Very Deep Thoughts
Jun. 3rd, 2008 02:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swatkatI've had a couple of suspicions for a while now, and Sine Qua Non confirmed all of them for me. (I've also decided I don't dislike the episode, if only because it made me think about Adama.)
#1. Bill Adama, no matter what he says, doesn't actually care about democracy in the Fleet. At all.
#2. He is an emo sap, just like his son. (Okay, so he does emo better. To me. Because I love him more. But seriously, it's like sap runs in the Adama family or something. It is alternately endearing and extremely annoying, especially in the case of Lee.)*
#3. He may or may not be going a little batshit.
And okay, so I already knew all of this (except maybe #3; the breakdown post-Maelstrom should have been a clue, now that I think about it) but it's nice to have some more confirmation in canon. I also read this excellent episode recap, talking about how Sine Qua Non harked back to past-BSG episodes, and that made me think some more.
Ever since Razor, I wondered – why Cain of all people, apart from the obvious awesomeness that is Michelle Forbes? Why that fascinating piece of Cylon backstory, not to mention young!Bill Adama? Why did they choose to tell this particular story, far removed as it was from the timeline of the S3 finale? As S4 unfolded, the whys began to have answers – the Cylon God's prophecy regarding Kara; Cylons and death; the origins of humanoid Cylons. But after watching 4.08 the other day, two things in Razor immediately stand out to me: the Cylon backstory, and Cain herself, and how they both relate to Adama. And Razor is why I'm suddenly optimistic about Adama's future storyline, no matter how foolish and suicidal I think his stunt in Sine Qua Non is.
*
Let's go back a bit to the Bill&Laura Have A Domestic Disagreement scene in 4.02:
Roslin: …and now, I'm dying.
Adama: (sighs) Don't talk that way.
Roslin: (earnest) Bill, you gotta face this. My life is coming to an end soon enough and I am NOT gonna apologize to you for not trusting her. And I am NOT, I am NOT going to trust her with the fate of this fleet. You are so buckled up inside. You can't take anymore loss. Your son's leaving, this, me – I know it.
Adama: (emo drink) No one's going anywhere.
Roslin: (small disbelieving laugh; there are tears in her eyes) Oh god. Here's the truth. This is what's going on. You wanna believe Kara. You would rather be wrong about her and face your own demise than risk losing her again.
Adama: You can stay in the room. Get out of my head. (emo drink)
Roslin: You're so afraid to live alone.
Adama: (more emo drinking) And you're afraid to die that way. You're afraid that you may not be the dying leader you thought you were. That your death may be as meaningless as everyone else's.
Roslin: (cries)
Me: *incoherent sob*
One of the interesting things about Roslin and Adama is that they read each other so well. Adama can be dense, but he generally gets Roslin in a way most people don't (and it's one of the things she likes about him, I think /shippy). Roslin, of course, is almost always astute in her observations. And so we have her getting inside his head, "Here's the truth. This is what's going on. You wanna believe Kara. You would rather be wrong about her and face your own demise than risk losing her again…. You're so afraid to live alone," pissing him off in the process, because she's right, and he knows it. He confirms it later in the episode when he lets Kara go. Adama himself is equally apt about Roslin when he says that she's afraid to die alone, that she's afraid her death will be meaningless and she won't see her people to Earth. And Roslin cries, not only because they hurt (they were meant to hurt), but also because Adama is right. We see the fallout of this in the next few episodes, which increasingly begin to deal with themes of mortality and the meaninglessness of death (Mathias and Jean Barolay, and no, I'm never going to forgive Ron Moore for that. I fear for Racetrack), and Laura's own struggle with the same and her increasing crazy. That's right, crazy. Because while Roslin has always been tough and focused and occasionally more than a little scary, she has been even more so this season, what with her illness and her increasing fear that her death will be meaningless, that she's not the dying leader after all, that she'll die alone. Therefore her obsessive focus on her vision and her mission, even as she (somewhat irrationally, I would say) refuses to consider that Kara may be indeed be back due to some kind of a mystical miracle. Therefore her increasing irritation with the Quorum. And I know fandom has been mostly unhappy with what is seen as Michael Angeli's failure to write Roslin!dialogue in Guess What's Coming to Dinner?, I think her 'on your knees' comment to Tory, is another sign of her increasing crazy.
