Another Sunday, more BSG

OK, one more short post before I return to some serious thought--though I may skip tomorrow night since I suspect I'll still have lots of work to do for my Tuesday class.

Beginning of first episode without Starbuck. Ouch. Characters are dealing with the fallout, and I've already shed the first tears of the night. Trillian is officially on strike, refusing to watch if Starbuck won't be on. Never mind that she has been around for the first 15 minutes.* Sample conversation:

T-I wonder if they realize what a mistake they've made killing her off.
M-She's not dead.
T-What makes you so sure?
M-OK, she can't be. I need to believe she's not dead.

We'll see. Three episodes left this season and she won't be back for those.

But now the focus shifts to Baltar's trial. And even if there's no Starbuck, I have been awaiting this story arc with great anticipation. So far the storyline has tapped into the ambivalence I've always recognized in myself when it comes to issues of justice. I am adamantly against the death penalty and truly believe in everyone's right to a fair trial. And yet I cannot deny the many times when I, in my gut, have thought the world would be better off without a person's presence and grown impatient with the mechanations of court proceedings.

Baltar's treatment to this point already captures much of that. He is a collaborator and traitor, undoubtedly scum. And yet he is (almost certainly) human** and (without a doubt) a member of the Colonies. He is guaranteed a trial. And I agree with that.

But when President Roslin loses it and orders him thrown out an airlock, haranguing him the whole way, you'd better believe I was right there with him. And when they used experimental drugs to try to extract information, I wanted them to push him just a little further. I'm not proud of it, but I also recognize it as a very human response. And I expect to find myself in a similar position over the next few weeks.

*That's all she ended up watching and has gone off to bed.

**Oh, what a loaded word in this context.