Battlestar Galactica (TV Series) Blood on the Scales (2009) User Reviews

One word: "AWESOME!"

[new_aura · 10/10 · 7 March 2009]

Who would have thought that another episode would come along that would be BETTER than "EXODUS Part 2"? My hat's off to the producers, writers, actors, sound engineers and all involved in creating such a phenomenal episode.

After 4 long years we finally witness Gaeta's character arc come full circle in this phenomenal episode as he deftly stages a military coup that does not turn out the way he had envisioned. Gaeta is not evil nor is he insane. But when he sees the Admiral and President side with the Cylons, he is then pushed beyond his breaking point. He is physically tired, mentally pushed to the limit and angry. And in the end, what he believes to be a valiant fight against Admiral Adama and President Roslin, is truly utter tragedy. It is he (Gaeta) that is standing on the wrong side of history and it is he whose demise is a sad ending.

This episode takes you on an action-packed emotional roller coaster ride right from the opening scene; where Cylon and human (rekindled best friends Tigh and Adama) hold their ground against a relentless Marine pursuit, to the wicked drum beats that accompany the scene where vipers doggedly pursue the President's escape raptor, to the defiant yell of President Roslin, to the suspense of hoping that Tyrol is not caught, to the incredibly touching scene of Dr. Baltar and Gaeta and finally, seeing the resolve and peace on Gaeta's face as his phantom leg troubles him no more. Yes, this episode is intense! So sit back, kill the lights and go along for an incredibly amazing ride!

Battlestar Galactica is hands-down the best dramatic episodic on TV at this time.

Nuff said!

Best Episode (So Far)

[Footy4ever2009 · 10/10 · 17 February 2009]

I never figured that Galactica would produce an episode better than Exodus (part 2). (My opinion, of course) For me, this was simply incredible. The acting, especially by Alessandro Juliani and Richard Hatch as the would-be revolutionaries was intense. Although another reviewer found the actions of the two doubtful, the characters' actions are believable and in-line with how they have been portrayed throughout the series.

Most of the characters on the show despise the very thought of working with the Cylons and although it is valid to suggest that these past two episodes were simply filler and an excuse to kill a couple of the regular characters it was impossible that a suggested alliance with the Cylons would not get some kind of a reaction from the crew.

Zarek and Gaeta, among others, are not evil. They are simply doing what they feel is right for humanity.

On a side note, it's good to see Baltar finally decide to stop running.

That final last meal scene between Gaeta and Baltar is truly stunning, especially knowing that Gaeta is about to be executed for much less than Baltar did.

Disquiet

[pmartin13-1 · 9/10 · 10 February 2009]

I took a look back at the mini-series again after "Blood on the Scales." I felt compelled to because I wanted to remember what the characters were like in the start.

All I want to say is war, flight, occupation, the end of hope, and forming an alliance with one's former (genocidal) enemies might have a less than positive impact on some people's characters. LT. Gaeta's transformation is somewhat illuminated in the webisode series, but it is hardly required viewing to understand why Admiral Adama's plans to give Cylons access to every ship in the fleet might send him over the edge. And lest we forget that Tom Zarek was a terrorist on a prison barge in season one. He was always a megalomaniac and Gaeta finally gave him the opportunity to do what he always wanted to do - overturn the government by force.

The only thing surprising about the mutiny and the coup was that they didn't happen earlier. Adama himself essentially attempted a "temporary" coup in season two. Mutinies are rare, but I doubt if the people that carry them out are necessarily evil or even "abnormal" most of the time. Just very scared, weary and lost. But I suspect they always believe they are in the right when the whole frakin' world is upside down in their eyes. Anyway, I greatly enjoy how these characters have transformed over four years. I'd have turned it off in season two if they didn't change dramatically in response to the challenges they faced... some for the better and some for the worse.

Retaking Galactica

[Tweekums · 10/10 · 12 February 2012]

I thought the previous episode was just about perfect but here the action and excitement are turned up to eleven as those fighting against Gaeta and Zarek's coup fight to retake the ship. After the cliff-hanger at the end of the last episode we see President Roslin escape to the rebel Cylon base star after Hotdog refuses to shoot her raptor down and Adama and Tigh are captured by Gaeta's men. Tigh is placed in the Brig with the other Cylons while Gaeta and Zarek organise a kangaroo court to try the admiral. Zarek seeks to legitimise there actions through the Quorum but when they object he orders them shot! Lee and Starbuck meanwhile must get to the brig to free the prisoners then try to save the admiral. Roslin meanwhile must persuade the Cylons to stay with the fleet while she tries to tell everybody what is happening to the fleet's leadership.

