#bsg: sometimes a great notion

[transpidergwen]

I watched Sometimes a Great Notion tonight and I'm fine, idk why you'd even ask! Little Ana got her smile back, everything's groovy and chill!

[gainesha]

BSG rewatch notes, cont'd and ended (spoilers, obviously):

it was so nice to watch the whole thing again, once again being reminded why I fell in love with these characters

the second half of Season 4 is much stronger overall as the first one, but the Tigh-Six baby plotline is awful. dumb and ludicrous. gave lots of fantastic acting moments for Hogan and Helfer, at least

Michael Nankin was the GOAT for directing Sometimes a Great Notion

I had loved the piano man story from Someone to Watch Over Me, so I was looking forward to rewatch that, but I completely forgot that the other main plot of the episode is going to be Boomer kidnapping Hera, and jfc, the locker room sequence with Helo and Boomer as Athena and Athena watching them is probably the most horrifying scene of the whole show, genuinely disturbing

I really like the finale. the flashback structure works very well for showing us how far all these characters came, and also crystallizing their story arcs, the stakes of their present-day choices. the last mission is intense and satisfying. the big showdown between Cavil and the Final Five / colonials and the Opera House reveal is a bit bumpy, but I still love the anticlimax of Cavil just saying ah fuck this shit. the ending always made emotional sense for me, and because the emotional farewell was the more important expectation for me (rather than getting a wholly satisfying mythology and precisely worked out plot machinery), and I feel good about the exodus part, too, I can more easily let go of my quibbles of explaining how the people of the fleet actually went along with throwing all their technology into the sun and going into the wild which would realistically mean quite a low life expectancy for them - like, I would not last outside modern civilization at all, but considering the rate with which we have been destroying our planet in the years since the show ended, their choice to have a clean slate is all the more wishful and heartfelt. (also a nice sentiment to forego colonizing the natives of Earth). Kara's "poof" is jarring, but I find her narrative arc complete and wonderful. I don't need to know exactly what she was after she returned from Earth-1. I even didn't mind the epilogue! like, the dancing robots would probably be AI if they remade the show today, but otherwise, the all of this has happened before... message of the show, with all its cheesy directness, still stands. except maybe it's more difficult to share HeadSix's optimistic prognosis

"You know, I know about farming" is the best line reading of the whole show

I wish we got at least one more Leoben-Kara scene after the one in Sometimes a Great Notion. that was a huge turning point in their relationship, but it should have been followed up, and I am sure it would have if not for the unavailability of Callum Keith Rennie. that is the only part of the show that feels incomplete.

I was ranking all the episodes for myself alongside the rewatch, so here's my bottom 5 and my top 10. I still need to rewatch The Plan, which in my memory is barely more than a glorified clipshow with some nice acting, so that could possibly be in the bottom five as well. and yes, that is a 7-parter in the second place, sue me.

Black Market (2x14)

The Woman King (3x14)

Hero (3x08)

Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down (1x09)

Deadlock (4x16)

10. The Passage (3x10) 9. Someone to Watch Over Me (4x17) 8. Downloaded (2x18) 7. Pegasus (2x10) 6. The Oath / Blood on the Scales (4x13-14) 5. 33 (1x01) 4. Scar (2x15) 3. Unfinished Business (3x09) - non-extended version 2. New Caprica arc: Lay Your Burdens Down 1-2., Occupation, Precipice, Exodus 1-2., Collaborators (2x19-3x05) 1. Maelstrom (3x17)

[blue-mint-winter]

[3x16/4x11] Laura Roslin and a good, old-fashioned book-burning.

[friendshiptothemax]

My favorite random BSG theory rooted in absolutely NOTHING

is that we have no reason to believe that the Final Five were the same relative ages on Earth as they are in the show and therefore there can be any wacky combination.

