I haven’t been as entirely successful at avoiding spoilers for this season of Battlestar Galactica as I’d like — I know for certain two characters who will survive New Caprica, and at least one who won’t. I think it is a probably safe bet that more than just who I know will die before the New Caprica plot is resolved, and so, spoiler-free (and, if you comment, let’s keep it spoiler free there too), from the show’s large recurring character list, my predictions on those who will and won’t survive the next few episodes:
Lt. Felix Gaeta. He’s the mole within Baltar’s administration, but he’s very secretive. Even the man who serves as his contact — Tyrol — doesn’t know who he is. The conversation between Tyrol and Jammer, I think, is a disturbing portent of things to come: Gaeta is viewed as a traitor by many of those he once commanded. I don’t think he’s going to make it, and I think it’s going to be a member of the resistance who kills him.
“Kat.” When we first met her, she was a freighter pilot drafted from the Rag Tag Fleet to serve as a replacement Viper pilot. Now she’s Galactica’s CAG, and whatever rescue operation Adama is planning will almost certainly rely on her dogfighting skills. With Lee Adama no longer in a Viper, Kat serves as a good counterpoint to the soon-to-return to dogfighting Starbuck. She’ll make it. (And since I’m so confident about that, she’s fucking dead).
“Hot Dog”. We met him in the same episode we met Kat — an arrogant loud-mouth who earned his flight moniker from his pissed-off flight instructor, Kara Thrace. “HotDog” has been in the background without the character development given to Kat. Brief moments to make his mark, for the audience to recognize him, and that’s why he’s going to die: so that the rescue of the Colonists from New Caprica will remind the audience in every episode since of the cost. Hot Dog’s going to get an exploding Viper death. (Of course, the actor who plays “Hot Dog” — Brodie Olmos — is the son of the show’s lead actor, so he might survive just for that reason!)
Sam Anders. Kara Thrace’s husband, who she loves dearly. And that’s why he won’t make it — because it isn’t enough to kill off background actors with a few lines every handful of episodes. People will grieve for Hot Dog, but they’ll mourn for Kara’s loss with Ander’s death. More importantly, we’ll have a return to Starbuck the Asskicking Bitch, as opposed to Starbuck The Long Haired Love Hippy.
Tom Zarek. He’s a fucking goner, which is too bad, ‘cuz he makes for a nice bad guy. It’d be a stretch of credibility for both he and Roslin to survive the mass execution at the end of last week’s episode, and even if I hadn’t seen the preview for the next episode, I wouldn’t believe the writer’s would spare Roslin’s life in the horrible “Epiphanies” only to have her machine-gunned down here.
Jammer. I’d really like for this kid to make it. And, y’know, judging by the character development he got in Friday’s ep, he’d be a strong contender for it. He’s been around since the first season and now he’s coming to troubling understanding of the true purpose of the New Caprican Police Force and his role within it. He’s almost certainly the leak who put Colonel Tigh in detention, and his actions on behalf of Callie haven’t yet wiped the slate clean yet. I envision something self-sacrificial.
Dualla. Oh please. Like they’d kill the only African-Canadian member of the cast.