The Miniseries: The Recap (Gaius/Six focused)

Cross-posted at BSG: The Journey Home - a Gaius/Six rewatch community.

I was told to write a brief and concise recap, and I have a feeling this isn't quite it. I cannot write brief. I tried not to try to be funny or insightful and just write down my observations, because I hate overdone recaps. I just briefly skimmed thru the scenes with others, and wrote down the gist of it, but I haven't deep-analyzed them. And really, I tried to not deep-analyze the Six/Gaius scenes either, so there'd be something left to discuss. I might not have time to post anything else until the weekend, but you know, discuss. I'll be back.

A Six - not Caprica - walks in wearing a red jacket and skirt. The man clearly doesn't know what to think. A human being with the cylons? "Are you alive?" the Six asks the man as she leans over to him. "Y-yes," the man stammers. "Prove it," Six whispers and they kiss. Suddenly a cylon baseship attacks the ship the guy's on. "It's begun," Six says. Any shippers for these lovebirds?

-Elsewhere: credits. JAMES CALLIS and TRICIA HELFER, most notably. Old rusty Battlestar Galactica is retiring, and so is old rusty Bill Adama. Tyrol and his men have found Adama's old plane and a picture of him with his sons. He is touched. Starbuck and Tigh get into a fight, and Starbuck gets sent into the brig. Bill and Saul talk about Starbuck; Bill likes her, Saul does not. In CAPRICA CITY, CAPRICA, Laura Roslin gets the diagnosis for advanced (breast) cancer. Next we see her on a plane with PA Billy. She hides her feelings and only allows herself to fall apart a little in the bathroom.-

Caprica Six walks through the market place in Caprica City. She stops to look at a little baby boy. The proud mother lets her hold him, and she says, "So light.. so fragile..." all creepily. The baby cries a little, and Six tells him, "You won't have to cry much longer", which seems pretty ominous. The mother picks up on this and tells her they should be going. Six observes how surprising it is that the fragile neck can carry such a heavy head, and the mom looks creeped out, but as she looks away for a moment, Six snaps said fragile neck. Six walks away very fast, and as we hear the mother scream, Six's eyes fill with tears. Our first tip that she's not all machine.

The first time we see Gaius Baltar, he's sitting in front of his TV, which is apparently an interactive one, giving an interview. His house looks very stylish and very, very expensive. Notably, he's wearing the same outfit HeadBaltar wears - the pin-striped black suit that makes him look very dapper. The embodiment of arrogance, he smarmily compliments the host. Asked about his views on technology, he explains that the cylon threat is long gone and fear shouldn't hamper the development of new technology. This is all very ironic, but he doesn't know it yet.

Six comes in, notably NOT wearing a red dress. She lays her handbag - or suitcase? It's metal but looks light - on a desk. She looks at Baltar across the room with adoration.

And they're at it. This first sex scene was the first thing they filmed, and while they're doing a good job, I do seem to sense some awkwardness (particularly from James, who had less experience with being naked on camera). It's not something that particularly bugs me, though; it's easy to imagine that, after all their time together, Baltar still finds Six's immense physical power both a turn-on and a bit scary. How many women can throw their man onto the bed like that?

Before they get that far, though, Six stops to ask if Gaius missed him - maybe his body did, but did his heart and soul? "Do you love me, Gaius?" The answer is obvious as Gaius stops in his tracks, horrified. Six saves face by claiming she was only kidding, and Gaius is visibly relieved. He probably thinks they'll be laughing at this five years from now when they're no longer exclusively seeing each other. As they make love, Six's spine starts to glow. "I'm so hot, Gaius," she moans. I'll say.

-Elsewhere: Lee Adama arrives on Galactica and is arrogant and rude. Tyrol and Boomer get into an argument, which leads to sex. Lee Adama has no respect for his Daddy.-

Back in the market place, Gaius and Six are walking together. Gaius arrogantly smokes a cigarette and then arrogantly tells her his program has been a success. (Actually, just assume he does everything arrogantly until Six tells him the truth.) Six points out that she deserves a little credit too. "I rewrote half your algorithms," she reminds him. He admits to this, but says she benefited too: "all that poking in the defense mainframe" will further her career. Dun dun dun!

Six says she has a meeting, and Gaius jokes he's very jealous. "I doubt it," says Six in a voice that suggests she's not completely joking. Gaius says he must go anyway. "I have a meeting too - business," he quickly adds. I'm sure. He walks away, and Six turns to meet SOMEONE or SOMETHING. "About time," she says. "I was wondering when you'd get here."

