DPP: You Can't Go Home Again

[shah-of-blah.livejournal.com]

Greetings friends, Romans, and fellow shippers. For the DPP this week, we'll be doing something a bit laid-back (that's how I roll). Lately, I've been engaging in some serious nostalgia. Now that we've just finished the first official shipper rewatch on this, the shipper rewatch comm, I thought we might take the time to just reflect and appreciate some of the fine episodes in this very fine show.

We talk about fanon a lot around here (and many of us tend to live there these days) which is all well and good, but this week we're going CANON-COMPLIANT. For the most part, anyway. Slight deviations are allowed. So here's the sitrep: every day will be dedicated to a certain episode or arc. I have chosen seven (at least one from each season) that I like a lot. Hopefully, you all like them too! So each day I will post a bit about the episode--some pictures, a video, quote or two, you know--along with a fic rec and maybe even some other fun stuff if we get really crazy.

[I do have episodes planned for the rest of the week, but they're not set in stone so let me know if there's one you REALLY want to talk about.]

Today we begin with one of my all-time favorites, YOU CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN. 

Lee: I need to know something: Why did you do this? Why did we do this? Is it for Kara? For Zak? For what?
Adama: Kara was family.  You do whatever you have to do.  Sometimes you break the rules.
Lee: And if it was me down there instead?
Adama: You don't have to ask that.
Lee: Are you sure?
Adama: If it were you, we'd never leave.

This episode has everything: action, awesome characters, dramatic conflict between said awesome characters, moral questions about the survival of the human race and what to do in certain post-apocalyptic events, and the gooey emotional stuff at the core of it too.  PLUS it is the episode that, upon rewatch, made me really appreciate Lee as a character and more than just Kara's romantic interest.  All thanks to this scene:

It also gave us pilots flying together, complete with adorable wing-waggle:

Many thanks to ddt73  and pilotography for the clips. :)

The episode also gave us the possibility of pilots engaging in BATH TIME SHENANIGANS.  (If anyone is moved to write some YCGHA comment-fic, consider this your invitation!)

Lee: My gods, you smell like a latrine.
Kara: Mmm.  You want to give me a bath?

Maybe Lee didn't give her a bath in canon (or maybe he did!), but the episode still left us the possibility for some awesome fic of the hurt/comfort variety.

My personal favorite: Bum Wheel by spoonishly.

You can also check out this episode-themed list of recs, courtesy of thrace_adama : Aoc/YCGHA.  What are your favorite fics/vids/scenes/quotes from the episode?

Comments

[lizziec]

Not from this episode, but from this arc is when Lee calls Kara on the reason why she failed the nuggets. It was what she needed at that point and it was lovely to see Lee step up and instead of being intimidated by Scary!Kara says what needs to be said. I think it shows growth for Lee's character as much as Kara's and made me see them as equals, more so than the previous episodes.

In this episode I really love when Lee essentially demands that all the possible resources be expended in the search - the scene I'm thinking of is when he demands more ships from the Chief as he wears out Viper after Viper. You know that he wouldn't do that for any other pilot. The obsession in finding Kara is at least as much Lee's as Bill's.

Also, appropriate icon is appropriate.

[shah-of-blah.livejournal.com]

It was what she needed at that point and it was lovely to see Lee step up and instead of being intimidated by Scary!Kara says what needs to be said. I think it shows growth for Lee's character as much as Kara's and made me see them as equals, more so than the previous episodes.

I love that scene in AoC too! Like you said, it goes a long way towards depicting them as equals. We saw Kara challenging Lee in his role as CAG in 33, now we see returning the favor. It shows that he's comfortable in his own position in the military and his position as her friend. Plus they stand really, really close to each other.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Oh, I love season one. <3 This episode plus Act of Contrition were so powerful. And to me, the most powerful stuff was the parent/child part, actually. I love all of Bill and Kara's scenes together, from the amazing confession scene in AoC to the gentle moment where he brushes her hair and gives her a stogie to welcome her back (which she eventually gives to Lee in Hand of God -- symbolic Adama love, pass it on!)

And the scene you mentioned between Bill and Lee ("we'd never leave") has always touched me, mostly because Lee looks so surprised.

I've always taken it for granted, by the way, that what Bill says to Lee about never leaving is meant to convey an emotional truth ("You're my son, and I couldn't possibly love you more than I already do"), but is not actually true. We've already seen that Bill is capable of putting the fleet's needs first and doing his job even when he thinks Lee is missing or dead. We saw that in the miniseries, and we'll see it again in Resurrection Ship when the Blackbird is destroyed. Personally, I suspect Bill would have had the exact same reaction as he did in this episode, whether it was Lee or Kara missing.

