Tuesday, August 9, 2011

What I’m Watching: Outcasts (Series Finale)


Writing this review is rather painful since, especially because this finale was so strong, I feel like there’s so much more to be told with respect to this particular universe, and I would have loved to see it go on for a good long time. Of course, I’ve had to say goodbye to many science fiction series over the past ten years or so of television fanaticism. At least this one got a full season on air in two countries, which is something many shows, such as “Threshold” and “Virtuality,” did not. The finale had some pretty terrific surprises and sendoffs in store for its characters, even if it does end on quite a cliffhanger. The parallels to “Battlestar Galactica,” particularly with the discovery of Fleur’s AC status and her subsequent exile to her people, are quite apparent, yet this does feel like an entirely separate and standalone show with its own incredible merits. Fleur being an AC caught me completely off guard, but it did a great job of reversing last week’s predicament and having Cass be the one to selflessly save Fleur. I’m glad they got a good kiss in before parting ways tearfully as she went off to join Rudi. This show has done a magnificent job of covering so much ground and digging deep into its characters in only eight episodes, and I will be forever in awe of it for that. Tate’s appointment of Jack as interim leader prior to his resignation was extraordinarily smart, and he seems to have saved himself and Stella by actually treating Jack with some respect, as opposed to Julius, who outright threatened Jack and told him he’d be killed. C24 seems to have been contained, and Tipper and Lily can survive to become the next generation of Carpathia inhabitants. Tate seeing the second version of himself disappear right before his eyes because of the shields going up was a great way of leaving things open-ended, and the transport landing right before the final fade to black was a strong note on which to end. I do wish this show could continue, but I’m so happy that it aired as long as it did, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone that hasn’t watched it. The show will be released on DVD next Tuesday, which is comforting. I hope to see much more from all these actors, and I’m very happy that I tuned into this show.

Series finale: A-
Series grade: A
Series MVP: Amy Manson as Fleur

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