Battlestar Galactica: The Plan Gone Right

What I love most about science fiction is the merging of great human conflicts set in a completely (or sometimes not so completely) new universe. Battlestar Galactica: The Plan spins the tale of the popular Sci-Fi (now Syfy) Channel series from the perspective of the humanoid Cylons. What has made this show so popular has been the moral ambiguity that colors all the characters both human and Cylon alike.

In The Plan, we see even more of this as slowly the humanoid Cylons who have infiltrated Galactica succumb to human emotions, unsuccessfully fulfilling their respective missions. It is these feelings that some Cylons (especially Cavil, the priest onboard Galactica) consider as the problem. Another Cavil, who is on the planet Caprica with an unsuspecting group of human resistance fighters, is trying to understand the logic of human emotions by observing Samuel Anders (who we know is one of the final five Cylons). Anders is completely unaware of his Cylon origins and just believes himself to be human. Cavil has orchestrated for the original five humanoid Cylons to have their memories of themselves suppressed and sent to live as humans on the twelve colonies. This was all meant as a lesson to teach them their mistake for valuing human life. This model is also responsible for the attack on the colonies in the first place.

All the Cavils’ perspectives are most intriguing to watch as he interacts with three of the original five-Anders, Ellen Tigh, and Galen Tyrol. His line is the only one of the humanoid Cylons to know of the fives’ identities and as a watcher you see how his disdain for human life sprouted from jealousy over his parents’ affection and attention (the original five Cylons created Cavil and the other seven models). Cavil’s story reminds me a lot of Lucifer, who rebelled against God for favoring mankind more than the angels.

We also see all the stuff we didn’t see in the early parts of the series like how Boomer did know that she was a Cylon, but that her emotions were making her unstable. She felt love for humans and was having a hard time carrying out her missions. Six model Shelly Godfrey who struggles with discrediting Gaius Baltar out of guilt? We witness how number Two becomes obsessed with Kara Thrace (aka Starbuck) and how a number Four commits suicide because he is unable to kill his human wife and adopted child. Even Cavil, I believe, emotes by killing a young boy who he viewed as a threat, noting that being friends is a dangerous thing.

The opening and final scene show the Cavils being taken to an airlock in Galactica to be killed. They are obviously in disagreement about how things have played out. One Cavil is remorseful, saying that the entire attack was a mistake. The other refuses to change his mind and is appalled by his counterpart’s new revelations. The Cavil from Caprica realizes that their entire reason for destroying humanity is out of petty jealousy. After observing Anders, he believes that the final five will always love humanity more and their actions were then pointless. In a touching scene before their deaths, the two Cylons hold hands in momentary fear of what comes next for them.

The Plan is a must-see for any BSG fan. What is great about it too is that you didn’t have to see the entire series to understand and enjoy what was going on. This is a nice treat for those in BSG withdrawal and it should be enough to tide one over ’till Caprica!

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.

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Photographs courtesy of NBC Universal and IMDbPro.