Feelings of White   In a few words, explain what this blog is about.
Me, looking like Hot Sex inc. with my cool shades, a beer and my bountiful chest hair displayed for all to see
  • all
  • curator's pick
  • funny
  • narcissism
  • technical
  • the arts
  • the void
  • writing

BSG 4×05 - The Road Less Traveled

Kara and Helo share a moment aboard The Grand Poo-Barge
I know your upset, but what happened last night doesn't make you gay

Helo: I don't have any choice.
Athena: Yes, you do.

Athena is the toaster that proved choice was always possible, even among our mechanical brethren.  What was holding Helo back was his reverential belief in the military chain of command.  The Road Less Traveled finds many of our regulars re-examining what their beliefs are.  It's understated, but Helo was certainly the most conflicted of any.  This is the man who said "Yes sir" when Adama told him they were going to abort Athena's pregnancy.

Immediately before he made the mutiny official, he pistol whipped one of the crew to keep them in line.  It's no accident he drew his weapon, either.  I believe he was fully prepared at that moment to stop an uprising with lethal force.  The jump co-ordinates programmed in, he was about to follow Kara's orders, until his wife reminded him that he had a choice. 

Because Captain Kara has gone over all Ahab with the quest for Earth.  And crazy Leoben shows up, always good for a riveting incomprehensible scene or two.  I began wondering if their time on New Caprica was just to ensure she felt a little of that ol' Helsinki Syndrome when he reappeared.  I gobble this stuff up, especially moments like him telling her the questions had disappeared, and "the void they left could only be filled by taking the next step on [her] journey."  But I got no idea what the frak any of it means just now. 

Leoben's now spouting off about a Cylon/Human unity.  It's a potential series ending that's received a lot of speculation.  We're finally seeing a character voice that idea, but would it have happened if Cylon civil war hadn't happened?  If Leoben's side wasn't in desperate need of help?  If they hadn't stood up for the rights of the oppressed Cylon "slaves"?  You can't fault the character's for thinking it's a trap.  On a meta-level, however, it's pretty certain the writers aren't going there.  Just think of how fun it would be to have a half busted Cylon basestar join the fleet.. now that would be interesting viewing!

Quick note about Baltar: He's claiming publicly that the gods don't exist and never have.  Yet HeadSix told him the old gods were fighting back. Maybe I'm misreading it, or maybe Baltar has no qualms about blatantly lying to his followers.  His Tory-inspired pursuit of Tyrol (someone significant) shows he's calculating at the least.  And Tyrol, for his part, just wants something to drown out that child's crying, even if it's religion.

Is baldness the new hotness?  Could Kara's eulogizing have been any more self centered? Is she an angel? like HeadSix? like Shelly Godfrey? like Embrace-Death-in-the-Maelstrom-ImaginaryLeoben? 

2008 May 05 12:41 pm; Filed under the arts and tagged bsg.
« BSG 4×04 - Escape Velocity « before «
» after » Die Blogger »
  1. El Cliff on 2008 May 05

    I gotta say, Tyrol has become a much more interesting character. He used to just be one of the faceless main characters who were just 'part of the cast', but he's actually a fairly interesting presence these days. And I find it interesting that, as the Cylons engage in their full on civil war, the newest 4 Cylons are ALSO engaged in a less visceral version of the same. They aren't killing each other (yet), but battle lines certainly seem to be drawn. And one other thing about the new Cylons...so, was Tory ALWAYS this evil and self serving, but she just kept it repressed, and her newfound...Cylonhood is giving her an excuse to let it out? Now she can justify her actions with a simple "Hey, I'm a Cylon...whattya expect?", whereas it would have been more comlicated trying to explain her actions (especially to herself if she were 'merely human'?)

    Helo has always been a character that I kinda wished got a little more screen time. Early on, of course, he was pretty central to everything, but he'd sort of vanished in recent seasons, and I'm glad to see him return to a level of prominence. He'd always been the 'military lifer' sort, the do your duty guy...almost a younger, less bitter, and more sober version of Tigh (though I think Tigh's allegiances were more with Adama than any sense of duty). And he's still trying to play that role, but maybe looking out for his own ass a little bit more than he did.

  2. Feelings of White » BSG 4×06 - Faith on 2008 May 12

    [...] predicted last week, baldness is the new hotness! Would you agree that Tyrol wears it better than Roslin? Can the [...]

Posting your comment.
Follow responses with this post's comment feed.

Leave a reply

Subscribe

Recent Posts

  • Why I’m Throwing Away My Vote
  • Comics You Must Read! #1
  • The Shit Dancer [Tamdhu Stories 1.3]
  • Money & Other Friends [Tamdhu Stories 1.2]
  • Betty the Gas-Whore [Tamdhu Stories 1.1]
  • Command Line Parsing using Attribute Decoration in .NET
  • We Are Metallica
  • The Best of Projects: Fiction [3 of 3]
  • Good goddamn, Galactica Roxxors With Coxx Out
  • BSG 4×07 - Guess What’s Coming to Dinner?
  • WordPress plugin: Apply a CSS class defined in a post’s custom field
  • The Best of Projects: Autoserious [2 of 3]
  • The Best of Projects: Eclectic [1 of 3]
  • The Four Noble Truths, phrased in a rather beautiful way
  • BSG 4×06 - Faith

Recent Comments

  • Mike on Why I’m Throwing Away My Vote
  • Cliff on Why I’m Throwing Away My Vote
  • Morpheus on Comics You Must Read! #1
  • Morpheus on The Shit Dancer [Tamdhu Stories 1.3]
  • Legion on The Shit Dancer [Tamdhu Stories 1.3]
  • Morpheus on The Shit Dancer [Tamdhu Stories 1.3]
  • Legion on The Shit Dancer [Tamdhu Stories 1.3]
  • Morpheus on The Shit Dancer [Tamdhu Stories 1.3]
  • Kyle on The Shit Dancer [Tamdhu Stories 1.3]
  • Legion on The Shit Dancer [Tamdhu Stories 1.3]

Tags

4400 bsg cliff comics curation depression ds9 erron fiction game janine job kelly kyle liam lost manifesto meta mlp music passionate diatribes plug plugin poem powershell rds relationships review revisionism sam sermon shaun software spirituality star trek suicide tamdhu testpoint the process travels video vlad wacky walkabout wtf

Archives

  • October 2008 (1)
  • August 2008 (2)
  • July 2008 (3)
  • June 2008 (1)
  • May 2008 (11)
  • April 2008 (7)
  • March 2008 (3)
  • February 2008 (1)
  • January 2008 (2)
  • December 2007 (1)
  • October 2007 (1)
  • September 2007 (3)
  • August 2007 (1)
  • June 2007 (3)
  • May 2007 (2)
  • March 2007 (5)
  • February 2007 (5)
  • January 2007 (13)
  • September 2006 (1)
  • June 2001 (3)
  • May 2001 (2)
  • April 2001 (2)
  • March 2001 (2)
  • February 2001 (1)
  • January 2001 (1)
  • November 2000 (5)
  • May 2000 (3)
  • April 2000 (5)
  • March 2000 (3)
  • February 2000 (3)
  • January 2000 (6)
  • December 1999 (17)

Copyright © 2008 Feelings of White | Powered by WordPress | Designed by Stephen Reinhardt; tweaked by me