Battlestar Galactica: Who Is The Last Cylon?

April 25, 2008

Battlestar Galactica has five “final” humanoid Cylons, four of which were revealed at the end of Season 3. Producer Ron Moore has said he already knows who the last Cylon is, and has left clues in the series so far. A lot of the rampant speculation is based on these “clues” – although what exactly constitutes a clue is certainly up to speculation as well.

What I Consider Clues

• The four humanoid Cylons revealed so far are Tigh, Anders, Chief, and Tory.
• Helo and Callie are out as it would be silly to have the hybrid babies be no such thing.
• Just before her death on the algae planet, Number Three saw the final five, but in particular, one definitely recognized. Her exact words were: “You… forgive me, I had no idea.” (Rapture (2)). She could be referring to Tigh (tortured on New Caprica) or Anders (whom she saw and tried to kill in Downloaded), however
• In the extended edition of Razor, the hybrid says “…the fifth is still in shadow, drawn toward the light, hungering for redemption, that will only come in the howl of terrible suffering.”
• The balance of the Cylons revealed skew heavily male (Leoben, Cavil, Simon, Doral, Tigh, Chief, Anders) – female (Tory, Six, Eight, Three) leading me to believe the last Cylon is a woman.
• The final four were involved in the resistance on New Caprica, implying the fifth might also have been.

Another Clue: The Entertainment Weekly Photograph(?)

Entertainment Weekly published a Galactica photograph that mimics Da Vinci’s Last Supper. It has a blank seat representing the last Cylon. Ron Moore was asked if the empty spot meant any of the characters photographed was therefore not the final Cylon. Ron Moore replied, “You ferreted that out pretty slyly… I didn’t want to give that away.” Therefore, these characters are eliminated as the final Cylon: Roslin, Lee, Baltar, Starbuck, Helo, and Admiral Adama (the rest are known Cylons).

There is also the possibility the photograph eliminates nobody. Aaron Douglas (Chief) has said the photograph has no hidden meaning in regards to the final Cylon.

The Zodiac = Twelve Colonies?

Is there a relationship between the 12 human Cylons and the 12 colonies? There are 12 human looking Cylons total (Cavil, Doral, Simon, Leoben, Biers, Boomer, Six, Tigh, Chief, Tory, Anders, and one to be revealed). Could they be matched up with the twelve zodiac symbols, and their equivalents to the colonies? If so, the last Cylon could prove easier to discern.

Aquarius (Aquaria)
Aries (Aerelon)
Cancer (Canceron)
Capricorn (Caprica)
Gemini (Gemenon)
Leo (Lenis)
Libra (Libris)
Pisces (Picon)
Sagitarius (Sagittaron)
Scorpio (Scorpia)
Taurus (Tauron)
Virgo (Virgon)

Other Theories

• My friend Dave believes the last Cylon is the Battlestar Galactica itself.
• Resurrect a dead character: several have died in past episodes: Admiral Cain, Kat, Ellen Tigh, Billy, and Crashdown. I do think it would be somewhat of a cheat to resurrect someone, so I don’t care for this theory.
• This post over at Screen Rant has an interesting idea: The last cylon is the “entire human race” – or what’s left of it when they get to earth.
• The “Final Five” were built on earth, not by the other Cylons. Meaning, we know the humans built all the Cylons, and the Cylons went ahead and developed the human-looking models on their own. But perhaps the humans went ahead and built the final five as part of some secret military plan, perhaps as a “cold war” type project to keep up with Cylon technology. That might explain why the Cylons don’t know much about the five’s existence or even what they look like – and perhaps the true “mission” of these five is yet to be revealed. They could be an ultimate weapon in case the human race ever ended up in such a tight pickle as they currently are in right now.

So Who’s Left?

If one believes the “gender balance” theory and the EW photograph, there are few characters left. The only female characters not in the photograph are relatively minor ones: Dualla, Seelix, and Racetrack. If you want to include deceased females, add Callie, Cain, and Kat. I don’t think any would be a powerful, dramatic reveal in terms of the plot. If the gender balance is a non-issue, possibilities are Gaeta, Zarek, or Romo Lampkin, or the dead Billy and Crashdown, or heck, Bulldog or Phelan… never mind.

