Battlestar Galactica: Daybreak (Series Finale) (Review part I of II)

Battlestar Galactica: Daybreak (Series Finale) (Review part I of II)

This will be a spoiler filled review.

Daybreak is an action packed finale that also has some nice character moments. For a show that has always had a bleak outlook, I was delighted to see a more hopeful ending. Sure some people don’t make it, but it is good to see the fleet actually make it to the end.

With only the mini-series and a handful of regular series episodes under my belt, I can safely say I’m not a hardcore fan. However, I am a fan of Ron Moore. With the mini-series freshly in my mind, I have to say I am really impressed with what Moore and his merry ban of writers accomplished here. They’re not going to give you all the answers but they’ll give you enough to keep you satisfied.

I am really pleased the way the show ended and watching the LOST-like flashbacks were handled fairly very good. I remember Prison Break also used the Lost-like flashbacks as well to great effect. I know some have a problem with the use of the flashbacks, but I thought they showed where the characters where before the end of the show.

For once, a version BSG finally has a proper ending that has the fleet reach Earth and not in a goofy way like Galactica 1980. There are no superhero children or flying motorcycles.

I also loved the way music was used to get Starbuck to understand where New Earth was located. That was brilliant.

Speaking of Starbuck, I also enjoyed the vagueness of the fate of Starbuck. Was she a ghost, a zombie or an angel? It doesn’t matter, because I didn’t need to know just that she served a purpose in the main storyline. Some will give her character a divine origin, but I not as sure about that. Katee Sackhoff plays a fine balance between this ‘new’ Starbuck. Watch her expressions before she disappears.

The acting all around is outstanding, and I have to say this even though I’ve never been a huge fan of Edward James Olmos’ acting. He’s a better writer and director though. (Watch the amazing films Walkout and American Me that he directed). Mary McDonnell plays a great sick person filled with cancer, hold on that didn’t sound right. She made me believe she was on her deathbed.

However the best character in the bunch is the Battlestar Galactica herself. Not since Star Trek III has a ship had a better sendoff. And I have to wonder if Moore used the destruction of the first Enterprise as basis for Galactica’s fate. The best scene in the entire episode has to be when the fleet is sent off into the sun and we hear the old Battlestar Galactica theme from the 70s show. This is one best moment because the shot of Galactica and the fleet flying off is a direct reference to old show with the music and the FX.

Side notes

-The “End of Line” remark is directly a reference to Tron. The evil computer used that line.

-Is it right for me to laugh when Brother John Cavil (Dean Stockwell) blows his brains out? It almost seems it was filmed for laughs.

-I guess the debate over who is hotter Grace Park or Linda Park will go on. How about these two duke it in mud pit or something.

I’ll have more in the second part of the review.

Behold, the last moments of the Battlestar
____________________________________________