I'd Like to Propose a Toaster

SPOILER ALERT: If you're not current on Battlestar Galactica up through the 2/18/07 episode, inclusive, run away.

Everybody seems to be all abuzz that we're going to learn about a previously-unknown Cylon soon, and that it's going to be someone we already know. Here are my top three choices, with ratings based on clues I've noticed in the show.

Kara "Starbuck" Thrace is an obvious candidate. She's by far the best fighter pilot on Galactica, possibly in the entire Colonial fleet. (Which, I guess, now is Galactica, but I don't think it's a stretch to say that she was at or near the top back before the Cylons attacked too.) Now, of course, if you get a bunch of human pilots together, one of them naturally has to be the best. But maybe Kara has a little bit of an extra advantage, so let's add +1 for that.

When D'Anna sees the face of one of the final five, she apologizes, saying she "didn't know" to the glowing figure. Who would the Cylons need to apologize to, personally, that we know of? They treated Kara pretty badly when she was captured on Caprica and experimented upon by Simon and friend, so +2.

Recently, we learned that Kara's been doodling the Eye of Jupiter since she was a kid. That seems significant. Let's award +3 for that.

Galen "Chief" Tyrol seems like a bit of a dark horse here, but there are some subtle clues. Way back in the miniseries, when Baltar is about to finger Aaron as a Cylon to take the heat off himself, Number Six tells him he's not a Cylon, saying that she's never seen him at "any of the Cylon parties." This turns out to be a lie. Later, when the Chief is in counseling for attacking Cally, Brother Cavil tells him that he's not a Cylon, because Cavil has never seen him at "any of the Cylon meetings." Coincidence? Probably, so only +1 for that.

The Chief rather mysteriously finds the temple on the algae planet. How would he just know, out of the blue, that there's something interesting on the planet? Seems sketchy to me, +3.

When Cally and the Chief got trapped in a malfunctioning airlock, they had to be blow out into space and scooped up by a viper to be rescued. Later that day, Cally is in a hyperbaric chamber, eyes bloodshot, barely responsive even to her baby. Her baby who is being held by the Chief, who seems pretty sore but not much the worse for wear. We already know from Sharon's adventures flying through nasty radiation belts that the Cylons are a little bit hardier than humans. The Chief gets +1 for being so tough.

Gaius Baltar is just a staggeringly obvious choice, of course, but not impossible. After all, he has a Cylon in his head, and spent significant time with the Cylons. He betrayed humanity, allowing the Cylons to attack in the first place. For all that, +3, but -1 for being too obvious about it.

He has been told by the Cylons that he's not one of them, but they're not really known for their honesty. Too close to call there.

Final Scores: Starbuck +6, Chief +5, Baltar +2

So, by a nose, it looks like my prediction is that Starbuck is the Cylon infiltrator. But I'm certainly not giving up on the Chief either. What do y'all think?