There was only ever one place for this story to end…
Earth.
After weeks of scrutinizing plotpoints, raising questions, pulling hair out, theorizing, and essentially dreading the end of my favorite television series, I let go… and watched BSG the way I used to when I fell in love with it: in delight, awe, admiration, and gratitude for the storytellers who are responsible for a renaissance of science fiction in my life and the lives of many others.
For two hours tonight I was a part of something so… human.
Joseph Campbell wrote that images of myth are “reflections of the spiritual potentialities of every one of us”, and by absorbing these stories and contemplating these images, we can evoke their powers in our own lives.
Why do you think fans obsess like they do? From twelve-year-old fanboys to middle aged geeks, we need good stories to help us come to terms with the world, to harmonize our lives in this reality. We need to tell stories, understand stories, cope with death, contemplate mysteries, and find out who we are. Myths are clues to the experience of life.
J.R.R. Tolkien, George Lucas, Gene Roddenberry, George R.R. Martin, Stan Lee, Robert Anton Wilson, and Ronald D. Moore: these are some of my teachers. (Along with everyone I ever played D&D with).
And for anyone reading this and thinking I’m getting a little too far out for a BSG review, I’d like to remind you that you’re reading a blog named “Achieve Nerdvana”, mkay?
If you’re wringing your hands over Starbuck’s disappearance, Daniel’s identity, All Along the Watch Tower, angels, or the cylons’ long awaited “plan”, that’s cool. But I’m not gonna. Because this series finale was a feast for the eyes (mad props to VFX nerds and production team!), the ears (da Bear!), and the ole ticker (actors! directors! writers!).
So since this myth (like all the best ones) is about characters not plot points, that’s how I’m going to approach this farewell review.
GAIUS BALTAR
Baltar has been my favorite character since the miniseries for a few reasons: 1) James Callis is brilliant; 2) The scenes between him and Head Six always seemed to be the best written, directed, and most important; 3) He’s so frakkin’ human.
Although he felt like a fringe character at times this season, my hopes that he would step up and fulfill the long promised destiny in the series finale were satisfied. Many have argued that his religious guru phase was insignificant considering he didn’t really believe what he was spouting, but when I look back at those earlier scenes of him speaking to his followers, I see authenticity. Baltar may undercut this sincerity with his selfish ways when “the God Mic” is off, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t buying in to what he was saying. Gaius started on this path four years ago, the first time his Head Six angel spoke of the one true god.
To see him make his act of contrition and stay with the Galactica, to play out the opera house vision (what the frak moment: the opera house was the CIC, lol?), and to deliver a message of unity at the absolute pivotal moment made me smile… Our little boy’s all grown up.
And so mankind found itself in his hands: Gaius, the man who always seemed to talk his way out of anything to save his own skin, is once again talking his way out to save the skin of humanity — but this time it’s not about him. The spiritual journey that he has been on since Six showed up on Caprica has led to this defining moment: convincing the most bellicose, truculent being in the cosmos (Cavil) that “there’s another force at work here.”
And his moment at the end, when he was overcome with emotion as he spoke about farming: soooooo brilliant. James Callis, please come back to American television soon.
Was there any other character that grew that much over the course of the series? Or who’s story was as fascinating to watch?
LEE ADAMA
My other favorite character.
Jamie Bamber is another fine actor who has shined all series long at conveying complex, nuanced feelings (and lots of heartache — like the Greek god Apollo, his love life was a mess). When I found out he was British I was blown away. Had me fooled. In scenes with Kara and Adama he was a master of biting his tongue — you can see his frustration with trying to deal with two extreme personalities that are not operating on his more logical and idealisitic wavelength.
Despite the circumstances around him — the weakness of the fleet’s government, the heartbreak from seeing Kara with Anders, the pressure of being the Admiral’s son, and of course, the threat of extinction — Lee navigated through calamity after calamity with a steady hand and showed himself a much better leader than any other character on the show. Unlike Roslin and Adama, he listened to those he chose to lead — he even gave Baltar five minutes when no one else would.
If there’s any character ready to build the foundation of a new human society and culture on their new planet, it’s Apollo.
STARBUCK
This was a big goosebump moment for me: When Bear McCreary’s version of All Along the Watchtower cranked up as Kara entered the coordinates into the FDL drive. Yeah!!!
No character has caused more consternation this season than Starbuck (and in interviews, even Katee Sackhoff expressed confusion and frustration with how to play the character this season). Was she a cylon? A hybrid? Was Daniel her father?
