Battlestar Galactica has finished, it's finale having aired on March 20th. I caught up in time to view that final two episodes as they aired and, as promised, I’m back to write my final thoughts on the second half of the series.
Seasons three and four increased the mythology of the universe, as well as developing a series long plot arc. It also looked a lot more closely at human nature and the meaning of existence. These happened to be the two requirements I listed, in my last post, to make a great series. So, does that mean that I now think BSG is a great series? Yes, I can say, without reservation, that it is a great series. It’s not the greatest series ever made, but it is one that everyone should check out.
I really only had two issues with the second half of the series. First was the treatment of Lee Adama. It felt like he was a character that the writers simply couldn’t wrap their heads around, couldn’t come up with something for him to do. He bounced from being a pilot to the CAG (head pilot) to a lawyer to a politician. At times it felt like when a character with a new profession was needed, rather than creating a new character, they just dropped Lee in instead. As I said before, I have no vested interest in Lee, but it just felt like sloppy writing, perhaps made more apparent since the rest of the writing was so strong.
My second issue was with the larger arc. To me, if didn’t feel very planned out. It seemed more like the writers had a bunch of good ideas that they threw together, hoping they would somehow form an arc on their own. it wasn’t until about a third of the way through the fourth season that it felt like there was a clear direction. I don’t know when the series was actually mapped out, but it felt like it came very late in the game, leaving them with a lot of disparate threads which needed to be tied up.
But tied up they were, in the fantastic finale. The elegance with which the final three hours came together makes me more willing to believe that it had been planned out for quite some time, but I suspect that the truth is it is more due to Ron Moore’s writing skill than anything else. I felt it was extremely satisfying and just felt “right”. There have been some complaints about the inclusion of the last twenty minutes, which serve as a coda, as some feel it was unnecessary, but I think that it absolutely earns its right to exist through the small character details and gives the audience an opportunity to say goodbye. Even more complaints about the final three minutes have surfaced, but again, this scene is essential. It is this scene that most clearly presents the ultimate goal of the series, what it was trying to accomplish and what it wanted to say about humanity.
In the end, I’m glad I broke down and decided to watch this series. Part of me wishes that I had watched it live week to week over the past 5+ years, but I think it plays even better watched condensed over a few weeks. This is a series I’m sure I’ll be recommending for years, and I have no doubt that once I buy the Complete Series Blu-ray set when it comes out in July it will spend almost as much time being lent out to others as it will in my own possession.
Sleep well,
DTE
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Songs of the Moment:
Metric – Help, I’m Alive; Metric – Gimme Sympathy; Social Code – Everyday (Late November)
Music while I wrote:
Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
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