TV Review: Battlestar Galactica 4.15 – The Oath

Posted by Kevin Carr (kevin@filmschoolrejects.com) on January 31, 2009

Battlestar Galactica

Battlestar Galactica, SciFi, Airs Friday 10/9c

Episode: “The Oath” (Season Four, Episode 15)

Synopsis: Felix Gaeta gets in bed with Tom Zarek, arranging a mutiny on Galactica and taking control of the Battlestar from the bridge. Apollo and Starbuck are back together again, fighting off the mutineers and trying to save Adama and the President. Plus, the two oldest dudes in the fleet show that they can still beat the holy shit out of a couple marines.

Review: Last week, I declared that Battlestar Galactica was in an official return to greatness. Even though Robert Fure flamed me about my excitement, I stand by that statement. And one thing that proves I was right was how uneasy I was watching this episode.

Part of the power of Battlestar Galactica is that while I love the show dearly, it is sometimes hard to watch. Remember the episodes with the captive Six from the Pegasus? There was even a call-back in this episode to what might be in store for Sharon if the mutiny is fully realized. BSG has never been known as a cheerful show, but beyond that it has an uncanny ability to make me nervous watching it.

There are definitely landmines set throughout the show’s fabric, and they are now getting stepped on. It was only a matter of time before the humans in the fleet rebelled not only against the Cylons seeking an alliance, but also against the known final Cylons in the fleet (e.g., Chief and Col. Tigh). Their reaction to Cylon love is understandably hostile and not unrealistic. But I have to wonder how much the Cylons actually know about or were privy to with the original attack four years ago.

Ah… so many new questions. And first and foremost on my mind revolves around the “secret” that Gaius Baltar mentioned to Felix Gaeta. I’m sure that’s going to prove most interesting in the coming weeks.

And what makes me even more nervous is that this is part of the show winding up into its final weeks. Tensions are mounting, and lines are being drawn again. It’s nice to see President Roslin man-up a bit and take charge… and of course bring Baltar out of the woodwork again.

Oh, and Adama kicking ass with Col. Tigh is frakking sweet.

Up Next: Mutiny on Galactica continues, and President Roslin turns into Gary Oldman from The Professional!

Read More: Battlestar Galactica Recaps

Did you watch Battlestar Galactica this week? If so, feel free to discuss below.


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  • it's awesome to me how important Face of the Enemy is turning out to be. In explaining why Gaeta is acting the way he is to a fuller extent, plus that's how we found out the secret Baltar knows about Gaeta. I'm glad I watched them!
  • Still needs more Baltar, but we're getting better. I don't really get the whole staying behind thing when both Sol and Adama could have easily made their escape on the shuttle without breaking a sweat. The worst part though is the 'teaser' for next week. It was either loaded with false information or spoiled some serious stuff.

    Battlestar is great stuff. I think my hesitations come from true fanboy places, like I had my own idea of what I wanted to happen and it's not even close to what's going down. I feel this season will go like most of the others - the last half of the (half)season will be amazing and make it all worth it.
  • This was a very hard episode to watch, wasn't it? I found that watching the characters (though I'd say people describes them better in this situation, they're completely realized) go through those horrible situations made me squirm. Sharon & Hera being taken, the conversation between Anders and a past friend before he was captured, Adama being shot at in CIC, it leaves knots in the stomach. The final scene packed quite a punch, Adama doesn't look like he even cares anymore. He seemed to accept that he was going to die, didn't take cover and was out to take as many down as possible before they got him. At least Tigh had the self preservation to crouch behind something!

    God knows where this is headed, but so far it's frackin' good.

    (Also, from a fangirl pov, WUHOO to the Kara + Lee kiss)
  • I agree -- somewhat hard to watch -- it felt like everything was happening a little too fast, at least until the end. And I agree with Fure, this season needs more Baltar.
  • JJDV
    I really hope nothing heinous happens to Sharon. As Kevin Carr mentioned, the implicit sexual assault of the captive Six earlier in the series made me extremely uncomfortable.
  • Yeah, I think the writers must like making the audience squirm a bit.
  • Jeff
    Kevin, read the Wikipedia article about the webisode series "The Face of the Enemy" to find out what Gaeta's secret is.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlestar_Galactica...
  • I think Baltar knows that Gaeta was with one of the Sharon's (from the webisodes).
  • Mecurian
    Yes Baltar knows exactly what Gaeta did on new Caprica and how he, (through the best of intentions) seduced by a Sharon model, supplied names of prominent people from Galactica.. It is quite likely that that the list that Gaeta supplied the Cylons was the same list that Baltar was forced to sign at gun point. I wonder how well the mutineers would take it if they find out that their leader was (although unwittingly) a Cylon informant.
  • SomeRandomGuy
    I don't think the list Baltar signed could have had TOO many names from Gaeta's list. From a meta standpoint, there would have been no tension as the Eight revealed what she did. And, as Baltar has been shown to know about the events of the webisodes, he could have deflated Gaeta's perjury (during the trial episodes) with a couple of words to his lawyer. And I bet the mutineers do somehow or another find out about Gaeta's unwitting collaboration.
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