Symbolism/Metaphors

Met posted in a topic in the imdb forum about the Raptor as a sort of God symbol/metaphor.

It had got me thinking about this part of the series. Something similar to this, which I had posted in that imdb post, was the dream/surreal sequence where Lee is floating on the water during the battle of the Resurrection hub. It was like a crucifixion position he was in when floating. For me it symbolised the end of his current life in the sense of it being the start of letting go of the things he had thought important in his life by being a viper pilot to follow in his fathers footsteps. The re-birth as you mention with the Raptor rescue and his new life where he chooses the path and makes his own decisions to shape the life where he wants to lead.

The good thing about this forum is that topics will not get deleted like what happened in imdb so can visit it in future to reply with re-watches. I have posted this topic as I am going to keep an eye out for any metaphors/symbolism in the show when I continue my current re-watch after I finish watching Blake's 7 as well as with as I mentioned with future re-watches. In the mean-time, if anybody else has noticed in any symbolism/metaphors noticed in the series, I'd be interested in reading.

The shot with Apollo in the quarry water is one of my favorite in the entire show.

One thing I find very interesting about this shot is we aren't exactly sure who's perspective it is. It seems to be Apollo's but it isn't certain. Is this how he pictured what was going on his mind, floating on the surface and slowly sinking or is it another perspective? There are a few shots like this throughout the series where it isn't quite clear what the perspective is. For example when Hera is playing with the models of the Galactica and other ships on the tactical board late in S4. It seems like a dream, but who's? Another, is when Baltar hung himself in his cell. We see him in a weird and creepy underwater scene afterwards where he is confronted with corpses and then Head Six kisses him and the perspective shifts and we see the marine guard giving him mouth to mouth and he is revived. It's never clear what that was.

This scene reminded me of the story of the hunted foxes
'The dogs would force the foxes toward the river, but half the foxes would turn and fight while the other half would try to swim across. But his uncle told him about a few that would swim halfway out and then turn with the current and be swept out to sea. "Because they wanted to drown? asks Tigh. "Maybe," says Adama.'
Did Lee want to drown or not?.

For Apollo, I always figured it was his perspective, how he saw himself at the particular moment, made manifest for our interpretation.

Guy_VO wrote:This scene reminded me of the story of the hunted foxes

Did Lee want to drown or not?.

Wow, I never connected that with the foxes scene but now that you say it, one could easily draw that connection.

I think Lee even says it later, doesn't he? W'hen he's talking to Kara and Dualla is listening just outside the door. He says, 'that's just it, Kara, I didn't want to come back'.
(pretty sure that's what he says)
So, it seems he did, indeed, have a death wish. It might be pretty complex as to why, but I would reckon it had something to do with the Olympic Carrier that he destroyed in the '33' episode and possibly with the death of his brother, Zack.
But, you know, everybody in the show had lost someone and they had all lost their entire civilization. It wouldn't surprise me at all if thoughts of suicide were not common in many of the survivors' minds.
Something else to think about- in the 'Maelstrom' episode late in S3, where Kara dies, the being that is using Leoben as an avatar says to Kara that death isn't so frightening after all- that is beautiful. He was speaking to Kara, but assuming he's some sort of higher being, he is perhaps speaking a universal truth.
Maybe Lee accepted his death in those last moments and found some sort of peace as he slipped away. Then he had all that jerked away from him when the Search and Rescue bird picked him up. So, maybe he is brooding later over this lost sense of a final peace and an end to the worries that everybody was enduring.

Metatron_Fallen wrote:

Guy_VO wrote:This scene reminded me of the story of the hunted foxes

Did Lee want to drown or not?.

Wow, I never connected that with the foxes scene but now that you say it, one could easily draw that connection.

I think Lee even says it later, doesn't he? W'hen he's talking to Kara and Dualla is listening just outside the door. He says, 'that's just it, Kara, I didn't want to come back'.
(pretty sure that's what he says)
So, it seems he did, indeed, have a death wish. It might be pretty complex as to why, but I would reckon it had something to do with the Olympic Carrier that he destroyed in the '33' episode and possibly with the death of his brother, Zack.
But, you know, everybody in the show had lost someone and they had all lost their entire civilization. It wouldn't surprise me at all if thoughts of suicide were not common in many of the survivors' minds.
Something else to think about- in the 'Maelstrom' episode late in S3, where Kara dies, the being that is using Leoben as an avatar says to Kara that death isn't so frightening after all- that is beautiful. He was speaking to Kara, but assuming he's some sort of higher being, he is perhaps speaking a universal truth.
Maybe Lee accepted his death in those last moments and found some sort of peace as he slipped away. Then he had all that jerked away from him when the Search and Rescue bird picked him up. So, maybe he is brooding later over this lost sense of a final peace and an end to the worries that everybody was enduring.

Although at the moment, he was good as dead, Lee made the conscious decision to give up on life when he took his finger off the hole in this suit that was leaking air.

In terms of his motivation, I do agree with Guy_VO. I think a telling insight was made in the Season 2 ep, "Final cut" where it was mentioned that after the Fall, not one of one pilots quit despite there being any hopes of replacements or end of active military engagements in sight. While it is a fictional TV series, that is an inspiring piece of dedication to undertake. However, that must have taken it's take mentally especially for those in positions of authority. Lee had a role which he wasn't comfortable or happy to be in. He only become a viper pilot because was what he perceived his father would want them to be. The Fall had totally destroyed the Colonial civilisation but also the lives that those in fleet that previously hard. It would have been hard to got on your life without that bedrock of security never mind having the pressure that goes with command as well as active military duty. As you mentioned Met, he had committed an action that he had found morally objectionable and felt strong emotions about it. It could have got to the point where he couldn't take it any more and just he just wanted to lay down and give up the struggle. The 'laying down' being the conscious decision to end his life.

I had mentioned that the scene symbolised a sort of death and subsequent re-birth. Of course, there was a physical death but IMHO, it involved a spiritual or ego death and re-birth. He had given up on the life he had and the expectations placed on him and with the re-birth of his new self which entailed a journey to find out how he really was. This journey involved going from a viper pilot to a lawyer, IIRC, the path he really wanted to take before joining up, to a politician and finally to shake off all responsibility and explore Earth Mark II.

With the scene you mentioned about Kara, I wonder if she was talking about the death of the ego and Leoben being a sort of higher enlightened consciousness that is guiding her to the path of true spirituality?

Of course, there is nothing in the series that supports this nor may be what the writers intended.

Water and flowing water in particular does play a big part in the series.

I recall reading that rivers, streams and flowing water symbolises purity as dirt is washed away. Taking that analogy, it could also mean washing off /removal of sin, guilt and other negative emotions. It could also mean the removal of the old with the new. There is a whole lot of meaning to the symbolism of water that matches the themes of the series.