BSG: Season 3

[zalena]

I just finished watching the end of Battle Star Galactica: Season 3 tonight, and I'm still not sure what to think. All Along the Watchtower was perhaps a bit much, but then it was proceeded by so much WTF? why not just throw the whole thing down the rabbithole? No real spoilers, but cut anyway for those of you who don't give a damn.

First, I have to start by saying that BSG is one of the most politically relevant dramas on television as of late. Not that I watch much television; but they have repeatedly hit on themes that the rest of TV won't take on. It sure helps to cloak Promethean themes of Empire in a s/f show about robots.

But I have to say along with Prometheus (which has got to be one of my all time favorite themes: creation running amok) the themes relating to torture and biology have absolutely shaken me when it comes to this show. It refuses to take a straight-forward paranoid narrative; and it has very juicy roles for women. Starbuck is what keeps me watching, but Six is who keeps changing my loyalties. The episode where they discover the hostage Six on Pegasus absolutely flipped my lid, as did the scenes where Starbuck is taken hostage on Caprica. Biology may not be destiny in BSG, but bloodlines are a closely examined storyline. Women's bodies are suddenly very valuable, and while the theme has been a little less overt in Season 3 than it is in Season 2, the issue of survival, not to mention miscegenation continues to be extremely important.

Anyway, I can't say anymore without risking spoilers for those of you who haven't watched it (and WHY HAVEN'T YOU?) but I will make the following comments:

* the identity of this season's Cylons are going to surprise you
* Col. Tighe frakin' rocks! There are not that many shows that have such heroic, flawed, soured, old, alcoholic, veterans. Everytime you think he's all washed up he does something amazing and totally redeems himself.
* I hated New Caprica & the Pegasus storylines and am relieved to find humans back in space and on the run
* Not enough Centurions
* Still need more male hottie Cylons... but I was very amused to see the actor from Due South (the second Kowalski) as a Cylon model
* While I still stand by the beginning of Season 2 as the best part of this show; (Season 3 wallowed, and Balthar's trial was BORING even if they needed to get across some ideas for the show) I am very excited for Season 4.
* the next generation will no doubt be totally mystified/embarrassed by this show. But boy howdy is it topical today.

P.S. I saw Razor before most of Season 3, which ruined one of the special surprises. So if you're going to get into this show, watch the miniseries followed by season 1-3, then Razor.

Comments

[goobermunch.livejournal.com]

Have you seen the promo ad for Season 4?

It's a pretty good one.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/34527294@N00/2177726792/sizes/l/

--G

Who's the 13th

[zalena.livejournal.com]

It's the Last Supper, but there are only 12 people at the table... who's the 13th and is that person the betrayer or the betrayed. I vote Six for Messiah.

Re: Who's the 13th

[goobermunch.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure Six is the Messiah. In the original, you've got four groups of three on each side of Christ. From the left, in the original, are Bartholomew, James and Andrew. Then, you've got Judas, Peter, and John. In the center, you've got Jesus. Then, you've got Thomas, James, and Philip. Finally, you've got Matthew, Jude, and Simon.

In the BSG version, we have four groups of three also. Arguably, you could say we've got three groups of three, one group of two, and Six Prime (as opposed to Six Double Prime who's over to the left with Tighe and Rosalind). That seems too messy to my eye. I think they're trying to suggest that the Messiah figure will be arriving soon. That being the big mystery of Season 4.

If you go with my reading, there are some additional points we can draw out. Looking to the original, you can see Judas Iscariot leaning away from the center of the table. Clearly, that's the same pose Gaius Baltar has taken. Given the mythology of the series, there's no way Gaius could be anyone but Judas. Ironically, in the original, Judas is holding a small bag. In the BSG version, doesn't it look like he's holding Six's hand? Peter is holding a bared blade in the original. The only character wielding a weapon in the BSG one is the Chief. But I think that the positions are more significant. To my eye, it looks like we're setting Apollo up as Peter. By elimination, we can then set Six up as the Johnine character. There is some appeal to this reading, as John is also the author of the Book of Revelations. I could easily see Six Prime fulfilling that role.

There's a lot more to unpack in all this, but I really should be working right now. Wikipedia has a decent explanation of who the players in the original painting were. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Supper_%28Leonardo%29

I'd bet with some work we can figure out why each character is in each spot.

--G

Re: Who's the 13th

[zalena.livejournal.com]

Word. with a capital 'W'