have magic healing powers, we’ll buy plenty of nonsense. So if they HAD to bring back CSM after he BLEW UP why not just hand wave it away with an alien healing him?? Going into the details of reconstructive surgery when - once again, we saw his FACE EXPLODE - just draws attention to the ridiculousness of bringing this obsolete character back.

I really don’t like the choppy way this fight between Mulder and the guy sent by CSM is filmed - I blame The Bourne Identity. I miss the original series fighting where it actually felt like real people awkward knocking each other over. Mulder spent his time in isolation learning how to fight I guess.

CSM is justifying everything he’s done because of… climate change? OMFG

I mean I kinda get the original series Syndicate’s plotting to save themselves from an alien invasion they couldn’t stop but what is the point of a self-created apocalypse? 🧐

Great, stoking fears of vaccines, not a good look show!

I mean, our pandemic showed us that vaccines can be pretty developed quickly… but sure, Scully is going to create a cure within a few hours all alone based on one vial of her blood and produce enough of this cure to stop a global pandemic, right.

Once again I will reiterate that I don’t think the word vaccine means what the show thinks it means.

So Mulder’s too sick for Scully’s magic alien dna cure - which she hasn’t even tried on him yet - but will somehow survive until they find their missing son and get stem cells out of him? It’s almost like CC knew he wouldn’t have to follow through on this plot…

At least when this originally aired we thought this might go someplace. Of course we also thought the show might just end up ending with Mulder dying on a bridge as Scully doesn’t even try giving him her hours old untested alien dna cure…

I think rewatching the revival has broken me. This episode is so bad guys 😂

I can’t believe there are two more My Struggles to go 🤪

[gimblestank-the-goblin]

Rewatching RWBY Season 1 - Part 1

Just saw Icequeendom, so I decided to try rewatching the first season of RWBY to compare it to. Have gotten through Emerald Forest (roughly the first half of the season) and I have to say I am pleasantly surprised by how strong it starts. 

RWBY is good when it first starts. Really good. Its got some weak voice acting here or there and some shoddy animation of course, it is a semi-professional web-series at this point, but despite all that it is very fun to watch and you can really see the glimmers of something great being made. The characters are fun and likable, their interactions feel natural, the art design is fantastic and Mounty is firing on all cylinders with these fights.*

Ruby is of course the stand out, with some great and memorable lines. She’s got the comedic ones - bee’s knees, I drink milk, etc - but she’s also got some really powerful ones. Ruby’s line about how “that’s why we’re here, to make things better” is powerful and perfectly acted. 

The rest of the characters are well done as well. Yang and Pyrrha’s voice actresses haven’t quite hit their stride yet, but the characters themselves are still fun. 

The other stand out besides Ruby, is Jaune. And not in a good way. He starts out really strong. He shows up to give Ruby a helping hand after her whole Weiss explosion fiasco, literally helping her to her feet when she’s feeling overwhelmed and unsure of herself, instantly endearing him to the audience. Then we’ve got some fantastic, really natural feeling banter between him and Ruby where we see her own feelings of inadequacy mirrored in his, cementing a shared struggle and setting him up to be her ally, friend and mirror. Then we get the “short, sweet, ladies love it” line which is just charmingly dorky. 

He’s great. Then we get two short comedic scenes (bunny pajama’s and him lamenting that he couldn’t have put his weapons in locker 636 because he would have remembered having to count that high). 

Then everything goes downhill. He inserts himself into Weiss and Pyrrha’s conversation in what is clearly an attempt to tell the same “short, sweet, etc” joke as before but this time it comes across as smarmy rather endearing (it lasts too long and Weiss is clearly uncomfortable) and this sets the tone for the rest of his time in the arc. Every scene he has from here on is either him being a smarmy pest hitting on Weiss, sucking in a way which is meant to be funny but comes off as annoying, or acting as an audience surrogate so that the writers can exposit to us*. Its a real shame, because he started real strong and could have been a fun character***.

*And like all good fight choreographers he understands that fights are part of the story. The best written parts of the show are the fights scenes for how the characterize people and move the plot forward in interesting directions. 

** I maintain RWBY’s target audience has seen enough anime to not need aurra explained to them, but if the writers really felt the need to do that there were more natural ways. Here’s my solution after 5 minutes of work:

Cardin/Jaune fight. Cardin hits Jaune, shattering his aura. We cut to the aura life bar draining to zero and “no aura” flashing across the screen. Cardin goes to get another hit in because he’s a bully. Glynda stops him saying “Stop Cardin, he’s out of aura. Any more hits and he could be hurt.”

Later, Jaune has to move something heavy. He tries before giving up and saying “Pyrrha? Little help,” helpless gesture “no aura”. She then picks it up with ease. 

Done, we’ve know established it stops things from hurting you and gives you super strength. 

*** Honestly, I think Jaune would have been a lot more compelling if they removed the transcript plot. Jaune as a huntsman who’s just kinda shitty at fighting is much more compelling then Jaune the slacker who cheated his way into school and then doesn’t try to improve himself and spent no time preparing to be a huntsman at all apparently. Plus it cuts the whole bullying plot which took time away from the main characters. Let him be a B character who exists to serve as a mirror to Ruby, not a main character in his own right. 

[flyersheartbreaker]

Forever By Your Side| Isaac Ratcliffe

a/n: this is my first imagine that I am officially publishing! I am very excited to share all of my writing content and series with you guys :)

Pair: Isaac Ratcliffe x reader

Summary: Watching your boyfriend Isaac get seriously hurt during one of his home games and watching him battle through the toughest injury a hockey player could battle, so he can continue on with dream playing in the NHL

Warnings: Hockey Injuries, Cussing, Cute Fluff

Word Count: 3,321 words

It was just another ordinary Sunday afternoon watching a game live from the PPL center here in Allentown, Pennsylvania or so I thought. The game was going really well with the Phantoms up 3-1 on the Hershey Bears half way through the second period. There was your beloved star-studded boyfriend number 19 carrying the puck up against the boards through the neutral zone when suddenly bam everything went to complete silence, except for that shear sound that you wish you could so badly get out of you head.

I jumped out of my seat and darted up the stairs from the lower-level seats that I was sitting in with some of the other girlfriends. I can hear the god-awful scream ringing in my ears over and over again that was coming down from ice level. The crowd was silent, so quiet that you could probably hear a pin drop and when that happens you know for a fact that it isn’t good. Nothing ever good comes from silence at a time like this and I needed to get down to the locker rooms as quick as possible.

Isaac got hit hard up against the boards and fell awkwardly down to the ground, and his right foot looked like it twisted the wrong way. He's had rough collisions before, but never like this. Isaac is a big dude that you surely didn’t want to ending up colliding with, but this time it looked like Isaac got the wrong end of the play. I never in my life ever heard him yell in absolute pain like the wat he was when the trainers and his teammates were trying to help his 6-foot-6 body off of the ice.

My heart was in my stomach as I was racing down the stairs that would lead me to the home locker rooms. I quickly flashed my team badge to the security guard Frank without saying a word. He must have known it wasn’t good either, as he told me to breathe and be careful myself as I jumped down the last few steps.

If Isaac had a season ending injury, it would kill him. He was just heating up and playing his best hockey yet and working his ass off day in and day out so he could eventually make the Flyers roster within this season or even next season for sure. But if his season is over that means his chances of getting to the NHL level could be too and that would just destroy him completely.

As soon as I rounded the corner to the trainer's office, I saw him being helped on to the examine table. His face was as red as a cherry, and he was in a lot of pain. The trainers quickly started icing the area the best that they could as they slowly untied his skate and too it off of him.

“He is definitely going to need some X-Rays done immediately and possibly an MRI as well depending on what the results of the X-Rays are.” The Phantoms trainer Brian Grogesky said to Neil who was one of the Phantoms physicians.

“Jeff and Robert are on their way down from the press box and getting the emergency X-Ray equipment ready. In the mean time you need to relax the best that you can Isaac.” Neil said to Isaac as Isaac tried his best laying down comfortably on the examine table.

Both Brian and Neil noticed me standing outside of the door of the trainer's room and signaled me to come on in, in hopes that Isaac could ease up and relax a little bit more with me by his side.

“Hello, y/n! Looks like we got a live one here and that big boy landed pretty hard on that ankle of his.” Brian said trying to make light of the situation.

Isaac sat up on his elbow and looked me dead in the eyes. I can see and feel the pan behind them, my heart sank even more for him. I just want him to be okay, I want him to be able to play the rest of this season, he worked way too fucking hard for this to happen to him.

“Hey babes, how is the pain?” I said walking over to Isaac and grabbing his hand while kissing him ever so lightly and carefully.

“It's a bitch babe if I am being honest. I’m trying not to think of the worst, but I can’t help it. This isn’t fair, why me? Why fucking me?” Isaac said in more frustration.

“Isaac, don’t get too far ahead of yourself. We don’t know the actual results just yet. But whatever the outcome is you can come back from it stronger than ever. Hockey injuries is sometimes apart of the game as silly and stupid as it sounds, but you’re a fighter and you got this.” Neil said as he placed another bag of ice on Isaac’s ankle.

“They are right babe, your team trainers, physicians and any other doctors have your best interests. Let’s get you into the X-Ray room and then go from there okay big guy.” I said while planting another kiss onto Isaac’s lips.

Jeff brought in some crutches for Isaac to use, so they can take him down the hall to get the X-Rays taking care of. I am hoping that is all that Isaac is going to need and that whatever it is, it's a quick recovery.

After a few short minutes Isaac was crutching back out of the X-Ray room with a look of disappointment on his face.

“Oh no babe...how bad is it?” I asked him while he collects himself.

“It’s not broken...but they are sending me for an MRI early tomorrow morning to see if that shows up with anything and then go from there.” He said in a low tone.

“Well, that is a plus sign that it isn’t broken. You got to be positive about this honey, you need to be optimistic. You can't be negative. Everything is going to work out for the best. Hopefully it's just a minor sprain and you will be back on the ice in no time.” You told Isaac as you wrapped yourself around his side.

All of Isaac’s staff and trainers helped Isaac out of the arena and to his car and safety got him into the passenger seat while, I got into Isaac’s driver's seat.

“Alright, make sure when you get home you put more ice on that ankle for at least 15-20 mins on and then same time off. Do it throughout the night if you can and also, make sure you are using the crutches as much as possible and for the love of God Isaac do not put any pressure on that ankle until after we get the MRI results and see exactly what is going on. We don’t want to make the injury any worse than what it could already be. Try to get some much-needed rest and we will see you in the morning.” Brian said closing the passenger door.

The ride back to Isaac’s apartment complex was extremely quiet. I didn’t know what to say or what to do, so I just let Isaac sit there and pounder in his thoughts alone without me distracting him. Which probably wasn’t a good idea, because I know my boyfriend, I know for a fact that he is thinking the worst possible scenario that he could think of right now.

I helped Isaac out of the car and into the elevators up to his apartment and got him comfortably settled on the couch with his foot/ankle elevated and two ice packs placed on the injured area.

“Do you want or need anything? You want me to bring out another pair of comfy clothes for you?” You asked Isaac as you placed a pillow behind his head/back and placed a blanket right by him as well.

“No, I’m fine...” He whispered as scrolled on his iPad to rewatch the ending of the game and rewatch highlights and the moment of his injury.

You so badly, wanted to say something along the lines to him like "babe don’t be watching that now, it wasn’t your fault, there was nothing that you could have done to prevented that from happening, so on and on.” But deep down you knew nothing would make him feel better until he knew what the main results were. And as the night went on, you could see the realization hit him that this was going to keep him out for a while. He just looked sad, and drained.

After a couple of hours, another X-Ray, and an MRI later, you and Isaac were sitting there waiting in the trainer's office for the results from both the trainer and team doctors.

Both Brian and Jeff walk in with a folder which I assume held the test results for Isaac’s ankle/foot.

“Well, the good news is the second X-Ray that we took this morning once again showed that there was no brake in both the ankle and the foot.” Brian said.

“And what about the MRI? What did the MRI show?” Isaac asked nervously.

I grabbed Isaac’s hand and interlocked his fingers with mine. I could see the look on both Brian’s, Jeff’s, and even Coach Gordon’s face that this news that they are about to give doesn’t seem to be very promising.

Jeff cleared his throat ever so calmly and spoke. “The MRI came back with a high ankle sprain injury which means we really don’t have a timetable for you to return to at this point of time. This type of injury is extremely difficult to recover from quickly. So, with that being said we need to place you on injury reserve indefinitely until we get more of a clear view on this injury.”

“Out indefinitely...so that could mean that I might be done for the season?” Isaac ever so softly spoke.

“Unfortunately, yes Rat...I am so sorry and with it being late into the season already we don’t want to risk anything further and do anymore damage to the ankle. Brian, Jeff and myself all agreed on shutting you down for the remainder of this year. So, it’s better for you to take this time to heal carefully and properly and then eventually rehab it back to full strength without any other necessary tests or worse case scenario surgeries. Then once you have healed properly, we can train and get you back to 100 percent for next year's rookie and training camp.” Coach Scott Gordon said while looking at both Isaac and myself.

My heart broke ever so much for Isaac, this isn’t fair. I know injuries can be a part of the game sometimes, but why did this have to happen to Isaac and why now?! He has been killing it day in and day out since being drafted in 2017. He deserves his chance at playing at the NHL and now with this setback is he ever going to make it to that level?

The ride to Isaac’s apartment was once again a quiet one and this time I don’t blame him. I mean how is he supposed to react to something like this? What is he supposed to say or do when your head coach, trainer and team doctor shut you completely down for God knows how long.

Isaac settled down on the couch and tossed his crutches to side and unstrapped his high ankle boot so he can comfortably rest his ankle on the pillow in front him.

"Baby, I am so fucking sorry that is happening, it’s not right nor is it fair to you." I said, resting my head on his shoulder while getting cozy next to him.

"What if this is it for me? What if I can't play anymore after this?" He asks, eyes filling with tears.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't say that.  You being negative will only make that happen. You are a fighter Rat...you are one tough, strong as hell hockey player who will power through this. I promise you that." I said grabbing his hand and interlocking our fingers together, while placing a kiss on his hand.

A tear rolls down his cheek ever so slightly. "All I wanted to do was be that excitement that both the Lehigh and Philly fans need. All I wanted ever so badly was to have my chance to make it to the NHL level and it got taken away from me. Why do bad things happen to good people?" Isaac asked broken and frustrated.

Once he started crying, I had lost it. Nothing I could do, or say would take that pain away from him and it just broke my heart. I went into the kitchen and I just cried as grabbed him more ice packs from the freezer. How am I supposed to look at the man that I love, and not have my heart shatter like glass when I look into those eyes that were once so shiny, and bright, but now shows nothing at all?  I have no idea the pain he is going through or the frustrating emotions he is now going through as well and I feel terrible.

I eventually collected myself and walked back out into the living room and ever so easily and softly place the ice packs on the injured area and took my seat back on the couch next to Isaac.

"That's the crappy thing about life.” I breathed as I took a deep breathe myself and continued on. “For some reason, it always attacks the good ones, and praises the hell out of the bad ones." I sob, wiping away not only my own tears but also his tears once again. "We'll get through this. I promise. It'll be hard, and it'll be long, but we're going to pull through this." I tell him as I run my hand through his hair.

He squeezes my other hand tightly. "What if during my time out things don’t get better and I need to get surgery, and it's worse than they thought? That could happen. What if they see that my injury is worse than what they thought and that I am out on the shelf even longer and I completely miss this upcoming season as well? Or worse they tell me that I can't do this anymore?" He asks, gasping for air. "I don't want that to happen and I'm scared to death that it will."

I snuggled beside him even more then I already was, resting my head on his chest, sobbing harder than I was before, because I honestly hate when he thinks that he isn’t good enough or he thinks his career is over because of a minor setback or in this case a possible major setback. "Then we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, okay? Just for now, it's a bump in the road. No journey to greatness is a smooth one Isaac. Whatever the hell happens next, we'll face it together as a team, because I am not leaving your side and letting you fight this injury alone. I know that you so badly want to break and that you feel like this the end of the road, but you need to keep pushing and listen to the training staff and follow their instructions."

"I love you so much." He tells me, sniffling. "Thank you for helping me with this, baby, I couldn’t do this without you" Isaac said while planting a soft and slow kiss on my lips

"I'll help you through anything. No matter what." I said while smiling and kissing him softly back.

It was battle to get Isaac’s ankle back to a healthy, normal, and stable ankle for a hockey player at his height and weight but we were able to do it. It was a long road and journey until Isaac was back out on the ice skating again and preparing himself for this upcoming training camp season.

Isaac looked and felt good, until one day right before the Flyers condensed training camp something didn’t seem right with him.

Isaac met up with Flyers trainer Jim McCrossin and after a deep examination we found out that Isaac was suffering from a fractured rib and a collapsed lung. We don’t know how exactly this had happen or when it happened. It could have been from when he fell during his ankle injury or from being hit during Rookie Camp, we don’t have the answers right now. And once again, here I am watching my boyfriend being completely destroyed and devastated all over again.

Isaac became instantly depressed, and much worst this time around because he knew there was no chance of making the Flyers squad this season and who knew when he could lace up for the Phantoms season as well. But thank God for Jim McCrossin who helped Isaac get the right and special care that he needed and got him completely healthy so he could play for the rest of this Phantoms season as well.

Isaac was getting game day dressed for a home game here in Allentown. I sat on the bed and watched/admire him as he fixes his tie in the mirror.

"Try not to worry about tonight so much baby, you are going to absolutely kill it out there like always. Once you get out on that ice, I have no doubt in my mind you will play just like how you used to before all of these setbacks. And just remember that no matter how easy, or how hard tonight’s game is going to be I'll be here for you always. But also, please promise me one thing, that if you don’t feel right to let your staff know immediately because I never want to see you get hurt like this again.” I said walking up behind him and wrapping my arms around his torso.

"I promise babe, I know that I need to take my health more seriously and whatever happens, happens. One day I will make my dream a reality and officially play in the NHL, but for the time being I got to focus on the now and my health." He said as he spun around and kissed me.

Watching Isaac warm up made my heart race and beat fast. But it was all worth seeing him back out there skating with the team and his boys. He looked so good and happy out on the ice and that is all that I could ever ask for.

The journey was extremely hard and long this past summer and fall for both Isaac and I, but in the end it definitely made us a stronger unit in our relationship and it has totally made Isaac a stronger hockey player both physically and mentally.

After the game, I bolted down to the locker room this time excitedly to see my boyfriend, not in a complete shear panic like last time and waited for Isaac to come out after he was done with the media.

