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BSG: Resistance
I have a few comments on the "What was Apollo thinking?" question :
I'm glad that Billy refused to go with Roslin; it was an extra reminder of just how complicated the situation is, and I suspect that Dualla may need him. I doubt that Adama and Tigh will be able to remain willfully blind to the mutinous elements on Galactica itself.
I've seen occasional comments suggesting that Lee was acting out-of-character in breaking his parole and helping Roslin escape. I'm not sure; he showed early on that he's more loyal to the principles of civilian government than he is to either his father or Roslin (neither of whom, I suspect, were pleased by the idea of holding an election so soon). I suspect that during the course of this single episode, Tigh's declaration of martial law went from "temporary emergency measure" to "military coup" in Lee's mind, and once he'd made that judgment, it seems to me very much in character for him to cease to work with Tigh at all, and indeed to set about restoring civilian government.
I suspect that they key turning point for Lee was not the civilians shot by marines, but the return of Baltar to the fleet -- or rather, both events worked together to persuade him. After all, when Tigh declared martial law he might have felt that there was no responsible civilian authority (especially if he accepted Adama's view that Tom Zarek was to be kept out of political power at all costs); the return of the vice president to the fleet provides an obvious moment for Tigh to back down and start talking about a timetable for the restoration of civilian government. (I mean, personally, I don't think "Baltar for President" is the greatest idea ever, but it is the legal situation, if Roslin is unable to hold her position.) Not only does Tigh not do this, but he also (so it must seem to Lee) shows himself willing to use force to maintain his authority. Had martial law been declared earlier in the show's timeline (back in the miniseries, or in the first season), Lee would almost certainly have accepted it -- but the declaration now, after a form of civilian government has been established, is pretty clearly not acceptable. I also think that Lee would be willing to accept civilian deaths on a ship that was resisting orders from Galactica (because Tigh isn't wrong when he says that resupplying the battlestar is not optional), provided that he saw Galactica as the legitimate authority. It's the two situations together that become unacceptable to him. Add in how little he respects Tigh (and how much he seems to respect Roslin, or rather what she represents), and it's easy for me to see that to Lee, Tigh's government is illegitimate, and that it is his duty to oppose it. Once his brain tells him "coup," it's inevitable.
This line of reasoning does depend on the guess that Colonial military has some idea of illegal orders -- that is, that a soldier is required not to obey illegal orders.
In an aside, was I the only one to have that song from the South Park movie going through my head while I wrote up my comments on this episode? Or indeed, whenever I think about it?
I'm glad that Billy refused to go with Roslin; it was an extra reminder of just how complicated the situation is, and I suspect that Dualla may need him. I doubt that Adama and Tigh will be able to remain willfully blind to the mutinous elements on Galactica itself.
I've seen occasional comments suggesting that Lee was acting out-of-character in breaking his parole and helping Roslin escape. I'm not sure; he showed early on that he's more loyal to the principles of civilian government than he is to either his father or Roslin (neither of whom, I suspect, were pleased by the idea of holding an election so soon). I suspect that during the course of this single episode, Tigh's declaration of martial law went from "temporary emergency measure" to "military coup" in Lee's mind, and once he'd made that judgment, it seems to me very much in character for him to cease to work with Tigh at all, and indeed to set about restoring civilian government.
I suspect that they key turning point for Lee was not the civilians shot by marines, but the return of Baltar to the fleet -- or rather, both events worked together to persuade him. After all, when Tigh declared martial law he might have felt that there was no responsible civilian authority (especially if he accepted Adama's view that Tom Zarek was to be kept out of political power at all costs); the return of the vice president to the fleet provides an obvious moment for Tigh to back down and start talking about a timetable for the restoration of civilian government. (I mean, personally, I don't think "Baltar for President" is the greatest idea ever, but it is the legal situation, if Roslin is unable to hold her position.) Not only does Tigh not do this, but he also (so it must seem to Lee) shows himself willing to use force to maintain his authority. Had martial law been declared earlier in the show's timeline (back in the miniseries, or in the first season), Lee would almost certainly have accepted it -- but the declaration now, after a form of civilian government has been established, is pretty clearly not acceptable. I also think that Lee would be willing to accept civilian deaths on a ship that was resisting orders from Galactica (because Tigh isn't wrong when he says that resupplying the battlestar is not optional), provided that he saw Galactica as the legitimate authority. It's the two situations together that become unacceptable to him. Add in how little he respects Tigh (and how much he seems to respect Roslin, or rather what she represents), and it's easy for me to see that to Lee, Tigh's government is illegitimate, and that it is his duty to oppose it. Once his brain tells him "coup," it's inevitable.
This line of reasoning does depend on the guess that Colonial military has some idea of illegal orders -- that is, that a soldier is required not to obey illegal orders.
In an aside, was I the only one to have that song from the South Park movie going through my head while I wrote up my comments on this episode? Or indeed, whenever I think about it?
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Additional factors for his timing: Dualla told him Tigh was hitting the bottle, hard. Now Dualla has served with Tigh for a while; presumably she knows he's an alcoholic just like everyone else does. If she thinks that the quantities he consumes are extraordinary, they are. If she, who is an Adama loyalist, tells this to someone who's on parole and adds she wishes someone else where in command, it's a writing in flames on the wall that Tigh is rapidly losing what respect and obedience he had in the military, and the civilians are opposed to him already. Things were getting uglier and more explosive by the minute. Action was called for. I suspect that if Roslin had died of a heart attack in the brig right then, and Adama would not have woken up, (some of) the crew would have mutinied as soon as they'd be ordered to get into a shoot-civilians-situation again.
Sidenote, caused by talking of addictions: it's worth noting that Doc Cottle, who not only has more facts about Roslin's cancer and just how it affects her than anyone else in the in the fleet and knows about her chamalla medication, and about the effects of chamalla, still helps her escape when she asks. And he's military, not civilian. If he thought either the medication or the illness itself was affecting her judgment or making her a worse choice than Tigh in this situation, you'd think he'd speak up and give Tigh a reasonably good justification for keeping her out of office. But he doesn't.
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Your point about the likelihood of mutiny on Galactica is an interesting one -- and I think that if Lee were only interested in getting back at Tigh, he might well have stayed on the ship and allowed himself to become a focus for discontent. Instead he separates himself from the situation entirely, although I'm not sure whether that will strenghten Tigh's position within Galactica -- it maky instead make it even more clear that Lee thinks that his command is illegitimate.
Of course, with Adama awake again, the point is moot: Adama's authority is not under threat in the same way Tigh's was. I think this returns the division between them to the original problem -- Starbuck's mission.
I also like your point about Cottle very much.