One possible theory on BSG
I haven't frequented Battlestar Galactica discussion boards, so I don't know what popular theories are out there, but this is my prediction (or at least, this is what I'd like to see). It looks like a lot of answers may be given in next week's episode, so I had better put my theories out now, to be confirmed or exploded (which is more likely) as the case may be. I may also be repeating elements of speculation that people have already put out there -- I don't know.
These theories contain spoilers up to and including last week's episode Blood On the Scales, so if you are not caught up with current Battlestar Galactica episodes, and do not wish to be spoiled, then I recommend that you don't read this! The rest of it is my own speculation and does not come from any super-secret link to the production team, etc. etc.
My theory of how the Re-imagined Battlestar Galactica will end or what it's all about
February 8, 2009 (just after the episode Blood On the Scales)
1. The humans and cylons are in a co-dependent evolutionary cycle. How this exactly is realized I don't know. However, let's look at what we do know.
It's been stated that the humans created the cylons in the past, and the cylons rose up and rebelled against their masters. The first war was 40 years ago. The creation of the Cylons seems to have been hinted at taking place during the events of "Caprica" - the new series that is set during Joseph Adama's (William Adama's father) time. Thus, this is probably around 60-70 years ago.
So the current mechanical and skin-job cylons are a product of the current Colonial humans.
However, the Final Five clearly are not, neither are the cylon/human remains found on Earth. The Final Five seem to belong to the cylons (mechanical and skin-jobs) of Earth. That makes them incredibly old. Ancient. No wonder they are revered by the current cylons, but also shrouded in cylon myth. The Final Five (resurrected or otherwise) have had experiences, time-lines and goals that are barely understood by the current cylons, humans, and even the Five themselves (although the "next week's episode" commercial implies that Sam Anders has realized and is about to tell everyone).
So, we have ancient Earth cylons (mech & humanoid "skin-jobs"), and we have current "Colonial" cylons (mech & humanoid).
So what was the 13th Tribe? Were they cylons before they began the exodus from Kobol 4,000 odd years ago? Were they human? If they were cylon, then the 12 Tribes (who eventually became the Colonials as we know them) must have had some awareness of their mechanical nature. Did that play a part in the events of Kobol that led to its destruction and its ominous part of the current mythos (to be on Kobol will exact its price in blood) etc. Were the "cylonic" 13th Tribe rejected by the other 12 Tribes, or was the original relationship amicable, but the differences later got enlarged and twisted by the Colonials through the millennia (as can happen to ancient historical events so easily).
If the 13th Tribe was not "cylonic", then are we seeing a parallel evolution -- Earth humans creating cylons which eventually evolved much further than the Colonial counterparts did to the point that they replaced all humans on Earth. This answer is easy, but not very compelling except as a rather obvious morality lesson.
I prefer to think that humans and cylons on Kobol were already mutually self-aware (presumably the humans were the creators unless there is some other intriguing explanation) and that they all understood their partnered and evolving relationship. It could be that there was some violent disagreement or cataclysmic event that separated the two differing schools of philosophy: thus the 13th Tribe (accepting of their heritage with the cylons) went one way, and the 12 Tribes/Colonies (the "pure" humans) went another.
Another thought that arises from that scenario is that the human and cylon races may have already intermingled and interbred (or evolved) on Kobol to a point where there was no real separation of the two races (except for any residual mechanicals). This would imply that the current Colonials are cylon/human descendants. However, if this is true, then what explains the "new" and "unique" creation of mechanical cylons (from 60-70 years ago) on the Colonies? It implies that there was, eons back in history, either a rejection of cylons (a desire to return to "pure" human status due to some epic war, disagreement or religious conviction) or a millennia-long decline in technology to the point of lost knowledge and degradation into myth that in turn becomes forgotten. Either way, the 12 Colonies defined themselves only as human. The colonies seem to have been going for 4,000 years post-Kobol. For an already star-bound, technologically advanced race, that gives a lot of time for knowledge to be rejected, or to stagnate, or for other forces to weaken or obliterate it). At any rate, cylons, until now, have been considered a "modern" invention. We now know that this is not true (except strictly within Colonial, post-Kobol history).
In contrast, Earth was populated with Cylons at the time of its nuclear destruction. Earth seemed to be far more technologically advanced, or at least aware of themselves and their heritage. Certainly they, or some of them, are aware and technologically (or metaphysically!) advanced enough to put the Final Five's long-term mission into place -- a mission that seems incredible considering that it is at least 2,000 years old (given that the Final Five were living at the time of the nuclear destruction). It is also at least a partially successful mission as the Five have succeeded in bringing the Colonials to Earth.
