BSG “Someone To Watch Over Me” – A Return to the Well Executed and Balanced Meal
In my earlier BSG post “Four More Days Until It’s ‘Frakkin’ Friday“, I described how one could approach the series as a whole much in the same way as one would a five course meal, with each season playing a specific part in the overall effect of both the meal and its presentation. With most of the episodes in this final chapter of the series now past us, it’s becoming clear that this analogy can also be focused onto this handful of episodes given the variety in character and plot arcs that were dealt with, if not also the manner of their presentation. For example, despite the prevailing disapproval among the BSG audience for “A Disquiet That Follows My Soul”, when viewed in such a context, the episode comes across much like a palate cleanser, something that was meant to wipe away the savoury tastes and textures of episodes past so that we could be prepared for the more elaborate and vibrant dishes to come in the episodes “The Oath” and “Blood on the Scales”. Watching last night’s “Someone To Watch Over Me” evokes the same idea, with its role being to remove the flat and unsatisfying impressions held over from the previous two offerings in this series countdown to what will hopefully be a decadent delight.
Continuing on using this analogy, it’s not uncommon for certain ingredients to be carried over from one dish to another in the meal plan and in some ways that’s what occurred at the start of this episode with the focus being on picking up on where we left the relationship between Boomer and Tyrol. Coming on the heels of last week’s focus on the love triangle between Tigh, Ellen and Caprica Six, it’s obvious that we’re once again revisiting the idea of viewing these characters through the initial lens of being humans – and not Cylons – and what their ability to love and feel pain and hurt means in regards to the distinction between the realities of being human or Cylon. And yet, the history that the audience has shared with Boomer and Tyrol makes their story so much more engaging and emotive because it implied that finally, these two might be able to love another without any concerns of violating protocol or feeling foolish for falling for a machine. After watching this episode, I can’t help but wish they would have dropped using this story concept from last week’s “Dead End” since in many ways, this episode is much more effective in presenting the same ideas and without sacrificing the character’s established personalities and drives. Mind you, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t find the pacing to be a tad slow at the start; however, upon reflection I realize that this is more a result of the lingering after taste left behind from last week’s episode than a representation of how the character story lines were presented in this one. In fact, if they can maintain such a tighter focus on pacing and use of screen time for the remaining episodes, we might very well get a satisfying end to this series. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet as there is more, obviously, to discuss about this episode.
In thinking about the Boomer/Tyrol storyline presented here, the obvious question arises as to how much of this was orchestrated back on the Cylon baseship and how much of it was Boomer taking advantage of an opportunity provided to her by Tyrol. Personally, I’d like to think that it’s the latter since the former would make the Boomer character a true ‘off-spring’ of the petty, conniving Ellen, in that she ends up manipulating Tyrol’s feelings to the point of making him a complete tool. It would also negate the significance of their ignoring the reality of Tyrol being Boomer’s creator, that instead they merely see each other as the “Boomer” and “Chief” from back in the day. Watching them cry as they share this dream world where they’ve raised a daughter is especially poignant after the loss of Liam last week. It’s a potent reminder that this part of Boomer’s fantasy is as much a sad recognition of the insurmountable odds they face of actually being able to have a child together as it is the mourning of the lost chance to build their dream home. That in itself is a powerful message and a big reason why I’d prefer to think that Boomer is still the same loyal individual she used to be, but as she demonstrated back in the first season when she shot Adama, her loyalty has merely shifted to the Cylons. This would also fit with her stance of siding with Cavil during the Cylon civil war, a fact that had the rebel Cylons demanding their own justice for her part in that war. Still, it’s a bit confusing why she would ask Tyrol to join her, given what she knows about Cavil’s feelings toward their mutual “creators”, though again, if this was her striking out on her own, perhaps her serving up Hera would be a bargaining chip for her to save Tyrol from Cavil’s wrath. Regardless, until they present otherwise, I’ll prefer to position myself with the idea that Boomer’s sharing her vision of what their life would have been like was not meant to be a ploy to emotionally manipulate Tyrol to help her escape, but a genuine attempt to reconnect with the only person who ever mattered to her.