All through this, Adama is mostly sidelined, apart from some small yet powerful scenes with Roslin where he expresses his undying love to her in roundabout ways, like reading to her and giving her his favourite Book of Symbolism and Imagery and getting drunk and emo about how she has taught him to believe... *cue sappy music* Then comes Sine Qua Non, where Laura has been kidnapped by a rogue Cylon basestar and Athena has broken her promise (and Bill really, really hates it when people break their promises to him; it hurts his soul ) and Tigh has KNOCKED UP their CYLON PRISONER – it's enough to turn *anybody* crazy, let alone poor Bill who's already a bit a shaky to begin with. So what does he do? He endangers the Fleet and goes looking for Laura (can we pause for a moment to complain about how NO ONE ELSE SEEMED TO *CARE* ABOUT THE FACT THAT ROSLIN, HELO AND THE OTHER PILOTS MIGHT BE DEAD??? everyone was so cheerfully "oh, they must be dead, whatever. cheer up, emo admiral."), and also refuses to take the Vice-President's calls (who is, legally, the Interim President in Roslin's absence) till Zarek is forced to hand over command to a person Bill will approve of, namely, Leland Joseph Adama. Oh, and he also tells Tigh that he would rather he'd tortured Caprica than frakked her and gotten her pregnant with a MUTANT CYLON BABY. And now he's sitting in a Raptor, alone, waiting for Laura to turn up. (Did I mention he's a sap given to grand romantic gestures?)
Now, why does all this sound so familiar? I quote:
#1. You Can't Go Home Again
Roslin: Skip the formalities, you both know why I'm here.
Adama: Termination of a pilot's rescue mission is a military decision.
Roslin: That's a bunch of crap. This isn't military, it's personal. Neither of you
can let go of Kara Thrace because she's your last link to Zak.
Apollo: You don't know anything about my brother-
Roslin: Don't even begin, Captain. You've lost perspective, (to Adama) as have
you. Under normal circumstances it would just be sad that the two of you can't come to
terms with Zak's death. In this situation, you're putting your pilots at risk and you're
exposing the entire fleet to possible attack every moment we stay here.
#2. Precipice
Adama:… but we have a responsibility to the people we left behind.
Lee: Remember what Roslin said? Your first responsibility is the survival of humankind…Admiral's stars don't give you the right to make that gamble.
Adama: You're right, son. [etc] I know why we left those people behind, and I know that it was their choice in the first place to be down there. And I realise that the survival of the human race outweighs anything else. But this time, I can't live with it. I can't face it. Maybe I'm a coward. But I'm going back.
Lee: Dad, you won't have a chance.
Adama: I'm going back, son.
#3. Home II
Adama: You interfered with a military mission and you broke your word to
me.
Roslin: It's the second part that really bothers you, isn't it?
#4. Roslin, Resurrection Ship Pt. I: "Well, at least she's [Cain] taking your phone calls. I can't even get her to answer mine."
#5. Cain, Razor: Lieutenant Thorne. I want you to interrogate our Cylon prisoner and find out everything it knows. And since it's so adept in imitating human emotion, I'm assuming its software is vulnerable to them as well. So. Pain, yes of course. Degradation. Fear. Shame. I want you to really test its limits. Be as creative as you feel the need to be.
What I'm trying to say here, if I haven't made it clear already, is this:
a. That Adama's actions in Sine Qua Non are *perfectly* in character. (He nearly endangered the Fleet for Starbuck and was reprimanded by Roslin for it; he went on a near suicide mission to New Caprica to get his people back, because it was his responsibility and because he couldn't live with leaving people behind again. More than breaking of actual rules, breakage of trust and promises bothers him more – always has.)
b. That Adama, like Roslin, has been going through a slow downward spiral throughout S4, hints of which we saw in 4.02. The previous episodes dealt with Roslin's increasing crazy; 4.08 was Adama's turn.
c. That all of this has happened before, and is happening again. Or – all of this is uncannily reminiscent of Cain, and is precisely the reason why Razor was set when it was and had the flashbacks it had.
*
Let's have yet another flashback quotefest, since I've done so much of it already:
3.05
Adama: What the hell is this?
Zarek: All of this is perfectly legal. You'll find a signed executive order on file authorizing a secret jury of six men and women to try, sentence and execute
them for being guilty of extraordinary crimes – collaborating with the enemy
in the time of war. There's also a death warrant with my signature for every conviction.
Adama: Your presidency is a farce. It stops right now.
Roslin: If they're guilty, they'll be tried by a jury of their peers.
Zarek: They have a jury. [blah blah blah]
Roslin: Well thank you, that's very poetic, but you have a problem. Mr. President, everyone, by law, is entitled to a trial with representation. And everyone is not an option to be discarded at the President's whim.
