BSG: Daybreak

[lls_mutant]

Oh my God, I loved it.

I was fully expecting to cry. I am very surprised I did not. It didn't blow my mind or shock me, but aside from the fact I wanted a curtain call for all the dead characters, I was completely satisfied.

Something we didn't expect? Yeah, that's for sure. A HAPPY ENDING.

I didn't comment last week on Daybreak I because I felt it was such a first act, and I definitely agree with that assessment. It was a great episode, with some good character moments, space porn, and lots of questions answered, and now I'm just gonna go into fangirl mode.

-The truth of the Opera House: Holy shit, was that perfect. I LOVED the resolution there. It was Occum's Razor- simple, direct, and eloquent, and beautiful.

-Tory died. YAY! I am one of the few who adored Cally, so this made me ludicrously happy. Although when Tory was talking about 'finding out each other's deepest secrets', she sounded like a teenaged girl at a slumber party playing a drinking game for the first time.

-I counted seven named deaths: Skulls and Racetrack, Boomer (AWESOME death for her, and falafel_musings, I was thinking of your story, Cavil, Tory, Anders, and Laura. I am at peace with all of those.

-I actually really liked the angel thing, because they didn't elaborate any further. (Both the head people being angels and Kara being an angel.) And wow, way to end Kara so that both Sam and Lee shippers can be happy.

-I am at peace with Adama now. And I was at peace with Laura's passing.

-ADMIRAL HOSHI AND PRESIDENT LAMPKIN. Oh. My. God. We hit that point, hit commercial, and Al and I looked at each other and burst into hysterical laughter. All they need is a theme song.

-That said, I'm REALLY glad they used Hoshi and not Narcho for the webisodes. It did work out better, because it fleshed Hoshi out a little more. And that moment when Adama gave Gaeta's lover the Admiral pins??????? I WANT FIC, PEOPLE!

-Also, while I'm sure if Gaeta had survived he would have been Admiral, I'm glad he went out on the mutiny arc. It was a better way to go- much juicier.

-I adore Galen, and I'm glad he lived to the end. I'm glad he found out what happened to Cally. I get that he wanted to live the rest of his life alone. I'm sad that he completely abandoned Nicky. A part of me wants to say HotDog and Nicky went with him, but no. Nicky deserves to be around kids and people. So Hot Dog and Nicky lived right near the nice man who Nicky called Uncle Louis, and Hot Dog and Hoshi became good friends and neither of them quite hooked up with anyone but they had a bromance that rivaled Adama and Tigh's and they all lived happily ever after.

-The Fighting Agathons got a happy ending. AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. Although for a moment, I thought Helo was going to lose his leg and I would have laughed my ass off.

-The closest I came to crying was when Cottle said goodbye to Laura. When Laura died, I was at peace with it. She saw Earth, she died happy, Adama buried her, and he was at peace.

-Caprica Six and Baltar. HOW MUCH DID I LOVE THIS??????????????? OMG, so much. Yes, I like Gaeta loving Baltar, but I don't like Baltar loving Gaeta romantically in return. His OTP for me is Caprica Six. Well, really Baltar/himself, but he's come a ways. And his destiny was to carry Hera into the CIC. HEHEHEEHHEHEEHE. And he ended up becoming a farmer anyway. And Ron Moore, I don't care WHAT you say, when Gaius and Six had their first son, he was named Felix.

-Oh, and head!Baltar and head!Six appearing? My second laugh-out-loud moment of the finale.

-Racetrack and Skulls have such luck that they took out the Colony when they were DEAD. I love it.

-The ending. Wow, someone's read Good Omens. :) I actually really liked Hera being the Eve they found back a ways back. And Ron Moore's cameo made me laugh, too, because it was so frakking obvious. Although I wish they'd used the time for the robot montage to remember the dead characters. YES, I WANTED MY CURTAIN CALL!!!!!

-Want extended editions. NOW!

I'm sure that's only scratching the surface, but well done, show. Well done.

Comments

[foreverrhapsody.livejournal.com]

I figured Gaeta would have been admiral if he'd still been there as well. :-( I would have liked to see that, but I'm glad Hoshi got more screen time.

Oh, god. If the finale was this long, how long are the extended versions going to be?

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

I guess it's only three episodes, and they're 10-15 minutes longer.

I wonder how people who didn't watch the episodes responded to Hoshi. My guess is, "WHO?"

[foreverrhapsody.livejournal.com]

That makes sense.

Heh. Probably. It was nice to see a background character get a little recognition outside webisodes, especially one so adorable.

[serenenuit.livejournal.com]

Tory died. YAY!

Yay, Chief! That was such a satisfying snap. I was not fond of Tory at all.

What am I supposed to do with my Friday nights now??

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

I was not, either. It did not help that they had NO idea what to do with her once she was a Cylon. How could she get so much screentime and we find out NOTHING about her????

