With the season premiere of the fourth and final season of Battlestar Galactica just a week away, I thought I’d just give you a little prehash of what I would like to see happen in this season.

NOTE: As soon as the season of our respective shows I will be doing a rehash of the seasons. For example, when LOST is over, I will be rehashing that season and so on and so forth for all the other shows.

READ ON!

So what do I want to see in this explosive new season of Battlestar Galactica? First off, I get off my chest how I feel about season 4 being the FINAL season for the show. I think this was a smart move. The writers obviously have an ending planned for the show, and I’m glad the network is allowing them to pursue that end. On a storytelling note, I think this was really smart. There was a Star Trek entitled Voyager that was almost in the same vein as this show, the crew was trying to find Earth, or home as they knew it, and had gotten lost. When time after time, they were close to getting home, but it was a failed attempt and I got frustrated and turned it off. With Galactica’s search for earth, it has been one stepping stone after another. With the map to Earth in season 2, then the Eye of Jupiter, and finally the nebula with the reveal of Starbuck’s return, looks to be finally ending it.

Will I miss the show? Absolutely. I think it has been a fine journey, but as I’ve said before, I love conclusions. I like the journey, but I love conclusions and seeing everything tied up in a nice little continuative bow. So what do I want to see in this final season?

I think obviously first and foremost on that list is I want Galactica and the fleet to find Earth. I think we can obviously expect that much from the end of the season 3 finale. It DID create the allusion that the search for Earth was not that far off. It is, after all, what the show is mainly about: that search for that 13^th colony.

Another thing I want to see in that regard is how Earth will be when Galactica finds it. In the original series (from what I’ve heard as I’ve never watched the original series), Galactica and the fleet finds Earth in 1980 or something. Like I said, I don’t know how that goes. I think it will be a very interesting twist if Earth was pretty much destroyed when they got to it. It’ll serve as a nice twist and give the humans more resolve to not allow what happened to them on the other 12 colonies. I think that would be a great twist.

Another thing I want to see in this coming season is the mystery of Kara Thrace (aka Starbuck) resolved. Near the end of the third season, we got a sense that there was more to Starbuck than meets the eye. But her Viper blew up, so we didn’t explore that. But then when we saw her appear in the finale, I think people were really shocked. What do I think about Starbuck? Well, I don’t think she is a Cylon. I think she is a messenger from the Gods. Because at the end of the season 3, Galactica and the fleet were at this nebula, hoping to find something to lead them to Earth. So what better way to lead them to Earth than by sending someone you know to act as a guide to Earth? That’s what I think about that.

But then again, given what the humans know about Cylons and their ability to “resurrect”, no doubt she will be expected to be a Cylon. I don’t think she is a Cylon, though. I think that would be cheap writing and would cheapen Starbuck’s character. I think what the hybrid could’ve been warning about is that Starbuck really does know the way to Earth, but if the Colonials follow her, then the Cylons will also follow her (as we know that the Cylons are also looking for Earth) and destroy the human race. So there’s that double entendre, there, which will make it all the more interesting. Either way, I am excited to see where this “special destiny” leads the character of Starbuck.

Which brings me to my next point: the fifth and final Cylon. Who is it? I couldn’t even begin to imagine who the fifth Cylon could be. At first, I thought it could be Baltar but then the producers shot that theory down. Then, I thought it could be Roslin, but they shot that down when I read an official companion. So I am prepared to be surprised at who the fifth Cylon could be. I think when it will be revealed will be even more cooler.. Could it be a new character? A character we’ve seen? I am excited at the prospect of seeing this fifth Cylon.

From what we know of the fifth Cylon is that D’Anna Biers, or Number 3 (as played by Xena’s Lucy Lawless) saw all of the Final Five, and was shocked when she gazed upon the visage of the fifth, and looked in fear. So it is possible that we won’t get the reveal of the final Cylon until that character returns. Now, I hope that doesn’t happen, but I wouldn’t rule it out, especially after the 11-month hiatus we’ve been forced to endure.

Going back to the Cylons. In the season 3 finale, it was revealed that Sam Anders, Saul Tigh, Chief Tyrol, and Tory Foster were four of the Final Five Cylons. I cannot wait to see how these individuals handle being a Cylon. Every individual who was revealed to be a Cylon, I think, has had very interesting character arcs so far in the series, and I think the Cylon revelation will only continue that.

As far as Tigh is concerned, I think he will be the most troubled by it. After all, Tigh has been built up through this series as a Cylon hater. When Boomer shot Adama, Tigh called her a “thing,” and has made a point of calling all Cylons that. He also killed his wife for collaborating with the Cylons and that tortured him through all of season 3. I also wonder how this revelation will affect his friendship with Admiral Adama. We’ve seen throughout the series that they have always had a close bond. Will there be now a rift?

With Anders, I think is the most interesting. I mean, when we first found Anders, he was killing Cylons. He was the leader of the Caprica-bound Resistance against the Cylons. When the Cylons invaded New Caprica, he was one of the first initial leaders. I wonder how he will take it, especially since his wife, Starbuck, has literally returned from the dead. It is possible that Anders will begin to speculate he’s a Cylon, so he could rationalize to himself that all of this is going to be okay.