[etc]
[Roslin issues blanket pardon; Adama slow-claps]
Months after this, during Baltar's trial, both Roslin and Adama are quite convinced that Baltar doesn't deserve a trial, and that the only possible outcome a 'fair' trial can have is with Baltar's execution. Adama goes on to sit on the judges' table with that belief; Roslin is furious and horrified in the end when she learns that Adama has voted 'not guilty' – she has also never quite forgiven Lee(land) for taking a stand in favour of Baltar (and also, of course, for the betrayal of their past relationship when he airs her dirty laundry in public).
Even earlier, in Season One, Adama dismissed the tribunal that tried Chief. Later, in the Pegasus arc, Cain charges Adama for the same, and Adama says, "That was a different time." Soon afterwards, of course, we learn that Cain herself doesn't care very much about the law, either, because the court-martial of Tyrol and Helo is over and they have been found guilty – Cain was merely using that particular instance of Adama's indiscretion to blackmail and override him. The arc pits Cain against Adama, and our sympathies are naturally with Adama, who loves his people to a fault, who takes care of his civilians and does not torture/rape his Cylon prisoners (fast forward: Baltar's torture), whom we've known and loved for two and half seasons while Cain is this ev0l, usurping outsider. But what we can't forget is that the charge Cain brought against Adama, that of dismissing the independent tribunal, is a legitimate one. It gets swept aside during the Pegasus arc – Roslin sweeps it aside in the Pegasus arc, sweeps aside the coup, Adama's other recent indiscretion, as they unite against a common enemy. This is the beginning of a partnership that will grow deeper over time (to friendship; to even love). Fast forward to the end of S3: Baltar's trial, and Adama says,"[Baltar] doesn't even deserve a fair trial". Lee may be whiny on occasions and rather self-righteous, but he's also right, because both Roslin and Adama are already determined that Baltar doesn't deserve a fair trial, that the only way the trial can be 'fair' is when and only when Baltar is found guilty for charges that are, at best, founded by Roslin's (and everyone else's) idea about what Baltar did during his tenure in New Caprica, an idea solidified by Gaeta's false testimony. For the record: I don't actually believe that Gaius is 'innocent'; but neither is he 'guilty' in the way Roslin and Adama want him to be. I'm with Dee on this – there's something wrong with a system that elects Gaius frakking Baltar to presidency and then wants to try the same Gaius Baltar and execute him for doing the very thing (namely, settlement in New Caprica) he had been elected for. And so when Adama goes to sit as a judge in that tribunal he does not respect or believe in, when he tries to get Baltar punished by the very same laws he has little regard for, it is hypocrisy. And Lee is right to call him on it.
And then we get to Razor. The purpose of Razor is not just about retconning Cain's actions to make her a more likeable character (an opinion I've seen in fandom) – Razor makes it impossible for us to forget what she did; it just also tells us *why* she acted the way she acted. More importantly here, Razor is The Cautionary Tale of Helena Cain (yes, I'm thinking of Angel S5); it is also a prophecy of things to come (all this will happen again, the Cylon God said).
Adama, no matter what he says, does not really care about military decisions being challenged and overridden by the government. He has proven this time and again, with his initial discomfort with Roslin, with his disastrous coup and his refusal in 4.08 to talk to Zarek, the legal Interim President. Roslin *badgered* him into accepting her stance in the miniseries and in 1.05, and over time, she proved herself competent enough to be taken into consideration. Adama respects Roslin; he does not really respect her government and laws and frakking politicians very much. Adama did not let Roslin rig the election, not because he believes in the system or in the people's choice (they made the wrong choice, Roslin says, and he simply says yes), but because Roslin won't be able to live with it, she'll 'die inside; likely move [her] cancer right to [her] heart' (Bear McCreary – gods bless that man – plays a variation of the Roslin and Adama theme in the background, just in case we miss it). His dismissal of Zarek undoubtedly also has to do with Zarek's involvement in the entire Circle of Revenge and Retribution mess, but it's more than that: it brings to light how much he doesn't care. Things are worse this time, because in You Can't Go Home Again, Roslin was the one who stood up to Adama while Adama went looking for Starbuck – this time, Adama went looking for Roslin, and Starbuck protested, but it took more than that for Adama to stop. And while I'm sure Roslin will happily bitchslap Adama once she learns that he endangered the Fleet because of her and left them in charge of Leland and Tigh, they have been literally co-habiting (the military and the government). That Adama won't take Zarek's calls, with its uncanny echo of Cain's refusal to take Roslin's calls, in the very same episode he has endangered the Fleet to look for his girl (and Cain had not replenished the Fleet's supply of…something, though she'd happily done the same for Galactica in Resurrection Ship I; parallels, parallels), tells us something about the state of his mind. It reminds us (well, me) of Cain.