The door swung open and I immediately saw Isaac and jumped right into arms like a little high school girl. “Babeee, you were beyond amazing tonight! I am so very proud of you, how are you feeling?” I asked nervously but giddy at the same time.

Isaac picked me up and kissed me ever so passionately before answering any of my questions that I just threw at him. “I felt good and still feel good. It was awesome to be back out on that ice again playing with the boys in front of our home crowd, their excitement and energy helped out a lot. But truthfully, I couldn’t have done any of this without you, y/n. I love you so much and I can’t wait to continue this amazing hockey journey with you right by myside.”

[criminalmutantsins]

Top 10 Favorite Young Justice Characters

10. Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle

Starting off the list is Blue Beetle. Young Justice introduced me to him, and I was hooked. He’s probably the most mellow and calming voice. His arc and relationship with Bart (friendship or not) were my favorite aspects of S2. They bounced off each other in every scene. I was very disappointed when Jaime and Bart were sidelined so much, and hope S4 changes this (particularly with Bart).

Jaime in the number 10 spot since he doesn’t really have much of a memorable personality. Still love him to bits though.

        9. Will Harper/Red Arrow

Funny enough, I did not like Will. He was an asshole in S1; S2 kind of changed my mind about him but not enough since he didn’t appear as much. What really changed my mind was the episode “Private Security” (S3 Ep.4). I started looking back into Will’s storylines and, I have to admit, his is probably one of the best character development.

The first season had him unwillingly living a lie and betraying the people he cared for. In season 2 he was so consumed into finding the original Roy for five years, not even caring or focusing about his own life. I felt really bad for Will because he was probably going through an identity crisis and thought he couldn’t live his life without finding Arsenal. Probably felt guilty.

Seeing him living his own life and being happy with his daughter was so heartwarming. I smiled every time Will appeared in the latest season (totally ignoring the Will x Artemis fiasco), especially with Lian. I’m very proud of him.

I feel bad for putting him so low, yet I adore the next characters more.

 8. Garfield Logan/Beast Boy

I have been a massive Beast Boy fan since Teen Titans so you probably can imagine how excited to see him. His origin story was unique and his brother-sister bond with M’gann was very sweet. It was pretty weird seeing how much younger Gar was than Dick, but I got used to it. I was bummed that Gar wasn’t in S2 as much; however, S3 truly made up for it. 

After watching Beast Boy being a great leader in S5 of Teen Titans, I wanted a leader-like and more mature version of him. Young Justice truly delivered with Gar being the leader of the Outsiders. It’s nice to see him treated with respect rather than as a joke because that was my biggest gripe with Teen Titans. Though it was weird seeing him not crack a joke at all.

Gar’s story with his mom was heartbreaking to see. I literally cried seeing his reaction to revisiting his trauma in S2 and S3; I just wanted to hug and tell him how awesome he is. My only complaint with Gar in S3 was that the Outsiders weren’t established until near the end of the season.

His voice actor being Greg Cipes also gives him extra points (He’s a chill guy and radiates BB energy).

 7. Dick Grayson/Nightwing/ Robin I 

Sorry to all the hardcore Nightwing fans.

I love Dick (don’t get any ideas), but he doesn’t get enough development in the spotlight. One of the things I really wanted to see from him is his growth as a main leader, and his journey to becoming Nightwing. I was really bummed when these happened between the first two seasons.

To be honest, I don’t have as much to say about him other than straightforward qualities I enjoy about him.

1.His Voice (it’s so soothing)

2.His Personality (very charismatic)

3.Very Handsome (Probably in the top 3 my most handsome YJ Men list)

I put him higher than the others since he made a lot of contribution to the story and his new words (gotta love that aster!)

6. Megan Morse/M’gann M’orzz/Miss Martian 

If I made this list during S1, M’gann would have probably been in my top 3 (maybe even No. 1), but S2 didn’t give her any brownie points.

I really liked S1 Miss Martian because of her kind heart, awkward girl next door personality. Her trouble fitting in the beginning reminded me of when I was going through a time in high school; seeing her having trouble as well helped me feel not so lonely. M’gann powers were (still are) my favorite since I am a big fan of mind-like powers. I would feel so powerful. Watching her identity crisis(?) arc was great too. I’ve had trouble feeling comfortable in my own skin as well as my social anxiety (I’m a mess) and I could understand how scared Megan was of her friends’ thoughts on her true form. 

Oh boy. Season 2 basically ruined her. Learning what she would do to enemies was terrifying to see and left me wondering what happened to Miss Martian that made her step this far. What she almost did to Superboy was almost unforgivable. You do not try to manipulate with your boyfriend’s mind when you guys have an argument! Shame on you M’gann. If Superboy hadn’t forgiven you then I wouldn’t have either.

Good thing S3 somewhat redeemed her. Her kind heart was noticeable again and she refused to do that mind trick again (thank god). Very excited for the Superboy and Miss Martian wedding! Please creators, I beg of you to not skip over it. I want to cry my eyes out in happiness!

 5. Kaldur’ahm/Aquaman/Aqualad 

Now we’re in the top 5 with Aqualad (*ahem* Aquaman) starting it off.

Creating Kaldur was the best decision the creators ever did. I love him with all my heart!

He added diversity to the original team and was a great leader. S1 was not his breakout season, though the second season definitely was.

Kladur played the villain so well that he deserves an automatic Oscar. I never doubted that he was with the heroes, but he didn’t disappoint. My favorite part about Aqualad’s performance was when he rose from the ocean slowly like a cliché villain (he made it work), and the line he said right after he “killed” Artemis; it sent me chills. Love it! 

Pretty disappointed that he didn’t appear as much in S3. Very happy that he is a part of the LGBTQ+ community and is in a happy relationship. I’m a part of the community and loved that there was finally some representation in one of my favorite shows. Even so, I have to criticize how rushed and sidelined it was. I hope Kaldur and Wyynde’s relationship gets development.

 4. Kon-El/Conner Kent/Superboy

Like Will, I did not like Superboy at first. Mainly angry and volatile characters were never really my cup of tea. I do understand why he was upset and felt bad for him; I just handle anger the direct opposite as him. My love for Conner started growing around the end of S1. He was very sweet towards Miss Martian (bless him for not caring about her appearance) and his anger was in control.

Season 2 pretty much switched my opinions on him and M’gann. It was awful what M’gann almost did to him. That scene with him being so sad that what she did ruined that special bond they had almost made me cry. I wanted to give him a hug. He grew so much too since I don’t think he would have handled the whole M’gann drama as well in S1. A lot of furniture would’ve been broken.

I gotta admit something. I almost put Conner near the bottom (maybe no. 7). A comment in a poll in Amino changed my mind. I wrote a poll asking other fans who did they prefer SB or MM. At that point I said SB, though I didn’t think much of it. Someone (specifically yjfangirl) responded “Superboy has the best development in the show.” This had me thinking about how far SB has gone. In the beginning, Conner was an angry guy who felt alone and rejected by the person who he was meant to emulate. Now he is happier and living for himself rather than to be the next Superman. He’s getting married people! A little detail I noticed when rewatching S3 was Superboy mentioning to new characters that they weren’t obligated to be a hero because of their abilities. I adored this! The main reason why Superboy was created to be Superman if the original ever died, and another one of Luthor’s puppets. But he strayed from that pressuring path and is doing his own thing. Conner doesn’t want other people to feel like he did. What an absolute pure soul.

Also, yjfangirl, first I want to say Hi (*waves*)! Then say thanks for writing that comment. It made me really think about the bigger picture with SB and my love for him as grown exponentially. You probably didn’t mean to do that, but I still want to thank you. 😊

 3.Wally West/Kid Flash

We’re in the elites now.

I don’t know how to explain it, I just love Wally. He makes me laugh, and his character growth was great. At first, Wally was this cocky flirt who didn’t take the hero work as seriously. That changed in “Cold-hearted,” one of my favorite episodes in the series. This was when I really started seeing more of Wally than being this dumb flirt. It was great seeing him actually caring about helping people since I believed for a long time that he wanted to be a superhero to just have powers rather than actually protect others. The regret in his eyes when he thought his impulsive behavior killed Perdita helped me see who he really was- this somewhat arrogant speedster who had a kind heart. Episodes that can make me change my perspective on characters are truly special.

I was very upset that he wasn’t in S2 a lot. I understand why since he gave up the life, but I was still bummed. Seeing him being so loving and protective towards Artemis was amazing. Spitfire is my favorite ship and I will not give up on them. All I want is a happy ending! The penultimate episode of S3 was a hint that it will happen. Watching the S2 finale was heartbreaking, I cried watching him disappear, his love for Artemis being the last things he said. Artemis’ reaction did not(I just wanted to hug her). 

I have more to say, though I’m leaving it for another post. 😉

 2.Bart Allen/Kid Flash II/Impulse

Picking between Bart and Wally for second place was tough. Took me a while to decide; I’ll talk about it later on.

The moment Bart made his appearance, I absolutely adored him. He is amazing and I live for his hyper, fun attitude. His arc and relationship with Jaime were my favorite aspects of S2. What can I say, their chemistry is great to see.

That scene when he was meeting the Flash family was so adorable. His excitement was infectious and spoiling his dad and aunt’s births was hilarious! I watch it occasionally whenever I need a good laugh or reason to smile.

Unlike most time travelers- at least the ones I’ve seen- Bart was very involved with what was going on and befriended his biggest enemy- evil and weirdly huge future Blue Beetle. He was pretty careful about disclosing very important information and took things very seriously. You never know if disclosing everything was the thing that brought the world to chaos.

What I found interesting was his choice on how to interact with everyone. He seemed pretty gloomy in the future, but decided to portray this cheerful, devil-may-care attitude to be more likable. I understood (still kind of do). I had terrible mental health issues and I pretended to be happy in front of loved ones because I thought they wouldn’t care about me anymore. Bart got some brownie points for that.

I was dissatisfied when his role was greatly reduced. I wanted the creators to go further with Bart by revealing his past and how it affected him. He was pretty much comedy relief. You couldn’t imagine how disappointed I was, especially with it involving my second favorite character. Season 4 better change that.

I know that you shouldn’t assume a character’s sexuality, yet I really hope Bart is gay. There needs to be more clear representation and Bart can be one of them. I’m also a Bluepulse and Bartuado shipper (fine with either one as long as Bart’s bond with each of them stays strong).

Anyway, I mentioned that I would explain why I chose Bart for 2nd place over Wally. It mostly stems from wishful thinking. I really want S4 to have Bart as a main character since I believe the future will be strong plot point in the season. Development could surely happen such as Bart opening up more about what he went through. Let all those feelings go.

I’m going to write an article on my hopes for S4 when a release date is announced. Bart and Wally will most definitely be talked about.

 …..

We are finally near the end!

And my No. 1 favorite character is…

Drumroll please!

…

..

.

1.Artemis Crock/Tigress/Artemis

That’s right people!

Artemis Crock, original member of the Team and daughter of villains!

She is such an inspiration to anyone who wants to go their own past without their parents’ support.

It’s hard to describe how much I love Artemis. She’s brave, strong-willed, and a kind person. It’s crazy how great of a person she is after all the terrible things that happened to her. I look up to her because I don’t have a healthy relationship with my parents (verbal and mental abuse) and there are times I don’t feel strong enough to stand on my own. I want to carry the amount of strength Artemis has as my own.

After all that happened in S2, it was amazing to see Artemis come back to the team and train the new generation. It must have been hard to walk away from a safe, comfortable life for a chaotic, dangerous life. I admire that in everyone, but I hold more respect for Artemis since “the life” “killed” Wally. I wanted to hug her so bad.

She’s also one of the kindest people in the show, the events in S3 being the best example. When Zatanna was crying about her dad, Artemis was there to comfort her. It was so sweet! Roy and her also took in Halo and Terra like they were a part of the family; the archer treated them like the best big sister. That rainstorm scene was heartwarming to the core.

Wouldn’t Artemis be an amazing mother? Lian and her have a strong bond like a mother and daughter; I loved it, and Lian is in good hands with Roy and Artemis. Though Jade deserves a chance to be a mother. Artemis also seemed to enjoy taking care of those kids in that S1 episode. Wally too. You guys know what I’m guys insinuating. 😉

Get ready for some fanfics on that someday.

My favorite Artemis-centered episode was the second to last episode of S3. I was waiting for this episode centering around Artemis missing Wally and learning to move on. It was great yet heartbreaking. Nothing bad happened. That Will and Artemis kiss never happened. Everyone makes a mistake. No matter how terrible it was.

Anyway, seeing Artemis and Wally living their lives and having a baby gave me life, even if it was fake. It was a vision of the future. I will believe this until there is confirmation that Wally will not come back.

Did anyone else cry when Artemis was so desperate to, but Wally wouldn’t let that happen (the real Wally would do that)? They are a great example of a healthy relationship with all the love and support they have for each other. I want that.

[angsty-nerd]

Max + Identity in Season 2

In the pilot, when Max self-identifies who he is to Liz, he tells her, "I'm a son, I'm a brother, I'm a cop...I'm just a guy from Roswell." All of those pieces of his self identity are systematically destroyed in Season 2, to the point where in the season finale he's grasping onto the last thing he feels like might be real about himself -- his role as the savior. A role that he scoffed at before his death, that he didn't really seem to believe, until all of the things he did believe about himself were gone. And then he loses that too, upon the discovery that he's not the only one, that he lacks any form of individuality. That Jones is just like him.

We get our first hint that this is coming in 2x05 when Rosa and Isobel get a glimpse inside Max's mindscape. They are literally traveling through the dying remnants of Max's mind, watching as these pieces of him are slowly fading away. There are three key visual clues in these scenes that give us insight into how he sees himself.

Most obviously, in his mindscape he is fully dressed in his Sheriff's Department uniform. This is the self-identity that he projects to the outside world in Season 1. There are many good metas out there about the layers behind that. How he takes his hat off when he's not on the job because he doesn't feel he deserves it. But all in all, his internal self image is the deputy that the public sees. I’ll add a link below to one where Mo and I were discussing this.

He is surrounded by Liz. And slowly losing her. This could be (and is) a meta all on its own about his psyche in general. He said it himself in 1x03 when he told her that he loves her. "That's what everything is about for me!" And this is the visual embodiment of it. His internal identity completely encompassed and consumed by his memories of Liz and all the things that represent her for him. And yes, their slow degredation are a literal representation. Of his memories of her slowly disappearing, but I also definitely would argue that it's exposing his deepest fear as well - that she'll leave him again.

And of course, he is chained to the floor. We are still, at this point in the season, just getting a glimpse at the layers of trauma hidden within his subconscious, but this is a direct look inside of him and his trauma is right there staring him in the face. These are hidden scars that he hasn't even begun yet to discover, but slowly begin to reveal themselves throughout Season 2b. And I expect will be prevalent in Season 3 as well.

The progression of Max's identity crisis started from the moment he woke up, with a portion of his self literally erased through the loss of his memories of Liz. A lot was made of the sweetness of him telling her at the end of the episode "I am not whole without you." But in a sense that statement could have been almost a thesis for his character arc in Season 2. He spends the entire season not whole, losing little pieces of himself one by one until he's not sure who he is at the end of 2x13.

Once his memory returned in 2x06, it briefly seemed like Max was back to normal, but that quickly got undercut in the opening scene of the next episode when it was first hinted at that he shouldn't be using his powers anymore. In 2x07 it was suggested that Liz was just being overly cautious, but her fears were proved to be accurate in 2x08 when Max does use his powers and immediately suffers chest pain. Its a physical reaction to his powers that's further emphasized in 2x12 when he almost dies trying to kill Flint. Nothing was explicitly stated, but I still speculate he had a full on heart attack in that moment, or that the pacemaker briefly failed, given how hard it was to resuscitate him. But without his powers, he's not complete as an alien anymore.

In 2x09 he loses what he thought he understood about his own origin story. Sheriff Valenti's version of the incident in the group home not only undercut certain facts about himself that he always had believed to be true - that he was the solid, stable one. That he was the strong one. Suddenly he's being told that he's the traumatized one, that he's the one with the behavioral pattern of being a loose cannon.

He loses his job. Okay, officially he quit in 2x07 to search for Jenna, but let's be honest here...if he hadn't quit, then he certainly would have lost his job when Sheriff Valenti arrested him in 2x09. We saw in his mindscape and heard from his lips in the pilot how strongly he identifies as a cop. But now that uniform, and that identity, have literally been stripped away from him...and replaced with a new uniform, sexy Wild Pony bartender man!

So, we have him stripped of his identity as an alien with powers, stripped of his identity as a cop. And in 2x10 he gets stripped of his identity within his family, when he learns that he and Isobel are not related. All of those self-identified aspects of himself have disintegrated, and he's left floundering to figure out who he is without those things. Which is why he begins to throw himself into trying to regain his memories, potentially even at the expense of his health through the use of the serum. Because he is so desperate to find a truth about himself to hold on to.

But that journey is also doomed to undercut him. One of my favorite musical moments of Season 2 is the second time he experiences a memory flash triggered by his own reflection, at the end of 2x10, with the cover of Bullet With Butterfly Wings playing over the scene. @echoapothecary did a great set on this scene right after the episode aired... link below.

Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage

Someone will say what is lost can never be saved

Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage

Tell me I'm the only one

Tell me there's no other one

Jesus was the only son, yeah

Tell me I’m the chosen one

I think in the moment we were supposed to take the visual flash at face value and assume that this was about Max's trauma from being imprisoned as a child, but on rewatch (and frankly, listening to the song over and over and over…) I really think the choice was more about identity, and foreshadowing the reveal of Jones as a mirror, clone, relative, something….to Max?

While in the middle of the S2 experience, one of my favorite gif sets that @maxortecho made for me was this idea of Max, and people constantly cutting him down, while Liz loved him regardless of those things (linked below). At the time I was really focusing on him and his reaction to being constantly told he was a let down. Add to that the appearance of Diego in 2x10, and Max isn’t even trying to hide his low self esteem and feelings of insecurity anymore. But take those constant undercuts and add to it the tidal wave of an identity crisis as all of the things you believe to be true about yourself fall apart, and we're left with the Max we see in the last couple episodes of Season 2. A man on a mission, manic and desperate to figure out who he is now, exacerbated by the fact that he's literally on drugs (the serum).

Only then, in his desperate, manic state, does he find himself willing to believe the implausible (to him) reveal at the end of Season 1 that he might be the Savior. Because it's the last thing that makes him unique, that makes him feel like he has a role, a purpose…until he loses that too at the end of the episode when they release Jones, a literal copy of himself, from his prison.

