Battlestar Galactica - S04E13 - The Oath

154 Posted on Jan 30, 2009 in articles by Conor Kilpatrick |


Tonight's episode - The Oath

I'm really excited about where Battlestar is headed, in this, its final batch of episodes.  I really like that it is veering off in unexpected directions and that after so many years of building up Earth, they yanked the rug right out from under us.  That was fantastic.

The story now - of the building mutiny within the fleet over the acceptance of the rogue cylons into the community - is such an unexpected yet completely organic story shift that I'm almost giddy with excitement.  I'm really intrested to see what happens to a society that has staked its entire existence on one thing - the hope of a new world - only to find that one thing was not the miracel ehty were all hoping it would be.  And now that the cylon threat has been, for the most part, neutralized what will they do now?  Turn on each other it would seem.

And Gaeta is such a fantastic villain!  It's been built up for so long, it's a great extension of his character arc.

S
peculations, theories, reactions, live blogs, you know the drill.

Comments

I kind of feel like Gaeta is channeling Anakin Skywalker, here. "Boohoo, I lost a extremity, I'm taking it out on those Robot-lovers and then I aline with the only the holdover actor from the previous installments of this concept and he'll replace my physical and mental anguish with emotional pain!"

Hey, that analogy worked really well!

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 08:49 PM

I think if you check out the webisodes they do help flesh out Gaeta's turn to the dark side here.

Even without those though I think its reasonable. The Cylons did murder billions of people. Then, after claiming they wanted to leave humanity alone they pop up and conquer New Caprica. It should be hard for some people to simply forgive and forget all of that and move on with the Cylons as friends and allies.

Posted by Devastron on 01/30/09 at 08:51 PM

Not to mention he was almost executed by his friends/crewmates.

Posted by conor on 01/30/09 at 09:03 PM

I am so frakken excited for this!

Posted by greendart32 on 01/30/09 at 09:13 PM

my prediction for this evening - serious ass-kickery...and Gaeta will eventually be on the receiving end

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 09:13 PM

Thanks for posting this, I almost forgot it came on tonight.  TV on fridays always throws me way off.

Posted by Jarrett on 01/30/09 at 09:33 PM

It would be cool if Starbuck shot Gaeta in the face.

Posted by ultimatehoratio on 01/30/09 at 09:42 PM

I'm just not in the mood tonight. It's been a snowy, rainy, crappy week and I don't need to finish it with doom and gloom, BSG style. I'll catch it on Hulu later. Enjoy, folks.

And check out tonight's Letterman for the long-censored Bill Hicks routine. Funny, funny man. Remember, Bill once had drinks with Rev. Jesse Custer, so there's a comics connection too!

See yins next week.

 

Posted by RobAbsten on 01/30/09 at 09:53 PM

here we go

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:00 PM

precious look of shock on Tigh's face

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:02 PM

"Is this some kind of extended frakkin booty call, Admiral?"

Posted by PaulMontgomery on 01/30/09 at 10:03 PM

I almost want an eyepatch

 

Posted by jforeman on 01/30/09 at 10:03 PM

That's got to be the most unsubtle signal ever.

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:03 PM

I am so looking forward to Adama and Tight taking up arms and doing some serious ass kickery

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:04 PM

Is that Sonia? 

Posted by PaulMontgomery on 01/30/09 at 10:06 PM

Was that an acting troupe on the Flight Deck? OH! Pegasus guy!

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:06 PM

oh, the new Chief of the Deck is screwed

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:06 PM

thats it...Zareck needs a bullet in the brain

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:07 PM

Gaeta needs to get shot in his other frakkin leg

 

Posted by jforeman on 01/30/09 at 10:07 PM

Man, I love Richard Hatch on this show. He's really got the bad guy thing down pat. Shame he couldn't do to Dirk Benedict what he did to the Deck Chief. (Knock of sense into it, that is.)

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:08 PM

I'm calling it now, Roslin is gonna come riding to the rescue at the very end. Of course that probably isn't a big leap.

