GALACTICA SITREP: The Vanishing

Monday, March 23, 2009

The Vanishing

Discussion topic: Kara Thrace's resolution and disappearance... share your thoughts in the comments.

45 comments:

Paty said...: Hi! I'm a frequent reader, but major lurker around here. Thanks for all the great info, BTW. Sitrep rules!

Being a huge Starbuck fan, couldn't resist to comment, though. :)

The vanishing was way too lame and disappointing. Ron Moore told he wanted it to be ambiguous. But where is the ambiguity when she simply fades away? The character deserves more than that.

I'd rather see she going away to the Sun on the ship with Hybrid Sam.; March 23, 2009 1:06 PM
Logan Gawain said...: Fair enough.

If she died in Maelstrom and was later reborn to lead the fleet to earth (both of them), then her mission was accomplished, so there was really nothing more for her to do but to fade into mythology...; March 23, 2009 1:13 PM
Unknown said...: I must agree. I have been a faithful follower of the show, and how Kara's character ended left a bad taste in my mouth. I did not like it at all. How is it that she is referred to as the "Harbinger of Death" yet she led the humans to Earth, then just fades away......Don't get me wrong, the episode was great! but the last 30 minutes or so (in my mind) left something more to be desired. Just my 2 cents :); March 23, 2009 1:21 PM
Raziel Anarki said...: i think kara really died in 3x17 and the season-4 kara we came to know (and katee came to hate) was just something like shelley godfrey from 1x07; March 23, 2009 1:30 PM
Anonymous said...: Would have loved to see her disappear a few seasons ago. Callum Keith Rennie piqued my interest from time to time, but for the most part the Starbuck themes were always the most disposable to me in a given episode, seeing as how the performance failed to make that lost, doomed soul somehow compelling. All in my opinion, of course.

So I'm more than happy with her being a ghost/angel/whatever and the hyrbid's prophesy being a little less rigid than other shippers would prefer.; March 23, 2009 1:35 PM
Bryan said...: She was the "Harbinger of Death". By her finding Earth she killed the Human and Cylon races. WE are the decendants for Hera and locals a Human/Cylon/Tribal mix. 150,000 years later all trace of Cylon AND of Human are gone. But through the finding of new Earth a new race is born.; March 23, 2009 1:45 PM
Unknown said...: @Ethos914 and Bryan, I think that the "Harbinger of Death" thing was deliberately deceptive. It does make it sound like Starbuck's destiny was to lead the humans to some sort of mass destruction. That said, I think it's just as plausible that the "Death" aspect refers to a more metaphysical death--the complete and abrupt departure from the lives these people had previously led. (Bryan, nice point. Didn't think of that at all!)

A little bit of RDM and company misleading us, to be sure, but I don't think the phrase and what ultimately happened are inconsistent. I'll admit, though, that I initially had trouble reconciling the two elements. At first, it seemed like a unresolved issue.

If that was indeed her destiny, her just disappearing after accomplishing that (reframed) endpoint makes sense. (Just my 2 cents, too...); March 23, 2009 1:50 PM
Black Eyed Gurl said...: Personally? I think it was BULLSHIT.

It is literally the only problem I had with the entire finale. I don't care what she was, I just think it was a HUGE cop-out to vanish her.

They really could have made it better in that last scene, but I don't want to put what I think they should have done (although my idea is kidna brilliant).

When it comes down to it, I think they really frakked her as a character.

I'm also disappointed that not a single human female character we had grown close to makes it to live on earth (Baltar's Bitches not included). Seriously, NOT.A.ONE. Kinda sucks that for all they did for the fleet, mostly in the end they were cannon fodder.

GRR. Other than the vanishing though I was okay.; March 23, 2009 1:59 PM
Christian said...: Long-winded post incoming!

