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Where to begin? With so much going on, it’s difficult to decide what to discuss first.

It was obvious that Tigh was having a daydream/hallucination when he shot Adama (even this unpredictable show wouldn’t kill off the main character in the first episode of the season). Some people think it was just a stunt, but I thought it was simply a sign that Tigh isn’t as adamant about resisting being a Cylon as he thinks he is. Plus, it was really cool seeing Adama’s brains getting blown all over the CIC. I can’t wait to see how they explain how Tigh could be a Cylon if he’s been around since the first Cylon War.

Anders’ scene with the Cylon raider scanning his eye, then flying off, was more than just a good scene with spectacular special effects—it was confirmation that the “four” from the season finale really are Cylons and not brainwashed or something else. Also, Sharon’s conversation with him before he took off seems to indicate that the other Cylons on the ship aren’t aware of who the four are, even though they’ve been activated.

Did Starbuck really die? We still don’t know yet, but she’s back either way. Everyone else is understandably suspicious, especially since she only remembers six hours of the past two months, and her ship is suddenly brand new. She does seem to genuinely know how to get to Earth, though, and it appears that Adama is making a huge mistake not listening to her. The fact that Roslin wants to go in the other direction and she happens to be staying in Adama’s quarters doesn’t help the situation, either. And how about Starbuck’s line to Anders about putting a bullet between his eyes if she ever found out he was a Cylon? Ouch.

Lee’s storyline is my least favorite. His ongoing love/hate thing with Starbuck is very compelling, but as I’ve said before, he and his father have made up enough times that they need to be done with that struggle. Plus, Lee refusing to go back to Viper pilot duty when the fleet is so desperate that they’re recruiting anyone they can is selfish and irresponsible. If another pilot tried refusing to help out under these circumstances, they’d probably be thrown in the brig.

Baltar’s transition to full-fledged cult leader seems to be heading from a Jesus analogy into Manson/Koresh territory. Now that he’s living in a commune-type situation with mostly young, attractive women (at least some of whom are willing to go to great lengths to protect him) it could turn into a fascinating situation.

Unlike other shows, where the season openers are often a let down in comparison to the previous season finales, BSG always opens with a bang and doesn’t let up. With several ongoing storylines all being ramped up instead of wrapped up right from the start, this last season should be a hell of a ride.

NOTE:  I know a lot of other sites are listing this as episode 4.01, but the Razor preview DVD I got from Universal last year, as well as SciFi’s official website, said that was episode 4.01-02, so I’m sticking to the official version.

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