The End of Battlestar
The end of a televisions series always brings forth certain emotions, theories, disappointments, and, of course, opinions. While the journey should be the thing — and with Battlestar Galactica it has been four seasons of a wonderful trip — everyone wants a great end to a long journey. I’ll get it out front and say I liked the finale. It isn’t the greatest thing I’ve ever seen and I did have problems with parts of it, but overall it worked for me.
The biggest problem with the entire episode was flying the fleet into the sun. True, you can write it off as another bad decision in a series that shows how often we all make bad decisions, but all 38,000 people and everyone wanted to go retro and live off of the land? No one would miss their radios, computers, and everything else that the human’s had evolved into? I believe if they’d had more time to investigate the “breaking the cycle” notion, given it a little debate, then it might have worked a little better as written. Give us a hint that the fuel is now finite, they’re out of medication, that everything they do have is temporary anyway (which it would have been). But why even go through all of that explanation that still doesn’t cover everything? This is such an easy fix: a new-born hybrid should be able to see the foibles of the human and Cylon races, their inability to learn, how the cycle will continue. Anders could come to that realization and simply go rogue, take the fleet into the sun of only his own volition. The result is a great “what the frak just happened?” moment, stranded survivors with new seemingly insurmountable odds, and a truly a clean slate.
Secondly, I guess if there is a higher power, some hand pulling the strings, then the whole coincidence of the Raptor’s dead pilot nuking the Colony shouldn’t bother me so much. But it does.
At first I was put off by the notion that “angels” were driving everything, but then I realized that this entire series has been about that. Caprica 6 has been continually spouting religious rhetoric to Baltar the entire series. The Colonials used religious texts to search for Earth. The Cylons and their resurrection tech and One True God. While I don’t like the “religion is the answer” angle, with the setup we were given, how could it be anything but? It made sense, although that last bit in Times Square was too much.
Everything else, though, worked for me. I’m a bit confused that Adama Sr. and Tyrol wanted to go off and die alone, but it’s their decision and I can live with it. There are a few other things here and there, but nothing that stopped me or detracted from enjoying the episode.
Yes, I loved the resolution to Starbuck’s character. Mainly because I don’t think the writers could have given us anything to explain her, possibly because they don’t know themselves. There are hints Starbuck was an angel, but there are also hints that she was not – I personally think she was not. She works better as an unknown.
The flashbacks were amazing. My favorite part. Tigh and Adama getting drunk in a strip club is one of the truest scenes of the entire series. Those flashback sequences highlighted the character-based story telling that has always been the strongest part of this series. It’s exactly the sort of thing that the sci-fi world as a whole needs more of.
Galactica’s final jump out of danger and the ensuing snapping of her keel was fantastic and heart breaking at the same time. A fitting final outing for the old girl.
The finale was not perfect, but what is. The more I think about it, the more I like it. I like the fact that they arrive at least 100,000 years before sustained agriculture was successful on this planet. I guess Baltar wasn’t that good of a farmer after all. I like that the survivor’s descendants have to go through an ice age. I like the possibility that if I was one of the 1% who survived Armageddon and spent several years crammed into a cigar tube in space, running for my life, that at the end of it all, if given a chance, maybe I’d say screw it all and just walk off into the forest, build a cabin, and take it easy for the rest of my days. Maybe.
Darker and at a higher price would have been better. Anders stealing the fleet for the “sun run” would have fixed 99.9% of the issues I had with this episode. But, after the four years of pure hell and hopelessness that the people of the fleet endured and the price already paid, I’ll grant them this almost happy ending.
Devin, I enjoyed reading your writeup. For me, the finale was brilliant for about an hour and forty-five minutes. The battles were breathtaking; I was on the edge of my seat. And the character flashbacks were brilliant. I was so happy.
But then they made it to Earth and the story collapsed like a house of cards. As you point out, we’re supposed to believe that they’d all willingly give up civilization and live like primitives. Didn’t buy it. And that they’d give up the fleet and fly it into the sun. (Your solution would’ve worked far better). But the biggest fiasco came with respect to Starbuck. No, no, no. No. I repeat: no. That’s not a resolution; that’s a copout. Introducing a magical/religious explanation is the epitome of bad writing. It makes no sense. Sure, the series always discussed religion, but never before did God/the gods intervene in the show directly like this before. Resurrecting characters and their ships? Even worse, the story left no other explanation other than a mystical one: Starbuck is an angel; the projections of Six and Baltar are eternal angels. God is real and he personally intervenes in these characters’ lives. That’s why Kara knew the song; that’s why she resurrected; that’s why [fill in whatever unanswered question you have]. I’m sorry, but that’s cheating. What other explanation did you think could be the case other than the preposterous “Kara is an angel” solution?
