Our choice lies in the space between stimulus and response

[cosetteferaud.livejournal.com]

"33" is a relentless hour of enthralling television empathy. The rushed feeling of the episode, the glimpse of people on the verge of breakdown, the sweat, the dirt, the bags under the eyes. The exhaustion, the strain, the sleep-deprivation. Everything seems, tastes and feels real as you witness how the Fleet has been threatened by a Cylon attack every 33 minutes for five days.

It’s the end of the world, boys and girls, and we’ll sleep when we are dead.

 

“33” is arguably one of the best episodes of the series and the perfect trigger for Battlestar. The episode encapsulates the concept of this show: when the enemy doesn’t give a break and humanity fights for its survival at any cost, the boundaries between human and inhuman, between right and wrong, truth or lie become blurry… a nightmare picturing the terrifying threat of losing humanity for the sake of mere existence.

“I'm sorry to make it a numbers game”

This episode has so many moments... Some powerful and some quieter ones, all of them portraying a bunch of people trying to come to terms with the fact that the entire survival of the race depends on the successful execution of the next FTL jump. And the Olympic Carrier is definitely a pivotal moment, since it raises difficult and controversial questions about war, leadership and responsibility.

Starbuck, Apollo and Boomer are out on CAP when the Olympic Carrier, the ship missing from the last cycle of jump, reappears. The ship has more than a thousand civilians aboard and the captain does not respond to demands to stop. Following Adama’s instructions, Starbuck fires a warning shot across the Carrier's bow. The ship doesn't stop. Suddenly, a Basestar reappears and a nuke onboard the ship triggers the radiological alarm. Adama, believing that the Cylons are using the Carrier, tells the President that the only solution left is destroying the it. "There are 1,300 people on that ship", answers Roslin. "It's either them or us.” And then the new elected President harshly tells Adama, "Do it!"

It is an incredibly difficult decision: they kill 1,000 people in order to save 50,000. The reward is survival.

Boomer: We have new orders. We are directed to...destroy the Olympic Carrier and return to Galactica.
Starbuck: It's a civilian ship.
Crashdown: A civilian ship with nukes. I don't see anybody in there, do you?
Apollo (peering at the windows): The Cylons'll be here any second. If we're gonna do this, let's just do it. Starbuck, form up with me, we'll make one pass from astern.
Starbuck: What if you're wrong? Lee, come on...Lee!
Apollo: Okay. Fire on my mark.
Starbuck: No frakkin' way, Lee. Lee...come on!
Apollo (hand hesitating on the trigger): Mark.

Lee follows Adama's orders and fires. Starbuck follows. A few shots hit the side of the Carrier, and then the engines explode. The explosion is blinding, and we see how both pilots shut their eyes. TPTB’s original idea was to show passengers behind the glass as Apollo flies alongside the Carrier, but the network—afraid of the darkness of the show—got in their way and made them go for a more ambiguous choice.

It is still a powerful and haunting moment though, which raises lots of questions on the morality of the characters. The episode portrays an extremely difficult yet necessary decision, but the question becomes murkier from the character point of view. There were innocent people aboard who could have been saved? Was it the right choice? Was Baltar right to argue for the ships' destruction, knowing that he was also saving himself? Did he argue just to save himself?

And what about Lee?

Lee pulls the trigger that destroys the Carrier. The consequences of this event will haunt him forever and shape his growth as a leader. At the end of the episode, we see a short scene between Adama and Lee. Lee is in the ready room setting the next day's flight schedules. His father arrives and he greets Adama with a “Sir,” and continues to write.

Adama answers, shifting from the professional to personal treatment, “Son.” There is a quiet moment between them, and Lee doesn't stop or turn. Adama goes on and say: “I gave the order. It was my responsibility.”

But Lee just looks at him. “I pulled the trigger. That's mine.”

For Lee, it is not that easy. You can’t avoid responsibility like that, just because the order came from a superior officer. Adama tries to absolve Apollo of his guilt, since he is the military leader and—theoretically—the responsible one for the decision. Nevertheless, Lee refuses to absolve himself of his responsibility and the consequences of his acts. He followed orders, but he chose to pull the trigger. There was an alternative—a choice—there. Just sometimes it's a choice between two terrible alternatives

And this question leads me to the old topic of responsibility in war time: who should bear this responsibility? On a daily basis people make ethical judgements in relation of private action. We expect that individuals will act on "universal" principles in their treatment of others independent of race, gender, sexuality, and class. However, the boundaries of moral responsibility and accountability tend to become fuzzier when decisions are made by the system, the leaders or the government. During the Olympic Carrier crisis, Adama acknowledges his overall responsibility as the military leader of the Fleet. He chooses to take accountancy for his decision. And that gesture does him credit and frames him as a valuable leader well aware of the duties and responsibilities of his position.

But what about individuals? Yes, leaders bear great responsibilities, but each individual bears personal responsibility too. However, there is a tendency to deny the responsibility of an individual person, instead attributing blame abstractly to "the system” or “the government.” And what happens in a war context? Who should bear this weight—the leaders who give the orders or the soldiers who carry them out?

During the Olympic Carrier crisis Lee refuses to make excuses for his actions, not letting the consequences of his act to become blurry under the easy “I was following orders” label. Lee is a good soldier who is actually following orders, but in the end, he makes the final choice and decides not to ignore his own agency. It’s always easier to follow the lead of others and turn a blind eye to what the leaders are doing—but this refusal to acknowledge an individual responsibility is often the root cause of terrible crimes.