Adama is not the only person who has been reminding me of Cain, actually. For all her talk about democracy, Roslin is perfectly willing to relinquish democracy and rig an election when she thinks 'the people' are making a wrong choice. What struck me most in S4, however, was this:
Escape Velocity
Roslin: Well yeah, he's Lee. Thing is it probably is the right thing, but... Sometimes the right thing is a luxury. And it can have profoundly dangerous consequences. And yet it's almost as if he doesn't want that to be true…
Razor
Cain: Don't, Captain. Don't do it. Don't look back. Sometimes, we have to leave people behind, so that we can go on. So that we can continue to fight. Sometimes, we have to do things that we never thought we were capable of, if only to show the enemy our will. Yesterday, you showed me that you were capable of setting aside your fear, setting aside your hesitation, and even your revulsion -- every natural inhibition that during battle can mean the difference between life and death. When you can be this for as long as you have to be, then you're a razor. This war is forcing us all to become razors because if we don't, we don't survive. And then we don't have the luxury of becoming simply human again.
Did I mention the uncanny?
There are differences, of course. Roslin gives in to Lee, and is forced to 'step down', in a way; Adama gives in to Tigh, and later steps down. But now I'm left wondering if this simultaneous replacement of both Roslin and Adama from their respective positions of power, with the very suggestive Kara and Lee seeing Daddy off on his crazy suicide mission, has something to do with what's to come. There have been other suggestions: the picture that Roslin shot and the broken ship (and so maybe I'm over-reading things. also. broken 'ship'. hee). Razor, and Cain.
I would be very surprised if Roslin doesn't die this season (and pleased, of course). But now I'm wondering if Adama is also going to share the same fate, and if the scene with Kara and Lee was actually Admiral and President 2.0 ('what do you hear, Starbuck?' 'nothing but the rain'). And I'm wondering if things will be particularly shiny for them right now, once Roslin is found and they return to Galactica (if).
*
Why am I optimistic about Adama's future storyline? Again, Razor. Because I loved Cain's storyline, and while I don't want Adama to die (I want him to live happily ever after with Roslin on Earth), I will be happy if he gets a send-off as good as Cain's. And because, more significantly, because Roslin has gone to talk to the hybrid and D'Anna is coming back to talk about the Final Five and Adama is now sitting alone in space, in a Raptor (I hope they have loos in those things). One of his earliest missions, he mentioned, was a solo recon mission in a Raptor. And what is the only other early mission of his we know about? The one in Razor, of course. Where he encountered the hybrid, who made the prophecy about the future of the humans and Cylons and the Final Five. I'm optimistic because I'm having the feeling that all the HUGE UPHEAVALS that happened in 4.08 happened for a REASON, and that 'Husker' went out flying because TPTB have something interesting for him in mind, something to do with the immediate questions that will, hopefully, be answered in the next few episodes.
Of course, TPTB will quite possibly disappoint me in the very next episode and I'll be forced to take back everything I said, but as of now, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
* On a tangent, I adore the fact that Kara > Lee * 100 and Roslin > Adama * 100. ♥
#1. Bill Adama, no matter what he says, doesn't actually care about democracy in the Fleet. At all.
#2. He is an emo sap, just like his son. (Okay, so he does emo better. To me. Because I love him more. But seriously, it's like sap runs in the Adama family or something. It is alternately endearing and extremely annoying, especially in the case of Lee.)*
#3. He may or may not be going a little batshit.
And okay, so I already knew all of this (except maybe #3; the breakdown post-Maelstrom should have been a clue, now that I think about it) but it's nice to have some more confirmation in canon. I also read this excellent episode recap, talking about how Sine Qua Non harked back to past-BSG episodes, and that made me think some more.
Ever since Razor, I wondered – why Cain of all people, apart from the obvious awesomeness that is Michelle Forbes? Why that fascinating piece of Cylon backstory, not to mention young!Bill Adama? Why did they choose to tell this particular story, far removed as it was from the timeline of the S3 finale? As S4 unfolded, the whys began to have answers – the Cylon God's prophecy regarding Kara; Cylons and death; the origins of humanoid Cylons. But after watching 4.08 the other day, two things in Razor immediately stand out to me: the Cylon backstory, and Cain herself, and how they both relate to Adama. And Razor is why I'm suddenly optimistic about Adama's future storyline, no matter how foolish and suicidal I think his stunt in Sine Qua Non is.
*
Let's go back a bit to the Bill&Laura Have A Domestic Disagreement scene in 4.02:
Roslin: …and now, I'm dying.
Adama: (sighs) Don't talk that way.
