Thursday, April 10, 2008

A Starbuck Theory





tonight's Battlestar was one solid kick in the nuts. I just spent the last hour or so looking at people's opinions and comments over in the Battlestar Blog episode review thread.



flummoxicated brought up a great theory that really got me thinking... So I dug out my classic BSG DVDs, and whaddaya know.. I think we have a winner.


Do NOT keep reading if you haven't seen the season 3 episode "Maelstrom" yet.


So Starbuck bit the bullet. Starbuck Go Boom.


I don't think she's permanently gone though, and I'm not just saying that because I love the character and am in some sort of fanboy denial.. (no.. seriously..) I truly think that if this was the last we were going to see of Katee Sackhoff's purdee face on the show, Ron Moore & Co. would've had her go out in a blaze o' glory. They love the character just as much as we do, and they've been building up all this "special destiny" talk for far too long to have her just go nutty, start seeing things, and commit suicide.


First of all, I do not think she's a cylon, or a half-cylon, or hybrid, or anything of the sort. We're not gonna see her wake up in a resurrection tank. Mark my words: Kara is human. Special human, yes. But still human.


Clues as to what's going on are sprinkled throughout "Maelstrom," and I think the BSG episode called "War of the Gods, Part 2" (from the original series) gives some huge hints as well. We know that RDM has paid homage to the original series several times in the past -- the biggest of which was probably the Pegasus storyline -- and I think we're gonna see some of that again.











In "War of the Gods, Part 2," the topic of humans who are special and have potential beyond normal humans is explored. There's a scene where Adama is sitting in his chambers using his mind to move a small golden statue of a bird (which looks very similar to the small golden statue of Aurora that Starbuck gave Adama in "Maelstrom"). Apollo walks in on him, says "WTF?" and Adama proceeds to tell him that years ago there were people who could train to realize their brain's full potential, mind over matter, etc. He said that some humans are in the early stages of being able to expand their minds, and it was something he'd been working on before the attack. (Who knew Papadama could use the Force?)


Later in the episode, Apollo and Starbuck are on an alien world and Apollo gets killed. Starbuck, along with another pilot named Sheba, hop in a ship to bring Apollo's body back to Galactica. Along the way, they encounter a big glowing crystal-like ship of lights (seen in the photo above). They're pulled toward it and go unconscious.


When they wake up, they're surrounded by crystals and light, as well as FIVE FIGURES wearing white (that look very much like the Final Five D'Anna saw in "Rapture"). Starbuck asks where they are, and one of the Five tells them that the city of light is not located in their world - it's in another dimension (between life and death). Apollo is brought back to life and he and Starbuck are told that they're special and have more potential than most humans, and that the reason the Five are helping them is because they share a common enemy, and because the humans are now as they once were. (Verbatim: "You are now as we once were.")


The heroes are then sent home and don't really remember any details.. However, they suddenly realize that somehow they all now know the coordinates to Earth. The Five somehow embedded the knowledge into their minds....


There are several hints in "Maelstrom" that make me think this is the direction we're heading.


The oracle seemed to call Starbuck "Aurora" as soon as she walked in the room.. We heard the name Aurora several times, in fact. Aurora = Goddess of the Dawn. Dawn = Light. I know that's kind of cryptic, but it seems to foreshadow events in a big way, along with the fact that the lighting in this episode was a major player -- Lights going out around Starbuck, then one light illuminating her face.


Starbuck's last words to Lee were something like "You have to let me go, they're waiting for me" and her face was lit by a blinding light. She was seeing something - approaching something - some beings. "THEY are waiting for me."


Leoben wasn't exactly Leoben -- he said as much in the episode. Perhaps Leoben was one of these Beings of Light, one of the Final Five, an angel or guide of some kind to help her along. He even tells her that her destiny lies somewhere between life and death..


Anyway, I'm reaching brain overload here, so I'm sure as soon as I log off and go to bed, I'm gonna remember about ten different things I wanted to add to this theory... But you see where I'm going with it...



CONCLUSION:


I believe that Starbuck is going to awaken in the presence of the Final Five (or Beings of Light, whatever you wanna call them) and I think they're gonna give her the roadmap to Earth


....


Still.. we have reason to mourn the death of Starbuck. Even if she comes back, which I believe she will, she'll be a changed person. No more out-of-control basketcase Kara. She'll have realized her destiny, she'll have a path in life, the demons of her past have been defeated.


So, with that, I'll stop rambling.. It'll be interesting to see how close or far off this theory is... Either way, looks like Battlestar's got its balls back. :)

I really like this idea. I was thnking that Kara was the most obvious choice for the 5th, but now I'm not sure. Everyone has their role to play....
That being said I think that this whole theory has complete relevence to the plotline of the Final Five. They are the guardians the guardians of Humanity on the path to Earth.

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