In “33” we see Lee hesitate as Kara questions him but, in the end, he decides to fire himself first. He will carry that weight with him forever in his conscience and his choice will shape him as the leader he will become. And that is exactly what set Lee apart for me—his moral courage to not run away from responsibility.

“We're not friends. You're the CAG.”

OK. So let’s enjoy pilots for a while. Because this is PILOTS and that’s why I fell for them. The pills scene is the shippy moment of the episode… And I watch it again and the first thought that crosses my mind is: “That’s it. Starbuck and Apollo. CAG and problem pilot and friends.” This is what I love about their interaction here. There is no doubt of the UST between them but what it strikes me is the undeniably friendship vibe—paradoxically, despite Kara’s words, “We are not friends. You are the CAG”.

Apollo: Hey, did you see the note from the XO?
Starbuck: I saw it. No way.
Apollo: Kara, everyone else--
Starbuck: I don't fly with stims. They fudge with your reflexes, your reaction time.
Apollo: Come on, Kara, give me a break. Just--
Starbuck: Why are we arguing about this?
Apollo: I have no idea.
Starbuck: Neither do I. You're the CAG, act like one.
Apollo: What does that mean?
Starbuck:  It means that you're still acting like everyone's best friend. We're not friends. You're the CAG. "Be careful out there?" Our job isn't to be careful, it's to shoot frakking Cylons out of the sky. "Good Hunting" is what you say. And one of your idiot pilots is acting like a child and refusing to take her pills. So she either says "Yes, sir" and obeys a direct order, or you smack her in the mouth and drag her sorry ass to sickbay and you make her take those pills.

(Lee and Kara both start laughing)
Apollo: Well, I'm glad I'm not working for you.
Starbuck: (laughing) Damn right you're glad.
Apollo: So do I have to smack you in the mouth, Lieutenant?
Starbuck: No sir, I'll take my pills. (takes pills from Lee) Perfect.
Apollo: Carry on.
Starbuck (smiling and saluting): Yes, sir

 

Adorable. That’s how I’d describe this scene… It captures in a lovely way this Starbuck and Apollo professional/personal vibe I love about them.  An enraged Kara tells Lee how he should behave towards his pilots—since he is their superior officer, their CAG, and not their friend. So Kara gets up in Lee’s face and criticizes his "Be careful out there" speech in the Ready Room. Apollo looks pissed off but doesn’t react while Starbuck yells. The funny thing is that when Kara stops yelling and they stare at each other for a minute, all the tension fades away. Starbuck starts giggling, and Apollo smirks, "I'm glad I'm not working for you." Kara can’t stop laughing as Lee seductively asks, "So, do I have to smack you in the mouth, Lieutenant?" And this is such a cute moment between them because it so clear that both see the absurdity of the whole situation—and because it frames Kara and Lee’s friendship and electric chemistry in a way I love.

We could argue that Starbuck's confrontation with Lee seems insubordinate, but I believe she is making him a better CAG—and later on, when he says "good hunting", you can see how he's internalized Kara’s advice. This is a beautiful quality of Kara and Lee’s relationship: they challenge and bring out the best of each other. They push their limits in order to be the best they can be. And together, they become an invincible team.

By the way, did you notice the look Chief gives Kara after he sees the whole incident and she snaps “What?". And what about Kara's face chewing the tablets? (heh. Our girl can be so hardcore!).

It is all about the scruff

We all agree that “33” perfectly encapsulates Battlestar Galactica… And not only because of its grittiness and its daring approach to issues like war, survival and humanity. Let’s be shallow for a while, dudes… “33” also means APOLLO'S SCRUFF. So if you need an excuse to rewatch the episode, that is definitely a worthy one ;)

Some questions to ponder

1) This episode contains powerful and “big” moments like the destruction of the Olympic Carrier and “little” ones portraying the crew of the Galactica dealing with the tragedy. What’s your favorite moment of this episode?

2) What was your first impression of about Starbuck and Apollo’s confrontation in the hangar deck? And how do you feel about this scene right now? Starbuck is being a pain in the ass for Lee as she usually is, or is she making him a better CAG?

3) How do you think Lee's decision affected him and the choices he will make later on?

4) Why does everyone look like hell, while Lee Frakkin Adama manages to look incredibly hot? Is it because of the scruff?

5) What do you think it means Chief look at Kara after the pills discussion? Is it a “Good Lord, Starbuck, what a pain in the ass you are for that poor boy” look or a “Please, you two get yourselves a room to work out your issues because it is SO obvious” one?

Comments

[rdave1.livejournal.com]

No worries. I still catching up on comments from last week.

Yes and No. I am not watching the episode but BSG has been burned into my brain so I know what all the big and piloty details without watching.

I do love that moment in the air, it is so care-free even the midst of everything.

HELLS YA! Picspam of Lee in Bastille Day! AWESOME! Does she Bee, was she sitting down when you told? I'm glad I was, that boy does things to me.:)

They are so comfortable around each other where as they are not so comfortable around everyone else. They just fit together so well. It is that newness of it all that took Chief by surprise.

I completely agree with your last statement. It just kick starts what will happen in BSG for the next four seasons, what topics will be dealt with and the human emotions. It sets the stage for it all. The count on the board that held up till the end. I'm glad they didn't bring to the planet, cause I will hate to see Lee take it down a number for Kara. I couldn't have handled that.

No sadness, looking forward to the next episode chat.