Yeah, as much as I think it would make no sense for her to be a Cylon, with all her childhood history, I can't believe she's dead. She can't be! She's STARBUCK. And...she has a DESTINY. And blowing up for no discernible reason is no destiny at all.

Right.

Now, I have this thing, and I'm reminding myself not to buy into my own prejudging here -- so this is a rant, but I only mean it a teensy bit and hope to avoid marrying it, I just have to get it off my chest...

There are certain characters (and yes Whedon and Greenwalt, and less so, ~mere~, I'm looking straight the heck at you), whose appeal lies in their humanity -- broken, weak, flawed humanity. The "Birthday" episode of Angel permanently damaged my love of that series. Cordelia was important in the Buffyverse Because she was fully human with so many limitations that seem to come standard to the package. Now, because of the kind of human she was, turning her into a demon with powers made her lesser.

Starbuck is one such character. She's a mess, and can be mean, and unfaithful, and drunk, and self-destructive, and is the baddest ass pilot the Galactica will ever see, and is so brave she moves me to tears. If she's a skinjob, it's going to be really hard for me to care about her in the same way. Ditto if she's a goddess. I'm not saying it will be impossible, but I suspect if she's not human, she's going to matter to me far less. Far, far less.

Wait, people actually believe Starbuck is dead?

Yes. I mean, her plane exploded and Apollo said there was no parachute, and she was ready to die, so she's dead. I realize it's possible there was some sleight of hand and she isn't dead at all, or (even more likely) that she'll be back in another form, but for now I believe the story they've just told me.

I mean, I knew Buffy was coming back, after The Gift, but she was still dead to me. I don't know if I can explain my headspace because it's more emotional than rational. I just saw a story where Starbuck died, so the parts of my head where the story lives "know" she's dead, even though the parts of my head where the meta lives know you're likely to be right.

In conclusion: You killed Starbuck, you bastards.

I wonder, (since everything that happened before is happening again) whether Kara isn't descended from some previous Cylon/Human hybrid and that's why the mandalla was in her subconscious.

I think that's really likely. Something in me has strongly suspected that Hera isn't the only one, and that maybe the final five are all like that, too.

I thought Sackhoff just hit the episode out of the ballpark.

She's a mess, and can be mean, and unfaithful, and drunk, and self-destructive, and is the baddest ass pilot the Galactica will ever see, and is so brave she moves me to tears. If she's a skinjob, it's going to be really hard for me to care about her in the same way.

On the one hand, I agree with this (though I'm also liking the idea of her being a human/Cylon hybrid) -- but one of the most interesting things to me about this whole series is how much the Cylons want to be human, and how close they actually are to humanity. So in a way, I think it would be pretty cool for Starbuck, with all her painfully human characteristics and contradictions, to be a Cylon as well; it would prove that there really is no difference between the two. And that would change the dynamic of the show considerably, I think -- at least for me.

I'm with those saying there's no way she's dead. The shot of her hand on the eject lever wasn't an accident.

Anyway, great episode, and I'm glad of it after the last few weeks of suck. Actually, I didn't hate the previous episode, just the final 10-15 minutes of it. I loved everything before that, though.

I was too preoccupied by how nasty it must taste.

I was thinking that if they ingest the paint, they could die. Unless they're Cylons.

You don't think that the shot of her hand on the eject lever was to show that she knew she had a choice? But that she chose NOT to use the lever?

I know what you mean, Kate, which is largely why I'm not trying to take a stance such as, "If she's a Cylon, I'll nevah watch again!!!!11" It's just my feeling going in, but I'm not married to it.

So in a way, I think it would be pretty cool for Starbuck, with all her painfully human characteristics and contradictions, to be a Cylon as well; it would prove that there really is no difference between the two. And that would change the dynamic of the show considerably, I think -- at least for me.

In another sense, I kind of feel like we've already gotten this story with Sharon/Boomer/Athena -- and how love made her an actual velveteen rabbit, or at least indistinguishable from them. Thinking it over, I don't think the possiblity that we will get a hybrid story pre-disappoints me as much as the possibility that she's a Cylon.

That she is a Cylon though (or hybrid) is what makes the most sense to me, going in, because it makes sense of so much of what Leoben was always telling her.

You don't think that the shot of her hand on the eject lever was to show that she knew she had a choice? But that she chose NOT to use the lever?

This is what I thought, sumi.

Would the ejection have saved her? I guess if she were rescued by a raider, but my impression was that the planet was inhospitable to life for one reason or another.

Heroes: If Claude had known someone with Peter's powers, then that'd be the first duplication we've seen, right?

Yes.

Well, he said he knew an empath - didn't he? Perhaps not all empaths manifest quite the way Peter does, though.