This week’s episode dumped more information exposition style that I had to transcribe the conversations with Anders and the Final Four, and with John (Cavil) and Ellen.
Most of the following is written per verbatim with an occasional paraphrasing without losing the concept and meaning of the discussions.
Anders:
We didn’t create resurrection; we re-invent it. Organic memory transfer came from Kobol and the 13th tribe. We worked night and day to rebuild it. Resurrection fell out of use when the 13 tribe started to procreate.
The Final Five was researchers and when they died during the holocaust, they resurrected on a ship orbiting Earth. Galen’s work was amazing but it was Ellen who apparently pulled together all the pieces to make resurrection work.
Why they want to find the 12 Colonies.
Anders: We needed to find the other tribes to warn them. We knew they would continue to create artificial life. To tell them to treat them well and keep them close. By the time we found the colonies, they were already at war with the centurions. It happened again.
Explanation on time travel and 1,000 years difference
Anders: We haven’t developed jump drives. We traveled at relativistic but subliminal speed. Time slowed down for us and 1,000 of years passed.
The Centurions had already created flesh bodies but none lived. We made a deal if they stopped the war, we would help them. We developed eight humanoid bodies and gave them resurrection.
Ellen with John looking at a slide show on the basestar
Ellen: Temple of Hopes. Built by the 13 tribe, 3,000 years ago when they left Kobol. They stopped and prayed for guidance during their exodus and then God showed them the way to Earth.
Cavil: A monument to your vanity – The Temple of the Five. By planning that carnival trick to reveal your own faces, you left me no choice. (He’s referring to the boxing of D’Anna, in which Ellen replies that boxing is not permanent.)
Ellen: We didn’t plan anything. We backtrack the path of our ancestors. Found their temple. The One True God must have orchestrated these events. ( Meaning, planting their faces in the temple, causing the exploding star to go supernova. Cavil goes off on a tangent about the limitation of his human body, how he watched a star go supernova, the building blocks, the creation of life, etc.) Cavil is irrationally angry and wants a metal body, to be a perfect machine although he thinks he’s already perfect except for that one thing about living in a frail body.
Cavil tells Ellen he wants her help in rebuilding Resurrection. “They don’t know about the colony. All of your equipment is still there.”
Tory notes that humans on Kobol made them. Of course, we are talking about 2,000 years ago.
We learn from Anders that John was the first model.
Anders: John, we treasured him. He helped us build the others.
Tyrol questions the why of building skinjobs after experiencing the holocaust on their own world.
Anders tells the group that the Centurions believed in the One True God and Ellen said it changed everything. If the cylon could embrace love and God, then the cycle of violence would end.
Galen asks for a confirmation the single god is the One True God and it came from the Centurions.
Anders goes on and describes John had rejected mercy. He had a twisted idea of morality. He turned on them and trapped them in a compartment.
John suffocated the  as noted by Saul. He killed them and they downloaded into new bodies according to Tory.
Anders: He blocked our access to our memories and implanted us with false ones. I guess he boxed us for a while. Introduce Saul not along after the war. Back on Earth, the warning signs we got, they all looked different for all of us. I saw a woman. Tory saw a man. Funny, no one else could see them.
Kara learns she is not the seventh model.
Later Anders employs the others to stay with the fleet. He says it’s a miracle. A gift from the angels.
Ellen, John, with Boomer looking on. Ellen is drawing a picture of Saul.
Ellen: … Come on, John. You’re a sadist. Why not kill us and be done with it. Why send us to live among the humans.
Cavil: I wanted you to see what they’re like up close and personal. So I gave you all a grandstand seat to a holocaust.
Ellen: But we didn’t die. And you decided we haven’t suffered enough. So you picked me up and put me on a transport. Took Galen’s confession. Played resistance fighter with Sam. Tortured Saul but you didn’t kill him. You had dozens of chances. But you wanted to wait when it finally happened, when we download back, we would be ready to admit we were wrong and pat you on the head for giving us the right amount of suffering, right amount of punishment, all weighted out. Then we would give you the approval you always craved. See you claimed to be a perfect machine. But you are driven by the most petty of human emotions – jealousy and rage.
I know what you did to Daniel.