Here is what we know:

1. In “Sometimes a Great Notion,” we see Galen Tyrol and Saul and Ellen Tigh in flashbacks. They appear more or less the same ages as the actors playing them, which at the time was around 37 for Aaron Douglas, 59 for Michael Hogan, and 47 for Kate Vernon. We do not see visuals of Sam Anders or Tory Foster.

2. What we know of their dynamics -- Ellen was in charge of the resurrection project. The Tighs were married, Galen and Tory were engaged.

3. Bill Adama met Saul in the Colonies for the first time 30 years prior to the start of the fall of the Colonies and nothing seemed to be amiss during their friendship w/r/t Saul’s aging -- so Saul is clearly able to be placed in a clone body younger than he was when he died for the first time. Ditto for Galen, who has documented military service dating back to when he was eighteen (which he says in the miniseries was ten years ago), and unconfirmed but probably double ditto for Sam, who was a FUCKING PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE so must have been inserted fairly young.

3a. HOWEVER, while we have evidence of younger clone bodies existing, we see Ellen resurrect in a body that’s roughly the same age as the one she died in on New Caprica. So there is no “standard” age for clone bodies and they can be seemingly aged up or down as desired. 

4. Since they resurrected and lived some unknown period of time before finding the Colonies/making the humanoid Cylons, they probably weren’t the same relative ages then as they were when they died. Cavil might not even have KNOWN their relative ages.

5. For them to all be the same ages the day of the attacks on the Colonies as they were during the attacks on Earth, Cavil would have had to 1) Know how old they were during the attacks on Earth, 2) Know exactly when the attacks on the Colonies were going to happen thirty years in advance, 3) Have specifically put them in the Colonies in a combination of clone body age/years left until the attacks that adds up, even though he didn’t have a standard age of insertion or time in which he did them all.

From the flashbacks/relationship dynamics, I think it’s reasonable to believe that Galen and Tory were one age, maybe mid-30s, and Ellen and Saul were older, maybe by around 20-30 years. But there is nothing ruling out that Tory isn’t much older or much younger than her fiancé, and furthermore, there is absolutely no scrap of evidence about how old Sam was. Their undergraduate assistant? A contemporary of Galen/Tory or Ellen/Saul? A retired scholar pulled out of retirement by his visions of a woman? We don’t know! 

And if you want to ignore what you see in the flashbacks (Galen and Saul didn’t fully have a grasp on what they were seeing, it was easier to picture themselves as they ages they thought of themselves as being), then you can get even wackier with it -- Ellen the young wunderkind? I love it.

It’s a dumb theory, nothing in canon hints at it. But nothing in canon DOESN’T hint at it either, so RDM can’t stop me from being delighted by my image of elderly Dr. Anders.

(I like old Dr. Anders, but I also like to explain Sam’s athletic career with the idea he was inserted and adopted as a child, so put that together and you get a Sam who has experienced more life than any other sentient being in the known universe)

[borgcast]

Sometimes A Great Notion, another cheery, fun-filled episode of BSG, which Anne-Marie and Peter will be covering for Borgcast Galactica 6.7, recording Thursday.

[jeanvaljean24601]

How to Watch Mad Men and More Great Shows for Free Right Now

Another day, another brand new streaming platform out there begging you to subscribe to its service so you can ignore your family members and binge-watch a bunch of TV shows and movies in the name of entertainment. This time, it's NBCUniversal's Peacock, which offers a free tier as well as  two premium options (one with ads and one without). The service  features a number of programs for free, including Friday Night Lights and even Parks and Recreation, but Peacock isn't the only place you can stream great shows without breaking the bank.

Below, we've gathered up a number of shows that don't require you to shell out money for Netflix,  Hulu,  Amazon Prime,  Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max, Peacock, and/or  whatever other streaming service subscriptions are out there. Sometimes you just need a simple freebie. And you know what? You deserve it. So check out the list below and take comfort in knowing it won't cost you a thing.