-Elsewhere: Laura Roslin and Billy get on board. Billy gets lost and meets Dualla. Roslin and Adama get into a little spat over technology (Roslin for, Adama against). Lee and Kara have a heart to heart. You can tell they're going to fall for each other. -

Gaius' house, night time. Six is sitting in a chair in the darkness of his bedroom. "Gaius," she says softly. Then louder: "Gaius!" Gaius sits up in the bed, as does a brunette. Oops. She asks who Six is. "Get out," Six tells her in a chilly voice. Gaius, unable to look either woman in the eye, babbles that Six is just a friend - then adds, "Well, more than a friend.. when I say friend..." Hee. It's all very feeble.

Six has no time for this: "Get out. Now." Her tone is creepy. Gaius sheepishly looks at the woman and she storms out. When she's gone, he starts to get dressed while giving Six his very weak "it's not you, it's me" speech: "It's a flaw in my character, one which I'm trying to overcome..." He still can't look at her. Six tells him to spare her from his excuses; she has come to tell him something. She's calm, despising and kinda scary, but as the camera zooms in on her eyes, we see she's fighting back tears.

-Elsewhere: Lee Adama still doesn't like his Daddy. Bill Adama blames himself for the death of his other son. Lee also blames him for it.-

Dawn is breaking as Six and Gaius are having their heart-to-heart. Gaius is mocking and disbelieving, but it seems like deep down he believes her. Six says she's a woman. Gaius, despisingly: "You're a synthetic woman. A robot." Six points out she's repeated it a few times, and Gaius says he doesn't believe her, because cylons are supposed to look like "walking chrome toasters". This is the first time cylons are referred to as toasters. Six says calmly that those models are still in use.

"Prove it!" Gaius says. Six says he believes her, because he's always known there was something different about her. "And you believe me because it flatters your ego, to believe that alone among all the billions of people of the twelve Colonies, you were chosen for my mission..." She says this in a mocking tone, like she enjoys her grip over him. Gaius is all "Mission?!", and she has to remind him about the defense main frame.

For a moment, Gaius looks like a scared child again, staring off into space. But it doesn't take too long for him to start washing his hands: "This had nothing to do with me!" Six, calm and composed, finds time to marvel at his skill for self-deception. "How do you do it?" she asks teasingly. Gaius points out that he might be facing death penalty for treason. Six doesn't seem too concerned for him. He takes the phone to call his attorney, but she tells him it won't be necessary: "There won't be anyone left to charge you with anything." Gaius just stares at her. "The children of humanity are returning home. Tonight." Gaius lays down the phone as he realizes what this means. A light flashes in the horizon.

-Elsewhere: There's a ceremony on Galactica. Bill Adama ad libs some of his speech, and it's clearly about him and Lee. Lee is touched.-

Gaius is watching three channels at once, all reporting the same thing: the cylon attack is underway. As each channel goes blank, he looks completely devastated. "What have I done? What will I do now? There's no way out." He hangs his head and cries. Six looks on with what seems like genuine compassion. Gaius realizes she hasn't made any plans to get away. "How are you leaving?" he demands. The bright light of a nuke meets his eye and he screams like a child. There's something amusing about that, even if I might do the same in that situation. Six sadly tells him she can't die; she'll be downloaded. "I'll just wake up somewhere else in an identical body." Gaius asks if there are more like her out there. "There are twelve models. I'm number six," Six tells him and the viewers. "I don't want to die," Gaius cries in panic. "Get down!" Six shouts and covers him as the nuke hits the house.

-Adama receives word about the cylon attack. Boomer and Helo are attacked and their plane is damaged. Lots and lots of SPACE BATTLES take place. Laura Roslin takes over Colonial One.-

Helo and Boomer have landed their broken plane on Caprica. Helo's watching mushroom clouds in the horizon and counts that he's seen six now. Just as Boomer gets it fixed, a bunch of people come running, among them one Gaius Baltar. He trips over and falls, and someone seems to walk all over him, but he gets up all determined.

-Elsewhere: Lee Adama and Aaron Doral meet on Colonial One. Lee is still arrogant.-

Helo and Boomer try to keep the people out, saying it's not a rescue ship. The crowd demands that children at least get on board, and they oblige. They have room for three more people after that. Gaius, among others, quickly raises his arm. He's all about survival still, so I don't think the guilt has fully hit him. Boomer says they will make lottery tickets and draw three numbers. Completely unbiased decision. People agree to this.

