In my most recent post on Battlestar Galactica, as related to the latest episode, I came right out and stated that I believed Starbuck could be the mysterious Number Seven Cylon, Daniel, that was finally mentioned. I really thought I was onto something … that is, until I listened to Ron D. Moore’s podcast for the episode. If you haven’t heard it yet, definitely do yourself a favor and go give it a listen.
So, what did Moore have to say about seventh Cylon Daniel? In a nutshell, he’s inconsequential, at least in the way most of us have been thinking since Friday’s episode, “No Exit.” If we’re to believe what he has to say on the matter, Daniel is the Abel to John Cavil’s Cain, merely paving the way to help explain the kind of “person” Cavil is, what motivates him and what’s to become of him. In fact, Moore went on to say that Cavil will play a big role in the Battlestar Galactica movie, The Plan.
Again, if we’re to believe Moore in that the mention of the seventh Cylon was just to neatly wrap up the Cylon numbering snafu and to paint a clearer picture of Cavil, then why the hoopla in “No Exit?” Ellen’s detailed accounts of Daniel, and Starbuck’s shocked look at Anders’s mention of eight Cylon models — all for nothing? It’d certainly be a big ol’ cheap shot from Ron Moore if he was trying to steer us away from the “truth” about Number Seven, so I sadly doubt we’re going to learn any more about this Cylon than we’ve already heard.
I really feel for the people who haven’t listened to that podcast or read this little summary here or elsewhere, as a lot of people are going to wonder what the frak is up with that missing Cylon once the series ends and there’s been no more mention of him. I appreciate Moore tying up loose ends, but this seems a bit off to me.
Lastly, I got word on Monday that, just as hinted at, the series finale will be three hours long and be split in two. I’m all for that, since three continuous hours might be geek overload for my brain.
Clacked by Keith McDuffee 
on Feb 17, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
Keith,
I was off Monday and I posted this morning in the thread from the show review, but it might be worth mentioning again: When Razor was released there was a spoiler that said the Hybrid shown in the movie was in fact Daniel Graystone (who will play a major role in the upcoming Caprica series). My thinking is that we probably won’t learn anything more about Daniel until that series premiers. It’s my guess that this is a “teaser” for the new show as well as a way to ret-con the Final Five and the #7 they seemed to have skipped over.
Here is that spoiler I mentioned: https://www.syfyportal.com/news425091.html
The only thing that bugs me about that spoiler from last year is that it credits no source with where the information came from.
I guess I need to go back and re-read the Caprica pilot in light of these updates to the Cylon mythology. The concept of Daniel being Daniel Greystone just doesn’t mesh with what I remember from the script.
Daniel Greystone, wrought with grief over the loss of his daughter, focuses his research on the transfer of consciousness from humans to artificial life forms (I’m just going to start using ALFs I swear). While it sounds like the precursor to Resurrection, IIRC, the breakthrough was more the capturing of human consciousness rather than transfer.
Like I said, it just doesn’t mesh. Greystone would be an incredibly public figure who is recognized on the street during the course of the pilot. Also, it seems to me that the Five didn’t get to Caprica until the war was already too far along to start. But the war couldn’t even start until Daniel develops the technology that becomes one side of the war.
I’m still liking Starbuck’s dad. Just a gut feeling, really, more than anything else. Making Kara the true first hybrid. Which also doesn’t directly jive with the rest of the mythology, so I know that my best guess still doesn’t make perfect sense :(
I am not buying the Daniel=Daniel Greystone thing.
Here is how I see it all
-Final five get to the 12 colonies to warn them, but war is well, well underway. I would even venture it is somewhere near the end of the war.
-Final Five offer resurrection to the cylons, 1st cylon war ends.
-Skin jobs begin to be created, Daniel is “killed”, Cavil rebels and kills the 5 and begins to input them into the colonies.
-40 years later cylons come back and nuke the colonies.
I’m not saying that Daniel (the #7) is the Daniel Greystone, I’m saying he’s the Hybrid from Razor. Remember back in the first set of Webisodes before S3? There was a scene where the young Adama ejects and ends up in some Cylon lab. I haven’t done much research (or even viewed the eps again) but I’m fairly certain that site wasn’t one of the 12 colonies. It may actually be “Ellen’s Lab” which was referred to in the past episode.
I don’t know how Daniel would have become a Hybrid, though I don’t see that as outside of the realm of possibilities because he made his daughter into a virtual person, so why not take that step as well for himself? Or it could be that the Centurions simply wanted to preserve their creator (possibly who they call the one true god) and created him.