So, are the current Colonials proof that ancient cylon/human intermingling and evolution through the millenia can result in a seemingly biologically-pure race? What would this mean to those who find the idea of artificial intelligence or dilution of an "ideal" (human) race abhorrent? The questions that would arise from this kind of knowledge would have incredible power to turn people's convictions, religions, basic understanding of life and its meaning upside down.
And yet, if this evolutionary cycle did start on Kobol, then, to fully understand themselves and their heritage, both humans and cylons need to accept each others' place in the whole story. Otherwise they remain divided and eternally at war, mistrusting each other for the entirely false conviction that because they are "different", they are moral and eternal enemies. In fact, an overarching goal of the entire Battlestar Galactica television series could be a huge anti-racism statement.
NB. I have long felt that the evolutionary cycle and co-dependence was occurring -- at least for the past two years -- and so far the revelations of the Final Five and the evidence of cylons on Earth have supported or, at least, haven't refuted that.
2. Where do they go from here?
If everything started on Kobol (the birthplace of humanity and of cylons), then to bring everything back to a complete whole, they should return there and begin (once again) the home for humanity, and for cylons. After all, "it has happened before, and will happen again." Returning to Kobol would satisfy the fundamental, cyclical nature of the whole Battlestar Galactica series. Once the humans and cylons have accepted each other in their historical roles and and understood their evolutionary partnership, then I would think that any myth that states that Kobol is prohibited against anyone landing there (the blood price, etc.) would simply fall away. Myths are often attempts to explain things people don't understand, or are little-understood left-overs from real, non-supernatural events.
In short, Earth is not the final destination. It is actually a massive history lesson and way for the current humans and cylons to understand their place in the universe, the bigger story, and their mutual dependence. The final goal (if there really is one in such a cyclical history) is really the reunion of the two species and the return to Kobol as their mutual home.
Of course, someone like Adama could say, "Frak that, we're getting off the merry-go-round. Let's settle on Planet X instead." But Adama's obstreperousness aside, Kobol seems the logical goal.
3. What has happened to the last, good two-part episode of the original series of BSG -- The War of the Gods?
The new series has acknowledged and used every single good two-part episode from the original series (along with, of course, the original premiere/movie, Saga of a Star World). In my humble opinion, neither The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, nor Greetings From Earth were good episodes. However, Lost Planet of the Gods, and The Living Legend were both used extensively (Kobol, and Cain with the Pegasus respectively). So, what about The War of the Gods?
I think, and very much hope, that we are going to see the Ship of Lights. After all, if I am right, and the cylons and humans are representing various levels of evolution, then could not the Ship of Lights people be beings that are even further on the level of evolution, but still connected to the humans and cylons? After all, in the original War of the Gods, the Ship of Light beings stated that "You are now as we once were. As we are now, you will become" (or something to that effect). These people see the whole evolutionary cycle as a spiral. Things that have happened before will happen again, but they will happen with improvement -- with moving forward. Humans and cylons are not locked into identical, two-dimensional circles of evolution. They *are* moving forward, but sometimes need a little nudge from those who have moved on ahead.
Are the virtual Six and Balter actually Beings of Light (BoL for ease of reference)? Is Starbuck (the non-crispy-Earth version) an evolved or healed or "resurrected" BoL (or at least in some intermediate stage of evolution)? There have been realizations by the Galacticans that events seem to have been orchestrated by some higher beings. Are those the BoL? Do the BoL want to help bring their less evolved counterparts to a state of greater understanding and peace? Certainly the original BoL had that desire and used and rewarded those they found more 'enlightened'.
What pies might the BoL have their fingers in?
One - Baltar (the destruction of the colonies having the ultimate benefit of reunion with the Cylons -- 'you've got to be cruel to be kind', etc.);
Two - the shared visions of the opera house that affect four key people: Roslin (leader of humans), Caprica Six (passionate and eloquent cylon who can and has convinced other cylons to join her cause) , and Athena and Baltar (each challenging their own peoples' strict segregation of races by their own actions and growing beliefs). And, again, Baltar and Caprica Six each have their virtual partners who could be manifestations of the BoL.
Three - The Final Five who may have originally worked with the BoL back on Earth on the 2000-year-old plan which seems outside the reach of any 'normal' human or cylon from Earth or Colonies. Ellen's statement that 'everything is in place' seems to point to a Grand Plan that is much bigger than just her. She also seemed to accept her own destruction and knowledge that things will continue as they are designed to. The BoL would certainly be able to inspire such faith.
Four - Starbuck - she of the Destiny. She may have helped lead people to Earth, but she was working (subconsciously or otherwise) in concert with the Final Five. Is there more to her destiny? Why is she the one who was picked, and clearly made part of a very long term plan? Her childhood mandala obsessions point to her as part of an ancient, possibly 'divine' or BoL-designed plan.)
