Battlestar Galactica’s Opening Credits Lied: The Cylons Never Had A Plan
For the first three seasons, Battlestar Galactica's opening credits constantly teased a grand Cylon plan, but it turns out it was all lie since they actually never had a plan beyond killing humans. Syfy's reimagined Battlestar Galactica began in a similar fashion to Glen A. Larson's original series, with the destruction of the 12 colonies, but then altered course during its four-season run. While the overall story remained the same, bits and pieces - being darker, not including aliens, and having multiple Earths - were changed.
Of course, one of the biggest differences between the two continuities is the Cylon race. The core types - Centurions, Raiders, and Basestars - are the same, but the 2004 series chose to give life to Cylons rather than recreate the humanoid, android models from the sequel series, Galactica 1980. Along with that came increased intelligence and... a plan. Battlestar Galactica episodes opened with a brief summary of who the Cylons were. And while the opening had changed a bit over the years, the first few seasons would end with, "And They Have A Plan." The thing is, that wasn't true.
According to series creator Ronald D. Moore, the Cylons never had a plan; he explained during a Battlestar Galactica reunion panel at ATX Television Festival in 2017 that the line was added in because co-executive producer David Eick thought it sounded cool. Moore added, "For the next 14 years of my life people have asked me ‘What was the plan?’ There was no plan" (via LA Times). Ultimately, the line was a device to facilitate discussion among viewers in the early episodes. After all, audiences not only wondered who all the Cylons were but also what they wanted.
Although mechanical in nature, the Cylons were deeply human - and they recognized that when they first ended their war with humans (before conquering them on New Caprica and "attempting" cohabitation). They blamed the humans for their nature and bloodlust, which is why they attacked the colonies and killed billions of people, leaving behind only about 50,000 humans alive in Galactica's fleet. Ultimately giving up on their pursuit of the remaining humans, the Cylons decided they want to find a new home; that home was New Caprica at first, but then it became Earth - the original Earth the Thirteenth Tribe had settled on.
So finding a new planet to live on was the only real plan the Cylons had, but it was one that they came up with midway through the series - not at the start, as Battlestar Galactica's opening credits had viewers believe. The only hint at a grand plan came in season 2 when it was revealed the Cylons were trying to create human-Cylon hybrids, something Kara Thrace saw first hand, but that plot was quickly sidelined. Overall, as the villains, the Cylons had various minor plans but nothing that would qualify as a series-spanning, nefarious scheme.