BSG 2.14: "Black Market"
Jan. 27th, 2006 09:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annathepiperOkay, that's better.
After last week's episode, it was a relief to have one that went in a completely different direction--to get our minds off what happened in "Epiphanies", to cleanse the viewing palate, as it were. I rather liked this one on the whole. It didn't knock my socks off--but I definitely liked it.
First and foremost: way cool to get an episode focusing on Apollo. I liked seeing what's going on in his head a bit more clearly now following the near-death experience he had. And in an odd way, I kind of liked learning that he has had to resort to seeing a hooker to get laid. Part of me frets on his behalf that he's had to do that, and yet, it makes a kind of sense. Especially when one considers that he seems to genuinely care about Shevon*, he was making overtures to her daughter, and he tried to save them in the end from the lives they were leading. And I liked the glimpses of backstory about the blonde woman on Caprica, too. Intriguing little glimpses that didn't tell us much--and yet did, at the same time.
I don't think I like this whole "Dee is developing a thing for Lee" subplot, though. I'm glad that Dee at least asked him about it point blank, but it feels sort of "way out of left field"-y to me. Kind of like the magic cancer-curing Cylon baby blood, for that matter.
Interesting that Six has reverted to the Slinky Red Dress. I'm not sure if her wardrobe change this time means anything, but it has certainly seemed symbolic before. I wonder if she thinks she needs to reassert her hold on Gaius by playing the temptress since she seems to have lost him somewhat for the time being with "purer" approaches like appealing to that little "hand of God" complex she's helping him develop.
Also very interesting that Roslin tried to hand Gaius an Out. Equally interesting that she did not actually come out and point-blank ask him why he was smooching a known Cylon agent on Caprica. And, of course, he told her to fuck off.
So long, Fisk, we barely knew ye. It was gruesome seeing you garotted! And one does wonder who's going to command the Pegasus now. I giggled at a comment over on![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
13th_colony asking whether the position of commander of the Pegasus is somehow cursed, like the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching post at Hogwarts. ;)
A bit disappointing that the guy running the black market was another character out of nowhere--but this isn't the first time we've seen a character show up for plot convenience in one episode. We had that happen last season too, in the episode where we saw Roslin put aside her apparently-loyal-assistant-of-many-years in favor of making Baltar the new Veep. So I'm not entirely surprised that they'd make up a character of some importance like this only to use him for one episode. I just wish they hadn't, though.
On the other hand, it was cool to see Lee plug him one--even if it wasn't exactly surprising. And it was funny to see the stunned looks on the faces of all the henchmen in the bar. They seemed to all be thinking, "Um, are you our new boss now?"
Overall, really, I had one problem with this episode and that was: WHERE THE HELL WAS STARBUCK?
After last week's episode, it was a relief to have one that went in a completely different direction--to get our minds off what happened in "Epiphanies", to cleanse the viewing palate, as it were. I rather liked this one on the whole. It didn't knock my socks off--but I definitely liked it.
First and foremost: way cool to get an episode focusing on Apollo. I liked seeing what's going on in his head a bit more clearly now following the near-death experience he had. And in an odd way, I kind of liked learning that he has had to resort to seeing a hooker to get laid. Part of me frets on his behalf that he's had to do that, and yet, it makes a kind of sense. Especially when one considers that he seems to genuinely care about Shevon*, he was making overtures to her daughter, and he tried to save them in the end from the lives they were leading. And I liked the glimpses of backstory about the blonde woman on Caprica, too. Intriguing little glimpses that didn't tell us much--and yet did, at the same time.
I don't think I like this whole "Dee is developing a thing for Lee" subplot, though. I'm glad that Dee at least asked him about it point blank, but it feels sort of "way out of left field"-y to me. Kind of like the magic cancer-curing Cylon baby blood, for that matter.
Interesting that Six has reverted to the Slinky Red Dress. I'm not sure if her wardrobe change this time means anything, but it has certainly seemed symbolic before. I wonder if she thinks she needs to reassert her hold on Gaius by playing the temptress since she seems to have lost him somewhat for the time being with "purer" approaches like appealing to that little "hand of God" complex she's helping him develop.
