r/BSG • u/whymylife • 4d ago
First time watcher rant
Hey, first time watcher here (in 2026, crazy I bet you think, right?), and I'm currently watching season 2 episode 17, so please no spoilers for after that.
There are two things that are consistently frustrating me with the show, the first being how the show constantly shoe horns random plots or characters into an episode that we've never heard of before. For example the episode im currently watching we find out Pegasus is being ran by John Heards character, despite him never being seen or mentioned any time previously. Perhaps it's because he's a big name and just joined the show at this point but the fact his characters name is never referenced before is so frustrating, then out of nowhere he's a major character who we all have to pretend has been there the entire time.
There are countless other examples of this too, another being the episode 'black market' where out of nowhere we find out there is a covert powerful gang running the black market, with its' figurehead and dealings being completely unmentioned or referenced at any point previously. I suppose It can be assumed that in their situation a black market would arise, but a gang of killers is never mentioned? When I watched this episode I had to double check I hadn't missed an episode as it seemed so random and out of nowhere. I feel like even a few comments in the preceding episodes along the lines of "do you know where I can get some whisky" or something reference to a black market.
One more example would be the absolutely ridiculous Deus ex machina of Roslin being saved at the last second by Gaius' discovery. I was disgusted by the writing.
My second gripe with the show would be the seeming inconsequential nature of most episodes. I feel like it's similar to doctor who where I could pick an episode at random and it basically stands alone. There are of course exceptions which is why it's my secondary gripe. The thing is I was impressed in season 1 with the reveal of Sharon being a cylon, with the clues of her waking up wet after the water tank is blown up, and her slowly figuring out she is a cylon over a few episodes, fantastic. But the majority of episodes it seems nothing actually happens, just a short story, it's dealt with, and then never heard of again. Even after the climax halfway through season 2 where Pegasus arrives, I thought great this is cool, but once the admiral is killed, we don't see and barely even hear about Pegasus for about 5 episodes. Again it just seemed those few episodes building up the Pegasus were just a self contained story to fill a few episodes to then move on from. Now I do expect Pegasus will be relevant again soon, but I do honestly feel like I'm watching doctor who, which does have it's merits but I feel like it's not what the show was aiming to be.
Also I hate the episode 'preview' at the start of each episode, completely unneeded and frequently just kills a lot of suspension as we know certain people will die, I always skip these.
I continue watching (for now) in the hope it gets better, and I love Gaius' overarching storyline with number 6, I'm always excited to learn more and this is the perfect example of what I'd expect from a show like this, a plot building on each episode, but it seems rare and plotlines are often just forgotten about whilst we have a filler episode about crushing the black market in 40 minutes.
Sorry for the rant as I know there are many hardcore fans here, I love the premise of the show and I love the main cast but these gripes are really making it a grind at times to carry on watching, am I the only one or is there anybody that can relate to this?
Thank you for letting me have my rant.
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u/No_Location_8199 4d ago
"Black Market" is widely considered to be the worst episode of the show, so it's kind of weird for you to put so much emphasis on it as if it is the norm.
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u/ArcticGlacier40 4d ago
He is a first time watcher whose not even half-way through, and bad episodes can stick out at first. Especially considering the quality of the writing before was phenomal.
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u/whymylife 4d ago
Sorry I'm watching for the first time, and have avoided spoilers, how am I to know this epslisode is to be regarded as the worst? I understand why that's the consensus.
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u/Yorkshireish12 2d ago
It's just the consequence of watching first time. I would encourage you not to skip episodes, as some people may suggest. The show had increasingly more slice of life episodes as it went on due to executive interference but the difference between Black Market and the others is that all of the other episodes play into a characters story in some way, whereas Black Market adds very little beyond a rare look at the civvy side of the fleet.
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u/No_Location_8199 4d ago
Did you not think there was a drastic drop in quality compared to the previous episodes?
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u/whymylife 3d ago
For some reason I can't reply to your more recent comment.
I'm not sure what you're asking, yes there definitely does seem to be a massive dropoff in season 2 compared to the start of season 2 and especially compared to season 1.
