Recap 4x14: "Blood on the Scales"
Previously on Battlestar Galatica, Felix Gaeta was the most hilariously badass telephone operator in the Fleet. Oh, and he took over the ship with Zarek.
(Disclaimer: I am 150% on Team Mutiny, so this recap will probably reflect some bitterness on my part.)
Under orders from Gaeta, the CAP (Narcho and HotDog) are pursuing the Raptor in which Roslin and Baltar are fleeing. (There's some nice fighter pilot jargon in here, which I've missed.) HotDog hesitates when Roslin identifies herself--I'm not sure he's actually on Team Mutiny. Narcho, who is, tries to take them out, but misses and hits the Base Star instead, which causes the rebel cylons to freak. Roslin talks them out of running away and gets them to move the Base Star into the middle of the Fleet.
In the meantime, Tigh and Adama wake up groaning from the grenade and Kelly takes them into custody. Felix has Adama brought to the CIC, where they bare their teeth at each other again, and Adama throws his Admiral's pins at Felix. It's a nice touch that through the episode we see Felix holding the pins and pondering them, but he never puts them on. Adama: "I care too much about this ship to let it be overrun by rats."
Gaeta: "Right. If only you cared as much about the people on it."
IF ONLY HE WERE WRONG.
Felix calls for Battle Stations, but Roslin's right that he won't attack the Base Star when it's in the middle of the Fleet.
Back in the Cylon Party Room, Athena reassures Hera that her dad will be okay. (I'm not so sure; that's a pretty gnarly head wound. Plus, killing Helo would really swing the audience against the mutiny.) Caprica fusses over Tigh. Sam: "I wonder what Gaeta's gonna do."
Tigh: "In your case, cut off one of your frakkin' legs."
HEEEE.
Zarek is worried that Gaeta still hasn't killed Adama. Gaeta wants to put him on trial, and has Romo Lampkin (...ROMO!!) brought on board to be his lawyer. Although Zarek is to be the judge, which seems rather out of character for Felix, who ordinarily would want *actual* justice. Zarek (reading the list of charges): "...punishment for these crimes is death by firing squad."
Romo: "Well, I'm not a very good shot."
Zarek addresses the Quorum, praising their resistance to the Cylons. Despite that, they're apparently not quite on board with the whole idea of mutiny (whoa, since when did they grow a spine?), and Zarek has them all shot. Um, eek. Felix, quite sensibly, is shocked, and starts to realize that this is more than he signed on for. Poor Felix. You really thought you could do this without bloodshed. Gaeta: "We had the truth on our side, and now..."
Zarek: "The truth is told by whoever's left standing."
The Cylons want to run away, and tell Roslin that it's only a matter of time before the rest of the Final Five, Galactica's Cylons, and Adama are airlocked. A/R shippers wibble; Roslin starts acting like a lovesick teenager.
Tyrol manages to get into BSG's equivalent of the Jeffries Tubes. At one point he runs into Kelly, and there's a really confusing scene where they both dissolve into giggles. (Although: STOP DISSING CALLY OMG.) Mister "blow up Baltar's lawyers" Kelly suddenly seems to be having a crisis of conscience for no apparent reason.
Kara and Lee eliminate the guards outside the Cylon Party Room with some impressive badassery after Lee fakes them out with an inactivated grenade. Kara/Lee shippers squeal with glee. During the retreat, Sam gets shot. You know what, I don't care that he shot off Gaeta's leg, I felt bad here. ...For Sam, not so much for Kara. Kara: "Not funny!"
Lee: "Would have been if you'd thought of it."
Back at the Mock Trial, Zarek gets the message about the Cylon breakout, and he tells them that Tigh was killed escaping. Gaeta apologizes, but Adama clams up, and Zarek pronounces him guilty (as if it weren't a foregone conclusion). Romo: "This isn't a trial. This is an asylum."
IF ONLY HE WERE WRONG.
The wireless springs to life with the voice of Roslin. Zarek calls the CIC to get the signal jammed, but the damage has begun.
