Let's Talk About the Final Four

I've been thinking about the different ways these cylons are handling their newfound cylon-ness.

Tigh. In the beginning, he said he had always been the same man he was, and just because he knew he was a cylon now didn't change any of the things he did in the past and he wasn't going to change now - or something to that effect. So far this season, though, and especially in the last episode, he seems to be doubting his resolve. At the beginning of the episode, when they were leaving Cally's service, and he was walking with Tory, the Chief stopped them both, expecting some kind of remorse shown by either of these people, the only ones who know his secret and thus the people he is forced to trust. I thought Tigh's reaction was strange - worrying more about himself than anyone else. Tigh has never been that emotional of a guy anyway, but he understands what it's like to lose someone and I feel like it would have made more sense for his cover for him to say "sorry for your loss" than to just try to leave without saying anything. His speech later on kind of canceled this out, I think. As for the whole thing with him going to visit Ellen!Six? I have no idea what to think about that. I don't know what was going on there. But it was really messed up. (Also: what male on this show hasn't kissed Tricia Helfer at this point?)

Tyrol. At first, I thought he was going to deal with this whole cylon thing a lot better than the rest, simply because he had a family to ground him - someone to love and care for. But then he started distancing himself from them, and ultimately he lost Cally because of that. Now I don't know what he's going to do. I'm worried about Nicky though... just from rumors I've heard about what could be the direction they go concerning him. The kid they've got playing him is absolutely adorable, though.

Tory. This lady has gone off her rocker... I think she's the only one that is really embracing her new identity. Especially now that she is "perfect," according to Baltar. She's a nymphomaniac and a sociopath. I want to see her fight one of the Sixes. From what she's been saying about "what we can do" and so forth, it seems like she almost believes herself to be a superhero type of person. Or maybe more of a supervillain. She is using her powers for evil, not for good. With great power comes great responsibility, and she's not exactly owning up to that, what with her throwing people out of airlocks willy nilly. Out of everyone, my guess is that she's the one who'll reveal herself to be a cylon first.

Anders. Oh, Anders. I just love you. He's the only one who seems to really just not care that he's a cylon. Maybe this is because he has someone to love who is more messed up than he is, maybe this is because he has actual friends who care about him, maybe because he hasn't lost everything dear to him - who knows. He hasn't let anything change who he is. All four of them agreed not to let anything change, but he's the only one who seems to be living up to that agreement. I'm wondering now if this is going to change about him as the season continues, that he'll start unhinging like the rest of them. If he loses Starbuck again, or if he tells her he's a cylon and she rejects him (this scenario would require her not shooting him like she said she would), this would probably change. Right now he has something to lose, and he's too focused on her to worry about himself.

The reason Starbuck is not a cylon: She keeps saying things like "my body feels like a shell" and "I can't feel anything" and stuff. Tory was saying a lot of the same things about herself too, which seems to indicate that Starbuck would be a cylon as well. Here's what I think, and I think it's probably one of the main themes of the show. Kara came back and everyone thought she had come back from the dead a la cylon resurrection ship, and they all but told her they suspected her of being a cylon. This got into her head and made her start doubting herself, and now she thinks maybe she could be a cylon. Now, going back to the agreement the Final Four made about how they were still the same people they always were and being a cylon hasn't changed anything - they're all having these same doubts about themselves. Tigh going to Six and asking to get beaten up, Tory's encounters with Baltar... neither of them had these problems with wondering if what they felt was real before they knew they were cylons. My theory is that it is all completely psychological. The Sixes seem to have this under control - she knows she's a cylon, but she also knows that everything she feels is real, and that she isn't actually that different from humans. We know through her that cylons are completely capable of feeling emotions. Therefore, the doubts about being able to "feel" are all in their heads. The Final Four have always believed that cylons were unfeeling machines, and therefore they think they shouldn't be able to feel. Starbuck has always believed the same way, and now that she suspects herself of possibly being a cylon, she thinks she probably shouldn't be feeling anything either. Starbuck's journey is a yet another illustration of how cylons and humans are actually extremely alike - they can trick themselves into feeling the same things.