BSG 4.05: "The Road Less Traveled"

[xwacky]

No Lee...
No Lee...
Still no Lee...

And no Roslin either... ::pout::
I didn't even catch a glimpse of Adama~~  ::sigh::

Did notice one mistake I made 2 weeks ago -- apparently Hotdog went with Kara too!  So who's the CAG on Galactica these days?!

So bored I went back to work on my LJ layout.  Ron, why are you doing this to me?! ::groan::

Better luck next week?!

 

Comments

[helen-c.livejournal.com]

She's still the same impulsive girl with a one-track mind on doing what she wants to do, consequences be damned.
Which can be a good thing, every once in a while, but it's true that she tends to disregard how much she can hurt other people.

Because there's no need, she's the intrinsic hero.
Which is another problem I have with the character. It constantly feel like the writers are winking at us, telling us, "See, we get it. Heroes can be flawed. So, we'll give you Kara, who is frakked up, emotionally unstable, but doesn't she kick ass."
It's heavy handed... I prefer Lee, because he can be pissy and self-righteous and make something incredibly brave at the same time.

That didn't make much sense to me: how hard could it be to stay with a man who openly declared his love?

My theory is that she loves Lee, and she got scared of screwing up and breaking whatever they had (or scared that he would end up believing she wasn't good enough for him), so she decided not to give their couple a chance, and broke things off before it could start.
Did she have to marry Sam to drive her point home? No, but I can see her fearing that Lee wouldn't let her go without a fight, so she went with the only thing she could think of that would make him hate her.
Not that what she did was forgiveable, but I can kind of understand it...

Is Lee only good enough to be her *illicit* lover, but not her legitimate one-and-only?! What drove her decisions?
Well, all she said was that marriage was sacred (since she believes in the gods, taking a vow before them counts a lot). But then, why feel free to cheat on her husband?

Self-aware as in having the concept of "me"? Like "Why should I be doing such & such?"
Yes. Once you become aware that there's you and others, and there are things you shouldn't do if you don't want to hurt others, and you're aware that death would mean you wouldn't exist anymore, the lines would tend to blur. But again, we've seen no indication that the Centurions were anything but machines, with very little thought-processes.

Do the Cylons have a homeworld?
I think it was said in the mini that after the first war, they retreated to a planet outside Colonial space, and were never seen since then.
And in Hero, Bill said that he lead a mission to the border of Cylon space.
What I do wonder is if they colonized other planets on "their" side of space, though, or if they just remained on one planet until they were ready to attack the Colonies.

I wondered about that. I thought the reason the first and second cylon wars broke out, like any wars, was to fight for land and resources. The religion stuff was only used to incite those to fight the war. I thought the cylons wanted to take over the twelve planets so that they *can* have a homeworld...
Either the show was vague on the subject, or I haven't been paying attention (which is probable, since I tend not to listen too closely to the Cylons).
But I got the feeling that the first war happened because the Cylons wanted to be 'free' and escape the Colonies. The religion happened between the first and second wars, and the second war happened because the Cylons had decided that the humans didn't deserve to live (but then, why have farms and try to understand how humans reproduce?)
But I might be wrong.

:)

[xwacky.livejournal.com]

[Impulsiveness] can be a good thing, every once in a while...

Definitely true, as the case with Lee. The way he flew down that conveyor tunnel had a bit of impulsiveness involved. However, when someone is relentlessly impulsive, that could be a problem, and it gets old after awhile.

It constantly feel like the writers are winking at us, telling us, "See, we get it. Heroes can be flawed. So, we'll give you Kara, who is frakked up, emotionally unstable, but doesn't she kick ass."... I prefer Lee...

I see Lee as a well-rounded protagonist. Like the best of us, he has faults and makes mistakes. But even at his worst, I was able to get into his head, "see" and understand his thinking process. As such, I get to see him get past his funk, (at least attempting to) overcome his mistakes. His character matured and grew up right in front of my eyes.

With Kara however, I wasn't able to look into her head and understand her. I feel the writers are too busy at having her do the next "unexpected" thing that they don't bother to explain the "whys". A fellow bsg fan described her to me as being consistently inconsistent, which I think fits her to a tee. Nothing she did in the show, however unconventional or unethical, were ever wrong in the end. Even when she "killed" herself, she came back an Angel. So there wasn't a need for her character to change, to mature; and she never did (so far).

so she decided not to give their couple a chance, and broke things off before it could start.

