Battlestar Galactica; Blood on the Scales

[zmoonchild]

The episode first aired February 6, 2009

 

In a small sense, The Execution of Private Slovik comes to mind here.

 

I found it disturbing that Adama seemed to have no problem in executing Gaeta. Adama has seemed to become more like Admiral Cain in these later episodes, and now he shows no respect for certain individuals. In a somewhat recent episode, Adama threatened Tyrol by saying he was going to kill Cally, just another example.

 

I felt that Gaeta was justified in his assertion that Adama was consorting with the enemy; the Cylons did wipe out almost all of humanity, so why does he ally himself with them?

 

Gaeta was showing every indication that he was acting on the best interest of the people; he even showed compassion when Zarek stated that Tigh had been killed. He wasn’t trying to hurt anyone… so why did Adama kill him? It seemed more like a way for Adama to get revenge rather than seeking justice.

 

But why kill Gaeta? He’s been a very loyal crewmember and supporting character for the majority of the series. He’s always been a decent person. If one of the main cast members had taken control of the ship instead, than Adama probably would have been angry for a while, then got over it; but since Gaeta is not really a main cast member, he gets treated differently. Why are the writers doing that?

 

Another thing that bothers me is the way the episode was written; the writers were able to make it seem justified that Gaeta should be executed because of Zarek’s actions, namely the execution of the quorum. Gaeta was not involved with the killing of the quorum.

 

The writers seemed to be portraying the main cast as the good guys, while the secondary cast (Gaeta and those who opposed the main cast) as being the bad guys, which really made no sense to me. I was definitely rooting for Gaeta.

 

And there was no reason to have Zarek kill the quorum; it was just a way for the writers to conveniently make him evil, and then justify having him written out of the series quickly. A better scenario would have been to make Zarek & Gaeta the equals to Adama, rather than it being just a plot-point (a way to give Adama a reason for killing them), and then not bring the show back to the same old formual once again, which is the rag-tag fleet going through space randomly looking for a new home; the writers always go back to that scenario (they never stray too far from it for very long).

 

The show now seems to be following the main cast as if they’re now royalty, and that they’re better than the average cast member… the writers have seemed to make Adama & Roslin the king & queen of what’s left of the human race, and anyone who opposes them will be quickly dealt with in the harshest way possible, unless the person that opposes them is also a main cast member.

 

I like the show a lot, but the writers are making some of the main characters unlikable now, that’s my opinion.

Edited February 8, 2009 by zmoonchild

[Mike Tequeli]

fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. I missed it, I'll watch it and get back to you.

 

I will add about the episode prior As much as I disagree with him, I like how Gaida is kind of taking charge, I'm not sure how that'll change between then and now. Either side has been consistently brutal though, it's tough to see people getting mowed down by others when there are so few left.

[Ludo]

Gaeta was executed simply for the mutiny, I'm pretty sure Adama made that clear in the previous episode. Zareks killing of the Quorum did not lead to Gaeta getting executed.

 

Adama did not exactly act like Cain, as the marines that were present to execute Adama were not killed.

[Otter]

Gaeta staged a military coup, leading to the murder of the quorum, countless others, and a near total collapse of everyone's chance for survival. He deserved to be executed; it'd be stupid to let him live.

 

[darthYENIK]

Gaeta knew the consequences if the whole thing failed. Zarek on the other hand seemed to just want to be the top dog in the universe, and didn't care who died, for him to get that role. Sure they could have spared them, but it doesn't seem realistic. Characters reacting like real people seems to be a theme of this series. In real life the good guys want payback.