Roslin: (earnest) Bill, you gotta face this. My life is coming to an end soon enough and I am NOT gonna apologize to you for not trusting her. And I am NOT, I am NOT going to trust her with the fate of this fleet. You are so buckled up inside. You can't take anymore loss. Your son's leaving, this, me – I know it.
Adama: (emo drink) No one's going anywhere.
Roslin: (small disbelieving laugh; there are tears in her eyes) Oh god. Here's the truth. This is what's going on. You wanna believe Kara. You would rather be wrong about her and face your own demise than risk losing her again.
Adama: You can stay in the room. Get out of my head. (emo drink)
Roslin: You're so afraid to live alone.
Adama: (more emo drinking) And you're afraid to die that way. You're afraid that you may not be the dying leader you thought you were. That your death may be as meaningless as everyone else's.
Roslin: (cries)
Me: *incoherent sob*
One of the interesting things about Roslin and Adama is that they read each other so well. Adama can be dense, but he generally gets Roslin in a way most people don't (and it's one of the things she likes about him, I think /shippy). Roslin, of course, is almost always astute in her observations. And so we have her getting inside his head, "Here's the truth. This is what's going on. You wanna believe Kara. You would rather be wrong about her and face your own demise than risk losing her again…. You're so afraid to live alone," pissing him off in the process, because she's right, and he knows it. He confirms it later in the episode when he lets Kara go. Adama himself is equally apt about Roslin when he says that she's afraid to die alone, that she's afraid her death will be meaningless and she won't see her people to Earth. And Roslin cries, not only because they hurt (they were meant to hurt), but also because Adama is right. We see the fallout of this in the next few episodes, which increasingly begin to deal with themes of mortality and the meaninglessness of death (Mathias and Jean Barolay, and no, I'm never going to forgive Ron Moore for that. I fear for Racetrack), and Laura's own struggle with the same and her increasing crazy. That's right, crazy. Because while Roslin has always been tough and focused and occasionally more than a little scary, she has been even more so this season, what with her illness and her increasing fear that her death will be meaningless, that she's not the dying leader after all, that she'll die alone. Therefore her obsessive focus on her vision and her mission, even as she (somewhat irrationally, I would say) refuses to consider that Kara may be indeed be back due to some kind of a mystical miracle. Therefore her increasing irritation with the Quorum. And I know fandom has been mostly unhappy with what is seen as Michael Angeli's failure to write Roslin!dialogue in Guess What's Coming to Dinner?, I think her 'on your knees' comment to Tory, is another sign of her increasing crazy.
All through this, Adama is mostly sidelined, apart from some small yet powerful scenes with Roslin where he expresses his undying love to her in roundabout ways, like reading to her and giving her his favourite Book of Symbolism and Imagery and getting drunk and emo about how she has taught him to believe... *cue sappy music* Then comes Sine Qua Non, where Laura has been kidnapped by a rogue Cylon basestar and Athena has broken her promise (and Bill really, really hates it when people break their promises to him; it hurts his soul ) and Tigh has KNOCKED UP their CYLON PRISONER – it's enough to turn *anybody* crazy, let alone poor Bill who's already a bit a shaky to begin with. So what does he do? He endangers the Fleet and goes looking for Laura (can we pause for a moment to complain about how NO ONE ELSE SEEMED TO *CARE* ABOUT THE FACT THAT ROSLIN, HELO AND THE OTHER PILOTS MIGHT BE DEAD??? everyone was so cheerfully "oh, they must be dead, whatever. cheer up, emo admiral."), and also refuses to take the Vice-President's calls (who is, legally, the Interim President in Roslin's absence) till Zarek is forced to hand over command to a person Bill will approve of, namely, Leland Joseph Adama. Oh, and he also tells Tigh that he would rather he'd tortured Caprica than frakked her and gotten her pregnant with a MUTANT CYLON BABY. And now he's sitting in a Raptor, alone, waiting for Laura to turn up. (Did I mention he's a sap given to grand romantic gestures?)
Now, why does all this sound so familiar? I quote:
#1. You Can't Go Home Again
Roslin: Skip the formalities, you both know why I'm here.
Adama: Termination of a pilot's rescue mission is a military decision.
Roslin: That's a bunch of crap. This isn't military, it's personal. Neither of you
can let go of Kara Thrace because she's your last link to Zak.
Apollo: You don't know anything about my brother-
Roslin: Don't even begin, Captain. You've lost perspective, (to Adama) as have
you. Under normal circumstances it would just be sad that the two of you can't come to
terms with Zak's death. In this situation, you're putting your pilots at risk and you're
exposing the entire fleet to possible attack every moment we stay here.