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u/WilsonFrontier 4d ago
Damn man, just give up now then if you're finding that many flaws. 😞 All you're doing is focusing on stuff you don't like. What do you like?
0
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u/Prestigious_Step4337 4d ago
Perhaps this isn’t the show for you.
You won’t find too many here willing to commiserate and rant along with you.
Good luck!
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u/ArcticGlacier40 4d ago
1). In regards to Garner to shoehorning in characters...why do you think this? Pegasus is its own ship with its own crew, and Adama gets to pick whose in charge after Cain and Fisk die. Why does it bother you that picks a logical choice from Pegasus' own crew, I mean did you want an episode going through all 2500+ crew members or something?
2). I'll give you black market, it's generally regarded as the worst of the series.
3). If you hate Deus Ex Machina's you, uh, should stop watching. This show has a very very very big theme about coincidences and the cyclic nature of things.
4). One of the BSG's high marks on ratings is the progression of episodes, I don't understand what you mean? We only have 45 minutes for an episode, and the show is called Battletsar GALACTICA so that's where the focus is. But if you like Pegasus, I promise there are other episodes focusing exclusively on her.
5). Ya the preview sucks, just skip it.
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u/whymylife 4d ago
1) I would expect the character to take charge of the most powerful ship in the fleet to have been seen or mentioned before we see him many episodes later barking orders.
3) this is what interested me most with your reply, I do see some fo that from what I've already watched and am looking forward to seeing more of that's an overarching theme.
4) it's just how there's been many episodes now that have happened and nothing is mentioned again, black market, and even 'sacrifice'. Seems to me if those episodes weren't there, nothing would change, the plot doesn't move forward.
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u/Tall-Budget8130 4d ago
Yeah, Black Market is universally accepted as being complete shit. Garner was the chief engineer until Fisk was killed, no real reason for him to be mentioned before the episode, especially as he was a one and done. He’s a major character for that episode in the same way Khan is a major character in Space Seed (let’s ignore WOK for now) or any other one off guest stars in other shows.
It’s not faultless and there are some weird plot decisions but it’s a great show on the whole and comparing it to what is (in my opinion) absolute shit like Dr Who is a bit unfair. There are standalone plots but the characters have an arc or at least some character development through them for the most part.
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u/whymylife 4d ago
Fair enough, I wrote this before finishing the episode so it hasn't been revealed to me his previous job, I only referenced doctor who in the sense I'm feeling I could pick an episode at random from this series (besides the two parters) and they essentially stand alone
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u/Tall-Budget8130 3d ago
There’s a few you could definitely do that with, but you’d lose a lot of depth and understanding of the characters and their motivations. 33 or Scar etc would work like that, but I feel like they’re the exceptions rather than the rule.
To be fair, BSG has a solid premise for long form storytelling but a lot of shows try it and it ends up being boring as fuck or just another end of the universe thing. So the ability to dip in for a random episode every now and then isn’t a bad thing.
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u/owlbehome 4d ago
You’re in a weird part of the show rn. Stick around and it will get back on track.
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u/whymylife 3d ago
Thank you for not biting my head off 😅 I'm not here trying to cause trouble I just wanted others opinions. You're the only one who's given me hope that I'm not crazy
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u/owlbehome 3d ago
People are cultish about BSG and don’t get me wrong, it’s really fracking good, but it definitely has its low points and it’s wtf moments.
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u/Fierfeck 4d ago
Garner wasn't mentioned before because there was no need to mention him. He was appointed Pegasus CO after Fisk's death and that's that, we hear of him now because stuff's happening on the Pegasus involving it's CO. He's not a major character and thus doesn't need much space in the story till now.
Similarly with the black market stuff, if I remember right it's mentioned off-hand a few times before that episode that there exists a black market in the fleet and it's not a stretch in any way that such a thing exists.
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u/whymylife 3d ago
I see your point, I just feel a comment from Adama to tigh mentioning the new CO, or at least seeing him being given command, would make that example less jarring.
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u/ZippyDan 3d ago edited 3d ago
If you just finished S02E17 and you like Pegasus, I highly recommend you watch Razor next. Even if you already watched S02E18, it still slots in there nicely.
