By Jesse Walvoord
“The Cylons were created by man. They evolved. They rebelled. There are twelve Cylon models. And they have a plan…”
Just what the hell that plan was has been obscure to even the most hardy BSG fan since the series began. Finally, even after the finale of the series, we are fortunate to be handed down a new testament of the Cylons and their, ahem, machinations.
To describe what THE PLAN is – that is, what this new feature is – is difficult. Rather complex in narrative construction (loyal viewers of the show would expect no less), THE PLAN follows the chronology of the series from the miniseries, through near the end of season two. Told from the Cylons point-of-view, we are finally treated to secrets and given new insight into what makes the Toasters tick, as both an entire race and as individual characters.
Ultimately, in both plot and theme, THE PLAN is about Number One Cylon Brother John Cavill (returning Dean Stockwell), or that is to say two Number One’s, and how their experience among the humans, scheming with their fellow Cylons, leads them to two very different – and very illuminating – conclusions about humanity and the nature of how the Cylon must relate to them in order to survive.
And I’m very happy to report that it’s the same intellectually stimulating, uniquely told, visceral and emotional storytelling that defined GALACTICA from day one.
Several little moments left as mysteries during the show’s run are interestingly explained (So that’s how Shelly Godfrey disappeared…), while thankfully the larger core mysteries of the show are left characteristically open-ended; the true poetry of much of GALACTICA still does, and it seems always will, thrive in ambiguity.
Most thought-provoking, enjoyable and even unexpected is the overall fixation on how many of the embedded Cylons, after years of blending in with human society – building careers, families, etc. – seem unwilling to give those lives up easily; seduced by their proximity to human connection, they’ve inevitably formed their bonds, all broken with much difficulty.
Simon (Rick Worthy) has a family on a ship in the fleet, one we feel he genuinely loves, and the thought of blowing them up in a suicide bombing doesn’t go down easy.
A Six (Tricia Helfer) on Galactica that frames Baltar (for a crime he did commit after all, as Cavill points out: “Trying to make a guilty man look guilty, it should be so easy!”) – when her usefulness to the cause is spent – resists getting airlocked, despite the fact she’ll immediately download into another body.
Disturbingly to Cavill and interestingly to the viewer, it seems that any Cylon is capable of developing an understanding of life that’s beyond an existence of the mind, but as a set of specific circumstances and relationships. In this, THE PLAN continues to develop the Cylons and is thankfully not content to merely expound on what we already know from the series proper.
Effective and enjoyable are these deeper analyses of many Cylon supporting players; the performers all clearly relish in the chance to revisit and refine their characters, and as each has grown as the series progressed, so too does that growth continue here.
Helfer continues to effortlessly define and differentiate the many incarnations of her Number Six character (yes, there is at least one major new version of that character here, a saucy, gum-chewing ball of human-hating hostility with a fetish for provoking Cavill’s burgeoning self-doubt).
Poor Boomer (aka Sharon Valerii, in this incarnation of the Number Eight model) gets some light shed on the mechanics of her nature as a Cylon sleeper agent throughout season one of the show. And Grace Park has lost none of the focus on what made her character and performance so fascinating, as we maintain sympathy for her even as her loyalties drift hopelessly between human and Cylon.
Telling is a creepy scene in the Galactica’s chapel, dark save for brooding amber candlelight, as Boomer – in Cylon mode – confesses her moral and emotional dilemma to an unsympathetic Cavill, who senses that Adama is the key to Boomer’s burgeoning human-centrism:
Boomer: “He’s like a father to me…”
Cavill: “He is your father. All mankind are our fathers. And that’s the sin for which they deserve to die.”
Leoben (the wonderful Callum Keith Rennie, quickly evolving into a genre favorite) gets a little bit of background on his Starbuck fixation.
Sadly Number Five (aka Aaron Doral, played with consistent slick and bureaucratic hostility by Matthew Bennett) remains fairly one dimensional.
But the story and the film itself are both centered around those two Number Ones, and veteran Stockwell does not disappoint when handed this showcase. Fascinating for his cold loathing of all things human, juxtaposed with his very human yearning for transcendence beyond the limitations his makers have placed upon him, Stockwell continues to brood and plot with great, subtle fervor, that cynical spark of humor always shining through. He’s a delight as always.
Aside from Stockwell, perhaps most noteworthy performance is Rick Worthy. His Number Four (aka Simon) always exuded a quiet dignity and menace in the series, but got the short shrift in terms of development. THE PLAN, thankfully, fleshes out Simon quite effectively, and surprisingly (and what would BSG be without surprises?), adding unexpected layers of, yes, humanity – layers Worthy conveys with wordless grace.
Of the Final Five we get the most face time with Anders, since his backstory was by far the least explored during the run of the series. What we get here is a fairly typical “reluctant hero” arc, that works fine and is well conveyed by a surprisingly sensitive Michael Trucco, and yet the whole bit feels slightly inconsequential when viewed against the character’s fate towards the end of the series.
With such an enormous amount of time and space to cover, and with just as many characters (and versions of characters!) to follow, THE PLAN can only really sketch character, fill in certain blanks and give a little bit of retroactive context to the show just passed. But as that’s its intention, it is very much a success, as fans (this one included) will no doubt be pleased that the directing (by series star and occasional director Edward James Olmos) is crisp and taut, and that the script (by series regular Jane Espenson) is richly complex, fresh and in no way disconnected from the series that spawned it – tonally or thematically.
Bear McCreary’s wonderful score is an organic extension of his work from the series, beautiful, rich and exotic, pounding underneath each scene with emotive tension and as conflicted and complex as the characters who’s travails it underlines. The visual effects work supervised by series vet Gary Hutzel shows us more of the Twelve Colonies than we’ve seen before, as well as the nuclear holocaust that befalls them, to good effect.
All in all, THE PLAN certainly serves as a fascinating and welcome coda to the series.
So say we all.
***
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: THE PLAN. Executive Producers Ronald D. Moore, David Eick. Directed by Edward James Olmos. Written by Jane Espenson. Universal Studios Home Entertainment. 112 min. Available on DVD and Blu-Ray October 27, 2009.
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