Okay, so I had already seen the season finale of Battlestar Galactica ("Crossroads, Part Two") so it wasn't like there were any NEW surprises watching it again last night, but boy was I unable to get to sleep last night after watching that (not to mention the fact that it was coupled with an episode of The Amazing Race and the series finale of Rome on HBO).BSG has never shied away from the controversial, whether it be a daring twist in storytelling or a cutting reveal that you may never have seen coming. And last night's season finale was no exception, giving us not what we necessarily wanted, but what we needed.
I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about the BIG reveal (well two big reveals) at the very end of the episode (remember: I did warn you not to miss the last five minutes), set to the haunting strains of "All Along the Watchtower," a fitting musical accompaniment for what was unfolding aboard Galactica. Yes, I'm talking about the fact that it would be appear to be that four of the Final Five Cylon models were right in front of us the entire time, all perfectly positioned to keep on eye on various factions or people within the Colonial Fleet: Colonel Tigh, presidential aide de camp Tory Foster, Sam Anders, and Chief Tyrol.
I can tell you that I was blown away. (Sure, my girlfriend turned to me earlier in the episode and said how weird it would be if they ended up being Cylons but she's prescient that way.) I loved the way the music--first appearing like traditional, discordant Cylon "music"--became a symbol of the very switch that suddenly "activated" them. But unlike the other units (I'm thinking of Boomer here), these four seem acutely aware of their responsibilities and lives rather than becoming overwhelmed by their Cylon programming. It's obvious that they are something else entirely than the other models and they've managed to avoid detection thus far within the fleet, even fighting against the Cylons on New Caprica. So what are they? And given that Adama has known Tigh for decades even, how has no one picked up on the fact that they're not human. How long has the Cylon program been going on?
My out of left field theory: the humans and Cylons are forced to unite against a far greater common threat. Taking a page out of the good book of The 4400, the final five Cylon models are seeded back into the timestream earlier than the other models (Six, Boomer, D'Anna, etc.) and are placed in key positions within the administration and military, perfectly positioned to exert some authority.
Or it could be something different altogether. But what weirds me out is that the song used to switch them over is a familiar Earth song, one slightly dated even today. How in the world is a 1960s war protest song from our planet even out there in the ether? Is it connected to the appearance of Starbuck? The proximity to Earth? Or something else, given that each of the four admitted that it reminded them of something from their childhoods. Curious.
Starbuck is, of course, alive. But we all knew that in our heart of hearts that she didn't die in "Maelstrom" after all, despite what Apollo thinks he may have seen. But she claims that she's been to Earth and it's her mission (prophesied by Leoben) that she will lead them there. But is she even human? Or is she the final fifth member of the hidden Cylons? Was she what awakened these sleepers from their slumber? And what exactly caused the massive power outage throughout the entire fleet?
Speaking of electricity, I'm still shaking from the shared visions of Laura Roslin (whose terminal breast cancer has sadly returned), Athena, and Caprica Six, which picked up that thread of the opera house vision storyline. Each of the women seek to protect young Hera (the only Cylon/Human hybrid), but Six scoops her up and she and Gaius Baltar (who miraculously managed to be found innocent during his trial) enter the auditorium where, in the balcony, the final five Cylons stand, emitting a high frequency hum and well as a palpable feeling of presence. Again, curious. But let's not forget that Roslin has Cylon blood inside of her (a result of a transfusion from Hera a few seasons back to cure her cancer); are they experiencing a shared memory or hallucination? Or is it truly a sign of things yet to come?
Me, I can't believe we have to wait until January 2008 for Season Four of Battlestar Galactica, especially when they've given us such tantalizing clues to feast on. But hopefully that reported 2-hour movie (which may or may not be based right after the events of "Crossroads") will fill in a few gaps. Otherwise, it's going to be a long wait for winter.
Comments
Please, are we really expected to believe that the Cylons perfected undetectable human analogs 30 years ago--just 10 years after the first war? (Or did they come from 1960s Earth, pre-implanted with the latest tunes?) Yes, they'll turn out to be goody-two-shoes Cylons (because the bad ones "don't talk about them" and don't even know what they look like) but c'mon.
Of course Starbuck's alive. What an anticlimax that was. I couldn't even manage a "Yay" it was so predictable.
Lastly, this delusional/mythical stuff is getting on my nerves. I love Chip Six and even Chip Baltar, but if we have any more dreams, hallucinations, or premonitions, I'm going to scream.
Don't get me wrong, I still love BSG, just less than before. I hope they use this [wicked long] inter-season hiatus to sober up, get their groove back, and start writing tighter, more interesting scripts. We know you can do it, Ron!
Nicholas Tyrol?
I think it is apparent that these Cylons are part of a Cylon resistance. That is at some point there was faction that broke off because they disagreed about how how to treat their creators
As to tigh and his age and timeline problems. Do we know reallly that much about early Cylon development. Could it be like cloning experiments here? People sort of doing their own thing. Perhaps some were more advanced than others and Tigh is a very early model that "evolved".
Second why is everyone assuming that the Cylon fleet that arrived is THE Cylon fleet that has been tracking them?
