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castaliaFinally sat down yesterday and watched the last ten episodes of BSG. I knew once I got going I wouldn't be able to stop, so I saved it all for a nice day off.
Ah, where to start. First off, I'd already been spoiled for Dee's death, so it didn't shock me like I know it would have done if I hadn't known it was coming. I can see why they'd want to show the reality of Earth hitting everyone hard, even the perpetually cheerful, but I was still disappointed to lose Dee. She really deserved more of the spotlight and some storylines that didn't involve Lee or relationship stuff. But oh well.
It was hard to lose Gaeta, too, mostly b/c I was really sorry he'd lost so much of his respect for Adama to the point where he was willing to execute him. Those few eps really kept me on the edge of my seat, worrying for everyone and just knowing we'd lose some people by the time it was all over. Wasn't too sorry to see Zarek go, especially after he offed the whole Quorum. Damn. I was definitely sorry Racetrack and Skulls joined in on the rebellion; it's hard to lose even the background characters.
Roslin, however, gave me chills in "Blood on the Scales", when she did the "I'm coming for all of you" speech. Yowza, that was bad-ass.
It was great to see Lee and Kara acting as a team again, but although I'm pretty sure Kara is half human-half Cylon and her dad the pianist was Daniel/7, I still don't know WTF she was at the end with the disappearing thing. Angel? Who knows. Loved all the Starbuck/Sam stuff, I have to admit. Sam grew on me SO much more than I thought he ever would, and his ending made me cry horribly.
Ellen being the final Cylon was...I dunno how I feel about it. It worked, I think, b/c I always had a feeling she knew more than she let on. She was great with her interactions with Cavil.
I was sort of relieved when Tigh and Caprica just kind of stopped and the pairings went back to their original states. Having those two together was a bit squicky for me, I guess, and although it was sad for their baby to die, TPTB had sort of written themselves into a corner with that. I'm sure that's why they retconned Hot Dog into being Nicky's father - in the end there could only be one hybrid and everything needed to focus on Hera. It still irritated me that they did that to Cally after the poor girl was dead, though.
Re Tyrol/Boomer, I must admit, for a while there I was THRILLED my original OTP looked like they were getting back together. Then it all turned out to be a plot (totally sucked me in, damn it) and broke my heart right along with Tyrol's. That was so harsh, damn it. After all this time, I was sorry to see Boomer die for real and for good, without ever really finding her place or an identity. And I do wonder if it wouldn't have been kinder to kill Tyrol as well - he'd finally seemed to be at peace with his Cylon identity, was falling for Boomer all over again, and then it was all ripped away from him. Having him go off somewhere by himself to live as a hermit is just too sad.
I loved the return to the Opera House visions and how that all played out. LOVED the visual of the final five up there on the balcony in the CIC, all backlit and spooky looking. I liked that Baltar and Six talked Cavil down a little and served some sort of purpose, something they could do that Athena and Roslin couldn't. Of course then it all went to hell with Tyrol and Tory, but I guess they didn't want to leave any Cylons out there with resurrection capabilities.
The other big theme with the merging of human and Cylon was wonderful, with the hybrids and the merged crews and even the ship becoming both. I loved that, loved the insistence that neither race was going to survive on its own and they needed to come together.
My thoughts are all out of order on this, so I'm sorry for the lack of coherence. I'll probably have to watch the entire series over again to really figure out how I feel about it all. I suppose that's a testament to just how thought-provoking the final half of the season was.
I could have done without most of the flashbacks in the final two-parter, though I do think Baltar's scenes had the most bearing on how things turned out for him. Everything else was rather superfluous and seemed like "sex filler".
Laura's death made me cry, and Bill sitting by her grave set me off again. I was totally expecting him to fly that Raptor straight into the sea or a cliff or something, though. If he's not going to die, why not spend time with friends and family instead? Especially since Lee is all alone again and will probably fall off a mountain or get eaten by indigenous wildlife or something (though I did like his boyish enthusiasm and wanting to explore; that was nice).