Watch it on: IMDb TV

Until recently you had to have a Netflix subscription to watch Mad Men, AMC's Emmy-award winning period drama from Matthew Weiner that was dedicated as much to style as it was to substance. The 1960s-set series, which traced the rise and fall of flawed Madison Avenue advertising executive Don Draper (Jon Hamm) through his own complicated relationship with identity, was a pointed commentary on the toxic masculinity, sexism, and racism of the era. It also changed the way we watch and talk about TV. If you haven't seen it yet, now's the perfect time to do so.

The Dick Van Dyke Show

Watch it on: Tubi (complete series), Pluto TV (complete series)

Realizing  The Dick Van Dyke Show is streaming for free feels a bit like winning a secret lottery or viewing an exceptional piece of art without paying the museum admission fee. The popular comedy, which ran for five seasons, was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke as the head writer of a TV show, while  Mary Tyler Moore portrayed his wife. It's a timeless classic — one that took home 15 Emmys during its run, and if you've yet to experience it, you literally have no excuse at this point.

The Dick Van Dyke Show Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Watch it on: ABC app (complete series)

Felicity is best known as the show in which Keri Russell cut her hair (not to be confused with the show in which Keri Russell wore a lot of great wigs, aka The Americans). Depicting Felicity Porter's (Russell) college years and the struggles that accompany trying to figure out who you're supposed to be, the show is also famous for Scott Speedman's whisper-talking and the ongoing battle of Ben (Speedman) vs. Noel (Scott Foley). Although the WB series was previously streaming on Hulu, you can now watch it for free on the ABC app.

A reimagining of the kitschy original series, Syfy's Battlestar Galacticastarred Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Tricia Helfer, Michael Hogan, James Callis, and Jamie Bamber and explored the aftermath of a nuclear attack by the Cylons, cybernetic creatures invented by man who evolved and rebelled against their creators. The show was critically acclaimed for the way it tackled the subjects of science, religion, and politics, and for the way it explored the deeply complicated notion of what makes us human. Everything from the miniseries to the two BSG films (Razor and The Plan) is currently available to stream for free on Syfy's website, so there's no better time to watch it. So say we all!

Watch it on: IMDb TV (complete series), Tubi (complete series), Pluto TV (first 13 seasons), YouTube (first 13 seasons)

For many millennials, the fourth series in the Degrassi franchise, Degrassi: The Next Generation, is the defining iteration of the long-running Canadian series. The drama series, which was sometimes so overly dramatic it was actually funny, tackled everything from date rape and suicide to sexual orientation and teen pregnancy. The series, which launched the careers of Drake (then known as Aubrey Graham) and Nina Dobrev, is streaming on multiple free platforms.

Watch it on: ABC app (complete series)

Eli Stone really had it all, which is to say it had Victor Garber singing George Michael songs, Loretta Devine singing George Michael songs, and George Michael singing George Michael songs. What else is there? ABC's offbeat two-season comedy-drama starred a pre-Elementary Jonny Lee Miller as Eli Stone, a high-powered San Francisco lawyer whose brain aneurysm gave him prophetic visions — which usually involved his friends, family, and colleagues breaking into song. Aside from a couple of ill-advised plotlines (the pilot, which suggests vaccines cause autism, is best forgotten), the show was a blast: a weird but memorable cocktail that should have stuck around for more seasons because, as I mentioned, Victor Garber sang George Michael songs. Also, Sigourney Weaver played God?! -Kelly Connolly

Watch it on: YouTube (nearly every episode)

A true Canadian treasure,  The Red Green Show was a long-running comedy starring Steve Smith as Red Green, a handyman who constantly tried to cut corners using duct tape and who had his own cable TV show. It was a parody of home improvement shows and outdoor programs and featured segments like Handyman Corner, Adventures with Bill, and The Possum Lodge Word Game. The show ran for 15 seasons, airing on PBS in the States. 