#2. Precipice
Adama:… but we have a responsibility to the people we left behind.
Lee: Remember what Roslin said? Your first responsibility is the survival of humankind…Admiral's stars don't give you the right to make that gamble.
Adama: You're right, son. [etc] I know why we left those people behind, and I know that it was their choice in the first place to be down there. And I realise that the survival of the human race outweighs anything else. But this time, I can't live with it. I can't face it. Maybe I'm a coward. But I'm going back.
Lee: Dad, you won't have a chance.
Adama: I'm going back, son.
#3. Home II
Adama: You interfered with a military mission and you broke your word to
me.
Roslin: It's the second part that really bothers you, isn't it?
#4. Roslin, Resurrection Ship Pt. I: "Well, at least she's [Cain] taking your phone calls. I can't even get her to answer mine."
#5. Cain, Razor: Lieutenant Thorne. I want you to interrogate our Cylon prisoner and find out everything it knows. And since it's so adept in imitating human emotion, I'm assuming its software is vulnerable to them as well. So. Pain, yes of course. Degradation. Fear. Shame. I want you to really test its limits. Be as creative as you feel the need to be.
What I'm trying to say here, if I haven't made it clear already, is this:
a. That Adama's actions in Sine Qua Non are *perfectly* in character. (He nearly endangered the Fleet for Starbuck and was reprimanded by Roslin for it; he went on a near suicide mission to New Caprica to get his people back, because it was his responsibility and because he couldn't live with leaving people behind again. More than breaking of actual rules, breakage of trust and promises bothers him more – always has.)
b. That Adama, like Roslin, has been going through a slow downward spiral throughout S4, hints of which we saw in 4.02. The previous episodes dealt with Roslin's increasing crazy; 4.08 was Adama's turn.
c. That all of this has happened before, and is happening again. Or – all of this is uncannily reminiscent of Cain, and is precisely the reason why Razor was set when it was and had the flashbacks it had.
*
Let's have yet another flashback quotefest, since I've done so much of it already:
3.05
Adama: What the hell is this?
Zarek: All of this is perfectly legal. You'll find a signed executive order on file authorizing a secret jury of six men and women to try, sentence and execute
them for being guilty of extraordinary crimes – collaborating with the enemy
in the time of war. There's also a death warrant with my signature for every conviction.
Adama: Your presidency is a farce. It stops right now.
Roslin: If they're guilty, they'll be tried by a jury of their peers.
Zarek: They have a jury. [blah blah blah]
Roslin: Well thank you, that's very poetic, but you have a problem. Mr. President, everyone, by law, is entitled to a trial with representation. And everyone is not an option to be discarded at the President's whim.
[etc]
[Roslin issues blanket pardon; Adama slow-claps]
Months after this, during Baltar's trial, both Roslin and Adama are quite convinced that Baltar doesn't deserve a trial, and that the only possible outcome a 'fair' trial can have is with Baltar's execution. Adama goes on to sit on the judges' table with that belief; Roslin is furious and horrified in the end when she learns that Adama has voted 'not guilty' – she has also never quite forgiven Lee(land) for taking a stand in favour of Baltar (and also, of course, for the betrayal of their past relationship when he airs her dirty laundry in public).
Even earlier, in Season One, Adama dismissed the tribunal that tried Chief. Later, in the Pegasus arc, Cain charges Adama for the same, and Adama says, "That was a different time." Soon afterwards, of course, we learn that Cain herself doesn't care very much about the law, either, because the court-martial of Tyrol and Helo is over and they have been found guilty – Cain was merely using that particular instance of Adama's indiscretion to blackmail and override him. The arc pits Cain against Adama, and our sympathies are naturally with Adama, who loves his people to a fault, who takes care of his civilians and does not torture/rape his Cylon prisoners (fast forward: Baltar's torture), whom we've known and loved for two and half seasons while Cain is this ev0l, usurping outsider. But what we can't forget is that the charge Cain brought against Adama, that of dismissing the independent tribunal, is a legitimate one. It gets swept aside during the Pegasus arc – Roslin sweeps it aside in the Pegasus arc, sweeps aside the coup, Adama's other recent indiscretion, as they unite against a common enemy. This is the beginning of a partnership that will grow deeper over time (to friendship; to even love). Fast forward to the end of S3: Baltar's trial, and Adama says,"[Baltar] doesn't even deserve a fair trial". Lee may be whiny on occasions and rather self-righteous, but he's also right, because both Roslin and Adama are already determined that Baltar doesn't deserve a fair trial, that the only way the trial can be 'fair' is when and only when Baltar is found guilty for charges that are, at best, founded by Roslin's (and everyone else's) idea about what Baltar did during his tenure in New Caprica, an idea solidified by Gaeta's false testimony. For the record: I don't actually believe that Gaius is 'innocent'; but neither is he 'guilty' in the way Roslin and Adama want him to be. I'm with Dee on this – there's something wrong with a system that elects Gaius frakking Baltar to presidency and then wants to try the same Gaius Baltar and execute him for doing the very thing (namely, settlement in New Caprica) he had been elected for. And so when Adama goes to sit as a judge in that tribunal he does not respect or believe in, when he tries to get Baltar punished by the very same laws he has little regard for, it is hypocrisy. And Lee is right to call him on it.
