I think the issue with discussing the finale of Battlestar is that it breaks into two halves that are extremely different. The first half, a white-knuckle ride through an assault on The Colony that ends unexpectedly (twice) and turns into an ultraviolent parable of forgiveness, was truly excellent television. The second half, where the humans and Cylons decide to (a la Prospero) to throw off their charms and break their wizard staffs and (a la Candide) to tend their garden.
The second half is problematic for all sorts of reasons. Let's start with the one that's more personal to me: the sudden revelation that God, indeed, exists and has a definite plan. The ambiguity on this front was one of the more exciting things about the show, particularly after they found Earth and everyone felt they had been taken for chumps. The revelation that the Fake Gaius and the Fake Caprica-6 are both angels (and what's more, know each other) gave birth to the goofiest moments in the show. The "you can see them too?" moment in the first half, and the show's batshit crazy final two minutes.
The ending also jettisons any considerations of the major themes of Galactica and reduces the show to a cautionary tale about technology. Galactica was always a show that asked over and over again what does it mean to be human? This is where its most pressing and uncomfortable questions came from. It asked this question across disciplines- biology, ethics, spirituality, politics- and with a kind of savage relentlessness. To the show's detractors, this made it an "issue of the week" melodrama (Abortion! Terrorism! Land Use! etc.). The second half of the finale doesn't really probe or address any of those questions or themes. The first half, on the other hand, does, with its on-the-bridge conversation about the necessity of forgiveness.
Instead, the show retreats into a semi-ridiculous luddite philosophical pose. While I think you could initially argue that the choices the characters make to "go native" (as it were) at the end flow from them, the ending of the show makes it clear that this choice on the characters' parts is a reflection of Ron Moore's ideas rather than theirs. And not only is it nonsensical to believe that the human race would scrap all of its advantages for the purpose of starting again, the ending of the Second Half masks a deep tragedy as an uplifting, optimistic ending.
Why a deep tragedy? Because the story of Battlestar Galactica is a story about human survival. And in the end, the human civilization does not survive. Teasing out the implications of the final few minutes of the show, all of the characters and their legacies must rather swiftly die out. The efforts to start a new civilization will fail. The will eventually, over 150,000 years lead to our civilization, but in the short term the decision to revert when on Earth will (we know) have disastrous consequences for all involved. Also, the Cylons all die.
The only way its not tragic is if you think it's awesome that they Fulfilled God's Plan For Them. And... look, obviously I have issue w/r/t the Allmighty and all, but I also have issues with writers who insert a Divine Plan into their writing (I'm looking at you, Signs). Why? Because ultimately what the writer is doing is excusing overt heavy handed plotting by equating themselves with God. God's Plan is ultimately always the writer's plan because the writer wrote it. Also, I think even people who go with the whole "divine plan" thing might balk at that plan then involving our world. It's one thing when it's about fictional people fightin' robots in space. Its quite another in Times Square in 2009.
The other problem with the finale are its several cop-outs. Its clear the writers never had any idea what Kara Thrace was and couldnt' figure it out. Ditto, Baltar's Lesbian Sex Cult turns out to have been basically a canard. The reasons behind the successful cross breeding of Cylons and Humans? Similarly, never explained or explored. The God's Plan angle allows them to not really have to do anything with a lot of things they set in motion and sort-of promised us they'd explain one day.
Reading the above, you might get the idea that I disliked the finale. I didn't. I think it fails on a few levels, but it certainly does not fail as gripping, moving television. The panache with which they attacked the finale is truly impressive, and the first half of the finale is flat-out brilliant. Even the final five minutes of the show (which are embarrassingly terrible, at first I admired the balls-out insanity of it, but Herx is right, its just bad) can't sink it.
Overall, great analysis for what was a satisfying ending to a great show. They left a few loose threads that will tend to irk folks who have bothered to pay particularly close attention over the years.
For example, if Kara Thrace was some sort of an angel (ugh) sent back by God or whatever, why was she so confused as to her role the whole time? And why was Apollo so "Oh, OK." when she just up an disappeared? I would have **** myself, lol. They should have done a better job of wrapping that up with more definition.
Also, to be true to the tag "All of this has happened before and all of this will happen again" the writers should have had Kara jump the Galatica in both space *and* time to the original Kobol 150,000 years ago. That would have explained prehistoric humans on the planet and the time line would be more effectively closed -- somewhat like a spacetime mobius strip. If they then wanted to then do the whole "Earth is Kobol thing", more power to them.
Great ending to a great show but intellectually unfulfilling.
Posted by: BurgundyNGold | March 21, 2009 at 02:30 PM
I've been saying it since Leobahn called her an angel on the Demetrius...she's a Seraph...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seraphs_(Battlestar_Galactica)
Posted by: Brady Bonk | March 21, 2009 at 09:22 PM