This was a truly stunning episode with fantastic performances throughout; Mary McDonnell brought a new intensity to Roslin's character as she tells Gaeta she will destroy him after he claims to have killed Adama, Alessandro Juliani's performance as Gaeta was again top notch; even though his characters actions were unsympathetic he almost had me shed a tear in his final scene; it was that good! I was less upset about Zarek's fate although as a fan of the original series as a child in the '70s I didn't think I'd completely forget that Richard Hatch once played Apollo! Fans of Romo Lampkin won't be disappointed either; as he reappears and demonstrates that in his hands the pen is just as mighty as the sword and equally deadly! Now that this particular story arc is over I look forward to seeing what the creators will show us next time.

This is Reviewer Actual

[A_Different_Drummer · 10/10 · 10 January 2023]

There is a reason why many reviewers, including this one, consider BSG the best show in decades. This episode is proof. Writing this review in 2022, over a decade after the first airing, and I can say with assurance that nothing produced since then, streaming or not, comes close. In fact I can also say that the brilliant production team behind BSG have tried more than once in the subsequent years to try new ideas, to try to recapture lightening in a bottle. And have failed. This 2-parter was extraordinary. So was the entire series. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

Two of the best episodes in the series' history

[GusF · 10/10 · 18 September 2013]

In this review, I discuss both "The Oath" and "Blood on the Scales" as I felt that it was the most sensible approach to discuss them together.

The planning stage of Zarek and Gaeta's coup was only in the previous episode "A Disquiet Follows My Soul" but, like many coups, the seeds were sown much earlier. To trace its origin, you really have to go back to the unfortunately rather lacklustre episode "The Road Less Travelled" in which Kara agreed to cooperate with Leoben and the thankfully much better "Faith" in which the Demetrius crew boarded the rebel basestar. Perhaps more importantly to the events of this two-part story, the latter was also the episode in which Felix was shot in the leg, causing it to be amputated in "Guess What's Coming to Dinner?". That terribly traumatic event, the alliance with the Cylon rebels, the revelations about the Final Five's identities and the cruel twist ending of "Revelations" are what led Felix to where he was at the end of "A Disquiet Follows My Soul" and the beginning of "The Oath". The events of "The Face of the Enemy" helped place these events in context.

I consider Zarek to be the most compelling character in the series' history and this is his best use since his introduction in "Bastille Day" 65 episodes earlier. Over the course of the last four years, Zarek has played the role of an eloquent, civilised man and a politician very well but, in this story, he showed that he was still a terrorist at the end of the day and had always been one. To be honest, I found more than a few of his criticisms of the Roslin administration and the Adama military industrial complex over the years quite valid and I can understand his anger and that of many people in the fleet at the alliance with the Cylons after the destruction of the Twelve Colonies but they lose any claim to the moral high ground as soon as they start murdering innocent people. To his credit, Felix clearly regrets their deaths and, for a time, I thought that Adama might even be able to appeal to the better angels of his nature but I think that both Felix and I eventually realised that he had passed the point of no return. After the deaths of the Quorom of Twelve (in particular), there was no turning back.

The story does do an excellent job at presenting us with both sides of the argument and, while I didn't find the viewpoint of the coup members to be sympathetic as I think that Lee was right when he said that the humans and Cylons would continue fighting each other until one or the other was extinct, I did find it understandable due to not only the history of human-Cylon relations but the events of the New Caprica occupation. If events had proceeded differently, I might even have agreed with Zarek and Gaeta's views but I would certainly never have approved of their methods.

When compared with the events of this story, Adama's coup in "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II" looks very tame, though I still think that was inexcusable. That said, I didn't feel that there was a double standard as regards the attitudes towards the two coups as the key difference lay in the execution (no pun intended!): Adama didn't murder people. It also illustrates just how much Adama and Roslin have come over the course of the previous four years. The first coup serves as an interesting contrast, especially since Zarek was the one who aided Roslin in escaping from the Galactica the last time that her political fortunes were cloudy, to paraphrase Baltar. On New Caprica and in the aftermath of the occupation, Roslin and Zarek even reached an understanding of a sort but that proved to be rather short-lived and, in this story, they return to their natural roles as enemies.

