BATTLESTAR GALACTICA'S FINALE

**mild spoilers**

Within the first five minutes of 2003’s Battlestar Galactica mini-series, I knew I was witnessing something unique. The entire first season that followed may well be the best first season of any show put to film. The beginning of season 2 continued with that quality, but somewhere around mid-season things began to go off course. While the show had echoed our current world since day one, it had generally avoided making direct correlations. That changed beginning in season 2 when the show basically became headline-of-the-week, with heavy handed messages on abortion, torture, anti-war sentiment, election controversies, labor unions, and Iraq. Characters’ motivations and personalities would routinely switch based on whatever point the writers wanted to make that week. The show seemed to no longer offer an honest reflection of our world, but only served to narrowly enforce the writers’ specific view of it.

It is a testament to the quality of the show that I continued to stick with it. Any lesser show I probably would’ve have tuned out. Even at its worst, it was still better than 90% of everything else out there. Thankfully, with the finale of season 3, the show began to find its legs again. While the revelation of the final five (or four at the time) cylons was hotly debated, the execution was brilliant. The scene where Tigh, Anders, Tyrol and Tory walk into the same room to the tune of “All Along the Watchtower” remains one of my favorite moments in the entire series.

While season 4 didn’t quite attain the greatness of season 1 as a whole, the revelation of the fate of Earth, along with the mutiny that followed, are definitely some of the best episodes of the entire series. It wasn’t until the last few weeks, leading up to last night’s finale, that I began to worry again. The show wasn’t bad, it just appeared to be treading water. I was concerned that the writers were leaving too much for the finale to wrap up, or that they would just flat out disregard a lot of the dangling plot threads. In my opinion, the show’s greatness and longevity largely hinged on the execution of the finale, and I wasn’t sure they could pull it off.

I’ve never been more glad to be wrong.

Honestly, it’s difficult to put into words. The first hour was absolutely relentless. The revelation of the opera house was particularly impressive, as was the ultimate meaning to the song and the resolution to Tory’s murder of Cally. The second hour was largely devoted to wrapping up the characters’ fates, which was satisfactory for the most part. My only real disappointment was that I didn’t get the answer to the one question I was most curious about over the entire course of the show. Namely, who was “God?” So much time had been devoted to talking about this person or entity that was manipulating everything that I was a expecting a more definitive answer. In fact, the finale seemed to suggest that there might be two different powers at work - the one that Kara serves, and the one who “doesn’t like that name” that Head Baltar and Head Six serve. God and Satan perhaps? If so, I can live with that. In fact, I think one of the great things about the finale is that it leaves some things open for discussion. These things will surely be debated and analyzed for years to come.

All in all, it was an amazing finale and the perfect bookend to a flawed but ultimately great series, ranking right up there Star Trek: The Next Generation’s finale “All Good Things” and my favorite show of all time, The Shield’s “Family Meeting.”

Click here to see my collection of winnings from the Battlestar Galactica prop auctions.

Comments

[Jeffery]

I still don't know how Kara Thrace is the harbinger of death...

[Josh Howard]

She was the harbinger of death for the cylons, and led humanity to their end (Earth). At least, that's my understanding of it.

[Grant]

I'm glad ya liked it! :)
I think I'm having a little harder time with it.. I absolutely LOVED most of the finale, but there are a few character details that I'm unsatisfied with.. namely Kara's poofing away and Adama deciding to abandon Lee and Kara to go die in the woods alone apparently.. (wtf?).. But I don't know, I may have to just let it sink in and watch it again. There is a LOT that I loved.. The Opera House, Baltar's entire arc, etc. I don't know why I'm letting the 5% non-awesome stuff bug me as much as it is.

[Josh Howard]

Yeah, there were lots of bizarre choices made, lots of things I would have done differently. And after hearing the podcast commentary, I wish they had gone with the original story they had mapped out before the strike - namely, the Ellen vs Tigh arc.

[darenstrange]

-SPOILERS for those who still haven't seen it-

Heya Josh. I'm a BSG devotee myself. And I agree the first 90 minutes or so were fantastic! But the last part... man... I've even given it time to sink in, but I can't help but feel hollow about it. The above poster, Grant, said he's trying not to let the 5% they did wrong bother him... well, same here. I didn't have a problem with most of it. Adama leaving to die alone didn't settle with me all that well. But the scene in the helicoptor when Rosalyn dies was amazingly heartwrenching, so I let the whole thing slide.

I also wasn't a big fan of finding "caveman Earth". Really? All this time for cavemen? Ugh. You've gotta be kidding me. But, again, I let it slide.

Then there's the part where not a single soul argues about leaving behind technology. I just can't believe that would actually happen. NOBODY disagreed? Not possible. But...you guessed it, I let it go.

So they're all going to split up around the globe... on a world they know nothing about? That's basically suicide. No way I believe this group of 39,000-ish would do that. Nobody among them protested this? But, yet again, I gave them a pass.

BUT - the thing I just can't roll over and accept is the ending for Starbuck. Seriously... W. T. F.??!!

I get that some things are better left unexplained so people can interpret them how they see fit. Truly, I understand the merit in that. And if they had setup Kara as something to interpret up until this point, I would've been fine with it. But they didn't! They left specific clues as to what she was. Her entire arc was built up as a huge mystery waiting to be solved, Sherlock Holmes style. So, as a viewer I'm eating up every clue waiting for the big reveal. And then... she just disappears with no explanation...

What's worse is Ron Moore is on record saying even he doesn't know what she is!! Come the F--- on. So, basically we don't get an answer because... there isn't one? This is the epitome of lazy writing. And it stings because I think Moore is an extremely talented writer. I just can't excuse this. It doesn't work for me.

Of course, on July 28th I'll be buying the whole series on Blu-ray. I just hope, knowing how it turns out, it won't leave a bitter taste in my mouth.

I loved Seasons 1-2. 3 gets a little bumpy and then gets badass again. And Season 4... well, it had some spectacular moments. I'll give it that. But it seems to start fizzling this last year.

Ah well. =)

[darenstrange]

And I just realized I called a "Raptor" a "helicoptor". Some BSG fan I am, haha.