Athena and Six have been largely absent for the first two episodes of this season.

Credit: Sci-Fi Channel

Is this the calm before the storm?  Well judging by the preview for next week's episode it sure looks like it.

After the dramatic events of "Sometimes A Great Notion," the 9th to last episode of "Battlestar" was a little less explosive in comparison.  That didn't mean however, that nefarious plans were in the works.

It should have been foreshadowed by the webisode series he starred in before this season began, but its clear after a few years lurking in the background, Felix Gaeta (Alessandro Juliani) is finally getting his due.  While he always was that testy and moody officer you just couldn't quite peg, who knew Moore and Eick would set him up to be so warped at the end of the series?  ("So you want a gay character? Fine! He's actually bi and he's a jerk too.  Happy?" I guess that's progress for Sci-Fi.)

While the main action of "Notion" centered around Vice President Zarek (Richard Hatch) and his attempts to wrestle control of the fleet from Adama (yeah, like that was gonna happen), the more interesting plot line had Gaeta slowly building up support to "turn the world right side up" and pretty much doing so in plain sight.    By teaming up with Zarek, he's showing his true colors.  And this is hardly lingering bitterness over loosing a leg.  Anyone remember how he waited too long to help the rebels overthrow Baltar and the Cylons on New Caprica?  He was complicit in those tragedies too.

Meanwhile, the rest of the episode showed the growing discomfort of the Colonial fleet to forge a long term alliance with the good Cylons, President Roslin is still in serious denial over her cancer, Chief discovered his son really isn't his (boy, can anything go right in this toaster's life?), Baltar is slowly transforming into a dark, angry prophet (and is that Six still in his head?) and Adama and Roslin nestle bed together for one last moment of peace.

One of the biggest questions completely unaddressed in this episode was Starbuck's mindset.  In the season premiere she, along with Leoben, discovered her dead body on the planet in the original starfighter she had "died" in before dramatically returning to lead the alliance to Earth (got that?). Are we to assume she's kept this info to herself?  Is Leoben keeping quiet too?  She had one "I'm not in the mood" scene with Gaeta, but that was it.  Odd for Moore and Eick to drop the ball like that.

Next week's episode, "The Oath," looks like mutiny is on deck for the Colonial fleet.  Which of Galactica's little indians will get knocked off this time?  Zarek and Gaeta seem like prime candidates.  Meanwhile, still no sign of the evil Cylons which as everyone knows can't be a good thing.

Gregory Ellwood
Editor-in-Chief, Co-Founder

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With over a decade of experience in the movie industry, Ellwood survived working for two major studios and has written for Variety, MSN and the LA Times. A co-founder of HitFix, Ellwood spends his time relaxing hitting 3’s on the basketball court and following his beloved Clippers.