Battlestar Recap: Blood On the Scales

Our standard warning about character deaths, major spoilers and the further desolation and destruction of the human race here. We mean it. Do not read any further unless you want to know the fates that befall some of our favorite and least favorite humans and Cylons.

Pictured:(l-r) Richard Hatch as Tom Zarek, Alessandro Juliani as Lt. Felix Gaeta — SCI FI Channel Photo: Carole Segal

The grenade tossed into the chamber with Tigh and Adama was just to knock them out and subdue them. I figured as much. Gaeta has ordered Roslin’s raptor taken out of the sky, which would make Zarek president. Hot Dog is in position but can’t bring himself to take the shot. Then he hears Roslin broadcast from on board and there’s no way he’s about to shoot. Narcho jumps position and he fires, but some smooth moves from Athena save the day and the president.

Roslin makes it safely to the Cylon baseship. Boy, I would have never figured I’d be typing that sentence a few months ago. The Rebel Cylons are freakin’ once they realize Roslin and Bill Adama have lost control of the fleet. She says that’s not true, but Gaius Baltar asks how else she would possibly describe it. I am loving the interaction between Roslin and Baltar.

Roslin has to talk the Cylons out of jumping away, suggesting the only way to get Galactica back is to move the baseship into the fleet. She figures even Gaeta isn’t crazy enough to fire into the fleet, endangering the other ships.

On Galactica, Gaeta wants Bill to talk Roslin into surrender. Bill takes off his admiral’s pins and tells Gaeta since he’s admiral now, it’s his job to call Roslin and negotiate her surrender.

Gaeta is suddenly realizing he really doesn’t want this job. They set up a kangaroo court of a trial with Zarek as the judge and our favorite crazy lawyer Romo Lampkin as the defender for Bill. The quorum is supposed to be a part of this, but they aren’t listening to Zarek. One of them even asks him to leave the room and refers to him as Vice President. Unfortunately for them, that signed their death warrants as Zarek orders his men to murder the quorum in cold blood.

Gaeta realizes how completely wrong this has all gotten, but Zarek’s doomed both of them with this move. Aboard the Cylon baseship, the Rebel Cylons have voted to bail out. But Roslin talks them out of it by explaining Bill will get control of Galactica back and when he does, he’ll remember who stood by him and who cut and run. You don’t want to be in the second category, she explains. Good reasoning, really.

Chief Tyrol has been crawling through the ship’s ducts to get to the weapons lockup and when he finally does, Aaron is there and holds him at gunpoint. Aaron asks him to get up and Tyrol explains he’s too tired. Aaron tells Tyrol he’s a machine and he should get up. Then they both have some laughs at Tyrol still being fat and tired.

Aaron teases Tyrol about his kid not being a Cylon after all. Aaron can’t shoot Tyrol and tells him to get the frak out of there. Starbuck and Apollo get to the Cylon prisoners but Apollo flips when his dad isn’t with them. They go to find him and in the melee, one of the guards shoots Anders in the head. Starbuck won’t leave him and the rest go on.

Pictured:(l-r) Jamie Bamber as Lee “Apollo” Adama, Katee Sackhoff as Kara “Starbuck” Thrace — SCI FI Channel Photo: Carole Segal

Lampkin tries to get Bill to sign a statement to the fleet, at least giving those still loyal to him time to take the ship back. Bill won’t do it, of course. Zarek gets a phone call about the Cylon escape and I’ll give him this, he thinks quickly. Rather than relay the truth, he tells Bill that Tigh got killed trying to escape. Zarek declares him guilty, but then Roslin’s voice comes over the ship’s PA. Seems Leoben had some technical mojo that bypasses Gaeta’s safeguards.

As Romo is getting escorted out he runs into Starbuck and Anders, Starbuck’s out of ammo though. So Romo goes Jason Bourne and stabs the guard in the neck with his pen. Starbuck asks for help getting Anders to Doc Cottle. Romo wants to leave, but he can’t and helps her out.

Apollo finds Aaron and wants to know where Bill is. Aaron doesn’t know but joins the right side, finally. Then we see Bill get gunned down by a firing squad… it’s just Baltar’s dream. OK, that was kind of cheap, guys. And why is that Baltar’s nightmare and not Roslin’s? Of course Baltar is in bed with a Number Six, who immediately wants to “comfort” him. Baltar says no and decides he should go back to defend his followers, however misguided they may be.Wait, Gaius, couldn’t you be comforted for just a little while? Never mind. Gaius is a better man than me, at least for today.

Gaeta wants to jump the fleet, but it’s split down the middle and several ships have taken their FTL drives off line. Gaeta orders that the ships loyal to him receive the new jump coordinates and leave everybody else. Tyrol has finally gotten to the engine room and enters his access code – his access has been removed. He’ll have to shut the FTL down manually and he does. But he notices a really big crack in the ship, what’s that about?

Roslin demands control of the ship be returned to Bill. Gaeta orders the execution of Adama but when Narcho hangs up the phone, Tigh has a gun to his head. The good guys are in control again.

Zarek tries to convince Roslin it’s over and tells her Bill is dead. Roslin refuses and says she will use every last weapon at her disposal down to her eyeteeth to end Zarek. Preach on, girl!

Zarek orders Gaeta to defend the ship but Gaeta knows it’s over and tells his men to stand down.Team Bill Adama hits the deck and retakes the ship, mutiny over.

We see Gaeta and Baltar talking about the dreams Gaeta had as a kid and how far he’s fallen from them. He asks Baltar not to pity him and not to try any religious mumbo-jumbo. Of course, Gaeta and Zarek get executed. There’s a great moment right before when Gaeta looks down at his leg and realizes it’s stopped itching. Wow.