-Elsewhere: Space fighting takes place.-

Later on, the third number is called, and it's 47. Gaius does not have the winning ticket. An old woman next to him asks what her paper reads. Of course, it reads 47, and Gaius gives her a shifty look that suggests he might consider cheating. Suddenly Helo calls out, "Aren't you Gaius Baltar?" Gaius quickly responds with, "I haven't done anything!", which would make me very suspicious, but doesn't seem to affect Helo. Gaius tells everyone the woman has the winning number and gallantly walks her across the crowd. Helo decides to give up his seat for Gaius, because the fleet can use his brilliant mind. Boomer resist, almost in tears. "Look at those clouds and tell me this isn't the end of everything," Helo says. Boomer agrees, but kind of angrily. Gaius is very quick to get into the ship before anyone changes their mind. As he gets on, he sees HeadSix in the crowd for the first time, glowing in her red dress. But when he looks back, there's only a ratty old man there.

-Elsewhere: Colonial One receives word that President Adar and the cabinet are all dead, and Laura Roslin has to step in as president. Laura says to Lee she never wanted to be in politics. She takes her vows, first with a trembling voice, then more stern. Lots of press record the moment.
A random kid named Boxey talks to Boomer, who says she also lost her parents when she was little.-

On the ship, Gaius sees HeadSix again. She's glowing and tells him this is why she loves him: "You're a survivor." She disappears as Gaius shakes his head. This won't work for much longer. Gaius looks overcome by guilt and shame again, and he hangs his head.


Gaius gets on board Colonial One. Boomer's talking to Lee as we see him stepping out of the plane. Boomer says Helo gave up his seat for Gaius, "I hope he's worth it!" she snaps loud enough for him to hear. Gaius looks at her with a cute "what did I do NOW?" expression. Lee tells Gaius that the president has asked to see him. "President Adar is alive?" Gaius says, freaked out. You can tell he thinks he's survived only to get sentenced to death. Lee tells him there's a new president, and Gaius is relieved.

President Laura Roslin is happy to see Gaius. How many times was Laura actually happy to see him? Maybe we should count them. She tells him they met last year. Gaius stammers that he's not good at remembering faces, but Laura doesn't get offended: "I wouldn't remember me either." She gets back to business and tells Gaius she wants him to be her scientific advisor in all matters cylon.

-Leoben Conoy is found hiding somewhere in the storage rooms. He's all kinds of creepy. -

Six appears again as Gaius is working on some papers. He tries to ignore her, but she tells him it won't help. He says he's decided she's just a part of his subconscious trying to deal with all this. Sounds like a nice scientific explanation, and typical of him. "So I'm... only in your head?" Six asks flirtily. She torments him by asking, "Have you considered the possibility that I might very well be only in your head without being a hallucination?" She suggests the cylons implanted a chip in his head - a theory we now know to be false, but it's a nice little mindfrak. Gaius looks like he's horrified, but tries to play it cool.

Six asks what he's working on. gaius snaps, "If you're in my head, you know." "Indulge me," Six says sexily, but at the same time, kinda scarily. Gaius says he's trying to figure out how the cylons got to the colonial defense programs. He says it was Six's work, and Six admits to this. She says she had other motives than being programmed: "What I want most of all is for you to love me. Don't you know - God is love?" She leans in to kiss him... and then he yells "NO!" and she's gone. I had forgotten how she kept disappearing in these first scenes. I'm kind of glad she didn't later on. I think their interactions are more interesting when he's tormented by her presence, but also likes her being there, as his only ally.

-Elsewhere: Leoben and Adama somehow manage to get stuck in the gutter together. Leoben is still being all kinds of weird and Adama gets suspicious. Laura Roslin has to make her first decision as president and let some people die, including a cute little girl. She feels burdened by her responsibility.-

Billy Keikeya shows Gaius to the CIC. He stops to ask Dualla for directions. Dualla leans over and kisses him passionately, which is a surprise to both guys. Gaius gives Billy a very comical look. "Really? This guy?" he seems to be thinking. I bet he has a newfound respect for Billy.

-Tyrol kisses Boomer with much passion and relief. Boomer has apparently adopted Boxey. Whatever. There's some more Kara/Lee, but we're ignoring that, right? Adama figures out Leoben is a cylon, and he tries to deny it, but he's looking like the living dead so it's pretty obvious. -

This is an important scene, because it's the first one between Gaius and Felix Gaeta. It's also the first time Gaius has to talk to a "real" person and ignore HeadSix. So we're setting up two series-long themes here.

Technobabble: the cylons implanted a virus into the colonial defense system, thus disabling them. Gaeta tells Gaius that Galactica is not in any networks, and Gaius thinks this will protect the ship from any harm. Still, he wants to test the systems. He's putting on his arrogant face again and acting very important.

