Now that's the way to end a series - with some frakking incredible storytelling. Ron Moore said he was stressing over how to write the ending to BSG, getting all caught up in the plot, and it wasn't working. Then he had an epiphany: 'It's the characters, stupid.'
(
Frak yeah )
1. I wanted a bit of closure for Leoben and Starbuck - not sexual, but something. He had been such an important part of her journey (and underscored once again that it takes both humans and cylons) that I felt it needed something more.
Yeah, Leoben was just kind of missing at the end, and there needed to be some resolution there.
2. I have a few concerns about it devolving into a pastoral, that return to primitive nobility that will make everything better. Oh, well - it's a genre for a reason, I guess.
I didn't see it so much as a return to primitive nobility as, like Lee said, a clean slate. Starting over.
3. The last few minutes. They tell us Hera is mitochondrial Eve, and that's important to the human/cylon message. It also saves it a bit from the pastoral thingy.
But ... but ... it just felt too heavy handed. Yes, this is our Earth (showing Africa as the ship flies over Luna kinda nailed that). But flashing forward to now and going, 'Will they repeat the same mistakes again?' Literally. Out loud. Too, too much. [No wait - let me open my mouth wider so you can use a bigger spoon.] And all the video of the robots we've made - it went on for too long.
Yeah. They just needed to cut that waaaaay shorter.
4. If they wanted to really work the missing link thingy, they should have had the primitives on earth be more like a neanderthal instead of so tall and gangly.
Yes! That really didn't make much sense.
5. I know the show has had a mystical/spiritual element from the start, but 'angels' and 'god' and all that still get on my nerves. At least Gaius said that the higher power didn't like to be called 'god,' so that we can see we shouldn't be layering Christianity over it, but it was just one tiny line, and I fear not enough to really say that we still don't know what the higher power is.
And as a polytheist, can I just say how very, very much this aspect annoyed the hell out of me?
On the one hand, it was very cool seeing this utterly matter-of-fact polytheist society. Even worshipping some of the same Gods and Goddesses I do! Not in a way that has any real connection to the way the Ancient Greeks did it (let's start with priests doing funerals - huge taboo!), which had me wondering what if any connection to our Ancient Greece there would be. But still, it was cool. However. The Cylon "one true God" kept showing more actual influence on events. And then Baltar's little sermon on Galactica. And Gaius and Caprica's little Crowley and Aziraphale-esque stroll through downtown-wherever. Yeah. Very annoyed.
Even with the "doesn't like to be called God" line, it still annoys me, because it does buy into that neo-Platonic "whatever it is, there can be only one" thing. I get that a large percentage of people believe that in some form or other. But to go there from that well-developed polytheistic society felt like a slap in the face. There's been a longish post on this brewing since about midway through the webisodes between S2 and S3, and now that I've finally seen the ending, maybe I'll finally type it all out.
6. Update: This did strike me. I know it served the story, and there was never any doubt that Laura would lose her battle with cancer, but ... But we're left with an ending about four different couples. All the men are human. For the two couples with human women, both women 'die.' For the two couples with cylon women, they live. The subtext is a little like 'the men get their walking sex-toys.' Only a little, because we come to see both Caprica and Athena as much more than that, but ... I'm bothered nonetheless.
I was bothered by Caprica and Boomer from the start coming across as the typical temptresses luring men to their destruction. At least Gina!Six got to also lure a woman? *sigh* And yeah, all the purely human lead women were gone by the end, which didn't exactly help the overall sense of misogynistic undertones, though Hera as Mitochondrial Eve helped. And the way Caprica, Athena, and Starbuck developed as strong women characters helped. But still. Yeah. Bothered.
Reply
I get the starting over thing now, but boy, you should have seen some BSG freak the hell out over this.
Even with the "doesn't like to be called God" line, it still annoys me, because it does buy into that neo-Platonic "whatever it is, there can be only one" thing.
I know! If the message is that we have to incorporate multiple ways of being to make the best hope for the future (Hera as mitochondrial Eve), why wasn't that social as well as genetic? Why the push for monotheism? Argh.
all the purely human lead women were gone by the end, which didn't exactly help the overall sense of misogynistic undertones
Yes, I want to know why there couldn't have been one viable male Cylon/female human storyline in the entire series. Kara/Leoben doesn't count (much as a part of me wishes it did) - he was too messed up.
Really, all the male Cylons were very negative. Maybe it was sexism from the other side? Or is it still a crack at women - only female Cylons won't be 'tough killing machines'?
Reply
Leave a comment