The End of: Battlestar Galactica

It's been a long while since this finale aired, but I've had a busy semester abroad and want to try to check in with every show as they wrap up their seasons. Thus, it's only fair to go chronologically and begin with those shows that checked out for good.

***SPOILERS below for the entire series of "Battlestar Galactica"***

The final season of "Battlestar Galactica," officially considered the second half of the fourth season, was all-around pretty damn great. There were a few weak spots to be sure (the Tigh-Ellen-Caprica dynamic didn't do it for me, Hot Dog's paternity, also some of Baltar's stuff earlier in the season), but overall it was a whole lot of fun. The first episode, "Sometimes a Great Notion," was a terrific start to the season, and Dualla's suicide in particular was a strong sign of the fact that this season was going to be really intense, and not everything was going to be gloriously happy. The end reveal that Ellen was the fifth Cylon was extremely cool, especially because, even though I read this was never the intention, the writers actually left the door open for Ellen to be the fifth. In the first season, Gaius tests Ellen's blood or DNA with his Cylon detector and whirls around on his chair at the end of the episode and says, "I'll never tell..." I love that her being the fifth Cylon actually works. Her return worked wonders for the Cylon side of the story as well, but first - my favorite episode of the season.

"The Oath" was possibly the best "Battlestar Galactica" episode I've ever seen. The end of the previous episode revealed that Gaeta, the number one fan-loved character, was planning to conspire with Tom Zarek to mutiny. I loved the times that came up on screen to mark the progression of the rebellion, and it was all done so well. Tom Zarek has always been one of my favorite characters, and I'm so glad they gave him so much to do here. Adama was awesome, and Edward James Olmos was a huge asset of this season. Everything just got so intense in this one episode, and provided for an incredible ending I won't forget: Tigh and Adama make a last stand and shoot at the door in order to protect the departing president. Part two of that same episode, Blood on the Scales, was also excellent. Zarek's cold-blooded assassination of the entire Council of Twelve, Adama reassembling his forces was a particularly great moment, and the ending with the execution of both Gaeta and Zarek were pretty mind-blowing. The best part of the episode, however, is the scene that in my mind should win Mary McDonnell an Emmy. I go back and forth on her performance, but seeing her get so angry and determined and threaten Tom Zarek was more than convincing, and quite moving. These characters have come so far from the start of the series, and I've loved the progression.

The Cylon element of the final season was quite intriguing. I was confused at first with the whole business with Cavil and the final five's actual origins. Once Sam started remembering things, it became much clearer and I enjoyed it all a lot better. The time when things really got heated started with Boomer helping Ellen escape, but really blew up when Tyrol let Boomer go. The last fifteen minutes of that episode were immensely suspenseful, and seeing Boomer appeal to Tyrol through Cylon projection, get revenge on Athena, and jump within the ship were simply incredible. There's something about series finales being "events" that often put undue weight on some arbitrary plotline which has suddenly become major, but has no clear relevance to the series as a whole. Here, that wasn't really the case.

The show has always been about the war between the humans and the Cylons, and about the quest for Earth. Both were resolved in the finale. Rescuing Hera was not too tangential from the main themes of the show, and uniting Cylons and humans for a greater good was also important. I loved the first part of the three-hour series finale. I was into it from the first moment, when flashbacks to "Caprica before the fall" provided some wonderful context for the development of these characters. All the tension building up in the finale led up to an awesome ending to the episode, with Starbuck and Adama taping a line down the middle of the deck for those who wanted to participate in the mission to get Hera back. The second hour was also great, especially in its revelation of Roslin's often-seen dream. I've read about how Roslin is so weak and unstable compared to how she looks in the dream, and that's certainly true, but for me the best part was Gaius and Caprica, reunited one last time in their unlikely heroism. The ultimate resolution of the conflict with Tyrol killing Tory and thus ruining any chance of an alliance was probably inevitable, but it was all so worth it for the whole episode and its battles, particularly the ones between the human-loyal Centurions and the Cylon-loyal Centurions. This show really evolved from what used to be a much more black-and-white picture of the Cylons.

Part three of the finale was a bit different. I'd sort of rather not acknowledge that they just landed on a planet and settled among the tribal peoples and the gazelles, especially since I never really found the "search for Earth" element terribly interesting, as compared to the other themes of the show. Kara's disappearance was also rather hokey, and I was more impressed by the send-off for Roslin. It's just somewhat underwhelming for a science fiction show to end on such a non-science fiction note. The flash-forward to present-day Times Square tries to put things in perspective regarding the show's timeline that I don't think really need to be addressed. I'd be happy ending in the middle of the action, knowing that they're still struggling to survive. The journey was pretty cool, but I'd rather the episode have ended before the third part. Nonetheless, it was a pretty great ride.

This season was really good overall, and performances from Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, James Callis, Jamie Bamber, Katee Sackhoff, Tricia Helfer, Alessandro Juliani, and Richard Hatch were all excellent and deserve those elusive Emmy nominations. I think McDonnell is the only one who could manage it, and hopefully the expansion of the categories to six nominees should allow her to get in, and represent the show well. How cool would it be if she actually won? I think I'll have to settle for having enjoyed the show tremendously. I still haven't watched the pilot of "Caprica," but I will soon, and look forward to a show that's hopefully as good as this. Farewell, "Battlestar Galactica."

Series finale: B (1st part: A-, 2nd part: B+, 3rd part: B-)
Season grade: A-
Series grade: A-
Season MVP: Tricia Helfer
Series MVP: Tricia Helfer