And then we get to Razor. The purpose of Razor is not just about retconning Cain's actions to make her a more likeable character (an opinion I've seen in fandom) – Razor makes it impossible for us to forget what she did; it just also tells us *why* she acted the way she acted. More importantly here, Razor is The Cautionary Tale of Helena Cain (yes, I'm thinking of Angel S5); it is also a prophecy of things to come (all this will happen again, the Cylon God said).
Adama, no matter what he says, does not really care about military decisions being challenged and overridden by the government. He has proven this time and again, with his initial discomfort with Roslin, with his disastrous coup and his refusal in 4.08 to talk to Zarek, the legal Interim President. Roslin *badgered* him into accepting her stance in the miniseries and in 1.05, and over time, she proved herself competent enough to be taken into consideration. Adama respects Roslin; he does not really respect her government and laws and frakking politicians very much. Adama did not let Roslin rig the election, not because he believes in the system or in the people's choice (they made the wrong choice, Roslin says, and he simply says yes), but because Roslin won't be able to live with it, she'll 'die inside; likely move [her] cancer right to [her] heart' (Bear McCreary – gods bless that man – plays a variation of the Roslin and Adama theme in the background, just in case we miss it). His dismissal of Zarek undoubtedly also has to do with Zarek's involvement in the entire Circle of Revenge and Retribution mess, but it's more than that: it brings to light how much he doesn't care. Things are worse this time, because in You Can't Go Home Again, Roslin was the one who stood up to Adama while Adama went looking for Starbuck – this time, Adama went looking for Roslin, and Starbuck protested, but it took more than that for Adama to stop. And while I'm sure Roslin will happily bitchslap Adama once she learns that he endangered the Fleet because of her and left them in charge of Leland and Tigh, they have been literally co-habiting (the military and the government). That Adama won't take Zarek's calls, with its uncanny echo of Cain's refusal to take Roslin's calls, in the very same episode he has endangered the Fleet to look for his girl (and Cain had not replenished the Fleet's supply of…something, though she'd happily done the same for Galactica in Resurrection Ship I; parallels, parallels), tells us something about the state of his mind. It reminds us (well, me) of Cain.
Adama is not the only person who has been reminding me of Cain, actually. For all her talk about democracy, Roslin is perfectly willing to relinquish democracy and rig an election when she thinks 'the people' are making a wrong choice. What struck me most in S4, however, was this:
Escape Velocity
Roslin: Well yeah, he's Lee. Thing is it probably is the right thing, but... Sometimes the right thing is a luxury. And it can have profoundly dangerous consequences. And yet it's almost as if he doesn't want that to be true…
Razor
Cain: Don't, Captain. Don't do it. Don't look back. Sometimes, we have to leave people behind, so that we can go on. So that we can continue to fight. Sometimes, we have to do things that we never thought we were capable of, if only to show the enemy our will. Yesterday, you showed me that you were capable of setting aside your fear, setting aside your hesitation, and even your revulsion -- every natural inhibition that during battle can mean the difference between life and death. When you can be this for as long as you have to be, then you're a razor. This war is forcing us all to become razors because if we don't, we don't survive. And then we don't have the luxury of becoming simply human again.
Did I mention the uncanny?
There are differences, of course. Roslin gives in to Lee, and is forced to 'step down', in a way; Adama gives in to Tigh, and later steps down. But now I'm left wondering if this simultaneous replacement of both Roslin and Adama from their respective positions of power, with the very suggestive Kara and Lee seeing Daddy off on his crazy suicide mission, has something to do with what's to come. There have been other suggestions: the picture that Roslin shot and the broken ship (and so maybe I'm over-reading things. also. broken 'ship'. hee). Razor, and Cain.
I would be very surprised if Roslin doesn't die this season (and pleased, of course). But now I'm wondering if Adama is also going to share the same fate, and if the scene with Kara and Lee was actually Admiral and President 2.0 ('what do you hear, Starbuck?' 'nothing but the rain'). And I'm wondering if things will be particularly shiny for them right now, once Roslin is found and they return to Galactica (if).
