Reader Mail: Helo final cylon. Agree!! But…
June 26, 2008
Dani writes in all the way from Barcelona to offer his opinion on my final Cylon theory, which I recently expanded a bit toward the end of this article.
Hey there!
Well, first of all I want to apologise for my poor english… (I’m from Barcelona, by the way) So please, consider this if at any moment I could use rude or innapropiated words… It is really NOT my intention!
Second, the way I arrived to your site. I just looked for “Helo final cylon” on Google
Why I did it? Well, I’ve allways suspected about this issue about Helo (I’ve heard it many times) “it was planned for him to death at the beggining of the show, but just because he did quite well the producers — or whoever — decide to keep him”. I’ve never swallow it, sounds to me like the producers pretends to divert the attention from him. Don’t you?
And third, I would really like to say congratulations for your fantastic theory regarding Helo like the final five. Absolutely, deep and precise. I’ve really enjoyed.
But the point is I need just one more answer. What about the Moore sentence: “the final five is NOT in The Last Supper picture”. Maybe you have wrote something about this, but I really didn’t find it out… So, was Moore cheating us? Or maybe there is anything else behind the picture that we can’t see yet?
I would really appreciate if you could send me just a few words…
Many, many thanks! And, again, congratulations! I’m sure you’re right!
There was certainly some debate, O Reader, as to whether Tahmoh Penikett’s charachter — Karl Agathon — was supposed to be a “one shot” personality who would have been assumed to have perished after the miniseries had ended. The rumour goes that Penikett’s performance was well-liked by the producers, and so the writers kept him in the plot first as a survivor, then as the Cylons’ mark for a possible “mate” for the Number Eight who eventually became Sharon Agathon, and finally as one of the more important recurring characters in the series.
But right there, the Reader should be able to note that while the genesis of Helo makes sense within the narrative of BSG, Helo himself has climbed pretty far up the totem pole for someone who was supposed to be a “one-shot” character. It’s certainly quite possible that the rumours concerning his supposed expendability are a clever bit of deception on the part of Battlestar Galactica’s producers. Then again, maybe not — the whole idea of the Final Five had not yet been formed during the series’ first season. Of course, that’s just another rumour. 
As to the last question that Dani asks, concerning the “Last Supper” photograph, I did actually take into account what Ron Moore had said regarding the identity of the final missing Cylon and its relationship to the picture. Concerning this issue, I wrote: “I wouldn’t put it past Ron Moore, good Reader, to mislead people a little bit, especially if there was a danger of too much being revealed in some way. Equally, it’s entirely possible he was telling the truth. I do know that he later remarked that he “probably shouldn’t have said” what he said about the people in “The Last Supper,” but whether that was because he felt he’d given too much away or because he had now put himself into a position whereby he’d have to contradict himself later on, I can’t say.
…I think the main point here is that whoever the final Cylon is revealed to be, he or (possibly) she will be the parent of one of the babies currently believed to by half-Cylon and half-human. The whole series has revolved around the issue of the “humanity” of the Cylons and their apparently inability to reproduce. I think that the revelation of the final Cylon will necessarily accompany the additional (and simultaneous) revelation that Cylons can, in fact, reproduce successfully.
And I still think that [Hera Agathon] will be revealed as the fully Cylon child, given that Season 3 spent an awful lot of time trying to build up her significance. I’ve only read the first Dune book, but it seems to me that there is a parallel between the Kwisatz Haderach and what Hera is.
Which brings us back to Helo.
So, did Ron Moore lie to us? Time will tell…but I will say that I have no problem believing that Ron Moore is trying to deflect speculation down incorrect avenues.”
Now, I will admit, O Reader, that I lost one bet; Hera turned out not to be the first fully Cylon child revealed to the viewers (that honour goes to the child of Caprica Six and Saul Tigh). That said, I don’t think this diminishes Hera’s significance in any way. And as I noted more recently, we must come back to “the issue of the First Hybrid’s prophecy that the final Cylon would be revealed only in the “howl of terrible suffering”. Given Sharon Agathon’s passionate defence of Hera in the past — including her willingness to kill any Cylon who might even remotely threaten her child (even by way of mere proximity) — it stands to reason that if D’Anna harbours any designs on Hera, that fact will bring Sharon and D’Anna into direct conflict in the near future.
And perhaps neither Sharon nor D’Anna will survive the encounter. Perhaps Hera will be gravely endangered. And perhaps Helo will weather that terrible suffering only by discovering, and somehow coming to terms, with his Cylonity.”