I admit I was really caught off guard by Starbuck's disappearance, but after thinking it over, I'm pretty sure I'm content with it. It is weird, but it fits very well with the theme of the show regarding higher powers being at work. In some ways, you could look at her as God's Cylon: she was an entity created for a specific purpose (or "destiny"), unlike most of the humans and non-Centurion Cylons, who seem to be able fulfill whatever destiny they want.

Regarding the Prophecy of the Hybrids, did she lead the human race to their end? Well, not literally, humanity still exists in the BSG mythology. However, in a way they really did reach a serious terminus. Not only did the Colonial Exodus come to an end, but everything that came before was rejected and forgotten. The human species didn't die out in the sense that they became extinct, but they renounced their culture and very way of life. In many ways their society did die, after a long and torturous period of suffering parallel to Roslin's cancer. However, having arrived at that death, they were also reborn into a sort of civilizational pre-infancy, back at the hunter-gatherer stage. In that way, she was the harvinger of their death and end, but also of their rebirth and a new beginning. (and reading the posts made since I started writing this one, I guess I'm not alone in this view)

And to the people who say Starbuck deserved more, what more could you get than joining a higher power? She didn't die at the end, but she'd already done that once. She didn't settle down with Lee into a fairytale ending, but would she have been happy with that? My personal suspicion is that she wouldn't have.

My one big gripe, is basically what Katee Sackhoff said in the last interviews posted on the SciFi website. Starbuck's relationship with Leoben never got any closure more beyond his terrified revulsion when they found her body on Old Earth, though I guess that's a comparatively small issue in the end.; March 23, 2009 1:59 PM
Justin Giampaoli said...: I think it was perfect. Kara really did die in that Viper on the other planet we were led to believe was Earth (but proven not to be). She came back in her phantom viper as a corporeal "angel" for lack of a better term, to guide the crew to the real Earth. Job done.

Her and Lee COULD NEVER be together or live happily ever after as so many fans wanted. The whole point of her flashback scene Before the Fall with Lee and Zack was to show that their attraction exists, but they can never be together, whether Zack, Dualla, Anders, whoever, whatever, they are kept apart and not destined to be together as a couple.; March 23, 2009 2:02 PM
Anonymous said...: I enjoyed it.

Agree with those, saying that Kara had been resurected to do her precise job (lead her people to a New Home) and when she accomplished the mission, she has been taken away. Look that although Starbuck doesn't really know where is she going, she is consious in her last seconds that her time has come to an end. The knowledge that the task is done comes to her and "it feels good". So at the very end Kara is happy. And that is an honor given to her. To let her be finally satisfied and pleased. Look at the way she has passed throughout the entire exodus. Isn't just the greatest last note?

Personally, I hope she's going to meet Sam, especially given what were his last words.

About an ending of Kara/Lee relationship, that many people cannot get over; I too feel deeply sorry and sad for Apollo for being left alone after all he came through. He deserves more than that. But well, face it, live's cruel. And it isn't pesimistic and nihilistic; although being sorrowful, it's rather optimistic in its own bittersweet way. But there is as well very, very nice detail in this last scene with to of them. Kara, asking Lee about his plans, stating "today is the first day of the rest of your life" delights him. Gives him something joyful to thing about and those thoughts will always remain him od her. Of her last look, of her last smile. And that is the accent of justice given to their relationship and to Lee himself. Look how happy he seems when answering Kara's question.

This last scene of Kara is sad but joyous too. Straigh said - melancholic. I cried to it. And I liked it.; March 23, 2009 2:04 PM
Anonymous said...: Quite simply, it wasn't even done well. She just *poof* vanishes, leaving Lee with huge unresolved issues regarding their attraction, mourning, etc. It's a cheat to the emotion they shared.; March 23, 2009 2:12 PM
Unknown said...: Starbuck's disappearance...

Bittersweet but fitting given the character.

Some semi-random thoughts...

What was she? I dunno.
Anders knew. At least I like to think that. Of all the things he could have said, he chose, "See you on the other side."

Part of me feels that Daniel #7 somehow was her father which would have made her a hybrid like Hera.

