Farewell my beautiful show
Mar. 21st, 2009 08:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chaniFirst I wasn't sure, I even thought that I disliked certain things while watching the episode but, knowing myself, I might end finding the episode redeemable qualities and probably loving that finale! That's what I did with "Chosen" after all. It wasn't perfect of course, but it makes sense and provides a true closure to the characters' journey and to the main theme, just like Joss did at the end of BTVS. I must watch it again before I can make an articulate review. Here are a few thoughts though.
I can't help feeling that BSG has lost its sense of tragedy, saving so many people, and ended up in a more American way...but I'm happy that Helo survived and that my favourite pairing made it. I knew their marriage wasn't destroyed as Helo was delivering his speech to the raptor pilots and Athena smiled. I also knew that he couldn't be dead since they didn't show him dying, and seemed to forget all about him during a long time, but the scene with the Agathon family climbing the hill was still a relief and a nice touch, especially since they walked just behind Saul and Ellen, the epic romantic couple and my second favourite pairing.
I kinda hoped the writers wouldn't connect the series to our Earth but I can live with that. The dawn of human ages might be a good place to end things and begin a new humanity. It fits in the title, Day break indeed.
As for Lee's decision not to build cities and get rid of the fleet, I saw it as a way to have a fresh start, really move on from what used to be the 12 colonies, adapt to that new Earth and settle in– and not screw up archaelogy !, not as a preach against technology.
Sending the ships into the sun reminded me of Cortes burning his ships, leaving no means of escape. Renouncing urban life was a bit hippy maybe, probably a tad ecological but reconnecting with nature makes sense for those people who have spent such a long time in the fleet, living through machines, breathing artificial air. As for Baltar going back to farming, accepting his roots eventually, it makes a lot of sense for one named Gaius to go back to Gaia!
The show has always been about the definition of humanity, what makes us human or not. Our heroes had become sort of gods, along the journey across the universe, and had to learn how to become human again to enjoy life.The skinjobs were the first to understand it, at least the Sixes, the Twos and the Eights, that's why they gave up on immortality. The colonials had to give up on something too, the old ways, a certain civilization. As I said above, the dawn of humanity might be a good place to begin. Hera's special DNA were passed through generations which achieved the idea that everybody is human and cylon. We have always known that the show was going that road after all.
I have never been into Bill/Laura but the wedding ring thing made me cry(I was dreading a cliché death for Laura but fortunately it happened rather quickly once they were in the raptor). So did Kara's farewell to Sam and Sam's speech about perfection being showed before he touched the sun and therefore became part of a star. I really like the idea of his flying the whole fleet into the sun. It was highly poetical and quite Greek. His death was probably the best one in the finale.
I loved all the Saul/Ellen scenes, especially the shot of them on New Earth. What a wonderful couple! I will miss Michael Hogan's laugh and giggles so much.
I loved the new centurions fighting the old-school centurions during the big battle and Apollo commanding them! Tory's original sin screwing up the possible peace, and Baltar's speech, was a nice twist. Besides it has some tragedy vibes since Tory and Galen were supposed to have been madly in love when on First Earth. The death by strangulation was quite Shakespearian.
And dead Racetrack nuking the colony into a black hole, now that was super cool! I like dark irony.
Boomer's death was not a surprise but the flashback that followed was odd. I suppose it meant that the forces of Fate were ruling her journey even though she just talked about making a choice. The whole thing seemed a bit botched up, but in character concerning Athena.
I liked that Starbuck vanished into the air, flying away into nothingness as she was supposed to, even though the metaphor of the pigeon and aborted sex scene in the flash-backs was a bit heavy(Lee and Kara kept missing each other but she got her wings). Ending with Lee/Kara would have been too soppy and soapy. It was not meant to be. They are metaphorical siblings!
I'm okay with the question about what she is remaining unanswered as long as the character's journey is complete, which it is, I'm just sad she didn't get any closure concerning the fourth man she loved (Zak, Lee and Sam being the three others), that is Leoben.
I am not too hot on the head!characters still existing apart from Gaius and Caprica Six, and playing with humans through ages, but it had some poetical value too and finishing with James and Tricia was a good closure even if the robot montage was not my cup of tea.
Okay I could have lived without all the God talk they had but I choose to read it metaphorically instead of mystically. So Ron Moore does a cameo at the end of his creation but doesn't like to be called God? :- ) I know, it's Joss Whedon's thing !
ETA: I forgot to say that the explanation of the Opera House vision made a lot of sense. Of course it has always been about the Galactica and of course the stage had to be, and the dénouement had to happen, in the CIC, the stage of stages. It gives a new definition to the notion of Space Opera! I was underwhelmed by Baltar's speech though.
Also I'm probably in the minority here, but I enjoyed Cavill's anticlimatic death. His final suicide was significant and fitted his journey: a machine shouldn't be able to terminate itself – D'Anna asked Centurions to shoot her when she wanted to explore the mysteries of death. Ellen told Cavill that his behaviour was extremely human, that he was actually a living contradiction, and his death made her point. He was always all talk about wanting to be a mere machine, despising his human form, he spoke about saving the cylon civilization in the CIC and yet he ended himself, embracing nothingness. Besides he said 'Frak!" before putting the gun into his mouth, which was so human like too. Eventually his human behaviour overcame his cylon speech. Also there was a sort of a parallel between his fate and Boomer's. Boomer used Athena to end herself (something she had tried before in season 1 but couldn't do), she was killed by another Eight which was a metaphorical suicide too. Cavill and Boomer were two broken children doomed to self-destruction.
