They DID find Earth!

[Tunnelcat]

I watched the final episode of Battlestar Galactica and was curious about what everybody thought of the ending? Personally, it was a very emotional, sad and satisfying ending for me. It made up for all the dull episodes before it.

But wait! It's not the final episode! Next fall they're doing a series from the Cylon's point of view.

[Top Wop]

I thought overall it was pretty good, enjoyed seeing the Galactica duke it out a final time. But the Deus Ex Machina with Kara and Baltar seemed like a cop out to me.

[Cyclone]

It made up for all the dull episodes before it.

I agree, it definitely was a lot more satisfying then any of this seasons episodes.

While I like the finale I'm not sure I like the idea of having ancestors who are cylons...

Still a great series and a great ending. Looks like a lot of effort was put into it. Now that it’s over what sci-fi do we watch now? I'm not a big fan of the current style of sci-fi shows, although I liked Stargate Atlantis.

[DarkHorse]

Best part was the music. Hehe.

There are a lot of spoilers coming up. You have been warned.




I thought a lot of the ending was gratuitous, and plenty of it didn't make sense either. Most of the individual scenes were done well, but it seemed like they were there because they had to be. That's apart from the final scene with Baltar and Six was the most unnatural dialogue I can remember on BSG.

Can't say I hate it but I can say I saw all of it coming, except for a couple things, as soon as the first half of the season ended. I didn't expect the second Earth / our Earth to be already inhabited when they found it; I thought 30,000 was well above the minimum viable population for a species, thus making it unnecessary for another gene pool to exist.

The second surprise was Thrace turning out to be some kind of divine trick. Baltar's description of her as an angel is the most accurate I can think of, but it doesn't explain why the similar forms of himself and Six are invisible to everyone else, and yet Thrace was flesh and blood all along... and I presume unaware of her ability to spontaneously disappear. That's one of the things that doesn't make sense.

The other things that don't make sense include, but are not limited to, the way the Raptors and other pieces of technology down to their spectacles and clothing are archaeologically non-existant, the lack of evidence for established cultivation and modern constructions until much more recently, the carriage of nuclear weapons on a vessel that was intended to be used for a boarding party, the willingness of several hundred people to die in an attempt to rescue one girl whose importance to the human population was negligible, and last but not least the willingness of 30,000 - 40,000 people and Cylons to go camping on a planet for the rest of their lives and somehow never establish any organised societies.

Not one of the better finales I've seen, but it could, I suppose, have been worse. My favourite episode in this season remains The Oath.

[Foil]

Spoiler alert!

Personally, I loved that final episode. It didn't tie a neat bow on every detail, left a few things mysterious, and ended with the kinds of questions about artificial life that drove the whole series.

I didn't expect the second Earth / our Earth to be already inhabited when they found it; I thought 30,000 was well above the minimum viable population for a species, thus making it unnecessary for another gene pool to exist.

I was a bit surprised by that, but it worked for me, for a couple of reasons. One, it avoids the implication that our human origins originated completely outside Earth (which I think would have taken away from the story). And two, I think it made for a friendlier, less barren, Earth.

The second surprise was Thrace turning out to be some kind of divine trick. Baltar's description of her as an angel is the most accurate I can think of...

My wife and I both audibly gasped when she disappeared. I thought that was an awesome way to end her story - mysterious, yet there was a conclusion to the 'destiny' she seemed to have all along.

The scene where she enters the numbers into the FTL system was great - like one of those "Ah, it all comes together now!" moments.

...but it doesn't explain why the similar forms of himself and Six are invisible to everyone else, and yet Thrace was flesh and blood all along... and I presume unaware of her ability to spontaneously disappear. That's one of the things that doesn't make sense.

I believe they're two very different things. Unless I misunderstood, the versions of Six and Baltar that they each saw were part of the "Cylon projection" ability (where the Cylons see things internally, but can share it with others). Which begs the question: is Baltar the last Cylon that Ellen mentioned (Dennis? Danny?), or did I miss something? [Edit: Just checked, looks like I'm wrong there.]

The other things that don't make sense include, but are not limited to, the way the Raptors and other pieces of technology down to their spectacles and clothing are archaeologically non-existant, the lack of evidence for established cultivation and modern constructions until much more recently...