Posted by Devastron on 01/30/09 at 10:08 PM

I'm rather looking forward to Push...looks like a fun super hero (non-comic) movie)

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:09 PM

I was just sitting here wondering if I was nuts for thinking Push looked good.  There's no buzz on this movie.

Posted by ultimatehoratio on 01/30/09 at 10:10 PM

Whoa Gus from Psyche and Wash from Firefly?  Epic commercial.

Posted by Jarrett on 01/30/09 at 10:10 PM

You got "Push?" I got the stupid "T-Mobile Butt Dialer" commercial and the Direct TV commerical with the guy from Psych and Alan Tyduk (Firefly).

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:10 PM

This is sweet.

Posted by GungaDin on 01/30/09 at 10:11 PM

@Jarrett...I was thiking of how the mighty have fallen....Wash is now in a DirectTV commercial

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:11 PM

Wow, they really are giving Tigh some brilliant dialogue this episode.

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:13 PM

Drrrrrrradus

Posted by Jarrett on 01/30/09 at 10:13 PM

Isn't is weird that Tricia Helfer has been pushed WAY into the background?

Posted by ultimatehoratio on 01/30/09 at 10:15 PM

dude...she is suckering you in

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:15 PM

holy crap!

Posted by piscespaul on 01/30/09 at 10:15 PM

I sometimes regret how much I loved Samuel T. Anders in his early appearances.

I take it back! Stop Hurting Sam!!!! 

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:15 PM

sure are a lot of Marines in on this

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:16 PM

I would give good money if someone would cut Hotdog's hair

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:17 PM

I refuse to believe Gaeta was this influential.

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:18 PM

How is it we intimately know dozens of pilots, deck crew and officers, but (despite the fact that there seem to be 1000s of them) we know zero marines by name?

Posted by Jarrett on 01/30/09 at 10:18 PM

Introducing cannon fodder.

Posted by ultimatehoratio on 01/30/09 at 10:18 PM

oh shit....starbuck just armed up....someone is gonna pay

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:18 PM

Damn they have a good plan to take over. This is going to be ugly.

Posted by Devastron on 01/30/09 at 10:20 PM

was Gaeta always in charge of Comm?  Or did he take Dee's position after she shot herself?

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:21 PM

I want Lee to fuck some shit up.

Posted by SixGun on 01/30/09 at 10:21 PM

Okay, this wouldn't be happening if Helo was in the Commander Center.

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:21 PM

oh this is a good one!

Posted by piscespaul on 01/30/09 at 10:21 PM

STARBUCK!

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:21 PM

clapping ...yeah Starbuck!

Posted by piscespaul on 01/30/09 at 10:21 PM

Okay, Starbuck's cool rating just went up really high. 

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:22 PM

I thought that guy that hit Lee was bludgened to deat by one of Baltar's girls way back in 4.0?

Posted by mcbaker on 01/30/09 at 10:22 PM

Hell yeah Starbuck!

Posted by ultimatehoratio on 01/30/09 at 10:22 PM

oh crap....taking Athena from Helo....someone is gonna get it

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:23 PM

Ouch... those rifle butts felt/looked pretty real. Helo's gonna kill that guy.

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:23 PM

Lee needs to borrow one of Starbuck's balls and do something for once.

Posted by ultimatehoratio on 01/30/09 at 10:24 PM

@ultimatehoratio Amen, Brother.

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:24 PM

That's a wake up call!

Posted by mcbaker on 01/30/09 at 10:26 PM

violence makes Starbuck fiesty apparently

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:27 PM

This is so much awesome. Building building... And this is going to get really, really dark.

Posted by GungaDin on 01/30/09 at 10:27 PM

This is brutal

Posted by SixGun on 01/30/09 at 10:28 PM

Those Pegasus folk are really into rape it seems.

Posted by Jarrett on 01/30/09 at 10:28 PM

Is anyone else expecting the tipping point of this episode to be Cavil shows up and blows up a good portion of the fleet?

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:28 PM

@Jarrett...that dude is definitely gonna get what is coming to him

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:29 PM

Private Red Shirt Down!!