Mind the spoliers, please!
Given that the current rumours suggest that the character of Number Three — D’Anna Biers — will only be on the show for another episode or two, it’s quite possible that just such a violent resolution will come to pass. After all, D’Anna has to disappear from the narrative somehow, and she could well turn out to be the first casualty promised by the producers when they said that the Cylon Civil War would result in the death of three Cylon models.
Ding! Spoilers are done.
Time will tell, O Reader.
I do have to say, though, that I’m more than a little surprised that something I wrote is being read in as far away a place (from Edmonton, at least) as Barcelona. Thanks very much for writing in, Dani — that’s really cool.
Having seen Sine
June 7, 2008
Sine Qua Non, that would be, the episode of Battlestar Galactica that aired not last night, but a week prior. Yes, this review is coming a bit later than one might expect, but I am at the mercy of those who tape the episodes for me, and either their ability to deliver the episodes to me or my ability to pick the episodes up from them.
Strangely, both vectors failed this week, until yesterday.
But be that as it may, this will be a fairly short review (by comparison, at any rate).
First, a bit of a note. Although the episode wasn’t structured according to a rigid understanding of this theme, the trinitarian issue of “faith, hope, and love” seemed to percolate through the narrative, popping up in the oddest of places (and faces). This was especially true in the case of William Adama, who displayed ample amounts of all three qualities in the wake of Laura Roslin’s abduction by the Cylon hybrid.
That’s not to say, of course, that Admiral Atheus suddenly found Religion, but it’s evident that he has tremendous faith in Laura Roslin personally, and in her ability to lead the people to Earth. Indeed, he believes that Earth can be found solely because of her, and her sudden abduction is a massive shock to his system. That he loves her is plainly obvious — he outright states that he “can’t live without her.”
It’s Adama’s sense of hope — something he hasn’t had much of lately — that really stands out, though. Faced with evidence of a mighty battle, nuclear detonations, and basestar wreckage (along with the wreckage of several of the Colonial vessels loaned to the rebel Cylon faction), he nevertheless persists in his hope that Roslin is alive, even going to the extraordinary step of ordering the fleet to leave him behind at the pre-arranged rendezvous point that Galactica and the rebels had agreed to; the episode ends with a scene of his Raptor aimlessly drifting in space.
Hope and faith also appear, visibly, in the person of Lee Adama, who even is threatened with murder at one point because he represents the best hope for the fleet’s leadership — with his attacker wanting to kill him because “hope is the last thing [the fleet] needs.” Lee’s rejoinder to the charge is that it’s all a choice — one can either choose to give up, or have faith that things will work out; his choice is to struggle with his every breath to see that they do…and it’s this conviction, this love for the flawed creation called humanity, that saves his life and sees him sworn in as interim president of the Colonies.
Anyhow, some other notes:
>> The Final Five
One of two things is now possible: either the Cylons can actually reproduce, or only the Final Five are capable of reproducing with other Cylons, either from within their own number or with members of the Significant Seven. At any rate, Saul Tigh and Caprica Six have created another child, ostensibly the first Cylon-Cylon child (although I have an obvious doubt about this).
One interesting theory I tripped over — sorry, no link — was that the Final Five were like the original Cylon attempts at assuming human form, but that the five models ended up being somehow “too human” and so were mind-wiped and, in effect, exiled to the Colonies. There’s some merit to the theory, although it seems somewhat dubious to think that, in a span of less than forty years, such a comprehensive mythology could have emerged concerning the Five. This is especially true given that there haven’t exactly been a few subsequent generations of Cylons that have passed on between the creation of the Final Five and the creation of the Significant Seven — that makes it rather difficult for any sort of mythos to take shape, since a key component of such a thing is the way it is shaped as it is handed down from one generation to the next.
Also, the Cylons have shared databases, not oral traditions, which makes the formation of a mythology in almost any span of time improbably.
Personally, I think it comes back to love again. Tigh’s visions of Ellen when speaking with Caprica Six are, I think, significant here, in that Tigh learned how to genuinely love Ellen at some point (perhaps only after losing her to his own hand?). Perhaps the issue is not that the Final Five are somehow “more human,” but that by virtue of their ignorance of their nature were somehow able to…come to understand love on its own terms, through the relationships they formed.
