I'm not denying the temper; I totally buy that hidden simmering rage thing Lee's got going.
It's not that you weren't clear, really. I actually don't believe that Lee has hidden simmering rage in general. I know lots of people do, but I don't. He gets angry for specific reasons, when people have hurt him by a particular action or betrayed his trust, not just at random. That's what makes his showing that anger on occasion (including CD) not OOC to me.
(Of course, it's usually Starbuck who covers her fears and insecurities with anger and recklessness, and the picking of fights. They still seem to be a bit in role reversal mode from HoG: This time it's Lee being all angry and impulsive and Kara being somewhat reflective and rational with regards to Valance/Zarek. Not that she has as much emotional involvement in the scenario.)
Well, but how is Lee shown to not be "rational" re: Valence and Zarek? He doesn't hit Valence, he doesn't hurt him at all. All he does is play Super Bad Cop to Starbuck's Bad Cop. She's quieter, but she says things that are equivalent to what he says. They're in sync, one making the guy feel like one of them is a little bit "nicer" and the other making sure he knows he's ready to kick his ass. So I don't see either Lee being irrational (which implies he's lost his ability to interpret facts objectively, which he has not)--he's the one leading the effort to figure out what Valence and Zarek are up to).
I still argue that even when he's been provoked to anger in the past, he's not "mean" about it. He says things to make a point, as part of the argument, not just to get a dig in--which is fitting to his usual role as the "talk-about-it, think-about-it" guy. The "You're people. Sort of." remark seemed deliberately inflammatory.
Again, I guess I just see it differently. The Zarek supporter was spoiling for a fight. Lee just didn't do anything to avoid one. I don't see that as either being "mean" or "picking" the fight. THe guy had thrown insults at Lee, Lee responded in kind. It's obvious he's fed up with Zarek's lies and with his fellow travelers like that particular guy, who had already roughed up a dissenter earlier that day.
For me, Lee's actions, while a definite display of anger, were nothing more than venting. The Zarek bully wanted a confrontation and he got one. It was fueled by Lee's resentment over how Zarek has ruined Lee's efforts to give him a chance and find a third way between his dad and Roslin, sure, but other than that I don't see it as being about Angry!Lee. He just finally said what he really thought, and decided that if that led to a fight with a bully, he was fine with that. It probably made him feel better in terms of venting.
And given how that guy acted like he could impose his views on everyone else and the contempt he express towards Lee specifically, it didn't seem "mean" to me. It's the guy who picks the fight by getting personal and inflammatory with Lee right off the bat, actually. Besides, they both already knew they'd be trading punches by that point, so that's Apollo doing some trash talk. I liked it, personally. ;)
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It's not that you weren't clear, really. I actually don't believe that Lee has hidden simmering rage in general. I know lots of people do, but I don't. He gets angry for specific reasons, when people have hurt him by a particular action or betrayed his trust, not just at random. That's what makes his showing that anger on occasion (including CD) not OOC to me.
(Of course, it's usually Starbuck who covers her fears and insecurities with anger and recklessness, and the picking of fights. They still seem to be a bit in role reversal mode from HoG: This time it's Lee being all angry and impulsive and Kara being somewhat reflective and rational with regards to Valance/Zarek. Not that she has as much emotional involvement in the scenario.)
Well, but how is Lee shown to not be "rational" re: Valence and Zarek? He doesn't hit Valence, he doesn't hurt him at all. All he does is play Super Bad Cop to Starbuck's Bad Cop. She's quieter, but she says things that are equivalent to what he says. They're in sync, one making the guy feel like one of them is a little bit "nicer" and the other making sure he knows he's ready to kick his ass. So I don't see either Lee being irrational (which implies he's lost his ability to interpret facts objectively, which he has not)--he's the one leading the effort to figure out what Valence and Zarek are up to).
I still argue that even when he's been provoked to anger in the past, he's not "mean" about it. He says things to make a point, as part of the argument, not just to get a dig in--which is fitting to his usual role as the "talk-about-it, think-about-it" guy. The "You're people. Sort of." remark seemed deliberately inflammatory.
Again, I guess I just see it differently. The Zarek supporter was spoiling for a fight. Lee just didn't do anything to avoid one. I don't see that as either being "mean" or "picking" the fight. THe guy had thrown insults at Lee, Lee responded in kind. It's obvious he's fed up with Zarek's lies and with his fellow travelers like that particular guy, who had already roughed up a dissenter earlier that day.
For me, Lee's actions, while a definite display of anger, were nothing more than venting. The Zarek bully wanted a confrontation and he got one. It was fueled by Lee's resentment over how Zarek has ruined Lee's efforts to give him a chance and find a third way between his dad and Roslin, sure, but other than that I don't see it as being about Angry!Lee. He just finally said what he really thought, and decided that if that led to a fight with a bully, he was fine with that. It probably made him feel better in terms of venting.
And given how that guy acted like he could impose his views on everyone else and the contempt he express towards Lee specifically, it didn't seem "mean" to me. It's the guy who picks the fight by getting personal and inflammatory with Lee right off the bat, actually. Besides, they both already knew they'd be trading punches by that point, so that's Apollo doing some trash talk. I liked it, personally. ;)