Rob on Twitter asked me what I thought of Battlestar Galactica’s finale episode: Daybreak. I had to digest it overnight before I could properly think about everything that has happened in the last few weeks.

I’m not going to do a complete recap of the show as other people have accomplished this much better than I have, but I do have a few thoughts about this journey.

The old saying goes along those lines that “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey” which I think is what Ron Moore had in mind when he scoped out this show, just as Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindolf are doing with Lost. Anytime, anyone meets a goal, there is an initial sense of accomplishment once the prize is reached, yet a let down to know that the trek is what matters in the long run. (Star Trek was about the trek, campers.)

I have always been intrigued by the existentialism and mythology that has guided the show, but last night I thought we saw more religious connotations put into place. Not traditional ones, but they were there nonetheless. The God and Gods of BSG are not what I think we traditional know, although folks may disagree with me on that one.

The highlights for me was the acting. That’s what BSG was all about. Fully realized and flawed characters who were neither good nor bad, just human. Even the Cylons were flawed with dark and confused emotions.

The characters thought they had found earth and were stripped down in the a dark abyss where it honestly came down to there were only two options at the End of Daybreak 1. Death or Redemption by rescuing Hera, although most were expecting death as that was what they knew at that time. These characters expected no happy endings, and neither did I, quite frankly. The journey had gone horribly wrong with the charred, radioactive remains of the first earth was found. Where does one go after that? Hope was destroyed.

But moreso, the Old Lady was dying and thus is the title of the show. She was on life support, just as President Laura Roslin was dying. They had a few more battles to fight, and sheer will power and determination got them through the last battle. It was a flawed president and an aging ship that represented, for me at least, the entire backbone (as Tigh mentioned) of the mission.

And it was the Old Man who took care of them both of his mistresses. The weight of this responsibility is heavy, as we saw Adama bend from how vast his duty was. And he proved to be flawed and human, but he did not break.

From a fangirl perspective, the red splashed on the Centurions fighting their older counterparts, where it reminded me that in war it’s hard to know the enemy, was my favorite part. I just love them. Which moves us too …

Faith.

More after the break:

Would releasing the Centurions with their freedom mean their would be a lasting truce? I don’t know why I thought about this, but I did.

Yes, I mainly satisfied with the finale but there were some things that I didn’t love as I sometimes I want the loose ends tied up. Kara and Lee, although it was told to us repeatedly, they were not destined to be together, seemed odd to me in the ending. We saw Kara suffer. Was she an apostle-like figure that had to suffer to see Anders on the other side, who somehow knew as he laid in the milky water of his hybrid grave.? Was Anders her destiny?

I’m thinking yes.

I was always thought that Apollo wanted Kara, needed her for some reason, because he knew he would never have her. I don’t know, it seemed that in battle, they were a perfect fit, but outside, that it was a physical bond without other things. Kara could knock boots with more than just Lee, but Lee seemed to need her more than she needed him. I saw him grow in the series, but if you look at that, for me at least, it makes sense. Kara was not his in the traditional mores of our society. She was destiny’s and, I believe, Anders because I’m a closet romantic.

Roslin died watching beauty yet Adama leaving Lee seemed very odd to me but, then again, it wasn’t what I wanted to see, and I guess that’s okay. Roslin, who is an amazing strong character, had to die. I knew that and I think we all did. She was like Moses to a degree, although she got to the promised land and died there.

The characters were well-drawn and for me, it was the journey. Gaius as a prophet himself who always believed his own hyped (although he knew deep within, he was a fraud) but finally let his actions align with his words, Cavell, always the bully and the coward, Ellen and Tigh with the obvious (that they always belonged together), the good and gruff Dr. Cottle, who remained the way he always was and the list goes on.

Actions, in the end, spoke louder than the dark words before them.

I’m still chewing on this. I am just touching on some of my initial observations but I keep hammering on realized and unrealized Faith. Not everyone is going to get a happy ending.

And that is life, campers.