After almost 16 years, Battlestar Galactica (2003) star Katee Sackhoff has finally put to rest the long-standing series mystery of how exactly her character, Kara “Starbuck” Thrace, seemingly returned from the dead.
As fans may remember, the chain of events at the center of this question first kicked off in the 17th episode of the show’s third season, Maelstrom.
In one of the series’ more harrowing moments, while chasing the Cylon vessel Heavy Raider through the atmosphere of a local gas giant, Starbuck finds herself trapped within one of the planet’s deadly storms.
Unfortunately, the storm deems too much for her personal Viper starfighter and causes damage to its cockpit canopy, in turn causing Starbuck to pass out as she begins a wild spin towards the planet’s core.
Proceeding to experience some form of hallucination as facilitated by the Cyclon Leoben, Starbuck eventually awakens to the desperate calls of her teammate Lee “Apollo” Adama begging her to pull up.
Ultimately, Starbuck declines this option, instead finding herself overwhelmed with a sense of calm.
Reassuring Apollo that she will “see you on the other side and that “It’s okay. Just let me go. They’re waiting for me,” Starbuck seemingly disintegrates into the raging storm along with the wreckage of her ship.
However, the ace pilot’s death would soon turn out to be rather temporary, as just three episodes later, the season would close out with Starbuck suddenly reappearing and claiming to be aware of Earth’s exact location.
RELATED RUMOR: Peacock’s ‘Battlestar Galactica’ Series Looking For Non-Binary Actor To Play Starbuck
Unsurprisingly, Starbuck’s return would go on to cause tension amongst the crew of the Galactica, as many feared that the entity before them was not their friend, but a Cylon replacement – a paranoia only exacerbated by the pilot’s insistence that rather than the two months she had actually been gone, she had only been MIA for six hours.
Yet, despite this being a prominent element of the series’ fourth and final season, the popular Battlestar Galactica ultimately came to an end without ever giving fans a definitive answer as to how the heroine made it back from such a violent starship accident.
Even when confronted with her own corpse in the 11th episode of Season 4, Sometimes a Great Notion, Starbuck walks away from the experiencing knowing nothing about her current existence except for the fact that she’s not the original.
Instead, Starbuck simply ends her time in the series’ narrative by vanshing into thin air, her mission to guide the Galactica back to Earth fulfilled, and returning to whence she came.
Thankfully, the debate over Starbuck’s fate has finally been put to rest, courtesy of the very actress who brought her to life.
On August 26th, The Mandalorian star took to her Personal Instagram to share a photo of herself attempting to cool down amidst the Pacific Northwest’s summer heat.
Eventually, Sackhoff’s post drew a comment from fellow user Strass1029, who, fully aware that his question was “so off topic of your post”, inquired of the actress, “When you went and disappeared – I’ve been stuck on that since I saw it as a child. What happened, where’d you go?”
You helped find Earth but what were you at that point, a ghost?” he further pressed. “I’m so confused.”
In turn, Sackhoff confirmed that the ‘second’ Starbuck was, in fact, a member of the Messengers – an alien race that worked to guide humanity in their progress and who, in canon, may be the basis for humnaanity’s belief in God and Angels.
“She was a spirit brought to guide humanity to Earth and salvation,” revealed Sackhoff.
NEXT: Katee Sackhoff Attempts To Justify Bo-Katan Kryze Getting Jake Skywalkered In ‘The Mandalorian’