I was very relieved Helo lived and he and Athena got to live out their days with Hera as a family. I shouted out loud at the screen when he was shot and had my stomach in knots the whole time. They were always adorable and I'm just happy they both made it.
Never expected Baltar to live, let alone settle down with Caprica and be a farmer, but I think I like it as an ending for him. No huge conversion, no dying heroically, just accepting his failures and turning away from everything he'd become in order to return to what he'd tried so hard to reject. His little breakdown was very moving for me and was the most genuine I think I've ever seen him be in the show.
Loved the music, as usual. Loved all the literary allusions and all the quiet moments. I loved that it was, despite all the bleakness and darkness throughout the whole series, a generally hopeful ending.
Problems I had:
- That real!Earth was already populated. That really changed everything and I hated how imperialistic Lee was with his colonialism talk and how they'd "civilize" the natives. Especially since the natives were all dark skinned and the little pow-wow on the hill was pretty much all white men (depending on how you count Adama).
- How many of the women and minorities died. We lost Laura (though that was a necessary thing and they couldn't delay it any longer), Kara (sort of, still with the weirdness there), Dee, Tory, Racetrack, and Boomer. The only main female characters to live were Athena, Caprica, and Ellen. Yet Lee, Adama, Helo, Tyrol, Tigh, Baltar, Cottle, Lampkin, and the cute but only briefly introduced Lt. Hoshi all lived. Pretty much all the minority characters in the main cast died: Tory, Dee, Gaeta, Boomer, etc. Only Athena made it.
- Bill and Tigh never said goodbye to each other. After all the wonderful friendship stuff we got in the final eps, they skip such an important thing? Surely they could have cut Adama puking all over himself in exchange for a hug, damn it.
- Lack of resolution with Lee/Kara. Bittersweet, sure, but I didn't really find it all that satisfying.
- The weird angel!Six and Baltar at the end. I liked the ambiguity of "will it all happen again", but I'm not sure what to think of the little robot montage and everything. Today's humanity is all a blend of human and Cylon, but the message is we never learn? Maybe?
I suppose at the end of the day, I liked it, but I probably would have loved it just as much or more without the last tag at the end. And without the Earth being populated already. And I guess I'm too much a product of the modern age, b/c I always balk at the idea of getting rid of all the technology as a way to solve our problems. Sure, all the excesses and violence and weapons and enslavement of sentient robots is what keeps the cycle going, but obviously getting rid of all the tech doesn't stop the cycle either. It should have been enough just to get rid of the Us vs. Them mentality, as that was really the catalyst at the heart of it.
Ah, where to start. First off, I'd already been spoiled for Dee's death, so it didn't shock me like I know it would have done if I hadn't known it was coming. I can see why they'd want to show the reality of Earth hitting everyone hard, even the perpetually cheerful, but I was still disappointed to lose Dee. She really deserved more of the spotlight and some storylines that didn't involve Lee or relationship stuff. But oh well.
It was hard to lose Gaeta, too, mostly b/c I was really sorry he'd lost so much of his respect for Adama to the point where he was willing to execute him. Those few eps really kept me on the edge of my seat, worrying for everyone and just knowing we'd lose some people by the time it was all over. Wasn't too sorry to see Zarek go, especially after he offed the whole Quorum. Damn. I was definitely sorry Racetrack and Skulls joined in on the rebellion; it's hard to lose even the background characters.
Roslin, however, gave me chills in "Blood on the Scales", when she did the "I'm coming for all of you" speech. Yowza, that was bad-ass.
It was great to see Lee and Kara acting as a team again, but although I'm pretty sure Kara is half human-half Cylon and her dad the pianist was Daniel/7, I still don't know WTF she was at the end with the disappearing thing. Angel? Who knows. Loved all the Starbuck/Sam stuff, I have to admit. Sam grew on me SO much more than I thought he ever would, and his ending made me cry horribly.