TV Premiere Date Calendar: Find Out When Your Favorite Shows Are Back

Watch it on: IMDb TV (complete series), ABC app (complete series)

Critically beloved but struck down before its time,  My So-Called Life has been praised for its realistic and honest portrayal of teenage life, not just via Angela Chase (Claire Danes), but through the show's young supporting cast as well. Now considered to be one of the best shows of all time, it tackled topics like homophobia, homelessness, drug use, and more without ever feeling preachy or like an after-school special. Also, Jordan Catalano (Jared Leto) could lean.

Watch it on: CW Seed (first five seasons), IMDb TV (first five seasons)

If you don't have Netflix but still want to watch  Schitt's Creek, you'll be happy to know you can watch the first five seasons of the heartwarming, Emmy-nominated comedy series, about a wealthy family who loses everything they own except the town of the show's title, for free on CW Seed and IMDb TV.

Dan Levy and Catherine O'Hara, Schitt's Creek Photo: Pop TV

Watch it on: Peacock (complete series); IMDb TV (complete series)

You may never know what it feels like to have Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler) be proud of you, but you can pretend by watching all five seasons of  Friday Night Lights, a series that was as much about a Texas community as it was about the sport that united it. By the end of the show, you'll be asking yourself "What Would Riggins Do?" and tattooing "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose" on your body, all while chanting "Texas forever!" Trust me, it happens to everybody.

Watch it on: CW Seed (complete series)

It is relatively easy to forget that The CW series The Carrie Diaries was a prequel to  Sex and the City, because the charming show, which lasted just two seasons, was able to stand on its own. The coming-of-age series that followed a teenaged Carrie Bradshaw (AnnaSophia Robb) was relatively innocent compared to the original series. The show's 1980s setting made it easier for the writers to focus on more harmless family storylines and teenage heartbreaks, but the show never shied away from the heartstring-tugging drama of young adulthood either. It's a shame the show never got the kind of ratings it deserved and wasn't able to exist beyond Carrie's high school years, but the Season 2 finale works well as a series finale, so viewers won't feel as if the story was left incomplete. android tv box

Watch it on: CW Seed (complete series)

It's a shame Bryan Fuller's saturated dramedy  Pushing Daisies, about a pie-maker (Lee Pace) with the ability to bring the dead back to life, couldn't bring itself back to life after becoming a casualty of the 2007-08 writers' strike. A whimsical delight, the show featured the pie-maker teaming up with a local private eye (Chi McBride) to solve murders by reviving the victims for a brief time. Known for its quirky characters, eccentric visual style, and Jim Dale's pitch-perfect narration, it remains must-see TV.

Watch it on: IMDb TV (first seven seasons); Peacock

Columbo kicked off nearly every episode by revealing the crime and its perpetrator to the audience, which means unlike most crime dramas, the show was less about whodunnit and more about Peter Falk's iconic raincoat-wearing homicide detective catching them and getting them to confess. Oh, and just one more thing: it's great.

Watch it on: CW Seed (complete series)

The charming and playful Forever, which starred Ioan Gruffudd as an immortal medical examiner, was the one show that could have saved ABC's Tuesday at 10 p.m. death slot. But the network still canceled the series anyway, enraging the show's fans, who have never let the sting of its death go. Luckily, it now lives on, ahem, forever (aka until the content license expires) on CW Seed.

