The Irony of Galen Tyrol

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The Irony of Galen Tyrol

It is ironic that Galen Tyrol, the Senior Chief Petty Officer of Battlestar Galactica, is one of the most vehemently anti-Cylon members of the Galactica's crew, and is cleared of being a Cylon, both by the crew, and in his own mind, when he in fact he is a member of the final five.

At the start of the series, Tyrol is secretly dating one of Galactica's pilots, Sharon Valerrii, who's call sign is Boomer. What neither of them realize is that Boomer is actually a sleeper Cylon agent, who shortly into the series her program activates and she attempts to kill the commander of the Galactica, Bill Adama. At first, people think that Tyrol is a Cylon as well, and while the crew thinks that they have proven that Tyrol is human, he turns on Boomer even though he is in love with her, because in his mind she is nothing more than a machine. This will become ironic later on when Tyrol discovers that he actually is a member of the final five.

Shortly thereafter, Tyrol still continues to wonder if he may actually be a Cylon after all. The irony continues when the one that dissuades him of this notion of possibly being a Cylon is Brother Cavil, who is actually not just a Cylon hidden within the fleet, but knows that Tyrol is a Cylon because he is the one who wiped the final five's memories and sent them to live among the humans.

On New Caprica, Tyrol tries to live a civilian life with his new wife Cally, and when the Cylons take over, he is one of the leaders of the resistance. While he thinks he is working to save his people, as an unknowing member of the final five, he is actually working against his own race. This continues once he is back aboard the Galactica and he is the head of “The Circle,” the secret jury that punishes collaborators. The irony truly is that he the collaborator, albeit unknowingly, collaborating with the humans against his own people.

In the end, Tyrol was all along the thing he hated most in the world, a Cylon. The reason he rejected the woman he loved became a moot point, because they were in fact the same. He unknowingly worked against his own people, and condemned those who did. However, in the end, he stops being the most ironic character in the show, and instead works towards a better world for both the Cylons, and humanity.

V'Ger
Sun, 01 Mar 2009 01:32:50 +0000

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