Battlestar Galactica, ‘Lay Down Your Burdens’

Finished Battlestar Galactica, season 2.

Now THAT‘s how you do a timeline jump!

I’m not really going to talk plot, nor am I going to get into deep thoughtful analysis of it all, because I’m sure everything that can be said has been said already (although I’m not going to go looking for it… spoilers!). Instead, bullet points!

  • Baltar Baltar Baltar… I get such amusement out of your self-serving narcissistic doucheyness, but even I have to admit that your descent into drunken debauchery and near despotism is not your best hour. I mean, I get it, of course this is what would happen to Gaius Baltar upon coming to power… this is why characters like him work best when they’re not in a position of power.
  • On a different but related note, part of what makes Baltar so interesting is that he’s far from amoral and far from unfeeling. I’m sure part of his downward spiral has to be due to feeling like Gina also used and betrayed him, and, probably worse in his mind, that deep down he probably suspected she might do something like what she did as soon as she said she wasn’t going to New Caprica. Because how exactly was she going to avoid it?
  • And since I’m on Baltar and one iteration of Six… I loved to see the tables turned in episode 19! It was so interesting to see the Baltar in Caprica Six’s head, doing the same thing that the Six in his head has been doing all this time. You kind of have to conclude that they’re made for each other. (And yes, for a second, when she resurrected in the new body and he was there, I thought OH SHIT, HE ACTUALLY IS A CYLON, but I guess that the episode actually cemented the fact that Gaius Baltar is in fact 100% human. I’d kind of doubted around the time when he got the MRI and stuff).
  • At first I was surprised to see Gaeta working for Baltar a year later, but after thinking about it, it makes perfect sense. Gaeta was totally fangirling very much in awe of Baltar back when they met, and he was very obviously thrilled when he was originally assigned to work with him on the Cylon detector. Not much was made of it after that, but I suppose the admiration survived the 9 months that they ran from the Cylons. In fact, it would not surprise me in the slightest if Gaeta, rational, practical man that he is, in fact voted for Baltar, the man of science, in the presidential election.
  • LOLOLOLOL Adama’s moustache.
  • It hurt to see Lee and Starbuck so at odds with each other at the end there. No, I don’t think that they should be a couple, what I wish is that they’d resolve their issues and just be best friends, because they’re awesome that way. And I have to say much as I get that Starbuck has probably hurt Lee a lot with her tactlessness, in my opinion he sometimes comes off as more than a little self-righteous and douchey. But not in the fun Baltar way. (I actually like Lee as a character, and I think his faults make him fascinating… but sometimes he grates on me).
  • I don’t really believe that Lee was sincere in being happy that Starbuck got Anders back. Dude needs to be more sincere with himself.
  • Speaking of Starbuck, god I love her, with all of her many character flaws.
  • I’m somehow not as fond of Dee as I used to be, because I think she probably drove the wedge between Lee and Starbuck even further.
  • On the flip side, after moving between lukewarm and tentative dislike for Sharon in season 1, season 2 definitely made me sympathize, and by the end of season 2 I really liked her… both versions of her.
  • I so called that Chief and Callie would end up together ages ago.
  • For a good while there in episode 19 I was sure Chief was a Cylon. It was kind of heartbreaking. I mean, the Cylons are interesting, but you just really really want to believe in Chief.
  • I kept expecting Roslin’s campaign manager to be a Cylon. I also can’t remember where I’ve seen the actress before, but I think it’s part of why I’m suspicious of her.
  • I’ve loved to see Roslin and Adama’s relationship develop. I love how they get and respect each other even when they disagree.
  • Finally… Dean Stockwell! Al! Al is on BSG! Al is a snarky priest! Al is a Cylon! (Not that this was a surprise… I was sure the moment he jokingly said to Chief “Because I’m a Cylon and I haven’t seen you in any of our secret meetings).

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