Battlestar Galactica: The Plan – Two hours of cylon insanity
I recently watched The Plan on DVR, does anyone watch anything live these days, and I have to admit, it was bad ass geeky goodness. It’s been nearly a year since we watched, with some shock, humans find Earth and become peasants. It’s nice to see something new, and old, in this series. It’s great to see Adama and crew again and interesting to see it from the perspective of the Cylons.
The Plan was really just a recap of what happened from a Cylon perspective. How they kidnapped their five progenitors and imprisoned them in the colonies. How they were kept alive and somehow all made it to the Galactica fleet. It started and ended with two Cavil’s, 1 models, walking up to a launch tube about to be spaced. From there, it takes a tour of how both of them got to that place. What The Plan actually turns out to be is a huge psychology experiment to discover how the same person can be changed and have two totally opposed viewpoints all by going through different events.
Cavil alpha, calling him number 1 is confusing since his model is 1, started on Galactic. I choose to call him alpha as he was the one who eventually wins out and boxes Cavil beta. Cavil alpha spends his time on Galactica organizing the other Cylons there. Most notably it is he who is the driving force behind Boomer’s multiple personalities. It is Cavil alpha that directed Boomer to blow up the water supply, try to expose Baltar as a traitor, and try to blow up the fleet.
Through his time on Galactic his opinion of humans that they should be destroyed is solidified. It’s interesting that his opinion is locked in not by his observing of humans but by his inability to kill them. As each of his attempts fail, killing of Adama, blowing up of ships in the fleet, he becomes more and more convinced that they need to be destroyed. It’s his own failing that drives him of course, not that the humans are doing anything bad. I should say, his failing and that of his subordinates.
As it turns out, all of his Cylon underlings are actually failing on purpose. They are beginning to see Humans in a different light. The number two, Leoben, is falling in love with Starbuck. Boomer is claiming she is happier when she thinks she is human. Simon, the number four, is head over heals in love with his human wife and adopted child and even commits suicide instead of following Cavil’s orders. All this infuriates Cavil. He clearly hates how his own kind is revering the parasites that are humans. This only serves to convince him that the humans should be killed lest his own people change their minds, something he can’t stand.
I’ve always wondered where the hatred cylons had for humans came from. I can only imagine it was from the destruction of the 13th colony. Though we never found out who destroyed the 13th colony we have to assume it was humans. The final five brought the story with them and Cavil hated humanity for it. My guess anyway.
Cavil beta had an entirely different experience. He was not surrounded by other cylons, only one model four. His time was spent mostly on Caprica with one of his ‘fathers’, Sam, one of the survivors of the 13th colony holocaust. He tries again and again to convince Sam that humans don’t deserve love. That the Cylons should be forgiven for their action; at which Sam nearly punches him. His journey leads him to realize that the capacity of love can cross racial barriers and that a cylon, Sam, can actually love humans. Cavil beta learns that humans aren’t the evil demons he thought they were.
When the two Cavil’s come back together it’s of little shock that insanity wins out over reason. Cavil alpha believes Cavil beta is flawed now and should be boxed on returning to their resurrection ship. Cavil alpha’s opinion was formed from watching his own kind resist his notion of killing all humans. Cavil beta’s opinion was reached by watching his “father” love humans even after they destroyed the 13th colony. Cavil alpha goes on to continue his destruction of humans as best he can and eventually commits suicide on the Galacitc bridge, a point that I always thought was out of character.
The deeper plot lines of The Plan were perfectly constructed. Watching both Cavil’s come to different conclusions was brilliant. Seeing the old girl, Galactica, again was of course wonderful. Seeing Caprica city before the fall was great and it makes you want to watch Caprica the series more than ever, which is the point of The Plan.
On a scale of 1-10 I’d have to give The Plan a 9. There weren’t any slow points, the plot was solid, and the nostalgia was euphoric. The only down side was not explaining more about the final 5 or about Daniel, model number 7. Though I suppose The Plan wasn’t about “The Past” but rather how they are going to kill all of humanity. I suppose that begs the question, is The Past an upcoming movie about the Cylon 13th colony?? Lets only hope.
