Webisode #9 Written by: Jane Espenson & Seamus Kevin Fahey Directed by: Wayne Rose Original Release Date: 1/7/09 on SciFi.com Characters That Appear: Lt. Felix Gaeta, Civilian Eight, Gaius Baltar, Lt. J. 'Shark' Finnegan, Ensign 'Easy' Esrin Cylons That Appear: Civilian Eight
Webisode 9 Recap:
(Caption: Raptor 718)
Civilian Eight says she'd tell Gaeta that those she supposedly released had run off, or were at the infirmary or that she'd seen them eating with their families.
Flashback #1:
Back on New Caprica, Civilian Eight says, "Didn't you see them? I'm sure you'll see them tomorrow."
Gaeta can't believe it. He says that he saw them. He mentioned Jenkins and Pembroke by name.
Gaeta notices the scalpel on the floor and then looks over at Civilian Eight.
Civilian Eight says that she did save a few just to make sure that Gaeta deluded himself about the fate of the rest.
Gaeta struggles to sit down as he claims that he saw Heather Raymond and her baby playing.
Civilian Eight points out that she's a woman and a Cylon, but that she didn't seduce him. Rather, it was hope that seduced him. She adds that the more he "ate of it" the less he saw until he was "blind."
Gaeta wants to know why she didn't just kill everyone when she knew they were lost.
Civilian Eight responds that she's not a monster and only killed when the probabilities dictated it. She says that killing is done in war and that you kill those that "your enemy values."
As she talks, Gaeta grabs the scalpel and slips it into his sleeve.
Gaeta is stunned. He says that he trusted her and wonders how he could have guessed.
Civilian Eight points out that "Baltar did" and she wonders if Baltar didn't tell him. When Gaeta is silent, she guesses that he blocked that out as well.
Flashback #2:
As Gaeta and Baltar sit in Baltar's cell on Galactica, Baltar asks, "What did you tell them?" He continues by guessing that Gaeta told them that he stayed to the "crispy end" in order to feed information to the Resistance. He then asks Gaeta who he thinks allowed him to carry on. Gaeta calls the insinuation a lie. Baltar says that it isn't and that he's not blind. He says that he literally had a gun pointed to his head, but no one forced Gaeta to play both sides.
Back on the Raptor, Civilian Eight gets up and moves toward the front of the Raptor.
Civilian Eight turns and tells Gaeta that there isn't much difference between their brains in that they can choose to be deluded. She points out that he basically saw her kill twice on the Raptor and chose to hold onto the false hope instead. She says that he chooses to call that fatal flaw hope or faith or love instead.
Flashback #2 Con't:
Baltar asks Gaeta who is the real traitor between the two of them. Gaeta counters that he's not a traitor. Baltar responds that there are worse things than being a traitor. Baltar muses about Gaeta's "friends' learning the truth of what he did. Baltar then adds "don't worry." He then walks over, grabs Gaeta's head, leans close and whispers, "I know about your little secret. I know what your Eight did." Gaeta stands up, grabs Baltar, grabs the pen and stabs Baltar in the neck.
On the Raptor, Gaeta has stabbed Civilian Eight.
to be continued
<end>
Analysis:
Back on New Caprica, Civilian Eight led Gaeta on with small lies and even released a handful of people to allow Gaeta to convince himself that he really was helping humans.
Civilian Eight argues that she's not a "monster." She was only killing those on New Caprica that the Resistance found valuable. She also only killed on the Raptor in order to keep the probabilities up. This is likely centered around having a ten hour window that she earlier said it would take the fleet to respond to her pulse. That explains why she killed the three when there was between twelve and nine hours of air left.
Now we know what Baltar whispered in Gaeta's ear that caused Gaeta to stab Baltar. Baltar knew that Gaeta had been playing both sides willingingly and that the Cylons were allowing Gaeta to do so. Baltar further knew that Gaeta had been played by the Eight. In the context of Gaeta having convinced himself that he had helped people escape, he shouldn't have reacted negatively to Baltar knowing what "his Eight did." However, Gaeta also knew that the Cylons had had their own lists. In that one moment with Baltar, he must have realized that he was the source of the lists that the Cylons had used on New Caprica. He attacked Baltar and then buried the revelation deep again until Civilian Eight brought it back up.
Baltar points out that there is something worse than a traitor and that would be someone ignorantly betraying the very people that they have convinced themselves they are helping.
Gaeta has again reacted violently to someone bringing up what he had done. Just as Gaeta tried to silence Baltar, he's attacked Civilian Eight. This also reinforces what she said about him thinking of killing the others all along.
On the other hand, Gaeta could just be attacking her because he knows that she'll kill him next if she needs to save more air.
Flashbacks: #1:
Back on New Caprica, Civilian Eight says, "Didn't you see them? I'm sure you'll see them tomorrow."
#2:
As Gaeta and Baltar sit in Baltar's cell on Galactica, Baltar asks, "What did you tell them?" He continues by guessing that Gaeta told them that he stayed to the "crispy end" in order to feed information to the Resistance. He then asks Gaeta who he thinks allowed him to carry on. Gaeta calls the insinuation a lie. Baltar says that it isn't and that he's not blind. He says that he literally had a gun pointed to his head, but no one forced Gaeta to play both sides.
#2 Con't:
Baltar asks Gaeta who is the real traitor between the two of them. Gaeta counters that he's not a traitor. Baltar responds that there are worse things than being a traitor. Baltar muses about Gaeta's "friends' learning the truth of what he did. Baltar then adds "don't worry." He then walks over, grabs Gaeta's head, leans close and whispers, "I know about your little secret. I know what your Eight did." Gaeta stands up, grabs Baltar, grabs the pen and stabs Baltar in the neck.
Notes:
Running time: ~3:30
According to Jane Espenson's podcast commentary, the original line that Baltar whispered in Gaeta's ear would have been "Do you know what your Eight did?" It was changed to "I know what your Eight did" only in editing after everything had been filmed.
Unanswered Questions:
Was a perceived common flaw Civilian Eight's motivation for first choosing Gaeta to be the last survivor and then telling Gaeta what she had really done back on New Caprica since she's otherwise scoffing at his blind trust in her both on New Caprica and on the Raptor?
How did Baltar know what the Eight had really done? And why didn't he try to tell anyone except Gaeta? If Baltar figured it out, who else might also know?
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