Sparks

During the last few weeks I've been catching up with Battlestar Galactica.  What struck me, in particular, is the show's success -- being a brilliant example of a well executed, character-driven script.  One aspect of the intra-character dynamics that creates a web of believable tension, is the complex relationship between Apollo, Starbuck, Sam and Dee.  

I hate to say it -- but I saw it coming.  From episode one of series one, it was clear there was something going on between the two pilots.  Friendship, clearly, intermingled with boredom and sexual frustration; a potent mix.  And for a while, it seemed like that was all that was going on.  Except, who could forget Apollo's expression when he saw Kara all dolled up in her green dress?  Not him, it seems. 

Fast forward a couple of seasons, and Starbuck's found a new love.  It looked like her relationship with Apollo had only ever stretched within the friendship boundary.  On the flip side, Dee and Apollo are finally getting closer, having made up their minds after all, that they are indeed interested in each other.  Cleverly, we are being led to believe that any suggestion of attraction between the two pilots was only ever transitory.  And then, comes the twist.  It wasn't a passing attraction -- the two really do love each other.

Except...

Kara pulls a scorching 180 degree turn that would be the envy of any fighter pilot.  She weds Sam the morning after she slept with Lee and declared her undying love for him beneath the stars.  A shell-shocked Lee finds solace in Dee's arms.  I had some sympathy for Apollo.  He believed he loved Starbuck who then threw his love away by marrying another man.  But my cup of sympathy didn't run over.

The trouble is, he was already with Dee at the time.  I'm assuming, he must have loved her to a degree to have had the relationship he did with her.  And as an audience, we have no doubt over either Dee's or Sam's devotion to either of their partners.  At this point, I have to high-five the script writers of BSG for taking the mature, un-sensationalist approach to wrapping up the twisted quadrangle midway through season three.

Realising Starbuck's fickleness (she may indeed love Lee, but frankly her actions are selfish), Lee makes what is probably the best decision of his life and shows an understanding of relationships that most men (and women, to be fair) have difficulty grasping:  the uncomplicated, unexciting, but fundamentally beautiful love of a devoted partner.  Dee understands him -- the man beneath the pilot, better than Starbuck ever will.  She's there for him when he needs her the most and she knows the reality of living with him day in, day out -- warts 'n' all.  And despite it all, she still wants him, admires and respects him.  Which, is more than Kara ever did.  That equates to so much more than a moment of excitement, the touch of lust, or the quick high of a clandestine flirt.  And Apollo finally gets that this is the meaning of true love. 

And Starbuck ... well, who knows.  It'll be interesting to see how the scriptwriters continue the dynamic after this.  I haven't reached the end of season three yet (so no spoilers please, people) but it wouldn't surprise me if the whole Starbuck-Apollo thing rears its ugly head again.

But in all of this, dya know who I feel most sorry for?  Dee.  She's a decent girl who's only mistake was falling in love with Lee.  She knew about his 'friendship' (that's a misnomer if ever I heard one) with Starbuck, but trusted he had made his choice to put Kara, romantically speaking, out of his life when he started dating her.  But, it was a lie -- effectively he's lied to her throughout the relationship and lied to himself.  I really like Apollo's character, but if I was Dee, I'd string him up.  All this time, he'd been chasing sparks, a pure fantasy -- at Dee's expense.  He doesn't deserve her love, loyalty and devotion; it would serve him right if she walked out of the door and never looked back -- leaving him only with his illusions (and the fickle Starbuck) for company.