[millari.livejournal.com]

So many people are so angry about this finale, but really, up until the last two minutes on present-day Earth (and Boomer, I wasn't happy about how Boomer went out, actually - we disagree on that one), I was quite okay with the finale. I loved Caprica and Baltar's resolution, and the way he broke when he said he knew something about farming and she comforted him totally made my heart full of love for them. Roslin had to die, so as it goes, it was kind of a quietly beautiful death. I'm glad Ellen and Tigh made it, and I'm just not going to think about the way he dumped Caprica. (Maybe there'll be a deleted scene where we find out she dumped his ass.) I wasn't thrilled to see Tory turned into the evil-bitch-that-must-be-throttled-to-death, but I'm glad that there were consequences for what she did. And I'm glad that the Cylon-Human resolution didn't come that easily, and that in fact, it was killed because of a relatively small thing.

I think I liked this finale as much as I did, even though it didn't answer a lot of hanging questions because I've invested so much in the characters' stories. The most important priority for me was the character resolutions. I'm beginning to think it's what RDM really cares about too, given the shows he's worked on. I don't think he's intrigued by open-ended ideas about mythology, but is a bit lazy about resolving them, preferring to think about them as "ambiguous" instead of "unresolved."

In retrospect, it's telling that at some point in Season 3, Baltar just stopped asking Head!Six questions about his destiny and what the hell she was, and started rolling with it. His ability to deal rationally with the presence of Head!Baltar in the space of two minutes spoke volumes about how much handwaving about the mythology Baltar and RDM were willing to do by then. Also, in Season 4, I think it's telling that Head!Six pretty much disappeared and RDM and the writers literally didn't know what to do with her.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

I think I liked this finale as much as I did, even though it didn't answer a lot of hanging questions because I've invested so much in the characters' stories. The most important priority for me was the character resolutions.

Yes. This is exactly it for me, too. And it's why I wanted the parade of dead people. I wanted the acknowledgment of the characters and what they'd meant to the story and show.

I have to admit, I kind of just roll with the flow about the mytharc. We'll never know the truth about God and angels and all that anyway (at least in this life), so it doesn't bug me. I actually kind of liked that some of the prophecies were wrong :)

And I agree- it would be nice to see Caprica dump Tigh's ass :)

[tin-o-biscuits.livejournal.com]

The ending. Wow, someone's read Good Omens. :)
GOD YES THANK YOU. I totally thought I was the only one who saw that ending as a lil Omens-esque. And it reinforces the cast list in my head (James Callis for Crowley). :D

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

James Callis would be AWESOME for Crowley, as would Gary Oldman.

Who do you have for Az?

[tin-o-biscuits.livejournal.com]

Alessandro Juliani, duh, he's super-angelic!! Az I could never peg as far as choosing an actor, I dunno if it was just the lack of physical description for him or my lack of actor knowledge. XD

[puszysty.livejournal.com]

I think you're definitely right about the character aspect of it, and resolving them. I felt resolution for all the characters, and I liked how all of them worked out. (hm, except Cavil, I can't buy him eating a gun) My friend has been swearing up and down that the show is not about the characters at all, it's about ideas, and I'm really curious to find out her reaction to last night's show.

It's just the whole "primitive life on a perfect planet = happily ever after" part that bugs me so much..but I ficced out my frustration and I'm a lot calmer.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

I think it's about the characters, too. That's what pulled me in, and that's what's got be writing fic :) I also agree I didn't quite get Cavil eating his gun, although the two guys I watched it with both thought it was right.

As far as the life on the planet, I've been assuming they kept SOME stuff. Maybe? Please? :) But beyond that, I agree with some of the issues. Like a guy with a special effects budget bigger than the GNP of an impoverished African nation preaching against the evils of technology, y'know???? :) And personally, I like the idea people have tossed out of Atlantis as opposed to Eve. Much more sense!

[puszysty.livejournal.com]

I don't think you can have 'ideas' without characters to drive them/represent them, so saying the characters aren't important just doesn't make any sense to me!

I just read somewhere that it was Dean Stockton's idea to have Cavil eat his gun, and originally they'd written Colonel Tigh killing him. I think I would've liked that version better.

I like the idea of Atlantis! Maybe that happened too, when someone said "Frak you Lee, how are going to find out anyway since you've got no communications devices?". This idea deserves to be ficced. :)

[mrine.livejournal.com]

Yay, someone else who loved the finale!

Lol, your projected future for Nicky is so cute. It's nice to think of all the little human and hybrid kids running around on a beautiful planet. I always felt so bad for Hera, being cooped up on that spaceship.

Good Omens, ha, I hadn't even thought of that. How perfect!

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Yeah- I might have issues with it, but overall, I felt satisfied.

