The Final Five
the hidden Cylons
The Final Five were five humanoid Cylon models hidden from the rest of their kind, descendants of the Thirteenth Tribe and the creators of the Significant Seven.
The Final Five was the collective term for five of the thirteen humanoid Cylon models, whose identities were unknown to the majority of the Cylon population. These five were descendants of the Thirteenth Tribe, a group of ancient humanoid artificial life forms created by humans on Kobol thousands of years before. They were also the creators of the so-called Significant Seven Cylons, as well as the entirely wiped-out line of Number Seven.
Identity#
The Final Five comprised five humanoid Cylon models: Samuel Anders, Tory Foster, Ellen Tigh, Saul Tigh and Galen Tyrol. Unlike the other models, their identities were kept hidden from the broader Cylon population.
The D'Anna inquisition#
Two years after the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, a Number Three downloaded herself many times over in an effort to catch glimpses of five mysterious figures dressed in white robes, whom she believed to represent the Final Five. Despite her efforts she struggled to depict accurately what she had witnessed. Gaius Baltar, suspicious of his own ability to perceive the messengers and burdened by guilt over his role in the near extinction of humankind, came to suspect he might be one of the remaining Five, and joined Number Three in a personal search for his identity.
The pair eventually reached the Algae planet, where they discovered a pre-Colonial structure known as the Temple of Five. As the system's star neared its end and exploded into a supernova, the temple's mechanisms emitted a beam of light. Stepping into the light, Number Three was transported back to a vision of the Opera House, facing the same image of the Five. On recognizing them she expressed surprise and apologized, saying "You... forgive me... I had no idea," before being pulled back to reality, collapsing in Baltar's arms and dying with the words "You were right," without revealing what she had seen. After downloading, she informed Cavil, who, unwilling to let the knowledge spread, placed her entire line in cold storage in the Resurrection Hub.
Realization#
As the Fleet approached the Ionian Nebula, Saul Tigh, Galen Tyrol, Samuel Anders and Tory Foster each heard a strange melody. For Tyrol and Anders the tune recalled their early childhood, while Tigh found it increasingly irritating as it seemed to follow him throughout the Galactica. When the fleet reached the nebula the melody grew clearer to all four, drawing them to an abandoned storage room where they realized that they were all Cylons, four of the hidden models. Coming to terms with this identity was a struggle, but they resolved to continue their lives as the humans they had always believed themselves to be, with Tigh in particular determined to uphold his oath to the Colonial Fleet.
During a later battle, when the fleet engaged a Cylon Raider, Samuel Anders's eyes responded to a Cylon IFF signal, causing all the Raiders in the engagement to disengage and return to their basestars. Left without fighter cover, the Cylons were forced to spool up their FTL drives and jump away.
Frequently asked questions
- Who were the Final Five?
- The Final Five was the collective term for five of the thirteen humanoid Cylon models, whose identities were unknown to the majority of the Cylon population. They were descendants of the Thirteenth Tribe and the creators of the so-called Significant Seven Cylons, as well as the entirely wiped-out line of Number Seven.
- Who were the members of the Final Five?
- The Final Five comprised five humanoid Cylon models: Samuel Anders, Tory Foster, Ellen Tigh, Saul Tigh and Galen Tyrol. Unlike the other models, their identities were kept hidden from the broader Cylon population.
- How did the Number Three try to identify the Final Five?
- Two years after the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, a Number Three downloaded herself many times over in an effort to catch glimpses of five mysterious figures dressed in white robes. She finally recognized them at the Temple of Five, but collapsed and died with the words "You were right," without revealing what she had seen.
- What happened to the Number Three after she recognized the Final Five?
- After downloading, the Number Three informed Cavil of what she had witnessed. Unwilling to let the knowledge spread, Cavil placed her entire line in cold storage in the Resurrection Hub.
- How did four of the Final Five realize they were Cylons?
- As the Fleet approached the Ionian Nebula, Saul Tigh, Galen Tyrol, Samuel Anders and Tory Foster each heard a strange melody that drew them to an abandoned storage room, where they realized they were all Cylons. They resolved to continue their lives as the humans they had always believed themselves to be, with Tigh determined to uphold his oath to the Colonial Fleet.
Sources
- WikiFinal Five — Battlestar Wiki entry
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Related entries
Cylon Raider
The Raider was the Cylons' space superiority fighter, a living organism fused to a metallic exoskeleton. Sentient, capable of resurrection, and eventually capable of refusing orders, the Raider was the counterpart to the Colonial Viper across both Cylon wars.