Watch it on: IMDb TV (complete series)

It sounds odd to say The Middle, which ran for nine seasons on ABC, was unfairly overlooked, but it always felt like the series, which followed the middle class Midwestern Heck family, was a bit of a hidden gem. It wasn't as popular with Emmy voters as, say, Modern Family, and critics also failed to give it its due, but it was a real, heartfelt, reliable family comedy with mass appeal, and you can stream it on IMDb TV for free. h96 tv box

Watch it on: ABC app (complete series)

Trophy Wife's short life — it was canceled after just one season — can probably be chalked up to its unfortunate title, which was meant to be ironic but ultimately kept viewers from tuning in and experiencing the warmth of the show and the relationships at its center. Malin Akerman starred as the young wife of  Bradley Whitford's middle-aged lawyer, and the comedy explored the dynamics between the two, his children, and his two ex-wives, who were played by  Marcia Gay Harden and  Michaela Watkins. h96 max x3

Watch it on: NBC app (complete series)

Loosely based on the Biblical story of King David, Kings was a compelling drama before its time. Rudely cut down after just one season by NBC, the show starred Ian McShane as the king of the fictional kingdom of Gilboa, while  Christopher Egan portrayed an idealistic young soldier whose counterpart is David. The show also starred Sebastian Stan, which is reason enough to want to check it out.

Watch it on: ABC app (complete series)

Ray Wise portrays Satan in Reaper, a supernatural dramedy about a slacker (Bret Harrison) who reluctantly becomes a reaper tasked with capturing escaped souls from hell after it's revealed his parents made a deal with the devil many, many years before. The fact the show only lasted two seasons is a crime against humanity. Luckily, you can watch it in its entirety for free on the ABC app. h96 max x3

Watch it on: IMDb TV (complete series)

A team of experts led by a kooky old scientist (John Noble), his son (Joshua Jackson), and an FBI agent (Anna Torv) investigate strange occurrences around the country, X-Files style, in the J.J. Abrams-produced Fringe. The series is one of the best broadcast science-fiction shows of all time, particularly in its first three seasons, and perfected the art of the serialized procedural by weaving the show's deep mythology and excellent character work into weekly standalone stories, making it easy to binge or watch in spurts. And by the time the end of Season 1 starts, you'll have a hard time stopping. -Tim Surette

Watch it on: Tubi (complete series), Vudu (complete series)

Although American TV producers would eventually adapt  Being Human, the original British version, which followed three supernatural beings trying to live amongst humans, is far superior. The show, which ran for five seasons, starred Aidan Turner, Russell Tovey, and  Lenora Crichlow as a vampire, werewolf, and ghost, respectively. So skip the U.S. version entirely and watch the U.K. series for free.

Watch it on: Pluto TV (complete series),  Vudu (complete series), Tubi (complete series)

The Australian young adult-oriented series Dance Academy is not exactly what you'd call "great television," but it is great fun. Brimming with teen angst and melodrama, the series, which ran for three seasons and even had a follow-up movie, followed a handful of dancers at Sydney's National Academy of Dance as they trained in the sport they loved while also falling in and out of love with each other. The acting was sometimes questionable, but the series itself was addictive, not to mention one of the easiest binges you'll ever encounter. h96 max tv box

3rd Rock From the Sun

Watch it on: Tubi (complete series), Pluto TV (complete series), Crackle (all six seasons),  Vudu (all six seasons)

You might think a show about a group of socially awkward, 1,000-year-old aliens in human skin suits who are trying (badly) to pose as a human family and blend into an ordinary Midwest town might sound ridiculous, and, well, that's fair. But  3rd Rock From the Sun was still charming in even its most bizarre moments and gave its cast a lot of room to play up their roles and create an ensemble of weirdos that, at some point or another, start to tap into their newfound humanity and relish their new home here on Earth. -Amanda Bell.

[randomspock]

Fat Apollo Is Life - BSG S04E11 (Sometimes a Great Notion)

Fat Apollo Is Life - BSG S04E11 (Sometimes a Great Notion).

Check out this episode!

