Battlestar Galactica 2004, Caprica and Blood & Chrome
Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol was a Cylon descended from the Thirteenth Tribe. Escaping a Cylon uprising on Earth, Tyrol was one of five who tried to prevent - and later end - a similar war occurring amongst the human Twelve Colonies. Faced with another uprising, he was exiled to live among humanity and given false memories. It is unknown if "Galen Tyrol" is his real name or part of this cover.
Biography[]
Tyrol was born on the planet Earth at approximately the same time the Twelve Tribes abandoned their homeworld of Kobol. Guided by the Messengers, he joined a group of five scientists who had advanced warning of an impending war on Kobol between its biological settlers and their mechanical labor force, which was to destroy the planet in a slave uprising. He was killed in a nuclear blast while at a market, and his consciousness was downloaded into an artificially grown copy stored on a ship in orbit. Not possessing FTL technology - or at least not on the boat - the five spent centuries traveling in search of Kobol's people but found them some 2000 years later engaged in a devastating war with their own mechanical Cylon laborers. Tyrol and the other four were able to enter negotiations with these Cylons, and they called an end to hostilities with the humans after twelve years of fighting in exchange for technology on organic memory transfer.
Over the next several years, the Cylon race underwent considerable change, with biological Cylons being created with human form and emotions. The first of these prototypes, a Number One, directly assisted in creating the others but eventually lost faith in his creators. A revolution took place, in which the Final Five were killed, and the mechanical Cylons were deprived of self-awareness, creating a new society in which the eight humanoid models and their many copies were effectively slave masters. Tyrol, as punishment for his love of humanity, was reactivated many years later and sent out to live in the Cyrannus Star System, given fake memories about having been the son of religious elders.
Not long after arriving in human society, Tyrol enlisted in the Colonial Fleet and demonstrated mechanical skills on several battlestars such as Pegasus before being assigned to Galactica as its deck chief ahead of its decommissioning. While there, he developed romantic feelings for a Cylon Sleeper Agent, a Number Eight calling herself Lieutenant Sharon Valerii. The relationship was against regulations. Their relationship constituted fraternization because Tyrol was an enlisted man, and Valerii was an officer. Despite their efforts to keep it hidden, their affair was an open secret known to much of the crew but tolerated by Galactica's senior staff due to the decommissioning. The two had plans to transfer together to Pegasus or otherwise retire and start a family.
Fall of the Twelve Colonies[]
At the start of the series, Tyrol is romantically involved with Lieutenant Sharon "Boomer" Valerii aboard Galactica, who is, unbeknownst to either Tyrol or herself, a Cylon. Once Sharon's true nature is revealed when she attempts to assassinate then-Commander Adama, Tyrol is accused of being a Cylon and is thrown into the brig with Sharon. He claims he hates her and orders her to keep her distance, but when Sharon is shot and killed by Cally, he mourns her and reveals his genuine affection for her. Tyrol is "proven" not to be a Cylon - for the time being - and resumes his job. Discovering the existence of Caprica-Valerii (who is pregnant and in love with Helo) confuses him, especially with Galactica-Valerii's death still haunting him.
Galen's father was a Priest; his mother was an Oracle. He has served in the Colonial Fleet since he was 18 years old, working at various points on Battlestars Pegasus, Columbia, Atlantia, and Galactica. It is suggested his experience extends beyond mechanical knowledge when he is stranded on the surface of Kobol - his actions indicate a firm grasp of tactical and other military expertise and an extremely high level of competence overall. Adama holds him in very high esteem as Colonel Tigh acknowledges when he says, "the old man has a soft spot" for him. Tyrol even modeled his leadership style on Adama's. Generally, it kept a professional demeanor - although Tyrol tends to become overly protective, sometimes even irrational, when anyone under his command is injured or killed.
Tyrol and Helo encounter trouble when Lieutenant Thorne, an officer on the Pegasus, attempts to rape Sharon Agathon while interrogating her. Rushing to her aid, Tyrol and Helo accidentally kill Thorne and are summarily sentenced to death by Admiral Helena Cain. After Cain's death, the two are released from the brig by Pegasus' new commander, Jack Fisk, and all charges are dropped.
Near the end of the second season, Tyrol begins to believe he may be a Cylon sleeper agent and begins to entertain thoughts of committing suicide. He viciously attacks Cally when she wakes him from a nightmare, an act which prompts him to seek religious counsel. Brother Cavil's guidance convinces Tyrol that he isn't a Cylon and makes him aware of Cally's feelings towards him. However, the meeting with Brother Cavil later allows Tyrol to expose the priest as a humanoid Cylon when a duplicate copy returns from the Caprica rescue mission.
Tyrol and Cally are among the thousands that settle on New Caprica. The two get married and have a son, whom they name Nicholas (although in season 4, it is revealed Galen is not Nicholas' father). Tyrol worked as a union leader when the Cylons arrived and occupied New Caprica. Tyrol's speech urging the union to strike shortly before the occupation begins.
