Highlights
- Battlestar Galactica was a complex series that left fans with questions, particularly about the fate of the character Starbuck.
- Katee Sackhoff, who played Starbuck, revealed on Instagram that her character was a spirit guiding humanity to earth and salvation.
- Fans can now have closure knowing they have the most definitive answer about Starbuck's ultimate fate.
Fans of the 2000s cult classic reboot of Battlestar Galactica may want to excavate their dusty DVD box sets of the series because a major mystery plaguing viewers for years seems to have finally been solved. One of the show's biggest stars answered the oft-posed question, and it's as good an explanation as any.
Battlestar Galactica was a series with a surprisingly grand scale, offering a deceptively complex story with equally intricate lore that crept up on viewers. Concerning issues such as artificial intelligence, death, and a higher power, the series drew in fans looking for a fun sci-fi series about people fighting robots and left them questioning everything. One aspect of the show that illustrates this idea particularly well is the character of Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, played by The Mandalorian star Katee Sackhoff. Starting as a snarky ace fighter pilot, her epic story eventually left fans with questions, specifically after she appeared to die when her ship was destroyed and yet still came back with no explanation.
Sackhoff finally answered one of those questions in a recent Instagram post. After simply posting about the heat in the Pacific Northwest, her largely on-topic comments featured one fan asking seemingly out of nowhere about her character's fate in Battlestar Galactica. The fan seemed rather desperate to find out how Starbuck came back after dying since no official explanation has been given to date. Despite the series ending in 2009, there's still plenty of passion for it.
"She was a spirit brought to guide humanity to earth and salvation," Sackhoff replied in a comment of her own, but not before calling out the fan for some insensitive words insinuating that actors do little more than merely read scripts without caring about their deeper meaning or even remembering them. "Actors don't remember? Of course we do!" Sackhoff shot back in disappointment. "It was the biggest break of my career and this show was very collaborative. Also to say actors only read the scripts is a very stereotypical statement."
That's certainly one heck of a character arc for Starbuck. First-time viewers might simply expect an enjoyable character they can watch as she effortlessly pilots her Viper in defense of the Galactica. But even before returning as this spirit guide, she had her crucial destiny as Battlestar Galactica's own Harbinger of Death. That's just one more aspect of the show that's about as easy to explain quickly as memorizing the digits of Pi.
But as complicated as the series and Kara Thrace's own story are, it looks like fans can now rest easy knowing they've likely got the most definitive answer they're going to get regarding her ultimate fate. It's certainly a far cry from the original 1970s Battlestar Galactica in terms of scope, but many fans consider that its greatest strength. Maybe this new info warrants another watch-through. So say we all.
Battlestar Galactica (2004) is available on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Katee Sackhoff/Instagram