I was very pleased with the idea that she was an angel (like Head Six and Head Baltar), only an angel everyone could see. It can be argued that it was a convenient plot device, but to me it felt right. There are times in everyone’s life (and in mankind’s history) when certain people rise to an occasion and play a role so unscripted and important — a teacher, family member, national figure, or total stranger — that we literally refer to them as “godsends”. So it turns out Kara Thrace was not the “Harbinger of Death”, she was the fleet’s godsend, and when her work was done: Poof! She’s gone. Just like Keyser Soze.
MADAME PRESIDENT
Let me just get this out of the way right now: I feel very strongly (like many others do) that BSG’s team of storytellers, from top to bottom, has been unfairly overlooked by industry awards because it’s called Battlestar Galactica. (Not that they really need them, right? Can any other show boast about a Peabody and the United Nations?)
There is a lot of really, really good acting. But Mary McDonnell… holy frak, you are so frakkin’ brilliant. The frailty, strength, determination, gratitude, vulnerability, and ultimate surrender were all played so pitch perfectly — it was an incredibly moving and virtuoso performance. You deserve an Emmy in every frakkin’ category, as far as I’m concerned.
My favorite part in the whole episode was when she thanked Doc Cottle for keeping her alive — it was so true, so sincere, so human — Cottle (and me) were both completely blown away from that beautiful act of gratitude. Talk about a mythological hint at how to experience life.
Purely awesome.
THE OLD MAN
Okay. I’ve given Adama a lot of shit for being a washed up drunk not fit to lead a crew at McDonald’s, let alone the Galactica. And let’s be honest, seeing him barf all over himself in this episode wasn’t helping his cause. Lee summed it up nicely at his dinner with Kara and Zak: “If you’re not with him in that tiny little bubble, you might as well not exist”.
After all the drinking, crying, fighting, and bad decision making, somehow the Old Man kept the fleet (and the ship) together long enough to find Earth. Guess I can’t argue with the results…
WHICH BRINGS US BACK TO EARTH
A place where humans live, and are starting to face (maybe not enough) our own likely self-destruction. (Honestly, we really don’t need evil robots to handle that.)
This series has addressed many relevant issues such as human rights, religion, civil liberties, and terrorism. To see it address the issue of robotics and artificial intelligence head on in the final moments was a nice touch, and I hope we’ll see more of it in Caprica.
I was very relieved to hear Head Six express a positive, idealistic view of the future of human-cyborg relations. It seemed to me not a warning of imminent human enslavement by robot overlords (you know, the usual fearmongering) — but a brief pause, as if to say, “We are here at this moment. Let’s think about how we do this. It does not have to end bad, y’know.”
These are just a few of the immediate “reflections” I’ve absorbed from this last foray into one of the great modern myths. I’m sure more will come, and that’s what the Comments section is for.
Really, it’s a miracle this story was ever put on television. So I offer my heartfelt thanks to all those who made it happen.
… More, please?
Related:
Battlestar Galactica Episode 4.12 Review
Battlestar Galactica Episode 4.13/4.14 Review
Battlestar Galactica Episode 4.15 Review
Battlestar Galactica Episode 4.16 Review
Battlestar Galactica Episode 4.17 Review
Battlestar Galactica Episode 4.18 Review
Excellent review!
The writers out did themselves tonight, and I thank them for the emotional rollercoaster I was on right until the end.
Honest to god, I stood up and cheered during the first hour, and was brought to tears by the end of the second hour…
I wont make this a long entry, so I just want to say that I will truly miss this show, and that EVERY episode was a success.
Perfect… Frakking… Ending…
So say we all…
-Bill
SO SAY WE ALL!!
I’m still reeling from the finale so writing something substantive is useless. All I have to say is, thanks for the review.
The episode was full of everything that I love about BSG; action, special effects, great acting, amazing music, and emotional moments.
I was hoping for more science and less divine intervention, but I guess you can’t have it all.
And lol @ Ron Moore cameo.
Really well put man! The finale, was great and my heart just sank when it was all over. Looking forward to “The Plan” and Caprica.
I’m so torn. On the one hand, I agree with basically everything you’ve said — this final ep was so brilliant from head to toe, and so satisfying on so many levels. So you can’t really ask for more. And great review. My fave part was definitely the doc’s response to Roslin — I literally wanted to hug my TV. and just want also to acknowledge how awesome cavil’s (kavil?) shooting himself in the mouth was.
That being said, a couple of things irked me, and I don’t know whether I’m allowed to be irked, but I gotta get them off my chest anyway:
* the pigeons. for me, eyerolling. felt like a misplaced John Woo knockoff, and was just way too on the nose for me. As for the “angel” six and baltar, and “angel” kara — I agree with tommy, would have liked a scientific explanation to choose from, and less obvious “proof” of a higher power.
