Oh Kara Thrace and her damn, increasingly special, special destiny! It confuses us more than any of the loose-ends on Lost! More than the many dropped plot twists of Veronica Mars! More than the actual religious myths and icons her sordid tale is referencing! If you’re hoping that this Saturday’s Battlestar Galactica movie Razor is going to do anything to clear up last season’s giant “wtf?!” of a cliffhanger, you are unfortunately out of luck (and clearly very silly). But if you’re looking for two hours of surprising back story, eerie foreboding and funny-lookin’ robots, get ready to remember why you love this show so frakkin’ much. For those of you not concerned with a few mild spoilers…

So what is Razor exactly? Think of it as a lost episode from the second season that wouldn’t have really made sense until the wake of the third’s messy conclusion. Lee has just taken charge of the Battlestar Pegasus, and he makes a feisty, Angelina Jolie-esque crewmember named Kendra Shaw his XO (or “second in command” for you non-speakers of nerdish). Through her drug-addled flashbacks, we see what exactly happened onboard the Pegasus from the moment the cylons destroyed the colonies - every violent, unsettling, lesbian love triangular minute of it. We get another lesson in why democracy is of such vital importance, but in true Battlestar fashion, there’s also a great deal of ambiguity around the difference between individuals and the choices they make. We learn a lot about Admiral Cain, and we remember why we were kind of tickled to see her get shot in the face.

When not looking back, Razor is looking very far into the future. Lee’s first mission at the helm of Pegasus focuses on issues that had yet to be openly dealt with at its time in the show’s chronology - possibly because all of the key moments are witnessed by a character we never see again. There’s a lot of exposition on the origins of the human cylons, and there’s even a glimpse of the first hybrid. Kara’s role in the film is kind of ancillary in comparison to her normal spot at the center of attention, but it sheds an unsettling light on the course of the rest of the series. As if it wasn’t clear enough already, there is something seriously wonky about this girl. Most of our other characters fall even farther off the radar. After Baltar’s painfully long and boring trial, he is completely MIA, and you’re not going to hear any complaints from me. The whole “suddenly cylon” crew is also absent, as are President Roslin and Sharon (except for a minute or so of screen time a piece).

As everyone now knows, the first half of Battlestar Galactica’s fourth and final season has been pushed back to April. What you may not have heard is that creator Ron Moore posted a cryptically pessimistic blog entry about the apparently uncertain chances of the show re-starting production if the writer’s strike drags on too long. It’s a thought too scary to even entertain, but now you all have another reason to pray that the TV gods unleash doves, olive branches and free-flowing web residuals during Monday’s talks. Delays and doubts aside, Razor is well worth the wait. It satisfies that BSG-craving grumble in your tummy and whets your appetite for new episodes - whenever they might be.

Battlestar Galactica: Razor premieres Saturday at 9pm on Sci Fi and the DVD will be released on December 4th