(S04E20) "Frakkity, frak. Don't talk back." (Apologies to Lieber and Stoller)After four years of some of the best and most adult sci-fi in the history of television, Battlestar Galactica draws to a close with a bang and then a whimper, with an overall satisfying ending that was as morally complex as any episode in the series.
Ron Moore was pretty good about wrapping up a good chunk of the remaining questions and storylines. But there are a plethora that weren't answered.
To begin, what circumstances allowed for Kara's resurrection? What is her background that she knew so much about the original Earth? How did Hera know the things she knew? If "All Along the Watchtower" wouldn't be written for 150,000 years, how did the Cylons hear it? After that disappearing act at the end, was Kara even human? If not, what was she? An angel? Why did Cavil kill himself when he lost resurrection? Surely he knew that he wouldn't get resurrected. Perhaps they're saving all those questions for "The Plan".
This episode was nothing short of a symphony and wrapped up the major themes of the show, about individuals and faith and faith-in-conflict. The denouement seemed a little long, but since we've been with these characters for four years, it was nice to give each a send-off that was longer than a minute.
Things that happened that were predictable based on the foreshadowing of the previous years:
- The Baltar/Caprica Six reunion
- The death of Tory at Tyrol's hand
- The death of Roslin
- Athena's execution of Boomer
- Boomer's repentance
- The survival of Hera and the human race
- The discovery of the second Earth
- Roslin smoking. Now we know how she got cancer
And then there were the things that surprised me:
- They discovered the Earth that is eventually us (150,000 years later)
- The human/Cylon hybrid and the Galactica crew became the missing link
- Helo's survival (I thought he died during the attack on the Cylon colony)
- Baltar and Six suddenly seeing each other's visions
Stuff I really enjoyed:
- The cameo of Ron Moore at the end reading a magazine
- The quick riff of the old Battlestar Galactica 1970's theme as the fleet flew into the sun
- The old-style Cylons in battle
- Adama's quick attempt to explain what the Final Five were doing with transmitting the resurrection data (which I took as a riff on Ron Moore's old bosses at the Star Trek franchise who excelled at technobabble).
Things that touched me:
- Mary McDonnell's performance and Roslin's quiet passing
- The last scene between Lee and Kara
- Baltar's willingness to finally do something for the greater good (although it could be argued he was doing it to win Six's affection)
- Sam Anders' noble death
Based on the ending, if I had to describe this series as a whole, it would be an attempt to bring a concept like God (or Gods, or some sort of divine presence) into a rational and reasoned world. Granted, Galactica had spaceships and robots, but it never had aliens or technology that seemed impossible (it is possible to fold space and "jump". Black holes fold space like that). Hell, they were using bullets when other sci-fi series use lasers or phasers or plasma rifles or whatever.
In an age where too much television tries to spoon-feed morality and lessons to us, Battlestar Galactica takes it above all that by trying to get viewers to think. While that sort of television rarely has high initial ratings, it's the sort of thing that can live forever in re-runs as people watch it again to determine its lessons.
Forgive me if I missed anything. It was a pretty dense episode and as of this writing I've only watched it once. I'm sure I would find additional themes upon a second viewing (which I plan to do for the whole series as soon as the last DVD set is released). If anybody remembers any interesting tidbits, please share. Kudos to Ron Moore and company for a job well done and a fantastic series.
So say we all.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
3-21-2009 @ 12:29AM
cynthia said...
I found it hard to watch the ending without wanting there to be an episode next week. I found myself holding my breath during the fight between the crews. Over all it was fraktacular. thanks bsg
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3-22-2009 @ 4:45PM
xnifex said...
I don't know if this was posted here or not, but it was on cliqueclack, so i'll put it at the top.
RDM interview about finale:
http://www.tvguide.com/News/Battlestar-Galacticas-Ron-1004256.aspx
3-21-2009 @ 12:39AM
Jason Nichols said...
I don't know where to begin, other then the fact that this show has been a cornerstone of my life. I started watching it in college. I remember watching the minseries as a freshman at Indiana State University, in my dorm room. and as the series ends, I finished my last class of paramedic school on Wed.
