What did I think of the season premiere of Battlestar Galactica?

Was it worth the hype? And more importantly, was it worth the wait?

READ ON!

This was an awesome episode. I think after almost a year of hiatus from this show, we as fans of the show were expecting a lot from this episode. I think it delivered. Battlestar Galactica has returned, folks, and it returned well.

One of the things I like about Battlestar Galactica is that every season feels like a new chapter in the ongoing novella series that is this show. This premiere was no exception. I think Battlestar Galactica premieres are game-raisers all by themselves, while still laying good groundwork. This episode really seemed to do both of those things in spades. If this episode was any indicator of what’s to come, then I think we are in for quite a ride this season.

This episode, like any premiere, really laid the groundwork for the season, by setting up all the necessary story arcs that will be driving the rest of the season. It really did that in spades. A lot of balls were left hanging in the air at the end of season three almost a year ago and I think a lot of us were ready for some answers about certain things that had happened in that finale. But what I got was not only some answers but lots more questions.

What I liked about this episode is like in typical Galactica fashion, took place right where we left off in the finale and literally hit the ground running. I was glued to my chair the entire episode and stayed glued until the final moments of the episode.

One plotline that I am excited to see as the season progresses is the idea of the mystery of Kara Thrace. I, for one, do not think that Kara Thrace is the final Cylon. I think that would be too easy, and it just doesn’t mesh with everything that we’ve seen in the series, especially with Kara’s last episode in season three, Maelstrom. I think that as the season goes on, we will see Starbuck on a warpath to try and find out who and what she is.

I think it was nice that we saw so much time devoted to the return of Starbuck and all the character’s reacting to their arrival, as that was this episode really seemed to hit on really hard. In fact, I believed that the title, “He that Believeth in Me” is actually a referring to the Galactica’s crew’s disbelief about Starbuck going to Earth. Although many people will recognize that the title is derived from a verse of scripture in the Bible, I believe that that is what it is referring to.

One thing regarding Starbuck that I think all of us are wondering about is her mysterious brand spanking new Viper. That has everyone scratching their heads. This is one of the reasons I don’t think she is a Cylon. The Cylons are good, but I don’t think they’re that good. They couldn’t just recreate the Viper like that. Also, how do you explain the time discrepancy with Starbuck thinking only six hours have gone by, while everyone seems to have experienced a time passage of a few months as we know from the past several episodes. I don’t think a Cylon could do that.

My theory on Starbuck’s return? This is where the writers of this show have me confused. Sure she could come back like a Cylon, but I don’t think she is a Cylon. I think she is the clue to finding Earth that the humans were looking for when they entered the nebula. After all, Lee said as much. But then there is also the warning at the end of Razor, where it was said by the Hybrid that Starbuck was the herald of the apocalypse and the harbinger of death and would in turn lead the human race to its end.

There are a lot of questions waiting to be answered about what exactly is going on with Starbuck Like I said, I think we will be going on that journey with Starbuck as she fights to find out what is going on with her. She could be a Cylon, but I don’t think so. I think the Cylon fascination with her that we’ve seen in prior reasons lends credence to this theory. Why would the Cylons be so fascinated with her if she was one of them? Many people believe her to be a Cylon with her actions at the end of the episode. I believe that this, like many of our characters’ questionable actions was done out of desperation. I don’t think Starbuck believed she had any other options at the time, so she thought with her gun and not her heart. But some could argue that Starbuck’s heart is her gun.

Also, another thing to note about Starbuck is as the fleet was jumping further and further away from the course that was laid out before them. If you recall, that these headaches were being had also by Laura Roslin in the season 3 finale, Crossroads Part Two. So is there some kind of connection between Roslin and Starbuck in the final journey towards Earth? I think that this might be a very strong possibility, but Roslin has to survive Starbuck’s gun first.

Another plotline that I am excited to see develop is the revelation of four of the Final Five Cylons. In the finale, we saw the Final Four (as I’m calling them) were the Chief, Anders, Tory, and Tigh. I think we will be seeing a lot more of them as their story develops.

In this episode we really got to see how these four people as a group are handling this new revelation, as it is still new to them. What I think is interesting about the Cylon revelation us that all of them are handling it in different ways. While I would’ve liked to see how the Chief and Tory handled it, we really got to see how Anders and Tigh are handling it.

