Note: I’m going to talk about the plot details of Battlestar Galactica in this post. If you aren’t caught up to the finale of season three, stop reading NOW. You have been warned. This is the last safe sentence you can read.
If you’ve been watching SciFi Network’s Battlestar Galactica, you know that it’s a terrific military drama, political drama, social commentary and science fiction show. It’s also one hell of a good mystery.
Season three started off a bit wobbly (that boxing episode was unwatchably dumb) but ended in spectacular fashion. We know there are 12 cylon models. By episode 19 of season three, we had met seven of the twelve. In episode 20 — the season finale — we met four of the remaining five: Tigh (Oh, God, that one hit me in the gut. I hope it’s not true but I know that it is.), Cheif, Sam and what’s-her-name. So that’s eleven. There’s one cylon left. Ged makes a good argument for Baltar, but he’s a red herring.
The fifth cylon is Starbuck.
The first cylons were compliant slaves of humankind. They evolved into the models we know as centurions. Further evolution produced the more human-like models like Number 6, Sharon, Lucy Lawless and the dude from Quantum Leap. I’m sure this was a long process for them, wrought with trial-and-error.
Their minds and self-awareness evolved along with their physical designs. The first models were thoughtless slaves. The centurions are killing machines, but just as intellectually bankrupt as their immediate predecessors.
Later models, like Quantum Leap (I don’t remember his cylon name/designation) were self-aware on a deeper level, but conquest is still their primary function. It’s when they developed model numbers five and six — the blonde and Lucy Lawless — that their minds evolved beyond blind vengeance. Number five was deactivated by Quantum Leap — an earlier model — for continually asking why they exist, what their purpose is and what more life has to offer.
Number six’s reason for existing is to preserve the life of Sharon’s baby, and ensure its well being. They’re moving towards a harmonious convergence of cylon and human into a single race.
Starbuck represents the final step in the evolution of this new life form (akin to Arthur C. Clarke’s Star Child). Her mother knew she was “special,” that her “destiny was already written.” She spent idle time in her youth absent-mindedly sketching the Eye of Jupiter. She has survived a hell of a lot of physical trauma (like her ship literally exploding in the vacuum of space!), flown a biological cylon ship and … well, look at that … she was married to a frackin cylon and didn’t even know it.
I believe that the other models who were “switched on” at the end of season three are at a point in cylon evolution between the gang we know and Starbuck. You’ll note they didn’t immediately go on a killing spree; they resumed their duties on board the Galactica.
What’s going to happen is a final battle between the two factions of cylon – the inquisitive and the single-minded. The secular and the religious. The centurions and Kara, Tigh and the chief. The result will be a harmonious new human/cylon race that will reach and eventually colonize earth. Of course, all of this culminates in ….
Us.
[...] My friend and fellow blogger Dave Caolo chimes in with his thoughts about the final Cylon model. I won’t spoil it for you, you’ll have to go read it [...]
Dude, they’ve said Starbuck is NOT a cylon, she’s something else.
Starbuck a cyclon? That is SOOOOO 2007.
[...] said Baltar. Dave said Starbuck. Both are seriously in need of [...]
Makes total sense to me…When is BG coming back to the airwaves?
New episodes start Friday!
Oh frack, I couldn’t resist:
http://icanhaz.com/the12thcylon
Good point about the tattoo… if she’s a Cylon it’ll be gone for sure.
Wikipedia says: “The only aspect of Kara’s return that both Moore and actress Katee Sackhoff have addressed is that she is not a hallucination, such as the Number Six that Baltar sees.”
So she’s either a Cylon, or that was a black hole or something or other.
[...] this placement we can assume that Six will create the single most dramatic change in Cylon society. As I said before, I think the show will culminate in a battle between the secular Cylons (centurions, Quantum Leap, [...]
Check out the “Last Supper” shot on the BSG site. The creators were answering some questions based on the photoshoot and they were directly asked about some things. The clues:
There’s a missing person in the photo. A cup for someone who doesn’t exist between Lee and Tigh.
There was also another hint dropped: Nobody that is in that photo that hasn’t already been outed as a Cylon is a cylon. That knocks out President, Adama (both of them), Baltar and Starbuck.
My best guesses for the 5th Cylon?
Dee (Loeben said an “adama” was a cylon, that would be Dee through her marriage through Lee.)
Or
Gaeta (Baltar knew something that would push Gaeta to try to murder him. He was also involved in the cylon detector.)
5th Cylon is Baltar.Baltar was tortured by # 3. during one of her visoins , she meets the 5 unknown cylons and says to the 5th “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know”
BALTAR