Battlestar Galactica Retconned Its Best Relationship

Before we can dive into the nature of this retcon, it’s important to discuss the relationship between Adama and Starbuck. That relationship is introduced rather adorably in the miniseries, where we witness a cute ritual in which the Commander asks what Starbuck hears and she replies “nothing but the rain.” Adama replies “Then grab your gun and put the cat out” and then she makes gun noises, and it’s basically impossible to watch this scene without a huge grin on your face.

The depth of the relationship between Adama and Starbuck is deepened when she kicks Colonel Tigh’s butt at space poker, resulting in the drunken executive officer knocking the table over before getting punched by Starbuck. Later, a protective Adama makes sure Tigh won’t file charges against Starbuck for striking a superior officer. We later get some context for their father/daughter relationship (which is how it’s described in the original miniseries script, by the way): Starbuck was engaged to Adama’s son Zak before the younger man died in a flying accident, leaving the Commander without one of his sons, though Starbuck tries to fill that emotional gap.

Now, the Battlestar Galactica miniseries never specified the exact length of the relationship between Adama and Starbuck, but it seemed reasonable to imagine they had served together for many years. After all, they have comfortable rituals together, and the Commander was willing to butt heads with his own second-in-command if that’s what it took to get Starbuck out of trouble. Plus, despite the fact that Starbuck nearly became her commanding officer’s actual daughter, it clearly takes time to build the kind of borderline familiar (and familial) rapport these two enjoy.

That’s why we were so surprised that “Act of Contrition” revealed that the two had only served together for two years, something that felt more like a retcon than a revelation. Now, at this point, some fans of the show are likely screaming at us that Adama and Starbuck could have developed a prior relationship outside their service on the Galactica due to her romance with Zak. However, the show confirms that Starbuck didn’t meet Adama until after Zak died, which was a side effect of their romance moving so quickly before Zak’s unfortunate death.

Now, it’s entirely possible that Adama and Starbuck simply developed a close-knit relationship in record time…certainly, most who are reading this know what it’s like to hit things off with someone and start acting like old friends almost right away. Nonetheless, we contend that two years is too short of a time for Adama to come to love this pilot like a daughter and be willing to jeopardize his career in order to defend her. Fortunately, retconning these two as only having a two-year-old relationship when the series begins doesn’t keep that relationship from being one of the best in the show.