Also very interesting that Roslin tried to hand Gaius an Out. Equally interesting that she did not actually come out and point-blank ask him why he was smooching a known Cylon agent on Caprica. And, of course, he told her to fuck off.
So long, Fisk, we barely knew ye. It was gruesome seeing you garotted! And one does wonder who's going to command the Pegasus now. I giggled at a comment over on
13th_colony asking whether the position of commander of the Pegasus is somehow cursed, like the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching post at Hogwarts. ;)A bit disappointing that the guy running the black market was another character out of nowhere--but this isn't the first time we've seen a character show up for plot convenience in one episode. We had that happen last season too, in the episode where we saw Roslin put aside her apparently-loyal-assistant-of-many-years in favor of making Baltar the new Veep. So I'm not entirely surprised that they'd make up a character of some importance like this only to use him for one episode. I just wish they hadn't, though.
On the other hand, it was cool to see Lee plug him one--even if it wasn't exactly surprising. And it was funny to see the stunned looks on the faces of all the henchmen in the bar. They seemed to all be thinking, "Um, are you our new boss now?"
Overall, really, I had one problem with this episode and that was: WHERE THE HELL WAS STARBUCK?
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no subject
Date: 2006-01-28 01:11 pm (UTC)i'm bummed they killed off fisk so soon.
also, tiny peeve: the pegasus is part of the fleet now, but that big "how many humans are there" number on the whiteboard hasn't had a big jump to reflect the crew of the pegasus. at least, i assume so, since it looked like it was still at 49K.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-28 06:23 pm (UTC)I'm a bit bummed that they bumped off Fisk myself, yeah--we had barely enough time to get to know the character, and here he's bumped off so quickly after the death of Cain, too.
GOOD CATCH about the Fleet number! None of us had noticed that at all. I'd think that the number should have been back up over 50K at the very least. I wonder if this is a subtle clue that the Pegasus does not have much longer before it goes KABOOM.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-28 01:42 pm (UTC)I'm perfectly willing to accept that there are people that we do not see until they become immediately relevent to the story at hand; that things actually happen off camera and continue to do so; and that each of these characters has a history that may or may not have been hinted at or revealed to us already. And that's really part of the reason this show is just that good.
Even their slightly 'off' episodes (of which this is apparently going to be considered one, if the general internet/podcast vibe holds true) are pretty kick ass. Plus, Apollo? Of the hottest hot to ever hot the hawt. An entire episode of him? Suits me juuuuust fine. :)
no subject
Date: 2006-01-28 06:10 pm (UTC)I dunno. This just seems like it's going down the path of Angsty Love Triangle(TM), which does not appeal to me. I think this is a leftover from my having seen too damned much of that on MUSHes, and also, much as I love Joss Whedon and all his works, too damned much of that on Buffy and Angel as well.
I think the reason that characters showing up in one and only one episode twigs me is that I'm scared of the Star-Trekkian syndrome of plotlines that last only for one episode, and the events in them never ever ever impact anything else that goes on anywhere in the series. I want to hope BSG is better than that--and certainly the interactions between Lee and Zarek, as well as the scene with Lee and his father and Roslin, indicate that there will be ramifications to this stuff down the road. Ditto with the mileage with Baltar.
Yet I've got that little niggling uncertainty. I didn't have it before last week's episode, and I'm hoping I'll be proven wrong!
Re: the hawtness of Apollo, hee. I'm with you there. ;)
no subject
Date: 2006-01-28 09:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-28 09:50 pm (UTC)Though I'd have to go through the episodes with a fine-toothed comb to be sure. Or find out if someone has, since I'm pretty sure such a thing would have been done already by fans with more time on their hands than I have. ;)
no subject
Date: 2006-01-29 03:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-29 06:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-29 06:28 pm (UTC)I'd suspect you're on the money with Roslin and Gaius, though I think it wasn't exactly wise of her to play it the way she did. She couldn't have given him a bigger clue that she was on to something--and a bigger impetus to dig in his heels and stay put--if she'd spelled it out in neon letters across her forehead. ;)
And yeah, it's pretty much non-stop grit. The closest we've come to an even remotely frivolous episode was "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down" from last season--which has been pretty much universally decried as the worst episode of the lot, from everyone I know who had any commentary on the matter. Heh!