Battlestar Galactica's 15 Biggest Plot Twists And Reveals

Unlike a lot of entries on this list, this twist doesn’t all happen in one dramatic moment, but rather over several episodes. Still, it is such a momentous shift that it earns a place on this list.

The episode Downloaded focuses on the Cylon society for the first time, especially on two individuals whose efforts to destroy humanity have been seen the most clearly by the audience.

One is Caprica Six, the Number Six who was responsible for making the Colonies vulnerable in the initial attack. The other is Sharon Valerii, the Number Eight who had thrown the fleet into chaos by shooting Commander Adama. Both of these Cylons have been reborn on Caprica, struggling to make sense of their actions, and eventually coming to see that the attack on the Colonies was wrong—indeed, that it was a sin. Eventually, they even gather enough support to change all of Cylon policy, leading to their withdrawal from Caprica.

Of course, it turns out that the reality of this new ideal is a hard thing to realize, but the whole twist reminds us that the show could and regularly did bring the story in many unexpected directions.