At first disappointing, after watching it for a 2nd time, I realized that they revealed a good deal more in the subtext than was apparent the first time through. Still, there was even more that they did not reveal or even get to, such as what prompted the Cylons to seek out Earth 1 before discovering the truth about the Final Five being from there.
We already knew from Sam Anders memory recovery prior to becoming The Galactica's own Hybrid, that the Cavil model was behind the genocide of humanity. What we did not know, however, was that even those cylons hiding in the fleet had been touched by humanity. So much so that 'The Plan' unraveled long before the attacks on the colonies ever took place.
For me, the most disappointing reveal was that of Shelley Godfrey. Besides the fact that I was wrong, had she been Angel Six in solid form instead of just another cylon, it would have helped explain part of Kara's storyline at the end. Athena had told Adama there were 8 other cylons known to have survived in the fleet at the time of the attacks, Shelley was among them.
We now have confirmed those 8 fleet cylons to be, 1 Cavil, 1 Leoben, 1 Deanna, 1 Doral, 1 Simon, 2 Sixes (including Shelley), and Boomer. Since the Leoben seemed surprised about Boomer being in place - it is possible that Athena meant Gina Six on the Pegasus as the eighth skin to survive and be living among the humans.
By the time they airlocked the Cavil's 10 months into humanity's escape, the only cylons left unrevealed in the fleet (of these first 8 not counting the final five) were Deanna and Biker Six, both of whom were never exposed until the Occupation on New Caprica.
And of all those mentioned above, the only one who did not resurrect, according to Biker 6, was the Simon who had taken a human wife and adopted her daughter from a prior marriage. He could not bear to live without her. "You can't declare war on love" the Six told Cavil.
"Love outlasts Death." said Simon in his suicide letter to his wife, coincidentally the same comment was made by the Hybrid during the attack on the colonies.
The 2 Cavils discussed their problems waiting for the airlock to open. Caprica Cavil had learned too late that no matter what they did to humanity it would never change the love their parents (the final five) felt for the humans.
Thus their PLAN was doomed from the get go. Their plan, was to eradicate humanity, show their parents how weak humanity was and then wait to be embraced, thanked, and at last appreciated the way the Cavil's believed they deserved.
The Cavils had obviously altered the memories of the others to cover up the true plan. The others seemed to think it was for the Centurions, even asking if they (the Centurions) realized what they (the skinjobs) were doing for them. Doral felt they were grateful in their own way, while an Eight suggested that she would be (grateful) as well.
Grateful that the Skins took revenge on humanity for attempting to enslave the Centurions 40 years prior.
As I said before, we already knew it was Cavil. This movie simply confirmed that he acted alone as far as the final five were concerned. That he took on a role of supreme leader to his fellow skin jobs; and that every single Cylon skin job who had interacted with humans in a positive way ended up not wanting to eradicate them.
Much like Harry Potter and Star Wars, just about every aspect of what transpired in the course of BSG was all about love. Love given, love desired, love lost.
Just look at the 2 Cavils featured. The one on Galactica kept to himself, stayed focused on finishing what they started. The one down on Caprica however, became a part of the team, interacting with Father Sam, gaining unique insight into the heart of his creator.
It was not until Sam told him that you don't stop loving someone just because they are dead, that Caprica Cavil realized their mistake. If it was all about getting the love and approval of the Final Five, destroying humanity was going to have the exact opposite affect.
The story line of Galactica Cavil and the little boy is also a bit telling. Though they make no claims to his existence one way or another, the fact that the boys name was John leads me to believe that child only existed in Cavils head. Like the remnant of humanity programmed into him by the Five, the same remnant Boomer claimed she lost when she shot Adama.
So his killing of the child was his subconscious killing his own humanity and compassion. Not to say he was not capable of killing a real child, on the contrary. It is just that the boy was only around other people that one time in the hall and even the Six didn't seem to notice him despite Cavil staring right at him. Plus, the boy was not an orphan, his parents just didn't want him. Much like Cavil felt his parents no longer wanted him.
The Doral model is probably the most useless. A middle management crap stirrer who finds manual labor demeaning. Suicide Bomber Doral did have a funny line though; "But his was burgundy, this is teal." In response to Cavil's issues with his jacket and face being that of tour guide Doral from the Ragnor Station.
It was also very apparent that while these other skin jobs seemed beholden to Cavil, perhaps something he tossed into their program to ensure they would see him as their leader, they all managed to 'frak up' their assignments. Even Doral the bomber could have pushed that button much sooner when he was surrounded by people instead of waiting until he was in an empty junction.
The Simon models were all doctors. Mad scientists if you will. It was only he who fell in love that changed. Had that Simon from Galactica resurrected, he most likely would have shared his love algorithms with the rest of the line thus adding another model to the future rebellion.
Did anyone else think of Saul and Ellen when Cavil and Biker Six were getting drunk and talking about all the failures of their comrades? The sixes definitely got their sex appeal from Ellen.