I did like the resolution of Roslin and Adama’s story. And the views on Earth were gorgeous. But the Lee and Kara resolution was ridiculous. And the dialogue in the Times Square scene was baaadd (and unnecessary).
Angels? ANGELS? C’mon!
I argue that there was no “introduction” of a magical/religious explanation in regards to Starbuck. It has been there through the entire series. Granted, I do not believe that they intended this from the beginning. I believe their aknowledged organic writing process where they saw where things go from week to week with no overall outline caught up with them. That works if you can finish a work and then go back and tweak, but when your first 4 years is already out there, you’re sort of boned. I think they needed an out and this was the cleanest way. However, if look back through the series, then what they gave us does make total sense.
The first instance I can think of is the episode “Hand of God”, oddly enough, where they attack the refinery. Remember that 6 points out to Baltar on the recon photos the exact target to hit ? We passed it off as a coincidence at the time. But why not Someone pulling the strings?
The Final Five Cylons. Three of them just happen to be assigned to Galactica years before the attack? One of them just happens to be married to another of them? And the final one, Anders, is no where near the Galactica but survives the attack and is found and brought to the other four by who? Starbuck.
One of the biggest instances was the temple on Kobol. A literal map that no one has ever attempted to explain how it worked, who made it, and how it was correct in the scriptures. And how did they find that temple and the map? Starbuck bringing them the Arrow of Apollo.
Starbuck’s paintings of the nebula (was it a nebula or something else? I forget) fit the bill as well. Tyrol’s stumbling upon the temple to the Final Five. I’m sure there are others that will jump out light lightning bolts now in subsequent viewings.
Granted, all of the above could have been coincidences. Or it could have been [insert favorite diety here]. I think you’ll agree that when things out of the ordinary happen there are groups of people who attribute it to God, and others who attribute it to luck. At Gettysburg we spoke briefly about how many last minute actions just happened to occur at the right time to form the outcome of that battle. I’m sure there are many who did, and still do, attribute that to God’s hand, and others who did and do not. On Galactica, notice in the CIC that when the “God and Angels” speach is being given, it’s by 6, Baltar and Cavil. We don’t hear what the other humans who believe in multiple dieties believe. I’m willing to bet that Adama was having the same reaction he had a few episodes back about how he was tired of being told it was their destiny to do things.
What do I think Starbuck was? I have no idea. Over time I’ll probably come up with a theory that suits me. I prefer that. Was she an angel? Maybe, but what is an angel? What’s the context? What’s the point-of-view of the person saying she’s an angel?
I have a reaction to her ending like I did to the “Sopranos” finale; not sure what to make of it at first, and then the more I thought about it the more it made sense, and at this point I think “Sopranos” had one of the finest series endings I’ve ever seen. Perfect.
These are some great observations about the finale and the show in general. The angel thing didn’t quite work for me, and you’ve pointed out some additional flaws, but almost nothing they came up with would have satisfied everyone. And the parts that were good–especially the character stuff–was very satisfying. I rather wonder a bit about them sending the Centurions off with a ship, knowing that they could come back one day and start all this over again, and the coda was a little too heavy-handed…
It just occurred to me: Baltar had sex with his Angel for multiple seasons. That’s sick, man! 🙂
Good observation about “what is an ‘angel.'” Nora, Matt and Alaya suggested that the Starbuck resolution might have worked if there had been a hint that maybe she’s a member of a another AI/Cylon race so far advanced that to us they seem like gods; they intervene and mess with humans like the Gods of the greek pantheon (taking “it’s happened before, it’ll happen again” to a whole new level). I guess my problem is that in all those previous examples you cite, it might have been divine intervention or just luck. In the finale, there was no wiggle room, no place for multiple interpretations. She’s a divine force (although I’m still holding out hope that maybe she just ducked in that tall grass…:)
I imagine the reason they didn’t go the route of Starbuck being an extremely advanced race is because they did that in Babylon 5. When beings would see “the ancient ones” they would see them different, depending on their race, and they would appear as their angels.
I think the best way to handle the Starbuck incident would be just to kill her during the assault on the Colony. That way there’s no opportunity to explain what she was, the ambiguity is complete.