Gaeta wants to linger a bit longer and stops to say, compassionately, that this must be so hard for Gaius. Unfortunately, Gaius has no idea what he's talking about. "The guilt?" Gaeta tries. Six appears and leans in to say, "I remember you telling me once that guilt is something small people feel when they run out of excuses for their behavior." I love that quote. Very Baltar. Gaius tries very hard to not look freaked out by Six, but you can see him jolt in horror. He tells Gaeta, in the same tone he used with Six earlier when he talked about this flaw in his character: "It is...hard... I feel... responsible... in a way...for what happened..."

Six tells Gaius she loves him precisely because he doesn't feel guilty: "You have a clarity of spirit. You're not burdened by conscience, or guilt, or regret..." I'm intrigued by this quote, but we can discuss it more later. Gaeta warmly tells him not to beat himself up: "It's not like you knew what they were doing." Gaius rolls his eyes to signal he couldn't know, one of those hilarious looks he has. Six torments him, her tone going from amused, to angry, to seductive:

"It's not like you knew you were lying... It's not like you were breaking the law... It's not like you cheat on women...It's not like the world's coming apart and all you could think of was Gaius Baltar."
She sits on the console, almost into his lap.

As Six strokes his hair, Gaius is clearly trying to keep his thoughts clear while his libido is winning: "No, I know... exactly what you're saying... I know." Gaeta looks at him nonplussed and then leaves. Is he a little disappointed in his hero already? Or did this meeting make him all the more fascinated with this brilliant yet weird man? Discuss.

Six is enjoying this and tells Gaius, "I really hope you make it out of this alive. I think we could have a real future together." He says bitterly, "That would be special," and Six takes offense at his tone. She says he's all sarcastic when she's helping him. Gaius asks how she's helping, so she demonstrates by turning his head into the right direction. Turns out there's a cylon device between two consoles. That's what she had in her suitcase in the earlier scenes, as a flashback shows us. Gaius says she told him it was an electronic organizer. "That would be a lie," whispers Six. I'm not sure how their electronic organizers look, but come on. It looks like a set of speakers to me. Gaius realizes what this means - there's another cylon on Galactica.

Gaius goes in for a closer look, trying hard to appear casual as he goes around and round the computers. Gaeta walks by and taps his shoulder - shippers, take note - and asks if everything's going ok. Gaius says he's just going to check one more time that the computers are fine. As he gets back into his chair, Six shows up again and Gaius tells him she's not helping. He asks what the device is for, and she pretends (?) she doesn't know. He says he needs to warn the others. She ad libs a whole conversation between him and the Galactica crew, ending with "I forgot to mention I'm familiar with their technology because I've slept with a cylon for the last two years." She's really enjoying this. Gaius says he'll think of something.

Six - or Gaius, depending on how you interpret HeadSix - has a one-track mind and puts her hand down his pants, causing much pleasure. Just as Gaius cocks his head back and moans, Aaron Doral shows up with a list of ships who use his program. It takes Gaius quite a while to recover. Doral asks, "Are you OK? You look a little flushed." Gaius snaps that he's OK and Doral wanders off to do whatever he's supposedly doing on that ship. He seems very suspicious now that I know he's a cylon.

Gaius has thought of something, i.e. lying that Doral is a cylon. He's an easy suspect since he's been walking around the ship unwatched, yet he's an outsider. "I don't remember seeing him in any cylon parties", Six says. That's the same line Cavil used on Chief Tyrol when he was suspecting he's a cylon. I guess it's safe to assume that this joke means the person IS a cylon. Gaius notes there is a problem. "Morally?" Six mocks. "Practically," Gaius says and looks at her sternly. How will they reveal that "cylons look like us now", without getting him caught?

-Elsewhere: Leoben Conoy's body is carried away. Tigh is horrified that "the cylons look like us now". Well, that takes care of that problem. Tigh says anyone could be a cylon, which is very ironic for obvious reasons. Tigh tells Adama Lee is alive. Lee and Adama meet and hug, realizing they only have each other now. They tear up. -

Tigh, Adama and Gaius are in Adama's quarters having a very confidential meeting. Tigh says Leoben had everything a human body has. Gaius tries hard to look horrified and shocked, and adds that there were synthetic compounds found during the cremation. "So he was a cylon?" he says, feigning disbelief (very poorly). Adama and Tigh tell him they need him. "Word has it you're a genius," Tigh says. Gaius has to restrain a big smile and is obviously trying to come up with some modest way of agreeing. He settles for "I'll do my best, Commander." Adama and Tigh are very calm and matter-of-fact and a stark contrast to Gaius' eye-bulging. How do they not suspect something? They tell him to keep it under his hat. "I'll be very discreet," Gaius promises.