There are a lot of missing pieces, but I’m almost 100% positive that Daniel won’t be revealed until the Caprica show comes out.
Nah, the old Hybrid that we met in Razor was the Cylons doing, I don’t think the 5 had any to do with that. However, I do see both sides.
Two points of evidence against it:
1. Athena on Galactica in Razor said that the Hybrid was an evolutionary dead end. One of their failed attempts to create skin jobs.
2. Ellen just now told us when they met the Cylons there were not able to make skin jobs (and their other issues.) The five then took care of that.
Evidence for it:
1. The cylons there did protect it on the baseship, perhaps even worship it as their original “one true god.”
Yeah Moore commented on that Daniel from Caprica and Daniel mentioned in BSG will play together.
Also, hasn’t the schedule been out for awhile dealing with the 3 hour split up series finale?
Was it in the podcast that he made those comments? I need to go back and listen.
I think its been widely speculated and continually hinted at that the finale would be shown this way, but IIRC, this is the first confirmation.
Ok, went back and listened to the last five minutes of the podcast for Maelstrom… These are some snippets of quotes for the kind of thing he said:
“We’re losing somebody”
“There she goes…”
“She’s gone… They’ve lost her.”
“Stick with us boys and girls, we’ve got quite a tale to tell.”
There was also some stuff about the reaction of the cast, which, IIRC, most didn’t know, at least originally, that Kara was going to be back.
He did walk a very fine line for that. He did have to lie (even in an omission to hide the future story.)
However, interpreting his intentions will always be subjective. I say he flat out lied about Starbuck.
The thing I can’t remember at this point is when we were first introduced to the final 4 he said they were “fundamentally different kinds of cylons.” What I don’t remember is is he said that they don’t resurrect or if that was just our own rampant speculation on “fundamentally different.”
If he did say that, how do we now reconcile the fact that they do resurrect?
Akbar – you can’t remember? Uh, I count on you to be accurate on these things. How can you expect me to base my positions on something you wrote if you have the same faulty memory as I do? Please get with the program, as I am counting on you. Sheesh! ;)
Sorry bsgfan,
I blame scifi. If they hadn’t held off this last season for so damn long I wouldn’t be having this problem.
Besides, i am sure what I can’t remember Dorv will.
I won’t remember, I’ll just be able to look it up quickly :)
Thinking about mysterious bloodlines.
I pulled this from Patriot Resource:
1/19/09:According to Ron Moore, “Romo [Lampkin] will be back two more times this season, once as a lawyer, and once as something even bigger.” From MediaBlvd
Lampkin a possible relation to the Adamas?
From Battlestar Wiki:
During his tenure, defense attorney Romo Lampkin was one of Adama’s students, likely meeting him while working in one of Caprica’s civil litigation offices. Though Lampkin claims to have hated the man “because he was right” about the law, Lampkin also admits to learning everything he knows about the law from Adama, and even carries a worn copy of Law and Mind: The Psychology of Legal Practice with him. After first meeting Lee Adama, Lampkin claims that he looked like his grandfather (The Son Also Rises). Another book written by Adama is Trial Tactics and Strategies (Crossroads, Part I).
I think there’s something else there.
Moore has lied in his podcasts before. Remember when Starbuck “died”? He did a pretty convincing job on his podcast of fluffing over the fact that she was gone, it was real and she wasn’t coming back.
I’ve been noticing that myself.
I want to go back and listen to that Podcast, but being ‘spoiled’ at the time, I remember RDM walking the line quite deftly. Starbuck was, AFAIK at this point, dead.
Something I read on Syfyportal has me confused.
https://syfyportal.com/news426083.html
It relates to the final five getting to the colonies.
“Because they didn’t have FTL drives, the trip would end up taking a couple thousand years, however that’s not how much time passed on their ship thanks to Einstein and all.”
I remember Sam saying time slowed down. I just don’t understand why.
So, I think Daniel, the #7 cylon, is Starbucks father [after seeing tonites episode, obviously].
Explains the song, possibly explains her ‘death’ or whatever…
This is assuming that what’s said in the podcasts there can’t be trusted, obviously [really, it seems like it can’t be].
Anyone think that makes sense?
Watching a re-run marathon today I realized that Felix Gatos was Daniel, however flawed and not capable of re-establishing his true self. Prior to his execution for mutiny he tells Baltar about his artistic leanings in his youth and implores Gaius to “know who he is”. His leg is also growing back and then abruptly stops before he is shot. His character fits Daniel as described by Ellen better than anybody else in the cast. Think about it.