I think Saul Tigh as a Cylon is an excellent character move. Even though Tigh is a Cylon, he still holds as much hatred for the Cylons, as he had at the beginning of the series. After seeing this episode, I am very much interested seeing how Tigh wrestles with this new revelation. I liked the opening sequence of the episode which allowed us to get inside the head of Tigh a little bit. In that sequence, we saw basically a re-envisioning of the scene from the season 1 finale where Boomer shot Adama. But instead Tigh shot Adama, which was really interesting. This scene really gave us a lot of insight into the Tigh character. Even though, he putts a front in front of Tyrol, Anders, and Tory about how easy to use is to just act as if this revelation, he is just as scared about it as all the others. I think he is truly terrified that he might shoot down his best friend, Bill Adama. I think that just makes him more human, which is what I love about all these characters on this how. Even though Tigh is scared about it, he puts on a front as if being a Cylon is just another problem he’s dealing with, like his drinking throughout all the seasons and his loss of Ellen by his own hand in the last season.

I also though Michael Hogan really played off this aspect of Tigh really well. Like I said, I think Tigh being a Cylon is going to do much for his character that this episode only scratched the surface of. Now, in the beginning, I was not always the biggest Tigh fan. But throughout season two to now, I have been continually impressed by Michael Hogan’s very versatile acting ability. He has really played the many aspects of Tigh very well, and I am excited to see how he will continue to play Tigh as he wrestles the fine line between being a Cylon and being human.

Another character we got to see dealing with being a Cylon is Sam Anders. Sam is really taking being a Cylon hard. I mean, with him, it’s sort of like an identity crisis. He just doesn’t know where this new revelation will take him. Anders is basically a famous guy, who was sort of pushed into the Cylon world much like the rest of the characters, with the destruction of the twelve colonies. He spent a large portion of that time, thinking the Cylon were the enemy, and kept on fighting the Cylons, even on New Caprica. I mean, he was the one who suggested that Tigh kill Ellen. Now, to find that all of that was a lie. I think that is how he is kind of dealing with that. He is as much a Cylon hater as Tigh, but I think he is a lot more softhearted about it. It’s kind of a morally gray issue with Anders. Like he hates Cylons, but he doesn’t feel he can being the fact that he is one.

As if that wasn’t enough, the return of his once lover and wife, Kara Thrace, also throws something new into his newly complicated life. Anders is really confused where his relationship with Kara really stands right now, as he doesn’t know how to tell her that he is a Cylon. He is unsure of she’s a Cylon too, with her recent resurrection. Because if she is a Cylon, then that’s good for him, but if she’s not, he’s frakked.

Another thing that I thought was interesting with this episode was that Anders was kind of the doorway to learning the Final Five’s potential as Cylons and what makes them different from the “Significant Seven” (the other Human-Cylon models). In that scene where Anders is staring the Cylon Raider dead in the face, and then the Cylon fleet takes off, we really got to see a glimpse of it. Why after Anders stared down the Raider, did it turn tail and run? Was it something Anders did or could it be that the Cylon fleet is letting the Final Five do their job by frakking up the fleet? I honestly don’t know. I want to think it was something Anders did.

I mean, we really got a glimpse of that potential within the Five (or four of the Five). This was further implicated by Caprica-Six’s statement that she was programmed to not think of the Final Five Cylons. She also states while in confinement, she felt the presence of the Final Five and that they were “close.” So that does mean that the twelfth Cylon is someone we know.

Now we cannot talk about the Final Five without talking about the final Cylon. Who do I think the twelfth Cylon is? I really have no idea. There are loads of theories on who the Cylon could be, but I have no concrete idea on who the Twelfth Cylon. Here is what I do think about the twelfth Cylon. I do not think that the final Cylon is a sleeper agent. I believe that the final Cylon knows who he or she is, and it is because of this final Cylon that the other Cylons don’t talk about or even programmed to think about the Final Five. I believe that the Final Cylon activated the trigger song to “awaken” the other Four. I hope that we will see who this Cylon is very soon. I’m not holding for too much, but I hope we do.

But I believe we will see more of the Final Cylons’ story unfold as they struggle to find out the truth about themselves. I am excited to see what the deal with these Cylons and what differs them from the other Seven Human-Cylon models.

Another storyline that I am intrigued to see more of is the storyline of Lee Adama. Now, Lee is probably one of my favorite characters on this show. I have said on other reviews that I enjoy the moral compass aspect he brings to the show. I am intrigued to see his story and character continue to blossom and grow as this season develops.