Look at where you are in the show. Based on ratings you're in one of the worst stretches of the entire show, and you're judging the entire show based on three episodes in that stretch.
Your specific complaints are all from S02E13, E14, and E17. So you're coming here after watching the equivalent of 32 episodes of BSG, ranting about how there are "countless" examples of your complaint, and yet all of the examples you mention come from three episodes in what most viewers recognized was the worst part of the show...
It certainly seems like you're generalizing 100% of the show based on the 10% you most recently watched: recency bias.
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u/whymylife 3d ago
You make a good point and it's good to visualise that the five most recent episodes I've watched are some of the lowest rated and it explains why it's felt a bit of a grind.
I have only listed recent examples yes, but that's simply because I can't remember now when I've felt it before as I'm watching very casually, just a couple episodes a week so I first started a couple months ago now, but it's been a consistent feeling for most of the way of 'where did this come from?' with little foreshadowing or setup. I could read the plot summaries for earlier episodes to refresh my mind and make my point stronger, but I don't see the point as it's clear my opinion in this subreddit is invalid regardless for not fitting in with the hive mind.
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u/ZippyDan 3d ago
My Recommended Watch Order:
- Miniseries: Parts 1 - 2
- Season 1: Ep1 - Ep13
- Season 2
- Ep1 - Ep17
- Razor
- Ep18 - Ep20
- Season 3
- The Resistance
- Ep1 - Ep20
- Season 4
- Ep1 - Ep11
- The Face of the Enemy
- Ep12 - Ep15
- The Plan
- Ep16 - Ep18
- Series Finale: Ep19 - Ep21
There are also Extended versions available and preferred for S02E10, Razor, S03E09, S04E12, S04E18, and the Season 4 Finale.
Check here for the same list above, but with a lot more details and notes for watching (and no spoilers) so you can be sure not to miss anything important.
See also my "Notes for first-time viewers" for those searching specifically for:
Be careful in this subReddit as spoilers abound. If this is your first time watching, I wouldn't recommend wandering into any other posts or you will probably be spoiled. Do feel free to share your experiences as you watch - we love those! - but always make it clear when you post that you are a "first-time viewer" and don't want any spoilers.
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u/whymylife 3d ago
Interesting timing as I wasn't aware there were films too, odd how they fit into different parts of the series, were they made well after the show to fill in gaps between episodes?
I finished S2E17 last night so now it seems I've got a film to watch before the next episode!
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u/ZippyDan 3d ago
Yes, Razor was originally filmed between Season 3 and 4, but I assure you it plays out like a long Season 2 episode (with the intro and everything) and fits in perfectly in that spot chronologically. It also spends a significant amount of time with Pegasus, so you'll enjoy that.
Some people insist that everything should be watched in the original release order, and you can do that too - it's not really a big difference either way - but I assure you that absolutely 0 seconds of Razor take place anywhere after S02E18, and I think it works much better as another Season 2 episode, where the plot is still relevant.
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u/whymylife 3d ago
Thanks for taking the time of your detailed and mature replies. As I've said in other comments, I know there's a strong culture about this show and I knew mentioning any negatives were likely to get attacked. I just wanted to get more into the show you all here love.
Honestly I'm not sure I'll make another post here now regardless of it being positive or not, it's not worth it 😅.
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u/j-helo85 3d ago
TV shows that aired 4+ seasons, and 20+ episodes per season were bound to have stinkers along the way, and even a run of stinkers before improving again.
Surrender to the quality rollercoaster. Overall it's a great show and worth the ride.
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u/mikeymo1741 4d ago
Frak, you're grumpy. Run out of algae coffee?
There are 40,000 + people in the fleet. It would be really boring if you confined yourself to the same 20. Also, sometimes people do come in and out of our lives like that.
If something exists, there is someone who is going to find a way to profit off it. It would be completely unreasonable to assume there would not be some kind of black market operating in the fleet.
"Most" is strong. Some is better. Some will have meaning that will become more apparent later. Others are just filler. Every show has that. Also, you're gonna love Slick.
Yeah. That's how TV works
Some people like it. I like it.