Nicky and Hera deserve some happiness. What a rotten life. They need cupcakes, damn it!!! :)

[trovia.livejournal.com]

-The ending. Wow, someone's read Good Omens. :)

LOL. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that. I wonder which of them is supposed to be Aziraphale.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

I think a lot of people did. And I'd guess Six?

[sambethe.livejournal.com]

I never even thought to ask for a happy ending from this writing crew. I'm still sort of shocked that they gave it to me.

And, as I just posted, I want Good Omens crossover fic ASAP!

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

I know. I keep laughing because everyone said it's nothing like you'd expect. I'll say. It didn't end with "rocks fall, everyone dies!"

And there should be Good Omens crossover fic. Heh- it could be really, really funny if done right!

[safenthecity.livejournal.com]

I'm glad someone liked it. I actually liked most of the same moments you did. It was just so disappointing to me that it went from such an amazing beginning to "And by the way, since you're all incompetent, God will come and save you" moment.

But, yes. Gaius and Caprica are so much love <3 And Gaius is so hot in combat gear. They both were, actually. All they needed was Head!Felix to show up and end up between them :)

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Gaius and Caprica made me smile. I never would have thought it because I never liked either character (but in the way you're not meant to- I thought they were mostly well written), but they really made me smile.

And Head!Felix is off playing with Hoshi ;)

[safenthecity.livejournal.com]

I had not felt much for Gaius at all until Blood on the Scales. My sister thinks it's because he was nice to Felix, but really, it's because before that moment, I wasn't sure he was even capable of thinking of anyone besides himself.

I liked Caprica, but to be honest, if they were going to kill cylons once ressurection died, it should have been her. It ticked me off to no end how much of a grudge they held against Boomer when Caprica's very name is a constant reminder of her very personal involvement with the destruction of humanity.

So yes, in spite of the fact that part of me wanted to kill them both, they made me so strangely happy at the end there. I'm just going to say they deserve each other and roll with it.

And since these crazy Angel People can take corporeal form, they are having a rockin' good time in their little... hut. Or cave. Or whatever. They haven't even really noticed, because they are too busy seeing only each other.

[brennanspeaks.livejournal.com]

I also did not cry at the finale (much to my shock), but I didn't sleep last night either. I'm in awe and mourning at the same time. I'm actually kind of glad that they didn't resolve all the questions. This late in the game, any answer they could give would just seem contrived. We're asked to take it on faith--not too much to ask, since that's what so many of the characters have been doing all along. I still don't know about Angel!Kara, though--maybe because in RL people have to linger after they feel their "purpose" is complete, have to deal with loss and redefine themselves . . . I do, however, love the flashback imagery with Lee waking up. As my friend Patrick said "He could never catch the bird." If I had a real OTP, it would probably be them.

The Agathons will need years of peace, quiet, and hilarious hunting trips to wipe away all the crazy-ass stuff Hera has seen. I've been saying for seasons that she's gonna need therapy when all this is through, but I never imagined her running through a *firefight* only to be taken hostage prior to an even *bigger* firefight. At least her family came through all right, though they really tortured us with Helo--dead or alive?

I'm glad you've made your peace with Adama. I could never really be angry at him--couldn't stay mad at any of them for long. More than anything else, this episode showed me how much I love each and every one of the Galacticans.

Well, it's great to see someone else who loved the finale. Most of my flist seems to be violently angry.

Oh, and check out my amazing foreshadowy icon! I'm officially *never* gonna stop using this thing . . .

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Hera can finally eat something besides algae! But given that she hasn't known much else, I can see her begging for algae at meal times :)

I agree about them leaving a lot of answers ambiguous. They were never going to satisfy everyone, and it fit.

I understood Adama, but yeah. I was furious with him. Not for killing Felix, because the rules were pretty black and white, but for putting Felix in such a bad place to start and then for not really showing any regret. I mean, maybe he did. I can't believe he wasn't thinking of Felix when he held those Admiral's stars in Islanded. But I was glad to love Adama again.

And your icon is AWESOME! :) (Plus, best. scene. EVER.)

[safenthecity.livejournal.com]

The reasons you were furious at Adama are exactly the same as mine. I just never got to a point where I could forgive him for it. By the end, I couldn't find anything about him to make me care about him at all. His moment with dead Laura was sad, but mostly because I felt bad that Laura didn't really get to be with him long. :( I was so depressed- I wanted to love him again so much.

[kappamaki33.livejournal.com]

Yay! Glad I'm not the only one who really liked the finale. The characters not only all received fitting endings, but in general, much happier fitting endings than I thought they would. Maybe life on prehistoric Earth without technology will kind of stink, but they were going to be living on spaceships without working technology and not much by way of resources pretty soon anyway, so I consider Earth a "win."