One thing that I was surprised at was the involvement of long-running and likable recurring characters in the coup such as Racetrack and Seelix. On the other hand, I wasn't surprised that people like Gage, Narcho, Connor and Captain Kelly were involved as that seemed true to their previous characterisation and, in the case of the first two, their service under Admiral Cain.

All in all, an excellent two-part story in which everyone, particularly Richard Hatch and Alessandro Juliani, delivers wonderful performances. Having watched Richard Hatch in both versions of "Battlestar Galactica" over the course of the last four months, I have to say that he is an extremely underrated actor and I'm glad that this series - his first television role since two episodes of "Baywatch" in 1995 - helped bring him back into the limelight.

There's so much else going on in this story. What I've discussed is really only the tip of the iceberg.

Not So Black And White

[spasek · 10/10 · 19 April 2022]

One of the beautiful notions of the show is that nothing is black or white. Everything is painted a shade of gray. We have Cylons who hate and want to slaughter all humans. We also have humans who hate and want to slaughter all Cylons. Thus, the cycle of violence that seems never-ending.

We saw a Cylon civil war unfold where Cylon factions had opposing views.

And now, we have a Colonial faction that can't fathom ever being allied to the Cylons. Any Cylons. The faction is led by Zarek and Gaeta.

So, who is worse? Cylons or humans? Is there even such a thing as a "better?" What we ultimately see is that there is little difference between humans and Cylons. Both hate and love in equal measure, depending on who you're talking about.

My single favorite Roslin moment is in this episode. Mary McDonnell gives an ultimatum that will give the viewer goosebumps.

There are those who resist change and those who embrace it. Those who resist and fear change will always fight and scrap to prevent it from happening. Those who accept it will realize that change is inevitable and that different choices must be made. As the famous Einstein quote resonates, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again (making the same choices) and expecting a different outcome."

In many ways, this is one of the core themes of the entire show. How long will the insanity be allowed to continue? How long before people wake up and realize that a different choice is needed. The irony is that it is fear that perpetuates insane choices. Always.

These last two episodes are epic and also tragic in how those who refuse to accept change, often pay the ulitimate price for their lack of wisdom and lack of vision.

Perfect Story Arc about Military vs Democracy

[SallyWilliams · 10/10 · 7 April 2021]

From the beginning the series portrayed the dispute between these two factors. And in this final arc they showed in a very realistic way the outcome. When the military leaders (or political ones) don't listen to the people and think they can decide for everyone there'll be resistance and/or revolution. The greatness of this series was always the multi-layered story telling. SciFi, politics, action, personal tragedies, belief and great acting combined. A milestone of televison.

Let's hope this thread is an anomaly

[zerobeat · 4/10 · 10 February 2009]

Ugh. It's one thing for the story arc to get all out of whack. But it's a worse thing to ascribe personality traits that had never existed before (at least in this intensity). Felix Gaeta the mutineer? Tom Zarek the mass murderer? It's all black hat versus white hat here!

It appears that this is all over. I thought I'd never say this, but I really hope there's no lasting "consequences" from this small story arc spilled into the last 6 episodes.

Or how about shocking us with an ending that totally justifies the last 2 or 3 episodes?

It felt like a different TV show.

worse and worse (very, very minor spoilers)

[a666333 · 3/10 · 8 February 2009]

Understatement: the series is sinking pretty low. The lack of a well mapped out storyline from the start is now biting back with a vengeance. The latest storyline stretching over the last 2-3 episodes comes across as exactly what it is; i.e. a patched together excuse to write in strong words, shouting and shooting. They seem to be looking around for any excuses to kill people and yet somehow slip in that this band of increasingly psychotic, trigger happy sociopaths have redeeming qualities. (yes I know they have been through a lot but that angle was worn thin long ago)

What we have now is a sad echo of season 1/start of season 2. The sets, art direction and the visuals are all that is carrying the show (if it can be said to be going anywhere).

One example of how not to do things has been how "Narcho" (Sebastian Spence's character) has been handled recently. We get glimpses of this guy for 2 seasons and finally he gets to have a presence and say a few lines of substance. It would have been a lot better if they had actually tried to develop the character a bit first. We know nothing about him or his personality except that he is a Viper pilot. Now they just plug him as filler. I wonder if we will see him again. Not that we ever had a chance to care. Do we care about anyone now? Wasted potential, bad writing.

One of the worst episodes of great BSG

[bitan701 · 1/10 · 25 June 2021]

Nothing makes sense in this episode. More so than ever.