I completely agree with you that the current mood if not deflation the populace must feel right now is an ideal breeding ground for Zarek to reassert himself into the spotlight. But as you pointed out, it's the manner in which they have him conveniently plop his character into obscurity and only arise to play the same hand again is what I find discouraging. I would've liked to have seen someone call him out on his strategy of conspiratorially whispering discontent in the ears of others and then finding someone to act as a symbolic figurehead that he could stand next to so as to remain clear from any fallout. I think if they had Gaeta pointing out that he knows only too well Zarek's bag of tricks, it would have given the character the chance to move out from being a caricature to someone who can only exist on the sidelines, challenging those in positions of authority as a means of being the counterpoint or countermeasure to whatever policies are made. That way, despite what people might think of Zarek, they realize that his role of being the discordant voice helps to keep the process honest by making sure people question everything and not take for granted whatever Roslyn says as being in the fleet's best interests.

I think that's why I'm eager to see if they will keep Baltar on this path of disillusionment regarding all the choices the fleet has made, along with his own interpretations of recent events. While Zarek can use emotional manipulation to fan the flames, I think having Baltar coming in from a whole other different tack will increase the threat of a complete societal collapse given how even Adama is starting to question the point of it all. Without any anchor, or firm assuring voice at the helm, I can see the fleet quickly turning in on itself – that is until the inevitable return of the Cylon fleet.

Regardless, I enjoyed reading your analysis of Zarek's character here and I do think you're right about his current relevance both to the fleet and the series plot line at this point. As for Head Six, I have no doubt that she'll return since I think that in itself creates the question of which state of mind is the non-delusional one for Baltar – the one where he sees himself as some sort of messenger of the Cylon god or when he sees Head Six plying him with all sorts of notions of how to perceive the events around him. The fact that both cannot exist simultaneously is fascinating in its implication of a fractured disconnect with reality.

Again, thanks for the wonderful conversation, Myles. I do look forward to discussing your insights on what we'll see in the remaining episodes.

When the fleet jumped away from the Cylons, Zarek became irrelevant – he was a terrorist in a world where the sheer terror of their lives was enough to drive people towards the most reasonable terms. Tom Zarek has always been struggling for relevancy: battling to subvert power during the original split from the fleet, working under Baltar on New Caprica, and eventually using Lee for his uses. Now, with the fleet in disarray, there is room for terror: he’s going back into his old ways because it’s possible that he could have a point now. He could in fact be exactly the person the people need.

Unfortunately, he’s not ready for it, and even with Gaeta I don’t think Zarek can make this work. Terrorism is still too simple an ideology, same with fear, to deal with the series’ complex identity politics, and he’s going to discover that sooner or later.

And agreed on Head Six – although apparently McCreary has said that the scene had Head Six questioning Gaius’ statements as opposed to egging him on. She wasn’t pleased with it. So I’m curious if we’ll see that storyline continue to play out.

Wait, what? Gaius’ mind-frakking Six was supposed to return? I have to admit my initial reaction was disappointment that it was dropped since that would’ve really been a shock. But then pondering it some more, I could see why Moore ultimately decided to drop that segment from the scene. As it stands, the scene shows Gaius feeling betrayed by whatever notions he had about his apparently-divine role in leading the flock. It’s that sense of disillusionment that he has over recent events that is driving his renunciation over what he used to believe – the fact that he just sat there smoking a cigarette while his flock cheered Tyrol and Hotdog’s fighting emphasized that ‘frak if I care anymore’ attitude he now has. If the scene with Six had been kept, it would introduce the idea that it’s not Gaius’ frustration that is behind his change in stance, but that Six voice in his head prodding him down a certain path. Besides, when that Head Six does re-appear, Gaius should have the opportunity to confront it as it was Head Six that had him believing he was some sort of a messiah.

The second reason why I think the omission makes sense is because of the whole mood of this episode – this storyline wasn’t about generating shocks or mind fraks, but rather fleshing out the emotional state of the fleet. With the goal now attained of finding Earth, new lines need to be drawn in the sand as to who sides with whom over what should be done next. So, having this sudden reappearance would stick out more like a sore thumb than be one of those wonderful surprise curve balls this series likes to throw out.

In regards to Zarek, from the start we were introduced to a character who was clearly motivated by opportunism and not a sense of what he felt was the best way for the fleet to function. Every time we’ve seen Zarek, his opposition to Adama and/or Roslyn was not because he had a clear, alternate vision of what to do; instead, just like we saw last night, all he sees are chances to stir the masses to rise up in protest, but without any viable alternatives of what to do instead. It’s also why Zarek hides behind someone else – first, it was with Gaius, and then Lee and now, it’s Gaeta – since as he did yesterday, he can claim that the actions people took were not because he told them to, but because it was the will of others. This strategy also protects him from people coming round after the deed is done and asking him what his plans are for turning the tide around. This lack of a real alternate voice is why I see the Zarek character as being pointless and a wasted potential.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts, Myles. I’ll be sure to stop by your blog to see what other impressions you had of this episode.

See, I don’t think we got that several seasons ago at all, and I don’t think we got it here. I think the frustrating thing is that Zarek is right: he’s not squeaky clean about it, but the man has a point as it relates to Roslin and Adama’s power and while his inner politics of fear are bleeding out here that’s in my mind a more nuanced character struggle than it is a retread of past storylines.

But I otherwise completely agree with your thoughts, echoing many of them in my own review, especially about Gaius: a perusal of Bear McCreary’s blog shows that there was actually a Head Six scene in the middle of Baltar’s sermon of sorts that was cut in post-production, so I am really intrigued to see if that would of given us more of a sense of the role he’s going to play in future episodes.