That would better explain Kara's visions. Like Hera she was more innately connected to "God" than your average human or skin job, but unlike Hera, had built up a ton of walls most likely as a result of abuse from her mother and being abandoned by her father.

There was a time I thought that Kara was the Hera from the last go-round at Kobol.

IMO, Kara resurrected, but not in the Cylon goo-bath sense. Think of it like Gandalf. She died, went to the other side and was then sent back to fulfill her role in this story.

But..but.. but what about the shiney new Viper?

Well, that Viper had the bearings to Earth, but not until after Chief, Saul and Anders were drawn to it via Watchtower. If the Viper is somehow conencted to the same force, could that force have resurrected the Viper as well?

Think about it, when Gandalf came back, he had new duds, white hair, and a shiney new white staff. I don't seem to recall the Fellowship questioning what Gandalf was or whether or not he was a Cylon.

IMO, if Ron had tried to definitively answer what Starbuck was in the finale, there would've been more flak from that then when he announced that Starbuck would be a woman.

It's one of those story arcs that is better left unanswered so the audience can take their own "Leap of Faith."

Her character has defied explanation since the start of the series. How many episodes have we asked ourselves, "What the Frak's up with Starbuck?"

Even though I, as the observer, don't fully know or understand what she was, it seems that she finally knew who/what she was and could finaly be at peace.

I like to think that wherever she disappeared to, she's with Anders.; March 23, 2009 2:16 PM
Oscar said...: Watching the finale was a trip back and forth between the expected great character moments and the shock of having long-standing questions answered with specifics. Even if the answer is a good one, knowing it never compares to the experience of imagining what it could be.

So Starbuck's vanishing, and total lack of explanation, was probably the biggest shock and the hardest to take at first viewing.

Now that the finale's sunk in, however, and the overall story of the series is clearer, I can appreciate it better. Most of the plausible explanations for Watchtower and Starbuck's return involved space opera and technobabble: time loops, wormholes, Cylon heritage and a resurrection system that could rebuild Vipers.

If that's what we were given, it would have reduced Kara's final story to nothing but the complex details of a made up world. Establishing it as mystery left the greater story front and center.; March 23, 2009 2:38 PM
Unknown said...: Some have argued that the "harbinger of death" phrase was either to mean she would be a part of or lead to (i) Cylon death or (ii) the end of Cylon/Human division. So either were completed by the death of all Cylons, even the rebels died off on New Earth. Or the end of the division in Hera. It was quite vague how she satisfied that.

But, I feel the ending was apt. It was nice to see how she fulfilled the divine prophecy and upsetting that she left. It did upset me that she just left and knowing that she was dead all along kind of put a knife it in.

Overall, I thought the whole ending was great. The series should be remembered as a whole and not just for its ending (no Sienfeld or Sopranos brooding). And the entirety of this show was amazing, just read the awards won/nominated for.; March 23, 2009 5:33 PM
Anonymous said...: Like many here I initially felt let down, angry, dispirited, even despairing by Kara's abrupt 'ascension'. Being an unapologetic Kara/Lee 'shipper, I really REALLY wanted those two to settle together (maybe not intimately, but at least as partners).

That said, her ascension makes perfect sense given the character's development over the last two seasons. Yes, she died in the maelstrom, and yes, her body is back on Cylon!Earth, and yes, an angel!Kara spent this season reaching this point. The angel!Kara was apparently purpose-built to get the remnants of humanity (Colonial and Cylon) to their new home; she had Kara's memories and personality and so could accomplish this.

Why a physical copy of her ended up on Cylon!Earth is something I'm still puzzling over. Perhaps it was an effort by angel!Kara's creator to clue her into the fact she wasn't actually human. That however suggests a level of involvement previously unseen from these head!angels; why IT would go to such trouble is something likely beyond mortal ken.

Okay, so, angel!Kara finishes her work and ascends (or de-rezes or whatever). Is that the end of it?