My Conclusions

Based on the above theories, their particular wackiness, and much subjective speculation, there are seven likely suspects. They progress in my own personal order of least to most satisfying – the last individual is my favorite choice.

Possibility 1: Starbuck

Using my ridiculous Cylon Sex Disease theory, Kara Thrace is the last Cylon. However this seems less likely given how season four has played out so far, and I think it would be the least dramatically surprising possibility. And why would the Cylons have been so insistent on toying with her and harvesting her ovaries – if she were a Cylon?

Possibility 2: Gaius Baltar

Baltar as a Cylon would explain so much, the least of which is the constant appearance of Head Six. He has thwarted death and justice so many times, it’s nearly a BSG cliche. He has also etched away at the fleet’s power structure time and time again as the ultimte Cylon tool due to his self-serving nature.

However, dramatically it’s just as obvious as Starbuck, and I think many Gaius-haters would be pissed. There is a strong case to be made that this man needs to die.

Possibility 3: Anastasia Dualla

Both as Galactica’s CIC and Lee’s wife, she plays a strong support role on the Galactica, much as the other four have. As a woman she would balance out the Final Five. She also doesn’t appear in the EW photograph. The biggest negative is a lack of dramatic punch. But… remember how she was left alone when toasters boarded Galactica?

Possibility 4: Felix Gaeta

Gaeta has had silent influence over many pivotal moments: helping Baltar in his lab, staving off Cylon attacks when Tigh was in command, and aiding the resistance on New Caprica. He’s a loner with no family or romantic entanglements. The biggest negative is he’s about as dull as Dualla – few would be surprised or care if he’s outed as a skin job.

Possibility 5: Tom Zarek

Zarek been around since the first season as a subversive criminal and so-called terrorist, who methodically wheedled his way into power by appealing to the people while employing near-criminal methods. At the start of Season 4, he’s in a position of possible ascendant power as Roslin’s vice president. The actor is also Richard Hatch, who was on the original Battlestar Galactica as Apollo. It would be a neat homage to have him revealed as Cylon and play a pivotal role in this re-imagining.

If Zarek is the last Cylon, I’d expect Roslin to die halfway through season 4, making him the first Cylon president of the Colonies.

Possibility 6: Lee Adama

As such a prominent character and Admiral Adama’s son, this reveal would be a powerful one. It would also explain Lee’s subversively anti-establishment streak, as he’s sided with Zarek, Roslin, and even Baltar at various points in the series. We’d also get some intense drama with Admiral Adama dealing with the realization that his son is a Cylon.

Then there’s the moment where Leoben whispers to Roslin that “Adama is a Cylon.” (Flesh And Bone) Although Roslin though he meant Commander Adama, Leoben may have been referring to Lee.

Logistically, could Apollo have been “swapped out” with a Cylon model when he nearly died in space?

This article lays out a fairly convincing case for Lee being the last Cylon.

Possibility 7 (My Pick): Laura Roslin

But in conclusion, I’d be most satisfied if Roslin is the last Cylon.

1. As a woman, she fulfills the “gender balance” issue.
2. Since she has been such a prominent character, on par with Commander Adama, it would be a powerful reveal. It would set up an amusing dichotomy – Commander Adama has always been balanced by Roslin.
3. It might explain why Hera’s blood cured her – or did it turn her into a Cylon?
4. It would explain her prophetic visions and shared dream with Sharon (Crossroads Part 2) as well as her discomfort just as the other four are summoned.
5. She was imprisoned and tortured on New Caprica so she may be the hooded member of the Final Five seen by Number Three and received her sympathy.
6. She was a participant in the resistance on New Caprica along with the other four.

Anyhow, these are mostly random thoughts at this point of the series, only four episodes into Season Four. There’s a very good chance I’ll be proven wrong.