Even though there have been reports for weeks that it was coming, the abrupt apparent death of Starbuck on this week’s Battlestar Galactica followed simply by the credits remained a shock to fans. I previously quoted from an interview with Ron Moore which discussed this turn of events:
As you know, there’s a ton of speculation that a character dies in the second half of the season. [Moore also alluded to an upcoming character death in a December interview.] And right now a lot of the speculation centers on Kara Thrace. Can you address that?
Ron Moore: “Kara is one of the characters some fairly profound events happen to in the second half of the season. There are also other characters that are pretty fundamentally… have fairly earthshaking events happen toward the end [of the season]. But certainly [what happens to] Kara will be one of the most surprising things that’s happened in the history of the show so far. Kara’s one of the key players and I think it’ll really take people by surprise.”
People are speculating that her character dies. Do you not want to characterize it that way?
RM: “I don’t know that I want to say that directly. I think people will have to watch that episode and judge for themselves what happens. I can say that Galactica will suffer a shocking loss in that episode and Kara is a key member of the crew. Certainly if she were not there suddenly, that would shift the parameters of what the show is and what the show is about and who the key players are.”
More on Battlestar Galactica at Garfield Ridge with a blogger’s account of a visit to the BSG set.
With all the talk about her destiny leading up to her death, it is hard to believe that Kara’s destiny was simply to be blown out of space like this. Will Kara be shocked to awaken in a Cylon resurrection chamber? There’s also speculation that she’s one of the final five. It is expected that she will return in one form or another.
Captain America has been shot by a sniper, but in the comics world there have been many characters who come back from the dead. Calling superheroes “weapons of mass destruction” who must submit to a Superhero Registration Act is a modern twist:
The character’s death comes as he leaves a courthouse where, as a fugitive resistance leader, he has come to surrender under a Superhero Registration Act, which requires superheroes to register their services and outlaws vigilantism. The shield-carrying hero is shot three times by a sniper on the steps of the building.
The assassin is allegedly Sharon Carter – an intelligence agent romantically involved with Captain America – who is acting under the control of the super- villian Dr Faustus.
The Superhero Registration Act was brought in after supervillains and superheroes fought during a reality show, accidentally killing hundreds of civilians. The public likened the heroes to weapons of mass destruction that must be controlled.
There’s been a high death toll at Hearst College, which Veronica Mars attends. The last several episodes have Veronica solving the death of Dean O’Dell. Along the way we saw the death of the basketball coach, and more recently Sheriff Lamb was killed with a bat. The arc ended with two great lines: “I’m just trying to figure out which Gilmore Girl you are” was great in conversation. The best line came after she exposed the TA for framing his professor for O’Dell’s murder as revenge for a poor recommendation when Veronica said, “Bet he’ll change his mind about you being not that smart.” Or perhaps this verifies his assessment that Tim isn’t the best candidate out there after he gave away details of the crime which only the murderer would know while discussing the crime in class.
While Cyrus O’Dell’s murder was the basis of the last arc, the killing of Lamb might have the most long term impact on the show (should it survive for another season). In one sense Lamb is no longer necessary. The series began with Veronica losing her status in high school by not being wealthy, no longer dating the rich kid, and no longer being daughter of the sheriff. Now that she’s off at college where the old social order no longer exists, not to mention having dated two of the richest kids, her father’s position as sheriff no longer affects her social status in the community. I do fear that this is part of the simplification of the show we’ve been seeing this season, including the move to end the season with stand-alone shows rather than a prolonged mystery. There may be one complicating matter as Keith is forced to play it straighter as Sheriff rather than as a private investigator who can bend the rules.
Several characters have died during the course of Heroes. Peter Petrelli (played by Milo Vetimiglia, who dated one of the Gilmore Girls), is one of many characters in danger as the show goes on hiatus until April. We know from his visit from future-Hiro that Peter will get a scar, and most likely this comes from Sylar’s attempt to open his skull in this cliff hanger. I think its safe to predict that Peter survives the encounter, especially considering his ability to take on the powers of others, potentially making him even more powerful than Sylar.
While I expect Peter to survive the encounter with Sylar, it remains a question as to how any of the main characters survive. Kristin at ET has a spoiler that an upcoming scene shows all the characters getting killed. Don’t get too alarmed–the scene takes place five years in the future (and ratings are good for the show). I wonder if this is also a warning of something preventable, such as the scenes showing the destruction of New York which presumably will be prevented this season.
Lost had another excellent episode this week. In the spirit of characters with names such as Locke and Rousseau, a new character is met named after Russian anarchist Mikhali Bakunin. While generally a good episode, there was one element which ranks with the stupidity I recently commented on when Jack threw a tantrum rather than pumping Cindy for information. Is there anyone who doubted 1) that entering 77 on the computer key board would lead to a self-destruct sequence and 2) that Locke would enter 77? It’s bad enough he destroyed the hatch. Why destroy another source of supplies when they are trapped on this island? Not even Gilligan caused this much needless destruction which negatively impacts his fellow castaways.
And finally, there was a post of interest to science fiction fans earlier this week with yet another look at robot rights.