Okay, now you're taking it way too seriously. They're not going to explain every archeological detail in a fictional series like this.

...the willingness of several hundred people to die in an attempt to rescue one girl whose importance to the human population was negligible...

You didn't find that to be one of the most dramatic scenes? The theme of people willing to die for a small child didn't move you?

Not one of the better finales I've seen.

I beg to differ, but I suppose not everyone can like any given series finale.

Personally, I thought the final scene with Six and Baltar was great. It raised all the familiar questions all over again, and left viewers a sense of conclusion and mystery at the same time.

[DarkHorse]

No, it seemed to me like they ran out of time and had to wrap the series up somehow.

Archaeology means you have to be really careful when you try to merge fiction with fact. The kind of stuff they left behind, they may as well have landed the Galactica in Turkey and called it the Ark.

[flip]

I think I watched 2 episodes of this crap. Was about as exciting as a soap opera. I was thinking it may have been along the lines of the original BSC, but it was way off base. Epic fail in my opinion.

[AlphaDoG]

I think I watched 2 episodes of this crap. Was about as exciting as a soap opera. I was thinking it may have been along the lines of the original BSC, but it was way off base. Epic fail in my opinion.

x2

[Spidey]

The entire final season sucked space vacuum.

[VonVulcan]

I thoroughly enjoyed the entire series, some episodes moved a bit slower then others but over all, BRAVO!!

[Tunnelcat]

Yeah, I thought that most of the last TWO seasons were too much soap opera, not enough hard battles, but overall, I thought it was a good series. I don't know how they'll pull of the next series from the Cylon's point of view, however.

SPOILERS!

But the final episode really brought out some sad and happy emotions all at once for me. I was especially moved by the death of President Roslin while Admiral Adama was flying her around in the Raptor one final time to look at the new landscape, knowing full well that she was going to die. Very touching.

Also, I especially liked the scene when the Galactica Cylons were grouped around the tank with Anders attempting to download the resurrection data back to the Cylon Basestar. I'd forgotten that Tory had murdered Galen's wife Cally by blowing her out of an airlock in order to take the Cylon hybrid baby from her. When the flashbacks started as they were sharing memories during the download, it jogged my memory (I'd forgotten) and I was fascinated to see what would happen when Galen found out. When Galen prematurely broke the link and charged Tory and strangled her to death, lets just say, it was a satisfying payback and not unexpected. The resulting final escape wasn't bad either, although I don't know why the Cylon leader Cavil committed suicide instead of fighting to the end. Seemed kind of a lame out for him.

I didn't really like Starbuck disappearing like that as an angel. I really wanted Apollo and Starbuck to get together as they should have in the first place and raise a family on the new world. The way they ended it left poor Apollo seemingly all alone.

[Jeff250]

...but it doesn't explain why the similar forms of himself and Six are invisible to everyone else, and yet Thrace was flesh and blood all along... and I presume unaware of her ability to spontaneously disappear. That's one of the things that doesn't make sense.

I believe they're two very different things. Unless I misunderstood, the versions of Six and Baltar that they each saw were part of the "Cylon projection" ability (where the Cylons see things internally, but can share it with others).

This is incompatible though with phantom Baltar and phantom Six existing ~150,000 years after real Baltar and real Six pass away when they are making commentary on present day Earth. That, when combined with the miraculous advice that they were able to give Baltar and Six throughout the series, the best explanation IMO is that they were what they claimed to be, even up until the end, angels sent by God (not that he likes to be called that).

The best explanation that I've heard to account for phantom Six/Baltar vs. Kara is that the former are angels in the ordinary sense (messengers), whereas the latter was an archangel. But who knows really. It's supposed to be a mystery.

...the willingness of several hundred people to die in an attempt to rescue one girl whose importance to the human population was negligible...

You didn't find that to be one of the most dramatic scenes? The theme of people willing to die for a small child didn't move you?

I think that the premise that Hera's importance to the human population was negligible is flat out deniable too.

