…And I don’t think I’m gonna love you anymore.”
BSG has finally come to a conclusion. It was a very mixed bag. Even several days after having watched the two-part three hour series finale, I’m still internally messed up over it.
Daybreak part one was a mess. About half of the episode were flashbacks to Caprica before the fall. My initial take on this was that it was some sort of teaser for the upcoming Caprica stuff. I really didn’t care about what happened during these scenes. As I think about it now though, I think that part of the reason I didn’t care was because we have already seen these characters doing these things. So I do agree with the other commentors I’ve read, that the purpose of these flashbacks was to show the continued motto of the show, that it has all happened before and it will all happen again.
We were treated to the first meeting of Kara Thrace and Lee Adama, where the sparks fly immediately, even though she is (married/engaged) to Lee’s big brother. Admiral Adama is being an angry drunk with his best buddy Tigh, while agonizing over some unwanted decision. And the Madam President gets some horrible news and then acts like a crazy woman about it. Not to be unsympathetic about it, but this is the same stuff we’ve been shown for the past four years. It kind of makes the whole experience pathetic/pendantic to think that the characters haven’t been changed by destruction of entire worlds. Is that the point, or merely bad story-telling?
Then an important scene happens off screen. Somehow Adama changes his mind and decides that it is important enough to risk the majority of the human refuge military on a suicide rescue mission for Hera. What is said to convince him that he was wrong before? No idea. That wasn’t important enough to the tale to reveal to the watcher. How did they manage to cipher out what Anders knew about the location of the Cylon colony? Again, not important enough to show us.
This first hour long part of Daybreak wraps up with a very emotionally powerful (manipulative) scene where everyone decides if they will stay with the fleet or go on to die trying to rescue a little half-human child who mystically is supposed to be the future of both races. It’s ridiculous and I love it.
I am going to have to re-watch the second part of Daybreak before I go on. I’m starting to get the order of things mixed up in my head and I want to represent my impressions correctly.