All of these gifs were gratefully borrowed from @maxortecho, with two exceptions. Wild Pony Max 🔥 is @rosaortecho’s work, and Howdy 🧔🏻 is (I think) @darlingnotso’s. (Please correct me if I’m wrong).

[shadowsong26x]

And several months later, we’re back with more of the BSG rewatch! This time covering the rest of S2.5 and also The Plan because Why Not.

The delay was in part because of miscellaneous non-rewatch related things, and in part because...you know, I think this is where I stalled the last time I did (or tried to do) a full rewatch, back in like 2015? And I think I know why--it’s because I’m not actually super fond of this half-season.

Like, don’t get me wrong. One of my favorite episodes is actually in this section, and every season/half-season/whatever of this show has At Least one episode that I don’t particularly like. And my least favorite episode isn’t even in this section (that’s coming in the back half of S3 and hoo boy am I still mad just thinking about it).

But.

There’s like...a whole cluster of episodes I’m not fond of, all bunched up together, lol. There’s Black Market, of course (which, my recollection of my thoughts on that episode are ‘this one has Potential but Lee was the wrong person to be doing this’ we’ll see how I feel this time); and also Sacrifice; and then there’s Significant Chunks of Lay Down Your Burdens (mostly relating to Chief); and while I don’t remember The Captain’s Hand being bad, exactly, I’ve been dreading it this time around because the B plot in the current political climate is going to be. Rough.

Anyway. That being said, once I’m past this section, it should go smoother both because I’ll be past this chunk and also I now have a DVD player I can plug into my laptop, so I won’t have to wait for a chunk of time when I’m dogsitting (for people who have access to Peacock streaming that I’m allowed to borrow). So hopefully, the Great BSG Rewatch of 2022 will in fact be completed in 2022. XD

Okay. All of that aside--I’m including The Plan in this chunk for some of the same reasons I included Razor in the last one, because I need it for Fic Purposes. Also, while there are the obvious Spoilers, it technically chronologically ends before the timeskip at the end of Lay Down Your Burdens.

My notes on the miniseries and Season 1 can be found here; and my notes on the first half of S2 (plus Resurrection Ship and Razor) can be found here.

As before, my notes contain spoilers because I have seen the full series before. I’ve copied over a lot of quotes I like, some with commentary, some with just Flailing. Also some plot/construction notes, and some notes to myself about the aforementioned fic (and a couple other self-indulgent AUs), which I have deleted. There might be a few I missed, though.

Also, warnings. Very Very important content warnings: genocide, suicide, intimate partner violence, torture, and sexual assault, as well as a lot of other Violence. There is also some content relating to abortions/reproductive rights. Other than that, unlike last time I don’t thiiiiiink there are any that need to be more heavily warned for than others? Feel free to send me an ask if you want more details.

I think that covers it! Here we go!

Epiphanies:

Previously on from Roslin

Ah, yes, flashing back to the miniseries. I actually like the lavender suit? But yeesh her hair.

Okay, this is timestamped 189 days ago. Which lines up with where we were last episode (6 months based on what Cain says).

Awwww, Billy. :(

I think I recognize the actor playing the union guy? I’ll have to look it up.

Ah yes. That bit, where she sees Gaius and Caprica. And, like, part of me would like to point out that that is…very slim evidence of anything? At least by itself. Otherwise everyone who knew/cared about Boomer (or Gina, or that one Simon, or Doral, or…well, we never meet any of Leoben’s friends lol but he was the Secretary of Defense’s yoga instructor XD) ANYWAY. This one piece of information doesn’t actually mean all that much, is the point

Except.

::gestures at all of the Everything Else::

I think her reading the worst into this particular memory is probably at least partially based on she just personally does not like this man, but it’s. it’s kind of hard not to Question Things, knowing how he’s acted in the six months since. Especially how he handled the Shelly Godfrey mess. I don’t know that she’d fixate on it in quite this way without the personal antipathy, but that’s neither here nor there.

(And, as with so many things where he’s concerned, she’s partially (mostly) right but also partially wrong and honestly I really, really love the way these two play off one another.)

Okay, so there are more people on staff here than just Cottle and Ishay, there was definitely one other dude with a stethoscope.

BILLY MY HEART.

…I think, because I never watched this episode without spoilers (I think the first episodes I ever watched were either New Caprica or Crossroads? While someone else was watching and I was around) so it doesn’t quite hit me the same way it would if I was legitimately wondering if they’d find a way to keep her alive? I mean, laws of TV say they should, but while Crashdown wasn’t a Main Credits lead, he was I think in every single episode of S1? So…yeah, idk.

49,598 survivors

“Save the attitude for someone who cares.” I love Kat and Kara’s dynamic, and of course this is setting up for Scar which I think is either the next episode or the one after that?

Oooooooh right, this subplot.

Aaaaand there’s an issue with the ammo, not the gun, so when Chief checked it, he knew he was right.

Bill’s face :(

Oh, right, Adar was an asshole, as we learn here.

Oooooooh, and she stole that from him XD “One of the most interesting things about being president is you don’t have to explain yourself to anyone.”

Isn’t it implied that they slept together at some point? Guess I’ll find out.

Ah, yes, the anomalies with Hera’s blood.

“Didn’t say conclusive, just damned odd.”

And yeah Adama is also Not Super On Board with this plan, but. He’s still going to back her.

Oh wow and yeah it didn’t actually hit Baltar that he’s about to be President until Bill pointed it out. You can see it all over his face.

Huh, so apparently Head!Six has been least-in-sight since Pegasus, which now he’s saying was weeks ago. Timelines!

Oh shit that was an actual cracking noise did she break his wrist.

Lol, people are used to him talking to himself by now no one even bats an eye as he and Head!Six have this fight in a crowded hallway.

BUT THE THING WITH THE TIE LOL and he just Automatically puts his hand to it.

((Also, I don’t think she usually wears brown? Caprica does a lot--she tends to wear softer colors/earth tones more than Head!Six does, IIRC? Whereas Head!Six usually wears bright/saturated red/blue or stark whites and blacks. And that one silver dress which only looks passable because Tricia Helfer looks good in anything. Mostly bringing this up because there was that one photoset I saw on tumblr a while back that was tagged as Caprica but like. Only one of the pictures was Definitively Her XD The rest were Head!Six, with one I wasn’t totally sure of lol))

And Bill does tell Helo directly because. Yeah.

“They’ve got stones, I’ll give them that.” “I’ve agreed.” “…what?” “We’re not negotiating. I just want to know what we’re up against.”

…Bill, I get why you’re doing this, but I think arresting him is going to cause more problems than it solves…

Sharon like “they’re still afraid of me? Fine. I’ll give them something to be afraid of.”

((also the timeline of her pregnancy makes ZERO sense but oh well))

Oh shit I forgot we got suicide bombers before New Caprica

Billyyyyyyyy :(

“The next few days are likely to be…hectic…so.” And that is a Fancy Wax Seal.

“Even their dedication has limits.”

This was never in any universe going to be a healthy relationship ever. And he did EVERYTHING RIGHT before and he’s doing EVERYTHING WRONG here, and some of it is his madness and Head!Six and.

And then he has the Realization about Hera’s blood.

“I am not who you think I am. And I will not be responsible for the destruction of mankind.”

Yep. Yep yep yep they were. Roslin you generally have better taste than this. But who knows, maybe he was less of an asshole before the election.

…also I take it back, I like the suit a lot less without the jacket. That ultra-high-waist skirt is. Not Great.

“You expected me to fail.” “I expected you to hold the line. This doesn’t have to be the end of the world.” When it. Like. Literally Is. Within the next day or so.

“When I return, if you still want my job, be prepared to fight.”

“I know that many of you believe in the power of prayer.” :((((((((((((((((

And then attempting to grab Sharon with only the music and no diegetic sound at all just. Wow.

As Bill watches from outside.

Oh Helo. Oh baby. “Please don’t do this.” And he’s prepared to draw his gun to defend his child. And Bill is going to talk him down. “think about what you’re doing, Helo. You’re a soldier.” “I’m a father. Like you. Please, sir…give me a raptor. Let me take her off the ship. I’ll get her away from the ship.”

And that buys Baltar time to get here from Cloud Nine with his answer. “I may have been…wrong. Very wrong.” And then he realizes what he just ran into and Helo is behind him XD

“What am I looking at?” “Nothing. That’s the whole point.”

“It’s untried. It’s obviously untried, and therefore extremely dangerous, but it’s possible.” And they’re out of other options so to use what is simultaneously an incredibly inappropriate and Extremely Apt term--they’re gonna try the Hail Mary. XD

“maybe it’s just her time.” “then for once perhaps I am the beacon of hope around here.” Ohhhh so much to unpack there.

Awwww, Billy!

48 hours later, so…given that they mentioned ‘a few days’ earlier, this episode probably took between 5 days and a week? Of course the timeline has stopped making sense but just for my own notes XD

“By saving Roslin, you’ve denied yourself your rightful place of leadership. There are aspects of you I do not understand.” “You wouldn’t.” and then Head!Six asks if he loves Gina and he doesn’t answer, because the answer is ‘yes but’ because it’s all so confusing.

And of course he opens the letter (and tbf there are Very Few People who would not.)

And once again she’s partially right and partially wrong--he is capable of compassion, we’ve seen that (and we see more of it later); he just. Has this issue with abstractions and out-of-sight-out-of-mind. Which for his position as scientific advisor isn’t Great but it can be worked around, but as President, he’ll need to be able to face those abstractions and apply these things on a wider scale. Which he doesn’t learn to do until s4 (and possibly not even then).

Once again a flash of Spite and he does Stupid Things but once he calms down he doesn’t hold a grudge (again the out-of-sight-out-of-mind thing in play probably).

Yeah, she’s never going to trust you.

The STUPIDEST THING Gaius. Why are you sending Gina your nuke. …also how did you get away with keeping it when the detector was dismantled. I have SO MANY QUESTIONS

Ohhhhhh that smile after that initial ‘recoil in shock’ moment.

Black Market:

Previously on from Lee.

Oh right. Quadrangle of why take one. Not quite as annoying as the Big One in s3 but still. While I don’t think Billy and Dee were long-term compatible even without the nonsense, it’s still…they both deserved better than this nonsense.

And this right here is why Lee’s relationships tend not to work out. Because he wants this Idealized Girlfriend thing and when he pays someone to pretend, it’s fine, but when he tries to make that work with Dee or Kara…

“Well, they wouldn’t be civilians if they didn’t have something to bitch about.”

“Supply levels are tight, but not critical.”

Antibiotics coming up already.

“A few trades would be one thing, that’s reality. But I’m talking about criminals making outrageous demands. We need to be in control of our supply chain, not the black market.”

…okay but that is a kinda scary-looking doll lol. “Maybe next time I’ll get one with two eyes.”

Ohhhhhhhh and the staging of Fisk’s murder with him going into his office and unfastening his collar echoes some of the staging of Cain’s murder I LIKE IT

Also good riddance.

49,597.

…huh, I feel like it should be less than that? Given the explosion from the Demand Peace movement explicitly had casualties…ah well. Possibly a handful of babies were coincidentally born as well.

Oh right Lee had an actual girlfriend/fiancée/something before? Maybe I shouldn’t judge his relationships so hard lol.

And of course there’s some creepy serial killer bs! Because why just murder Fisk, why not shove a cubit into his throat!

“I almost prefer [another Cylon] to the alternative.” Yeaaaaaaah.

And putting Lee in charge of leading the investigation. “Wouldn’t it be better if someone from Pegasus did it?” “Even though Cain is gone, her influence lingers. I need someone I can trust.” “There were times when it was in short supply between us.” “We’ve been through a lot. I hope we’re stronger for it.”

Gaius why are you here.

Ohhhhh he doesn’t know about the murder until he walks into the room, he was here to meet with Fisk.

“You bought yourself some goodwill by saving Roslin, but it’s fading. Their suspicions are returning.”

“Why are you acting like a child with your hand in the cookie jar? Wonder what she would say if she saw you like this.”

“Pegasus lost two commanders in a matter of weeks.” Timelines!

And he’s been raiding other ships and heavily involved in the black market. Yay.

“Half the fleet’s working [the black market]. Fisk was getting greedy.”

Of course Ellen has black market connections OH RIGHT THAT WAS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BRACELET I CAN’T BELIEVE I MISSED THAT.

“I haven’t done anything half the people on this ship haven’t done.” “Doesn’t make us right, Colonel. Just makes a lot of people wrong.”

“Permission to speak frankly, sir?” “You don’t need permission, and you don’t need the sir.” “…maybe that’s the problem. I don’t know what to think anymore, so I’ll just ask. Is this going somewhere? Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.” “Dee…” “Our time together, our workouts…something’s changed between us.” “I’m not sure what you want me to say.”

…yeaaaaaaah, okay, I know they were planning to write Billy off (I think either the next episode or the one after is Sacrifice, the other one is Scar) but. Yeah. Dee, you probably should’ve broken things off with Billy sooner than you did. Or at least had a conversation with him. Whatever happens between you and Lee, there’s something in your other relationship that isn’t working for things to get to this point.

And he says to Shevon “I’m not fooling myself, I know what this is.”

And he almost gets garotted, too! Or I guess technically he does but he doesn’t get garotted to death? At what point do you call someone garotted.

Yeaaaaaaaah ‘letting it go’ is Not gonna happen.

“Is that when you knew that you loved her?” “I thought so.” “But you hurt her.” …yeah, no, nvm, Lee has apparently always been shitty at relationships.

Oh, Lee does call for a medic right away. …not just for himself, but still.

Aaaaand this conversation! “I’m never quite sure where we stand with each other, Doctor. Why do you think that is?” “I can’t imagine why. I’ve never had anything but the utmost respect for you and your office.” …or maybe it’s not This conversation, they’re talking about his meeting with Fisk.

“Gaius, she’s afraid of you.” “Why--are you asking me this?” “I sense there is some unease in you in assuming the presidency, and I’d like to offer you an out.” YEP IT’S THIS CONVERSATION. And like…I’m not sure what he would’ve done if she hadn’t pushed him here, but once she pushes him he’s Definitely going to double down and refuse to resign. Even though that is what he actually wants, deep down.

“You can consider it a second chance, like the one you gave me.” “Charming. ::starts to leave::” “Doctor. This is a one-time offer. I suggest you reconsider.” “I’ve never been particularly interested in politics. And I never wanted any lofty position of power. I never wanted to be the Vice President. That is, until this very moment. Because right now, I can’t think of anything I want more.” Yeah, she misread him here and made the wrong play. Ah, well.

ZAREK. Aka “and then there’s this asshole (affectionate)”

“I just heard. Are you all right?”

“I know these places are legal, but…”

“I have to be careful about the company I keep.” “Yeah, well, according to Fisk’s log…”

Oooh, interesting. “See how many ships made stops at the Astral Queen after Fisk’s last visit.”

And Zarek’s not wrong, there was no way this was Not going to happen.

“They gave you Fisk’s killer for a reason. They’re offering you a way out.” Oooooooh and to have That in the same episode as That Conversation.

“You know something, don’t you.” “Just rumors. …there’s a freighter. Prometheus. Some people say it’s gone off the grid. But if you want something bad enough, that’s where you go. The deals are brokered by an ex-military mercenary named Phelan.”

“Lee. I hope she’s worth it.”

SO MUCH TO UNPACK HERE. Returning to Zarek being smart and having lines he won’t cross (until he doesn’t, but post-Earth 1.0 Everything Changes). And while I think I stand by my assessment that I’d like this episode a lot more if someone other than Lee was doing it…no one bounces of Zarek quite the way he does.

(Also Kara was barely in the last episode and I haven’t seen her yet in this one. Huh.)

…and every woman he’s been Demonstrably (Canonically*) Interested In except Dee has been a blonde.

((*I know Lee/Roslin is a popular fanon ship but.))

Aaaaaand now we know there is Trafficking of Children going on.

Okay, Phelan talks a good game and he’s not wrong about the black market filling a necessary niche buuuuuuuuuuuut then the trafficking of children undercuts his point by a LOT. “It’s hard to find a moral high ground when we’re all standing in the mud.” NOT ON THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE. “I’m not like my old man, Captain. And you are not like yours.”

…the sad thing is, murdering Phelan isn’t really going to Solve the black market problem. But we’re gonna hit another of Zarek’s hard limits here I’m sure (he’ll murder children if need be, man blew up a building, I don’t think the possibility of children being inside would’ve stopped him, but not This.)

“Nobody can stop it. And maybe nobody should. But it needs limits. There’s lines you can’t cross. And you crossed them.”

Yeeeep that’s the Point of this episode. …and I guess why it had to be Lee after all. He’s the one who hates himself for not being Good and violating his rigid ethics but he will do the Necessary Thing.

“So you’re still in business. For now. But if there are any more killings, if you hold back necessary medicines, if you ever touch a child…” …and now I’m kind of interested in Black Market Kingpin Lee. I’m more interested in Lee than I ever have been before, lol.

Yeaaaah, Lee, your relationship with Shevon is exactly what she says it is. “I’m a replacement for a lot of things. Things men can’t get anywhere else. Things they’ve lost. She wanted to give you a child.” Oooh, and Lee didn’t want kids. “But you were afraid, so you pushed her away. And then you ran. And you didn’t stop running until it was too late.” Okay, so what broke apart his relationship was not his shittiness, exactly, it was a legit ‘we want different things we can’t reconcile.’ …eeeeexcept for the fact that he was kind of Involved with Kara already. “I am not her. And Paya is not and will never be your child.”

And Lee claims it’s all wrapped up. “What about Prometheus?” Roslin asks. “We will keep an eye on them.” “Not exactly the solution I had in mind. Whether or not we allow a criminal enterprise to flourish in this fleet is not a matter of choice.” “I support your trade policies wholeheartedly, Madam President, but we are never going to have a perfect system. We are always going to have a black market. This way, we know names, I know faces, and we will monitor the situation.” Yeah, Lee’s right here, this was the best possible solution.

Awwww, this moment with Billy would be a lot cuter if not for that prior conversation and the way she Looks at Lee who’s hovering at the gym entrance.

Yeah, a near-death experience will change a man.

“You should’ve told me about the woman.”

…okay, so, in the final analysis…this episode is not as bad as its reputation/as I remembered? I think if I was at all more interested in Lee, I might even like it??? But I’m really not. And it’s unfortunately very skippable, apart from the Roslin and Baltar conversation and the Lee and Zarek moment. I’m not sure anymore that it would’ve been Better with, say, Starbuck heading the investigation. It would’ve been different and probably more interesting to me, personally, but…yeah.

Scar:

YAY THE EPISODE WHERE KAT AND STARBUCK DEFINITELY HAD ANGRY SEX IN A CLOSET SOMEWHERE.