[zenzero42.livejournal.com]

Oh, I love season one. <3 This episode plus Act of Contrition were so powerful. And to me, the most powerful stuff was the parent/child part, actually. I love all of Bill and Kara's scenes together, from the amazing confession scene in AoC to the gentle moment where he brushes her hair and gives her a stogie to welcome her back (which she eventually gives to Lee in Hand of God -- symbolic Adama love, pass it on!)

This. AoC is my favorite episode ever, and YCGHA is just after that! you are right, the Kara/Bill stuff is incredibly powerful, not something that you see often in tv. the first time I saw it I was speechless!
you are right!!! I never thought that can be the same stogie. it is like with the Aurora statue. oh, how much I love Kara and the Adamas


I've always taken it for granted, by the way, that what Bill says to Lee about never leaving is meant to convey an emotional truth ("You're my son, and I couldn't possibly love you more than I already do"), but is not actually true. We've already seen that Bill is capable of putting the fleet's needs first and doing his job even when he thinks Lee is missing or dead. We saw that in the miniseries, and we'll see it again in Resurrection Ship when the Blackbird is destroyed. Personally, I suspect Bill would have had the exact same reaction as he did in this episode, whether it was Lee or Kara missing.

I completely agree with you. you expressed my thoughts perfectly.

[anamarya.livejournal.com]

I never thought that can be the same stogie. it is like with the Aurora statue.

i never thought otherwise. for me it was like a given, and i never gave it much thought. it's like the stogie, the lighter and the Aurora are all simbols of the family.

[shah-of-blah.livejournal.com]

I love all of Bill and Kara's scenes together, from the amazing confession scene in AoC to the gentle moment where he brushes her hair and gives her a stogie to welcome her back
Oh gosh, I love those scenes so much. I think this arc really solidified my insane love for Kara, and her scenes with Adama were a big part of that. I adore the moment in AoC when he makes her flight instructor and then, when he's hugging her, she lets her mask go just a little bit so that only the camera can see. And then at the end of YCGHA when he kisses her on the forehead and she lets herself break just when he can't see her face...powerful stuff!

We've already seen that Bill is capable of putting the fleet's needs first and doing his job even when he thinks Lee is missing or dead. We saw that in the miniseries, and we'll see it again in Resurrection Ship when the Blackbird is destroyed. Personally, I suspect Bill would have had the exact same reaction as he did in this episode, whether it was Lee or Kara missing.
That's very interesting, and I think you might be right--I can't really see Adama condemning the human race to orbit around a barren moon, even if Lee were stranded on it (although season 4 Adama might wait there by himself in a Raptor and let the fleet go on without him). But I think it matters that he says this to Lee, maybe because he can't possibly know what he would really do in that situation, but it's something that he wouldn't want to leave.

I must admit, also, that I love the way the show pushes these conflicts on its characters and avoids the sort of cliche, sentimental route--like in Razor, that when push comes to shove Lee and Kara both know what they have to do and they both do it even when they don't want to. And I don't think she would ever hold it against him, just as I don't think she would blame them for leaving after her oxygen ran out.

[anamarya.livejournal.com]

Personally, I suspect Bill would have had the exact same reaction as he did in this episode, whether it was Lee or Kara missing.

i suspect the same thing but as i was saying a couple of days ago i always had the feeling the Laura wouldn't. She always relied on Lee a lot, especially back before she got close to Bill.

[callmeonetrack.livejournal.com]

Oddly, one of my favorite snippets from this ep (besides Lee's boundless joy when he sees her name int ape under the raider of course) is when Lee and Bill just look at each other because they know Roslin is right about them carrying the search on too far. And Lee just picks up the phone. It's just kind of a humorous beat amidst all the heavy because before she comes in they're both so determined that she won't talk them down, and of course she does. Heh.

[shah-of-blah.livejournal.com]

You know, my initial thought upon reading this comment was something like 'how is that humorous?' But then I looked back at the scene in question and realized what you meant. It is great how they're all "She's going to press" and "I'm with you" and then Roslin shoots them down so thoroughly.

[callmeonetrack.livejournal.com]

Yeah it's just the juxtaposition of how they're both "We got this, dude! She ain't gonna bring us down!" And then after she leaves they look at each other all sheepish/wounded puppyish and Lee just reaches for the phone.