-Elsewhere: Starbuck is sent on a mission. She tells Lee that his dead brother should have failed his pilot's test, but Starbuck let him thru because they were a couple.-

Doral is very discreetly arrested in the hallway by a bunch of armed guards.

Brig. Doral's already in handcuffs, shouting protests at them. Tigh asks why he isn't sick from radiation, like Leoben was. Gaius says that it must take effect slowly. Tigh asks if he's sure, and Gaius looks so obviously guilty you'd think Tigh can see right thru him. To his credit, Tigh does look pretty suspicious, but that could just be his usual "I hate people" look. Gaius babbles some nonsense about how he analyzed Doral's hair and it had synthetic fibres. He's clearly made it all up, but he does have it on paper in case Tigh should want evidence. "I'll take your word for it," grumps Tigh who couldn't care less about science. This is probably what Gaius was counting on. Six appears, clapping her hands: "And just like that, Dr Baltar invents the AMAZING cylon detector!" It's hard to tell if she's mocking or admiring, or both at the same time.

Tigh says everyone on board has to be tested. As he's already leaving, Gaius turns back as if he just now remembered that Doral seemed.. very interested.. in this strange device in the CIC. He's actually lying uncharacteristically well here, acting like he's not sure if he should even be saying this. Six ties her arms around him like a snake and says admiringly that his brain should be tested. Doral acts like he has no idea what this is about, so he's either a good liar or a sleeper agent. Gaius casts nervous glances at him. I maintain he's feeling guilty, but my girlfriend thought it's just fear of being found out.

-Elsewhere: the device is taken down. Tigh blames himself for not noticing it, and tells Gaeta to take the device to Baltar for testing.
Adama shows up at Roslin's quarters. He wants to stay to fight the war. Roslin tells him that there are only 50 000 people left alive, and they need to escape the cylons and make babies to survive. When Adama hears how many cylon fleets there are waiting for them, he decides they will all jump away and escape like Roslin suggested. The only "person" left behind: Aaron Doral.

SPACE BATTLES are fought.

Adama lies to people that they're going to find Earth, even if he doesn't even believe Earth exists. People say "So say we all" a lot.

Tigh and Starbuck talk. Tigh admits she was brave in combat, and apologizes to her, even if it seems to require a lot of him. Starbuck tells him he's weak, and a drunk. Harsh.

Adama tells Roslin that sometimes you need to lie so people can have hope and survive.-

Gaius is walking down the corridor, HeadSix at his heels. She tells him cylons will get them, and informs him about sleeper agents. Gaius says they will find the cylons among them. "We? You are not on their side, Gaius," Six tells him, but he's not fazed. For the first time, Gaius turns to face her with a stern look, controlling the situation. "I am NOT on anybody's side," he says and just walks away, leaving HeadSix to stand and think, as if she's a separate character outside of him. Which I guess she was. Awesome.

-Adama finds a note saying "There are only twelve cylon models." Doral really IS a cylon. So is Boomer. I'm sure you're all very surprised at this point.-

First Reactions: "Blood on the Scales"

OK, I just saw this episode and am very moved. I'm going to start with all the negative, pissy things that bugged me about this episode, and move on to the great things that really left me moved. I will reveal everything major that happens in the episode, so if you haven't seen it, be warned, or be spoiled.

Pissy, angry and very frustrated notes

Firstly, the editing choices in this episode were completely botched in my opinion. I get that they shot a lot of scenes and some had to be left in the cutting table, but did we really need to see that many scenes with people shooting guns? Seriously, this kind of thing is below the show. Some action is fine, but so much of it just makes for a chaotic, sub-par episode. Lee killing a guy with a pen? Romo going all action hero? Halfway thru I was going "OMG, this is the worst episode ever!!" I don't think so anymore, because of the ending, but I give a big minus for the editing of most scenes in this episode. Also: a lot of what was cut was Baltar's story on the baseship. OF COURSE. Gigantic eye-roll.

Secondly, not just one but TWO scenes where Adama is almost executed - except not. Argh! We knew you wouldn't kill him, OK? Either have the guts to actually do it, or don't show any scenes like that at all. This show is smarter than this.