Ahem.

I mean.

MOVING ON

Starbuck gets the previously on.

And now we’re at a mining ship that’s been operating for 29 days. And at least two pilots are dead.

“I don’t think he’s gonna RSVP, Kat. He prefers surprise parties.” “Yeah, well, he’ll be surprised when I blow him up.” “That’ll be the day.”

Oh, man, clearing out his bunk.

“Does anybody remember Rielly’s girlfriend’s name?”

“It does matter,” Kat says, and she’s right.

And their replacements are immediately brought in as soon as they’re finishing clearing out the bunks.

“Who’s Scar?” “Not who, what. Cylon’s top gun.”

“He’s got a taste for nuggets. Easy pickings.”

“There was a time you’d’ve noticed that before me.” “Fiiiiiine you’re the shooter.”

And Starbuck has the Fancy Tankard which I think goes to Kat at the end of the episode?

“This isn’t duelling pistols at dawn, this is war. You don’t wanna fight fair. You wanna sneak up behind your enemy and club him over the head. You see, Scar understands that. And so do I. That’s why I’m gonna kill him.” And Starbuck and Kat finishing each other’s stories turns into needling each other and that little Smile.

And yep they’re betting over the top gun mug. “Your lips’ll never touch the rim little girl.” Yeaaaaaaaaah they definitely had Angry Sex in a closet at least once this episode. But yeah, Lee and Kat have a point, Kara, maybe you should tone down the drinking…

But she misses Sam. And who can blame her, Sam is awesome. And she keeps getting shot down when she tries to get a rescue mission going.

Noooooope, the Raider Kat is chasing was Not Scar oh no. it was Bait.

49,593!

YAY THE FLASHY BITS IMPLY WE GET SOME STARBUCK AND HELO BEING BROS!!!!! AND HE WAS IN THE BACKGROUND OF THAT LAST SCENE SO YAAAAAAAY!

“That can’t be Scar. He should be jumping, or wheeling to gun at us…” and yep, checking the tail is Smart but there’s Glare and then JUST LIKE ONE OF THOSE MINISERIES SHOTS, WE SEE SCAR COMING OUT OF THE LIGHT I LOVE IT

And they’re stuck here for another eight days.

Okay, so most of the fleet isn’t here, that’s smart.

Starbuck, you should read the briefing notes before telling your pilots what to do.

Ooooooh, is this implying that Starbuck’s captured raider is Scar? I LIKE IT.

And that repeating of that “death as a learning experience” idea.

“How many pilots have we lost? I mean…have you lost.” “You know there are times when I look at you and I forget what you are. All I see is that kid that spooched her landings day after day. The kid that was frakking the Chief and thinking she was getting away with it.” “Yeah, I remember. You were like a big sister to--” And then Guns when she reaches for Starbuck’s hands.

“Be careful of Scar, okay? He’s filled with rage.” “About what?” “Dying is a painful and traumatic experience. Every time he’s reborn, he’s filled with more bitter memories. Scar hates you every bit as much as you hate him.”

And Kat beats Starbuck’s record on the range!

And oh man Starbuck’s voice/face when she’s hit, and then they lose visual contact and…

“Don’t be an idiot, Starbuck, what’s your position?”

SO MUCH ANGRY SEX

YAY STARBUCK AND HELO BRO TIMES

“Why are you pushing so hard? Kat’s just another hotshot kid out to make her bones. Like you were before you met Anders. …you ever think about him?” “What’s the point? He’s dead.” “…Kara. If you didn’t think he had a chance of surviving, why’d you promise to return with a rescue party?” “I thought I was…I don’t know what I thought.” …yeah, I guess after it’s been…probably at least five or six months…that changes things.

Oh noooooo these are the ones that were mentioned as getting Killed right at the beginning before we started flashing back and forth in time. Duck and BB just died.

“That kid needs more than a pat on the ass and a textbook quote about tactics, okay?” “You wanna be his wetnurse, go right ahead. His jacket says he’s a qualified viper jock, so either I fly him, or I ground him and we go up short. What’s it gonna be? Your call, Kat.” SO MUCH ANGRY SEX.

And someone pukes on the deck. Not the first, won’t be the last.

“Nice work, Starbuck.” “What the hell happened to BB?” “He did exactly what you told him to do! ‘Try to run and you’re dead.’ I heard you drill that into that poor moron’s head.” “You and I both know that 99% of the time, that is the right move.” “Not this time.” SO MUCH. JUST. SO MUCH.

“In two weeks, I won’t remember his face. I can’t remember any of their faces after they’re killed. No matter how hard I try, they just fade.” “I don’t even remember their names.” “Names? Oh, let’s see…there was Flattop, who bought it on his thousandth landing. There was Chuckles…” “The president says that we’re saving humanity for a bright shiny future on Earth--that you and I are never gonna see. We’re not. Because we go out over and over again until someday some metal motherfrakker is gonna catch us on a bad day and just blow us away.” “…bright shiny futures are overrated, anyway.” I like Lee and Kara much better when they’re being fr--spoke too soon. “That’s why we gotta get what we can. Right now.” “I’ll drink to that. To right now.” “So why don’t we? “ “Why don’t we…what?” and now they’re fucking. Because of course they are.

And Lee is saying slow down and Starbuck isn’t listening and juuuuuuust like when she frakked Baltar, she’s screwing someone else to hide from her Feelings. This time she’s screwing Lee to hide from her feelings about Sam. “There is no us. I just wanted a good lay. There is nothing here. Nothing. You get that?” “…sure.”

“Well that’s just great. Frak or fight, right? Maybe I am just a good lay, but I’m also your friend, okay?” “I am hung up on a dead guy, okay? And it is pissing me off. And I don’t know what I’m doing.” “I don’t need your pity, Lee!” “You don’t have it! You’re fine with the dead guys, it’s the living ones you can’t deal with!” And then she slaps him and then kisses him and then storms out and just. Why. These two. Are. So. Exhausting. Go have angry sex with Kat instead.

And now she’s drinking in the ready room, watching all the footage of her pilots dying.

“Maybe if you hadn’t been up all night drinking, Jojo would’ve still been here.” “…give us the room.”

SO MUCH ANGRY SEX.

“I put Snake in my place because I knew I was in no condition to fly. Unlike you, I don’t take a bunch of pills and climb into my cockpit too wired to land right!” “You used to be the best stick in the fleet. Now you’re just a reckless drunk who sends other people out to get killed. What are you gonna do? Gonna hit me, Starbuck?” “Scares you, does it?” “Actually, no.” “You’re afraid most of the time, Kat. You’re afraid that you’re gonna end up like that picture of Reilly’s girlfriend. Some little…forgotten picture that no one really remembers. You see, that’s why you’re riding my ass so hard. So no one will notice that Scar scares the living crap out of you.” And then Kat hits her. …and Lee comes in before they can turn that bickering/fistfight into an Angry Makeout Session. “What’s going on?” “…a little tactical discussion, sir.” “is that what they’re calling it now” “…must’ve been lively.”

And Lee puts them out on one of the pickets together.

And Lee asks if Starbuck is okay, and Kat goes to view the memorial wall. And pin the picture of Reilly’s girlfriend to it.

I love Sam so much. He deserved better.

“I am gonna put him right in front of you. Do not miss him, frakkin’ stim junkie.”

Ooooooh that spray of blood across the space/asteroid.

And Starbuck just stares at the downed, smoldering wing as they fly away.

so much angry sex.

And she does fill the cup. “You earned it,” she says quietly, and Kat realizes this is Serious, and not mocking each other anymore.

And Starbuck proves she was Lying to lee before. “To BB…Jojo…Reilly…Beano…Dipper…Flattop…Chuckles…Jolly…Crashdown…Sheppard…Dash…Flyboy…” And she starts to falter, but she keeps going. “Stepchild…Puppet…Fireball…” And Lee gets up to help her finish when she runs out of names and she Knows there are more but. “To all of ‘em.” “So say we all.”

And bro times with Helo again! “I could’ve done it. Just needed to get a little closer.” “So why didn’t you do it?” “Probably would’ve died in the process. Bastard was too good. Couple months ago, I wouldn’t’ve even thought about that. Would’ve just gone for the glory, hoping I could’ve pulled it out of the fire sometime.” “Don’t beat yourself up. You and Kat both came back alive. You did the right thing, called in your wingman.” “That’s not why I did it, though. I can’t get Anders out of my head.” “You got something to live for now. Not just die for.” I LOVE THEM SO MUCH YOUR HONOR. BEST BROS.

Sacrifice:

oh no.

::momma look sharp starts playing::

((yeah if I had ever gotten around to doing a S2 fanmix like the one I did for S3, this episode would be that song. I am NOT the only one who’s made the connection, either: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRMZ5qdsBu0 SUFFER WITH ME))

ANYWAY

Lee gets the previously on, I think (the subtitles say Laura but it is definitely a dude)

And this lady has a full on wall of crazy. Woo.

Does go to show that there is genuinely a thriving press in the fleet which is kind of great! Not just wireless, but actual papers.

Billy is being more outspoken than usual in this meeting, yay! Lol, Roslin comments on it, too.

Awwwwww. “You were saying about the hard questions?” and he’s proposing and it’s SUPER CUTE except Dee’s been kind of pulling away from him and towards Lee and…she just…her face, oh man.

And he’s still holding out hope and babbling when her Face says it all and then she finally gets the words out and and and. :(((((((((

“I can’t marry you. I don’t know how else to say it. I’m sorry.” :(((((((((((((

And the very next scene is her on a date with Lee.

She’s so pretty.

“I don’t know what to make of me and Billy, but I know I can’t marry him. Then again, I don’t know what to make of you and me, either.”

Oooh, whatever Lee is drinking just has a straight-up chili pepper in it.

Hi Ellen! Haven’t seen you in a while!

49,590!

And Ellen has a very pretty bright blue drink! With like. Smoke on it XD

Ohhhhhh and now Billy is in the bar and Dee is like “…shiiiiiiit.” And then Lee comes back with more drinks and Dee is like “fuuuuuuuuuuck” and Billy is just “…oh.” And his face. :(((((((( “Billy, I’m sorry,” Lee says, and retreats back to the bar. Which. Can’t blame him. (And Ellen already has a second drink, lol)

And Billy’s mad because “I thought we could be honest with each other. But when I proposed you knew you were going to be here with him today. I know giving you the ring was stupid, that’s fine. And maybe this wasn’t gonna work out between us, but this…you should’ve told me about this.” And…I mean, in her defense, when he pulled her aside to propose he kind of just kept babbling and she had frozen for a moment.

…on the other hand, Black Market was at least a month ago given Scar’s internal timeline, and so this has been building for at least that long and yeah, she really should’ve talked to him before this.

And meanwhile Ellen is like “it’s hard to choose the people we fall in love with…to love only one person at a time…people like us are more complicated.” And like. Not really helping XD

And then Dee says she’s sorry, and Billy says he’s here with friends and walks away. (earlier he said he was here on business which is proooooooobably closer to the truth But)

Whoops Lee noticed the lady from earlier. Which. Took him long enough, she and that one dude were acting Super Sketch. Aaaaaand he’s spotted her gun. Fun!

“Ellen, the bathroom’s over here.” “…are you serious? :D” and she only takes the blue smoky drink with her.

Sorry, Ellen, you’re not getting bathroom sex from Lee today. Or ever.

…is it just me or does that one shooter/bad guy/whatever look weirdly like a Five?????

Yep, and Now Ellen knows why Lee pulled her into the bathroom, so he could have some room to maneuver. And he’s counting shooters and.

“What about you, Saul? Are you afraid of her?” “The truth is, I don’t like the way it’s gotten under your skin.”

And now Ellen’s going to try and Talk to the people holding everyone hostage which. Like. Whatever else you can say about her, she’s got ovaries of steel.

((I feel like we haven’t seen Tigh all that much in this set of episodes either? Ah well, he’ll definitely be more present in this episode))

Although letting the hostages know Exactly how valuable a hostage they have might or might not have been the smart play, which is probably part of why Lee pulled her out of the room.

And giving two hours to produce Athena and Bill’s first response is “I need everything we know about this woman.”

And that little jerk when Bill hears Lee is there. But also half a squad of marines and Starbuck and he’s like “…yeah, I know who we want here get me Starbuck.”

And yeah that’s Smart what Lee is doing with the drink but it’s taking too long and he’s gonna get caught so he scrambles back to the bathroom--probably he can hear them in the other room?

Oh, nope, he was Lying in Wait. And now he has a gun!

“Lock and load, figure it out as we go.” I love Starbuck.

And then they use Dee as a counter-hostage so Lee has to let his guy go.

“We all have someone we care about. He’s not gonna choose a Cylon over his son.”

And Now the sensor goes off!

“There’s a reason you don’t start shooting on a spaceship. Maybe you nicked a line. Let me talk to the Admiral.”

“I’m not going to sacrifice a military asset on your altar of revenge.”

“This is about the loss of your husband, and I understand that. It’s about you wanting to strike back, I understand that too. We’ve all lost people we care about, and we learn to live with it.”

“I am sure you’re aware, Admiral, of the concrete evidence that Caprica’s defenses were compromised by a Cylon agent who infiltrated the Ministry of Defense on the eve of the attacks.” She is. Not wrong. “People look for complicated answers when something terrible happens. Maybe we were just caught by surprise and were beaten. And maybe we have to learn to live with that.” “And maybe you’re missing the point. You were infiltrated, and you’ve been infiltrated again. You are being played, and the rest of us are not going down with your ship! I want the air system repaired now!”

And IIRC he sends Starbuck in as the repair person.

“Saul, we can’t give her Sharon, you know that, right?” “I know that. We can’t start dealing with terrorists, we start doing that now and it opens the floodgates, they’ll never stop. And by the way, it’s not Sharon. It’s a frakking Cylon.” “You don’t think I know that?” “I think there’s part of you that looks into that thing’s eyes and still sees that young girl that reported aboard two years ago as a rook pilot. Whell it’s not. And it never was.”

And yep, Kara figures out that the sensor was messed with, and is going in for recon! Which will probably involve her shooting many things because.

“Captain, what are you doing?” “Volunteering.” Lol, that Marine’s tone XD

YEP SHE HAD GUNS HIDDEN AND NOW THERE ARE BULLETS FLYING

And Lee got hit--oh shit I thought it was farther to his shoulder than that, that’s like. That probably dropped a lung. Yikes.

Also oh shit I think Starbuck hit him while he was running to grab one of the guns(?) not sure what he was doing there.

She did hit at least one of the hostage-takers, though.

But the Marines were coming in through the half-open door! And he has to pull her out.

Okay yeah, now it looks more on his shoulder than his chest what do I know, lol.

“You still want the Cylon? Because if the Admiral’s son dies, you’re not gonna get a thing.” So Billy gets to get something to use as bandages and help Dee clean Lee up.

“My cover was blown, I had to move. I’m sorry.” “Any casualties?” “Two marines, probably KIA. At least one of the gunmen…and Lee. It was crazy in there. Confused. He got hit.” “How bad?” “I don’t know.” “Stand by. Hold your position. Make no move unless you hear from me.” “It was friendly fire. Lee got hit by friendly fire. …I think it was me.” Oh man. Oh man oh man oh man. “…you have your orders.” Especially considering when she finally came clean about how Zak died oh man.

Billy is such a good bean I love him so much.

And Bill goes to talk to Sharon. “Are you playing with us? Are you playing with me?” Because he has to be Sure, has to decide what to do. “If I were to ask you, would you tell me who [the other Cylons in the fleet] are?” “No.” “That I believe.”

That does explain why Cavil is still unknown as of the end of this season (and probably D’Anna, too). The question is--why is she doing that? To have one more thing to hold on to Just In Case? Because betraying her people as a group is different from selling out Individual People? Hedging her bets in case she needs to turn to one of them for an exit strategy, especially if Hera is threatened again?

“He’ll be all right.” “Thanks for the concern. …she loses a husband, and suddenly the world owes her an explanation.” “He was a good man. And it wasn’t just her husband, it was my brother.” “My brother died on Picon, he was a good man too. They’re all good men.”

And of course she released her manifesto before taking over the bar.

And we can’t blow open the door because it would take so many explosives it would probably take out the entire bar. (Still love G-4 instead of C-4)

“There’s only one option left.” “No. We give them Sharon Valerii, we weaken our position permanently. Gentlemen, everyone in that room is someone’s son, someone’s wife, someone’s mother. …Billy’s the closest thing that I have left in this world and if you don’t think that that confuses things for me emotionally…let’s not be naïve.” My HEART.

And Saul says “what if they’re right” and she says “this isn’t about Sharon, this is about something way more long-term.”

“How’s my son?” “Alive. But my friend is dead. So are two of your soldiers. And your son is dying. I thought a long time about this. About what I’d do, about how far I’d go, and I honestly did not know until this moment--Chu.” And now she’s gonna deliberately execute hostages. Starting with Ellen.

“…hold your fire. I’m giving you the Cylon. But she won’t be alive.” “What does that mean?” “It means that you’ve convinced me. And if that’s the case, and she’s been playing me, then I can’t take any more chances. If you want Sharon Valerii, you can have her--but on my terms.”

RIGHT THEY STILL HAVE BOOMER’S BODY ON ICE! Convenient.

“I give you the body, you give me the hostages.” “…done.”

“Admiral, let me help. Please.” “Let me take it from here.” But he’s telling her without words that this isn’t like last time, he’s not Furious at her. And that helps. Just a little.

“I can see you watching him. I know you think you can get that gun.” “I’m thinking in case something happens--” “No. you’re not a soldier. You’re not trained for that. You’ve got nothing to prove.” “I know.”

Oh no oh no oh no oh no

And she fires a couple times into Boomer’s corpse and yep there’s the burn mark on her cheek.

Aaaaaaand her partner figures it out. “Wait. This isn’t right.” And pulls the blanket down further, showing the autopsy scar/mark. “…this one’s been dead for weeks. Their Cylon is still alive.” (more than weeks, it’s been at least four or five months at this point???? But what are timelines lol)

And oh no oh no oh no oh no he’s moving quietly around the back and oh noooooo

“Kill the girl.”

And he goes for the gun and I think does kill the other guy but then noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

:((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

And Dee does scramble over to check on Billy, and Bill goes right to Lee so he’s not alone for more than a few seconds and and and :((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ;___________;

Oh no her face. When she comes into the morgue. And. Oh no. “Is this what you gave them?” “It was a calculated risk.” “It wasn’t worth it.”

“Lee, you can’t leave. You have to stay. You have to really stay. You understand?” and. And knowing where Dee’s story is going. And Starbuck hovering in the background. And. “It’s okay. I’ll be here when you wake up. I’ll be right here.”