I mean it's not HA HA! And of course I was all "What! No! Kara's still out there!" but it's slightly humorous that they go from one extreme to the other.

[givsgr8face.livejournal.com]

I agree, it was pretty tongue in cheek. Honestly though, aside from Lee and Bill's reunion, the first thing that comes to mind about this episode is how Jamie Bamber delivers his "serious attitude" line. I'm more than sure that it's because he's using a different accent, but (to me) it sounded sort of gay or "valley girl" which made me laugh. Go back and watch that clip and just sort of listen for it, you'll totally hear what I mean!

[anamarya.livejournal.com]

well, if it would not have been so sad it would have been hilarious because they are acting like some kids/brats and are taken back to reality by their teacher. i mean, i love Kara and everything but Roslin was right and ultimately it was a testament to her talent that she was able to make them see it.

Flying with serious attitude:

[rachelmack.livejournal.com]

ADORABLE WING WAGGLES ARE MY FAVOURITE! \o/

Thanks for the thrace_adama rec link - stumbled across a couple new ones! I love this fandom. <3

Re: Flying with serious attitude:

[shah-of-blah.livejournal.com]

Glad you found some new fic!

[embolalia.livejournal.com]

One of the things I like about YCGHA is how Kara inadvertently reunites Lee and Bill. The Adama solidarity about finding "our girl" brings them together in a way they clearly haven't been since Zak died and probably earlier. Even the fact that Lee can ask his father to confirm that he loves him is a huge step. (Though interestingly, in the podcast RDM talks about how Jamie Bamber REALLY didn't want Lee to ask the question and be so impossibly needy.)

The thing that still doesn't work for me when I see it, though, is that 48 hours are supposed to pass while Kara is on the moon. Somehow as much as they flash the big clock, it just never feels like two days are going by--no one sleeps, or noticeably changes clothes, it's never dark on the planet...I'm always surprised when I realize how long it's supposed to be.

[lizziec]

<derailing>

I'm always surprised when I realize how long it's supposed to be.

I feel this way about all of the first season, and a good chunk of the second too. One example is that the injury Kara sustains in AoC/YCGHA is supposed to be extremely serious. Cottle says in a deleted scene in YCGHA that she won't be walking, let alone flying any time soon, yet according to the timeline posted here in karathracelives (which is what has had me thinking about it for a good few days now) from the BSG wiki suggests that 10 days after that she's walking with only a stick and a mere 6 weeks or so from the injury she's on Caprica again running around with the resistance with seemingly no lasting effects.

I dunno, I just get the feeling that the writers backed themselves into a corner when writing s1 - the events within the established time line seem to be compressed into times they really shouldn't be to fit what the writers seemed to be trying to achieve.

ETA: I'm also completely open to the possibility I've missed something here.

</derailing>

[shah-of-blah.livejournal.com]

The passage of time on this show has always been wonky. I remember how surprised I was the first time I realized that the entire first season is no more than two months.

About Kara's knee though, I can see two ways around that. One, she is walking in Six Degrees of Separation and on, but her leg is still in a cast until Hand of God, I think, and she doesn't walk without a cane until Kobol's Last Gleaming. It's still not a terribly long time by most standards, but in their situation, ten days could be a very long time. Their situation was so perilous in early season 1 that people could die and everything could change in just a few days.

What I want to know is who finished training the nuggets while Kara was laid up...

[lizziec]

The passage of time on this show has always been wonky. I remember how surprised I was the first time I realized that the entire first season is no more than two months.

Yeah, I'm still feeling that really.

Their situation was so perilous in early season 1 that people could die and everything could change in just a few days.

I know, but there are still limits to how fast her body could heal. I know Kara is seriously kickass and could work through a huge amount of pain (when she gets her ass out of bed), but still. According to the wiki (which does seem to be fairly wonky/unbelievable as far as timings go) HoG is only 20 days after her injury (at which point she is doing light weight lifts with the injured leg), while KLG is about 35 days after the injury, by which point she's apparently healed enough to walk without a cane and jog and apparently run around Caprica with no ill effects. The healing timeline of around 35 days just really stretches my suspension of disbelief. Surely s1 has to take place in a longer time frame (though the writers with their Helo captions then backed themselves in to a corner there as I suspect that's where the timeline in s1 comes from).

What I want to know is who finished training the nuggets while Kara was laid up...

