So, with quivery anticipation, I sat down last night to watch the Series Finale of the second greatest television show I've ever seen, and my favorite of all time (I give the overall edge to The Wire, but I have loved BSG more).
Shockingly, I hated it. Well, I hated part of it. And I hated it so much that the stuff I loved got splashed by the excess hatey mchate and ended up compromised: When Lee started in on how they couldn't form a cohesive society on earth because technology and science have always raced ahead of human development, I wanted to throw things at the TV. Because, Jesus, that makes no sense! And I hate that that was presented as a moral of this series so much I wanted to cry. I still do.
On the other hand, I thought that the idea behind "This has all happened before and will happen again" was lovely. God's plan, in the BSG world, is to keep spurring human evolution until we learn not to kill each other off. I don't believe in God, but that does seem like a believable path for the universe. I just wish Lee hadn't gone and blamed the tendency for people to blow each other up on science and technology.
Some other thoughts:
I found Laura's death deeply moving at the same time Bill's burying her and pretending they were in the cabin deeply confusing. I think everyone expected him to fly that raptor into a mountain or something. And, what was with the cheap sex and the cigarette on New Caprica. I didn't get what that meant. Maybe her failure to connect with anyone after the death of her family?
I wish Lee and Starbuck could have had that life they failed to have on New Caprica, even though I understand that Starbuck, the angel, had to go, since Starbuck, the woman, was already gone. I thought it was great that we saw how frakked up these two were as humans before the fall. And I loved the image of the bird as Starbuck.
I liked the wrap up of the Ellen and Saul love story. I loved how their back story showed that they were all wrapped up in booze and sex and loud, loud parties, but at their core, all they wanted was each other. I did really like that.
All in all, I think the back stories did resonate. We learned from them that heroes are made not born, I guess. And who knows how worthless these people would have been had it not been for, you know, the destruction of humanity.
OK, we all hated Tory. She was useless. But, honestly, none of the final five were pissed at Chief for not just waiting until they were done with the upload before offing her? I understand that in order to move forward, the other cylons had to die off. But, was that the best way?
And why did Cavil shoot himself? I mean, I loved it, but why?
I liked Head Six and Head Giaus as emissaries of God. And I also found Gaius' acceptance of himself as a farmer really touching too. It's wonderful that he finally got there.
And, I think the whole Earth fakeout was awesome. Nicely done, RDM.
Mitochondial Eve: Is it that Hera grows up and makes a baby with some pre-verbal caveman. That's gross. No matter how sure Lee is that they can give the pre-verbal cavemen language. It's still gross. And confusing! Did no one else have any babies? There were 38,000 people in the fleet.
OK, complaining aside, I'll echo what Jacob over at Television Without Pity said. It doesn't matter that I was unsatisfied with the end, because, really, it was never about the end. It was about the journey. And, it was a great fracking television show and I'm really going to fracking miss it.
So say we all.