This goes back, then, to something I said before: if love is such a necessary component of Cylon procreation, it stands to reason that it makes rather a lot of sense why the “in the lab” results of procreation experiments amongst the Cylons all came up negative. When one is reduced to taking a clinical approach to such things, or when one acts out of fear that by not acting one is committing a sin, one’s actions are not motivated by love. Guilt? Yes, probably. Inquiry and curiosity? Most assuredly. But love? No, probably not.
The Final Five have learned to love, something which was missing before. Perhaps, in the future (especially if the Resurrection Hub is actually destroyed at some point), the other Cylons will learn to love as well…and if so, it will be interesting to see what results (assuming Ron Moore will take us to that future).
> Returning characters
It was good to see Romo Lampkin again, although it’s a pity about his cat. Then too, he’s provided a home for Jake the dog (Hero of the Resistance!), so at least he’ll “have a new animal to loathe.”
I’ve a feeling we’ll be seeing Romo again in later episodes, but I’d just like to state here and now that I don’t think he’s the final Cylon; to those that are speculating that he might be, I can only say “red herring.”
>> The Quorum of Twelve
Can’t we just airlock them all? None of them is the Cylon, but their endless bickering is about as helpful to the people of the Colonies as a Cylon nuclear strike would be — and is far more agonizing given that at least the nuke would kill people quickly. Talk about presenting, by way of example, a convincing case for military rule.
>> Saul Tigh, father?
Grace threw up her hands at the revelation. On one hand, it wasn’t surprising — though the show didn’t really ever show a scene of Tigh and Caprica Six sleeping together, it was pretty much assumed that this was the case. I admit that the news of the pregnancy came as a bit of a surprise, although in retrospect I wonder if it should have.
At any rate, Grace was rather perturbed at the idea of Tigh abusing his power over a prisoner that way, and complained that he should have had self-control. I certainly don’t disagree. Sex does seem to be the biggest moral weakness of the characters on this show, which I suppose is reflective of the real world more than most of its other allusions.
One other note: Grace felt that the revelation of the pregnancy strenghtened the case for Helo — Karl Agathon — being the final Cylon. Certainly, my guess that the final Cylon would in some way be related to the issue of Cylon reproduction hasn’t yet been borne out, although I observe that I certainly wasn’t far off the mark (even if I am ultimately wrong): Cylon reproduction has re-appeared as an issue, and the Final Five (at least) seem to have some involvement with that plot aspect.
>> Saul Tigh, admiral?
I think Tigh put it best himself: the promotion to command didn’t work out very well last time around. What was Adama thinking?
Then too, Tigh’s expression was classic when Adama noted that Tigh was a different man than he was a couple years ago. This is…true, certainly, and perhaps Tigh won’t make a hash of things this go-round, especially since Ellen Tigh isn’t there to goad him on.
>> God
Natalie — the Number Six shot by Sharon Agathon — dies in this episode, and as she does she first envisions a forest, and then a progressively brighter light as she passes away. As to whether she resurrects, I’m not sure, although I imagine that she’s gone for good.
Which is interesting, because again we get to see the moment of death from the perspective of the dying character, and again it appears that the God of the BSG universe is very real, and that there is a definite crossing between life and death…and that death is quite a lot more than the nothingness that atheism posits waits for us all beyond the veil.
I might also note that as she is being wheeled to the operating room, Natalie prays a Cylon prayer, the same one used last season on the diseased baseship. It’s nice to see reverent faith get a half-decent treatment in a show on television these days.
>> Without which it could not be
The episode title, Sine Qua Non doesn’t appear to be an allusion to Andrew Jackson in any meaningful way, so I assume it can be taken on its literal meaning instead. And indeed, the whole episode focuses on those things which, for various people in the show, life isn’t worth living (or, at least, living well).
For Romo, it was his family and the cat, which was his only connection to that past. Lee Adama resolves this by giving him the dog, severing Romo’s ties to history and anchoring him in the present (and hope for the future) instead.
For Adama, it was Roslin. She was abducted, and he all but came unglued.
For Sharon, it was little Hera Agathon, and Adama realizes this in reflecting on his own actions. His last order, before he departs in his Raptor (using his old callsign, I might add), is for that family to be re-united, in spite of his previous declaration that the brig “is no place for a little girl.”
>> Predictions, of varying sort — do be mindful of possible spoilers
1) I still think Karl Agathon — Helo — is the final Cylon, obviously. I also would like to note one addendum to my theory: since the identity of the last Cylon is tied, in some way, to an act of great suffering, I wonder if there is any significance to the fact that in Colonial prophecy, the goddess Athena — whose tomb was discovered by, and whose probable place of suicide was noted by, Sharon Agathon (callsign: Athena) — despairs and commits suicide some time between the point of the twelve tribes arriving at “the home of the gods” and the arrival of the people of the colonies at their destinations?
