Battlestar Galactica: This Island Earth

To quote Six Feet Under, everything ends. And so, after over 5 years (remember, Season 4 was split over two years and the miniseries pilot aired a year before the series proper began), Battlestar Galactica has finally come to an end. The show has come a long way from where it started back in 2003. The miniseries was a response to 9/11. The series debuted in 2004, the year of the serialized hour-long (LOST, Veronica Mars, and (I can't believe I'm about to type this) Desperate Housewives). Over its 4 or 5 years, the series would examine our world through the trials and tribulations of the crew of the Galactica, including an excellent Iraq War parallel that cast the show's "heroes" as the Iraqis and the show's "villains" as the Americans. Then, halfway through Season 4, on a show that was all about depressing bleakness, the bottom fell out: Earth, the planet that the remaining 50,000 humans had spent years searching for, in hopes of finding a new home, was discovered. But it was a nuclear wasteland, and had been for millenia.

Since then, we witnessed people lose all hope, we saw a mutiny, and we saw a woman betray everyone she once loved to help her new master. Last week, Adama decided that Hera, the hybrid baby, was worth rescuing. Something about her was special, and if humanity wanted to survive, they would need to get her back. So how does it all end?

The two-hour final episode basically has two parts: the battle and the aftermath. The battle was absolutely incredible; Ron Moore obviously spent a lot of money for this episode, and although the CGI on the show has never been cinema-quality, everything still looked damn good. I still think Baltar's last-minute change-of-heart about fighting was slightly out of character, but I'm glad he was there, and he was finally able to show everyone that his preaching skills were useful for something (and he finally admitted that he probably is insane). In other parts of the battle, Boomer and Athena had their final showdown; I knew that things would come out the way they did, and while that result feels better, I almost wish that the one who died survived and the survivor had died, just for the tension it would have created. Then again, that desire went out the window when I thought that Helo died (and as much as I love Helo, I kind of wish he had died to make Athena that much angrier). And then there was the Tyrol incident. Poor guy can't catch a break. First, his true love turns out to be a cylon sleeper agent. Then he starts getting depressed and wants to attempt suicide. Then, after marrying another woman, he goes through the hell that was New Caprica. After that, he learned he was a cylon, and his wife kills herself because of it. Or did she? We know the truth about that, and that bit of information led to a result that could have ended humanity and the cylon race right then and there.

The aftermath section, on the other hand, was more about tying up loose ends and showing where everyone would go on to do once the fighting was over (somewhat similar to Six Feet Under). I believe it was necessary, but it dragged a little in some parts. And the absolute last scene was ridiculous. But still, it was great seeing the various characters planning the rest of their lives.

Oh, but what the hell was up with Starbuck? A reviewer from the Onion AV Club postulated that she was an "angel", like Head Six and Head Baltar, that everyone could see, who had been sent to lead everyone to where they needed to end up. I guess I'll go with that one for now. Oh, and how was she the "Harbinger of death" that would lead everyone to their end?

Not every question was answered, but after the dust all settled, I was very happy with the way Galactica ended. There were a few dips in quality, but it has proven to be one of the best science fiction series I've ever seen. Hopefully, the spin-off Caprica will be just as good.

Up next: That's not its purpose...