[gainesha]

BSG rewatch notes, cont'd:

and here it is, the New Caprica arc. which is, and this might be one of the least heretic things to say about BSG, the pinnacle. there are individual episodes, and even small arcs, that I might adore more (we will see how I'll react to them during this rewatch, but Maelstrom, Sometimes a Great Notion, the Mutiny two-parter would all be in my top 10 episodes), but this 7 episodes, from Lay Down Your Burdens up until Collaborators, are unrivaled as a storytelling high point for the show. the surprise element is gone now, obviously, but I still remember the goosebumps I got during the initial airing when the time jump happened, and how I could barely breath for the remainder of that season finale because I was just so exhilarated and electrified by what is happening on screen. that, yes, they *did* settle down, things *did* change permanently - up until they didn't, of course. but these kinds of twists are so much richer than just killing a main character.

and this is just one thing... there are so many more. like the montage at the beginning of Lay Down Your Burdens Part 1., with Bear's Something Dark is Coming music cue, and Athena saying it out loud should be the most cliched thing, but it's instead truly harrowing and haunting even if you don't know what's going to happen to all these people soon. meanwhile, Laura giggling uncontrollably on the way to the debate - the way the writers and the actors are comfortable inside these characters are paying dividends. then the murk of the occupation, the suicide bombings, the show being dark without grimdark (even if I would have wanted to spend more time in this setting, 4 episodes were a great choice, and even if some little developments here and there would have benefited maybe from more screen time, New Caprica never feels as rushed as the Pegasus arc), poor Gatea, the Galactica dropping down, Hot Dog saying "well, this should be different" before flying out... and, of course, Saul saying "not all of them", and then slowly walking away, the heartbreak, my gods.

and yet, Unfinished Business was always my "I would die on this hill" fave episode. it's the one episode I've rewatched most - both versions. I love the flashbacks to a sweeter, more hopeful time on New Caprica, even if some characters have never believed it would truly last. I watched the Extended version now, and I have somewhat conflicted thoughts, because I was thinking which version would I show someone who has not seen the show before, and the Extended version has several brilliant new scenes or crucial longer segments playing out on New Caprica. we need all of Adama and Roslin getting high, Laura's monologue about living in the moment; we need the morning after with Kara and Tigh; we definitely need Dee and Lee in the Raptor; and also, Lee confessing how much she needs Kara. but also, the flow of the originally aired episode are lightyears better, the editing rhythm of the intercutting scenes is magic, and it is gone in the Extended - moreover, the rhythm is all off. and this episode has to be a Dance in itself. (so I would probably show the aired one, and afterwards these 4-5 scenes separately)

the reveal of the reason behind the animosity between Kara and Lee, and why Lee behaves so antagonistically towards here after the time jump, why their dynamics feel so strange, plays out fantastically. the writers manage it so well, especially in contrast with the reveals in Hero, which...

okay, so Hero is bullshit, and I continue to just ignore the retcon of it all. I would be fine with the Admirality being compromised (that checks out), but Adama being the one who "started it all" (even if Roslin dismisses the thought), even just the fact that it was him on that covert mission, because, you know, he is the lead of the show, is a teeny tiny bit Forrest Gump... too much, too neat, and I get that they tried to take the Adama idol and dirty it up, but he has already been humanized and shaded quite a bit during the first 2 seasons, and I don't really know what this adds to the character or the whole main Human-Cylon conflict either that haven't been already said and explored in different, more fruitful ways. it's a shame, because all the regular actors bring their A-game here, Hogan, Olmos, McDonnell all shine.

I adore Tigh and Starbuck getting close

Jamie Bamber is so good conveying how utterly in love Lee is

Richard Hatch is so good

you could paint a mural with all the reaction shots from the boxing matches, inside and around the ring, I love everybody just grinning or glaring or just being cocky as shit

[transpidergwen]

That shot of Adama walking down the hallway has haunted me for five years and upon rewatching it still holds up as one of the most pointedly hopeless moments I've ever seen. It will haunt me for the rest of time.

[transpidergwen]

"Look at that, little Ana's got her smile back"

[transpidergwen]

Wow talk about an underwhelming reveal for Ellen

[blue-mint-winter]

[4x11] FRAK EARTH

[blue-mint-winter]

BSG 4x11 Sometimes a Great Notion rewatch

I saw Dee and I knew it was THAT episode.