An emphatic NO. There is nothing to suggest another copy of Kara Thrace isn't waiting to be found somewhere on Earth by the wandering Lee Adama. There's nothing to suggest one is, but that's the beauty of this finale; we see where that branch of the story ends, conscious that there are many more branches (38,000 at last count) shooting off from there.

My dismay with angel!Kara's ascension lies in that she and Lee had no time to have a proper good-bye. An embrace, maybe passing the Aurora icon between them one last time, a whisper of "I'll be waiting for you", a quick kiss, ANY of that would have given that moment more emotional closure than what we saw Friday night.

Its unlikely Kara and Lee, as written on the screen, could have been happy together. They were soul mates, no question, but that simply means they're always there for each other, NOT that they'll marry or live happily ever after. An excellent analysis of this point can be found here:

http://cynicalshadows.livejournal.com/210015.html

Kara's departure, upsetting as it was, was the only reasonable way for her to go. Whether she stays gone is up to us and our imaginations.

Ah, well. There's always fanfic.; March 23, 2009 5:48 PM
Adam Whitehead said...: RDM says in interviews and the podcast that trying to answer Starbuck's mystery with some SF explanation was going to take away the mythological feel of the story. Whilst I agree with that in potential, the problem is that the writers themselves devalued the mythological angle by causing so much fuss over Starbuck's Viper.

The problem is that the Higher Power has to deal with three Vipers here. Kara's original Viper in Maelstrom was totally blown to pieces. Then a semi-intact version turns up hundreds of light-years away on 13th Tribe Earth. Then a pristine version shows up in the nebula. At this point God is mucking around in a Viper factory and deciding which trashed version to put where, which is not really the image the writers want the audience to be having.

Frankly, it would have been much, much better if they'd stuck with their original idea of Starbuck reappearing in Galactica's pilot room out of nowhere in the Season 3 finale. Then her just vanishing without trace on Earth would have made much more, precedented sense. Maybe her helmet's radio could have picked up the signal from 13th Tribe Earth instead.

I don't have an issue with Starbuck being Gandalf the White - the Valar (the gods of Middle-earth) sent Gandalf back to kick some more ass despite not playing a role anywhere else in the book - but I do have an issue with them not explaining the mechanisms of it.

Also, I don't understand why RDM ruled out the Daniel-as-Kara's-dad theory. He's saying on the one hand, "Oh you can interpret it how you want," but then ruling out an explanation for Starbuck Mk. I's special destiny and backstory that I think a lot of the people now railing on the show would have been happy with.; March 23, 2009 6:32 PM
Anonymous said...: Adam Whitehead said...
Frankly, it would have been much, much better if they'd stuck with their original idea of Starbuck reappearing in Galactica's pilot room out of nowhere in the Season 3 finale. Then her just vanishing without trace on Earth would have made much more, precedented sense.

Actually it was Lee's cabin. You can see the deleted footage in the Season 3 DVD set. This however would have set up a much tighter Kara/Lee dynamic than we actually saw and all but dictated they stay together this time.