During the Cylon occupation, Tyrol served as an active resistance member, bombing strategic targets and recruiting new members. After the colonists escape New Caprica, Tyrol is appointed by President Tom Zarek to be a member of "The Circle," a six-person jury charged with trying and executing humans suspected of collaborating with the Cylons. When Felix Gaeta is pushed, Tyrol reveals Gaeta was the "inside source" the resistance relied upon, effectively exonerating him. Soon after, The Circle disbands. Tyrol and Cally return to duty aboard Galactica.
After the fleet makes its way to the algae planet, Tyrol is assigned to the base camp on Earth during the algae harvesting process. He feels a compulsion to walk into the hills above the camp, where he discovers the Temple of Five, a place that Tyrol's parents revered. He tries to find the location of the Eye of Jupiter within the temple, but the Cylons make their move before he can do so, and the humans are forced to abandon the temple. Tyrol cannot bring himself to activate the explosives he placed there, and by the time then-Major Lee Adama presses the detonator, it is too late; the Cylons have disconnected the devices. Afterward, Tyrol finds Gaius Baltar within the temple. It knocks him unconscious before he and the rest of the humans on the planet's surface return to Galactica as the local star goes supernova.
Tyrol and Cally have a rough patch in their marriage caused by Tyrol always volunteering the two of them for additional duties instead of spending time with their son. They get locked in an airlock, losing atmosphere due to a damaged patch. Admiral Adama decides the best way to rescue them is to blow the main hatch and catch them in a waiting raptor. After they are caught, they are rushed to the sick bay for treatment. Seelix brings his son to him in sick bay, and he renews his commitment to his family and marriage. After a problem arose with the tylium refinery, Tyrol organized a general strike to protest the working conditions. When Admiral Adama threatens to shoot Cally, Tyrol backs down. He then meets President Roslin to discuss working conditions, replacement personnel, and training.
In the cliffhanger Season 3 finale, "Crossroads, Part II", he, along with Samuel Anders, Saul Tigh, and Tory Foster, become aware that they are Cylons, based on hallucinatory music that only they can hear, and a "switch" Tyrol believes has gone off within them.
At the start of season 4, Tyrol and the other three Final Five Cylons meet secretly. In "The Ties That Bind," Tyrol's wife, Cally, becomes suspicious of him being away from her all the time. After seeing him meeting in the bar with Tory, she believes he is having an affair. However, she later listens to a meeting between Galen, Tory, and Tigh and discovers her husband is a Cylon. After he returns to their quarters, she knocks him out with a wrench and takes their child to commit suicide in an airlock. However, Tory comes and punches her out, takes the baby, and then opens the airlock, killing Cally. In "Escape Velocity", Tyrol gives a eulogy for his wife, who is deeply affected by it when it involves his work. Later, Admiral Adama meets him in the bar, telling him he can take time off or do more work, whichever he needs. Tyrol then imagines Adama saying it was his fault Cally died, and he goes ballistic, ranting and raving about how he settled for Cally because Boomer turned out to be a Cylon. Adama demotes him after he refuses to calm down, thus removing him from duty on the hangar deck. He is to report to Petty Officer Basim for reassignment.
Tyrol sinks deeper into depression, almost committing suicide and later assaulting Baltar at one of his sermons for mentioning Cally (although Tyrol eventually accepts an apology from Baltar). When Tigh reveals himself, Sam Anders and Tyrol are Cylons, and the Marines arrest the latter two. Galen smiles, looking almost relieved.
After Lee Adama gives a full pardon to the final four, Galen Tyrol (before going down to Earth) was last seen in his quarters playing with his son. The feelings from his former deck crew to the knowledge of him being a Cylon are not yet known.
When on Earth, Tyrol explores the area he is in and is drawn to the remains of a wall that has a silhouette burned into it that matches his shadow exactly. Upon touching it, Tyrol experiences a flashback of his life on Earth 2000 years ago. He is strolling down a crowded market street when a nuclear explosion suddenly engulfs him. Tyrol then realizes he and the rest of the Final Five Cylons had previously lived past lives on Earth, though he is unsure how they found their way to the Colonies.
When his son, Nicholas, is in sickbay with acute renal failure and brought to Doc Cottle for treatment, Galen discovers Nicholas is not his son but the son of Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza, who Cally had a brief fling with just before marrying Galen.
During the mutiny onboard Galactica, Tyrol sides with Adama and, using his intimate knowledge of the ship, is instrumental in helping end the conflict. He helps Roslin escape the ship, and during the standoff between Galactica and the rebel Cylons, he disables Galactica's FTL drive to keep it from escaping. He is dismayed to notice metal fatigue in the engine room.
With full rank, Tyrol is reinstated to duty by Admiral Adama, who charges Tyrol with fixing the damage to the ship.
In "No Exit", Samuel Anders reveals Tyrol and Tory used to be "madly in love" 2,000 years ago (before their memories were wiped by John Cavil). Tyrol chuckles at the idea.
In "Deadlock", Tyrol comes face to face again with Boomer, who has brought Ellen Tigh back to Galactica. Tyrol identifies her as Boomer to Adama, who promptly orders her to be thrown in the brig. Tyrol is reluctant to visit her initially, but he is later shown looking at her through the glass pane of her cell as she sleeps.