And then that last shot of Athena’s very alive and unscarred cheek. Man.

ETA: re: some of the Choices Dee is making here--I think a lot of it comes down to her not wanting to be alone, especially given that she was Estranged from her family when the attack happened. She’s probably known that she no longer really wants to be with Billy for a while, but she doesn’t want to leave him until she’s sure of where she stands with Lee, but Lee is a fucking mess, and then Billy surprises her by still being Fully Invested in this relationship and like. I wish she had made better choices here and I think she handled this whole mess Badly, but…when I think about it that way, I can sort of understand what she’s doing here? Especially if she didn’t realize Billy was in this to the point where he was working himself up to propose to her.

She should have done better, this was really cruel to Billy. But.

The Captain’s Hand:

Previously on from Tigh!

And that’s not exactly what Gina said, but it was probably cut. Same thing with that bit about putting Garner in command on Pegasus. “He’s the best they’ve got.”

HOSHI! What a good bean.

And we’re almost a month after the last episode.

Galactica’s the Bucket and Pegasus is the Beast, that’s cute.

I wonder if Lee’s scar sticks around, I’ll have to pay close attention to future shirtless scenes. What a hardship.

((look, I don’t like Lee very much but I am but a simple bi girl and I can appreciate the scenery))

“It’s only a temporary assignment. I should be back again in a couple weeks.” “Why’d the old man pick you?” “One word: Starbuck.” “Is she in hack again?!” “Not yet, but apparently she’s been driving Commander Garner up one bulkhead and down the other since she took over flight training here. And since I won’t be flying combat for a while…”

“Got promoted to Major.” “Don’t sound so happy.” “It’s not that big a deal.” “Yes it is!” “Well, if you think so…”

Aaaaaaand the B plot. Yay. …tempted to just like. Fast-forward over it and ignore it but. …no, I’m doing a full rewatch. I will be good. I will watch the episode. On mute if I have to, but it will be watched.

It is nice to see Chief and Cally again, though. I don’t think we’ve seen them since Epiphanies??? With the sabotage????? No, wait, they were briefly in Scar, nvm.

…I recognize that actor, I think? Garner.

49,584!

“Sir, it’s been made clear that discussing flight deck information with anyone not on Pegasus crew is not allowed.” Ooooookay yeah this is a li’l fucked up. “And who’s frakking bright idea was that?” And the Pegasus guys close ranks, but it was Garner. “So, barely competent and paranoid. That’s a hell of a combination.”

He does have a point about the way things need to be run in an engine room. But you can’t necessarily apply that same rigid exact precision/protocol to everything else that has to happen.

But yeah, Lee et al could probably learn a thing or two from him.

Hi Tory! You are very pretty.

“I’m still here, there’s too much to do. Let’s talk politics.”

“We did polls to see what the mayor should have for lunch.” Lol

“It helps when your only real rival is a convicted terrorist.” Until Baltar, prompted by Head!Six (and apparently Gina) throws a spanner in the works. Woo.

Hi Zarek! You’re an asshole (affectionate)

“For a while, I had a chance, until Laura Roslin ascended from politician to prophet. The truth is, I can’t win. But you could.” Oh, wow, I forgot that Zarek actually approached Baltar and didn’t just jump on when Baltar announced he was running.

And now that his Spite has faded he remembers he hates politics and doesn’t actually want to be in charge lol.

“It’s the office that makes you the perfect candidate. You’re pre-sold.” “Really? To whom?” like genuinely surprised there lol

As a counter to ‘superstitious ravings’ oh boy. “And you, Tom? You’ll just step aside, will you?” Yeah even Baltar isn’t going to think Zarek is doing this without an ulterior motive. ((he’s Not Stupid, like, one of his defining character traits is that he’s Very Much Not Stupid, but...like he’s also real dumb sometimes)) “I’m just happy to back a man of true conviction. A man who remembers his friends.”

“Everyone knock off the schoolyard crap and do your frakking jobs.” Yeah, they did need to hear that, Lee. And Starbuck takes the reprimand well because she knows they deserved it.

Awwww that one guy with a close shave kinda looks like Crashdown. Poor kid.

And Bill mostly cares that Cottle is involved in smuggling people on and off Galactica. Which. You know. Fair.

Cottle interjecting with “She could apply for asylum” and Bill giving him a ‘not now, Doc’ look.

[And apparently the Gemenon rep has Sarah as a canonical name. or possibly she was replaced by Danae in the upcoming election because I like Danae and her bitter rivalry with Fintan and poor Sondra holding the balance point in the middle between the two of them lol. And also dealing with Zarek. And the other eight assholes.]

Lol that ‘what’

And Bill is the one to point out the practical implications here. And she’s still saying no because this is Important for so many reasons. And he reminds her of the ‘we’d better start having babies’ thing and. Ugh. Ugh ugh ugh.

Aaaaaaand Starbuck pieces together ‘received a distress call’

And Lee trying to smooth things over between Garner and Starbuck and. Nope. And now Starbuck is restricted to quarters.

Oh no pushups. Oh no. ma’am. Ma’am please.

“You’ve been on board less than four days.” Lol.

And now they’re having a Fight. “You keep frakking up, and I keep having to clean it up, and I am sick of it!” “Poor Lee, your life is so hard, isn’t it.” “You mean since I got shot.” And she turns away crying to collect herself and now he didn’t mean to go that far and she changes the subject because they Can’t really go there right now.

And Lee’s like “this is almost certainly a trap” and Garner’s like “I disagree we’re taking the whole beast there.”

Bill is also like “uhhhhhhhhh…”

“It’s a scenario we don’t think likely.” “We? …Major Adama, do you concur.” And Lee is honest, and Garner is like, “I don’t share that conclusion.” And Bill says ‘send a five-Raptor flight don’t send the whole Pegasus.’ Aaaaand Garner tells Lee ‘I’m sure your expertise is needed elsewhere.’ Sigh.

Demographic projections. Yay.

“So now it’s our administration? She must be desperate.” Shut up, Head!Six, you’re not helping.

Okay, now we’re saying seven months ago when he ran these numbers--probably for that meeting in Water? He would need that to calculate the resources, probably.

Yikes. “if we continue on our present course, within the next 18 years, the human race will simply be extinct.”

And her voice is breaking when she gives the order. And like…these are very specific circumstances. And this doesn’t change the fact that it will just force the issue underground and make it a Lot Less Safe. But.

It’s just. Right now. Hard to watch. Damn it.

“We go in now, we’re going in blind. We should send a force recon.” And Garner’s like “no, my pilots are dying out there.” What happened to rigid protocols. It’s not the same as in the engine room but there is a reason Adama ordered that you do this in the order you’re doing it.

…graaaaaaanted this is also after he nearly came to blows with Cain over a similar issue so. Uh. There is that.

This poor sergeant who is being given contradictory orders and yeah he chooses to follow Garner and not Lee, regardless of who is right. Because Pegasus is still Tightly Bonded after everything with Cain.

Aaaand the raptor crews are already dead.

SUDDEN (UN)EXPECTED BASESTAR! …THREE OF THEM!

((Yeah, Garner’s a That Guy; I’ve seen him in a bunch of guest spots in other things))

Aaaand FTL is out so they’re Stuck.

Lol. “Sergeant, I think you have better things to do.”

And Garner is fixated on fixing the FTL drives. Trying to talk the engine room guys through it, but “they don’t seem to understand.” And he goes down, leaving Lee in command.

And Lee’s voice shaking just a little. “I have the con.” And then he pulls himself together and starts giving the necessary orders because he does know what he’s doing.

“Mr. Gaeta, any contact?” “Negative, sir.”

And that’s one basestar exploded!

And Garner does put his ass on the line and get himself killed to save the ship. Because he’s got a stick up his ass the size of Jupiter but he is a good man. “Close the hatch behind me. We’re losing air. Close the gods-damned hatch! Close it!”

Oh, maybe it didn’t blow up, but it’s leaving.

And he’s running out of air but he keeps hitting the valve with the hammer and then the light goes green and then he passes out, pulling the lever as he does.

It might have been better if we’d had a little more time with Garner, oh well.

Oh that was a cool shot, Starbuck coming in upside down.

“Starbuck’s report wasn’t so kind.” Yeah. And Lee still has the watch.

“In your opinion, off the record--what was Garner’s flaw?” “He was used to working with machines. Command is about people.” “Remember that. I want you to take command of the Beast.” And Lee like ‘whut’ “Garner was my decision. His failures are my responsibility. Don’t let me fail a second time.”

GDI STUPID FUCKING LIGHTER MUSIC MAKING ME CRY

49,579.

And yeah, Rya got grandfathered in, so to speak. And was granted asylum.

“My order came after she sought her procedure. No laws were broken.” “You have your pound of flesh. And I suggest you take your victory and move on.”

“You realize you’re screwed, right?” “Well, it could be worse. You could be my CAG.” “I’m gonna stay here and be Galactica’s CAG. Something about wanting to keep an eye on me.” “Well, you and Colonel Tigh have a lot of fun at those early-morning briefings, ‘cause the XO’s a lot of fun first thing in the morning.” And then she gives him a sincere Congratulations after all the teasing because when they work they do but the hand-holding and ugh. “I know why I was mad at you, Kara.” “A simple thank you would do.” “Cause you were doing what you always do. Bucking authority, and getting away with it. I bucked authority once, and it almost cost me everything. And I got to Pegasus, and there you were, doing it all over again. And it pissed me off, I guess.” “You should hear the way my brain works sometimes. …are we okay?” “…you have a brain?” and then they hug. And if it weren’t for the Quadrangle of Why clearly Lurking in the wings and that gd handholding I would like this moment a lot more.

Aaaaaand now the press conference where Baltar hijacks it and announces he’s running for president because. Of Course.

((I remembered the election arc lasting way longer than it actually does? Especially since Downloaded has. Like. Five minutes with the fleet and all of that is Hera’s birth and kidnapping.))

Oh, this is interesting. He starts out defending the decision, because he knows the reasons for it. “The decision has been made in good faith. …I, however, cannot in good conscience support it.”

And Head!Six watching him from the back with that little half-smile.

Yeah, Roslin was not expecting that.

And that slow clap from Head!Six damn. As the rest of the sound other than the BGM fades out.

So yeah, this episode is. Not great. Even without the IRL Timing. If Black Market was better than I remembered, this one was worse than I remembered. Even the A plot. I think we didn’t know Garner (or the engine crew types; especially with guys like Chief and Laird who are more flexible in contrast) well enough for it to hit the way it needed to. Also the fucking Quadrangle of Why I hate it so much.

Downloaded:

HELL YEAH I LOVE THIS ONE.

((full disclosure, I did spot-rewatch this one before I started this project))

Sharon gets the previously-on!

Okay, so, this is nine months after the miniseries.

And the first time we actually See someone wake up in a resurrection tank! …I wonder what that goo actually was. I’m sure the answer is out there somewhere but I’m too lazy to look it up.

(also like; if only for fic-writing purposes, I do think about that moment where--maybe he was stunned/knocked out for a second and he wakes up next to her body)

Other!Six has Concerns.

And the rest of Caprica’s brain wakes up and she asks about Gaius and surprise Head!Baltar!

And he immediately tells her that only she can see him.

Oh, there’s a Five there.

“If they know how you feel about me, it’ll be a problem.”

((Also, Eights tend to wear really soft, pretty things when they’re among other Cylons? Just a thing I noticed, especially with the midwife!Eight))

Okay, ten weeks later--does that line up with the timestamps we were given before? ::scrolls up to check:: I know that the S1 finale was around day 50…okay, Tigh was in command for ‘more than a week,’ based on my notes, and Boomer getting shot happens right when Bill wakes up…ehhhhh, that seems Off to me but who the hell knows.

…oh that’s interesting. Boomer is in restraints/cuffed to the tub, I don’t think Caprica was? ::rewinds to double-check:: yeah, nothing on Caprica’s wrists.

((side note--I spent some time in the Supernatural fandom, as one does, and Head!Baltar was an easter egg/cameo in a fic I’m still pretty proud of XD he was going to play a bigger part in future arcs in the same story but then I fell out of that fandom for a variety of reasons. So. Yeah, there it is))

“You’re in God’s hands. We’re all here with you. This will pass. Trust me. Everything’s going to be all right.” “Welcome home, little sister. We’re here. We’re going to take care of you.” “We’re proud of you, Sharon.” “And we love you.” Thaaaat’s a creepy little smile, Other!Eight. and then Boomer just SCREAMS.

49,579!

“I was thinking it symbolized rebirth. A new beginning.” Aww, her little smile at him. “It’s a memorial. Do you know how many people died in this park during the attack? In this park alone?” And then Sudden Unexpected D’anna and they jerk apart.

“Even after all this time, I still feel awkward.”

LOL all three of them crossing their legs in unison.

“You are a war hero, we could not have won without you.” And her smile gets a little frozen, and even more so when the Five comes up to tell her she’s inspiring.

“I find it absolutely amazing, you people went to all the trouble to appear human and didn’t bother to upgrade the plumbing!”

…I wonder when the last time Cottle actually did any OB stuff was XD Since he’s been assigned to an active battlestar, probably any pregnant personnel are transferred elsewhere?

“That mission could be profoundly disturbing.” “Disturbing? Does she mean sleeping with me, or killing billions of people? Because I rather thought you enjoyed sleeping with me.” “It was…difficult at times.” And then Three (who may or may not be the same Three as Final Cut; it is an Endless Source of internal debate for me XD I read somewhere that there was a deleted scene involving D’Anna and Gina that made them Definitively separate? But that isn’t in the actual show…and also doesn’t answer which of them is involved in the S3 stuff XD)

…I had a point.

Right. Three is saying ‘you should help Boomer reintegrate’ and Caprica is like ‘uhhhhhhhhhhh not sure I’m the right girl for that?’

And Three just plunges on calling her Caprica instead of Six.

Also LOL at James Callis’s face as Head!Baltar bounces back and forth between Caprica and Three.

“There’s talk of boxing her.” “Putting her memories in cold stories?” “Well, that’s a charming way of dealing with emotional problems. One might almost call it inhuman. Oh, that’s right, you are.” And then she glares at him a little bit/is about to snark back before Three/D’Anna pulls her focus back.

SAM \o/

Yay, baby is crying! Also…like…they are implying that Hera is Way more premature than she actually is? If we’re at around day 270 (assuming nine thirty-day months), she was conceived on day 24. That puts Athena at 35 weeks along, which is…way closer to term and actually around when someone with placenta previa might be induced (I looked into this for an unrelated story). …and also that’s counting from the date of conception, not the date of last menstrual cycle. If we assume an average four-week cycle, that would put her at around 37 weeks, which is pretty damn close to full term and no longer considered premature? (37-38 weeks is ‘early term’ and used to be considered full-term).

…then again, Athena was having morning sickness way early and the timeline of this pregnancy has never really made sense but it Jumps Out At Me, okay XD

...I’m putting way too much thought into this, lol. Let’s move on.

Also Helo is fretting adorably and I love him.

Back to Caprica and Boomer!

“You here to kick me out?” “No.” “You here to help me with my adjustment problems? I could save you some time.” Also I like Boomer’s taste in music. And watching her do pullups. …shut up.

“If you knew what you were, and you lived on Caprica, you know what that makes you? A really good liar.”

“Start with the elephants.” Head!Baltar is helping! Like, Actually helping! (And this gets brought into The Plan!)

Awwww, Boomer’s fake parents are super cute.

“Don’t get religious with this one. What are you thinking?” because Caprica is genuinely devout.

“This is love! I didn’t pretend to feel something so I could screw someone over!” And Caprica looks over at Head!Baltar, who is looking back at her. “I loved them. And then I betrayed them. I shot a man I loved, frakked over another man, ruined his life, and why? Because I’m a lying machine!” And then she throws the picture and the cut on Caprica’s face and yessssss let Caprica be devious.

“Nicely done. You timed it perfectly.” And the sad and slightly-ashamed look she gives him.

((a few months ago, I wrote a monstrosity of an essay on redemption arcs and different types and how they’re used; the second half of it was a whole case study on the way the narrative treats Caprica’s arc vs. Baltar’s. I’m not going to repeat the whole essay here but the gist of it was hers is much smoother/right from the moment of her reintroduction she’s shown to be much softer/much easier to forgive in a lot of ways. And there are Many reasons for that, ranging from the Point of her storyline to the Feelings evoked by an enemy agent vs. a traitor, and also ::gestures:: https://textsfromgalactica.tumblr.com/post/150634851964 …anyway, it’s something I’m going to pay attention to as we see more of Caprica over the next two seasons. But basically, even though I know there are specific Doylistic reasons why we have to highlight her most positive qualities Immediately and stick to them as much as possible, it’s nice to be reminded that she is an extremely talented spy and manipulator.))

“Never saw a Cyon show fear before. Especially the Sixes. Usually so hardcore.” “Feign fear and emotional vulnerability. You’re very good, you know. But I’m better. Let me help you. I’m different.” “I’m different.” “I’m more like you.” “I’m more like you.” “I had someone here. A man. I loved him, and I think he could’ve loved me, eventually.” And ohhhhhhh the way they drift into Unison and the VERY DIFFERENT VIBE to the nuke scene back in season one I love it I love it I love it.

((also I love that line))

And she looks back at him, and there’s a Lot on their faces.

Also there is probably A Lot to unpack here with the Caprica resistance and the types of bombings they’re planning vs. the New Caprica resistance vs. groups like the Demand Peace movement vs. Zarek etc. etc. Especially given when this show was written and came out. But that is not what I am here for personally, at least not for any kind of deep dive, but it is interesting. Especially here, where Sam is laying out the rationale for blowing up the café and it’s presented in a neutral-shading-positive light, even in the episode (slash string of episodes, especially given Gina) that are emphasizing that ‘wait, let’s deconstruct this idea that Cylons aren’t people). And then on New Caprica, there’s no bones about ‘we are doing awful things and the blood will weigh on our hands but it is Necessary.’ And again with Zarek and other on-screen bombers and…yeah. It’s a Thing.

“Three minutes, ten seconds.” “Boom.” The way he says ‘boom,’ man.

“I always loved the view. Sunlight on the water…it’s my favorite spot in the universe.” “Yes, it’s magical. Too bad you nuked it.” “After I downloaded, I went back to the ruins of his house.” “Why?” “Like you, I was looking for some kind of connection to him. Found some of his things, even held onto them for a while. But then I realized they were keeping me from truly embracing my new life.” “So what’d you do with them?” “I burned them. But I felt liberated.” “Yeah, it’s a beautiful story, isn’t it. Shame it’s all a pack of lies.” And then the little Look they share, and the way she reaches for the glass…and then she’s a lot better at covering the gesture to Someone Who’s Not There than Gaius is XD

“He was the one who betrayed us?” “Us--oh, I love it. This one thinks she’s more human than Cylon. Just like someone else I know.”

