SPOILER ALERT: OK, folks. I’ve now seen Battlestar Galactica: Razor twice; the screener once at home, then last night on the big screen in lower Manhattan. I can stay silent no longer. So if you don’t want to know what happens, stop reading now. I cannot be held responsible for any spoiling if you read any further.

First off, I have to say a second viewing only made the Razor telemovie even better. Sure, part of that was because it was on a huge screen. But part of it was that, knowing the finer points of what happened, plot-wise, I could pay more attention to the small details.

Razor is a richly written, acted and directed hour and a half of action and drama.

Originally, in Season 2, Admiral Cain and her crew appeared to be, quite simply, bad people. Not noble, though prone to human foibles, like those on the Galactica. Left to their own devices, they had become, it seemed, the worst humanity had to offer.

Razor shows the humanity Cain and her crew once had and how they became single-minded in their quest for revenge. And why. And even if some of the things they did still make you cringe, you wonder what you — or what Adama, Starbuck, Apollo, any of our favorites — would have done if faced with the same circumstances.

In happier times: Newbie Lt. Kendra Shaw is welcomed aboard by network administrator Gina Inviere.

I’m not sure if I spelled Gina’s last name correctly in the photo caption, but the name itself is very important to understand Battlestar Galactica and the underlying theme of Razor. The name is old Gemenese, I believe, for “resurrection.”

That’s in part a wink and a nod to Gina being a Cylon, of course, and the humanoid Cylons’ Resurrection Ship. But the idea of resurrection and history repeating itself has always been an underlying theme of Battlestar Galactica (this version, at least). It’s never been fully explained, but we’ve been told time and again that there is a destiny all are hurtling toward and it has been written and rewritten throughout history.

As the hybrid protected by the Guardians intones to a young William “Husker” Adama and, years later, to Maj. Kendra Shaw, “All this has happened before and will happen again.”

But what is “this”?

Is “this” the idea that whoever is in charge, if given the chance, will treat those under them with contempt, or worse? (See: Humans creating Cylons to serve as slaves; See Cylon occupation of New Caprica; See Pegasus cannibalizing the civilian fleet it stumbles upon; More to come in Season 4.)

Shaw’s evolution from fresh-faced, idealistic newbie to razor — the telemovie’s title, Razor, comes from the idea that in wartime, one must become a razor to survive and do the job right and to have the luxury of becoming human once again after the crisis has passed — is at once horrifying and all too realistic.

As is Cain’s evolution, from tough-as-nails admiral who has a good sense of humor and the ability to love others to tough-as-titanium admiral who is hell-bent on revenge.

Learning about her relationship with Gina gives context to the violent and degrading treatment of the Gina version of Number Six. It wasn’t just the human race that was betrayed by the Cylons; Cain was very personally betrayed. And by falling for Gina, she is angry with herself for having such poor judgment that she couldn’t tell she was with a toaster and not a person.

Her having killed her XO, her friend, because he disagreed with her decision to go ahead with the attack on the Cylon base ship once it became clear that it was a trap probably fueled her anger.

Scenes of Cain as a young girl will show up on the DVD but were cut for space from the telemovie. I suspect they will shed more light on Cain’s revulsion of Cylons. Were her parents, perhaps, killed in the first Cylon War?

In addition, there were scenes of a young Kendra Shaw that were cut. I suppose we’ll find out what privileged family she comes from and why Cain had the reaction to her at the start that she did.

I will, I confess, be receiving the DVD for Christmukkah and will report as soon as I watch the scenes and find out.

As Admiral Adama lectures Lee toward the movie’s end, it’s easy to say, in retrospect, that certain actions were “incorrect” or wrong. But Cain and her crew were out there on their own and believed they were all that was left. When they found the small civilian fleet, all they could see was new crews and supplies. They couldn’t afford to wage a guerrilla war on the Cylons and protect a civilian fleet. At this point, revenge was all Cain could focus on. A fleet of civilians trailing behind who she had to protect, when she couldn’t protect her own crew, was utterly unfathomable to her. She didn’t have the president of the colonies in her face from day one, keeping the safety civilians front and center in the fleet’s mission.

And, as Adama also pointed out, Cain didn’t have her own child on board. It’s harder to commit such egregious acts, perhaps, if you know you have to face your child afterward. And, it came to my mind, you’re less likely to be hell-bent on an unwinnable war if your child’s life is on the line.

There’s a lot more to say about Razor, but there’s another week and a half, thereabouts, before it airs on the Sci Fi Channel, so I have time to discuss other elements more in depth.

Next up: Starbuck. Cylon? Harbinger of the apocalypse? Misunderstood rebel? We discuss.

Later: Who is Kendra Shaw and why did this entire telemovie revolve around a character we’ve never seen before and will never see again? (I think it was an excellent move, by the by.)

And finally: Admiral William Adama and the Cylons. Who exactly was trapped there on the planet, did he save them and what exactly is his connection to it all?

Photos courtesy of NBC Universal.