BattleStar Galactica #20:Daybreak (2) Season 4--2009/Finale

[Mark]

After whatever medicine they had ran out, most probably would have succumb to minor injuries and infections. There must be all sorts of things their immune systems were never evolved to encounter, as well. Still, they planted a few seeds before they passed, IYKWIMAITYD.

 

[El Mahdi]

... I also liked the idea of the Centurions somewhere out there. Maybe we'll meet again?

Maybe they become the Borg!?

 

[Kobold Avenger]

I also liked the idea of the Centurions somewhere out there. Maybe we'll meet again?

Maybe they`ll make humanoid bodies for themselves with many experiments all across the galaxy, and start another cycle yet again, once they forget that they were cylon centurions at some point.

 

[mmu1]

You know, that one simple sentence would have done a lot to help me buy that part.

That would have been better than the mass next-best-thing-to-suicide we got instead, but it'd still be rather silly.

Obviously, high-tech energy sources will run down, electronics will fail, etc., so if you really want to settle down, rather than, say, go back to the colonies and see what can be salvaged (as we saw, Caprica wasn't in bad shape all things considered):

1. You take a couple of the ships with the best combination of lifespan left / ease of maintenance, along with a handful of Raptors and Vipers, and prep them for long-term storage along with a supply of spare parts, to preserve your spaceflight and jump capacity.

2. Preserve your computing capacity - again, save the best computers along with the spare parts you'll need to run them for as long as you can. It's one of the few things you won't be able to replicate for a long, long time.

3. Gear down - start using your still-running technology to produce the tools you'll need to get started with and maintain a basic industrial-level society. Drills, files, saws, lathes, mechanical micrometer calipers, as much copper wire as you can make, nails, screws, etc. Crank them out while you can, so you'll have enough for the decades of playing catch-up that will follow.

 

[Dias Ex Machina]

So turns out it was Jesus?

Seriously. That's how we're ending it?

I have watched every single episode of BSG and I have always stated it was overated. I get very defensive when people call it the best sci-fi on TV ever. Do they have to history. Other shows have won more awards and lasted longer. I always thought BSG's characters created all new cliches and their tendency to always act selfishly became predictable and weak.

I loved the first hour of the episode and although I got emotional throughout, the last half left a bitter taste in my mouth. With amazing direction, great acting, awesome special effects and unmated music, the ultimate failure of the ending and the series lies with a preachy and patronizing creator. So hammer a massive deus ex machina over our heads and go into a sermon about how we should abandon technology and embrace a monotheistic god is a slap in the face to any progressive human being as well as anyone who worships a polytheistic faith.

Beyond creating massive logical holes, the ending of BSG felt like Ron Moore abandoned any measure of paying the show off and turned to his faith to guide him, like the entire series was a lead up to a religious awakening, and although this may be acceptable to a country that's 75% religious and mostly Christian, it doesn't sway with me. Despite shedding a tear and many of the feats of these characters, the final fanfare made me more confused and although brilliantly directed, the message of its final scene echoed of preacher hoping his flock would see the wisdom of embracing god as way to temper your soul in the face of unstoppable progress. Thanks Ron for your four year sermon, but I have a little more faith in mankind in spite of the gods he chooses to place above him.

 

[Arnwyn]

The finale was okay, I suppose - better than I thought it would be, so that's something, at least.

The first part with the huge battle, the human + allied Centurion commandos, etc, was absolutely incredible. Some of the best TV I've seen. Oh, and Tory getting it in the end as really satisfying. She was an annoying twit.

The rest? Meh. It was okay, but had far too many holes for me to be all that impressed. Not surprising, though, as those holes were put into place way back in the scattershot Season 3 and first half of Season 4. Too much randomness and making-stuff-up-as-we-go-along really hurt the show, and hurt the show in the end.

I don't know if the writers/creators are religious, but the whole 'angel' thing really stunk - IMHO - and pretty much scars the show permanently for me. The whole mess with Kara was especially bad, but (again), not surprising. They were creating a mess some time ago. And really - what was up with wasting our time with the whole 'harbinger of death' nonsense? Why even bother? Same with goofiness like the opera house, but another poster here put a spin on it that makes it a little better. Reaching, but better.

That space battle pretty much proved to me that BSG should have been 'about the space battles' - it would have been a far superior show, AFAIC. The mini-series, S1, and (much of) S2 were on the right track. S3 onwards was a downward spiral of weirdness and inconsistency.

While I see some people wishing it weren't over, I, for one, am glad it's (mostly!) done. It was an interesting experiment, but one that ended - for me - in failure. Oh well - can't win 'em all.

Angels... good grief.

 

[El Mahdi]

...what was up with wasting our time with the whole 'harbinger of death' nonsense? ...

Did the Hybrid actually say "Harbinger of Death"? I'm not sure I remember exactly so you may be right. I think I do recall the word Harbinger thrown around a couple of times though.

However, when Sam was going in and out of consciousness and talking nonsense like the Hybrids, I believe he called her "an Angel of Death". Techinically that was correct, she was an angel and she was dead. Maybe they played a little retconning into it to make the finale work?

I'm not disapointed in the Angel thing, but I was kind of hoping that Starbuck was a Cylon hybrid (the Daniel as father theory). I was kind of hoping that the Head Baltar and Head Six that the real Baltar and Six kept seeing were just Cylon projections, meaning that Baltar was a Cylon Hybrid also. But, I know where you're coming from. My wife was really disapointed with most of season 4 also (first and second half). Although, she really liked the finale.

The fact that it ended up being something I didn't anticipate is something I liked. In the end they were still able to surprise me. And whether people saw it as disapointing or a letdown, it was definitely thought provoking. I don't think I've still completely digested it all. And, from a RPG standpoint, this show has given me years worth of game ideas.

 

[RangerWickett]

It's clear to me that the reason several recent episodes have been rather action light was so they could save their CG budget for the finale.

 

[Mark]

So turns out it was Jesus?

Seriously. That's how we're ending it?

So, changing your screenname in protest?

 

[S'mon]

The rest? Meh. It was okay, but had far too many holes for me to be all that impressed. Not surprising, though, as those holes were put into place way back in the scattershot Season 3 and first half of Season 4. Too much randomness and making-stuff-up-as-we-go-along really hurt the show, and hurt the show in the end.

That's my feeling. The show had been brilliant S1-S2, then jumped the shark with S3-S4. Randomly choosing 4 characters to be cylons for a cheap bang is not the way to do it, Ron.

Kara being a ghost ("angel"? Ghost is much more accurate) did not bother me.

However, my overall feeling was that the "God" entity came over a lot like the Vorlons of Babylon-5, basically a nasty manipulative critter. Perhaps worse than them, since it seems to have assisted the cylons in genociding the humans.

Likewise, I found myself rooting for Zarek and Gaeta's rebels against the cylon/human alliance; although Zarek stupidly murdering the Council was a Black Hat moment which made no sense at all except to mark him as the Bad Guy. Why was the cylon/human group the good guys? Because they had all the main characters!

Caprica-6 - she murdered babies for fun. She was the cylon most responsible for wiping out the colonies. I'm supposed to root for her?

Morally, the show is a total mess.