That's a goddamned, bloody, fracking outstanding analysis Crunch!!! Well done!!
A David Eick interview below. No spoilers in it. Season four shooting has finished. He talks about how long the show might go on.
http://ifmagazine.com/feature.asp?article=1810
We know that Starbuck has a roving eye, but Anders is pretty much like a drug addict with her, and the rescue is a metaphor for saving her soul. I have no doubt that Ander's will become the Galactica's red shirt and die on his way to save her.
As I was watching Anders I was thinking it was a pretty ridiculous scenario . . . . but, as I said above, I know men and women like him in real life as do most of you as well. Ridiculous yes. Improbable, sadly no.
Regarding Hera . . . . Adama was certainly involved in the decision to fake Hera's death. He might have known that Laura had the kid on the surface of new Caprica with its adoptive mother. Would he care what happened to the kid in the lazy days after finding that planet? Then Galactica lost communication with the surface for months . . . . the kid wouldn't have been logged as a returnee in a survey when people were brought back up. Did Adama simply assume the kid was dead at that point. Did he assume the kid had stayed on a ship the whole time? Obviously the writers want you to believe that Laura didn't tell him something she should have.
I don't think we've seen the last of Baltar/human encounters . . . . how lonely does he get? And what will he do to assuage that loneliness? Or does he find out he's a Cylon (probably not. Too convenient).
Interesting that both the Cylons and humans are wondering what "force" or unlikely set of circumstances has brought them to an obscure place just as a sun is going to nova . . . . . will removing the eye trigger that nova?
Timing: Did I hear a conversation saying the artifact was 4000 years old?
Cowperson