Thirdly, and this goes a bit deeper. I used to like Laura Roslin. A lot. I admired her when I was watching season one. I thought her position as the president - against her own will and completely suddenly - was touching and powerfully played by McDonnell. I think there are still great moments (The Hub) but I must say that during the last few seasons, I've generally come to hate her. In tonight's episode, she showed that nothing matters to her but Bill Adama. Not the deaths of innocent people. Not the security of the cylons they've allied with. Not peace. Just Bill Adama. Maybe I should be saying how human this is and how it's credible that she'd react this way, but what kind of selfish leader only cares about her love and not about the people?

The mutiny is not about Bill and Laura. It's about peace in the fleet. It's about people having to come to terms with the cylons somehow, when they're used to fleeing them and hating them - and this is a valid concern, by the way. Because, while there may be a lot of racism there, it's also very hard to kiss and make up when the cylons destroyed your home planet and everyone on it. Bill and Laura should have given a lot more thought to this. They should have listened to the people a lot more. They should have realized that just because they had a change of heart, it doesn't automatically produce a change of heart in all of the people in the fleet. For this, I think both are pretty bad leaders. Or at least used-to-be-good leaders who let their power go to their heads and became tyrants.

But you know what? This is still all good in some way, because a lot of viewers will disagree with me. I have a right to read Adama and Roslin this way, and their fans have a right to read them the opposite way, just like some people hate and despise Gaius, while I love him despite his flaws and mistakes (and partially because of them). Not everyone is going to agree about Adama and Roslin, and on some level, I think this still goes back to the greatness of this show - the fact that no character is perfect, not even the heroes.

But. There is someone I've hated throughout the show and still hate, and that is Tom Zarek. And this is something I only realized tonight: I hate him because the show wants me to. He has always, without fail, been written as a complete scoundrel with no redeeming qualities. He has no family, no lover, no faith in anything, no real backstory. He's just a rebel for the sake of being a rebel; he's willing to execute the entire quorum simply because they called him vice-president. He's an evil cackling villain for no reason at all. What baffles me is that both Michael Angeli and Richard Hatch said he's not a villain. What is he then? Who is Tom Zarek?

You can say what you want about Gaius Baltar being a coward, a liar, a nymphomaniac, an abuser of various substances, a weakling who will always run away from his guilt (although I am intrigued to see if he will change now). You'd be right. But he's a character with a soul. He does feel guilt. He does feel empathy - in this episode alone, he had empathy for his cult AND Gaeta. And whatever you may say, he never meant anyone any harm.

No, Baltar is not the villain of this show. Tom Zarek is. And they gave Zarek no redeeming qualities. And in a show like this that is otherwise so good, this is just lazy writing. He could have been an intelligent critic to Adama and Roslin, a true voice of resistance, but he wasn't. Epic fail.

I'm torn about Adama shooting Gaeta in cold blood. Zarek, sure - he "executed" the quorum and he's tried to sabotage the fleet so many times, he deserves to go just for the history alone. But Gaeta? From a storytelling point of view, this was a powerful way to kill him. But from the point of view of Adama's character? They were once friends. Gaeta worked for him for so long. Now he questions Adama's authority and deserves to die? I really don't know. I wish Adama at least had some remorse over it, or questioned the decision. But he probably won't.

One more brief note - why would you bring back Romo only to butcher the character? Argh. "Don't let your pride get in the way" was good. The running around with a gun and almost not stopping for Starbuck and Anders? Not good. At all. I like Romo, the way he was in Crossroads, but if they're going to write him like this episode and Sine Qua Non, just stop writing him.

Awed, excited and very positive notes
(yes, you guessed it, mostly about James Callis.)

It was nice to see Tory Foster again, taking a lead in the cylon fleet. She's been sadly ignored throughout the season, but I like that she, unlike the other final four, stayed with the cylons. However, I was hoping she'd say something back to Laura about that "wider view" on things - Laura only seems to care about Adama herself. Gaius, on the other hand, was talking back to Roslin, which was awesome.

I enjoyed seeing random Sixes again - when was the last time we did? One possible one in Sometimes a Great Notion. And even if I'm still mad for the miniscule role of Caprica Six lately, it was nice to see her carrying Hera and saying, "I can take care of myself!" It really felt like, in today's episode, the cylons were back. I've missed seeing Tricia, and I hope we'll see a lot more of her yet.

I feel like saying something very mad about still not having any Gaius/Head Six scenes, but the sexy and beautiful scenes with the random six on the baseship almost made it up for me. James and Tricia together again! Squee! I say almost, because I would have liked to see a LOT more of it, to make sense of it and give it more space. But the baseship with its flickering, streaming colors is always beautiful to me, and Tricia with brown hair usually looks more beautiful to me than with blonde hair - it is her natural color after all. They definitely should have had more long-haired Sixes on the show. So beautiful. As always, her tenderness with Gaius was touching. What is the attraction between Gaius and the sixes? It was nice to see Gaius interact with a cylon again, and as usual, it seems to make him search his soul. And this was the first scene in the episode that didn't feel rushed or chaotic. It was calm, it was about the characters - it made me feel like maybe this episode isn't so bad after all. Great acting from both James and Tricia, and their chemistry together never fails.