We also learned via the Hybrid's babbling that the colonies were comprised of 12 worlds and 3 stars. A meaningless fact in the grand scheme yet still one of those things fans want to know.
Other less than relevant things we can assume would be that Cavil took over the Cylon Colony Ship within a few years of all the models being 'born'. We can assume that the final five attempted to teach them to love humans and to aspire to be just like them, something the Cavils found insulting.
We could also assume that initially all the models were children, based on Cavils presumed hallucination of his child self, with all their copies aging at the same rate as they did out of the tub. And that there were only so many copies of each model made...though as Ellen told Saul, they had 'millions' of children.
Which also lends to the idea that there are many more cylons still out there - perhaps exploring deep space. There were way more basestars involved in the first wave of attacks than were ever destroyed during the course of the show. Perhaps Caprica Cavil did not get boxed and instead took half the fleet away?
After the Cavils betrayed the five and brainwashed/reprogrammed the others, they then went about dropping the five at different times among the humans. Starting with Saul, then eventually the others at different times.
He used the same technique on Boomer planting a trigger in her mind that he could then bring her out of her 'cover' any time. That carved elephant looked like one that one of the five had been carving in a flashback, or someone else, but we have seen it before.
Leoben did not have his obsession with Kara until he first heard her voice on the wireless after the attacks. He envisioned that Mandala. He later touched her in the brig having a very detailed vision of their future...obviously mistaking Kara's 'dreams' for his role in her future. We all learned at the end that he was wrong.
Kara did have a destiny but Leoben misread his own visions along with the babblings of the Hybrid. When he was airlocked he took his vision to the others, explaining how Athena knew that Kara was special when they were fleeing Caprica together with Sam.
All of these revelations do little to the outcome of the story other than to suggest that Baltar, Caprica and Leoben were not the only ones being influenced by a higher being determined to prevent either side from wiping out the other. We even know that Deanna eventually felt the pull to know, ultimately discovering the truth about the Final Five.
It is the things they did not reveal that leaves me wanting. It is with high hopes that I wait for Caprica to premier this coming January 22, 2010. For it is possible that many details of the cylon past, the parts where Cavil takes over, have been reserved for that show's inherent future plot.
The one thing they did not get to, that would have been so simple, was to explain how the peace movement by Caprica 6 and Boomer 8 on Planet Caprica, that lead to the Cylons leaving the colonies, turned into the Occupation on New Caprica. Including Baltar giving Gina that bomb.
My assumption is that when the Cavils resurrected, Galactica Cavil had Caprica Cavil boxed before he could taint the others with the truth about the five. He then convinced the Deannas, Dorals and Simons that the only way to have peace with the humans was to oppress them, thus keeping them from taking revenge.
I suspect that Baltar didn't really give Gina that bomb...that it was Angel Baltar who gave it to the guy who gave it to Gina. Because God needed to stall humanity for a year so they would not miss the Nova. Or Angel Caprica told Baltar to do it. Either way...it suited Gods plan if no one elses.
In a deleted scene from the DVD The Plan, Caprica Cavil convinces several of Sam's people to surrender to the Cylons assuring him that while their would be forced labor, they would be fed and given medical care. The people are greeted by smiling missionaries, Caprica Six and Boomer Eight, arms wide, only to be executed by Centurions, who we can assume were ordered to do so by that Cavil. Caprica and Boomer are seen completely devastated falling to the ground in tears.
It is not clear if that scene was cut for time or if it was to be replaced by the aired scene where Cavil sneaks off to ask a six why the cease fire and is told they voted for peace even though his model was against it. I think it was cut for time. Because this scene indicates the mindset of those skins on New Caprica - at least the Sixes and Eights who always maintained they were just trying to help the humans. While the aired scene occurred later when Kara returned to rescue Sam.
The Cavil Plan was a bust out the door. Besides all the love involved in it's failure, another factor is that of God. In the new series Caprica, God plays heavily on the entire plot. The final five miraculously surviving this holocaust (thus not resurrecting as Cavil planned), the fleet of humans surviving to get away with The Galactica, the effect of humanity on those Cylons who became emotionally involved and the eventual birth of Hera were all apart of God's plan.
A plan not put into place until after the Cylons betrayed humanity. The Final Five were saved from Earth 1 by God to prevent these events from happening, but they were too late and failed; ultimately causing the future holocaust by giving the Centurions Res Tech and by letting Cavil get the better of them.
Kara's role was that of predestination. Like a sleeper agent of God, she was only called to duty because she was needed. Had the Cylons never attacked, it is likely her destiny would never have come to pass. Or would have but with different intentions and outcome. Just like Boomer's mission was altered as needed by Cavil - so Kara's would have been altered as needed by God.
If you figure Adama had known Saul for at least all of Kara's young life, you could also assume that she was created by God - chosen - as a result of Cavils betrayal and the events he set into motion so many years ago.
In the end the most important lesson we can take from Battlestar Galactica the Reimangined Series, including those lessons learned by the Cylons in this movie 'The Plan', is that when you pit God against Cavil...God wins. At least on TV.
Thank You For Reading!! ~99
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