The episode of ultimate mental anguish and despair as everyone’s dreams are crushed into dust. They all find out they were wrong about most of things and they don’t cope with it very well. Some worse than others. The morale in the Fleet quickly deteriorates. We see fights and lack of discipline on Galactica as people lose their sense of purpose and hope.

Roslin is absolutely devastated. Tory told her in last episode “You were wrong about me, what else you were wrong about?” Roslin finds that the answer is everything. Everything she believed in, Earth, the Thirteenth Tribe, the prophecies - it was all for nothing. Earth was nuked, Thirteenth Tribe were Cylons, the prophecies were lies. She even regrets that she convinced Adama to preserve humanity after the attack on Colonies. Her life’s work and purpose are rendered meaningless. So she burns the Pythia’s book, the same book she obsessively pored over for clues to Earth. She even doesn’t go to her treatment, that’s how resigned and hopeless she became.

Because of her grieving, Lee has to step up in the Quorum. He’s keeping it remarkably well together even if he has no idea what they should do. And he’s got Dee encouraging him.

Dee’s the centerpiece of this episode - she has a small moment of weakness in the beginning when she sees Earth, but then she goes around as normal, with a smile, acting liek nothing’s wrong. She babysat Hera, she went on a date with Lee, and then - she shot herself. Her abrupt suicide shocks everyone, especially Gaeta, Lee and Adama. It shocked me as hell too when I first watched the show. It was so unexpected. We’ll never know why she did it. Was the disappointment of Earth too much? Was she feeling suicidal before, but the hope of Earth kept her going, and with it gone, she’s just had enough and given up on living? It’s fightening how no one had any idea what was going in her head. Dee could read Lee so well, but he couldn’t read her at all. She hid her thoughts so well. Her pain must have been buried deep inside until it was too much :( The lesson is, we have to pay attention to people. We never know what’s hiding in their hearts.

After Dee’s death, Adama’s contemplating suicide too. He feels her loss so keenly. So he goes to Tigh and tries to provoke him into shooting him, but Tigh realizes what he’s doing and refuses. It’s interesting that in reversal of their usual dynamic, Adama’s the drunk one, not Tigh.

I noticed that Adama does seem to develop a drinking problem this season. First time, he was drunk and had that fight with Roslin, then him getting drunk because Tigh’s a Cylon, now Dee’s death.

Adama’s tale about cornered foxes is a pretty good metaphor for those human reactions to mortal threat. Some fight, some run and some just give up. Let the tide to carry them to the sea. That’s what Dee did.

That look Gaeta gave Lee outside the morgue. Gaeta was the last one who saw Dee, she shot herself right after he left the officers’ quarters, he held her body. He lost his best friend and I think he might blame Lee.

Kara and Leoben follow the signal that brought them to Earth and find a crashed Viper and a body of Kara Thrace. This is a moment when Leoben realizes he was wrong about Kara and runs away from her. She has an existential crisis. Kara burning the dead body of Kara Thrace must have been a surreal experience. Anyway, the prophecy that she’s a harbinger of death is fulfilled in this unexpected way - she led them to the dead Earth and found her own dead body. If she was a Cylon from Earth, this would actually make perfect sense why she has a new body.

Instead, as the Four remember fragments about their old life on Earth, Tigh remembers that Ellen is the last one of them. But she’s gone. The way this final revelation is delivered is a little underwhelming, but because she’s long dead it adds to the mood of defeat in this episode.

Even D’Anna’s letting the despair get to her and wants to stay and die on this planet. Tigh’s telling her to believe in the old man. Oddly, Tigh’s the man with hope now.

In the end, thanks to Tigh’s motivational speech, Adama pulls himself together and decides to just find a new planet for the Fleet. If tribes of Kobol could do it thousands of years ago, the Colonials can do it again. The journey has to continue.