Then Ellen goes on to tell Boomer and us, the audience, of Cavil’s jealousy of Daniel. That she did favor Daniel. Cavil/John apparently corrupted Daniel’s genetic formula and he contaminated the embryonic for Daniel’s copies.
An amazing episode for all of its exposition which I had no problem with it. Sometimes telling is good especially with the amount of information let loose in this episode.
Feel free to correct/edit any of the above.
I still have questions, though.
Why did the 13 tribe leave Kobol? Why did the humans who formed the 12 colonies go a completely different direction than the 13 tribe.
Humans on Kobol created humanoid cylon, the Final Five ancestors. The Final Five created the eight model humanoid cylon. The Final Five restored the resurrection technology originated by their ancestors. The technology to create the metal Centurions seems to be shared by both humans and cylons. Is it reasonable to think, cylons existed within the 12 colonies culture unknowingly. Could some of the humans actually be of mixed species and that is the reason why Baltar can see Head six, Roslin having visions, and Starbuck is the biggest mystery of them all.
The thing that got me really thinking is how the Pythia scrolls, which is clearly now cylon related, ended up in the 12 colonies.
Cylons and Human must be related in some way ~ What is the mystery of the Opera House?
The scrolls seem to be true I just think that they don’t realize how true they are yet or parts of them are ~ maybe Roslin isn’t the dying leader ~ she did disappear from the last supper picture to me that meant that She may not be what she thinks (or thought) she is/was in the big scheme of things ~ But she does play a big role what exactly that is has yet to be seen.
~And the place of the missing cylon ‘Judas the traitor’ makes sense because Ellen was a traitor on New Caprica ~
~And the place of the missing cylon ‘Judas the traitor’ makes sense because Ellen was a traitor on New Caprica ~
Nice. I did not pick up on that one. I wonder if they are going to go back to the beginning. They are bringing in the concept of the One True God, which I have been waiting for them to address. The Last Supper pic falls right in place with something terrible happened back on Kobol that started the cycle of violence. I think Cylons and Humans are very much related. Organic Memory Transfer – makes me think the humans on Kobol wanted a way to preserve their life, so they developed a form of resurrection.
From what I can tell the Thirteenth Tribe left Kobol most likely because a difference in beliefs. They built the Temple of Five/Hope which was an altar to a controversial god (possibly the god known as the one who’s name cannot be spoken, or the mentioned “jealous god”). So it seems to me they left because they were worshiping a single god while the other 12 worshipped all the lords of Kobol. If time is circular and all of this which has happened before would happen again it would be pretty obvious that this is what happened.
Although Elosha’s original readings of the scrolls (when they were on Kobol) stated that all 13 left at the same time, with the 13th going to Earth while the remaining tribes stayed together. This may be a continuity error.
Kobol is where man and gods lived together, something went wrong though and the 12 tribe leaders sacrificed themselves to the gods while their people fled from Kobol. The lords warned them that a return to Kobol would exact a price in blood. BUT the Pythian Scrolls were written (supposedly) 1,600 years before the exodus from Kobol, BUT describing the thirteenth tribe’s voyage to earth. So who knows. Its all very confusing.
Also Anders called it “Subluminal” not subliminal.
Also he stated that the Centurions had created flesh bodies & had created the “hybrids” but nothign that could survive on its own.
Blackeyedgurl: Thanks for the edits.
I remember reading at the Battlestar Wiki that Athena threw herself over the cliff when the 13 Tribe left Kobol. All of this heightens the mystery surrounding Kobol. I’m going to pay a visit at the Wiki for more information about Kobol.
I love the Wiki! So much information!!!
Is Galactica the dying leader? These last few episodes sure seem like it could be a possibility. If not maybe Sam can be galacitca’s Hybrid??
Did you get a chance to watch the latest ep: Someone to Watch Over Me? I think we have the answer to the dying leader. I don’t want to spoil you. However, in general, these last episodes have been very depressing. I miss the fierce Colonials with strong survival instinct.
To: Col Tighs Eyeball
You were right on target. Kudos! Galactica is the dying leader.
I was so invested in the characters, having the ship as the dying leader just didn’t full-fill my expectations. It’s a nice reminder, however, that the name of the show is the name of the ship and therefore it alone could stand as a character, so to speak.
What do you think about Starbuck, Anders, the music script for AATW. She mentioned a pattern to the script. Does this lead the way to real Earth?