Ellen being the final Cylon was...I dunno how I feel about it. It worked, I think, b/c I always had a feeling she knew more than she let on. She was great with her interactions with Cavil.
I was sort of relieved when Tigh and Caprica just kind of stopped and the pairings went back to their original states. Having those two together was a bit squicky for me, I guess, and although it was sad for their baby to die, TPTB had sort of written themselves into a corner with that. I'm sure that's why they retconned Hot Dog into being Nicky's father - in the end there could only be one hybrid and everything needed to focus on Hera. It still irritated me that they did that to Cally after the poor girl was dead, though.
Re Tyrol/Boomer, I must admit, for a while there I was THRILLED my original OTP looked like they were getting back together. Then it all turned out to be a plot (totally sucked me in, damn it) and broke my heart right along with Tyrol's. That was so harsh, damn it. After all this time, I was sorry to see Boomer die for real and for good, without ever really finding her place or an identity. And I do wonder if it wouldn't have been kinder to kill Tyrol as well - he'd finally seemed to be at peace with his Cylon identity, was falling for Boomer all over again, and then it was all ripped away from him. Having him go off somewhere by himself to live as a hermit is just too sad.
I loved the return to the Opera House visions and how that all played out. LOVED the visual of the final five up there on the balcony in the CIC, all backlit and spooky looking. I liked that Baltar and Six talked Cavil down a little and served some sort of purpose, something they could do that Athena and Roslin couldn't. Of course then it all went to hell with Tyrol and Tory, but I guess they didn't want to leave any Cylons out there with resurrection capabilities.
The other big theme with the merging of human and Cylon was wonderful, with the hybrids and the merged crews and even the ship becoming both. I loved that, loved the insistence that neither race was going to survive on its own and they needed to come together.
My thoughts are all out of order on this, so I'm sorry for the lack of coherence. I'll probably have to watch the entire series over again to really figure out how I feel about it all. I suppose that's a testament to just how thought-provoking the final half of the season was.
I could have done without most of the flashbacks in the final two-parter, though I do think Baltar's scenes had the most bearing on how things turned out for him. Everything else was rather superfluous and seemed like "sex filler".
Laura's death made me cry, and Bill sitting by her grave set me off again. I was totally expecting him to fly that Raptor straight into the sea or a cliff or something, though. If he's not going to die, why not spend time with friends and family instead? Especially since Lee is all alone again and will probably fall off a mountain or get eaten by indigenous wildlife or something (though I did like his boyish enthusiasm and wanting to explore; that was nice).
I was very relieved Helo lived and he and Athena got to live out their days with Hera as a family. I shouted out loud at the screen when he was shot and had my stomach in knots the whole time. They were always adorable and I'm just happy they both made it.
Never expected Baltar to live, let alone settle down with Caprica and be a farmer, but I think I like it as an ending for him. No huge conversion, no dying heroically, just accepting his failures and turning away from everything he'd become in order to return to what he'd tried so hard to reject. His little breakdown was very moving for me and was the most genuine I think I've ever seen him be in the show.
Loved the music, as usual. Loved all the literary allusions and all the quiet moments. I loved that it was, despite all the bleakness and darkness throughout the whole series, a generally hopeful ending.
Problems I had:
- That real!Earth was already populated. That really changed everything and I hated how imperialistic Lee was with his colonialism talk and how they'd "civilize" the natives. Especially since the natives were all dark skinned and the little pow-wow on the hill was pretty much all white men (depending on how you count Adama).
- How many of the women and minorities died. We lost Laura (though that was a necessary thing and they couldn't delay it any longer), Kara (sort of, still with the weirdness there), Dee, Tory, Racetrack, and Boomer. The only main female characters to live were Athena, Caprica, and Ellen. Yet Lee, Adama, Helo, Tyrol, Tigh, Baltar, Cottle, Lampkin, and the cute but only briefly introduced Lt. Hoshi all lived. Pretty much all the minority characters in the main cast died: Tory, Dee, Gaeta, Boomer, etc. Only Athena made it.