* i felt all weird with the stuff on earth, and i’m not sure why. sorry if i’m trying to figure it out while i’m writing this, and thanks SO much for providing a forum in which to do it. perhaps i’m too too too practical, but that whole “going native” when they get to earth thing kinda felt a little bit like the worst of modern eco-liberalism (i say that as a liberal). probably the wrong word, but i can’t think of something better. it takes a lot of hard work to build a sustainable life, to protect against the elements, to cultivate enough food to feed a population…and in some ways, the carefree attitude everyone had confused me, like i couldn’t figure out if they were suicidal or not. you know? like “mama’s going to teach you how to hunt.” with what? are they going to use their crazy guns to get some rabbits or are they going to fashion arrows from grass? are they suddenly great hunters because they were soldiers? there was just something oversimplified in the idea of “starting from scratch”. like, when the shit hits the fan, don’t worry people. we’ll all become organic farmers and it’ll be cool.
all that being said, I still feel like the concept was the best & most satisfying ending to the show — perhaps it was in the dialogue or in the details for me. i’d rather see them tripping out over the idea that they get to be OUTSIDE, in ATMOSPHERE. they get to feel WIND and SUN. I would imagine they all have their shoes off and are squishing their toes in the dirt, you know??? and maybe they just skipped over that part, and a lot of time, in order to get to the final wrap-up, but that final wrap-up was a little oversimplified for me.
that’s all. Hail to Ron Moore and his unbelievable team, who just made one of the best series in the history of television (the emmys can go screw themselves). and i look forward to following all of the actors and i hope they’re rewarded with many parts. i’ll miss tricia helfer in that dress and wig, but i’m sure she’ll be gorgeous wherever she goes. and i’d love to see james callis in a leading dramatic role. thanks again, nar, for the great reviews!
so say we all!
I’m a lost for words which is a first. What a great show. What makes a great show is something that entertains and makes us think about what we do and who we are.
Was the robots at the end of the show telling us to watch out for them, for they are not just for our amusement or to make our lives easier but they can become like us. For we are destroyers at our truest nature. We love, we hate, we lie, we argue, we fight, we start wars, we torture, we conquer, we liberate, we occupy and we eventually will all die, either by our own hand or the hands of others. We say we are good and try to do the right thing, but our right is some one else’s wrong.
You’ve GOT to be shitting me! Come ON Nar! By the end of the episode I was PISSED, downright PISSED at Ron Moore and the entire creative team for pulling the rug out from under the suspenseful mystery story they’ve slowly unraveled through the course of this AMAZING series. ANGELS?!! Come ON!! Did they get funding for the final season from the PAX Network? It was so bad I was expecting Kirk Cameron to come on the screen during the end credits. WTF?!
The first half of the episode was EXACTLY what we wanted: carnage, mayhem, explosions, gut-wrenching suspense and driving momentum to the ending of the series, and possibly of all humanity as we know it.
The goop they put inside Galactica was better than they thought ’cause it took five times the beating that the rest of the ships in the fleet took at the beginning of the series and still kept on going. I was REALLY looking forward to seeing the damage that Galactica would make on the Colony Ship when it jumped away. Boomer’s one Raptor made THAT much destruction. Imagine what a BATTLESTAR will do! … Nothing? Come ON guys!!
Tori’s DEAD! YAY!!! She annoyed me from day one and her character didn’t get any better from there. She never found her pace and place in the show and I was happy to see her go.
Know your audience! This show is on SciFi. Not the WB. Not MTV. Science Fiction Channel. We get it. You don’t have to have an entire episode to show us why they’re going after Hera. We get it. You don’t need to show a five minute flashback sequence for every key Kara pushes into the FTL Drive. We get it. We watched the episodes. THAT’S WHY WE’RE WATCHING THIS ONE! You’re not trying to bring new viewers up to speed on the show. They can buy the DVD.
I felt ripped off with the ending. They Lucas’d us with this nonsense. It’s a slap in the face to all the loyal fans who have tried to fit all the little pieces together only to find out you they gave you Legos while they used Mega Blox instead. All those hints, subtle bits and asides we’ve been madly scrambling to figure out were WORTHLESS. That’s just plain mean. There were some who LOVED the new Star Wars movies when they came out. I didn’t. I wanted something that fit with the history, legend and mythology that was laid out and we all ASSUMED was true. The same thing here with BSG. We all ASSUMED there would be a revelation about Daniel, Starbuck and her father. That Lee and Kara would FINALLY get together. That Baltar and Caprica’s head selves would be something cooler than two immortal angels that just HAPPENED to look like them.
