nBSG 403 "The Ties that Bind"

[Anguirus]

I think I voted a 4 above, but really, I could have given it a 5. One of the most intense, traumatizing, and frakked up shows they've done in ages. I was thoroughly spoiled for it and yet I STILL thought Tory was sincere for a moment...

I remain annoyed at the extent to which some characters are being developed off-screen...Tory's "face heel turn," Boomer's attachment to Cavil, and Cally's complete and utter breakdown were all logical enough, I suppose, but came so suddenly that it spoiled the mood a bit for me. But sheer artistry like that which Tevar noted pulled the episode through.

I will be pissed if that was it for the Cylon war. It looked like they perma-killed Natalie, and yet, she is SUCH an interesting character that I almost can't believe it. Still, props to Cavil for being a slippery son of a bitch.

Was I the only one who found the cleaning Centurion amusing?

I found it HYSTERICAL! I always loved the Centurions but I think at this rate they're about to become some of my favorite characters.

[Sam Or I]

Hmmm an interesting comparison would be how many people died on the show from gun fire vs how many die via the Airlock.

Awesome episode.

[The Yosemite Bear]

well the winner is CGI deaths. however the lock is more personal because it's a single death, in and of it's self....

[Sam Or I]

Damn Tori. Damn that fucking bitch to Hell.

I give it a five.

Seems like they're shaping Tori up to be the villain of the Four.

I think the Chief is going to be a villain as well. To me it looks like they are stripping him of his humanity, first cally, and I still stick by my original theory, that the child is not his, and he will find out, taking away everything that binds him to the human race. Throw a little Boomer in there and you have a villain. Its a scary thought, because he is one of my favorite characters of the show.

[Nephtys]

That last part... ooooh boy. I was expecting the 'talk her down, things are alright' ending. But wow.

I suppose I'll just wait for a 'Previously, on Battlestar Galactica' that shows Billy falling down, dead after getting shot... then Tori in the background, rubbing hands together. "Yessss... yess..."

I did like that 'glance' the Centurion gave. Pretty hard to do with one eye that only goes left and right mind you, but it sure was a glance.

[JME2]

Despite being a reccuring character from the start, I always found Cally to be a tad annoying. But damm, that was a bad way to go. The last act was easily worth the price of admission. Also hope this isn't the end of the Cylon Civil War.

4.5/5

[DrMckay]

Damn Tori. Damn that fucking bitch to Hell.

I give it a five.

Seems like they're shaping Tori up to be the villain of the Four.

Well, she did recently frak Baltar. Is Psychosis is sexually transmitted now?

Cally What makes Galactica good is its large ensemble cast. Who's next out of the deckhands, Seelix?

[Burak Gazan]

Murdering
Fracking
Skinjob
Bitch


I hope somewhere down the line Tori gets the most imaginatively gruesome end they can come up with. Certainly appears that the so-called 'final 5' toasters have nothing special, or mystical about them -- just another killing machine that needs to be destroyed.
I only hope her so-called status does not give her a character shield

And the merry crew of the Starbuck Exploration Corp seem bound for discord, or mutiny --- driving in circles is generally not the most logical method of a search, but then again, her clues are totally fucked-up

4.5/5

[neoolong]

I hope somewhere down the line Tori gets the most imaginatively gruesome end they can come up with. Certainly appears that the so-called 'final 5' toasters have nothing special, or mystical about them -- just another killing machine that needs to be destroyed.
I only hope her so-called status does not give her a character shield

Well, Tigh doesn't think that being a Cylon really changes who he is. He's a Colonial officer damn it, and that means something to him.

I suppose the reactions that each of the Cylons have should mean something.

And the merry crew of the Starbuck Exploration Corp seem bound for discord, or mutiny --- driving in circles is generally not the most logical method of a search, but then again, her clues are totally fucked-up

I'm just waiting for her to drop to the floor screaming that they're going the wrong way with all of the crew looking at her like she's insane.

[The Yosemite Bear]

I'm waiting for her to have a shit fit about water for her plants...