I don't know, but given the "interesting" nature of the timeline it must have been one hell of a training programme because they were apparently trained enough to take part in the major battle in Hand of God just 20 or so days later (if we take the bsg wiki to be correct, which is one hell of a supposition here). I know that they were pretty short handed but would they really have risked the Vipers and lives of some kids who not long before had been struggling to land?

[shah-of-blah.livejournal.com]

The healing timeline of around 35 days just really stretches my suspension of disbelief.
Very true. But I feel compelled to play the devil's (or rather writer's) advocate and try to find some way around this inconsistency. One aspect is that 35 days seems far too short given our medicine, but we don't really know what technology they might have for healing bones. Obviously this isn't Harry Potter and they can't fix you up immediately, but for all we know they could heal something like Kara's knee injury in a matter of weeks. Also, we're talking about a deleted scene (when Cottle says it'll be a long time) which is questionably canon. /writer's advocate

I know that they were pretty short handed but would they really have risked the Vipers and lives of some kids who not long before had been struggling to land?
Actually, I think the answer to this is a resounding "Yes." They couldn't maintain a CAP without those nuggets--no way could they pull off the tylium mission and they were all going to die without that tylium. So yes, if they were willing to give a nugget (Hot Dog) his wings after just two training flights, then I think it's safe to say they would put those nuggets in the air after three weeks of training.

[lizziec]

I know you're just trying to be a writers advocate, but I always felt it was fairly clearly established that Colonial medicine in the series is at about the same level as medicine in the here and now. I'm more of the opinion that the timeline here is wonky than that the colonials had some amazing knee healing medicine ;)

Having read your comments about the nuggets/asteroid thing though I'm with you on that now. It was clearly an all hands on deck situation to enable them to survive, so it's not beyond the realms of possibility that all possible pilots would be pressed in to service.

[anamarya.livejournal.com]

i'm with you on most of the things that you said here but this they were willing to give a nugget (Hot Dog) his wings after just two training flights i sort of doubt. we should remember that HotDog was a Fight School wash-out so he was the one with some experience not only in flying but flying Vipers (at least on simulators and stuff).

[embolalia.livejournal.com]

And don't forget, she also recovered from a bullet wound in about 3 days--in time to go camping on Kobol with no ill effects!

[lizziec]

Hm. Apparently Kara is way more badass than I had ever assumed... :)

[shah-of-blah.livejournal.com]

Only possible conclusion: Kara is Superman. Or the Slayer.

[lizziec]

I'm starting to think that it's the only possible conclusion we can draw :)

[anamarya.livejournal.com]

What I want to know is who finished training the nuggets while Kara was laid up...

this is a good question. maybe she kept giving the theory classes and somebody else (idk who) took them out.

[embolalia.livejournal.com]

I'm kind of completely addicted to using the BSG wiki to find time between episodes for fic to fill in! Seasons 1 though Home are really crazy compressed--it works out that something like 8 or 9 days have passed since the attacks during 33 by AoC, so you'd imagine more sleep deprivation would hit them pretty hard, too. Seasons 3 and 4, though, skip months between episodes. It's never even particularly clear why.

[lizziec]

it works out that something like 8 or 9 days have passed since the attacks during 33 by AoC, so you'd imagine more sleep deprivation would hit them pretty hard, too.

This. It's not long since the events of "33" so they must still be tired (being short handed must have meant they took longer to get the rest they needed after the events of "33"), and then they run for another 48ish hours without sleep. Given they do sleep deprivation so well in "33" I was kind of disappointed they never explored it again (even with just a throwaway comment) in YCGHA.

It's never even particularly clear why.

No. I suspect it's because the writers themselves really don't know.

[ddt73.livejournal.com]

I'd like to know how they came up with 10 days passing.

It's not entirely clear how much time passed from the end of YCGHA and Litmus. For that matter it's not clear how much time passed from episode to episode. I think they have season one far too compressed. I know it's from Battlestar-wiki but I think they are wrong.

[lizziec]

I've been assuming that in the first season they come up with time guesstimates based on the little caption whenever they catch up with Helo on Caprica (the ones that say "Lt Karl Agathon, XXth day on Caprica" - or whatever it actually is).

I'm completely in agreement though, because no matter whether it's the writers dropping the ball or the battlestar wiki dropping it the timelines just don't make much sense, for all sorts of reasons.

[embolalia.livejournal.com]

I think that in addition to the Caprica timeline, they trapped themselves later when they have episodes where characters say things like "it's been x months since the attacks" and then when they finally got around to notating it on a calendar, they had to have skipped a bunch of time somewhere. The whole timeline for Razor fails at this.