Caprica Six and Baltar. HOW MUCH DID I LOVE THIS???????????????
I loved all the Caprica Six and Baltar interactions, but I cried three times: 1) Anders's "you betcha, Galen" (Sam was still in there! :( ), 2) when Laura died, and 3) most surprisingly, when Baltar realized the irony of his farming background. Just the look on James Callis's face...

ADMIRAL HOSHI AND PRESIDENT LAMPKIN. Oh. My. God. We hit that point, hit commercial, and Al and I looked at each other and burst into hysterical laughter. All they need is a theme song.

Mo Ryan said it best at her blog: I would *so* watch that spinoff. :)

That said, I'm REALLY glad they used Hoshi and not Narcho for the webisodes. It did work out better, because it fleshed Hoshi out a little more. And that moment when Adama gave Gaeta's lover the Admiral pins??????? I WANT FIC, PEOPLE!


Seconded!

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Maybe life on prehistoric Earth without technology will kind of stink, but they were going to be living on spaceships without working technology and not much by way of resources pretty soon anyway, so I consider Earth a "win."

Yeah, and when Lee said "no technology", I like to think he didn't mean complete no technology. (Like no shovels? No pots? No stills? :) ) After all, they were going to run out of fuel soon, especially since tyllium doesn't exist on Earth, and what were they going to use for power? How were they going to manufacture delicate equipment? They were definitely going to end up with a downgrade no matter what.

The farming moment was awesome.

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Yay, your squee is happy squee to read! It was 11pm when our download disk was finally burnt so I haven't had the chance to read other peoples reviews till now.

I agree that I prefer Gaeta going out with a juicy mutiny arc than being made Admiral. Hey, he got to be Admiral too and unlike Hoshi we actually got to SEE him commanding. But yeah after all that happened between Gaeta-Adama it is funny that Bill gave his command to his boyfriend. I could have done with Adama-Hoshi being less chummy but never mind. I was at peace with him after these episodes too.

I really think Gaeta got one of the best arcs and exits in 4.5. Boomer was another one. She broke my heart. And yes, her death definitely fit well within my Bullets series. *sigh*

My favourite scene was definitely the Opera House. Magic.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Gaeta and Boomer definitely got the best arcs of the season, and they both worked it like whoa. I was actually a little disappointed with the Final Five, unfortunately. They didn't get to do much, for all that they did the exposition. ::sigh::

I also would have liked to see SOMETHING with Adama-Hoshi. Either some bitterness, or maybe Adama realizing that he'd better actually sit down and talk with Hoshi, and some sort of reconciliation effort. (Although that seems horribly out of character for where he was at that time.) ::Sigh::

The Opera House was GORGEOUS. That was my favorite plot resolution, to be honest.

[prophetkristy.livejournal.com]

Tory getting offed was just about the GREATEST THING IN THE HISTORY OF GREAT THINGS.

I don't understand the angel thing AT ALL. But I suspect that if I think about it harder, it'll just make me GRRSMASH, so I'm just going to ignore it.

I'm impressed that you're at peace with Adama; I'm still really, really not.

RACETRACK AND SKULLS: SAVING HUMANITY BY ACCIDENT FROM THE NEXT LIFE. awesome.

We can't remember the dead characters; RDM doesn't care about them! *throws things*

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

I should feel bad about it, because yeah, the violence and the personal vengeance and all that. But I so don't. I feel bad for the actress though- it wasn't her fault they made the character suck. You know what would have been cool? If she and Ellen had been allowed to have a real bitchfight.

I'm impressed that you're at peace with Adama; I'm still really, really not.

I think I am because he didn't get a happy ending. Adama just waited to die. And I'm okay with that, because I think Earth 1.0 and everything past that really did break him. I don't want the man to burn in Hell, but I did want him to have to face his demons. I'd like to think that on that hillside, he takes some time to remember all his kids, and I really want to see a fanfic scene where he cries over Gaeta, damn it.


RACETRACK AND SKULLS: SAVING HUMANITY BY ACCIDENT FROM THE NEXT LIFE. awesome.

I have an idea for a little five times fic where angels visited people in the finale and we just didn't see it. (Like Gaeta and Zarek visiting Hoshi and Lampkin or something. And someone- maybe Cain and Kendra- visiting Lee and helping guide him through The Colony.) Racetrack and Skulls are on my list in a cracky way.

I wish RDM would appreciate some of the characters he created more!

[prophetkristy.livejournal.com]

yaaaaaay, Liss fic!

[thistlerose.livejournal.com]

Most of my flist seemed to have liked the finale, but I keep reading that people didn't. Do you happen to know what they didn't like?

Gah, Tory. She's the only one of the Final Five without a developed personality. And she had the potential to be interesting. But I'm fine with her going out the way she did. I didn't love Cally, but I liked her during the first season and I'm glad she was finally avenged by Galen - who must have cared for her, despite the awful things he said.