It’s all over

The final episode of Battlestar Galactica screened last night. I’ll do spoilsers over the break, but will say it is a great ending and pretty much all the plotlines get wrapped up.

CTV has a slideshow of 23 great moments in Battlestar Galactica.

One reason I like the show so much (apart from being sci-fi) is the issues it has portrayed. You’ve had coups and counter-coups. An occupation and rebels. Are the rebels justified in killing collabators? This is one reason the UN had some of the cast fascilitate a discussion at their headquarters on human rights. The show got people thinking about these issues.

The only spoiler I’ll let out before the break is that the final scene is set on modern day Earth. But not as people might expect.

So what happened in the final? Click over the break.

• Lt Hoshi gets a major promotion to Admiral, as Adama leaves him in charge of the base start and the rest of the fleet.
• Likewise Romo Lampkin becomes the new President of the Colonies and a great scene as Hoshi and Lampkin are farewelled off Galactica as the Persident and the Admiral by Lee Adama.
• At the final minute Baltar decides not to leave Galactica with his harem and steps forward to stay behind – finally doing the one selifsh thing Lee Adama challenged him on. Lee throws him a gun and they have a great unspoken conversation.
• The jump to the Cylon base and are almost destroyed by Cylon ships. But Anders shuts down their hybrids (he has basically become one himself)
• Galactica actually rams the Cylon base and they send assault teams on board. Some great scenes of Cylon centurions in an assault squard led by Starbuck.
• The No 8 (Boomer) that kidnapped Hera stops her being surgically examined by Simon and gives him to back to Athena. Athena thanks her but says it can’t change anything. Boomer says she did it because she owes the Admiral one (we see in a flashback that he gave her a second chance at piloting many years ago and she said she willone day pay him back for the second chance). Athena then kills Boomer which as they look identical is quite jarring.
• Cylons get through to the CIC of Galactica and there is a stand off over Hera. Cavill agrees to let them keep her and declare a truce in exchange for the resurrection technology – otherwise Cylons will die out.
• The final five Cylons need to share memories to put the resurrection technology back together. As they do so, Chief Tyrol learns that Tory murdered Cally.  He flies into a rage (watch his eyes bulge as he sees Tory kill Cally) and strangles her dead. Very emotional scene.
• The cylons think Tyrol’s attack means they are betraying him and a firefight breaks out in the CIC. The cylons outnumbered are killed with Cavil committing suicide as the last one left.
• A dead pilot’s ship gets hit by some debris pushing her hand onto the nuke release (you think it would need more than that!). Nukes had been banned as they were all in so close together. The nukes tear the Cylon base apart and push it and everything into the black hole.
• Adama yells at Starbuck to jump them out of there. She has no idea where and them realises the music in her head can be co-ordinates. She punches in some numbers and they jump the ship – to our Earth – not the original Earth that died 2,000 years ago.
• This is our Earth 150,000 years ago with the first signs of humanity in Africa. The humans and the humanoid cylons decide to stay on Earth and to abanadon all their technology des to the ills it has caused. The centrurion cylons take the base star with them.
• The Galactica is abandoned with the final Viper to leave being Admiral Adama – no other human left on board. Again an awesome scene. Then Anders guides the entire fleet into the sun!
• We discover that the No Six and the Baltar than Baltar and Caprica Six both saw in their heads are actually angels, as is Starbuck. Starbuck disapears as her mission is done after farewelling Lee.
• Various people split off to form their settlements and farms. A really poignant moment as Adama finds the perfect spot for the cabin he has talked about for so long with Roslin, and she peacefully dies just as they get there. You see her grave on the hilltop where the cabin is planned.
• Baltar and Caprica Six get a final visit from their angels and go off to build a farm together.
• Finally we see the Baltar and Six angels in New York City in 2009 – 150,000 years later. A magazine article says the remains of Mitochondrial Eve (Hera) have just been found in Africa.  You then see some TV shots of robots and they note “this has all happened before” and discuss how maybe this time it will not happen again.

A great ending. There were also many homages to other shows such as Logan’s Run, Star Wars, Star Trek and the orginal BSG. They are detailed on Wikipedia here.

Now I just have to wait for the prequels!