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:29 PM

Gaeta = Gollum

Posted by piscespaul on 01/30/09 at 10:30 PM

oh shit....Adama's got his angry face on

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:30 PM

F'n Felix. 

Posted by PaulMontgomery on 01/30/09 at 10:30 PM

Best show since the premier last January

Posted by SixGun on 01/30/09 at 10:30 PM

Gaeta is so going to get what's coming to him

Posted by jforeman on 01/30/09 at 10:30 PM

Adama's teeth are so clenched!   They are inside each other.

Posted by Jarrett on 01/30/09 at 10:31 PM

"you'll die with nothing" Frakkin right

Posted by jforeman on 01/30/09 at 10:31 PM

Seriously? We couldn't come up with names for these people? I keep thinking Gaeta is asking for the character from He-Man! (Whose name is Man at Arms, but you know what I mean)

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:31 PM

Watch Hoshii become a badass...

Posted by mcbaker on 01/30/09 at 10:32 PM

I think Adam is gonna kill Gaeta with his bare hands.

Posted by Devastron on 01/30/09 at 10:32 PM

I'm about to poop my pants.

Posted by ultimatehoratio on 01/30/09 at 10:32 PM

Adama has such a... yes.... That's *the* line.

Posted by GungaDin on 01/30/09 at 10:32 PM

Chuck in 3D!!!

 

Posted by jforeman on 01/30/09 at 10:33 PM

@SixGun Yeah, they really lit a fire under the season's ass.

@psyguy411 I fully expect this to be the re-imagined episode of when Starbuck and Co. mimicked Magnificent 7 on the classic series. 

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:34 PM

Nothing like a mutiny to get Roslin back in the game eh?

Posted by SamMacBastard on 01/30/09 at 10:36 PM

Felix is like parents getting divorced or falling off your bike and skinning your knee. 

F'n Felix.  

Posted by PaulMontgomery on 01/30/09 at 10:36 PM

I wanna see Starbuck shoot some more idiots

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:36 PM

Apparently it makes a major mutiny for Roslin to break out the wig and makeup.

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:36 PM

That prop contest is the first and probably only thing that will ever get me excited about 'signed paperwork'

Posted by Jarrett on 01/30/09 at 10:37 PM

@PraxJarvin I couldn't tell you how amazing that would be!

Posted by mcbaker on 01/30/09 at 10:37 PM

Frakkin Zarek

Posted by jforeman on 01/30/09 at 10:37 PM

Lee - "I'm takin' my tie off, now I mean business"

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:37 PM

waaah? Tyrol is hanging out with Baltar?

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:38 PM

Man Baltar has quite the harem

Posted by jforeman on 01/30/09 at 10:38 PM

Funny Baltar is back! ... kind of

Posted by SixGun on 01/30/09 at 10:39 PM

I wanna see Tyrol working out some of his rage issues on the mutineers

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:39 PM

Ol 'Tyrol back...nice!

Posted by piscespaul on 01/30/09 at 10:40 PM

Tyrol's nobility is just making Gaeta look like that much more of a leech.

Posted by Jarrett on 01/30/09 at 10:40 PM

@PraxJarvin you got some marine's names

Posted by jforeman on 01/30/09 at 10:40 PM

It's on like Donkey Kong!

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:40 PM

Ace Adama.What a guy.

Posted by SamMacBastard on 01/30/09 at 10:40 PM

OH YEAH!  the old man still has a lot of fight in him

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:41 PM

that was....AWESOME/!

Posted by piscespaul on 01/30/09 at 10:41 PM

I thin Tigh took the Master Chief dual weilding stance.

Posted by mcbaker on 01/30/09 at 10:41 PM

I love it when the old men kick ass

Posted by SixGun on 01/30/09 at 10:41 PM

man Baltar needs to keep his ladies in line

Posted by jforeman on 01/30/09 at 10:42 PM

I'm digging the "Baltar has had enough of his followers sycophancy" angle of this episode. Also, it's nice to see the old Baltar back.

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:42 PM

suck it Zarack

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:44 PM

Laura Roslin: Spoken Word artist.