[shah-of-blah.livejournal.com]

I completely agree about the 48 hours thing--if I could change one thing about this episode, I would want to really feel how tired they all must have been. Lee, Adama, Tyrol--they probably haven't slept. Kara hasn't had anything to eat or drink in all that time too. It's like we can feel all the desperation, but the exhaustion is glossed over.

[embolalia.livejournal.com]

I would want to really feel how tired they all must have been.

Exactly. I just wanted one shot of Lee in his Viper, falling asleep and jerking awake. Or even just some mention of the fact that *his* contrition has been expressed through flying around for two days straight, thinking about her, searching for her.

[lizziec]

That would have been awesome. Some acknowledgement (however small) of the mental and physical toll that the search for Kara would have placed on people already exhausted.

[anamarya.livejournal.com]

I'm jumping to conclusions here but i feel that maybe they believed that in this moment another episode that involved a lot of people being very-tired would have been an overkill. i mean, they are like 2-3 episodes in between 33 and AoC/YCGHA.

[mserrada.livejournal.com]

Others have already mentioned my very favorite scenes, but Kara's whole working out how to fly the Raider and talking to herself was just gold. It could have come across as boring, silly or just completely unbelievable, yet Katee manages to convince us that, sure, Starbuck could actually do all this and crack jokes along the way.

I know people seem to view Wiki as gospel, but I'm inclined to question just how compressed the timing is as presented. Besides, I never let facts get in the way of my beliefs ;^)

[ddt73.livejournal.com]

Wiki is not gospel. There's one thing I noticed is absolutely wrong. They have getting captured and sent to the farm on day 61 and being rescued on day 62.

So she has 2 surgeries in less then 24 hours? All those times she falls asleep and wakes up, only one day passes? This has to be over several days. There's no way they could have done all this in one day or she wouldn't have been able to get up walking. To say it is one day flies in the face of common sense.

[mserrada.livejournal.com]

Yes, I noticed the Farm discrepancy, too. Simon talked about how when she'd been brought in and we clearly see both night and morning scenes and like you said about multiple surgeries and her being drugged. Just not possible in 24 hours.

We shall be the voice of reason calling Wiki to task for faulty timing! Shout it with me, brother!

[ddt73.livejournal.com]

Yes! WIKI IS NOT GOSPEL.

I was looking at the timeline last night, I think they have season one to season two up to FotP compressed. This causes them to spread the episode over a very long period of time. FotP by its design happens over a non determined length of time. It's one of those episodes that defies placing a true time period on it.

In my mind season one takes place over three to 4 months. I think the first few happen quickly together, but then the middle (while Kara is recuperating) is over a longer period of time. I mean the rookie pilots had to be trained enough to fly the mission in Hand of God. If they weren't ready they would have waited before the attack. Which tells me quite a bit of time had to pass from the end of YCGHA and the mission in Hand of God. More then just a month.

It's fairly clear that from Flesh and Bone to the end of Six Degrees of Separation happens over at least a couple weeks time. Cause Adama had to find out about Ellen, then go over their several times, then it's probably another couple days once Ellen is on the G.

[anamarya.livejournal.com]

don't know why but what you are saying seems very ok to me. i wonder if it might be because it has logic to it

[shah-of-blah.livejournal.com]

Whoa, I never noticed that before but it's so not true! I always figured The Farm was around 3 days, at the least (although how she does all that hiking on Kobol is still something of a mystery).

[scifishipper.livejournal.com]

I just rewatched YCGHA and I just adore Kara in the raider. She is style and grace and bravery all rolled into one. She is just so damned unflappable. My gods, she's about to die, almost does when she passes out from lack of oxygen, but she makes it work, talking to herself the entire time and cracking jokes. She is a marvel!

And her laughter right after she identifies the four components of flying...Gah! Probably my favorite Kara laughing moment of the entire series. She is triumphant and delightful. SO DAMN AMAZING.

[shah-of-blah.livejournal.com]

I love that moment when she laughs as she gets the raider in the air. Awesome! I also love her little laugh after the "give me a bath" line. And Lee making that face. Priceless.

[anastashial.livejournal.com]

I've always wondered what Kara was referring to when she babbles about "intercept protocol". Is Lee supposed to fly up to the raider and wait for it to fire on him before he fires? We've never heard anything about such rules of engagement before.