And then her FACE when Boomer tells her. “He’s…he’s alive?” “He’s…the Vice President of the Colonies. You didn’t know that?”

“If I want to toss a baby out an airlock, I’d say so.” I do love that line a lot.

And Head!Six wants him to take the baby.

Awwwwww Athena!!!!!! Her and Helo smiling down at the baby and so so so cute I love them they deserved better.

“Our little girl--we made her!” “Almost makes you want to believe in the Cylon god. …almost.” “I love you so completely.” So cuuuuuuuuuute.

“Why do you think they kept it from you?” “Is the wrong question.”

“She’s frakking with you. Can’t you see it?” “But why?” “Oh, it’s so perfectly obvious. You know, for a self-aware cybernetic lifeform, sometimes you can be unbearably obtuse.” “Oh, for God’s sake.” “Careful.” SUDDEN UNEXPECTED THREE. She does that a lot in this episode, doesn’t she XD

“I was hoping you’d see the light after talking to our friend here.” “She is lying, unfortunately. She has no wish to see Sharon cured. They’re just going to do it. They’re going to box her.”

And Boomer isn’t sure what Caprica’s playing at but she’s following her lead because Three is giving off Vibes. “What about now? I’ll help! The apartment’s right upstairs.” “Sure. Let me just get some things.”

And Sam’s ohshit face when there’s a Centurion in the garage.

Lot of classic cars down here, too.

But Sam distracted the Centurion before it could pull the cigarette and then it blew up before it could fire back. Yay!

“This is not a debate. This child will not be raised by the Cylon, and I cannot risk Cylon agents getting their hands on it. What I need from you is your help.” “Fine. I don’t like it, but have it your way.” And of course she already has a list of adoptive parents ready.

((So I 100% understand what Roslin is doing here and why. I also 100% understand why, in all the lists I’ve seen of her Best and Worst decisions, stealing the baby almost always tops the Worst list (attempting to steal the election sometimes beats it out.)))

And they do what they can for Caprica with what they have down here and offer a mercy kill so she can download because Pain but she refuses. “I’m not gonna give up on life again.”

Oh yeah that was. A Very Serious Break.

SAM BEING A CYLON MAKES THIS WHOLE THING EVEN BETTER BECAUSE WE’RE ALL CYLONS HERE.

…huh, Sam has to recognize Three, there are only so many skinjob faces, but he’s pretty chill? I wonder if some of his buried memories got shook loose by the concussion (and then immediately reburied by the second concussion XD)

“Humans don’t respect life the way we do.”

“I won’t let you kill him.” “She’s right. Don’t kill him.” “Why not?!” “Hm. Why not kill him? You’ve already killed billions of people. Do you honestly believe one more body is going to weigh any heavier on your conscience?” “…we should interrogate him. Find his accomplices.”

“She was on Caprica a couple of weeks ago.” TIMELINES MEAN NOTHIIIIIIIIING “She escaped with the help of another Sharon.” “If she gave him this, he meant something for her.” And Three tosses it aside with contempt, and it lands next to Caprica.

“You have it in your hand. Hard physical proof of one person’s love for another. If only felt this deeply about us.” “I did. …I do. I love you, Gaius.” “Where’s the tangible proof?”

Oh god the way Sharon is crying. “I should’ve been here.”

“I don’t kill patients.” And yeah Sharon is not hearing that right now and I cannot at all blame her. And based on the look on his face, neither can Cottle.

And that shot of Helo releasing the ashes into space, and Chief is with him, and  :(((((((((((((

Oh right this terrifying bit. Especially when lined up against all the Caprica and Head!Baltar stuff.

“You let them murder our child.” And he’s shaking. “I am so sorry. I tried.” “God’s will was that our child should survive.” And he’s crying. And she hauls him up. “His will was that you would protect her,” and then she slams him against the wall. “You have committed a monstrous and unforgiveable sin and you and your entire wretched race are going to suffer God’s vengeance.” And the fact that it is so quiet, other than when she throws him across the room, is. Is what makes it so much more terrifying. Because we’ve seen her rage loud before--like in the nuke scene--but this. Fuck.

Maya is such a sweetheart. And one of the few fully unproblematic people in this show XD

“The mother must remain anonymous for political and religious reasons.” And Roslin’s like “I’m gonna drop in occasionally” and Maya is just so happy to have a baby after she lost hers that she doesn’t realize that’s a little Weird.

“Thank you. I know how awful this was for you. But trust me, it was imperative. As far as the Cylons know, this child no longer exists. That is a good, good thing.” And Cottle on one level knows that, but on another level--he was the one who had to face Sharon and Helo’s grief.

“At least I’m not a murderer. I have a conscience. And I know the difference between right and wrong.” “A murderer is exactly what you are.”

“Life is short, but the next one’s not. Let your heart adrift, and your soul will get caught.” “I love you, Gaius. My heart and soul are yours.”

“You know why they wanted you to work with Sharon? So you’d lose your mind. They’re going to box you, darling, just like they’re going to box Sharon.” “…we’re dangerous. Sharon and I. we’re celebrities in a culture based on unity. Our voices count. More than hers. More than others. We’re two heroes of the Cylon, right? Two heroes with different perspective on the war? Perspective based on our love of two human beings? That’s why she wanted me to work with you. So you’d tell me that Gaius was still alive. She wanted me to lose my mind.” “You’re corrupted by your experiences. You’re a waste.”

And she took her eyes of Sam and he’s eyeing the gun.

“Believe the lies. Ignore the truth. Listen to me. I will show you the proof. Speak from your heart. Say the things that you know to be true.” “Jealousy, murder, vengeance--they’re all sins in the eyes of God. That’s what you and I know. That’s what they don’t want to hear.” “Because then they’d have to rethink what they’re doing. They’d have to consider that maybe the slaughter of mankind was a mistake!”

Debris shifts! And he goes for the gun!

“God loves me!” and then Caprica bashes her head in with a rock. “See you again soon!”

And they let Sam go. “You can stay and be tortured if you want. Your call.” And they give him the tags, the Tangible Proof. “…who are you? What kind of people are you?” “I don’t know.” And then Sharon gives him the gun!

“How long until she downloads?” “There were a lot of people in the café. At least 36 hours before they get to her. …long enough?” “For what?” “To change things for the better.” “What are you talking about?” “I have never loved anyone more in my life than I love you now.” “Our people need a new beginning. A new way to live in God’s love. Without hate. Without all the lies. All they need is for someone to show them the way. Someone like two heroes of the Cylons.” And she reaches out her hand. “I’m with you.”

I really wish this had Lasted. And I know that New Caprica crushes a lot of this optimism but.

“We found them! They’re alive!” “Yes, we are.” “We’re alive.” Echoing that thread ‘are you alive’ from way back in the miniseries--the first words in the show, I think.

I love this episode so much.

Lay Down Your Burdens 1:

Baltar gets the previously-on!

Hurray for debate prep (although nothing will ever beat Abbey cutting Bartlett’s tie in that one West Wing episode XD)

YAY WE’RE GOING BACK FOR SAM! Aka the part of this season finale I actually like lol

Damn losses of up to 20%.

“Everything will turn out as it should.” Not as reassuring as you think it is.

“What happens if the moderator doesn’t have a pencil?” “Then you’re pretty screwed.” Lol

And Athena is here to be an interface again! Slightly less Distressingly than the last time I hope.

“Don’t let your anger drive you into blasphemy, Gaius.” And then she pets him. And then she slams his face into the table.

“Ready?” “Yeah, just taking a little nap.” And the way he’s so casual about saying it. Man.

And Lee giving the people going on the rescue mission a pep talk

“We find any rock with food and water, I’ll build you a bar.” Lol.

“You okay?” “Can I go now?” Athena :(((((((((((

“I’m going to wipe the floor with you Gaius.” Yeeeeeeep she is.

And Helo checking in with Athena and :(((((( “don’t shut me out, not now.” “Something dark is coming, Helo. I can feel it. I can feel it lurking out there, waiting.” “What do you mean? Back on Caprica?” “No, not on the mission. Not any specific thing. It’s more like a dark time.”

And now there’s this bit. Fuck fuck fuck.

49,579!

CAVIL! God what an entertaining asshole.

“You thought you’d have an easier time with a priest than a real doctor, okay.”

“I pray to the gods every night, but I don’t think they listen to me.” “You know how useless prayer is? Chanting and singing and mucking about with old half-remembered lines of bad poetry. And you know what it gets you? Exactly nothing.” “……are you sure you’re a priest?” “I’ve been preaching longer than you’ve been sucking down oxygen.” LOL

“The problem is, you’re screwed up, heart and mind. Not the gods, not fate or the universe, you.” “Thanks for the pep talk.”

“I hope you find him, Kara. I really do.” “So do I.”

Yeah, he kind of is an empty suit when it comes to actual policy. Which is why Zarek is involved, because he thinks he can be the puppetmaster if he can just get Gaius through this election.

“You gotta keep hitting her on the religious thing.” “The mob isn’t usually in the habit of electing godless apostates who denigrate people of faith.” And Head!Six draping herself over Zarek XD it’s gotta be a special kind of fun, acting around someone else’s hallucination, especially when said hallucination is in your physical space like that lol

“I’m so assured right now, Tom, that I’m just going to sit back and wait for the hand of God to reach down and change my political fortunes. How about that.”

And Kara asks for a private talk with Adama to say thank you and goodbye. “Did I ever say thank you?” “No. then again, that would be a first, wouldn’t it.” “::laughs:: Thank you.” “Just come back in one piece. That’ll be thanks enough. Good hunting.” Awwwwww

Aww, Sharon. “I still can’t believe you talked me into this.” “It’s important. And I’ll be with you, there and back. It’s you and me from now on, no matter what. Just like we agreed.” “I know, I know. And I appreciate it, Helo. I really do. …I just can’t get her out of my head. Our little girl.” And the Marines are watching and yeaaaaah. Poor babies.

Yeah it is MUCH less disturbing when it’s like an IV and not an improvised whatever the fuck that was.

Oh, Racetrack. Who knows what went wrong but of course she found the Important Thing, she finds all the important things now that Boomer is gone.

“Mission rules say we keep going until we lose three, so we keep going. Racetrack will just have to find her way back to base. Hell of a way to start, though.”

“Were you having a nightmare when she woke you up?” “I don’t remember,” he lied, like a liar. “Oh. Been having any recurring dreams lately?” “No.” “Okay. That’s what we in the pray trade call a lie. And lies won’t get you anywhere.” Look Cavil isn’t quite on Zarek’s level of “and then there’s THIS asshole (affectionate);” mostly because while he is Very Entertaining/Funny, he’s not…well, he’s not Zarek. But at the same time XD

Yeah that is an Unsettling dream. “Every night it’s the same.” “For how long?” “A couple weeks?” “You were having the same dream when Cally woke you up, right?” “I don’t know. I don’t remember. …does it matter?”

“I don’t have a secret desire to kill myself.” “You’re right, it’s obvious. The question is, why?”

“Hey, you know what this is? It’s habitable.” Barely, but they don’t know that yet. “Maybe we’re not just a bunch of frakups after all.

Yay, Felix’s tattoo!

“Less than 20% of that place even supports human life, so--” “you’re not seeing the big picture. This is your new home. The place where you’ll start a new life. This is your future, Gaius.” “Oh, well, there’s a difference of opinion.” “What’s that?” “Oh, nothing, Tom.” lol Zarek is Not used to Baltar’s madness the way the others are.

Also, like…I can’t help but remember two years ago Head!Six promising Vengeance, and I know it’s not as simple as not listening to her, not with everything she is to him, buuuuuuuuuuuuut.

“You are a genius.” “And?” LOL “Pay attention. You’re about to win the election.” “…I’m sorry. What were you saying, Tom?”

“It may look dreary, it may be dreary, but it’s solid ground under your feet and a real sky above your head. You’d be surprised how much that means to people cooped up in metal boxes for nine months.” True, which is why this works. But.

LOL “He’s a smart sexy man like you.”

“Give up.” “What?” “Give up…on Earth?” “Yes.” “…it’s starting to look like a lovely little planet after all.”

“People vote their hopes, not their fears. Baltar’s offering them what they want to hear, and you’re offering them bitter reality.” Yep. Yep yep yep. I mean, that’s not 100% true, plus he’s actually kind of playing on both fear and hope (with the whole ‘this is a refuge because nebula’ aspect).

“Oh, for gods’ sake, Chief! You think you’re a Cylon!” “I’m not a Cylon.” “Of course you’re not. But that’s what you’re afraid of, that you might be a Cylon and not even know it. Just like Boomer. Right?” oh the Hilarious in Hindsight XD

“The truth is, you might [do a terrible thing]. But not because you’re a Cylon. Because you’re a human being, and human beings do terrible things all the time.” “But how do you know I’m human?” “Oh, well maybe because I’m a Cylon and I haven’t seen you at any of the meetings.” IT’S FUNNY CAUSE IT’S TRUE.

Aww, weirdly cute how Cavil is pointing out that the deck crew are Chief’s family. And also weirdly horrible. Because it’s Cavil saying it.

And the last jump taking them into atmosphere! “Be ready for wind shear, rain, storms--anything.”

Oh noooooooooo one raptor jumped right into a mountain. And when Helo realizes how they lost that one. Oh man.

And because he interrupted, Baltar gets the last word. Yay.

“Not your night, I guess.” “Why don’t you go frak yourself.” LOL

Sneaking through the pretty, pretty radioactive forest!

Oh, hey, using Helo’s actual name for like the third time in the series!

…man, winter must have been hell for Sam’s people.

YAY SAM

“Is there a Kara Thrace there?” “If there is, tell her she took her good sweet time getting here!”

Yaaaaaay hugs ^_^

“All right, just shut up and save us already.” Looooool I love them

Aaaaaand now we’re getting shot at/bombed/Something Not Good.

Ah, shelled. From between their current position and the raptors. Very Not Good.

Lay Down Your Burdens 2:

Starbuck gets the previously on! ((The subtitles are pretty consistently wrong on these))

Huh, for some reason I thought Gina was in more episodes than this? I mean I also thought that the election arc was longer so make of that what you will.

Yeah that bit in the previously-on was cut from the prior episode. So maybe Gina was in more episodes, but most of her scenes got cut.

Oh man and right from the previously-on into the credits I don’t think they usually do that???

49,550. Probably accounting for the raptor that jumped into a mountain.

Wow the flashy bits just. Right away show Cloud 9 getting blown up.

Lol Cottle, I love you.

This was also Never going to be a healthy relationship and just. Man.

“It was me. I may have been out of my mind and didn’t know where I was or what I was doing, but it was me.” Good on Chief for taking responsibility for what he did.

Aaaand then the shooting just. Stops. Which is Also disturbing.

Because like Sharon says, they want living prisoners. Yeaaaaaah.

And Helo’s face, hearing Starbuck offering Sam a suicide pact if that happens wow.

“He’s got the only issue people care about.” “That’s all anyone wants to talk about, this frakking planet. …excuse my language.”

“I know that settling on this planet will be a disaster for humanity and I will not say otherwise just to win an election.”

“There’s always a backup plan for victory.”

And after eighteen hours, no knockout gas lands on them. I do love timestamps, though!

“They could’ve overrun us any time during the night.” “They’re up to something.”

“Do the same thing we always do. Fight ‘em ‘til we can’t.” Oh maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan.

And now we send out a recon crew to see what the frak is happening! Aaaaaand the Cylons are no longer there! “They just left.”

“Thank the gods! It’s a miracle.” HI PHILOSOPHER!CAVIL YOU ACTUALLY ARE “and then there’s this asshole (affectionate)”

And of Course he’s the priest Roslin was talking to (since his chapel’s on Galactica per The Plan it does make sense plus conservation of characters and Let’s Really Drive Home That We’re Introducing Another Cylon Here In The Most Intense Way XD)

Don’t be a dick, Gaius.

“The question of permanent settlement may be the most important question we’ve faced since the attacks.” “I agree.” “Good.” And then she wants to table the notion until after the election which yeah he was never going to agree to that. But it was worth a shot. Exhausting all other options before going for stealing the election.

(Also it’s what they actually should do but that’s neither here nor there.)

“This issue transcends personal disagreement as well as politics. I am appealing here to your sense of patriotism.”

…and it’s very telling that we don’t see Head!Six in this scene, despite it (I think?) being more his POV than Roslin’s. and that he took that pause before answering her.

And he’s already named it New Caprica, or someone did.

Ooooooh. “Were you with a blonde woman on Caprica just prior to the attack?” (And, again, that on its own is not actually damning but when you add it together with all the other Little Things, amplified by her personal hatred for him…yeaaaaah.)

And there’s Head!Six! “She knows.”

“She can see right through you. Get out of here now.”

And Ellen and Saul are Bickering as they so often do.

Oh, Chief shaved since last episode.

“Am I good or what?” “There’s gonna be no living with her now.” LOL

Awwww, that little nosewrinkle before Bill hugs her.

LOL that “I see” was very much “Dad sizing up his daughter’s new boyfriend” XDXDXD

And Chief’s face when he hears Philosopher!Cavil’s voice confirming the truce!

And Helo’s little glance at Athena; did she know and not say something.

“Well, this is an awkward moment. Yes, he’s right, I’m a Cylon. And I have a message. So, take me to your leader.” I LOVE PHILOSOPHER!CAVIL!

Aaaaand yeah, Athena gets taken to the brig too and Helo tries to claim she didn’t know but…yeah.

But then when Helo goes to talk to her. “Why the frak didn’t you say anything?” “I don’t know. Maybe I didn’t want to. Maybe I wanted him to come back and blow up the whole ship. Is that what you’re looking for?” “You don’t mean that. Sharon, we finally got the Admiral trusting us. Finally! And what?!” “They killed my baby. You think I care about you or us or whether the Admiral trusts me anymore?” and she’s not entirely telling the truth there, but she’s not entirely lying, either.

“Sharon I LOVE YOU and I am not giving up this frakking easy, not after everything!” and…I’m actually kind of okay with not seeing how they work back together/get married over the skipped year? Because they’re my babies and I want them to be happy. Only good things for the fighting Agathons.

LOL Sam. “You don’t have to get me drunk, I will sleep with you.”

But yeah that’s some mood whiplash, jumping from that scene with Helo and Athena to this one with Sam and Kara.