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:45 PM

Specialist Rapist does not have teh communications array skills.

Posted by SamMacBastard on 01/30/09 at 10:45 PM

"Sir, I'm an idiot who can't even work a playschool plastic phone"

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:45 PM

Starbuck doesn't take frakkin' prisoners!

Posted by mcbaker on 01/30/09 at 10:46 PM

Yeah Starbuck, kill'em all, let the gods sort them out

Posted by jforeman on 01/30/09 at 10:47 PM

That was a jarring cut to commercial.

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:47 PM

shit...Starbuck is kinda batshit crazy

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:47 PM

Starbuck's turning me on right now.

Posted by ultimatehoratio on 01/30/09 at 10:47 PM

Yeah, crazy, violent Starbuck is pretty hot

Posted by jforeman on 01/30/09 at 10:48 PM

Is this going to be a two parter, or are is the resolution of this ep gonna be shoved into 10 minutes?

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:49 PM

Those long guns are real. http://www.targetsports.co.uk/images/berettacx4co2.jpg

Aside from the pistol used in the mini and the first season, every gun on the show is real, they're motif is just European weapons. 

Posted by SixGun on 01/30/09 at 10:50 PM

WYVERN looks AWESOME!  It's the astronaut guy from Northern Exposure!

Posted by PaulMontgomery on 01/30/09 at 10:50 PM

Sigh, I guess we gotta wait another week to watch Gaeta die.

Wyvern and Gaeta are equally evil.

Posted by ultimatehoratio on 01/30/09 at 10:51 PM

Ohhh... Baltar Burn!

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:51 PM

Gaeta is just Cy-curious.

Posted by SamMacBastard on 01/30/09 at 10:51 PM

apollo has turned into a bit a whiny ninny

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:52 PM

@Paul admittedly the graphics for their Sci-Fi movies are improving.

Posted by mcbaker on 01/30/09 at 10:52 PM

I had all kinds of plans for tomorrow night, but now that I've seen the commercial for Wyvern I'm staying home

Posted by jforeman on 01/30/09 at 10:52 PM

ooooh "our little secret"

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:53 PM

let the world know

Posted by jforeman on 01/30/09 at 10:53 PM

Gaeta is Cycho.  He's also suicCYdal.

Groan.

Posted by ultimatehoratio on 01/30/09 at 10:54 PM

smoochy smoochy

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:54 PM

Seeing Adama and Roslins inevitably doomed romance does not make me weepy.  Honest.

Posted by SamMacBastard on 01/30/09 at 10:54 PM

There's never a bad time for 'tang.

Posted by ultimatehoratio on 01/30/09 at 10:55 PM

in other words Adama's ready to kick-ass and take names( so he doesn't forgive said names)!

Posted by mcbaker on 01/30/09 at 10:56 PM

seriously, why did they hae to stay?  the raptor was away long before the marines cut through

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:56 PM

Do I need to make the 'Shove it up your ass.' joke or does some else want to?

Posted by SamMacBastard on 01/30/09 at 10:58 PM

WHAT THE FRAK!?!?

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 10:58 PM

Daaaaaaaaaaaamn. 

Posted by PaulMontgomery on 01/30/09 at 10:58 PM

Fantastic

Posted by SixGun on 01/30/09 at 10:58 PM

wow, is it next friday yet

Posted by jforeman on 01/30/09 at 10:59 PM

sweet jesus..."I'm coming for all of you"  Thats wrath of god kinda talk

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 10:59 PM

is there going to be anyone alive at the end of the series?

Posted by jforeman on 01/30/09 at 11:00 PM

to paraphrase "Well...stuff happened"  man o mano

Posted by piscespaul on 01/30/09 at 11:00 PM

Speaking of Tudyk, N Fillion has a new series coming out.

I am totally hot for Wyvern.

Posted by ultimatehoratio on 01/30/09 at 11:01 PM

That was so good.

Posted by GungaDin on 01/30/09 at 11:01 PM

man, that was awesome...see everyone next week

Posted by CaptainPrimate on 01/30/09 at 11:02 PM

I think we should liveblog Wyvern.  I'll talk to the brass. 