Tyrol, I think, is also very interesting. He was after all in love with a Cylon, for a while. He loved Boomer for a while if you recall. So he already has that Cylon connection. Also, at the end of season 2, when Tyrol was at the edge of depression (basically suicidal), he thought he might’ve been a Cylon. But Bro. Cavill (also a Cylon) convinced him that this could not be. He is also the first to realize and kind of accept that he is a Cylon, and kind of brings it to light to the rest of the group. It was like he understood it more than they did, or something like that.

On Tyrol’s aspect, I would love to see how this affects his relationship and marriage with his wife, Cally Henderson-Tyrol. How will this revelation shock that relationship? I can’t wait to see how that works. Also, with the revelation that Tyrol is a Cylon comes the revelation that his son Nicky is a Cylon-Human Hybrid, much like the child of Sharon “Athena” Agathon and Karl “Helo” Agathon. So I wonder how that will bode for the Human-Cylon future?

One character’s journey I’m really excited to see explored is the character of Tory Foster. I feel that we don’t know that much about her character, other than she is President Roslin’s aide and that she is now a Cylon. I mean, we really don’t know about her character’s backstory or much of her, in general. So I thought making her a Cylon will really flesh out her character a lot more. I’m excited to see what the future of Battlestar Galactica has for this character.

Another thing that’s interesting about the entire Final Five Cylons, is what makes them so different from the other Cylons? I mean why are they called “the Final Five”? Were they Cylon experiments in evolution that failed? Are they a piece of the Cylon past that is yet to be discovered? Or are they more powerful than the other Cylons (called by the writers and producers as the “Significant Seven”)? Do they not download into other bodies like the Significant Seven can? Because we’ve not seen any other Tyrols, Tighs, or Tories hanging around. So it’ll be interesting to see that. And also, will these four Cylons actually try to seek out the fifth Cylon, in order to unify themselves?

I think either way the prospect of the Final Five Cylons is an intriguing one. It has intrigued me from the beginning of last season. I had hoped we would get the reveal of the Final Five in the first block of episodes, but alas I didn’t. But their reveal at the end of the season was nice too.

Another prospect of the series that I hope is resolved is the first Cylon-Human Hybrid baby, Hera. What in this child is the key to humanity’s future, according to the Cylons? Does the same bode for Nicky, the other Human-Cylon baby? I hope we will get an answer to that. It seems that there is something more to this child as it did save the life of Laura Roslin when she was on the brink death from cancer.

That’s another thing that I’m excited the writers are bringing back: Roslin’s cancer. When this was revealed, I was shocked. It was definitely a bold move from the writers. I am anxious to see how this will affect her duties as President, and with her taking the Chamalla again, which in the past has given her visions. So it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out. I think I can speak for everyone, by saying I hope the cancer doesn’t kill Roslin.

Now throughout the series, my favorite character in the series has been Lee “Apollo” Adama. I don’t know why, but I have loved his character growth throughout the series to this point. In the episodes that focused on him (i.e. Bastille Day, Black Market, The Son Also Rises, Crossroads, parts 1 & 2, just to name a few), I have really enjoyed his character. Even throughout the changing ways of the galaxy at the time. He has stuck to his guns, even when everyone else didn’t believe him at all. I think that character evolution will continue especially now that Lee will be a civilian throughout all of season 4. I thought that was another bold move by the writers to have Lee basically call it quits from the Colonial Fleet and live as a civilian. Kind of like fighting the war a different way. I thought that at the end of the finale, he would be part of the Fleet again (like Star Trek does), but I was wrong. This is going to stick. Ballsy move by the writers. I cannot wait to see what lies in store for that character, as we get closer to Earth, and uncovering the mystery of Starbuck. I almost feel almost as if Starbuck’s storyline will almost intertwine with Apollo’s. It’ll be interesting to see if that’s the route they take with the character.

That being said, will Apollo’s resignation with the Fleet impact the relationship he has with his father? I have loved the father-son relationship between Apollo and Adama. It is a very turbulent relationship. At the beginning of the series, it was very down,. And has fluctuated throughout the series. It is, by far, one of the more interesting relationships in the series, and this show has a lot of interesting relationships.

Going back to the Cylons, I hope to see more of the Cylon world in season 4. I liked the idea of last season, kind of going into that world and seeing it through Baltar’s eyes. I hope we can see more of that Cylon world. In last season, we definitely got to see a lot of dissension with the Cylons, when No. 3 kept going on her wild quests by killing herself to learn the identity of the Final Five. I would like to see more of that dissension as the series goes on.

I am also curious as to the fate of the Cylon race, as a whole. We know that the Cylons are out there, and are chasing the Colonials. We also know that they are also out to find Earth, and want Earth to be their new home (even though they’ve conquered all 12 colonies), as the Colonials do. Well, to quote Harry Potter, “one can’t live while the other survives.” Will the Cylons be destroyed in an explosive battle with the Colonial Fleet? Or will the Cylons destroy the Colonials? It shall be interesting to see where their story goes.

Well, those are my thoughts on season 4. I think season 3 ended on such a high note, and I think the fact that season 4 will be our last really kicks off things, too. There were a lot of things thrown up at the end of season 3, and I think season 4 will see a continuation and a conclusion of that. I am truly excited for this next exciting and final season of Battlestar Galactica.