In which I read too much into several Battlestar Galactica characters' names.

Since it was the first day back at work today (but a three-day week, amen), and I had 2-3 hours of sleep last night after finishing up today's lecture, and it's been nothing but Shakespeare and Wordsworth for the past few days, here is a TV post.

We try to only watch one TV show at a time, and generally prefer U.K. shows, as six-episode series don't suck away as much of your waking hours as the Hollywood machine. (They're also an antidote to lazy storytelling.) Fortunately for us, the only U.S. show we're really into (despite developing a recent taste for The Office, Britain forgive us) is plenty sparse with it's episodes, and will all be over soon. It's been the best show on television since the first four seasons of The West Wing, and that's the two cents of your generally uniformed and media-avoidant scribbler.

So who is the final Cylon? Spoilers lurk.

Well, not spoilers, but our opinions, which might come across as spoilers if you're not a fanatic.

This story concisely sums up the final predicament, and includes a clear image of the titillating reversed 'Last Supper' poster. I appreciate the work of the geeks who took the time to figure out all the Da Vinci correspondences.

Anyway, here's our gentleman's bet, based only on what's in the show (I do not troll websites, despite the above evidence to the contrary) and what Ron Moore has said (since he's spoken openly before, and never lied as far as I can see):

D'Anna is not lying, but omitting the truth when she says that she wants the four, not five, final Cylons in the fleet. This does not mean that the fifth is one of the humans on the damaged Rebel Basestar. In my opinion, only one of them makes a decent prospect. It more likely means that she's only seen the faces of the four, and not the fifth. From a writing standpoint, it's more exciting for her own character arc if she's also going to be surprised by the fifth.

So assuming that Ron Moore is telling the truth and the fifth is none of the characters in the poster, in order of likelihood, our candidates are:

1. Doc Cottle. He's my personal favourite, mostly on the grounds of story mechanics. He's the only one who has the 'air' of the fifth about him. He's been in it since the beginning; he's a healer; he's healed humans and Cylons without bias; he has no past; he's undeniably good, but also struggling towards redemption. When it comes down to my top pick, I imagine Adama or Tigh or some other major character saying those words, 'You're the fifth.' Cut to the fifth. Whose face can look back at you and not make you laugh, or sink in disappointment? It has to be a calm, elevated face. A familiar face, but not so familiar that we don't have questions to ask it.

And as a side note, the noun "cotter" can mean "a ‘key’ or wedge-shaped piece of wood or metal used for tightening up or fastening parts of machinery, as the strap-head to the connecting rod, for holding together links of a broken chain." Cottle certainly does hold the broken together; this word suggests he is literally the link in the chain; or, the thing that holds the machinery (in this case, Cylon machinery) together.

2. Felix Gaeta. He's a strong enough actor to carry it off; he's certainly tortured; he ticks all the boxes except being on the Rebel Basestar. The fourth season webisodes seem to like him. And of course, he sings after his leg is removed; music was instrumental (pardon) in uniting the other Four.

3. Seelix. The word "seely" can mean (in a less common form) "Spiritually blessed, enjoying the blessing of God." And the verb to "seele", taken figuratively, can mean "to make blind, to prevent from seeing, to hoodwink." With the -ix feminine suffix, that would make Seelix the "woman who hoodwinks." She's female, which helps maintain the gender balance of the twelve. She's on the Rebel Basestar; she was part of the Resistance and the Circle along with the Four; she's struggling for redemption. She's been a significant background presence since "Fragged". In fact, she ticks every box. The only problem is that she's just not important enough to the overall story, or to the other major characters.

4. Tom Zarak. It would give a nice feeling of closure if one generation's Apollo was the next's leading Cylon. He's the most significant character in the story who's not at the Last Supper table. But once again, I don't think he has the gravitas to pull it off. Specifically, he has strong relationships only with the President and Apollo. He doesn't have a major connection with the Cylons, Adama, or Starbuck.

5. Anastasia Dualla. Only because she is, like Gaeta, a major character not at the table. She doesn't have the gravitas or the character connections. She's really only on the list because of her two names (the Anastasia "princess amnesia" myth, and Dualla as in dual). And, as some other fan has pointed out, she's got such a rich personal history that it suggests fakery.

A minor character who's been in it from the beginning but has no major arc (Hotdog, etc.) has no gravitas; the audience would end up feeling cheated. A dead or supposedly dead character (Ellen Tigh, Zak Adama, Admiral Cain, etc.) would be more satisfying, but also leave people feeling cheated, as it would require a soap-opera-like rewriting of established knowledge.

Cottle has, physically or emotionally, patched up almost every one of the major characters in the show. And he's a doctor who smokes-- a nice trait for someone who's not stupid, but possibly immortal.

So there you have it. We'll find out in ten days. . .

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