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trinityvixenI've been thinking a lot about the finale for BSG and I've pinpointed in my mind specific themes and individual scenes/choices that bugged me and lead to such a messy end. Some of the folk I watched the finale with said that it was probably the best they could have done starting from where they had. I violently disagree. There were plenty of better ways to end it even with all that had come before. The worst problems arose in the last half season, so, maybe, without being able to undo those, the finale was the best it could have been. But even still, I felt that the finale was bad even in terms of previous episodes just within this last half season.
There are two major problems of theme with the finale, but they are, more or less, entirely endemic to that episode and not any of the others. Those problems are God and Technology. I've covered my dislike in how both God and Technology were involved in the ending. Basically, the literal involvement of God in the series through his agents is problematic because it imposes a deterministic frame on the series. There was never any other way for people to act because God set everything in motion. Calvinism is no way to generate drama. The demonification of Technology is both grossly at odds with the prevailing winds of the series--that the technology is irrelevant when you have consciousnesses that can think and feel--and insultingly moralistic. Both of these themes being abused caused about 99% of my dislike for the finale.
Events taking place in the finale weren't entirely great either, even ones that don't fall under the umbrella of problematic thematic elements. A lot of the issues I took with the finale and the series is that nonsensical decisions ruled the day. (Cavil deciding to listen to Gaius Baltar, of all people.) Or that hard decisions were avoided like the plague. (Integrating with Cylons, making a go of a new world with all the history that had come before instead of wiping it in hopes of its never coming up again.) These are not just problems with the finale. That last set of problems has been endemic to the series since Cain. Since Roslin never died of cancer that first time. And so on.
I'm drafting a list in my head of what things might have been different, going back only so far as the start of 4.5 and then beyond that to 4.0. Seeing as the events of season 4.5 are almost entirely contained/caused by the events of season four as a whole, it's easy to pick out moments whereby, if the other three seasons are inescapable canon, that could have been changed to make a better ending. Whatever the problems of seasons 1-3, I feel that they had less of an impact on season four than did intra-four events.
So tell me my BSG fans: what would you have changed about season four/4.5 before the finale that you think would have made for better (or, at least less stupid) drama and/or conclusion to the series as a whole?
There are two major problems of theme with the finale, but they are, more or less, entirely endemic to that episode and not any of the others. Those problems are God and Technology. I've covered my dislike in how both God and Technology were involved in the ending. Basically, the literal involvement of God in the series through his agents is problematic because it imposes a deterministic frame on the series. There was never any other way for people to act because God set everything in motion. Calvinism is no way to generate drama. The demonification of Technology is both grossly at odds with the prevailing winds of the series--that the technology is irrelevant when you have consciousnesses that can think and feel--and insultingly moralistic. Both of these themes being abused caused about 99% of my dislike for the finale.
Events taking place in the finale weren't entirely great either, even ones that don't fall under the umbrella of problematic thematic elements. A lot of the issues I took with the finale and the series is that nonsensical decisions ruled the day. (Cavil deciding to listen to Gaius Baltar, of all people.) Or that hard decisions were avoided like the plague. (Integrating with Cylons, making a go of a new world with all the history that had come before instead of wiping it in hopes of its never coming up again.) These are not just problems with the finale. That last set of problems has been endemic to the series since Cain. Since Roslin never died of cancer that first time. And so on.
I'm drafting a list in my head of what things might have been different, going back only so far as the start of 4.5 and then beyond that to 4.0. Seeing as the events of season 4.5 are almost entirely contained/caused by the events of season four as a whole, it's easy to pick out moments whereby, if the other three seasons are inescapable canon, that could have been changed to make a better ending. Whatever the problems of seasons 1-3, I feel that they had less of an impact on season four than did intra-four events.
So tell me my BSG fans: what would you have changed about season four/4.5 before the finale that you think would have made for better (or, at least less stupid) drama and/or conclusion to the series as a whole?
