By Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part 2Was it just me or did it seem that everywhere you turned Friday, there was a reminder that the season finale of
Battlestar Galactica would air Friday evening? I saw banner ads plastered across a variety of web sites, there was a lot of critical praise given to the finale and I even heard a commerical on the radio telling you it wasn't too late to get in on the ride. Which is good, though I have to admit if you just dropped by on Friday night to see what all these hype was about, you might be a little confused. Not only was this the continuation of the storyline begun last week in By Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part 1, it was also a tying up of some of the plot threads from the mini-series until now.
I have to admit that given the sheer hype and hearing from our fellow UK watchers that this hour of
Batttlestar Galactica was beyond good, I was extremely skeptical. Going in, I wanted to like it, but I also knew that the potential for it to be as good as advertised was also there. I was cautiously optimistic about the story.
Needless to say, I should have a lot more faith in Ron Moore and company. To say that Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part 2 is one of the better hours of TV I've seen in a while is an understament. And you have to remember--this comes from me, the man who admittedly watches way too much TV for his own good. But that is how much I liked this episode of
Battlestar Galactica. It was pitch-perfect in every scene with characters acting in ways that made absolute sense based on what we know about them. It was taut, suspenseful and exciting. There were times--such as when Adama goes to ask Boomer to help out attacking the Cylon basestar that just resonated. At first, I thought that Boomer would somehow sabotage the mission since she is a Cylon. Little did I realize that the apparent Cylon plan--or at least part of it--is to throw the fleet into chaos. Boomer comes back to
Galactica to acccept the praise for a job well done and shoots Adama twice in the gut. That moment was jaw-dropping, but no more so than the other 17 or so that led up to it.
This one pulled out all the stops but left me wanting more . It can't be July fast enough for me to see where things go from here.
There was a lot of intersting stuff here. Apollo does what Adama asked him to do long ago--chooses a side. Caprica Boomer reveals she is pregnant. Adama is forced to take drastic measures after Roslin convinces Starbuck to the take the Raider to Caprica and retrieve the Arrow of Apollo. Tigh is thrust into command it would appar with Adama down. Six reveals that part of the Cylon plan to get closer to their god is procreation---something she wants to do with Baltar. How will Cylons being able to have children bring them closer to their god? I'm not sure, but I'm there for the ride. Seeing Baltar go on the long walk with Six and the music that accompanies it was nicely done.
And we got to see inside a Cylon Basestar. How cool was that moment? The sense of dread, terror and wonder at going inside was wonderful . Also, while inside, I began to wonder when and if Boomer's programming would take over. As near as I can figure, the programming kicked in when she left the copies of herself inside the ship and flew out. It appears the Cylons are willing to take on a few casulaties to get what they want--they sacrfice a basestar in order to get Boomer close enough to gun down Adama. Also, by sending a copy a few weeks ago to plant the seeds in Roslin's mind about the finding of Kobol and her role in it, they have now put a power vaccum in the fleet. Roslin is behind bars and the military is suddenly under control of Tigh who ain't exactly grace under pressure. If the Cylon goal is to wipe out the fleet, now is a good thing to attack. Especially since Starbuck and Apollo, two of the better pilots may be out of the fray for a while.
But the best part is--we get to continue the story this summer. It wasn't just a wrap-up to a plotline in a neat little bow. Instead, we were left with more questions than answers and a desire to keep exploring. I can't wait to see where the journey will take us next .
posted by Michael Hickerson at 4/03/2005 01:25:00 PM |
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