- Bill and Tigh never said goodbye to each other. After all the wonderful friendship stuff we got in the final eps, they skip such an important thing? Surely they could have cut Adama puking all over himself in exchange for a hug, damn it.
- Lack of resolution with Lee/Kara. Bittersweet, sure, but I didn't really find it all that satisfying.
- The weird angel!Six and Baltar at the end. I liked the ambiguity of "will it all happen again", but I'm not sure what to think of the little robot montage and everything. Today's humanity is all a blend of human and Cylon, but the message is we never learn? Maybe?
I suppose at the end of the day, I liked it, but I probably would have loved it just as much or more without the last tag at the end. And without the Earth being populated already. And I guess I'm too much a product of the modern age, b/c I always balk at the idea of getting rid of all the technology as a way to solve our problems. Sure, all the excesses and violence and weapons and enslavement of sentient robots is what keeps the cycle going, but obviously getting rid of all the tech doesn't stop the cycle either. It should have been enough just to get rid of the Us vs. Them mentality, as that was really the catalyst at the heart of it.
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(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-06 03:40 am (UTC)esp. I hated that the only women that survived were cylon. hated that all the POC died except Athena (a cylon). hated the lack of Kara/Lee - after they intentionally spotlighted them for all the advertising. Hated the lack of Bill/Tigh and esp. hated that rather than give either L/K or B/T a decent closure, we got shots of Eddie throwing up over himself.
And Bill, Ellen and Tigh in a strip joint? REALLY? What was the purpose of that, besides a chance for some cheap T&A. And why, if they were together then, didn't Ellen know about Zak?
DETESTED the tag - the show would have been much stronger w/o that fast-forward.
Mostly - I hated that Hera's "special destiny" was to become the mother of US. US. WE ARE GOD'S PLAN. Gee, Ron, that's not *TOO* pretentious, is it.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-06 04:42 am (UTC)See, after losing Dee and then considering Anders' fate, I really thought they were setting it up so that Lee and Kara would be together on Earth. And then no. It was disconcerting, to say the least.
I hated the strip joint, so much. Between that, Roslin's romp with a former student (yay, cougar?), and the almost!sex between Lee and Kara, all the flashbacks were about sex in some way.
I do wish they'd kept the religious aspects a little more ambiguous at the end. And I was so hoping to get Tyrol/Boomer at the end of it all. *sigh*
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-06 05:43 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-06 10:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-06 08:45 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-06 10:17 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-06 06:10 pm (UTC)Enjoyed reading yours! :-)
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-10 02:27 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-06 06:53 pm (UTC)Roslin was wonderful. Because of her story, when she kind of re-emerged more at the end, I realized how much I missed her and had forgotten how wonderful Mary McDonnell was.
Everything else I would type would just be agreeing with what you wrote. But, I do have to write how I definitely agree with the lack of Adama & Tigh at the end. Tigh had actually become one of my favorite characters at the end, and Adama & Tigh's friendship was also one of my favorite things. The episode before the finale, where they were just sitting on Adama's couch - I think I would have been almost satisified if that would have been the end.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-10 02:28 am (UTC)I just couldn't believe that after all that focus on Adama and Tigh, they'd leave out any sort of goodbye scene for them. Just, ugh.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-13 03:03 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-06 10:56 pm (UTC)....all of whom had been killed off at least once each before then (and resurrected). So no female characters whatsoever made it through the show without dying. Also no characters of color. Also no gays (the only two openly gay characters not only died but were shown to have betrayed the cause in some crucial way first. 'Cause, you know, teh gayz are bad for morale and don't belong in the military because they subvert everything....).
Curiously, nearly every straight white male on the show made it through TOTALLY UNSCATHED (and I think we are meant to read Adama as white, given that his sons both were). Even Cottle, who smoked like an effin' chimney throughout.
And yeah, the colonial overtones of the ending were overwhelming.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-07 01:03 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-07 01:39 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-10 02:26 am (UTC)