I am glad that during the midway of the episode, that he didn’t just grab his Viper-Wing badge when his father asked him to. I thought that would have been a waste of character. It would’ve made the progression he made in the last three episodes seem like a waste of TV-time. I am, for one, anxious to see how this develops.

As it develops, you can see there is kind of a rift between Lee and Adama. I think that is just natural human relationship, and it is what this show does really well. I think when any son does what his father does not want him to do, there is tension. We saw that kind of character drama in the miniseries that Adama’s view is “a man isn’t a man until he wears the wings of a viper pilot.” Obviously, Lee doesn’t see it that way. I do have to say, that I obviously loved that scene between Adama and Lee. It really kind of mended the rift a little bit but not too much.

I never get tired of those Adama and Apollo father-son scenes either. I always love scenes in shows that really showcase family relationships. But not all shows can do them well. In order for them to be done well, there has to be that relationship behind the scenes that has to accentuate the relationship onscreen. One great example of this is in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine with the Sisko father-son relationship. You really felt there was a relationship between those two actors and that relationship showed onscreen. I do think that Jamie Bamber and Edward James Olmos portray that strained father-son relationship well more than even the Siskos and don’t get me wrong I love the Siskos. But there has been a rollercoaster relationship with the Adamas that has been fun to watch onscreen and with Lee’s new foray into politics, I’m sure we will be seeing a lot more of it.

I think that many people are a little opposed to Lee’s change of status from CAG to civilian. Some feel that is a little out of the blue for Lee to be working for the government, and might be a recent character change. I think we have seen Lee’s interest in the government ever since early in the series. I think there is a reason that Roslin chose Lee to be her liaison between Adama and herself. Now, ever since that time, Roslin and Adama have gotten “closer” but I don’t think we need to go there yet. But I am looking forward to seeing this kind of character arc develop for the character of Lee Adama. I will say this though, it was weird to have an Adama father-son scene with Lee not in his uniform. Also, if Lee is going to work for the government, he will probably have many dealings with Roslin. This will serve some great dramatic tension in the series as it continues with all that he did in Baltar’s trial. I also will be bold to say that with his interaction, it may be possible that Lee may fund out that Tory is a Cylon. Now that is a long stretch, but I don’t think that’s out of the realm of possibility.

One thing that I am sad about is that we really didn’t get to see much of the Roslin cancer storyline kind of develop. I understand that it is only one episode, but I would liked to see one scene kind of deal with that a little bit. I want to say there were scenes shot for this particular storyline in the episode, but time was such that it could not be shown in the time allotted the episode. So, I’m glad that we got the mention that we did.

Another storyline that I was interested in but I felt moved a little slow at some points in the episode, was the storyline of Gaius Baltar. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Baltar. I think he was the one of the most interesting characters of this show. I really have loved his character arc as it has been fleshed out the past three seasons, but there were some slow points to it.

This storyline does have me intrigued, though, because it finds Baltar in a position of power and whenever Baltar is in a position of power, he will use it to how it best suits him at that moment in time. That makes him one of the more human characters in the series, as well. I am interested to see how he takes this position of power as it is relatively small power than what he has had. I loved the line that was had by Baltar where he notes that his current status quo seems to be a step-down as he has stepped down from “President of the Colonies to the King of Fools.” It’ll also be interesting to see how Virtual Six (The Cylon #6 that is in Baltar’s mind) will help him in this latest position of power to crush the feelings of this group from polytheism to monotheism

This episode was written by Bradley Thompson and David Weddle. Now these two writers are a staple in this show, having written the epic Exodus two-parter, the epic and emotional season 2 premiere, Scattered, and the ever-interesting Cylon-centric episode, Downloaded. You could definitely got a feeling of hitting the ground and running with this episode as all their episodes in the past have been. The episode was also directed by Michael Rymer, who is pretty much the staple director for the series, having directed the fan-favorite, 33, and also helmed last season’s epic and emotional finale, Crossroads. There is definitely a style to his directing on this show that is truly amazing to watch and you do not wonder why he has stayed with the show as long as he has.

All in all, this was an awesome episode. Like I said, it really laid the groundwork for a great season with all the characters. Naturally, there were some characters that kind of took a backseat to the action, but hey it was a pretty packed episode as it was, and I think that the next episodes are only going to build on that awesomeness. It really had some great character drama and also laid some mysteries and questions for us to think about all season. It really lwft us with something satisfying that was definitely worth the wait. I think it is safe to say that we are going to be in for quite a ride this season. It shows that even after four seasons, the pacing and speed of Battlestar Galactica has not let up.

RATING: 9/10