[Top Wop]

Also, I especially liked the scene when the Galactica Cylons were grouped around the tank with Anders attempting to download the resurrection data back to the Cylon Basestar. I'd forgotten that Tory had murdered Galen's wife Cally by blowing her out of an airlock in order to take the Cylon hybrid baby from her. When the flashbacks started as they were sharing memories during the download, it jogged my memory (I'd forgotten) and I was fascinated to see what would happen when Galen found out. When Galen prematurely broke the link and charged Tory and strangled her to death, lets just say, it was a satisfying payback and not unexpected.

I cheered. I hated that ★■◆●.

[Foil]

But who knows really. It's supposed to be a mystery.

Indeed. I'd say the fact that we're speculating about it says they succeeded in creating a story worth talking about.

----

As to the 'phantom' Six/Baltar characters, for some reason I always assumed they were something akin to a programmed Cylon conscience (and I always semi-suspected Baltar of being one, thus my earlier thoughts about Daniel, the only Cylon we never saw).

The one issue I would have with the 'archangel' explanation for Kara is that much of the time, she was only vaguely aware of a sense of destiny, and was often conflicted and confused about what was happening to her. She didn't really seem to know what was going on until just before both times she disappeared. That doesn't seem much like the 'angelic' Six and Baltar, who always seemed to have a grasp on everything.

[Foil]

Also, I especially liked the scene ...
When Galen prematurely broke the link and charged Tory and strangled her to death, lets just say, it was a satisfying payback and not unexpected.

I cheered. I hated that *****.

It was certainly a long-overdue revelation. But a couple of shots later, we saw Galen just slumped down, like "What now?". I thought that was a poignant moment about the emptiness that follows revenge.

[Sedwick]

Any series finale is bound to disappoint some people. I was happy, though--we got a final battle, a final negotiation, some revelations, some met expectations, and some surprises. Can't ask for much more in my book. I say let the full nature of Kara/Head Six/Head Balter remain a mystery--spritual things often do.

As for why Cavil killed himself, I read one reviewer call this his \"coward's way out\". The download was his last hope for reacquiring resurrection, and when that failed upon Galen's attack on Tory and the shootout that followed, suicide was the only way out seen by this hopeless, godless man.

[ReadyMan]

Bah! I hated the finale, and most of the series. It was the most depressing hour of TV every week (though I was curious, so taped it and watch it when it was convenient).

Cavil killing himself was lame....out of character, and reeked of \"we only have so much time, so lets kill him quickly\".

Galen killing his wife's murderer, was unexpected and well acted/written.

The \"lets disperse and live simply\" idea is completely lame and out of context for these people from the various colonies that only thought of themselves, fought like crazy with each other and in the senate, and is ludicrous when leveled against the idea that any one group that kept their technology would completely dominate the other idiotic slugs who got rid of it.

Can you tell I was disappointed?

It could have been so much better....

The ONE redeeming feature, though, was that at least they didn’t have boxy the dog....which is always a plus!

Firefly and FarScape were light years ahead of BSG.

[DarkHorse]

Firefly maybe. Farscape was retarded.

[AlphaDoG]

Firefly maybe. Farscape was retarded.

Farscape's first few years were BRILLIANT! It's the last two years that got sucky.

[Top Wop]

I buy the idea of them completely throwing away technology and starting off living the simple life, considering that they were running away and at war with the cylons for 4 years, living in a confined and smelly ship, not seeing the sun or having a breath of fresh air, crappy food, ect.

[CUDA]

none of them held a candle to Babylon 5

[Foil]

For me personally, the new Battlestar Galactica ranks up there with FireFly.

They were vastly different shows, though. FireFly had more cheeseball action and comedy, and Battlestar was much more long-term story and drama. The thing they had in common, IMHO, were great characters.

[Firewheel]

I thoroughly enjoyed the finale, along with the entire series. What I loved most about the show was the spiritual element it brought to science fiction. Usually we're given a shiny, perfect secular society with highly-evolved people (Star Trek, anyone?) who behave unrealistically. But Battlestar has always been about flawed, realistic people, despite their offputting and sometimes unpleasant behavior.