Her vanishing at the end then would, I agree, seem far more plausible and logical. Possibly more heartbreaking as well, but that's only to be expected.; March 23, 2009 7:00 PM
Grant Gould said...: I did not like. :(; March 23, 2009 7:08 PM
Eric H said...: This may be a peripheral point, but one consequence of Kara's death and resurrection was Baltar seizing upon her phsyical evidence as dramatic proof of life after death, with at least Baltar believing this should give humanity fresh hope for meaning and existence beyond the present mortal coil. Now, the show pretty much dropped this latest Baltar "revelation" plot development, but one might assume his thousands of followers picked up on it. Maybe a renewered belief in life after death gave them courage to forge ahead into dangerous battles, and eventually dangerous plains of Africa. Now, we have no hint in the story that this thinking informed the colonist's excruciatingly dangerous final choice to abandon tech and step boldly back into the stone age. But maybe this is one of the useful effects of Kara's death and resurrection -- to spread the religious hope of a tangible afterlife, and thereby empowering decisions that have longer-reaching benefits than the spam of one's own life.; March 23, 2009 8:07 PM
Unknown said...: I could not ask for a better way to handle the departure of her character. I loved it, it sent chills down my spine. We knew all we needed to know about Kara at that point and I thought it was perfect. Just as Ron said, if they did any more or tried to explain more it would have most likely been a disaster. Although some people still think it was, I am satisfied.; March 23, 2009 8:36 PM
Anonymous said...: I don't understand why so many people need everything to be neatly wrapped up. I thought Kara's disappearance was brilliant. I can't conceive of any other way it could have gone that would have been better. The trip into the sun with Anders would come close though. Leaving Lee alone without a goodbye, an explanation or a grave to mark is beautifully bittersweet. The other characters don't know what she is or where she went so neither do we.; March 23, 2009 9:12 PM
Robert Cruickshank said...: I kept humming the tune of The Beatles' "Norwegian Wood" when I rewatched that scene over the weekend.

Not every lyric from the song fits...but most of them do.

"And when I awoke, I was alone / This bird had flown."

So yeah, I thought the resolution of Starbuck worked. I thought it worked well, considering she was one of my favorite characters and a key reason I got hooked on the show (I have a weakness for strong-willed blondes).; March 23, 2009 9:24 PM
mbnjmntrb said...: so ya'll are JUST FINE with a characters unexplained return for an ENTIRE SEASON but feel cheated when she vanishes?

that is hard to believe.; March 23, 2009 9:40 PM
General Boy said...: I apologize if someone has mentioned this already. I haven't yet even read the comments here. Sorry. I will tomorrow.

Recall that the producers were considering having Kara return from the dead on Galactica while Lee was suiting up to go into battle in the Nebula. They scratched the idea, thinking it was just too startling to show.

We all knew she was reborn. She was special. She reaturned with no explanation, just as she ascended.

I will check in tomorrow.; March 23, 2009 10:48 PM
radii said...: Kara and pigeon - perhaps she was more akin to a Harpy than an angel

Also, remember Moore loved that *poof* it's just over Sopranos ending, so maybe Kara just suddenly being gone was his nod to that; March 24, 2009 1:12 AM
fpt said...: She was one of the best characters on TV, a true hero, and yet they gave her this lame ending making her go down in History as "an Angel that just poofed in the end". If I were Katee, I would be very pissed, and I think she kinda was, struggling with her lines... For me, they ruined the character. Would have been better to give her a second (and last) death with the boots on, fighting.; March 24, 2009 2:51 AM
Lucy said...: Personally, I loved Kara's end. It fitted the new Kara, the destiny-soaked woman who had struggled to figure out her place since she came back and was given the Demetrius. She showed her contentment at the very end, with Lee, and gave him something to smile about before she left.

And honestly? Remember that scene between Lee and Kara in the brig, when he went to say goodbye as he left to join the Quorum? That was their goodbye. They said farewell to each other then - that was their real goodbye. I don't think Kara knew what was going to happen by any means, but they said goodbye in that scene. Everything we wanted was there; a proper farewell, a kiss, Lee reminding Kara of his belief in her, and then they went their separate ways - Lee to his new life, Kara to the rest of her destiny. So I'm content with Kara's vanishing; it fitted, it completed her story. I just wish she and Leoben had a farewell too - but she and Sam are on the other side together, so I'm happy. Lee'll get there eventually and find Dee too.

I still feel so sad for Lee, though. He'd lost everyone, after going through so much. That final shot of him standing in the field alone ... that just pretty much broke my heart.; March 24, 2009 6:00 AM
Curt & Pat Rozeboom said...: One thing that jumped out at me in watching the finale is Starbuck's connection with "All Along the Watchtower". It can't be just a coincidence that every time the song came into play, Kara also had some major role to play. The song woke the Final 4 just at the same time she reappeared. It played a role when she discovered the signal on her Viper. It came back again when she relearned the song on the bar piano and it came to a conclusion when she punched in the coordinates for the final jump.

