Okay, I really want to be a part of this discussion too, so I'll try harder.
Again, they lost Pegasus.
About that. I was always a little bit disappointed with how little the Pegasus was utilized. When it entered the fleet, I thought we were gonna see some major Galactic/Pegasus co-opt action. But then we find out it's run by a crazy egomaniac, and when it does fall into capable hands, democracy squanders the potential. And then Lee just sits on it.
A pretty good analogy that works with the show, really. The war with the Cylons crushes some members of the crew and humanity in general; that's undeniable. But humanity also bands together in strength as a result of literally having no other option. Adama's retiring when the show begins, and Saul is career bully whose blatant alcoholism makes an open mockery of his standing. And then the Cylons come, and it's game on. Even Lee, too, has no real sense of purpose at first but starts to get into a groove by the second season.
When Baltar exchanges the war with the Cylons for an unearned peace, some of those characters loosen back to their Caprica-era bad habits. Fatsuit Lee is the perfect example of that. I mean, the peace isn't totally a bad thing, as the crew really needs it. But, when the Cylons come back, it's like some of those characters aren't really even capable of accepting it at first. And when Lee's finally jolted back into action, the Pegasus winds up being the price for the fleet's overall unwillingness to take control of a situation that's been prematurely handed off to people like Baltar who think that everyone can get through everything without making any real sacrifices.
There's an attempt in the first two seasons to balance the new, colonial society based on warfare with the old, democratic ways of Caprica. The war side itches to take the fight straight to the Cylons. The democratic side wants to retain the ever-fading illusion that Caprica's established traditions are still relevant to the post-Caprica society. Those two conflicting visions for the colony are at war with each other constantly, before the latter temporarily wins out-- which winds up being a huge mistake for the entire remainder of humanity. Not to give much away, but I think you'll see that in the upcoming episodes those two conflicting views move through together much more amiably, if not perfectly.
The false peace the fleet gets from touching down on (I forget that planet's name) also contrasts nicely with something that happens later, but I won't get into that now. My view is that, at the start of the show, humanity's become way too soft since the last Cylon encounter, and unwilling to correct it's previous mistakes. Again, without giving too much away, I consider the decision of the fleet to colonize that planet to be another major mistake that, once again, needs to be painfully corrected.
It's relevant to look at the government relative to its need to exist. In the first season, there were actual broadcast reporters in suits putting on a show to cover the first new Quorum of Twelve meeting. If I remember correctly - the press still exists after the New Caprica arc, but everything takes on a different vibe. The press sorta becomes the worst version of itself in a way because those motivations are the only reason for them to do what they do. The logical ones are gone.
Exactly. Post-Caprica humanity really tries to arbitrarily cling on to many of those Caprican social institutions. And, honestly, while Roslin and the others who push for that direction are certainly well-meaning (and keep Adama from turning into whoever-that-was who has the Pegasus first) I think it does harm, too. I don't want to spoil things for Bosk, but I think the entire show is pretty clear that the humans need to get back into touch the really important basic human things that make life valuable.
Topic: All things Battlestar Galactica (Read 167379 times)