[Braedley]

And the merry crew of the Starbuck Exploration Corp seem bound for discord, or mutiny --- driving in circles is generally not the most logical method of a search, but then again, her clues are totally fucked-up

What gets me is that they're soooo close (assuming that was Alpha Centauri in that shot), and she talks about the trinary system that they're looking for, and they're in it! C'mon Starbuck, Earth is just 4.36 ly away! That's just a hop, skip and a jump away! Northern hemisphere constellations will look nearly identical from there as they do from earth! Okay, maybe not, but the sun is definitely one of the brightest, if not the brightest, star in the sky.

[Aeolus]

Did anyone else notice what Starbuck was painting? Those did not look like 3 stars to me. They looked like 3 ships of light.

[KhyronTheBackstabber]

Did anyone else notice what Starbuck was painting? Those did not look like 3 stars to me. They looked like 3 ships of light.

I noticed that too. It looked like three light ships, and Jupiter. I was reading up on them, on Battlestar Wiki, and that could explain how Starbuck got to Earth, and back.

[weemadando]

Hooray! Zero-sum plot achieved!

Intriguing motions within the Cylons?
NEGATED!

Possible outing of the final five?
NEGATED!

Is Starbuck real? Really crazy? A Cylon?
WHO CARES! LOOK - IT'S FAN SERVICE!

Political ramifications of the Kara Thrace option?
LOST IN THE CLUTTER!

About the only good thing to come out of that episode was the fact that Callie finally fucking dies. Now, all you fanboys, lets hear it all at once. She's dead. She's fucking dead. She's not coming back (unless she is the last model which would be a horrific cop-out). So shut up, get rid of the sig banners and all the rest because she was a shitty character anyway.

The fact that they finally bit the bullet and accepted that a few hundred people might stop watching because their favourite scrawny bit of sci-fi wank-meat dies in the final season lifts this from a 0 to a 1 for me.

[GrandMasterTerwynn]

Hooray! Zero-sum plot achieved!

Intriguing motions within the Cylons?
NEGATED!

Yep. Those poor trusting Sixes. Riddle the opposition with bullets and expect them not to be just a tad upset about it? Couldn't have happened to a nicer batch of angsty killing machines.

Possible outing of the final five?
NEGATED!

Oh come on. Final five . . . outed? You're kidding, right? If they wanted to out the final five right now, the writers wouldn't have had Cally, Pill-Popping Queen of Emo discover them. They'd have had someone not so self-absorbed their first thought would've been . . . you know, go to the Admiral . . . instead of heading for the airlock. They should've had Cally blow herself out the airlock. Except killing babies on cable TV simply isn't cool.

Is Starbuck real? Really crazy? A Cylon?
WHO CARES! LOOK - IT'S FAN SERVICE!

But it proves she is crazy. It's obvious the good ship Demetrius is under the command of someone the Colonial Navy picked up off the streets of Caprica City and handed a commission, even while that someone was muttering things like "Buggerit" and "Snaffle, nargle octopus and THEY'RE ALL COMING TO GET ME . . . oh, do you got some spare change?"

Political ramifications of the Kara Thrace option?
LOST IN THE CLUTTER!

Not surprising. It's not like Lee Adama doesn't get wood in his pants over Kara Thrace and wouldn't use his newfound power to get the heat off of her . . . nope.

I liked this episode. What happened in it was perfectly logical, given the starting conditions. It just goes to show that they're all fucked and there's nothing they can do to stop it because everything's so fucked up that the only outcome that can be is that everything is going to go horribly, horribly wrong.

[tim31]

About the only good thing to come out of that episode was the fact that Callie finally fucking dies. Now, all you fanboys, lets hear it all at once. She's dead. She's fucking dead. She's not coming back (unless she is the last model which would be a horrific cop-out). So shut up, get rid of the sig banners and all the rest because she was a shitty character anyway.

The fact that they finally bit the bullet and accepted that a few hundred people might stop watching because their favourite scrawny bit of sci-fi wank-meat dies in the final season lifts this from a 0 to a 1 for me.

ARGH

If it hadn't been so long between the seasons I might have still had my emotional investment in the character that would have made it devastating, but now it's just a sad shame.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

Did anyone else notice what Starbuck was painting? Those did not look like 3 stars to me. They looked like 3 ships of light.

I noticed that too. It looked like three light ships, and Jupiter. I was reading up on them, on Battlestar Wiki, and that could explain how Starbuck got to Earth, and back.