The spiritual aspect made things SO much more interesting. Every other scifi show is about human ingenuity or love or something we've already heard a thousand times already. But Battlestar seems to focus more on faith, and that was one reason I loved it so much. Having Starbuck disappear like that was just brilliant (though it didn't really surprise me.) I'm so used to shows (scifi and otherwise) mocking and demonizing any sort of religion, so BSG's take was a breath of fresh air for me.

The biggest gripe I had was that the flashbacks felt out of place at times and might have worked better in the context of previous episodes. The action was fantastic; Battlestar has had some of the best action scenes of any TV show in history, so I was glad to finally see some space battles return in the final episode.

Since the government was practically destroyed by Zarek, it's not too surprising that there weren't many voices of dissent to the idea of ditching the technology. Not to mention that the whole human race spent most of the last few years cooped up on ships, had their entire lives ruined by technology, and a whole host of other things. It's not beyond belief that they'd chose to start over. But what about other antagonistic Cylons? Surely there were still plenty of base stars left even after the Colony was destroyed, right?

[BUBBALOU]

(........thus my earlier thoughts about Daniel, the only Cylon we never saw).

But we did see him

[DarkHorse]

The spiritual aspect made things SO much more interesting.

Didn't help DS9. It only worked in BSG while it seemed futile.

[Foil]

(........thus my earlier thoughts about Daniel, the only Cylon we never saw).

But we did see him

According to a producer, his story was put in as a plot device to correct the apparent discrepancy in the Cylon numbering system.

So did I miss a scene with him in it?

[Tunnelcat]

Daniel was Cylon number seven, but I can't find a picture of him. He was supposed to be Starbuck's father or something. I don't remember him either.

What the frak was Baltar? A Cylon, human or angel or what????? He's still represented at the end of the finale trooping around in the future with Number Six.

[Jeff250]

The Baltar we see at the end is the phantom Baltar that Six begins to see after she is resurrected on Caprica. Likewise, the Six we see at the end is the phantom Six that Baltar has been seeing.

[ReadyMan]

and what was up with the extended scene of Adama puking on himself...Yeah, that was great entertainment....very necessary and really added to the plot.

[VonVulcan]

and what was up with the extended scene of Adama puking on himself...Yeah, that was great entertainment....very necessary and really added to the plot.

I think that showed how miserable he would end up if he had retired to civilian life.

You noticed how he reacted when he looked up at the stars.

[Tunnelcat]

He puked because he'd DRANK too much (a little high on the gross factor)! He drank too much because he didn't want to think about retirement.

[woodchip]

Funny, I always thought the rapid rise of Cro Magnon was that they were a alien manipulation of the Neanderthal. Now I know it is true.

[Tunnelcat]

HMMMMMMMMMMM. You might have something there! But you'd think that as technologically advanced as the Caprica people and Cylons were, they would have contributed more to advancing Earth's humanity than they turned out in reality. I find it a stretch that they would go and live in stone age ways.

They also didn't tidy up what happened to that last Raptor that Adama was flying around at the end. You'd think it or it's parts would've ended up in the fossil record somewhere.

[Spidey]

He got back in and flew it into the sun.

[Sedwick]

He got back in and flew it into the sun.

Or set the autopilot to fly away, then jump there.

Anyone else remember how the miniseries/movie had that first Cylon battle with those two raiders flying out of that sun's direction, and now it ends with the shot of the fleet flying into our sun? I thought it was a nice parallel.

[admiralxgmx]

I watched the final episode of Battlestar Galactica and was curious about what everybody thought of the ending? Personally, it was a very emotional, sad and satisfying ending for me. It made up for all the dull episodes before it.

But wait! It's not the final episode! Next fall they're doing a series from the Cylon's point of view.

I haven't seen the end yet, I've seen all the way up to season 4 though. Yeah, I heard about the new series they are making (Caprica). I didn't know it was from the Cylons' point of view though.

[Foil]

...I heard about the new series they are making (Caprica). I didn't know it was from the Cylons' point of view though.

Those are two different things, actually. "Caprica" is a drama set before the fall of the city by that name. The upcoming BSG season from the Cylon's perspective is something else, I don't recall the name they're using for it.

[Firewheel]

That's \"The Plan,\" I think it's just a two-hour movie or something. I suspect we'll find out more about Daniel.