Darned BSG, making me change my mind on characters...

[thistlechaser]

A few days ago, if you had told me I'd feel bad for Ellen Tigh, I'd never have believed you. Saul too, really. I never liked him much. Exodus (getting off the planet) really changed that though.

I don't think Ellen became a good woman in those two eps, and I don't think she did good things, but she tried. The scenes after her sleeping with the cylon broke me. Her expressions, the coloring/bruises on her face, the circles under her eyes. (Great actress, by the way.)

And Saul having to be the one to kill her? Poor, poor man.

I can't decide how I feel about them killing her, either. She did betray them, and for that there should be punishment, but she did it to try to save her husband. She was in a really bad position.

Life is easiest when characters are black and white, when it's clear who's a good guy and who's a bad. But shows are best when there's only grey, and BSG is full of shifting shades of grey.

(It's an interesting "moral point" that by Laura Roslin doing the right thing and not letting the election be fixed, all of humanity was nearly killed. What's the lesson there? Do what you think is right, even if it's wrong? But then how's that apply to Ellen Tigh's situation?)

I can't believe there are only less than two seasons left to watch. Such a good, good show.

Comments

[tersa.livejournal.com]

Life is easiest when characters are black and white, when it's clear who's a good guy and who's a bad. But shows are best when there's only grey, and BSG is full of shifting shades of grey.

That *is* one of the beauties of the show, IMO. But it's also, I think, why a lot of people have or did get turned off by it. TV is easiest when characters are black and white, and a lot of viewers hate when their favorite characters do something that goes against the idealized image they've built up for them--for good or bad.

[liedra.livejournal.com]

It is an interesting moral conundrum. It's one where deontologists and consequentialists would argue about a lot as well. Consequentialists would say "well it worked out that the greater good for all was done by fixing the election, even though the fixing itself was bad". Deontologists (Kantian) are all about doing your duty, following laws, and doing to others as you'd have done to you sort of thing, so I think they would have argued that if the laws and the rules were sound that they should have been followed, and the consequences dealt with. In their case, the ends never justifies the means.

:) Glad you're enjoying them! It's a pretty tough situation they're in atm!

[veloxe.livejournal.com]

It's an interesting "moral point" that by Laura Roslin doing the right thing and not letting the election be fixed, all of humanity was nearly killed. What's the lesson there?

Politics suck. Especially when determining the fate of the human race. Especially when the average person is more caught up by buzz words and talking points to actually know wtf they are doing. Although in fairness to the citizens, few people realized how messed up he really was >.>

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

few people realized how messed up he really was

With as much as he "talked to himself" (talked to Six), I'd have hoped that the word of him being insane might have gotten around. I guess not though... :/

[voidmagus.livejournal.com]

Told you she was tragic :P

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

You did! :D

[animarelic.livejournal.com]

Those episodes seemed to change a lot of people's opinion on Ellen. (Helen? I have no fraking clue). Not mine. A bad person has always been capable of doing good things in the world, the problem being that I don't think she even learned anything from those good things that she did.

She would have been right back to her old ways once they escaped and as I really REALLY could not stand her, I was glad she was gone. It meant Tigh fell further away from the wagon, but he also got a bit stronger too, without her there to constantly encourage him to make poor decisions.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

A bad person has always been capable of doing good things in the world, the problem being that I don't think she even learned anything from those good things that she did.

She would have been right back to her old ways once they escaped

Oh, agreed. She was doing good things (and they were questionable good things) for a selfish reason. She didn't really change...