*
Why am I optimistic about Adama's future storyline? Again, Razor. Because I loved Cain's storyline, and while I don't want Adama to die (I want him to live happily ever after with Roslin on Earth), I will be happy if he gets a send-off as good as Cain's. And because, more significantly, because Roslin has gone to talk to the hybrid and D'Anna is coming back to talk about the Final Five and Adama is now sitting alone in space, in a Raptor (I hope they have loos in those things). One of his earliest missions, he mentioned, was a solo recon mission in a Raptor. And what is the only other early mission of his we know about? The one in Razor, of course. Where he encountered the hybrid, who made the prophecy about the future of the humans and Cylons and the Final Five. I'm optimistic because I'm having the feeling that all the HUGE UPHEAVALS that happened in 4.08 happened for a REASON, and that 'Husker' went out flying because TPTB have something interesting for him in mind, something to do with the immediate questions that will, hopefully, be answered in the next few episodes.
Of course, TPTB will quite possibly disappoint me in the very next episode and I'll be forced to take back everything I said, but as of now, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
* On a tangent, I adore the fact that Kara > Lee * 100 and Roslin > Adama * 100. ♥
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no subject
Date: 2008-06-02 10:29 pm (UTC)I will respectfully disagree that Lee is whiny, but that doesn't really surprise you, does it? (one of these days I will compose my "Why Lee Adama is fabulous and NOT WHINY and if he is he DESERVES to be" LOL)
I really do like the parallels you've drawn between "Sine" and "Razor" (having not seen Razor - should I rent it, you think?). And I am hopeful for both Roslin and Adama - I still have a lot of trust in Ron Moore & Co that they won't disappoint and they won't take the easy way out.
I do agree that Lee/Kara seeing Daddy off was BSG: Next Generation. I'm OK with that. Kara's going to have to deal with Cylon!Sam*. And while I adore Lee/Kara, I don't think they are very good for each other. I'd like to see them working together as Roslin and Adama have - with a lot of respect and painful honest between them
and the occasional really hot sex(*you don't really want to know I'm working on a short Lee/Kara something that tangentally deals with this issue, do you?)
no subject
Date: 2008-06-03 04:53 am (UTC)I will respectfully disagree that Lee is whiny, but that doesn't really surprise you, does it? (one of these days I will compose my "Why Lee Adama is fabulous and NOT WHINY and if he is he DESERVES to be" LOL)
You know, I know he's not as whiny as we generally make him to be. *sheepish* He just... speaks up a lot, and is self-righteous, and when you don't like the character very much, it just... grates on you, even though he is generally right (though, in the Baltar trial? the only person I agree with is Dee) and all you want is for him to shut up. I veer between like and extreme dislike for Lee, depending on the storyline. Yesterday, watching Razor and Lee's Pegasus arc, and also some of Home (because I couldn't sleep), made me remember how much I used to like Kara and Lee's friendship and the smouldering UST. *sigh*
You *have* to watch Razor. It is a great Lee episode, among other things.
And I am hopeful for both Roslin and Adama - I still have a lot of trust in Ron Moore & Co that they won't disappoint and they won't take the easy way out.
I've always been hopeful for Roslin, because I'm sure she's already out there having a Crazy Space Adventure. This episode made me hopeful for Adama as well. Let's see.
I'm also hopeful for Lee's future arc. It looks like they've quit trying to make him a romantic hero. And if the Pegasus arc is anything to go by, Lee will not do such a bad job of being President after all.
(have i ever mentioned that i don't actually hate Lee/Kara and occasionally even read it?)
no subject
Date: 2008-06-02 10:46 pm (UTC)I think you're onto something, for sure. I also think that it's pretty much inevitable that both Roslin and Adama will die in the end, and we'll be left with the "new generation" to take over.
I want to ponder your Cain/Adama analysis some more. That's a lot to absord, but I'm very intrigued.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-03 04:56 am (UTC)How jinxed *are* you?
no subject
Date: 2008-06-03 05:10 am (UTC)In this case, neither one is exactly my OTC, so I don't think it's *my* jinx (for once!). I just think that's the (well, maybe "a" as opposed to "the") natural trajectory of the plot, at this point.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-03 07:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-12 01:12 pm (UTC)Oh, Adama and Roslin. It's time to be replaced by your children. There's been a lot of talk about that too. Speaking of people on downward spirals, Kara and her visions? But, like Roslin's visions of Kobol etc., she turns out to be right. It's a very complicated show!