Sudden Unexpected Lee! Frakking Quadrangle of Why.

“Do you wanna meet my man?” “Your man?” “My personal property. Right, Sammy?” “Don’t call me Sammy.”

“Lee, when are you gonna get yourself a girl?” “I’m doing fine, thank you.” “You’re not still frakkin’ Dualla, are you?” and then he’s like “okay she’s at This stage of drunk and also the Awkward I’m just gonna bow out.” Also Sam gives her a little “really? Not cool” look, which I appreciate. He and Dee deserved so much better than the Quadrangle of Why.

“I mean, I’m not one to like lecture or anything, cause I’ll do anything to get into the pants of some hot little young thing--” “hey! Is that all I am to you?” “Yes, but you love it.” “It’s all right, I don’t mind doing charity work.” XD Okay I genuinely do love Sam and Kara and also Smoothie King is playing in my head again (one of the three best decisions I made for that Cylon ship mix a million years ago XD)

((the other two were ‘as long as you love me’ for helo and athena and ‘grace is gone’ for the tighs. …actually the ones I had for gina/baltar and tory/baltar were pretty good, too but not on the level of those three. …I’m pretty proud of that mix in general.))

And she does mutter something that I think is ‘you know you’re more than that to me.’ And then the door shuts and she’s like “where did he go?” and then Sex happens XD

“I’m here to deliver a message. After that, you can do whatever you want with me. I don’t care.” “Would you mind telling me what’s going on? I’m not a frakking Cylon! I’m not--oh. Well. Okay, then.” Still the best XD “Sorry to bust up your day, brother.”

And Fleet!Cavil deathglaring at Philosopher!Cavil because he’s Not Happy but then Immediately jumps in to dunk on humanity. “You see, we’re not like you. We can admit our mistakes and we’re not afraid of change.”

“So you abandoned the Colonies, leaving behind a devastated nuclear wasteland.” “And we’re supposed to be grateful.”

“We became what we beheld. We became you.” “People should be true to who and what we are. We’re machines. We should be true to that. Be the best machines the world has ever seen. But we got it into our heads that we were the children of humanity. So instead of pursuing our own destiny, of trying to find our own path to enlightenment, we hijacked yours.”

“My mission is to tell you that you’ve been given a reprieve. Cylon and man will go their separate ways. No harm done.” “………..no harm.” Yeaaaaaaaaah.

“Supernatural divinities are the primitive’s answer for why the sun goes down at night. At least that’s what we’ve been telling the others for years. Can’t really prove it one way or another, of course.” “I know a way to prove it. Throw them both out the airlock, let them see if there really is a Cylon god.”

It is really interesting, watching Fleet!Cavil take cues from Philosopher!Cavil here. Also the way Fleet!Cavil was watching Tigh through not-insignificant chunks of that conversation, I think especially on the ‘children of humanity’ line? Let me rewind to check. …hard to tell, actually, if he’s looking at Adama or Tigh. Oh, well.

Oh, hey, the Demetrius is listed on the board of ships for the vote tally! Neat!

That’s a nice little procedural blip, with Zarek questioning the military having a role in counting the votes. And one of the cases where I think he’s fully genuine, and not making a Good Point but for Such Self-Serving Reasons that he undercuts it.

Okay, 21,569 for Baltar, 17,754 for Roslin.

And now Tory sends the signal to steal the election. “There are only five ships left to report in. we need to move now.” And Tigh as her co-conspirator! And also Dee.

And the stolen votes are from the Zephyr! Which is I think where the Quorum is, or was a few episodes ago. And also comes up again with Hughes at the end of S3.

Except now they’re saying this is the last one?

24,265 for Roslin, 22,366 for Baltar. But it will be double-checked.

“I’ve seen a lot of elections, Gaius. Most honest, a few fixed. And you can always tell the fixed ones because they don’t make sense. And this doesn’t make sense.” “Laura Roslin is many things. But she’s not corrupt. And she’s not dishonest. It’s over.” And again we get one of Gaius’s Genuine moments here.

“I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but are you as shocked as I am?” “I’m relieved.” “Well, you don’t sound it.” “I’m just tired. It’s been a long campaign.”

Aaaaaaand Gaeta figures it out because he is a Good Bean.

I wonder how they misspelled Gaius. Probably either dropped a letter or doubled one XD

“Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I’ll take care of it from here.” And Gaeta’s like “okay but we have to let the observers and the press--” “I said I’ll take care of it from here.”

Aaaaand Gaeta’s onto Tigh specifically and immediately goes over Tigh’s head and calls Adama. “I’m not sure how to say this.” “Fast and straight, I’d advise.” “Yes, sir. Admiral, I believe that Colonel Tigh is involved in a conspiracy to rig the election for President Roslin.”

And Bill first talks to Tigh, then goes to Roslin. “I agreed [that Baltar as president would be a disaster] but.” And Roslin admits it. “I gave Tory the go-ahead. I didn’t know exactly what she was planning, and I certainly didn’t know about Colonel Tigh. But I did know that she was planning to fix the vote.” “You tried to steal an election?” “Yes, I did. And I got caught. But Gaius Baltar cannot become President of the Colonies, Bill. It cannot happen.” “Laura…I don’t want him as President either, but…” “He’s working with the Cylons. I saw him just before the attack on Caprica with a copy of the tall blonde Cylon woman, the same model who accused him of treason before disappearing from Galactica.” “What the hell are you saying? Why didn’t you say something before this?” “Because I didn’t remember seeing him with that woman until I remembered it when I was dying. I know how that sounds, but it’s real. The same way Kobol is real, and the tomb of Athena is real, and the map to Earth is real. Baltar is working with the Cylons.” “Even if that’s true, we have no proof.” “No, I don’t.” “…do we steal the results of a democratic election or not? That’s the decision. Because if we do this, we’re criminals. Unindicted, maybe, but criminals just the same.” “Yes, we are.” “You won’t do it. You’ve gone this far, but that’s it.” “Excuse me?” “You try to steal this election, you’ll die inside. The people made their choice. We’re gonna have to live with it.” “It’s the wrong choice.” “Yes, it is.” “…all right.”

I don’t really have much to add to that transcription but. Man. Man oh man oh man.

And Baltar is like “….what the hell kind of error.” “I suggest you take your victory and leave it at that.” And he will. Because whatever else he is, he does know that things need to Function and if he’s in an open fight with Bill they Will Not. “…I can be magnanimous.”

“Let’s get a good look at our new home. Gods help us all.”

And this conversation with Gina. “I’m not going to New Caprica.” “What? What are you talking about?” “I’m not going to New Caprica.” “We’re all going to New Caprica. All of us. It’s our chance to be together. To be together again.” “No.” “…I can’t do this anymore.” “…stay?”

This is. Such a sad and uncomfortable moment. Because she knows what she’s about to do, and she’s giving him this before she does even though she doesn’t want to, and he wants her to be Caprica and while he knows on some level she isn’t and ohhhhhhh that shot of her walking out of the frame echoes one from Head!Six earlier and oh man. Oh man oh man oh man. And that shot of her reaching for his hand and him taking it also echoes some stuff on Kobol and this is so fucked up.

And Some Other Priest swears Baltar in. And it’s cut together with him and Gina and and and and.

And then Gina with the bomb as he’s Actually being sworn in and giving the order to settle New Caprica.

And her sitting naked in front of the nuke.

Oh shit Cloud Nine takes out at least one other ship when it goes I had forgotten that. Holy shit.

“We suspect the warhead was stolen from your lab, then smuggled aboard Cloud 9 by a Cylon agent.” And Bill suggests they focus on internal security. “No. our first priority is to see that people are safely established on New Caprica. Once that’s accomplished, we can put this tragedy behind us.” “You’re not listening.” “I don’t have to listen. I’m the President.”

And that shot of him Alone at the desk. That very long shot as he’s starting to break down.

One year later!

Okay so there might be another legislature besides the Quorum? Whatever the People’s Council might be.

Lol the painting.

People complain because they’re safe now. They have room in their minds and time on their hands to focus on these (seemingly and not actually in some cases) petty issues.

Yeaaaaah he’s spent the whole year high. (which I headcanon as him trying to keep Head!Six at bay.)

Okay, day 380 of the settlement. And all those shots of empty rooms/halls on Galactica because most people have settled.

Aaaaaaand I’m sorry I know that Very Serious Shit is about to happen but the MOUSTACHE XDXDXDXD

“I feel like I’m abandoning my post.” Aw, Tigh. “It’s time to pack it in, Saul. You know it. More than half the crew is down there on the ground already. We can barely put a squadron in the air to train, much less fly a CAP.” “You’re staying. “Someone has to take care of the lighthouse.”

“We’ve been orbiting New Caprica longer than we were running after the attack. I don’t think they’re coming back anymore. Colonel, if she gives you too much trouble…find yourself a younger one.” I do love them being Bros. We haven’t seen enough of that lately.

39,192 people on New Caprica/in the settlement.

And Sam is playing sportsball despite being very sick. And the wedding tattoo!!!

“Can’t believe I married a moron. Are you okay?”

And Cottle’s been out of antibiotics for months. “But he’s young and he’s strong. Make him rest, keep him warm. With a little luck, he’ll make it.”

And Saul and Ellen wander into the Union rally and Cally is VERY pregnant.

Chief is adorable with glasses.

Awwwww, look how happy Saul and Kara are to see each other! There are HUGS!!!!!

And Pegasus is sitting on the backup meds, so Kara has to go to Apollo. “He’d spring some for you.” “Yeah, I doubt that.” “That was a long time ago. People change.”

Yay school! I know someone did the math and there are actually not a whole lot of kids in the fleet, which…well, given Black Market is probably Good. (based on the final election tallies and total population at the time, with an assumed 18 voting age)

Hi Hera!

And Dee got promoted!

“I need a favor.” “Is that right.” “Yeaaaaah Lee is still pissed at her. And…yeah, I can’t…quite blame him.

And then the conversation is interrupted by Dee picking up something on DRADIS and yeeeeep the Cylons have found them.

“We have to get out of here.” “We can’t just leave them all behind. They’ll be wiped out.” “We don’t have a choice. We need to leave, now.” And Helo is doing what Gaeta used to do. “All decks finally report Condition 1, sir. Should we launch the alert fighters?” “…no. begin jump prep. We’re leaving. But we’ll be back.”

“The Cylons just jumped into orbit. And the Fleet’s jumped away.” And he listens to the noise and watches things rattle and suddenly Head!Six is back in that godawful silver dress. “Judgment day.”

Hi Leoben! Why are you creepy.

((…have we seen Any other Twos this season until now??? I don’t think we have. Even in Downloaded, we just saw Threes, Fives, Sixes, and Eights…))

And the door lighting up and this moment Almost echoes that first shot of Corinne, except no centurions. A Five, an Eight (Boomer?) and then Caprica.

And...I think maybe he Knows it’s her, there’s that little Flicker. And then he stands up. “I’m Gaius Baltar, President of the Colonies.” “I know who you are Gaius. I know very well.” ...well if he didn’t know before, he does now. “As long as you offer no resistance, you won’t be harmed.” And he looks over at Gaeta. “How do I know that?” “You don’t. You also don’t have any choice.” “…how did you find us?” Stalling. “It was quite by accident, actually. We were over a light-year away from here when we detected the radiation of a nuclear detonation.” And he realizes. He realizes what he’s done, unintentionally, all over again. (although this time he really should’ve known better, given past experience and also this time it was a nuke).

“Very well. On behalf of the people of the Twelve Colonies, I surrender.”

And like…at this point, he really doesn’t have any other option. What else could he do? If he refuses, best-case scenario, he gets shot and they move on down the chain of command until they find a President who will surrender (or lose patience and nuke the planet from orbit). Worst-case scenario, they skip all that, pull back, and jump straight to nukes. Surrender really is the only option.

It’s…everything he does after this that’s a Problem.

“What do you want to do now, Captain?” “Same thing we always do. Fight ‘em ‘til we can’t.” Yessssssssssss. And we end the season with that closeup on Kara’s face and just. Yes. I love it.

The Plan:

I do love the Prelude Words being spoken by various Cylons. It was…only Tigh of the Final Five, and nothing from Three (because Lucy Lawless is playing Dame Not Appearing In This Film), and I don’t think any Fives were involved (not sure why, they Are in this movie)? But the rest of the Significant Seven and also the basestar Hybrid.

“I figured out what went wrong.” “Well, that’s a useful revelation to have when you’re standing in front of an airlock!” “Every killing of a human being was a grievous error. Do you want to know why?” “I really don’t.” I love Philosopher!Cavil and Fleet!Cavil bickering. (especially given how this ends with them)

Okay, ten months ago was two weeks before the attack which…yeah, that lines up with the Somewhere Between 280 and 290 from Lay Down Your Burdens 2.

Yesssssss loving the All Along The Watchtower music.

“When they resurrect they’ll return with apologies dripping from their lips like jewels.” “Yes, be prepared for some very sticky hugs.” LOL

Okay. So. 14 hours is that one conversation from the miniseries. “No you did it because you love me.” That still gets me, and especially since this aired after the Daybreak flashbacks provide some additional context…

“0700 tomorrow Caprica City time.” Relevant to me for secret fic purposes XD

“I recommend you leave this body behind. The alternative won’t make for a pleasant memory. Oh, and I hear that poison is really not that bad.” But she wants those last moments with Gaius, and to tell him the truth. brain, stop, we rejected that AU where she comes clean several months earlier do not resurrect it

“Love outlasts death. Apotheosis was the beginning before the beginning. The flower inside the fruit that is both its parent and its child. Jump.” Gotta love Hybrid babble! And how cool and calm she is until she gets to ‘jump’

Yeah, this is not an airport bar, Ellen. It is possibly a strip club.

Cavil can you tone down the Oedipus complex please.

“So you don’t have a name?” “I…am a mysterious stranger.” “Oooooh.”

“Everyone hold onto the lap bar, please.”

lock s-foils in attack position sorry wrong fandom XD

Oh, hey, the bartenders are topless, neat.

“Well I’ve lived in this world a long time, and I’m proud to say I haven’t learned any gods-damned lessons!” oh, Ellen. XD

And there’s Barolay with her Very Red hair!

“What you gonna do now, Sam?” “Shoot ‘til I can’t, Coach.” Niiiiiiice, especially lined up with Kara’s Line.

Oh shit watching the attack from the ground is. Oh shit. Seeing the bombs dropping.

…yeah, I think the walls around Anders’ memories are thinnest. “This has happened before.”

And that very very slight smile from Caprica!Simon.

YAY FLEET!SIMON!!!!

And there’s Shelly!

“The farms of Aerilon are burning. The beaches of Canceron are burning. The plains of Leonis are burning. The jungles of Scorpia are burning. The pastures of Tauron are burning. The harbors of Picon are burning. The cities of Caprica are burning. The oceans of Aquaria are burning. The courthouses of Libran are burning. The forests of Virgon are burning. The temples of Gemenon are burning.”

And that dispassionate list over the Centurions executing survivors and the transition shot of Caprica City whole and then ruined and the Gemenon one and I think Libran and then the burned bodies…before panning up to the mushroom cloud and. Shiiiit. They uh. They did Not pull punches with this one.

((….also they’re missing one who are they missing ::googles the zodiac:: SAGGITARON.))

“If anyone can still hear me--are we on? I’m gonna keep broadcasting as long as I can. It keeps getting close--”

…also did Tory only join Roslin’s staff for the campaign or had she been there for a while before? Interesting question.

And then the team Panicking and Sam trying to keep them together. “We can’t lose our heads. We gotta find somewhere we can get some frakking perspective. We go anywhere, we go together, and we go when it’s safe.”

And Tory crawling out of her wrecked car and then panning out to show the devastation and some kind of SAR plane landing behind her.

((…I am a little Questions on the timeline here? Mostly in terms of…exactly how long does all this take? Long enough for at least a Couple of planes to get off the ground and meet up with the fleet…eh, I guess this part can be handwaved, it takes as long as it needs to to get various characters into position.))

Oh, wait, Ellen is also leaking. “This has happened before. Oh, gods. Am I gonna die?” “No, your suffering isn’t over yet. Not when you’ve got so much left to learn.”

Oooh, that’s a dead/damaged Centurion, so either instability/debris or people Are fighting back right from the start.

And then the raider taking off Right by the bridge they’re peering over.

“What do you want to do, Coach?” “I don’t know. What do you think?” “I don’t know. ::realizes everyone is looking at him:: …we can’t stay here. We gotta go. Stay low, stay fast, let’s go!”

Gianna!

And now jumping ahead to the note that got passed to Bill. And the way it cuts to that shot of Baltar in CIC implies that he’s the one that left it [which mostly matters for TOB purposes because…that would mean that they have No Idea how many models there actually are]

And while Ellen is barely conscious, she just asks for Saul.

“Of the five who created the rest of us, four are in this fleet. Does it seem cruel, keeping you alive? It is cruel, who am I kidding? But it’s also necessary. For 30 years you failed to observe the moral failures of humanity, against whom you find me lacking. Get better, Mother. Open your eyes and take a gander at what you think you love.”

Oh, hey, they’re already at the school! And Sam’s already pulling together plans from movies, and has gathered More People who can Make Things Go Boom.

“There’s a real possibility we’re all gonna die here. So I say it all comes down to how we die.”

And we’re at 8 days! Gathering photos.

“They’re awfully quiet.” “They’re numb. They’ve lost everything and now we’re putting them through the wringer just trying to get away.” And Tigh bumps into Cavil without recognizing him.

VERA! And that Smile when she and Cavil recognize each other, and he catches a glimpse of Fleet!Simon in the background.

Huh, his fliers don’t have the corners cut off XD

((Vera is my name for Tough!Six/Hooker!Six/Punk-Rock!Six/whatever the cool kids are calling her these days XD))

“The plan is, everything blows up a week ago. All the humans are dead and we Cylons all download and the universe basks in justice. However--” “That didn’t frakking happen.”

And Vera’s like “let’s cut to the chase and blow up Galactica.” And Shelly’s like “also need to protect ourselves from detection.” “Very good, Sixes,” Cavil says. And he says there’s a sleeper Eight. “Now, Two, you come with me. Let’s get this genocide started.”

Ohhhhhhh broken-open Raider wing is. Disconcerting. With all the squishy bits showing. Yikes.

And Leoben gets put on figuring out communications--both with a basestar next time one’s in range and listening in on the human military. “And send in a Six. Dealer’s choice.”

Explosives in a pyramid ball! It is indeed clever. “Like a homemade grenade.”