As Romo is being led through the corridors by a Marine, they come upon Kara, who's trying to drag her wounded husband to sickbay. Romo takes a page from Gaeta's book and takes the Marine down with a pen. Kara begs Romo for help, but he's ready to get the hell out of dodge. At the last minute, his humanity asserts itself and he turns back to them with a heartfelt "frak!"
Some of the Fleet have shut down their FTLs in response to Roslin. Gaeta orders the rest to prepare for departure, and Narcho to assemble an execution detail. In the Memorial Hall, Kelly has a breakdown, apparently not prepared to kill the Old Man. Lee finds him and learns where his father's being taken; Kelly joins them.
In the launch tube, a blindfolded Adama stands before a firing squad. (What's with the white cloth in his chest?) A fierce Gaeta orders the execution, and Baltar jerks awake on the Base Star, in bed with an stunningly hot brunette Six. gaeta_squee breathes a collective sigh of relief that their boy hasn't completely lost his senses. Six tries to distract Baltar in the usual way, but he has a surprising epiphany of personal responsibility. (His description of his Nymph Squad here makes me LOL.)
Roslin, with her jam-proof Cylon wireless, demands Galactica's surrender. Gaeta is in the Admiral's quarters looking pensive, but then calls the hangar deck and orders the execution. Lee and Tigh have gotten there first, and Narcho responds at gunpoint. Adama has a bromance moment with Tigh and prepares to take back his ship. Narcho: "I'm sorry, sir. I've always respected you, but I hate the Cylons, and I can't take orders from a leader who won't fight them."
(A-frakking-men.)
As Felix re-enters the CIC, Zarek is on the horn to the Base Star, telling Roslin that Tigh and Adama are both dead. Roslin throws a giant tantrum. Sorry, Roslin fans, but the "I'm coming for all of you!" made me roll my eyes. (um, eyeteeth aren't weapons, are they?)
Reports come in that the Base Star is armed. (Nice, Roslin. You'll "hide" in the Fleet so Felix won't fire on you, but *you'll* fire everything you've got, despite the civilians?) Gaeta gets the ship ready to jump away. Adama leads a steadily growing group toward CIC. The jump countdown begins. Tyrol, however, has squirreled his way to the engine room, and pulls a part out of the FTL drive with his bare hands. Zarek freaks, but Felix has had enough and yells for Weapons Hold.
Adama et al. burst onto the CIC. Felix bows his head in capitulation, and the mutineers are taken into custody. The look between Adama and Felix before he's led away breaks my heart. In the engine room, Tyrol notices a giant crack in the hull of the ship. That can't be good. Adama and Roslin have a tearful Harlequin Romance reunion, and their shippers squee. Kara/Sam shippers, meanwhile, wonder OMG what the hell is happening with Sam why don't we see him again?!?!!
Then is the scene that utterly destroyed every Gaeta fan ever. Felix and Baltar talk over coffee and cigarettes. Felix calmly reminisces about several careers he had dreamt of having. Baltar, for once, is not thinking about himself.
Gaeta: "I just hope that people realize, eventually, who I am."
Baltar: "I know who you are, Felix."
Gaeta Squeers: *sobbing in agony*
Back in the hangar deck, Zarek and Gaeta share a last look before their execution, apparently at peace with having acted according to their consciences.
Gaeta: "It stopped."
Adama: "Fire!"
Me: "FRAK FRAK FRAK FRAAAAAAAAAAK."
***
Trivia: this episode was #6 in Entertainment Weekly's top ten TV episodes of 2009, and the only BSG ep on its top 100 of all time list. \m/
The Restaurants Shaped Like Food scene was not in the original script. Alessandro Juliani and James Callis independently lobbied the writers for closure between Baltar and Gaeta. Bless their hearts.
Images from frak-that
DISCUSS!
--Were you on Team Mutiny or Team Snowflake Adama? Why? (Sorry, I didn't mean to annoy/offend people with that. Apparently I'm even more bitter than I thought.)
--What were your original thoughts (if any) on what TPTB were going for with all the emphasis on Gaeta's leg?
--What (if any) good do you think the mutiny did?
--Might Felix have been spared execution if it had been known that he had ordered the weapons hold?
--Other thoughts?