The music is what touched me the most. Kudos to Bear. His notes have made me laugh, and in this case cry.
I like the fact that we really don't know what Kara is. It adds to the myth. Though it does sadden me that Lee and Kara never had their happily ever after.
The battle scenes were fantastic. Worth the wait.
I'm still a bit overwhelmed, and All Along the Watchtower will never be the same......
So Say We All!
Jason
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3-21-2009 @ 12:46AM
Man said...
There is a race of toasters out there with 150,000 years of tech-volution ahead of us!
Reply
3-21-2009 @ 12:49AM
Scott H said...
Nothing touched me more than the sequence of the fleet going into the sun. It was no "quick riff"--it was a loving tribute to the old show. I also loved seeing the original centurions do battle (although they were still much swifter-moving than their non-CGI counterparts were back in the day). The only thing that upset me was Helo's apparent death, but that just set me up for a great moment at the end. I could've easily done without the coda scene in New York--it really didn't add anything substantial, and kind of took me out of the story. There must have been a better way to tell us that the Galactica people were our ancestors than the clunky dialogue between the 2 "angels", and the even clunkier sequence of robots on MSNBC (Universal synergy, anyone?)
The shots of Earth were beautiful. I loved the short sequence in the grass, spying on the natives. I also thought they did a great job with Baltar's salvation, winning Caprica's heart by being selfless, and his brief moment crying as he talked about his knowlege of farming was excellent.
And on the believability scale--a ship that's been groaning loudly and coming apart for weeks now manages a jump, a direct collision with the Colony, a full-on close-quarters battle, another jump, and is still together long enough for everyone to evacuate and for it to go quietly into the sun??? Please.
And I could not believe they made us sit through more Lee/Kara soap opera--from the past, no less! The other flashbacks I enjoyed, but theirs, as always, was an utter bore-fest.
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3-21-2009 @ 12:52AM
Melissa said...
Goodbye BSG.
I too hated that Lee and Kara didn't walk hand-in-hand together...broke my heart.
I hate this...I'm actually beginning to frakking cry...so say we all, eh?
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3-23-2009 @ 5:14AM
bwinters said...
Best fr*ckin episode ever!!! This wrapped the series with the best way possible with total honor with the series as a whole!!! Even the pinnacle of sci-fi, Star Trek TNG, didn't even accomplish this on their last episode. Great job and well done to everyone on BSG!!
Although its the very essence of the story to have some aspects not totally explained, fans wondering about what Kara is bothers me just a little. To make a very long explanation short, viewers of the original series and the new cannot dispute several story similarities of both series (The Pegasus, capturing a Cylon Raider, etc.). For what Kara is or might be, watch the original series episodes called "Battle of the Gods" and keep the above in mind when you see the last 20 minutes of part 2. That should clear it up even if just a little bit.
In answer to the issue of 'Why don't they just go back to the Colonies now that the war is over?', remember the planets where totally nuked and therefore contaminated. They could not occupy the Cylon Earth for the same reason and was stated as such.
I saw a post about a Babylon 5 reference which lead me to this observation: Was it my imagination or did the 'asteroid/colony' music sound VERY similar to the "Discovery' music from "2001: A Space Odyssey". I can only imagine the directors/producers of BSG in their last fling decided to tip their hat in tribute to some Sci-Fi of the past.
3-21-2009 @ 12:54AM
Wii60 said...
What a great episode!!!
Best show on TV hands down. I love it. Must torrent and rewatch ASAP.
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3-21-2009 @ 1:17AM
superrrguy said...
What's the BFD with BSG?
I new BSG was ending and had nothing better to do for a week so I watched all 4 easons and the finale tonight. I hate Battlestar Galalctica.
(This is 4 seasons of questions)
God, gods, angels? The Greeks thought the gods lived in the clouds. A spaceship would have hit one of the gods by now.
What happened to a dieing leader will guide them to earth? Where was the a little child will lead them to earth or a spaceship pilot that dies and comes back? Why did they even risk everything to get Hera back?
Who hated humans so much that they came back to wipe them out? Who made the skinjobs? Who was in charge?
Why did so many reporters survive? Where did Lee Adama get that suit from?