Third, Can you imagine the reaction of the other Cylons when they find this out. I highly suspect that Cavil knows more than otehr Cylons. Thus his leadership in boxing the 3's after she had seen the faces of the 5. HE seemed weirdly nonchalant about it.
4th- Don' read to much into the song. ALready we know that the composer was instructed to do a song that was not in a earth type Universe but BG's. Hell people already have in the Colonial fleet.
This show has continued to evolve and grow and amaze me and I can't wait to see what they have in store for us next season!
We're never officially told that they are cylons. Tyrol finally speaks the word when they all meet, but there is nothing that unequivocally states that they are cylons. The music is an interesting twist, but I looked up "watchtower" to see what interpretations there were, and what meaning the creators of galactica may have meant to inject into the show by including it. Here's the link
http://www.reasontorock.com/tracks/watchtower.html
It's pretty in depth, but it keeps pointing out two repetitive themes. The simplicity of the song, and the song being a harbinger of confrontation and change. Looking at the conclusion of the finale, I would have to agree with this interpretation for this circumstance.
Baltar is Not Guilty....
Well, you had to know this would happen. He's much more interesting free, than in a cage. 'Nuff said.
Kara is alive...
Yeah, saw that one coming. Her arrival isn't so much of interest, but the fact that she claims to have been to earth (not so farfetched given the pullback at the end that shows earth a cosmic hop, skip, and "jump" away) that's interesting. Earth is near, and so is her music. Yeah, I think Kara's a cylon, but so what. Seems like everyone gets to be a cylon tonight.
Roslin/Athena/Six's vision....
We've known since Athena got pregnant that the baby was going to be big news. Still no hint as to what, but obviously she's to play a big part in what's to come.
And finally Lee...
He grabbed his gear, and headed for the hangar deck as soon as the alarms went off. As much as he denies being his father, he's certainly his father's son. Lee's not quitting the service any time soon. He loves strapping a Viper to his back and jetting off into the cosmos waaay too much.
Suffice to say, I'm foaming at the mouth waiting for the new season.
A couple of them say "There must be some kinda way outta here", or "There's too much confusion".
I love the scene when the switch clicks and the four of them start heading for the meeting place. As the scene switches from one person to the next, each says a little bit of dialog. Separately, it sounded like normal dialog (except the chief talking about the joker and the thief), but put it all together and they say:
"There must be some kinda way outta here, said the joker to the thief. There is too much confusion, I can't get no relief".
I'm a Hendrix fan. When I first heard this, I thought it sounded familiar, just like the melody of their humming sounded familiar. But because it was out of context I couldn't quite put my finger on it ... until the song hit full blast at the end.
They staged the scene beautifully.
The version of Watchtower they did at the end was great. I need to get a copy of it.
The other excellent stroke of genius in the show was how they were building up the trial of Baltar as the big season finale. Even in the podcasts Ron Moore was talking about how they knew all season that the finale would be about Baltar's trial.
Turns out, the trial was all smokescreen. The REAL story was in these bits of music and what was going on with the people who could hear them.
Excellent.
http://www.bearmccreary.com/html/blog/blogmain.htm
I really have new found respect for TV series composer, the cover was absolutely fantastic.
According to Bear's blog post, he was told to include the song, so clearly the lyrics DO have meaning. He was told to include all lyrics, but the melody was his to re-create.
I should add that the inclusion of "All Along the Watchtower" was always *intentional*, as it was explicitly mentioned as THE song in the BSG script for "Crossroads Part Two."
The First Cylon War ended exactly forty years ago.
There are no coincidences in television.
It does beg the question, though... if Earth were actually settled as the 13th colony, what happened to core of technologically advanced part of humanity? Crash landed with all records destroyed? Brought here by time travelling Cylons? They're the Illuminati [fnord!], secretly keeping us in the dark and every so often, letting some new tech out: PS3, electric cars, The Spork, etc.
So many questions...
Roslin has shared a vision with Six and Athena -- something there?
The 4 that can hear the song only suspect that they are Cylons, they don't know that for sure.
I, for one, believe that them being Cylons is sort of easy and obvious solution. And BSG was never about the obvious... What do you think?
If Tyrol is one of the Cylons, how come he wasn't affected by the radiation on Ragnar? I seem to recall that one Cylon there was suffering from the affects and that Tyrol was on the station overseeing the ammo transfer. Oh well.
So, I'm wondering if the Cylons home world really is Earth? That's the world they found and made their own that was mentioned in the beginning of the miniseries?
The music in the nebula has me stumped. I'm wondering if their radio, etc. is picking up broadcasts from Earth way out in the Nebula and that the nebula is bouncing the signal back and forth. How far is that nebula from Earth? Can't determine it from the high-speed pullout and zero in thing they did at the end. It looks like the Horse Head nebula. For a signal from Earth to reach to that nebula, would take how long?
Starbuck alive? I didn't know she was dead. But then, I haven't seen anything between the beginning of Lay Down Your Burdens and Crossroads. Maybe she got picked up by the Ship of Lights. ; )
Please, don't let Dr. Zee show up. I couldn't stand to see the fleet find earth and have it be 2007 or 2008.
and i'm just guessing at this part but i think thay where some part of a resistance because they all apart from the woman have an ingrained hate of the cylons.