Cylon Number 6 from Battlestar Galactica – Honorary Oakley

We’ve got something a little different for our latest Honorary Oakley, a sort of anti-hero. Yes the woman we’re honoring is essentially responsible for wiping out most of a planets innocent population, so why on Earth (or Caprica) would we want to honor her in such a fashion. Simple, she’s a character of hidden depth, as is becoming more and more clear as the series she’s in (the new Battlestar Galactica), unfolds. Tricia Helfer brings the character of ‘Six’ to life, she’s a sexy and seductive cylon agent, but what are her ‘real’ motives…

Spoiler Warning: For those of you who do not watch Battlestar Galactica, this should be an interesting look at a very cool female character. Those of you who do watch it, but are not up to date (at time of this being written Feb 2006 – Season 2 Episode 18), please be warned this article will discuss storylines and character growth up to that point.

What’s With the Numbers?
An interesting question, what is it with sci-fi television series and naming their sexy blonde anti-heroines after numbers. We had Seven of Nine in Voyager and now we have the gorgeous Number Six in Battlestar Galactica. Perhaps Seven of Nine actually gives us some sort of insight into the character of ‘Six’, both start out on the side of ‘evil’, but both are characters that grow to feel differently about humanity over the span of their respective series.

Six is a cylon in the new Battlestar Galactica. Cylons are no longer just the silver robots of the old series, there are now a number of them that look human. As you can see from the images in this article, Six is a sexy female cylon and a strange dichotomy of evil and high spirituality. She’s overtly sexualized, but the longer the series goes on, the more clear it is becoming that this is a female character who not only kicks ass, but also has a lot of depth.

It’s All in Your Head…
Six is the cylon responsible for the arbitrary extermination of the planet Caprica. She seduces a high ranking scientist (Dr Gaius Baltar) to gain inside information on the planets defenses. The cylons use this in a massive nuclear strike, wiping out most of the planets human inhabitants (the series is based around the survivors in the Colonial Fleet, traveling through space in search of a new planet to call home – Earth). The character of Six however is not all she seems. She’s capable of snapping an infant’s neck in one scene, but then shows emotional depth of feeling or religious commitment in the next. Her love of Gaius Baltar, the scientist she seduced, appears to know no bounds. The series has Six talking to Baltar, but she’s not real, she’s in his mind, or so we are led to believe. This mind speak narrative means subconscious struggles usually unseen by the viewer are brought to the fore and it leads to some very interesting dialogue.

Guardian ‘Angel’…
Number Six appears very religious, at least the main version we know (as there are many). There are numerous theories as to just how Six appears to Gaius Baltar and no-one else, but one theory remains more intriguing than the others, that she is a guardian angel, sent by the cylon God to watch over her true love …Gaius and perhaps lead him down a specific path. Chances are she is purely some sort of hallucination or a cylon chip implanted in his brain, but the guardian angel theory is a seductive one, given her angelic platinum haired appearance. Time will tell what the true case is, but it is interesting that the resurrected Number Six, residing on Caprica now has a Baltar who only she can see, in a strange twist, it is now Baltar who taunts her. The resurrected Six clearly loves Baltar deeply and wishes not only him, but also humanity, no harm. She feels repulsion and guilt over her previous incarnation’s actions and believes they have gone against God (again leading into the angel or heavenly being theory for her apparition also).

There Are Many Copies…
The beauty of the character of Six is that due to all of the incarnations, her personality has many facets, something actress Tricia Helfer should be commended for as she brings them to the screen with poise and grace. The coldness of the original Six, mixed with the emotional attachment to Baltar are two differing ends of the emotional spectrum, she is at once a cold and calculating killer, whilst also encompassing the love and religious aspects. The beaten and tortured prisoner known as ‘Gina’, another version of Number Six, is broken and battered when discovered, but ends up infiltrating a group of cylon sympathizers. Gone are the platinum locks of the guardian angel / psychosis induced image that hovers over Baltar, in its place stands a woman self assured and ready to fight. These multifaceted characterizations lend the character of Six a lot of depth and an almost insurmountable level of growth and re-growth. This sort of multi character idea was used in the Star Trek universe as the character of ‘Dax’ was opened up and shown to have lived many lives from many perspectives. It’s nice to see it done in Battlestar Galactica with such relish, as well as giving us a really cool, kick ass female character.

The Cylons Were Created By Man…
Hopefully this article has touched upon some, if not all of the reasons that ‘Number Six’ was chosen to be in the Honorary Oakley. She’s not our usual sort of hero, fighting the good fight, but the series is certainly making it appear that just perhaps, on some deeper level, this character has far more to say than some of the others. With this in mind she does belong in the Oakley, she makes people think and that’s rarely a bad thing. The entire premise of the slave race, created by man, only to turn around and nuke them is an old one, but it’s a great vehicle to place more than one cool female character in the fray. Our previous Oakley Kara Thrace also appears in the Battlestar series and there is no doubt that President Roslin will also make an appearance at some point. For now though you have hopefully enjoyed this little foray into the mind of a cylon named Six.

Cylon Number Six We Salute You!

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