As I said earlier, these are just my wonderings and predictions. There are also a myriad details and offshoots that I haven't touched, that also fit in (or don't fit in). I don't know if I've hit on anything that the writers have planned, nor do I know what others have speculated before me. But this is what I would like to see, and I do think that there is a lot of support in the storyline for something similar.
What do you think?
These theories contain spoilers up to and including last week's episode Blood On the Scales, so if you are not caught up with current Battlestar Galactica episodes, and do not wish to be spoiled, then I recommend that you don't read this! The rest of it is my own speculation and does not come from any super-secret link to the production team, etc. etc.
My theory of how the Re-imagined Battlestar Galactica will end or what it's all about
February 8, 2009 (just after the episode Blood On the Scales)
1. The humans and cylons are in a co-dependent evolutionary cycle. How this exactly is realized I don't know. However, let's look at what we do know.
It's been stated that the humans created the cylons in the past, and the cylons rose up and rebelled against their masters. The first war was 40 years ago. The creation of the Cylons seems to have been hinted at taking place during the events of "Caprica" - the new series that is set during Joseph Adama's (William Adama's father) time. Thus, this is probably around 60-70 years ago.
So the current mechanical and skin-job cylons are a product of the current Colonial humans.
However, the Final Five clearly are not, neither are the cylon/human remains found on Earth. The Final Five seem to belong to the cylons (mechanical and skin-jobs) of Earth. That makes them incredibly old. Ancient. No wonder they are revered by the current cylons, but also shrouded in cylon myth. The Final Five (resurrected or otherwise) have had experiences, time-lines and goals that are barely understood by the current cylons, humans, and even the Five themselves (although the "next week's episode" commercial implies that Sam Anders has realized and is about to tell everyone).
So, we have ancient Earth cylons (mech & humanoid "skin-jobs"), and we have current "Colonial" cylons (mech & humanoid).
So what was the 13th Tribe? Were they cylons before they began the exodus from Kobol 4,000 odd years ago? Were they human? If they were cylon, then the 12 Tribes (who eventually became the Colonials as we know them) must have had some awareness of their mechanical nature. Did that play a part in the events of Kobol that led to its destruction and its ominous part of the current mythos (to be on Kobol will exact its price in blood) etc. Were the "cylonic" 13th Tribe rejected by the other 12 Tribes, or was the original relationship amicable, but the differences later got enlarged and twisted by the Colonials through the millennia (as can happen to ancient historical events so easily).
If the 13th Tribe was not "cylonic", then are we seeing a parallel evolution -- Earth humans creating cylons which eventually evolved much further than the Colonial counterparts did to the point that they replaced all humans on Earth. This answer is easy, but not very compelling except as a rather obvious morality lesson.
I prefer to think that humans and cylons on Kobol were already mutually self-aware (presumably the humans were the creators unless there is some other intriguing explanation) and that they all understood their partnered and evolving relationship. It could be that there was some violent disagreement or cataclysmic event that separated the two differing schools of philosophy: thus the 13th Tribe (accepting of their heritage with the cylons) went one way, and the 12 Tribes/Colonies (the "pure" humans) went another.
Another thought that arises from that scenario is that the human and cylon races may have already intermingled and interbred (or evolved) on Kobol to a point where there was no real separation of the two races (except for any residual mechanicals). This would imply that the current Colonials are cylon/human descendants. However, if this is true, then what explains the "new" and "unique" creation of mechanical cylons (from 60-70 years ago) on the Colonies? It implies that there was, eons back in history, either a rejection of cylons (a desire to return to "pure" human status due to some epic war, disagreement or religious conviction) or a millennia-long decline in technology to the point of lost knowledge and degradation into myth that in turn becomes forgotten. Either way, the 12 Colonies defined themselves only as human. The colonies seem to have been going for 4,000 years post-Kobol. For an already star-bound, technologically advanced race, that gives a lot of time for knowledge to be rejected, or to stagnate, or for other forces to weaken or obliterate it). At any rate, cylons, until now, have been considered a "modern" invention. We now know that this is not true (except strictly within Colonial, post-Kobol history).
In contrast, Earth was populated with Cylons at the time of its nuclear destruction. Earth seemed to be far more technologically advanced, or at least aware of themselves and their heritage. Certainly they, or some of them, are aware and technologically (or metaphysically!) advanced enough to put the Final Five's long-term mission into place -- a mission that seems incredible considering that it is at least 2,000 years old (given that the Final Five were living at the time of the nuclear destruction). It is also at least a partially successful mission as the Five have succeeded in bringing the Colonials to Earth.
So, are the current Colonials proof that ancient cylon/human intermingling and evolution through the millenia can result in a seemingly biologically-pure race? What would this mean to those who find the idea of artificial intelligence or dilution of an "ideal" (human) race abhorrent? The questions that would arise from this kind of knowledge would have incredible power to turn people's convictions, religions, basic understanding of life and its meaning upside down.
