And the possibility of grace: BSG Finale
Wow. I mean, just wow. Not perfect, but so much better than I imagined possible.
One of the things I've loved about this show is that it so often doesn't go where I think it's going. The finale was a fabulous example of that.
Despite comments in the LA Times' review of the finale suggesting otherwise, I was still expecting/dreading that the finale would be "pretty much everyone dies, survivors are miserable." It really, really wasn't. Along with the bits that made me tear up, there was a surprising amount of lightness, hope and even joy in the finale, and a lovely sense of peace.
Stuff I loved:
- The humor -- the bitter, cynical humor of Cavil ("I don't mean to rush you but you are keeping TWO CIVILIZATIONS WAITING"); the humor in the flashbacks, everything. Gallows humor or giddy "we didn't die!" bickering about who's going to teach Hera hunting, it worked for me.
- That they didn't shy away from going with "there's a higher power" as an explanation. If you're going to thread that much prophecy, shared dreams, miraculous resurrections and apparently divine guidance through four seasons, you've gotta own it, not weasel out.
- That they freed the rebel Centurions and let them go find their own destiny. (The treatment of the Centurions by the skinjob Cylons bugged the hell out of me throughout the series...)
- Using the original "Battlestar Galactica" theme music for the fleet heading into the sun. It worked musically, and the meta was perfect -- they were destroying the baggage of their old lives, cutting that final connection.
- That Kara's journey was over, and Lee's wasn't: Once Kara trusted herself with the jump coordinates and said goodbye to Sam (and yeah, that got me big time), she was done. I thought that last scene with Lee was utterly lovely.
- That Helo and Athena got their happy ending.
- That Roslin and Adama had the chance to really know that they brought the survivors to a new home. Frak that Moses shit -- I was so glad that the writers went with having them see that THEY WON, achieving what they originally set out to do, before Laura's death. (Which was heartbreaking and perfect and I'm gonna go find another tissue now...)
- The music, again: For a show that pretty much stayed away from the soaring orchestral stuff in favor of sparer (and more eclectic) arrangements, when they did pull out all the stops (Bill sitting by Laura's grave) it felt like that emotional pull was earned.
- The shot of Hera's wondering, upturned face leading into that "Discovery: Earth" soaring-over-the-earth sequence and into the coda.
- The coda! Oh, Ron Moore, if you're going to have your Alfred Hitchcock moment that was the perfect way to do it. And the Six and Gaius angels bickering... (I'm so glad that I wasn't the only person who immediately jumped to "It's Aziraphale and Crowley!" Though I followed that by wondering if we'd get Alanis Morissette in a cameo.) But I did love it, and the hopeful note of "hey, maybe we can learn!"
It took me a few minutes to put a name to it, but I think the finale really was a meditation on the possibility of grace -- acknowledging sin, accepting forgiveness, and moving forward. Which, when you think about it, is about the most appropriate ending possible for BSG.
One of the things I've loved about this show is that it so often doesn't go where I think it's going. The finale was a fabulous example of that.
Despite comments in the LA Times' review of the finale suggesting otherwise, I was still expecting/dreading that the finale would be "pretty much everyone dies, survivors are miserable." It really, really wasn't. Along with the bits that made me tear up, there was a surprising amount of lightness, hope and even joy in the finale, and a lovely sense of peace.
Stuff I loved:
- The humor -- the bitter, cynical humor of Cavil ("I don't mean to rush you but you are keeping TWO CIVILIZATIONS WAITING"); the humor in the flashbacks, everything. Gallows humor or giddy "we didn't die!" bickering about who's going to teach Hera hunting, it worked for me.
- That they didn't shy away from going with "there's a higher power" as an explanation. If you're going to thread that much prophecy, shared dreams, miraculous resurrections and apparently divine guidance through four seasons, you've gotta own it, not weasel out.
- That they freed the rebel Centurions and let them go find their own destiny. (The treatment of the Centurions by the skinjob Cylons bugged the hell out of me throughout the series...)
- Using the original "Battlestar Galactica" theme music for the fleet heading into the sun. It worked musically, and the meta was perfect -- they were destroying the baggage of their old lives, cutting that final connection.
- That Kara's journey was over, and Lee's wasn't: Once Kara trusted herself with the jump coordinates and said goodbye to Sam (and yeah, that got me big time), she was done. I thought that last scene with Lee was utterly lovely.
- That Helo and Athena got their happy ending.
- That Roslin and Adama had the chance to really know that they brought the survivors to a new home. Frak that Moses shit -- I was so glad that the writers went with having them see that THEY WON, achieving what they originally set out to do, before Laura's death. (Which was heartbreaking and perfect and I'm gonna go find another tissue now...)
- The music, again: For a show that pretty much stayed away from the soaring orchestral stuff in favor of sparer (and more eclectic) arrangements, when they did pull out all the stops (Bill sitting by Laura's grave) it felt like that emotional pull was earned.
- The shot of Hera's wondering, upturned face leading into that "Discovery: Earth" soaring-over-the-earth sequence and into the coda.
- The coda! Oh, Ron Moore, if you're going to have your Alfred Hitchcock moment that was the perfect way to do it. And the Six and Gaius angels bickering... (I'm so glad that I wasn't the only person who immediately jumped to "It's Aziraphale and Crowley!" Though I followed that by wondering if we'd get Alanis Morissette in a cameo.) But I did love it, and the hopeful note of "hey, maybe we can learn!"
It took me a few minutes to put a name to it, but I think the finale really was a meditation on the possibility of grace -- acknowledging sin, accepting forgiveness, and moving forward. Which, when you think about it, is about the most appropriate ending possible for BSG.