As promised, I’m finally here to talk about the other issues arising from Battlestar Galactica: Razor. I’ve been busting to discuss all these issues since I first saw the screener from Sci Fi.

This is the penultimate discussion, however, because the Razor DVD comes out Dec. 4 and has deleted scenes from Cain’s and Shaw’s pasts that are supposed to shed even more light on their actions and reactions. I’m sure I’ll have more to say once I’ve seen them. (Have I mentioned recently that I’m a total geek?)

OK, so we’ll take this discussion one subject at a time, starting, of course, with Starbuck: Harbinger of the apocalypse or misunderstood rebel?

We all know now that the hybrid being protected by the Guardians told Kendra Shaw that Starbuck must not be trusted, that she is the harbinger of the apocalypse.

But can we trust the hybrid? As we learned last season, the hybrids run the base ships and may be omniscient in a Minority Report sort of way. But are they completely honest? Whose apocalypse — human or Cylon?

I don’t believe that Starbuck is a Cylon. It’s too obvious and too simple, frankly (frakkly?). I do believe she has found Earth and I do believe she can guide the fleet there. But what is waiting for the fleet upon their arrival? A holocaust wrought by the Cylons? Nukes from the Earthlings who fear these huge starships suddenly in orbit?

We are told, time and again, that all this has happened before and will happen again — not just by the Guardians’ hybrid, but also by the show’s creators and by the Cylons and others throughout the show’s run. It is the main theme of the series.

Was the young girl (I’m convinced that it was a young girl, not a woman) who was trapped in the building where Husker discovered the Cylons’ secret a very young Starbuck? Was she a product of the experiments? Is it even her?

Let’s face it. Starbuck’s mom pretty much seemed to hate her, though she was positive Starbuck had a destiny. What did she know? And who was Starbuck’s father? That was never address in Maelstrom. Does she even know who her father is? Was her father a Cylon? Does she have a father? Was that Leoben with her (or whoever the girl was), trapped in the building? Was it Leoben or was it the original Leoben, who maybe was an actual person. After all, the skinjobs would have had to have been modeled after someone, wouldn’t you think?

So this leads us to Adama, “Husker.”

I’ve said several times that I found it very puzzling that he was such a hotshot pilot considering this was his FIRST battle, ever. Sure, he could have learned on flight simulators and the most talented pilots have some innate ability anyway. Sure, Starbuck became such a hotshot in a time of peace. But she wasn’t considered one of the best in the fleet after flying her rookie mission, you know?

But I’ve also said that I can’t even entertain the idea that Adama is a Cylon and I still don’t think that’s the case. He does, obviously, have some deeper connection to the Cylons, however. Why was he one of only two battlestar commanders who escaped the destruction of the Colonies and now the only surviving commander? I don’t think it’s a coincidence that at least four of the final five Cylons (and maybe even the fifth) are on his ship, either.

Was there more of a clue aboard the Guardians’ base star as to the identity of the final Cylon? (Look, I just can’t bear the thought of Starbuck as a Cylon, so she’s not, OK? Don’t even talk about it. Besides being in denial, I don’t think our fearless leaders, Moore and Eick, would make it that obvious anyway.)

Plus, did the folks who came and picked up Adama save the people trapped in that building? And if they were saved, and it was Starbuck, maybe Adama thinks that means she’s a Cylon. And maybe I’m completely insane and am totally overthinking all of this and have just made your brain explode. Or implode.

Maybe.

OK, so let’s get to the last thing I wanted to discuss: Who is Kendra Shaw and why did this entire telemovie revolve around a character we’ve never seen before and will never see again?

Honestly, I don’t think there was any other way to tell this story.

We all had such a revulsion to Cain (she was such an excellent villain) that it would have been impossible to tell the story from her viewpoint. And the story couldn’t have been told from the viewpoint of any of the Galactica’s crew. They weren’t there; they don’t know what happened.

And to kill off a main character at the end of the telemovie; they couldn’t have done that to any of the folks we love from Galactica. It had to be someone new.

But it was also a stroke of genius, because it showed how someone could be transformed from the daughter of a wealthy family into a razor.

And that’s really what this lesson was about: How one’s circumstances can change a person in ways no one ever expected.

So, how about it? Am I way off base here? Do I have interesting insights? Am I completely insane (OK, OK, because of what I’m saying here, not just in general)?