Season 4, Episode 12:
A Disquiet Follows My Soul
The Fleet are searching for a new home after the disappointment of finding the bombed-out Earth. On Galactica, Bill wakes up late and heads to the CIC, trying to act formal in the face of disappointment.
In Galactica's sickbay, Caprica-Six and Tigh are shown a sonogram of her unborn child. She remarks that it's a miracle because Cylons had never been able to bear children within their own race.
Gaeta is also in sickbay getting treatment for his leg, and angrily watches the medical staff taking care of Six alongside Tyrol's son, Nicholas. He bitterly comments that the staff shouldn't keep the Cylons waiting for treatment.
A press conference is held with Lee and Zarek, who answer questions about a possible alliance with the Cylons, Roslin's condition and the rumors about Caprica-Six's child. They refuse to comment about the last of the Final Five, but Lee makes a mistake by revealing that the last Cylon is a female, and is forced to leave as the reporters yell out more questions. Afterwards, Bill and Zarek discuss the issue of the alliance, which the latter steadfastly refuses to endorse. Bill assures Zarek that Lee will make the final call.
The command crew holds a meeting to discuss the recent alliance with the rebel Cylons. Bill suggests that one benefit to such an alliance would be to use Cylon technology to upgrade the fleet's jump drives. Everyone except Gaeta is in agreement, but Bill refuses to make a decision until he's consulted Roslin. Bill goes to visit her, and discovers that she is not taking her medication anymore and wants to exercise instead. She refuses to weigh in on the issue, and tells Bill that she needs some time to be alone.
In sickbay, Tyrol is having Nicholas in for more tests when Cottle reveals that Nicholas is neither a half-Cylon nor Tyrol's child. When a shocked Tyrol asks to know who the father is, Cottle tells him he has to inform the true father first.
Gaeta meets with Kara in the mess hall and angrily brings up her association with other known Cylons. He threatens that there will be a reckoning, but she refuses to listen to his insults and walks out. Gaeta tells the other officers in the hall that he needs to talk to all of them, and closes the hatch.
Lee and Zarek hold another Quorum meeting on Colonial One. Zarek successfully rallies the Quorum to allow captains to reject using Cylon technology on their ships, but Bill overrules them by stating that the upgrades are a military matter and outside of the Quorum's influence. He also finds Roslin jogging in the halls and tries to sway her to return to politics and counter Zarek's influence. She refuses, telling him that they've both earned some time to be ordinary people and not authority figures.
In the CIC, Gaeta tries to argue with Bill about forcing the fleet to adapt the Cylon jump drive upgrades. Their conversation is halted when the fleet's refinery ship mutinies, which results in three deaths. Hoshi intercepts a message stating that Zarek is ordering the crew not to cooperate with Galactica, and the ship jumps away.
Tyrol goes to one of Baltar's sermons and finds Hot Dog standing in the crowd. He confronts the pilot with the knowledge that he knows Cally slept with him and sired his child, then begins to brawl with him in full view of the rest of the commune. Afterwards, they go to the sickbay to tend to their wounds. Tyrol asks Hot Dog to take care of Nicholas while he goes to get drunk.
Zarek is arrested and placed in Galactica's brig. Bill questions him and threatens to indict him as a political criminal, which causes Zarek to eventually relent and give up the coordinates of the missing ship.
Afterwards, Gaeta visits Zarek in his cell. He tells the Vice-President that he wants to work with him so that they can stop Bill's alliance with the Cylons, and insinuates that there are others in the fleet who are willing to help him…
The day ends with the return of the missing refinery ship. Tigh relays the news to Bill, but the latter is interrupted by Roslin hanging up the phone. They are in bed together, and they both agree that they don't care about anything for the time being…
Tropes:
- All There in the Manual: Gaeta's rationale for betraying Bill and Roslin and leading a mutiny is explained in the Face of the Enemy webisode series, where he discovers that an Eight he had an intimate relationship with on New Caprica was using him the whole time, and decides that none of the rebel Cylons can be trusted.
- Bottle Episode: The majority of the episode takes place on Galactica, and acts as a bridge between two major plot arcs (the discovery of the bombed-out Earth and the mutiny arc).
- Deadpan Snarker:
- Cottle to Tigh while they're looking at the ultrasound scan of Caprica-Six's fetus in sickbay.Cottle: Try looking with your eyes… eye.
- Bill later gets a bout of this after the Hitei Kan jumps away:You know, there are days that I really hate this job.
- Cottle to Tigh while they're looking at the ultrasound scan of Caprica-Six's fetus in sickbay.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Tyrol gets drunk after learning that Cally cheated on him with Hot Dog (and bore a child).
- Face–Heel Turn: Gaeta, who begins to instigate a ship-wide mutiny with Zarek.
- Game Changer: Zarek could never take power before because he didn't have the support of the military. He now has a faction within Galactica's crew willing to support him.
- Insult Backfire: Gaeta tries to claim that Kara is a Cylon, only for her to retort that "it's still better than being a gimp", referencing his amputated leg.
- Ironic Echo: Gaeta and Kara's discussion/confrontation is highly reminiscent of their talk in "Collaborators", except this time it is Gaeta who insults Kara instead of the other way around.
- Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: Tyrol discovers that Hot Dog (Brendan Costanza) slept with his late wife and fathered a child which Tyrol believed to be his, leading them to come to blows.
- The Mutiny: Gaeta instigates one by getting Zarek's help. He does it because he believes that Bill and Roslin are getting way too comfortable with the Cylons.
- Pity Sex: Discussed. Gaeta mockingly asks Kara if a "pity frak is out of the question" when she calls him a cripple and leaves the mess hall.
- Punch-Clock Hero: The episode largely deals around an average day on the job for Bill aboard the Galactica.
- Rage Against the Heavens: Baltar preaches a sermon condemning God for punishing them with the false hope of Earth, and screams that God should be asking for their forgiveness.
- Saying Too Much: While trying to convince reporters that the final Cylon model is dead, Lee doesn't notice himself using "she" to describe her. This leads to the crowd Spotting the Thread and demanding to know how he knows her gender. He has to hastily conclude questioning right then, and as he walks out, he expresses annoyance at how he bungled that.
- Cottle's assistant accidentally blurts out details that alert Tyrol to the fact that something's up with Nicholas' lineage. Cottle unsuccessfully tells her to shut up, but it's too late, and he decides to just get it over with and inform Tyrol that Nicholas isn't actually his child by blood.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Gaeta decides that Bill and Roslin are getting too cozy with the Cylons, and begins to organize a mutiny throughout Galactica.