Why are/were the Adama brothers in love with Starbuck? She's repulsive in every way.
What was the point of having a fat Lee Adama for 2 episodes?
What the hell happened to Starbuck? Couldn't everyone see her? Then she disappeared?
Did Cavil know that Helen was a Cylon on New Craprica? Did they even plan to make those characters the final 5 when they started the series? It felt like they didn't know where to go with the whole thing.
Why did Boomer shoot Adama? it seamed like she couldn't help it from her programming but no one was ever worried the other Cylons on the Battlestar would get switched into kill mode.
Now that they made peace with the rest of the Cylons, why not just go back to Caprica and rebuild?
Why was there a J Lo robot at the end?
I need to know!
(I really like the music)
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3-21-2009 @ 1:34AM
cashew_76 said...
If you actually watched and paid attention to all four seasons, you would know the answers to a lot of those questions. I'm curious as to why you watched every episode even though you hate it.
3-21-2009 @ 1:39AM
ebonydad said...
"Now that they made peace with the rest of the Cylons, why not just go back to Caprica and rebuild?"
Maybe you missed the pilot episode. Caprica as well as the other colony planets were nuked. I am sure for the most part it was uninhabitable.
3-21-2009 @ 2:09AM
DRFP said...
Well, They used Nukes right? SO if they used nukes on Caprica then its toast.
Humans, Humans did it all, created the Cylons, Created Resurrection,
You are missing the whole story, Humans thousands of years before the Cylon war created the Machines, they used them to do work then fight wars, then later the Cylons rebelled and created thier own society, they created Humans, but these manufactured Humans could not repoduce, a portion of them broke away and created "Earth" and as it seems they could reproduce but that ability was then lost? They recreated Resuraction that had been first discovered by Humans (on Caprica as it seems) thousands of years before.
The only part which I thought was weird was abandoning all technology, It seemed a little too much IMHO.
3-21-2009 @ 6:45AM
KenMo said...
Don't feed the trolls.
3-21-2009 @ 1:41AM
Hector said...
With questions like that it's obvious you didn't pay attention when you watched all the previous episodes.
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3-21-2009 @ 1:43AM
superrrguy said...
I guess not =(
At least answer me this one. I don't want to watch it again.
Why did Boomer shoot Adama? it seamed like she couldn't help it from her programming but no one was ever worried the other Cylons on the Battlestar would get switched into kill mode.
3-21-2009 @ 1:42AM
DataDroid said...
Overall, I couldn't really ask more of it. It really reminded me of the end of Return of the King. We'd spent so much time investing in these people and places, we needed a proper goodbye. However, if I had my way, the scene of the Galactica heading into the Sun would have been intercut with Roslin's death, symbolically showing that Adama's two great loves were no more. All in all, however, a fitting end to the best series in modern TV history.
P.S. Did anyone else think the Cylon Colony looked an awful lot like a Shadow "Battlecrab" from Babylon 5? (http://www.shipschematics.net/b5/images/shadow/cruiser_battlecrab.jpg)
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3-21-2009 @ 10:01AM
Scott H said...
Yes. Absolutely. I'm surprised no one from B5 is suing.
3-21-2009 @ 5:40PM
0megapart!cle said...
I thought the same thing!
3-21-2009 @ 2:07AM
MrMuggs said...
Why get rid of the technology when they settled? What happened the first time someone got cancer and it was like, "Whoops. We got rid if the technology to help treat you." Also, it would seem that once you have invented technology, even if you get rid of it, there's no going back. People who have the knowledge and the need will engineer the same technology again(assuming they can craft it w/the available tools). As an example, if you dropped 30k people off with little supplies how long would it take them to begin rebuilding the aspects of technology that they want or would they be happy to live in cabins. I doubt it would take 150,000 years until they reach the point where we are today especially considering it's only taken us about 10,000 years since the stone age.
Either way, I was a little shaky on how much I liked the finale but ultimately the conclusion wrapped it up nicely.
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3-21-2009 @ 2:26AM
DRFP said...
I agree with you, The Tech part was shaky I thought too,
Why would they abandon Modern medical care?
How or why would a Doctor do that?
Why would abandoning Tech make so much a Difference?