After a nightmare about Adama being executed, Gaius wakes up to feel guilty for leaving the cult - for running again, not even for fear this time, which seems to make him feel worse, as if fear somehow makes it OK. He ran because he didn't appreciate the cult - something you could plainly see, but it's still nice to hear him admit it to someone. I think that, on a deeper level, it's his guilt for failing Gaeta so many times; his guilt for running away from responsibility all those years and not admitting to his role in the attacks; his guilt for Gina and New Caprica... Well, he has a lot on his conscience. It's possible that the brown-haired Six reminds him of Gina, which brings up painful feelings of both loss and guilt.

Finally he takes responsibility for something or someone - if only for the cult, which I hope won't have a big role in the last episodes (I hope for more Gaius/cylons). Is this what James meant about Gaius finally growing up? Some people are already saying he won't be fun to watch anymore, but I wouldn't necessarily take this to mean that Gaius will be a complete hero who never lies again, etc. He's got a lot of work to do to become a hero - or even "a good person". Even if he became a boring goodie-goodie, I think James would bring the funny somehow. And suggest scenes that subvert the goodness.

A slightly negative side note.
The scene is edited a bit awkwardly, so that you can't see Gaius' naked chest, and I have to wonder if it's because James was so sick and emaciated while doing these episodes (he had a stomach parasite). I knew about it and thought I'd be prepared, but my heart just sinks when I see it. His thinness has never bugged me, because it's always seemed so natural for him. But this time it's just... different. There's some fundamental difference between being thin because you're sick and just naturally looking that way. And his eyes... just don't look right. They look miserable and in pain. I'm glad to know that he's better now and that it's not something serious that still affects him. He's a good guy and deserves to feel good. *fangirl sniffle*

However, his acting is still as good as ever. The following scene made me forget all about his illness, because it was so frakking amazing.

"I know who you are Felix."
This scene was so powerful, perhaps the most powerful scene so far in 4.5, at least for me. Both James and Alessandro do a lot here with just a look. Before being executed (sniff!!), Gaeta sits with Gaius. They smoke, drink coffee and talk. This scene was in the previews, and I think I misread it as Gaius being in jail and Gaeta coming to see him, when it's really the other way around. What can I say - it feels weird to see Gaius on the side of the "good guys" and Gaeta on the side of the "bad guys", although my sympathy for Gaeta never stopped throughout the mutiny. I think he genuinely wanted to bring peace to the fleet, Zarek just had his own agenda, as usual.

Gaius: Felix..
Gaeta: What? And please, no religion.
Gaeta's eyes: It's OK, Gaius. I'm going to die, but somehow this was all worth it.
Gaius' eyes: I always failed you. This could have been avoided if it weren't for me. I'm so sorry.

We already knew he'd say "I know who you are Felix" - I half hoped for him to say more, but rewatching it, maybe it's best left like this. Gaius says very little, but his eyes talk a lot. This is Gaeta's big scene, his final one before he dies - and yet it's also a big scene for Gaius. I love that the stories of these two men have always been somehow intertwined. If you read Gaeta as being in love with Gaius - and as we know now, AJ totally meant to play it that way - this scene is also a bittersweet goodbye between him and the man he loved. There's nothing sexual about it per se, but there is a tenderness to how Gaeta talks to Gaius, how he still, on some level, seems to admire him as a scientist (if no longer as a person).

The execution scene. The silence - the look between Gaeta and Zarek, and then -

"It stopped."

The pain in his leg? The restlessness in his soul? That was just beautiful.

I will miss Gaeta a lot, but I feel like he was given a worthy sendoff. I'm very sad to see him go, yet very happy with how it was done.

Alessandro Juliani - thank you for giving us Gaeta. You touched us, and you made your character alive. I hope to see you soon in other roles that are worthy of your talent.

First Reactions: "A Disquiet Follows My Soul"

(I know I'm two weeks late with this, but I still haven't rewatched the episode, so these are my first reactions.)

All in all, I thought this episode was classic BSG. I'm not fond of CIC scenes, but I realized I had missed them. The show was well paced and competently written, which can't be said for some of the other season 4 episodes. I think Ron Moore as a writer makes a world of difference. I can understand the value of a quiet build-up episode, but on the other hand, you only have eight episodes to go, so something definite could have happened. This was my biggest disappointment with the episode: that basically nothing new happened. There could have been way more discussion of the revelations in Sometimes a Great Notion. I can't believe they didn't mention any of those again.