ETA2: To end this on a shallow note...Jamie Bamber was simply gorgeous on Earth, especially in his last scene with Kara.
I can't help feeling that BSG has lost its sense of tragedy, saving so many people, and ended up in a more American way...but I'm happy that Helo survived and that my favourite pairing made it. I knew their marriage wasn't destroyed as Helo was delivering his speech to the raptor pilots and Athena smiled. I also knew that he couldn't be dead since they didn't show him dying, and seemed to forget all about him during a long time, but the scene with the Agathon family climbing the hill was still a relief and a nice touch, especially since they walked just behind Saul and Ellen, the epic romantic couple and my second favourite pairing.
I kinda hoped the writers wouldn't connect the series to our Earth but I can live with that. The dawn of human ages might be a good place to end things and begin a new humanity. It fits in the title, Day break indeed.
As for Lee's decision not to build cities and get rid of the fleet, I saw it as a way to have a fresh start, really move on from what used to be the 12 colonies, adapt to that new Earth and settle in– and not screw up archaelogy !, not as a preach against technology.
Sending the ships into the sun reminded me of Cortes burning his ships, leaving no means of escape. Renouncing urban life was a bit hippy maybe, probably a tad ecological but reconnecting with nature makes sense for those people who have spent such a long time in the fleet, living through machines, breathing artificial air. As for Baltar going back to farming, accepting his roots eventually, it makes a lot of sense for one named Gaius to go back to Gaia!
The show has always been about the definition of humanity, what makes us human or not. Our heroes had become sort of gods, along the journey across the universe, and had to learn how to become human again to enjoy life.The skinjobs were the first to understand it, at least the Sixes, the Twos and the Eights, that's why they gave up on immortality. The colonials had to give up on something too, the old ways, a certain civilization. As I said above, the dawn of humanity might be a good place to begin. Hera's special DNA were passed through generations which achieved the idea that everybody is human and cylon. We have always known that the show was going that road after all.
I have never been into Bill/Laura but the wedding ring thing made me cry(I was dreading a cliché death for Laura but fortunately it happened rather quickly once they were in the raptor). So did Kara's farewell to Sam and Sam's speech about perfection being showed before he touched the sun and therefore became part of a star. I really like the idea of his flying the whole fleet into the sun. It was highly poetical and quite Greek. His death was probably the best one in the finale.
I loved all the Saul/Ellen scenes, especially the shot of them on New Earth. What a wonderful couple! I will miss Michael Hogan's laugh and giggles so much.
I loved the new centurions fighting the old-school centurions during the big battle and Apollo commanding them! Tory's original sin screwing up the possible peace, and Baltar's speech, was a nice twist. Besides it has some tragedy vibes since Tory and Galen were supposed to have been madly in love when on First Earth. The death by strangulation was quite Shakespearian.
And dead Racetrack nuking the colony into a black hole, now that was super cool! I like dark irony.
Boomer's death was not a surprise but the flashback that followed was odd. I suppose it meant that the forces of Fate were ruling her journey even though she just talked about making a choice. The whole thing seemed a bit botched up, but in character concerning Athena.
I liked that Starbuck vanished into the air, flying away into nothingness as she was supposed to, even though the metaphor of the pigeon and aborted sex scene in the flash-backs was a bit heavy(Lee and Kara kept missing each other but she got her wings). Ending with Lee/Kara would have been too soppy and soapy. It was not meant to be. They are metaphorical siblings!
I'm okay with the question about what she is remaining unanswered as long as the character's journey is complete, which it is, I'm just sad she didn't get any closure concerning the fourth man she loved (Zak, Lee and Sam being the three others), that is Leoben.
I am not too hot on the head!characters still existing apart from Gaius and Caprica Six, and playing with humans through ages, but it had some poetical value too and finishing with James and Tricia was a good closure even if the robot montage was not my cup of tea.
Okay I could have lived without all the God talk they had but I choose to read it metaphorically instead of mystically. So Ron Moore does a cameo at the end of his creation but doesn't like to be called God? :- ) I know, it's Joss Whedon's thing !
ETA: I forgot to say that the explanation of the Opera House vision made a lot of sense. Of course it has always been about the Galactica and of course the stage had to be, and the dénouement had to happen, in the CIC, the stage of stages. It gives a new definition to the notion of Space Opera! I was underwhelmed by Baltar's speech though.
Also I'm probably in the minority here, but I enjoyed Cavill's anticlimatic death. His final suicide was significant and fitted his journey: a machine shouldn't be able to terminate itself – D'Anna asked Centurions to shoot her when she wanted to explore the mysteries of death. Ellen told Cavill that his behaviour was extremely human, that he was actually a living contradiction, and his death made her point. He was always all talk about wanting to be a mere machine, despising his human form, he spoke about saving the cylon civilization in the CIC and yet he ended himself, embracing nothingness. Besides he said 'Frak!" before putting the gun into his mouth, which was so human like too. Eventually his human behaviour overcame his cylon speech. Also there was a sort of a parallel between his fate and Boomer's. Boomer used Athena to end herself (something she had tried before in season 1 but couldn't do), she was killed by another Eight which was a metaphorical suicide too. Cavill and Boomer were two broken children doomed to self-destruction.
ETA2: To end this on a shallow note...Jamie Bamber was simply gorgeous on Earth, especially in his last scene with Kara.