And yet, if this evolutionary cycle did start on Kobol, then, to fully understand themselves and their heritage, both humans and cylons need to accept each others' place in the whole story. Otherwise they remain divided and eternally at war, mistrusting each other for the entirely false conviction that because they are "different", they are moral and eternal enemies. In fact, an overarching goal of the entire Battlestar Galactica television series could be a huge anti-racism statement.
NB. I have long felt that the evolutionary cycle and co-dependence was occurring -- at least for the past two years -- and so far the revelations of the Final Five and the evidence of cylons on Earth have supported or, at least, haven't refuted that.
2. Where do they go from here?
If everything started on Kobol (the birthplace of humanity and of cylons), then to bring everything back to a complete whole, they should return there and begin (once again) the home for humanity, and for cylons. After all, "it has happened before, and will happen again." Returning to Kobol would satisfy the fundamental, cyclical nature of the whole Battlestar Galactica series. Once the humans and cylons have accepted each other in their historical roles and and understood their evolutionary partnership, then I would think that any myth that states that Kobol is prohibited against anyone landing there (the blood price, etc.) would simply fall away. Myths are often attempts to explain things people don't understand, or are little-understood left-overs from real, non-supernatural events.
In short, Earth is not the final destination. It is actually a massive history lesson and way for the current humans and cylons to understand their place in the universe, the bigger story, and their mutual dependence. The final goal (if there really is one in such a cyclical history) is really the reunion of the two species and the return to Kobol as their mutual home.
Of course, someone like Adama could say, "Frak that, we're getting off the merry-go-round. Let's settle on Planet X instead." But Adama's obstreperousness aside, Kobol seems the logical goal.
3. What has happened to the last, good two-part episode of the original series of BSG -- The War of the Gods?
The new series has acknowledged and used every single good two-part episode from the original series (along with, of course, the original premiere/movie, Saga of a Star World). In my humble opinion, neither The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, nor Greetings From Earth were good episodes. However, Lost Planet of the Gods, and The Living Legend were both used extensively (Kobol, and Cain with the Pegasus respectively). So, what about The War of the Gods?
I think, and very much hope, that we are going to see the Ship of Lights. After all, if I am right, and the cylons and humans are representing various levels of evolution, then could not the Ship of Lights people be beings that are even further on the level of evolution, but still connected to the humans and cylons? After all, in the original War of the Gods, the Ship of Light beings stated that "You are now as we once were. As we are now, you will become" (or something to that effect). These people see the whole evolutionary cycle as a spiral. Things that have happened before will happen again, but they will happen with improvement -- with moving forward. Humans and cylons are not locked into identical, two-dimensional circles of evolution. They *are* moving forward, but sometimes need a little nudge from those who have moved on ahead.
Are the virtual Six and Balter actually Beings of Light (BoL for ease of reference)? Is Starbuck (the non-crispy-Earth version) an evolved or healed or "resurrected" BoL (or at least in some intermediate stage of evolution)? There have been realizations by the Galacticans that events seem to have been orchestrated by some higher beings. Are those the BoL? Do the BoL want to help bring their less evolved counterparts to a state of greater understanding and peace? Certainly the original BoL had that desire and used and rewarded those they found more 'enlightened'.
What pies might the BoL have their fingers in?
One - Baltar (the destruction of the colonies having the ultimate benefit of reunion with the Cylons -- 'you've got to be cruel to be kind', etc.);
Two - the shared visions of the opera house that affect four key people: Roslin (leader of humans), Caprica Six (passionate and eloquent cylon who can and has convinced other cylons to join her cause) , and Athena and Baltar (each challenging their own peoples' strict segregation of races by their own actions and growing beliefs). And, again, Baltar and Caprica Six each have their virtual partners who could be manifestations of the BoL.
Three - The Final Five who may have originally worked with the BoL back on Earth on the 2000-year-old plan which seems outside the reach of any 'normal' human or cylon from Earth or Colonies. Ellen's statement that 'everything is in place' seems to point to a Grand Plan that is much bigger than just her. She also seemed to accept her own destruction and knowledge that things will continue as they are designed to. The BoL would certainly be able to inspire such faith.
Four - Starbuck - she of the Destiny. She may have helped lead people to Earth, but she was working (subconsciously or otherwise) in concert with the Final Five. Is there more to her destiny? Why is she the one who was picked, and clearly made part of a very long term plan? Her childhood mandala obsessions point to her as part of an ancient, possibly 'divine' or BoL-designed plan.)
As I said earlier, these are just my wonderings and predictions. There are also a myriad details and offshoots that I haven't touched, that also fit in (or don't fit in). I don't know if I've hit on anything that the writers have planned, nor do I know what others have speculated before me. But this is what I would like to see, and I do think that there is a lot of support in the storyline for something similar.
What do you think?