But it had already started. When two people profess love for each other, in that intimate manner, whether or not alcohol was involved, things had already started, big time.

The point is, I never got her doubts and fears from watching that episode (and the ones that followed). As far as I'm concerned, your theory (a very plausible one) is a fanon instead of canon to excuse what she did.

You see, based on what I saw, I feel she loves Lee. However, she also loves Anders. She doesn't know which men she loves more, but she sensed Anders is easier to..."control" (for lack of a better word), and more prone to turn a blind eye to what she does. So when Lee suggested her to break things off with Anders in the morning, she panicked and ran off to *marry* him instead...

all she said was that marriage was sacred (since she believes in the gods, taking a vow before them counts a lot). But then, why feel free to cheat on her husband?

Actually, I think she gets off on the illicitness of the affair with this beautiful man. Kara had always frowned at convention and ethics, so the illicitness shouldn't bother her. That way, she also didn't have to commit to Lee. It's a win-win situation for her if only Lee had cooperated...

But again, we've seen no indication that the Centurions were anything but machines, with very little thought-processes.

Hmmm, that remains to be seen I guess. From the way the Centurions were introduced in this series, that certainly is true. With the missing "reasoning-chip", I don't see how they can be self-aware. Unless it turns out these Centurions were "dumbed down" after the first Cylon War.

I think it was said in the mini that after the first war, they retreated to a planet outside Colonial space, and were never seen since then.

I could be wrong, but I've always thought they retreated to the SPACE outside the colonial space, not a planet. I've pictured these cylons "lived" in space somewhere with no place to really call home. Hence they came back -- "humanity's children came home" to reclaim the planets.

I got the feeling that the first war happened because the Cylons wanted to be 'free' and escape the Colonies. The religion happened between the first and second wars, and the second war happened because the Cylons had decided that the humans didn't deserve to live (but then, why have farms and try to understand how humans reproduce?)

Very plausible! :)

[helen-c.livejournal.com]

A fellow bsg fan described her to me as being consistently inconsistent, which I think fits her to a tee. Nothing she did in the show, however unconventional or unethical, were ever wrong in the end.
And that's part of my problem with the show as a whole. Everyone is always so quick to blame Lee for his mistakes (both the other characters and the other fans, sometimes), yet Kara gets forgiven no matter what (as does Helo).

Consistently inconsistent fits the bill, all right. :)

When two people profess love for each other, in that intimate manner, whether or not alcohol was involved, things had already started, big time.
Things had started and I'm sure she must have seen it coming for a while. But, they hadn't gone public yet, hadn't even admitted to themselves. And there, yes, they did acknowledge their feelings, but they didn't go public with it, and I think it makes a difference. Announcing the world that you're in love with someone else takes it to a level of commitment she wasn't ready for; it would have made things more real than they were.
That's how I fanwank it, anyhow.

She doesn't know which men she loves more, but she sensed Anders is easier to..."control" (for lack of a better word), and more prone to turn a blind eye to what she does.
Not sure about the control part, but it's true that he's... paler, than Lee, somehow. He's not quite as obstinate, not as strong willed and strong minded, not quite a match for her. I think she also was scared of how strong her feelings for Lee were; it left her vulnerable, and she doesn't like that, so she tried to take control back by leaving first.

I could be wrong, but I've always thought they retreated to the SPACE outside the colonial space, not a planet.
I'm really not sure. I always pictured a planet in my mind, but I can't be sure whether it came from the show, or not...

[xwacky.livejournal.com]

Announcing the world that you're in love with someone else takes it to a level of commitment she wasn't ready for; it would have made things more real than they were.

There you go, I think you are right about that. And there lies my theory that Kara never loved Lee as much as he did her. Sure he's her friend, best in fact. But as far as the love of her life goes, there's always been someone else besides Lee as well...

Not sure about the control part, but it's true that he's... paler, than Lee, somehow.

I know "control" is a bad word, I just couldn't think of a better word at the time. I don't think Kara wanted to "boss" Anders around. She just does whatever she wants and sensed Anders would not object to her. Well, I don't care what others say about Anders, he's a milktoast!