There were too many long-standing threads that weren’t tied up properly IMHO. When Helen was outed as the final 5th Cylon lots of people were impressed and someone here commented that they could have picked ANYONE on the show, tossed in a random flashback and a vision and it would have worked just as well. That’s how I felt with the Opera House ending. Really? That’s IT? What about Kara Thrace as the “harbinger of death”? That was said MANY times and… nothing. It seemed like they started too many side threads without having the solution ready in advance and had to hastily wrap them up or just sweep them to the side altogether.
Earth was great. Adama & Roslyn was touching. Baltar & Caprica too. Why Lee had to say goodbye to Bill when he’s just building a cabin across the river I dunno… Their entire purpose was to make it to Earth and when they finally get there they all either: die or exile themselves.
It was a solid episode for the most part but was a letdown after everything that came before it. My sister was in town and she had seen the first season and LOVED it. She saw the final episode and she said, “Well… at least I don’t have to watch the rest of them if I know it ends up like THAT.” I think I would have been happier not knowing or letting my imagination continue the story where we all thought it should go.
REGARDING THE ANGELS…
Tommy: “I was hoping for more science and less divine intervention, but I guess you can’t have it all”
Ryan: “ANGELS?!! Come ON!! Did they get funding for the final season from the PAX Network? It was so bad I was expecting Kirk Cameron to come on the screen during the end credits. WTF?!”
First off, LOL on the Kirk Cameron reference. I would of shit my pants if he made a cameo.
But let’s not forget: this show has been (in large part) about gods and religion since the very beginning. Is it really that big of a stretch that a character (Head Six) who’s been talking nonstop about god’s plan to end up being an angel in service to that plan? I don’t think so.
This was NOT a mitoclorians moment — in which a spiritual force you’ve come to understand that flows through Jedis is suddenly explained with a throw away line about a blood test, and BAM 30 years of The Force philosophy goes down the tubes.
In this case, a groundwork had been laid from the beginning that these characters could be the work of divine intervention (at least Head Six and Baltar).
And let’s not forget that there were “angels” in the original BSG series, in the form of Seraphs, although I’m not sure that matters here.
I really don’t think an experience of divine intervention in this BSG universe is far-fetched or ill conceived, considering what’s come before.
It felt like it was left up to our interpretation entirely but it was definitely closure for me.
First of all, BRILLIANTLY written review! I’ve never seen a review focus on each character, rather than plot per se, so kudos for that Nar!
I agree that this piece of storytelling is above and beyond the pale when it comes to TV. Where else will you ever see the issues contained within BSG elsewhere? This show did inform a mythology for us – any sort of “otherness” about ourselves in every way will reflect who we are at the core.
I loved that characters learned and had an arc. I have to agree with Ryan a little that the angels explanation didn’t quite jive well with me …
That said, amazing writing and acting. What a powerful story!
Amen, bro! So say we frakkin’ all!
You review sums up my own feelings about the characters and their respective arcs, as well as the emotional ride they took us in right to the very end. I, too, can point out stuff I would like to have explained more in detail, why I really don’t see why people obsess with some stuff that I think was explained as much as it should (rewatch the episodes since the Daniel reference and you’ll notice Ellen pretty much reveals all there is to know about the character).
The music was, for me, the highlight of Daybreak. Bear outdid himself in every possible way, and I can only hope they release the score in some form soon. Rocked the house, big time.
And last but not least, the atheist in me can perfectly accept all those angelic and preordained religious paths simply because of the series own premise (from the very start) of “All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again”. And mind you: in the history of civilization, there have always been rumours of “angels” walking among us, be it in the form of great thinkers, reformers and visionaries, or as simple people doing extraordinary things for the benefit of mankind. Maybe the after-Maelstrom Kara Thrace is one of such figures: a highly evolved form of human trascendence destined to lead the way (or simply point it out) at a crucial crosssroads. I can live with that. And will do so in DVD form, by the way, over and over again.
Damn, I’m gonna miss this crew!
Great blog, dude…
Dang suckass ending all that to find out that they were approx. the 3rd attempt to reconcile humans and AI… had a Dark tower ending to it…. Starbuck an angel a power that doesnt like to be called GOD… come on… Earth in a time when humans couldnt verbally communicate….. come on…. the 2nd hour was a buzzkill man… i am happy that the Centurions were freed… I would have gone with them… Glad to find out that Caprica shows the origins of Cylons and that explains Kobol and 1st Earth btw… what happened to the Cylon colony as it wasnt all destroyed talk about loose ends…
anyways thanks nar I`m back to my socialising 2day… check you back when Caprica starts….
