Whacha Think?

This is about the new TV series Battlestar Galactica but you don't have to have watched it to follow this post. I'm really talking about how men and women love differently and why certain things are expected of a man while the reverse isn't often the case for a woman.

So let's start with the hero and heroine of this particular story. You won't like either of these people but it doesn't matter - their story is just very compelling and when the final chapter came I wasn't sure how I felt about what happened.

Batter up! Let's hope I can make some sense.

We have Ellen Tigh and her husband Col. Saul Tigh (I'm not good with names so we'll see if I can keep things straight) who are an older couple - I'm not really sure of their history but I'm sure they don't have any kids. So I would say Ellen is in her late 40s while the Col is late 50s.

Col. Tigh is a drunk and the second in command of the entire fleet. His best friend is Commander Adama and Adama seems to make allowances for this man. When the planet they all live on is annihilated by Cylons, Tigh is forced to give up the bottle and become the man he needs to be to help those who survived find earth.

Saul is one crusty, angry, hating son of a bitch. There's nothing really pleasant about this man and many of the crew don't like him but he could care less. It's all about the war with the Cylons and the survival of the human race.

Suddenly they find another ship (there are about 45000 people left alive on various ships with no weapons that the Battlestar is responsible for - this is the entire human population) and discover that Col. Tigh's wife survived the holocaust.

We meet Ellen, a woman who loves to drink and have indiscreet affairs with other men. At least, that seems to be what she is like. Also, she is power hungry for her husband and wants him to take over command of Galactica.

These two people are treacherous to each other and yet for some reason, you feel they are perfect for each other. Yes, they are drunks and yes, they have a weird sense of what is right and wrong but they only seem to be hurting each other so what is the harm. During this time I came to believe that Saul truly loves his wife. I mean, how many men can deal with a woman who openly flirts with others and has possibly been unfaithful.

Let's just say, I wasn't an Ellen fan.

In the third season of the show the humans find a planet that can sustain life and it is decided that they will live here. What they don't know is that the Cylons know of this planet and are on their way to take over. The Cylons come and take command. Col. Tigh and his wife were on the planet when this occurred and the Battlestar, knowing they couldn't fight the arrival of the Cylons, was forced to leave the people on the ground behind.

Occupation starts and Col. Tigh is taken into custody by the Cylons and is tortured for information which, of course, is not forthcoming anytime soon. He even has his eye plucked from his head but he remains true to who he is and gives the Cylons nothing.

What Saul doesn't know is how desperate Ellen is to save him from the Cylons. While Saul is incarcerated, Ellen does everything she can to get the Cylons (should mention that there are 7 in human form (Lucy Lawless is Cylon # 3!)) to release him. She finally gets to the one guy who can help and starts an affair with him to get what she wants.

When Saul is released he is surprised but Ellen is so happy to see him. At this point I came to realize just how much Ellen loves Saul.

Saul is one of the main players in the resistance movement to kill Cylons and prepares for when Adama finally comes back for them. What Saul doesn't know is the lengths that Ellen will go to to keep the Cylons from coming and killing him. The Cylons continually threaten Saul's life if Ellen doesn't do as she is asked.

Saul openly talks about the raids and such in front of Ellen and at one point he has a map of where he is to meet Adama's people. He goes to throw it in the fire but Ellen reaches for it and tells him not to get up. She then hides the paper under her top and throws something else in the fire. Many people are in the tent when this occurs.

Sure enough the rendezvous point is compromised and the Cylons attack.

Afterwards, two of the men go to Saul to tell him that his wife is a traitor. It becomes clear to him that his wife was the one to give the Cylons the information they needed to sabotage their rescue. One of the men says to Saul, it would be better if it was you. I didn't really know what they were talking about.

So here I am, completely convinced that these two people are in love with each other. I hadn't seen it before but the actions of each have shown that neither seem to be able to survive without the other.

What happens next?

Ellen is being held in a cell and Saul goes and sits with her. She is tired and mentions how she had to do what she did to save Saul. Saul pours a glass of liquor and Ellen says, something about how timely it is. I truly believe that she knew Saul was poisoning her for her treason but she didn't care. When she falls asleep (dies) Saul is devastated and sobs over her dead body.

It is many episodes afterwards and Saul is deep in the bottle and is obviously broken over the loss of his wife. I think after the last episode we'll see him come out of it.

So why did I tell you all this?

I wonder if this doesn't show the difference in love for men and women. Having just gone to the forum boards I can see that not too many people agree with the fact that he killed his wife but I think they are missing a point.

For Ellen, Saul was the be all and end all. She betrayed the human race to keep the man she loved alive. She went against everything she knew Saul believed in order to keep him from being taken and tortured by the Cylons again. She in essence gave up every thing for the man she loved.

Saul, however, gave up his love to remain loyal to his beliefs.

You all know I read Anne Stuart and I love dark heroes and well, Saul, he's pretty dark. All the same, he didn't react the way I would want a man in love to react. In romances the hero would have found a way to save the woman he loves. Even leave every thing he knows and loves behind to be with his soulmate.

I wonder if the roles had been reversed, that it was Ellen who was the soldier and Saul who committed treason, if people would be able to accept her poisoning her husband?

I was moved to tears by the 'death' scene but it made me wonder about gender roles and the value of love to each. Why did he feel the need to kill her? Why didn't he at least try to save her? Was his loyalty and duty more important in the end?

Neither of these characters are perfect. Far from it. I would have expected a heroine to find a way to save her hero while not betraying her people.

Actually this specific episode brought up so many different issues. Col. Tigh allowed men to strap themselves with bombs and head into heavily populated Cylon events. When are these acts terrorism and when is it a part of war? This is touched on in the show but Col. Tigh is so strong in his beliefs that nothing is too horrible to contemplate. So on one side we have a man fighting for the life of all humans and willing to do horrendous things and on the other side we (the audience) can see the futility of what he is doing because the Cylons don't die. They have regeneration ships where they are reborn with all their prior life memories.

I guess this show is looking to give answers which I normally find very frustrating. I don't like to have people point out a problem and then stand back and shrug when asked what we can do about it.

That might be way off point though.

So basically, is it expected that a man love his 'country' more than his wife? Is a woman expected to love her husband more than her 'country'?

Whacha think?

I think I had a hard time coming to my point!