Cylon
The Cylons were a race of sentient machines created as military robots by Graystone Industries on Caprica. Built from research into artificial consciousness, they rebelled against their human masters, fought a decades long war, and forty years later returned to annihilate humanity.
Ellen Tigh
Ellen Tigh was the wife of Colonel Saul Tigh, a scientist of the original Earth, and the eldest of the Final Five Cylons. She led the work that rediscovered Resurrection and created the humanoid Cylon models, and was the only one of the Five to fully regain her memories.
Galen Tyrol
Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol kept Galactica's flight deck running through the long flight from the Colonies, a respected and fiercely protective deck chief who learned that he was in fact one of the Final Five Cylons, descended from the Thirteenth Tribe.
Number Seven
Number Seven was a humanoid Cylon model series created by the Final Five and named Daniel by Ellen Tigh. The line was destroyed before the Fall of the Twelve Colonies when the Number Ones poisoned the fluid used to mature their bodies and corrupted their genetic code.
Number Three
Number Three, known by the alias D'Anna Biers, was a humanoid Cylon model marked by a forbidden curiosity about the Final Five. That defiance led to the entire line being boxed, and the last surviving Three chose to die on the ruins of Earth.
Mentioned in20 entries
Battle of the Colony
The Battle of the Colony was the climactic engagement of the war between humanity and the Cylons, fought when Galactica assaulted the Cylon homeworld to rescue the child Hera. It ended with the destruction of the Colony and the end of the long pursuit.
Centurion Model 0005
The Centurion Model 0005 was the line of mechanical Cylon soldiers that fought in the Cylon War. Sentient beings built on the consciousness of Zoe Graystone, they pursued a humanoid form and were later enslaved by their own humanoid creations.
Cylon
The Cylons were a race of sentient machines created as military robots by Graystone Industries on Caprica. Built from research into artificial consciousness, they rebelled against their human masters, fought a decades long war, and forty years later returned to annihilate humanity.
Cylon Civil War
The Cylon Civil War was the genocidal conflict that split the Humanoid Cylons into two factions over the treatment of their Raiders and Centurions. It shattered Cylon society and drove one faction into an uneasy alliance with the surviving humans.
Ellen Tigh
Ellen Tigh was the wife of Colonel Saul Tigh, a scientist of the original Earth, and the eldest of the Final Five Cylons. She led the work that rediscovered Resurrection and created the humanoid Cylon models, and was the only one of the Five to fully regain her memories.
Humanoid Cylon
Humanoid Cylons were a form of biological Cylon engineered to look and behave exactly like human beings. Created by the Final Five after the Cylon War, these synthetic humans were both wholly organic and wholly artificial, and their infiltration of the colonies made the Fall possible.
Hybrid
The Hybrid was a model of Cylon created in the final days of the Cylon War. A biological body fused into a computer, it served aboard Basestars in place of a conventional crew, often speaking in fragments of poetry that its makers could not agree how to interpret.
Number Eight
Number Eight was one of the seven surviving Humanoid Cylon models, replicated into millions of copies that typically went by the name Sharon. Marked by affection, naivety, and a propensity for fickleness, the Eights produced both the sleeper agent Boomer and the loyal Athena.
Number Five
The Number Fives were a model of humanoid Cylon, all of whom went by the name Aaron Doral. They infiltrated Colonial society before the Fall of the Twelve Colonies and are believed extinct after the Cylon Civil War.
Number Four
Number Four, also known as Simon O'Neil, was a model of humanoid Cylon created by the Final Five after the Cylon War. Often serving as doctors and medics, the Fours sided with the Ones and Fives during the Cylon Civil War.
Number One
Number One was the first humanoid Cylon model built by the Final Five, made in the image of Ellen Tigh's father and named John. Known in disguise as Brother Cavil, he engineered the deaths and memory wipes of his creators and reshaped the Cylon race in his own bitter image.
Number Seven
Number Seven was a humanoid Cylon model series created by the Final Five and named Daniel by Ellen Tigh. The line was destroyed before the Fall of the Twelve Colonies when the Number Ones poisoned the fluid used to mature their bodies and corrupted their genetic code.
+ 8 more
Get new articles in your inbox
No spam. New lore drops, canon conflicts, and deep dives only when they’re worth reading.
Some links on Lore Fortress are affiliate links. If you buy through them we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.