Actually humans are viral we destroy everything we put our hands on then move on to the next profitable area and repeat but DANG suckass ending DVD sales are gonna suck and that poetic justice for ya
50 frakkin billion years later, I finally got to watch the episode online even though it took forever and it was horrible quality…..but even through the grainy and distorted images, I felt things I don’t feel very often;-) Seeing our characters who have been through so much finally reach the end (beginning) was an emotional roller coaster I was glad to be apart of. Great review Nar! Of course crap went down that didn’t exactly make sense or yes it did take on a more religious tone then scientific, but I agree in saying that that’s not really what the story was about, it revolved on the characters and the amazing performances by each actor. Bravo!
REGARDING LEAVING THE TECH BEHIND
Avigail: “that whole “going native” when they get to earth thing kinda felt a little bit like the worst of modern eco-liberalism”
I agree that the idea that they left their technology behind to start over felt weird. Although I understand the angle Lee was taking, especially in wanting to destroy their weapons, at that point I don’t see every survivor listening to what the leaders have to say anymore.
I imagine Adama or Apollo announcing to the fleet that they aren’t allowed to take any technology with them on Earth and the crowd chanting back “Frak you!”
You have really out done yourself on this review Nar. Well done!
I feel as if I am recovering over a break up.
I am really going to miss this show and how it’s impacted me.
When I sat down to reflect on the final episode and watch it a 2nd time I cried.
What started the flood gates was the scene between Laura and Doc Cottle. I feel like not only did Mary McDonnell deliver a graceful performance. I felt like she was also saying good bye to Doc Cottle for the fans. I know I have always taken a liking to him.
So I well just to a quick rundown on what I am going to miss:
-See the most amazing battles in space EVER!!
-Seeing a show that really challenged me and inspired me to seek out people with other points of views about politics, war, art, cutler, reproductive rights etc.
-Also being able to connect with total strangers week to week for the last for yours over a show. Sorry Star War Fans but BSG Fans are way more AWESOME!
-Seeing that amazing story unfold before my eyes and watching these charters change and grow was amazing. I believe that BSG is really a story of Hope for humanity and a creation story on how humans came to live on our earth. That’s how I am to remember BSG.
Nar, Thank you for letting me be part of this final leg of the BSG Journey for a new Home with you.
So Say We All.
Jules
Jules:
You summed up what I think a lot of fans were feeling as their fave show came to a close. You don’t see TV series like this come along that often.
Thank you for being such a great part of the discussion, Jules. I’ll see you back here for Caprica!
As sad as I am to see Galactica ending (I was dreading it) I couldnt have asked for a better finale.
You echo so many of my sentiments and Im glad that I wasnt the only one who cried (many times).
I had been postulating all season what Kara really “was”, a cylon, daughter of a cylon but her being an angel was just perfect.
Shoot anyone out the airlock who says otherwise.
It was so so amazing when she started typing all along the watch tower into the FTL drive. Just so so so amazing!
(What does FTL stand for?)
I always giggled a little when the Cylons were quoting Hendrix lyrics as I just couldn’t take it seriously but I really like the cylon version much better than the original.
Does anyone know if theres a soundtrack or something with the song on?? I want it on my ipod dammit!
Being English myself I always knew Jamie Bamber is (he used to do BBC radio dramas) but Ive grown so used to his yank accent that hearing him talk in a very “Dick van dyke” esque accent in Law and Order: UK (bet you didnt know that existed lol) has been a shock to me.
Its funny how a final peace between the cylons and humans was blown into little bits all because of the one act of that evil bitch killing callie. If she hadnt had done that things would have been very different.
Who knows, maybe callie’s death was all part of the plan of the “one true God” as if not they never would have found earth.
It was so beautiful Gaius crying when he said he was a farmer. I think he cried because finally he understood his father and that he no longer had to run away from what was percieved to be a lower class up-bringing. Who knows, maybe he will start talking in his proper accent now??
I still cant buy into the “in head” 6 and Gaius being angels.
Angels traditionally dont have sex with people nor lure people to do their bidding by promising sex… But i am a prude…
Either way Im sad its gone and i wish it had given us all the answers but we do have “the plan” and caprica to look forward to and theres even a Manga coming out based on the New Caprica war.
*Salutes* battle star galactica, you are the best. So say we all.
I just realised that FTL means faster than light.
I feel very dumb…
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