Battlestar Galactica: 5 Relationships Fans Loved (& 5 They Hated)

When Battlestar Galactica returned to television in 2003, it heralded a new age of science fiction, one in which campy plots and flimsy costumes were left behind in favor of gritty, grounded realism. It tackled heavy topics, heady ideas, and the complexity of the human experience with a way few shows have managed since; even though, when it comes down to it, Battlestar Galactica is really all about robots.

Okay, maybe that’s oversimplifying things a little. Battlestar also had its fair share of romances – epic romances, doomed romances, and terrible, farcical romances (looking at you, Gaius Baltar).

10 Hated: Galen Tyrol & Cally Henderson

This relationship was doomed from the second Cally shot Galactica-Sharon. The power dynamic is a mess, as Cally’s been the Chief’s underling for years. Until they get married and start reproducing on New Caprica, their relationship is much more like brother and very annoying, much younger sister.

9 Loved: Anastasia Dualla & Billy Keikeya

A faithful aide to President Laura Roslin, Billy Keikeya doesn’t get a lot of love in the series, possibly because of his early season 2 death. For most of the first and second seasons, Billy is in a relationship with Petty Officer Anastasia Dualla, who serves on the bridge of the Galactica.

Billy seems to be as committed to Dualla as it is feasibly possible for a person to be. Even after he asks her to marry him and she declines (due to her ongoing involvement with Lee Adama), he sacrifices himself to save her during a hostage crisis onboard Cloud Nine.

8 Hated: Lee Adama & Anastasia Dualla

In many fans’ eyes, this is the relationship that broke sweet, innocent Billy Keikeya’s heart. And it’s really not helped by the fact that Dualla’s nickname is “Dee.” Dee and Lee is just too cutesy a combo to exist outside a romantic comedy, especially not in a series about a war to prevent the extinction of the human race.

Add in the fact that Lee seems to marry Dualla on New Caprica as an act of revenge after his other love interest, Kara Thrace, goes off and marries Sam Anders, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Although their marriage doesn’t last long, while it does last, Lee starts overeating and becomes temporarily obese. Hardly a sign of a happy man.

7 Loved: Gaius Baltar & Number Six

Though at times this relationship is more comedic than romantic, it serves as one of the cornerstones of the show, constant from the miniseries to the very end. Despite the fact that Gaius Baltar is a self-serving, manipulative liar and Number Six is a Cylon who helped orchestrate the destruction of his homeworld, they seem to have a real, genuine connection. He even converts to the Cylon religion for her.

Number Six is also revealed to have visions of Gaius Baltar (“Head Baltar”) similar to the visions he has of her, suggesting she’s plagued by the same level of preoccupation as he is. They’re one of the only couples that end the series still together, going off to start a simple life as farmers.

6 Hated: Gaius Baltar & Number Six

As much as Gaius Baltar and Number Six’s relationship serves as a cornerstone of the series, it can also be extremely infuriating at times. It’s a conduit for the Cylons to manipulate events inside the Fleet, and Number Six’s constant presence inside Baltar’s head motivates him to do a lot of dumb and damaging things.

Number Six is responsible for the plot to destroy Caprica, seducing Baltar and convincing him to give her access to the Colonial Defense System. She also spurs a particularly annoying period in Baltar’s character arc when he becomes a religious leader on New Caprica.

5 Loved: Caprica-Sharon & Karl Agathon

Though their relationship causes perhaps even more strife than that between Gaius Baltar and Number Six, Karl Agathon and the Caprica version of Sharon Valerii actually have quite a moving romance. Yes, admittedly, it starts as a nefarious experiment to see if a Cylon can become pregnant by a human. But Caprica-Sharon falls in love with Agathon and turns traitor, helping him escape Cylon capture.

They stick together through imprisonment aboard the Battlestar Pegasus, attempts to force an abortion of their unborn child, and said child’s eventual birth, kidnapping, and fake death. If they can make it through all that, they deserve a win.

4 Hated: Galactica-Sharon & Galen Tyrol

The Chief can’t catch a break in terms of romantic relationships. This may be due to the fact that he’s just generally awful at choosing who to get involved with. His season 1 relationship with the Galactica version of Sharon Valerii is a source of extreme vexation for many fans.

The Chief and Galactica–Sharon’s relationship is anticlimactic in a lot of ways but does seem to be defined by its ending – an oh-so-touching series of events in which Galactica–Sharon is shot and killed by the Cheif’s future wife, Cally. The Chief, who only scenes prior claimed to hate Galactica–Sharon, then mourns her.

3 Loved: Bill Adama & Laura Roslin

Like many great romantic partnerships, Admiral Adama and President Roslin’s began as a working relationship. But there’s something about shouldering the weight of curatorship for the entire human race that binds people together. In many ways, Adama and Roslin were the only people who ever truly understood what the other was going through.

They’re a perfectly balanced couple. She keeps him from committing war crimes, and he keeps her from folding too easily under the will of her electorate. When Roslin finally confessed her love for Adama, his quiet “About time” reply melted thousands of hearts across the fandom.

2 Hated: Kara Thrace & Sam Anders

Kara Thrace and Sam Anders have a relationship built mostly upon their shared history as space basketball players. (Okay, yes, it’s called “pyramid,” but we all know what it really is.) Even once they’re married on New Caprica, the portrayal of their relationship is framed by Kara’s relationship with Lee Adama. Unsurprising, as she proposed to and married Anders immediately after sleeping with Lee.

Anders is suspicious of Kara during her triumphant season 4 return, and though they end the series by passing into the hereafter sort-of together, neither ever seems very confident in their commitment.

1 Loved: Kara Thrace & Lee Adama

Kara and Lee’s relationship had the highest highs and the lowest lows of any in Battlestar Galactica. Though they end up marrying other people, they always seem to drift back to each other. They offer to leave their spouses for each other; Lee accepts Kara unconditionally when she returns in season 4, not caring that she may be a Cylon; he knows she never needs saving, that she can take care of herself.

The emotional scene where Kara challenges Lee to a boxing match to settle their issues, kicking the snot out of each other before ending up locked together in a bloody embrace, is remembered as one of the most iconic in the entire series.