"Galactica" Returns in March
Many Questions Need Answering in Season Four
After last year's finale, fans aren't waiting for the new season to speculate on where "Battlestar Galactica" is headed next.
(Note: major spoilers follow for those who have not watched Season 3 in its entirety).
With only ten episodes produced before the start of the Hollywood Writers’ Strike, Sci-Fi Network’s Battlestar Galactica’s anticipated conclusion after Season Four will likely be delayed. But with the show’s return slated for March, forums on the SciFi Channel website have been buzzing with speculation since last year’s finale. Although November’s mini-series Razor answered some questions, there is still much to analyze from last season. Three of these questions have raised much debate among fans.
The Final Five Cylons
At season’s end, Tory Foster, Saul Tigh, Samuel Anders, and Galen Tyrol were revealed to be Cylons, but agreed to keep this knowledge to themselves. According to interviews, series creator Ron Moore confirmed that they are indeed Cylons, likely making them members of the “Final Five” models. As interesting a plot twist as this is, there are still some major implications.
For instance, an important storyline throughout the entire series involves Hera, the human/Cylon baby born to Sharon and Karl “Helo” Agathon, whom Number Six believed would bring the two peoples together. Given Hera's importance, it would also imply that the Nicholas Tyrol, born to Cally and Galen, must share a similar destiny.
There is also a potential continuity error from Season One in which Cylon humanoids are distinguished by their relentless physical energy. Sharon “Boomer” Valerii never gets tired during the episode “33”, a major clue to her true identity as a Cylon when the Galactica crew go nearly three hundred hours without sleep,. If they are indeed Cylons, why were Tyrol and Tigh among those who were visibly exhausted? Is it a continuity error, or something special about these four “models”?
Finally, who is the fifth of the “Five”? Baltar? Roslin? Or someone else?
Starbuck’s Destiny
Speculation that Kara “Starbuck” Thrace is a Cylon has been around since the first season, but the events of the episode “Maelstrom” seem to indicate a far more complex fate for her. She claims she has been to Earth. As hopeful as this sounds, Pegasus officer Kendra Shaw’s encounter with the Cylon Hybrid entity in “Razor” seems to cloud any optimism about Starbuck’s journey. The Hybrid - reputed for uttering prophetic phrases – says that “Kara Thrace will lead humanity to its ultimate end”, that "they must not follow her".
Is it really “Starbuck” who has returned, or someone (something) else? Is it all a Cylon trap? What will this mean for her relationship with Anders, given his own recent “discovery”?
Have the Cylons beaten the Fleet to Earth? Given the hope that finding Earth represents to the survivors, and after the debacle of New Caprica, the leadership of the fleet may have little political choice but to continue to the Thirteenth Colony despite the risks.
The Battle at the Ionian Nebula
After jumping in, the Colonials suffered a fleet-wide power outage that disabled every ship, including the Galactica. President Roslin suddenly becomes lightheaded just as the power cuts out. What is the connection?
Finally, can the Galactica, still damaged since New Caprica, hold off the massive Cylon Fleet before them for the twenty minutes necessary for the ships to power up their FTL drives? How will Admiral Adama get them out of this one?
We’ll all find answers to these questions and more when Season Four of Battlestar Galactica airs on SciFi in March, 2008. Check your local listings.
(Source: SciFi.com, Wikipedia “List of Battlestar Galactica (reimagined series) episodes”, Battlestar Wiki)
