'Battlestar Galactica' Retro Recap: 'Blood on the Scales'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

​Growing up, we were taught some incredibly important lessons when it comes to anger, the first one being, that we should never give into it and let it take over and also, that we should find ways to vent our anger in safe and productive fashion so that we can move on in life and leave the past in the past. And really, those lessons matter because if we don’t heed them, we will snap when the time is right and make irrational and rash decisions that can cause harm to others and ourselves in the long run and the only reason I’m bringing these all-important lessons up today, is because they were on the forefront of my mind when I settled in to watch the next episode of Battlestar Galactica, ‘Blood on the Scales’.
 
Because this particular tale, really got to the root cause of what brought forth the mutiny aboard the Galactica and it really relates to the fact that not everyone on the ship has been afforded an opportunity for catharsis. After all, the Admiral and his closest circle have managed to move on from their mistakes and their anger, unlike the rest of the crew. Because everyone else on the ship has been festering over the horrors of New Caprica and many of them clearly let their fear of the Cylons drive them into a poor decision and thankfully the show made a point to put this confusion on display, since we were privy to some regret from those involved in this stupid and heinous act.
 
Take Kelly for example, who seemed to thrive over the fact that Judgment Day had arrived aboard the ship but as the hour rolled on, it was clear that he realized that by giving in to his anger and not resolving matters that needed to remain in the past, that he had made a grave mistake and he wasn’t the only one. Even Felix Gaeta started to realize that perhaps he had made a poor decision in taking command of the ship and his concerns were only exacerbated by how Tom Zarek relished in the chaos, to the point where he murdered the Quorum of Twelve in order to solidify his power and really, this ended up being quite the incredible character study on our actions related to anger, and the consequences that come with all of that.
 
But alas, this whole mess needed to be resolved, and despite his capture, Admiral Adama finally found himself in a position to re-take the ship and forgive those who betrayed him if they would stand with him once again, and seeing him take charge once more and inspire everyone to end this madness was thrilling to say the least and it was equally as magical to see Laura find the fire that burns within as well and while it was great to see the ship fall back into the right hands, this one ended in dark and powerful fashion as this part of the story focused solely on the consequences I made mention of a moment ago since both Gaeta and Zarek were summarily executed for their actions, leaving the story in a sobering place. 
 
Yet, while this episode signals an end to the mutiny storyline, a fresh plot thread was introduced while another was left hanging in the wind. For Sam’s fate is simply up in the air at this point after he took a bullet to the head and the death of a member of the Final Five would be a huge deal to the Cylons and of course, the giant crack that Tyrol found in the Engine Room is disconcerting to say the least and cannot mean anything good. But in the here and the now, hopefully hatches are now buried, and the past is in the past and while this was a bittersweet ending to an ugly chapter in the Fleet’s history, it’s a pyrrhic victory at best since the Fleet lost so many lives to get to a point of shaky unity. Until next time.  

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