Posted by PaulMontgomery on 01/30/09 at 11:02 PM

@PaulMontgomery I may just have to do it...

Great episode. Finally there's a sense of finality to these last few episodes.  I was a bit sad that Helo was taken out so easily. Hopefully he can get in on the kick assery next episode. Specialist Rapist has it coming. 

Posted by PraxJarvin on 01/30/09 at 11:05 PM

The ice storm here in the South has cut me off from my booty call so I'll probably be spending my evening with Wyvern.

Posted by ultimatehoratio on 01/30/09 at 11:06 PM

@Paul it would be the blog version of MST3K

Posted by piscespaul on 01/30/09 at 11:07 PM

@PraxJarvin Hopefully his comeuppance involves a bolt to the brain.  You know just for symmetry.

Posted by SamMacBastard on 01/30/09 at 11:13 PM

Wow, I really love what this show has evolved into.  They're really building on all of the history that they've set up over the last however-many episodes and using that to play into this confrontation.  They've done a great job of positioning just about every character who's been important to the show at some point, so this should build to a great climax next week.

Does anybody think Racetrack is going to have a key role?  She sided with the coup but she has a history as a pilot with Starbuck and Apollo, and there were several shots of her looking conflicted. 

Posted by ohcaroline on 01/31/09 at 12:59 PM

She didn't look conflicted to me, all I'm hoping for is that she meets with an exectution post haste.

Posted by eocine on 01/31/09 at 04:25 PM

I want to see Specialist Gage cut up into pieces and have each piece airlocked in front of his eyes so he can watch himself shrivel up in empty space before he finally bleeds out.  I've pretty much wanted that every time he's ever been on screen since the rape-is-fun discussion in "Pegasus."

Also, Zarek deserves an unceremonious death to take him off his high horse one last time.  Killing Laird was just over the line, the sort of true colors moment that reminds you what an epic bastard he really is.

Posted by bansidhewail on 01/31/09 at 04:36 PM

Does anyone else sympathize with Gaeta? I know he's wrong to go to such extreme measures, but in his eyes he's doing the right thing, and given his history I just can't hate him as a villain. I'm just dreading his inevitable death scene, and hope it isn't too dark and disturbing. Seems like that's how the show is going out, though, and I'm not sure I like it. One thing that is great, though, is that there's no clear sense of who's good and who's evil. The entire show is very gray, which is how the real world is.

Posted by Paradiddle on 01/31/09 at 05:17 PM

@Paradiddle   I think that Gaeta and Zarek believe they're doing the right thing to save humanity, yeah.  I don't agree with what they're doing but I think the show's written even-handedly enough that I understand it.  Roslin and Adama have done a lot of things I didn't agree with, too. 

Posted by ohcaroline on 01/31/09 at 10:27 PM

A bit late on this, but my god that was a great episode.  Best in a long, long time.

Posted by josh on 01/31/09 at 11:51 PM

That was just amazing! Everytime I think I've seen Battlestar's best episode in a while they up the ante again. The bittersweet thing here, and yet it's something that's become a blessing, is that with so few episodes left to tie everything up they're really pulling the story together.

I can't remember the last full-on action episode of Battlestar (it may have been Exodus), but when they do one... boy, they show everyone how it should be done :)

Posted by Eyun on 02/01/09 at 06:03 PM

That was awesome.  So awesome I almost want to skip NYCC next week to stay home to see Roslyn shout.

Posted by conor on 02/02/09 at 04:04 AM

I just now got around to watching this (I'm at work).  And yeah...that was definitely the best episode in a long while.  I am kinda glad I watched it Monday so now there are only 4 days left till the next one!

Posted by MaddieDaddy on 02/02/09 at 03:28 PM

I just got to see this episode & ... WOW. How does this show continue to ramp upwards in awesomeness??? I can't believe how consistantly good this is, what an episode. Starbuck coming in & saving Lee was the highlight for me, that was so good.

Posted by WadeWilson on 02/03/09 at 06:28 AM

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