You guys are apparently forgetting that after she returned, Starbuck said one of the things she saw following visiting Earth was a triple star system.

And that Moore has said he's not incorporating the Beings of Light into the new series.

[tim31]

And, as we all well know, Olmos said he's throw Moore through a wall if he tries it.

[Tsyroc]

And, as we all well know, Olmos said he's throw Moore through a wall if he tries it.

So all Moore has to do is wait to reveal them about two thirds of the way through the last season. They could probably afford to kill off Adama about then.

=========

Others have mentioned the intelligent Centurians being something that would come back to bite the Cylons in the ass. I'm wondering if those Centurians might also be what ends up saving Six's group, or at least sticks it to Cavil.

I mean, all Centurians look alike right? What could the sentient Centurians have been up to while the human Cylons were plotting against each other?


As for Starbuck. I really hope they get through the crazy whiney assed Starbuck stuff soon. She was annoying as fuck last episode and she hasn't gotten much better with this episode. I really can't believe that so many important members of the military went with her.

I can understand Helo going since while he's gone Tigh is back as XO. Athena obviously goes with him, and it makes sense for Anders to go too but I was surprised to see Gaeta there. I guess Adama wants to make a real run at this and gave Starbuck the fleet's best navigator in case her mission goes tits up and they need someone to backtrack to Galactica.

Can you imagine how fun it must be to be packed into that ship. Tight, smelly quarters with a wack job leading the way and going off all the time. I thought they did a pretty good job of selling how annoyed some of the people were getting in the brief time they showed the Dimitrious. It also showed another reason Helo is there because even in the best of times Starbuck is a dubious commanding officer she's going to need someone rock steady like Helo backing her up.

[tim31]

Can you imagine how fun it must be to be packed into that ship. Tight, smelly quarters with a wack job leading the way and going off all the time. I thought they did a pretty good job of selling how annoyed some of the people were getting in the brief time they showed the Dimitrious. It also showed another reason Helo is there because even in the best of times Starbuck is a dubious commanding officer she's going to need someone rock steady like Helo backing her up.

Previously, on Garbage Scow Dimitrious

[Spanky The Dolphin]

I've taken to calling it the poop scow, personally.

[Sam Or I]

I liked the little touches of this episode, imho is what made this episode stand out. The Centurions cleaning up, the vipers docked on top Dimitrious, the Adama and Rosilin scene was touching, Adama is still the man telling reports to shut up, the Apollo and Rosilin tension, and Doc Cottle is still awesome. Cally's Death was shocking (I was rooting for her to space all 3 of them, but that didn't happen) and one of the best deaths in the series. Kat's, Billy's, Cains, the Priestess, Starbucks, and Shaw all seemed very contrived. Cally's seemed to go with her nature. All very well put together. I voted a 5 for this episode.

On a side note either the person playing Tori is a really good actress or a mediocre one. The scene where she was reaching out to Cally seemed force, if it was done on purpose, I give her props for her acting ability, but if she was trying to sound genuine it did not seem convincing. Her acting took me out of my suspension of disbelief during this scene, thinking it sounds fake, (it turns out it was, hopefully on purpose.)

[Imperial Overlord]

On a side note either the person playing Tori is a really good actress or a mediocre one. The scene where she was reaching out to Cally seemed force, if it was done on purpose, I give her props for her acting ability, but if she was trying to sound genuine it did not seem convincing. Her acting took me out of my suspension of disbelief during this scene, thinking it sounds fake, (it turns out it was, hopefully on purpose.)

I find her acting generally pretty good, but her lying to Baltar in the previous episode isn't very convincing either. So I'm leaning towards Tori is a crappy liar.

[Anguirus]

If it hadn't been so long between the seasons I might have still had my emotional investment in the character that would have made it devastating, but now it's just a sad shame.

Well, thanks to the DVDs I still felt a pretty significant investment...sadly, she had very little to do in season 3. Her last real scene before this episode was bitching at Athena. That's why her crazy-time came a bit out of left field IMO, though we've known the Tyrols were squabbling in mid-season 3.

However, a few hours later I thought of Cally during the season 2 Kobol arc (which I'm watching now with my girlfriend) and my throat definitely seized a bit.

[tim31]

Yeah, I'm actually doing that now... And having the same reaction.