Doc Cottle is back! I love him and his grumpy, inappropriate, chain-smoking ways.
Nurse: "That's a lot of smoking around a pregnant woman."
Cottle: "She'll live."
Hee! Cottle, how I love thee! Besides, I'm sure cylon fetuses can handle a little cigarette smoke. They can cure cancer, after all.

Mixed feelings about Caprica-Six/Tigh. On the one hand, it was a very sweet scene and we got Caprica's reaction to her pregnancy! On the other hand - noooo this is so wrong this should be Baltar's child! Baltar and Caprica 4evah!

I was hoping we'd get some answers to questions that have bugged me: is Caprica still in the brig, or with Saul now? Is she being "pardoned" (not that she did anything except be a cylon and get on board the ship)? Are they going to let her have the child? What does HeadBaltar think of all this? But no, we move straight on to the other characters and Caprica isn't seen again until next episode. I'm beginning to feel that Tricia got an even more raw deal out of this season than James.

And what about Saul´s reactions? He just realized his dead wife - whom he killed - is the final cylon. We get no scenes with him dealing with this, and only one WTF scene where Lee tells the journalists that they believe the final cylon is dead - she died some time ago, and they realize he knows who it is and get on his case. The WTF element being: how does Lee know? When did Saul tell him? Is there a big scene that was cut here where Saul told them, and we never got to see it? The big final cylon reveal is now completely brushed away? Argh.

Nicky's Daddy issues: Ugh. Hot Dog? He's not an important enough character and I think this is just stupid and soap opera-ish. Chief raised Nicky so far, so I don't see why Hot Dog has to suddenly take responsibility. I don't have much to say to this, except that I love the toddler who plays Nicky. He's so adorably chubby, I enjoy any scene he's in just for that.

I liked Gaeta's growing discontent, it seemed true to life and fitting for his character. Gaeta started out an optimist, admiring Adama and Baltar, and feels like he's been betrayed by them both by now. The Gaeta/Kara scene was intense - but why no more Kara in the episode? Hello, she found her own corroding corpse. So yeah, it's nice that she's in a bad mood, but what about in private? Did she get a visit from HeadLeoben? Did she ever try to tell Lee again?

As usual, way too much Adama/Roslin. I get that they're the "heart of the show" to many viewers, but I think their scenes always run a little long, usually at other characters' expense. I did like that Laura was going a little insane and Adama had to be alone with the tough decisions. And we have a scene with them in bed. Enjoy, A/R shippers. I knew this would come sooner or later; it doesn't evoke particularly strong feelings for me. On a first watch of the miniseries/season one, I really liked Laura Roslin, but I've come to like her less and less over the years (months, for me, as I've only been a fan for the last six months). I don't know if the writers are trying to make her a tyrant, or if their idea of democracy is that the "moral winner" gets to lead however she chooses, but I think it's problematic. I'll return to this with the next episode.

And - yay for Baltar! Unlike last week's 5-second scenes, this time he has a real scene where we see his reactions. He's drunk, smoking, and losing his religion (which he probably never had in the first place). I loved the selfish rant against God and not even trying to soothe his followers or give them any hope. Great leader. One of the things James is really good at is playing drunk; he has just the right amount of slur and ridiculous melodrama.
Also: "Are you children? - Well, obviously you're a child... There are some children present, but..." Hee!

What is Baltar feeling? Does his guilt revisit him now that they weren't led to the promised land? Does he feel cheated by Head Six who promised he'd be the hand of god and that it all has a meaning? We don't know, because there was a HeadSix scene here and it was cut. That's right, it was cut. See Bear's Battlestar Blog for a photo of Baltar/HeadSix in that scene. What a waste! Head Six has been an important part of Baltar's psyche, and the show, from the very beginning and I think it's just wrong to keep cutting her out. This has been going on since season three, and I'm very annoyed.

If James and Tricia are going to have such a miniscule role on the show, you might want to take their names off the credits and replace them with, like, Richard Hatch. Because he had way too many scenes in this episode. Wayy too many. I'll discuss Zarek more in the next post, but I'll say that I just can't bring myself to like him or get any of his motivations, and at the same time, I hate feeling like the show wants me to hate him. This is not supposed to be a black and white show, and if we're going to see so much Zarek, at least give him a personality outside of politics, a life story, something.

However, the fact that Gaeta is teaming up with him is very intriguing.