Justin Cox
Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.0
After the awesome ending to season 3.0 I was really excited to get Battlestar Galactica: Razor from Netflix. After about five minutes in I was very disappointed to find out Razor wouldn’t continue the story line and, instead, would follow the Pegasus from the moment of the Cylon attack to the moment it was destroyed. Lame. However, the movie wasn’t a total loss.
Battlestar Galactica: Razor
There were some, all but minor, revelations that have something to do with the entire series as a whole. Namely forty years ago, at the end of the first Cylon war, then Viper pilot “Husher” Adama found a factory where the Cylons were experimenting on humans — essentially attempting to build the first skin jobs. It was also revealed that at the moment the first Cylon war ended, Laura Roslin’s family had been killed and she left her little sister to die. When the war ended, her sister had been taken by a Heavy Raider, never to be seen again… maybe? We’ll see if it plays out again. Finally, Razor revealed that the original Hybrid Basestar was being protected by a group of original Raiders and hiding in deep space. Significance? Who knows because Battlestar Pegasus blew it up. Anyway, once Razor was out of the way it was finally onto the real story at hand, season 4.0.
There are a few, seemingly minor, things that happen throughout the course of season 4.0 that are still worth mentioning. The Cylons that became active at the end of season 3.0 — Colonel Tigh, Chief Tyrol, Samuel Anders, and Tory Foster — remain living in secret. Cally, Tyrol’s wife, discovered the secret and Tory flushes her out an airlock. Tory also starts sleeping with Giaus in an effort to “get information from him” but instead really enjoys it. Giaus continues to build his religious following and, in the process, stands up to the government and people that want to kill him. Oh, and he miraculously heals a child. No big deal.
The biggest story line of season 4.0 actually had very little to do with the humans. With the 3’s, the Lucy Lawless-bots, shelved, the 2’s (Starbuck’s creepy manipulating “husband”), 6’s (Giaus’ girlfriend), and 8’s (the Boomers) decided that finding the Final Five and working with the humans is probably God’s desire. On the other hand, the 1’s (crazy preacher guy), 4’s (doctor man) and the 5’s (first Cylon discovered) decided that knowing the identities of the Final Five and working with the humans is a horrible idea and, with the help of the 8 that tired to kill Adama, decide to kill off the “rebels.” Did you follow that? Anyway, the war only lasts a few minutes because the “rebels” basically get blown to pieces with no Resurrection ship in range.
[Note: As I typed this out I just realized that there are no 7's. Am I missing something or will this be revealed in 4.5?]
Meanwhile Starbuck, who despite being gone for two months and everyone thinking she died, shows up and only thinks she’s been gone for six hours. On top of that, her Viper is basically brand new without any computer data, scratches or even signs of use. Needless to say everyone thinks she’s a Cylon. As the Fleet continues to jump away from the Nebula that activated the hidden Cylons and where she reappeared, she starts to go nuts. Her “feeling” of how to find Earth starts to slip away. So, against the President’s wishes, Adama gives Starbuck the Demetrius and a small crew lead by Helo to follow her “feeling” to Earth.
Comet or a Basestar?
While on their “mission,” Starbuck’s crew grows tired of her crazy ramblings and paintings of a star system that don’t seem to make any sense. Then, on the last day of their 58 day tour, the Demetrius crew runs into a horribly damaged Heavy Raider with none other than Leoben Conoy, Starbuck’s creepy “husband” from New Caprica. Instead of killing him again, she listens to him and learns of the civil war and the rebel factions desire to work with the humans. Needless to say her crew thinks she’s nuts and decides to mutiny and go against her orders. In the Mexican standoff that ensues, Anders shoots Gaeta in the knee and Starbuck decides to take a Raptor with Athena, Anders, and some other pilot who ends up dyeing, along with Leoben, to see if the Cylon civil war is true.
Starbuck sees her crazy paintings realized when they jump into the battlefield and discover the whole thing is true. Discovering that working with the rebel Cylons may be the best way to find Earth, they jump the somewhat destroyed Basestar back to the Demetrius and then jump back to the fleet together.
It’s decided that the only way to end the Cylon civil war, and in turn get rid of the threat from the 1’s, 4’s, and 5’s, is to jump to the Resurrection Hub and destroy it. The Resurrection Hub is exactly what it sounds like, the one Hub in the universe that controls all the other Resurrection ships. Destroying it would essentially make all Cylons mortal. In the process, they will have to reactive a 3, since she knows the identities of the Final Five, and get her off the hub.
A plan is formed and half the Viper wing is moved to the damaged Basestar and then, randomly, the Hybrid controlling the Basestar, jumps off starting to hunt the Resurrection Hub — the Hybrid’s are the only Cylons capable of finding the Hub. After a number of jumps, they find it and the attack is on. Helo and an 8 board the Hub, once the Vipers took out it’s FTL, and pick up Lucy Lawless bot. The plan worked.
Resurrection Hub goes boom!
Back with the Fleet, The 3 decides to take all of the humans on the Basestar hostage until the four hiding Cylons are under her care. Tory goes with her when the 3 leaves Galactica. In a pretty tense moment, Tigh decides to finally tell Adama his secret and proposes a solution to the standoff, flush him out the airlock. Tigh ands over the identities of the other hidden Cylons who join him in the airlock. All the while Starbuck is trying to figure out what was so special about her “new” Viper. Then she figures it out — it’s the only ship in the fleet that’s picking up a Colonial transponder code pointing the way to Earth. How’d she know to look? Anders and Tyrol told her as they were being taken into custody. President, yes, president, Lee Adama decides the best way to handle this is by working with the Cylons and sharing the information. Everyone is in agreement that, while a long shot, it seems plausible. After all, the Final Five are supposed to lead the way to Earth. So, together with the rebel Basestar, the Fleet jumps to Earth(?).
Earth(?)
Season 4.0 ends with the main cast, including the rebel Cylons, on Earth(?) standing at the ruins of the temple of Athena. PUSH IN Adama and the 6’s confusion. FADE TO BLACK. End of the season.
A few things to note:
I wrote Earth with the (?) at the end because something doesn’t quite seem right. Granted there is a season 4.5 but a destroyed planet can’t be Earth, can it?
I have to assume we haven’t seen the end of the other side of Cylons. Despite the Resurrection Hub being destroyed, I have to think there is a group of 1’s, 4’s and 5’s that survived and want some revenge.
Tigh had been frakking the prisoner 6 and, guess what?, she’s pregnant!
Lucy Lawless-bot mentioned that four of the Final Five reside in the Fleet. What does that mean for the final Cylon? Surely their not in the Cylon fleet. So who is it? Where is it? Is it the 7-series? There’s only a few episodes left.
President Adama issued a full amnesty to each of the Final Five Cylons, allowing them to decide if they want to go with the Cylons or remain with the humans. All of this is probably mute considering it seems both factions are going to have to work together to figure out what really is going on.
I’m still wondering what happened to Starbuck while she was gone for two months, but I’m not really sure we’re going to get to find out. Maybe it’ll go the way of Shepherd Book’s true history in Firefly and become one of life’s great mysteries.
There isn’t really much more to say. One Cylon remains. Earth(?) has been found. No one has any idea what to do. I can’t wait for season 4.5.
7/10/09
Ashley
I’m pretty sure that “Revelations” is to date the most tense hour of television I’ve ever seen. I get a physical reaction to it every time, even after I know what’s going to happen.
to Ashley