We’ve already seen Helo’s agony at Sharon’s death even when he knew she’d be resurrected, after all. And now she’s betrayed Adama’s trust and has landed herself in the brig again. Added to what is happening with Hera, might she have cause for despair?
2) I still think the identity of the final Cylon is in some way tied up with Cylon reproduction, as the Final Five certainly seem to have something to do with that. The Resurrection Hub has probably been destroyed — there was a lot of wreckage in the one scene, more than one would think a single basestar was capable of being reduced to.
3) I still think Adama will not end the series an atheist.
Also, it’s interesting how reckless Adama is willing to be — and then with the fate of what’s left of humanity! — when someone close to him disappears.
4) The issue of Roslin’s cancer came under discussion, echoing my previous musings on the matter: Firstly, Roslin herself is in the end stages of her cancer; that far from the Galactica and its doctor, she may end up in very dire straits in the coming episodes. But given that Adama has now left to wait for her, I can’t see the writers not affording them an opportunity to meet again. I very much doubt that Roslin will die “out there” without making it back to Galactica.
Of course, if Roslin is the dying leader, she is supposed to pass on (pace Moses) before entering into the “promised land” (Earth?). Given that Earth is supposed to appear in another couple of episodes (according to rumour), this either means that Roslin a) will die rather soon, or b) might not be the dying leader at all.
5) With Adama sending the fleet off to find Earth again, I very much doubt that Galactica will attempt its own attack on the Resurrection Hub (especially since they don’t know where it is, by all accounts).
Reader Mail: interesting article on Battlestar
May 9, 2008
polyeggman writes in with his thoughts on this article, my initial final Cylon theory.
You’ve convinced me! It’s been bugging me that Hera is seen as special considering Tyrol’s baby is also a half and half. And, in all my final-Cylon ponderings, I never once considered Helo. That makes him the perfect dark horse. Thanks for the article!
polyeggman is quite welcome! It’s good to hear that he found the theory useful.
In fairness, Ron Moore threw us a bit of a curve ball this season by focusing more closely on Nicholas Tyrol in the last few episodes. From the way that Tory Foster went out of her way to safely secure baby Nicholas before airlocking Cally Tyrol, to the way that Gaius Baltar’s broadcast seemed to soothe Nicholas while the Chief was exercising, there’s been more than a little screen time devoted to the other apparently half-human, half-Cylon child.
And to be equally fair, I did concede that Cally is my second bet for who the last Cylon might be. Whether Nicholas or Hera Agathon, I think the final Cylon will in some way be related to the theme of Cylon reproduction that has permeated the entire series.
And it serves, also, to note that we really haven’t seen much of Hera in this latest, and final, season of Battlestar Galactica.
Personally, though, I think that Nicholas is being served up as a red herring. All of the third season of BSG was devoted to making Hera out to be “special” — to the point, indeed, that Laura Roslin, Sharon Agathon, and Caprica Six were all running through the same dream state in a desperate attempt to protect the child (from what is not yet known).
Possible spoilers ahead — skip to the end if need be!
I expect that Cylon reproduction will come into very sharp focus if, as is currently rumoured, one of the last episodes of the first half of the fourth and final season of BSG will deal with the destruction of the Cylon Resurrection Hub, without which no Cylon can resurrect even if a Resurrection Ship is present (in essence, the Cylons would be rendered “mortal”).
Cylon reproduction hasn’t been visited, as a topic, for a few episodes now, but things seem to be shaping up in such a way that the topic may indeed be re-opened with a new and drastic sense of urgency, if in fact the Colonial fleet succeeds in destroying the Hub.
End of spoilers.
At any rate, O Reader, at the end of it all, I think various plot threads will converge in the revelation of the last “toaster.” The hunt for the final Cylon is on. The Cylons desire to be able to reproduce. The Cylon civil war is raging, and the split has pitted three models against another three — one side has already demonstrated its willingness to use denial of resurrection capability as a battle tactic, and it stands to reason that before the end of the war both sides will have attempted to turn the issue of resurrection to their tactical advantage.
And in a sense, Karl Agathon is already in the middle of it, as both he and Athena are a part of Starbuck’s crew on the Demetrius — which, the Reader may recall, just met up with a representative of the rebel Cylon faction.
