First: what an amazingly over-the-top press kit housing season four’s opening episode. The disk came tucked in the rear pocket of a framed, numbered print of the Battlestar Galactica cast in Last Supper mode. Quite a souvenir for the trophy room – the first episode of the series’ fourth and final season airs Friday, April 4.
The April 4 season opener, “He That Believeth in Me,” unfolds as pals/lovers Lee “Apollo” Adama and Kara “Starbuck” Thrace trade glances from their respective ships as they fly alongside each other. Starbuck assures him that she’s been to Earth and he’s “gonna love it.” Oh, yeah? Vipers and Raiders battle, splattering organic toaster guts on Starbuck’s windshield: splashy! The opening episode boasts notably more nuanced, beautifully realized special effects – the powers-that-be are clearly not holding anything back for the last season. The cinematography and effects here are lush, showy, and cinematic in their detail.
Surprise! Starbuck’s hubby Sam is now a Viper pilot and he suits up and gets ready to take on his Cylon brethren for the first time – leading to an eerie mano-y-mano, eyeball-to-Cylon-iris-scan moment when a Raider turns and connects with him. The Cylons seem to have the humans on the run but suddenly they turn back. Has sleeper Cylon Sam been “activated”? The knowing looks exchanged by all the new humanoid Cylons reach some kind of climax as now-outed-Cylon/once-ace-Cylon-hater Colonel Saul Tigh fantasizes about shooting his best friend, Admiral William Adama, in a dream sequence reminiscent of Sharon “Boomer” Valerii’s assassination attempt. Meanwhile, Dr. Gaius Balthar gets drawn into a sweet lil’ female-dominated (sex) cult of sorts: is it a fantasy or nightmare come true? And has Balthar become a faith healer, he of little faith? The egotistical scientist’s semi-comic scenes are always a welcome relief amid BSG’s general gloom. The mystery surrounding Starbuck’s seeming death and sudden reappearance deepens: she says she simply woke up at one point – after her ship apparently burst into flames – and found herself flying above Earth. She has photos and everything. Nevertheless, everyone thinks she’s a Cylon.
Clearly a transitional episode, “He That Believeth in Me” sets up more questions than it answers. Newbies will wonder what the fuss is all about; enthralled BSGers will be satisfied that so many narrative threads are getting picked up and tugged.