“If we destroyed it, he’d just make another.” “Which is why we have to discredit him.” “Me? Well, if he sees one of us, he’ll know what we are. …but he can’t say anything without saying how he knows.” “Very smart. Or maybe it’s the glasses.”

…so the question here is: why not just kill him? I mean, I guess Cavil tries that with the Five…and I guess discrediting increases Paranoia in the upper ranks more than a targeted assassination would, which is good for Cavil’s purposes.

Aaaaand one of Sam’s people accidentally moves and draws the Centurion’s attention and this. This is gonna go bad. With the Coach making a suicide play to get the improvised bomb into the bunker thing

And then there’s a Raider! Just what we needed. And this was Sam’s plan and at least four or five of his people died.

“I can’t understand how he was discovered. I heard it was Doctor Baltar.” “I’m not talking about that, exactly. I’m talking about how you’re walking around in this fleet wearing that jacket, and--more importantly--that face. You’re recognizable.” “No, his jacket was burgundy. This is teal.” LOL.

“They call this a suicide vest, but I think that undersells all the homicide that goes along with it, don’t you?” why are you this funny Cavil.

“Even robots take their dead.” “There was nothing--” “I DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M DOING.” Poor Sam. Poor Barolay. Poor all of them.

And Leoben in his little hideaway listening to the wireless and developing an Obsession.

Elephant!

And then he gets distracted by the kid. “This is a chapel not a bus station. You can’t sleep here.”

Aww, Chief bonding with his new knuckledragger!

As she gets confronted with the Reality of their equipment situation. “There are no spares.” “Welcome to Galactica.”

“Did you need to see me for something, Lieutenant?” “No, I…um…carry on, Chief.” “So, how long have you two been seeing each other?” LOL

And this is not like an office romance in your old job because Chain of Command and other Fraternization Rule issues but still cute.

…how does Cavil get in and out of Boomer’s quarters so easily? I can’t see him like bribing or charming someone into giving her the elephant the way he did with the fliers, just because that’s a little Too likely to bite him in the ass.

And then this flashback to Boomer being put under!!! I read somewhere that the costume this particular Six is wearing is labeled in some source somewhere as Gina’s? Which like…that is Very Flimsy Ground but maybe??? Based on what we see in Razor, she seems to have had a job that involved short-term contracts, which would have put her in a good position to monitor/handle sleepers like Boomer, and yeah occasionally she might have a few weeks where there’s no agent for her to contact But. …yeah IDEK like I said that’s in no way Actually Indicating that this particular Six is Gina But.

“And after you download, make sure to report our position to the fleet.” “Wait I’m…my cover is stronger than expected.” And she admits to the relationship with Chief and Cavil is like “…that’s an Interesting Choice”

“Go get some explosives, blow up the tank, and then have a fatal accident. Right now, I’m late for dinner.”

Rick Worthy’s voice is I Love It So Much.

Sudden Unexpected Cavil! And Simon is like “fffffffuck.”

“Is this your family? Hm?” Ominous. “Stop by sometime. And remember, I know where you live.” VERY OMINOUS.

Right, a bunch of Fives dealing with Bodies. “I never knew this would be so hot and dirty. The smell is…” “I know. Centurions should be doing this.” Lol at the bitchy Fives.

((quick thinking on the part of Philosopher!Cavil but I can’t help but think that if there had been Anyone with Any kind of intelligence/espionage background here it would Not have worked…))

Oh man and Barolay just starts crying. “They’re all alike. T, they gotta be Cylons.” “Frakkers look like us now.”

And Boomer relating how she almost fell apart setting the charges. “We shouldn’t need to breathe,” Cavil mutters. And then Boomer’s like “there are so few of them…they’re not a real threat.” “They are manifestly a threat. You of all Cylons should know that.” And then he tells her to get out of the wet clothes which, Gross. “Fine. Be a prude.” Gross, Cavil. I know that generally Eights are quite comfortable with casual nudity but you’re still being Gross.

And he takes the elephant and she wakes up at the beginning of the Actual episode.

As the Caprica resistance kills a bunch of Fives which is probably Very cathartic for them.

Yep, now there’s Cheering. Which just reminds me of that one bit when Athena knocks out the raiders and the viper pilots just Go To Town.

Okay, explosion was 17 days after the attack.

And Leoben realizes his face is known and goes Deeper into hiding. Living in the walls of his ship, wedged behind a container.

And at some point the resistance got Trucks!

And Simon is very smooth to cover the recognition but Philosopher!Cavil has a moment.

“Four, you’re late.” “It was hard to get away.” “Tell me. Are you reluctant to do more for your people?” “Like what?” “I’m just asking a general question.” “This is all improv, isn’t it?” “Our people were supposed to be positioned to cause destruction, not mop up afterwards! My Two was the Defense Minister’s yoga instructor!” ((which remains Hilarious to me also love how Consistent this government is with minister vs. secretary for cabinet-level positions lol)). “And one of the Sixes was a prostitute! And the only one who was in any position to do any real damage was a Five on this ship, and he frakked it up!!!” Cavil is so mad.

“And don’t you think for a moment that I’m going to be moved by the sweet, adorable fact that you married one of them! You come back tomorrow, and we’ll talk about you blowing up that ship you live on.”

And we’re up to 24 days with Six Degrees!

And Leoben is painting mandalas in his little hideaway, listening to his recordings of Starbuck. Because that’s not creepy at all.

“I think I’m losing it.” Poor Boomer. “Someone wrote ‘cylon’ on my mirror. And I think it was me. I think I was trying to warn myself. Or scare myself into doing what you want. Or out of it.”

“All mankind are our fathers, and that’s the sin for which they deserve to die.” “…I’m happier when I’m under. I’m happier when I’m human. I like myself. I love myself then.” Poor, poor Boomer. “Never say that. Never, never, never. Because if that were true, they win. And they can’t. Look at me. They know your lies. I know you. You can do this. You can kill Adama. For me.” And then there’s a Kiss which was SUPER NECESSARY AND NOT SQUICKY AT ALL.

((protip: if you are handling an undercover agent you should MAYBE NOT MAKE A PASS AT THEM))

Ah, yes. I have to go back through the Slightly Less Awkward But Still Uncomfortable bathroom conversation from Six Degrees again. Yay. …and she is kind of drawn to him because he is just. Catnip for Sixes, I guess.

“I don’t care if she plucked puppies from God’s ass! You’re worse than the Sixes!” LOOOOOOOOOOOOL. And then Cavil bugs out while Leoben is arrested.

And we get Vera covering Shelly’s escape while Cavil yoinks her into an alcove.

Ah yes, this moment where Baltar is like “…I could kiss you but you have a Massive Crush and I don’t want to send the wrong message.”

((…damn it, I think this is an edited version, because there’s a line in there with Simon covering D’Anna’s absence, and also the Pointedly Co-Ed Head With Full-Frontal Nudity. …also I think the bartender back on Picon was blurred out. Ugh. Well, when I get back to the DVDs, I have the full version there.))

“Is Baltar’s machine on the trash heap?” “I did what I could. I don’t know.” “Trying to make a guilty man look guilty. This should be easy.” “We had to fake the evidence! And Dr. Baltar, he helped us so much…” “Are you attracted to this human?” “No!” Because that other Six, she got addicted to him!” “I’m not addicted! He’s a brilliant man! But you should’ve seen me! I was brutal with him! I pushed him!” “My dear, if you had pushed him, you would have sent him through a wall! Oh, look. An airlock. How handy.” “Wait! I could blend into life on another ship, with another disguise!” “Go. And don’t forget to give them our coordinates. I want this finished!” I do kinda feel bad for Shelly.

25 days has Kara interrogating Leoben!

And the implication that when he’s choking her he gets flashes of their Future Encounters…Interesting. ((which means he probably should be marked down as Force-sensitive for crossover purposes.))

And the kid is back in the chapel. But this time Cavil doesn’t immediately kick him out. “So you have parents. Do they want you?” “No.” “Well, two decks below, there’s a room, and there’s people in that room that are in charge of the children that nobody wants. All right, don’t go there. But go somewhere.”

“Is he dead?” “If he’s not dead, he’s dying.” “Thus is the beast decapitated.” “Which inspired you to come and tell me…” “I’ll do it, okay? I’ll blow up my ship. I’ll blow up the Cybele.” “Good.” “One condition. I want my family kept safe.” “No, you don’t want that. You see, if they die now, they die without ever knowing what you are.” Ouch.

“That was the Four. Oh, and Boomer shot the Commander. Things are looking up.” This is. Weirdly almost cute? Them just settling together. “It could hardly go down. The Six failed, the Two failed…” “Every machine needs to warm up. We’re a fleet-killing machine. We just started to hum.” “We just started to hum?” And now handjobs are happening because Sure Why Not XD

52 days, Bill is still out, Cavil goes to see Boomer in prison.

“You shot him, but you didn’t kill him. You didn’t kill him, and things were finally going well!” “I shot him twice in the chest, what more do you want?” “How about once in the head?!” “I told you, I’m not in control. The only way that I could get this done was to turn myself into a Centurion. I could feel the bullets moving through the channels under my hard metal skin. I couldn’t feel my heartbeat.” “Sounds wonderful.” “If there was any part of us that’s human, in that moment I killed that.” “Yes, good, that’s the idea. Now listen, Eight, I need you. And I need to break a string of failures.” “I lost the best part of myself.” “Yes. All right. I see how this is. Goodbye, Eight, and good luck.” And he takes the elephant away. “…I don’t want a priest.” “And you deserve no absolution.”

And Philosopher!Cavil of course claims Helo and Starbuck are skinjobs. “I can’t be sure, though, my memory…”

“Who is it?” “Some random humans. Each side is going to suspect the other. I wish I could watch.”

“Hi.” Very sexy of you, Starbuck.

“So somebody might get shot. Great. You were the one telling me how swift and terrible this was going to be.” I gotta say, I’m a fan of role-reversals in a lot of contexts and this one with the Fleet copies of One and Four and the Caprica copies is definitely hitting the spot. “It’s been two months since those bombs fell, and you’re helping a resistance cell thrive here.” Which does also kind of imply that there are Additional pockets of resistance elsewhere? They…probably died out after the Cylons left. Too small, too isolated, too much radiation…man :(

And Simon wiring the airlock to kill himself cut together with him having very sweet sex with Giana :((((((

And I love this music behind all of it!!!

“I’m sorry,” he tells her. “I really am sorry.” And he holds a picture of her and his stepdaughter, “I love you,” he says, as he sends himself out the airlock.

YES THIS BIT!

“You want a progress report? I’ll give you a frakking progress report. Come on, it is spectacular! Doral blew himself up, causing minor damage to a minor hallway. And Boomer jettisoned the water, and then she personally found loads more water! And then she shot Adama, but not very accurately since she loved him. And then Leoben, he got obsessed with Kara Thrace, and then was captured and airlocked. And my sister Six utterly failed to discredit Baltar and his dreamy hair and destroyed our frakking cover in the process. And now Simon…Simon killed himself. Really killed himself, out of resurrection range, without blowing up the ship that he lived on because he couldn’t imagine life without his little human wife and his little human daughter because he loves them.” “Stop, stop, stop.” “Yeah, I guess I better.” “They’re all letting me down.” “Why are they letting you down, One? What’s the X factor? You can’t declare war on love.” “I think I already did. …hey, where’d the bottle go?”

As she glides out of his room in her underwear and a vest/hoodie and some very cute heels, never to be seen again XD

AND THEN THIS BIT

“I thought he was supposed to kill her in the woods.” “He’s a bad shot. Did she see you?” “No, I stayed out of sight.” “Good. She got a glimpse of me, but she didn’t react. So if there’s a One up in that fleet, she didn’t see him. At least not enough to ring a bell in her tiny brain.” Rude.

“What are they doing?” “You need a doctor to tell you that.” “Oh, for God’s sake. Why?!” “Why? He loves her.” “He loves her.” “Vigorously.” “She’s beneath him.” “…not necessarily.” Love it love it love it XD

And this time Cavil feeds the kid instead of just kicking him out.

“Seems like I never sleep anymore.” Poor Sam. “If you’re looking for a strong leader, you picked a bad time. …bless me, Brother, for I have acted against the example of the gods.” “…proceed, in the name of the gods.” And Sam confesses that he wanted to run after that other fight. “But you changed your mind.” “Well, no. Barolay was there, and she was gonna see me run. And suddenly I find myself worrying about my own frakking reputation. So I didn’t run. And that’s my confession. I’m a godsdamned coward, Brother.” “Well, I suppose you were. But what about now?” “I’m not gonna run anymore. Maybe I’m stronger or maybe I’m just more insane.” “This whole experience has changed you for the better. You’ve learned.” “You know, at the end of a confession, sometimes there’s an ending, or…” “Fine. You are absolved in the example of the gods.” And then Philosopher!Cavil asks the big question--can Sam forgive the Cylons. And Sam’s like are you nuts.

“What was that?” Four asks. “I thought he’d learned. But he loves.” “…what are you really doing here? What does this man mean to you?”

And we jump ahead to 280 days and Chief and Cavil talking! ((and yeah, this is Definitely missing some stuff because I Know there’s a moment added when they rescue Starbuck from the Farm where they send someone back to kill their Simon.))

But we’re cutting back to this scene with Giana and Chief talking, about her realizing that her husband was a Cylon. …I think there was another scene with her, too, after his suicide? …I’ll watch the full version later. Probably won’t update these notes but I’m Annoyed now, haha.)) Anyway that bit must have happened Not Long after Starbuck got back…although having Just Watched It, him walking across the deck to talk to her does echo the opening of his Recurring Dream except with more people around. Or at least it’s Clearly intended to evoke that. Sooooo…yeah IDK.

“My husband…only not. He was a Cylon. I thought he loved me. Gods.” “…maybe he did. I don’t know.” “Someone made him do it. Don’t you think? I mean, they keep finding more of them, and they must have been in contact. Someone is making decisions.” “You think that somebody told them what to do. Ordered them.” “I think Simon was told to do something, and instead he killed himself.” “…Boomer was a better shot than that.” “What?” “When she shot the old man. She was a better shot than that. It’s like she frakked it up on purpose, knowing that the marines would take her head off right then and there, knowing that it was…the only way out she could see.” “So maybe they were heroes, you know? In a way.” “I don’t know about that. Maybe.” “If I thought I was a Cylon, I’d climb this ladder all the way up there. I’d do it with style. I’d swan-dive out of this life.” And then he leans in to kiss her because So Many Confused Feelings and they have a Very Key Thing in common, and... “Sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that.” “I know.”

Oh man and the way she clutches the clipping to her chest and continues to cry.

Maybe that conversation started the nightmares? He said he’d been having them for weeks. And the timeline of S2 is a Mess, so…

And this is new. “I’ve [trusted people] and they all let me down. Every single one. Every single one. So yeah, it should scare the frak out of you. But good luck to you.” And then he leaves.

“There’s hardly anyone left for you to lean on. But you can lean on me.” “You know, the day before I met Kara, I had 98 people. I loved those people.” “But you didn’t need them. And they’re dead. Do you mean to tell me that you go on loving them even when they’re dead?” “What are you talking about? Of course I love those people! Death doesn’t change that, what’s the matter with you?!” And then they’ve sighted the rescue party and Philosopher!Cavil is Thinking.

Ohhhhh and now there’s this creepy-ass scene. The kid comes and offers Cavil an apple. “What’s your name?” “John.” “We’ve become friends, huh? Friends are dangerous things.” And then just that quick, quiet stab, and the kid gasps…

And it’s all cut together with Philosopher!Cavil aiming at Starbuck and Considering it, but unable to pull the trigger. Even after he has a clear shot and Sam’s out of the way. And then he aims at Sam, back at Kara, and he Thinks. And chooses not to shoot.

Oh and the way Cavil just. Shoves the kid off the bed.

“Get the frak out of the way.” Rude.

“Why the cease-fire?” “There’s been a vote. There’s going to be a truce. We just need to convey it to the humans. All of them.” “I can deliver that message.” “Your model voted against it.” “I’ve had a new insight. Besides, there’s nothing for me here.”

And that moment when Fleet!Cavil first sees Philosopher!Cavil is STILL HILARIOUS AND I LOVE IT.

Yeah this version is definitely cutting it to show Philosopher!Cavil Frequently looking at Tigh. And putting a little more emphasis on Tigh in general.

…including cutting Roslin’s part of that scene and having Tigh decide to airlock them both which I don’t know how I feel about that lol. ((I’m guessing it had something to do with money or contracts and Rules for how use of archive footage is handled in things like this? Can’t cut the stuff with Helo or Baltar or Kara and there’s a Lot of them without them Actually being in the thing outside of that but))

And we walk past All of the Final Five on the way to the airlock because Of Course!

And we’re back where we started!

((…it occurs to me that. There is possibly going to be a Slight Bias against identical twins for a while in this culture. Which…well idk how much I want to play with that worldbuilding but…yeah.))

I do love Philosohper!Cavil keeping his hat to make Sure we can tell them apart XD

“Is there a resurrection ship in range?” “Yes, brother, but first we’re going to die in a vacuum.” “There’s a 170 foot launch tube ahead of us. We might die of our injuries before we get to the vacuum.” “…I don’t like you.” “I understand that.” “Do you really believe it was a mistake to attack the humans?” “Rather intensely, yes.” “You know that when we download among the others, your strange ideas will be shouted down.” “Ideas only seem strange until you try them on, brother.” I love that line so much. “We had a temper tantrum in the form of a cataclysm because we wanted them to treasure us, the Ones, more than humanity. More than their own history and blood.” …and also the Rest of that line but that bit about ideas is just. Amazing. “We didn’t want to be loved. We wanted to be treated fairly.” “We wanted to be held to a bosom, to be petted and perfumed and told we were the princes of the universe.” “Yes, well, if the humans were gone…” “Our parents would mourn them. They’d love them more anyway.” “I’m going to see to it that you get boxed. And then I’m going to prepare to wipe out humanity once and for all.” “…the anticipation is…really unpleasant.” “Yes.” And then Philosopher!Cavil holds out his hand and Fleet!Cavil takes it and they die holding hands and Feelings.

As Cavil’s “I want to reach out with something other than these prehensile paws and feel the solar wind of a supernova flowing over me!” line plays over their death.

So I really like this a lot??? I know it’s basically missing/added scenes, But they are Really Good Ones for the most part?? Also showing a One and a Four who did actually learn and grow the way other models are shown as capable of was really nice.

(But not any Fives. Nobody likes the Fives XD)

((I mentioned my Cylon pairing mix a while back; Fives were the only model who were not on there at all XD. ...also Baltar was the individual who appeared the most times on it XD Sixes as a whole beat him but that was across All included Six ships))