Battlestar Galactica: Fourth-Season Premiere Delivers
The Ride Begins Anew Tonight
When it comes to TV shows like Battlestar Galactica and, say, Lost, I don’t like to have future events spoiled. Still, upon receiving the opportunity to preview the first episode of Battlestar Galactica‘s fourth and eventually final season, I jumped at it for one simple reason — it’s been over a year since the last new episode of the series debuted, and just like everyone else, I’m jonesing for fresh spacecapades.
My aversion to spoilers limits how much I’m willing to reveal about tonight’s premiere “He That Believeth Me.” Therefore, instead of a formal review overflowing with details and speculation about what it all means, let’s just call this post my wholehearted, unequivocal endorsement of a must-see, can’t-miss episode.
I’ll gladly tell you this, though. The BSG season opener picks up exactly where the series left off at the end of the preceding episode, “Crossroads, Part 2,” when bewildered Lee Adama encountered an eerily cheerful Kara Thrace, apparently back from the dead and thrilled about having supposedly found her way to elusive Earth.
The issue this season then becomes is Kara really Kara? And, no less important, has she really visited the planet that so many have sacrificed so much to find? Unsurprisingly, different people have different reactions to both questions, which creates a number of distressing conflicts for an already volatile personality like Kara.
Meanwhile, oddball genius Gaius Baltar, having just squeaked past a fatal treason conviction for his actions on New Caprica, continues to lead the trippiest life (un)imaginable for someone who isn’t actually on drugs, at least that we know of.
An outcast almost everywhere, he takes up residence with the one group that not only accepts him but adores him — cult-ish zealots who consider him something more than just a mere man. Whether or not Gaius lives up to such sublime expectations is the direction his storyline will pursue for the immediate future.
At this point, I should make a confession: I have never liked and probably never will like Kara. She’s too much of a jagged-edged head case for my tastes. Nonetheless, the back-from-the dead angle shrouds her in intrigue and requires me to take an interest in her, especially now that we know the identities of all but the last Cylon model.
Is Kara number twelve? That’s too obvious an outcome, of course, but what else explains her current predicament? Finding out is only going to be part of the fun this season.
The other part will include accompanying Saul Tigh, Galen Tyrol, Sam Anders, and Tory Foster on their journey of self-discovery now that they’ve realized they’re sleeper Cylons. Although the fourth-season premiere provides brief hints of the changes each is already undergoing, I’m definitely looking forward to getting a more intimate look at how their view of the world evolves as their place in it shifts cataclysmically.
All that and more this season on Battlestar Galactica!
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Battlestar Galactica currently airs Fridays on the Sci Fi Channel at 10pm EST
Battlestar Galactica photo courtesy of the Sci Fi Channel
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