Battlestar Galactica: All Human Cylon Models Ranked From Worst To Best

Samuel T. Anders was introduced as a love interest for Starbuck, though one who potentially may have disappeared altogether. Once he was brought back for an interaction with Caprica Six, Boomer and D'Anna, there was an indication that he was going to play a more important role in the fate of the Fleet.

No one was quite prepared for how important that role would be. He was activated, along with the other sleeper Cylons, at the end of the third season, shocking not just the characters themselves but also the audience. Anders, like Saul Tigh, had fought in the resistance on New Caprica. Seeing him outed as a Cylon was stunning.

Unfortunately for him, his life does not get any easier from that point on. He joins Starbuck on her quest for Earth, losing himself in his obsession with her (costing Lt. Gaeta a leg along the way). When he is discovered, he is placed in an airlock along with Tyrol and Tigh, though he is saved from this fate.

During the mutiny aboard Galactica, he is shot in the head. Although this doesn't kill him, it initially reactivates his memories from his previous life as a Cylon. This doesn't last and he falls into a coma. The rest of the Cylons suggest hooking him up to a machine, much like the Hybrids aboard the Basestars.

This is the beginning of the end for him. Though he continues to communicate, he is unable to make himself properly understood. The final act is to have him pilot the fleet into the sun, ending the cycle of technology for the human race.