Please check out the great Screen Junkies site for entertainment news, and, in particular, Jim Connelly's handy review of "No Exit," the talk-heavy Battlestar back story episode from two weeks ago. I left the following comments afterward:
"People of the Fleet, this is Lord Edzo, Imperious Leader. Kudos to Jim Connelly and felicitations to everyone who's posted … many of you have some terrific ideas about what's going on.
"Let's stop saying "Final Five." It no longer applies. If what Ellen says is true, then she, Saul, Galen, Tory and Sam are the "First" Five.
"And let's also forget the assertion that there are only 12 skin-job models. We now know that there were 13. I'm surprised that no one has come right out and said it.
"I agree that the First Five created clones and uploaded themselves into the clones. Has anyone ever considered what the word "Cylon" means? Could it stand for "cybernetic clone"?
"I also agree that Zak Adama could be "Daniel." It validates what Leoben told Laura Roslin in "Flesh and Bone": "Adama is a Cylon."
"Excellent thought about "Daniel" being Daniel Graystone from the forthcoming Caprica. Good tie-in; good lead-in. Regardless, I would hate for that to be true. It would cheat us right out of a satisfying conclusion to the series, and I don't think Ron Moore and David Eick would do that. I say Daniel must be someone we already know.
"That's why I agree with someone's suggestion that the original Male Hybrid from Battlestar Galactica Razor may have been created by the old Centurions in Daniel Graystone's image. I could live with that ending. Graystone appears to have been the father of advanced A.I. in the 12 Colonies, and the Male Hybrid believed himself to be a god because that's how his "children" (the Centurions) perceived him. The only problem? No one in the Colonial Fleet (except for Kendra Shaw, who's dead) ever saw the Male Hybrid. However, if the First Five can produce a [photograph], then Bill Adama could identify Graystone.
"I don't believe that Baltar and Daniel are the same. If Baltar is Daniel as well as Starbuck's father, then, incest aside, wouldn't Baltar have been extremely young when he knocked up Starbuck's mother? Or can the deus ex machina "time vortex" from "Maelstrom" simply straighten all this out?
"[Aside: How do we account for the "original Starbuck" and her crashed Viper on Earth? I still think this has something to do with that "time vortex" in "Maelstrom": If it's connected to Earth, then is it possible that "original Starbuck's" emergence somehow caused a catastrophic chain reaction in the atmosphere that fried the whole planet? Well, maybe not. Didn't Tyrol say that the attack on Earth had been expected? Maybe the Earth Centurions did revolt … but sheesh, you'd never know it from Tyrol's "flashback" to Earth and his visit to the outdoor marketplace. Everything seemed pretty calm considering that an attack was forthcoming.]
"Also, if Baltar is Daniel, then wouldn't Cavil immediately have had him executed on New Caprica? Why would he have "saved" one Daniel, scrambled his memories like the First Five, and "seeded" him into the 12 Colonies?
"Well, allow me to play devil's advocate in this one instance. Perhaps Cavil "set up" Daniel/Baltar to betray the human race to the Cylons via Number Six (in the Miniseries). This also might answer the question everyone seems to have forgotten: Who was Number Six's contact on Caprica … the person we never saw, but with whom she spoke after leaving Baltar at the defense building? Was it Cavil?
"Look … the primary question remains: "Who created the First Five?" And why, oh why, aren't we looking into Greek mythology for the answers? The people of Kobol and the 12 Colonies worshipped those gods, as did the early people of Earth.
"Check this out, for instance: In Greek mythology, Gaia, who was the personification of the earth, was revered as the "Mother Goddess" or "Great Goddess." She "brought forth" Uranus, with whom she lay and produced, among others, the Titans, of which there were 12 (or 13). Gaia also was believed to have been the original deity behind the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi, and her successors each were called "the Pythia."
"Am I ringing any bells so far?
"Might Ellen Tigh be perceived as Gaia, and could Gaius Baltar have been named for Gaia?
"[Gaia] lay with her son [Uranus] to produce the 12 first-generation Titans or "Elder Gods" (sometimes 13, because "Dione" is a double of "Theia"), who were later overthrown by a race of 12 younger gods called "Olympians." The Titan Cronus overthrew his father, Uranus, and was later deposed by his son Zeus.
"John Cavil may fit the role of Cronus, who devoured all his children (except for Zeus, who was saved by his mother Rhea) because he feared that they would overthrow him. Doesn't this cast the illusive "Daniel" in the role of Zeus? We know at least one Daniel must have been saved for the "big ending" of the series.
"Look, regardless of how you read and interpret Greek mythology, it is somehow entwined with the story of BSG, or is, at the very least, the basis of the BSG story line.
"Who are the First Five? Well, why can't they have been humanoid alien explorers who happened upon Kobol and set themselves up as gods, or "lords," and later went on to Earth to do the same thing all over again? "All this has happened before …"
"Peace out … and semper frakking fi."
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Lord Edzo,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the nice things you're saying about my reviews on Screen Junkies, and the thoughtful comments you've made.
I'm certainly going to keep out of the Greek mythology for a simple reason: I'm not up on it. I tend to see everything through a pop culture lens.
That said: I wouldn't be surprised if there is some connection.
One thing about the Final/First Five distinction: there doesn't need to be one. They're simultaneously the Final Five people of Earth and First Five skinjobs. (Or as Jacob at TWOP calls them, the "Dylons.")