In "Someone to Watch Over Me", he revisits her, and Boomer shows him the life they could have had, using Cylon's "projection" they had planned for before the war had started, including a 'daughter'. Galen attempts to dissuade Roslin from handing over Boomer to the Cylons for a trial, afraid that they will kill her. However, Roslin refuses his request. Galen then knocks out another Number Eight and switches her with Boomer in the brig while Boomer knocks out Athena. He helps Boomer escape, pretending to be Athena. To his horror, Boomer has tricked him and kidnapped Hera Agathon.
During the series finale, Tyrol is among the volunteers who join Adama's rescue mission. While he and the rest of the Final Five download the secrets of resurrection to the Cylons, their minds temporarily combine. Tyrol discovers Tory Foster is responsible for Cally's death. He breaks the download and kills Tory in anger but is later forgiven, as Tigh remarks if Tory had killed Ellen, he would have done precisely the same thing. When they arrive on the second Earth, Tyrol decides to live as a semi-hermit on a northern island, far away from both Colonial humans and Cylons and only sparsely populated by terrestrial humans.
List of Appearances[]
| Episode | Appearance | Mentioned |
|---|---|---|
| 33 | X | |
| Water | X | |
| Bastille Day | X | |
| Act of Contrition | X | |
| You Can't Go Home Again | X | |
| Litmus | X | |
| Six Degrees of Separation | X | |
| Flesh and Bone | X | |
| Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down | X | |
| The Hand of God | X | |
| Colonial Day | X | |
| Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part Ⅰ | X | |
| Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part Ⅱ | X |
| Episode | Appearance | Mentioned |
|---|---|---|
| Scattered | X | |
| Valley of Darkness | X | |
| Fragged | X | |
| Resistance | X | |
| The Farm | X | |
| Home, Part Ⅰ | ||
| Home, Part Ⅱ | X | |
| Final Cut | X | |
| Flight of the Phoenix | X | |
| Pegasus | X | |
| Resurrection Ship, Part Ⅰ | X | |
| Resurrection Ship, Part Ⅱ | X | |
| Epiphanies | X | |
| Black Market | ||
| Scar | X | |
| Sacrifice | ||
| The Captain's Hand | X | |
| Downloaded | X | |
| Lay Down Your Burdens, Part Ⅰ | X | |
| Lay Down Your Burdens, Part Ⅱ | X |
| Episode | Appearance | Mentioned |
|---|---|---|
| Occupation | X | |
| Precipice | X | |
| Exodus, Part Ⅰ | X | |
| Exodus, Part Ⅱ | X | |
| Collaborators | X | |
| Torn | X | |
| A Measure of Salvation | X | |
| Hero | X | |
| Unfinished Business | X | |
| The Passage | X | |
| The Eye of Jupiter | X | |
| Rapture | X | |
| Taking a Break from All Your Worries | X | |
| The Woman King | X | |
| A Day in the Life | X | |
| Dirty Hands | X | |
| Maelstrom | X | |
| The Son Also Rises | X | |
| Crossroads, Part Ⅰ | X | |
| Crossroads, Part Ⅱ | X |
| Episode | Appearance | Mentioned |
|---|---|---|
| Miniseries, Night I | X | |
| Miniseries, Night II | X | |
| Razor | ||
| The Plan | X |
Behind the Scenes[]
- Galen was a famous doctor in Ancient Greece.
- Tyrol is a region in Austria and Northern Italy.
Sources[]
Battlestar Galactica Personnel
| |
|---|---|
| Command Staff | Aaron Kelly · Saul Tigh · William Adama |
| CIC | Anastasia Dualla · Felix Gaeta · Louis Hoshi |
| Viper Pilots | Brendan Costanza · Brent Baxton · "Carrot" · Donald Perry · Eammon Pike · Emmitt Jones · "Fireball" · "Flyboy" · George Birch · Jackson Spencer · Joe Palladino · Joseph Clark · Kara Thrace · Leland Adama · Louanne Katraine · Nora Farmer · Paolo McKay · "Stepchild" · Tucker Clellan |
| Raptor Crews | Alex Quartararo · Cohen Baker · Dwight Saunders · Hamish McCall · Karl Agathon · Margaret Edmondson · Sharon Agathon · Sharon Valerii |
| Deck Hands | Anthony Figurski · Brad Socinus · Calandra Henderson Tyrol · Diana Seelix · Galen Tyrol · Giana O'Neill · James Lyman · Leonard Prosna · Peter Laird · Tarn |
| Sick Bay | Howard Kim · Layne Ishay · Sherman Cottle |
| Marines | Bonnington · Brandy Harder · Collishaw · Hadrian · Omar Fisher · Scott Kelso · Terry Burrell · Twinam · Venner |
| Other | Wallace · Davis |
Final Five Cylon Models
| |
|---|---|
| Samuel Anders · Tory Foster · Ellen Tigh · Saul Tigh · Galen Tyrol | |