Speaking of the only person who ever mattered, I have to say I just loved the examination of Starbuck’s character through her relationship with music and thus her father, something that I’m pleasantly surprised to admit. Those of you who’ve read my previous reviews of BSG know that I’ve grown weary – as have many BSG viewers – of watching Kara’s repeated acting up, of behaving like a sulking child who didn’t get what she wanted at the grocery story. I think many of us have been waiting for this story where we finally rip off the Starbuck-warrior shield to see the real Kara Thrace sheltered behind it and more importantly, why she felt the need to protect this inner part of herself. The scenes with what we later learn is an apparition of her father are probably the best Starbuck scenes in a long time because we are finally able to see what’s driving this character. In this episode, we learn that the passionate, creative side of Kara does indeed stem from her father and his love of music, a love that he felt was so strong that he was willing to leave behind his family instead of giving it up. That’s a significant revelation since it explains why Kara felt the need to bottle up and hide this part of herself from the world – it was this artistic quality, this love of music which ultimately took away her father and with it, her family. This isn’t just an issue of a child growing up to resent her father; it’s also a resentment toward him for instilling in her a love for something which robbed her of the most important person in her life. The scene where her father tells her that not knowing what direction she’s heading is not an indication that she has no direction is another important moment in their interaction since it sets the stage for Starbuck’s character in the final act, that hopefully she has at last come to peace with that inner rift and as such, can better address the implications of her father teaching her the song that reactivated the Final Four at the end of Season Three.
In addition to these key storylines, there were two elements that I found especially intriguing – one for addressing a concern I’ve had about the remaining episodes and the other being a product of the revelation of a new detail to the BSG mythos. In my review of last week’s “Deadlock”, I wrote of my concern that there’s been too much of an obvious setup regarding what the inevitable final showdown between Cavil’s Cylon fleet and the human-Cylon rebel alliance would be. The continual reminders regarding the rapid crumbling of Galactica’s infrastructure made it implicit that the fleet was now literally a sitting duck, at the mercy of Cavil who could just as easily find the fleet as Boomer did. And yet, in last night’s episode, we got a taste of what makes BSG so entertaining – the series has this tendency to lull us into a false sense of anticipation for what’s to come, only to pull the carpet from under our feet when we least expect it. It’s that characteristic which has made BSG a stand-out for me compared to other shows in how it can create this impression of leading the audience by its nose only to suddenly bring down its hand on our proverbial noses in Three Stooges style to punish us for being so gullible. For all my concerns about Cavil’s impending reappearance, it never once occurred to me that it would be the fleet it its battered, broken shape that would have to take up the offensive. With one subtle move of their hand, Moore and Eick have turned what seemed to be a questionable plot move – of making Boomer easily discover the fleet’s current location – into a move that now has the ball firmly planted in the human-Cylon fleet’s court. Point served.
The other plot element that had me thinking of its implications is Hera’s drawing of the musical score that freed the Final Four from Cavil’s programming which denied them access to their real memories. While there’s no doubt that there are many questions as to why Hera would think of drawing it, looking at those dots I couldn’t help but imagine the song isn’t as important as the pattern it presents, that perhaps what Hera drew is the true form of the message – that of a map leading to the real destination. After all, music is intertwined with mathematical principles, with some composers even using mathematical constructs in their compositions. In any case, my theory is based on the prophecy of the cycle repeating and that it’s the Lords of Kobol who’ve been orchestrating all this with the intent of recreating Kobol wherein which Cylons and humans will once again find the means to live in peaceful co-existence. They’re already starting to come to that realization out of necessity in the human-Cylon fleet; perhaps having a common foe in Cavil will be the final thrust needed to complete the process. This would also fit with the overall approach the series has taken to storytelling, of changing the rules of the game, where the series started off being about finding Earth only in the end for it to be more about returning back to the commonality they all originated from before they went off to create the 13 colonies. In that way, the series was never about finding Earth, but rediscovering the idea behind Kobol with its concept of a shared existence between humans and Cylons.
In returning to my earlier analogy of these final episodes of BSG being like the various courses in an elaborate five course meal, it’s very easy to view these two key storylines of Boomer/Tyrol and Kara and her dad as being complimentary, but distinct features of the same dish. On their own, each provides a specific taste and texture and yet together, they provide the connection to the overriding theme behind the meal, with some key indicators of what’s to come in the final courses. Indeed, this episode provided us with some strong elements that rose up to move out from the shadow of the disappointing measures of the previous two entries, no small task and certainly if it wasn’t required to do such in the first place, it might very well have been regarded as one of the finer episodes of the series. And like a well balanced dish, there are many distinct and tangible elements that can be removed and appreciated for its contribution to the overall product. After reflecting on “Someone to Watch Over Me”, I find myself content to just sit back and enjoy it as a whole, my palate refreshed and welcoming the serving of yet another finely balanced and executed work.
Some other posts you may enjoy:
- BSG “Islanded in a Stream of Stars” – Finding One’s Place To Call Home
- BSG “Deadlock” – Between Hate and Love
- BSG “Daybreak, Part 1” – The End Is Found In Where We Began
- BSG “No Exit” – Time To Accept What We Are
- BSG “Daybreak, Part 2” – My Final BSG Review, Part 2
- BSG “A Disquiet Follows My Soul” – Paging Howard Beale