This leads me to conclude one thing. Kara is the song. Whatever the hell that means, they are the same thing. And I suppose the Viper was as well.

So the song ended.
When Sam flew the Galactica into the Sun, it would have consumed the Viper as well (presuming it was left) and that would have "ended" the song. Probably happened exactly when Kara disappeared.; March 24, 2009 7:59 AM
Michael J Mahoney said...: If they had tried to script a final resolution for Kara, it would have wound up disappointing somebody, and probably most of us. This was an elegant and fitting end to this character's story.

You want her on the Bucket with Sam? Fine, she can be there. She can be in Heaven. She can be simply gone. Her ending fits all possibilities.

Kara was already dead. RDM said as much in interviews. But since she wasnt' done, she was allowed to return to complete her work. She said it herself - "It feels good." Think Elijah without the firey chariot.

She did lead humanity "to its end." If Hera was in fact the "Mitochondrial Eve" of our own genome, then both the "human" and "Cylon" genomes have ceased to exist. "Human" now is a blending of colonial and Cylon. The children of Kobol have finally produced offspring.; March 24, 2009 9:17 AM
Anonymous said...: I really wasn't okay with this. Kara was always more than her destiny - she was a flesh and bone woman who loved, hated, had fears and hopes and lived for the fight. All that gone in a second? I would have been fine with her dying (again), but just vanishing? She deserved more than just being reduced to a vessel for whatever 'God' was trying (and failed) to accomplish.; March 24, 2009 9:18 AM
Unknown said...: When she disappeared, I literally gasped.

I thought it was perfect. I think the perfect explanation was given already by Dr. Baltar in the hanger deck after the funeral. He was right. Death is not the end.

"The gift of eternal life that is offered to each and everyone of us. Even the most flawed amongst us. All we need is the courage to face death when it comes calling for us, embrace it even. Only then will we truly have the ability to cross over-as one amongst us here has already crossed over."

"I told you there were angels walking amongst you."

She went into the maelstrom, ready to accept her death. She went on to complete her purpose, to find Earth I and ultimately bring the fleet to their new home. As Sam said, "find the perfect home for the end of Kara Thrace."

She actually died the first time. She came back to complete her purpose. She was like Aurora, guiding the fleet. Everybody saw her. Nobody knew what she was. She didn't know if she were an angel or a demon. But she brought everyone home completed her purpose and was gone. She was complete at the end. There was no mortal ending that would have been as satisfying. She was special and played the biggest role in the fleets salvation.

It was perfect.; March 24, 2009 9:32 AM
Rasmus said...: It seems pretty clear that they lost Callum Keith Rennie after the writers' strike, due to a previous commitment (a movie, I think). So they couldn't explore the divine nature of Kara's return in this final half-season the way they could have if they had Leoben to act as a foil. He'll be back for "The Plan" but we really didn't see him in any of the drama after "Sometimes a Great Notion," which was shot before the production hiatus caused by the strike.; March 24, 2009 11:08 AM
Kevin said...: I really did like the finale a lot, but I'll admit that that's one aspect of it I'm just not 100% on board for.
I think on some level I simply think it's too easy, and that might just be because I saw it coming as soon as that scene between her and Lee started up.

But honestly probably the part that bugs me the most about it is that I realized I just didn't care that much about that particular plot thread. When they killed Starbuck off in Season 3 she was definitely one of my favorite characters, but I can't say I was ever as invested in her character in season 4. I'm not sure if it's because other characters took on more interesting roles than her, or if it's just that she just went off in a direction that just didn't resonate with me anymore the way it had before.

Either way the finale was fantastic and I'm still reeling from the loss of one of the best shows ever to grace TV; March 24, 2009 12:19 PM
Anonymous said...: I guess many of us were, on some level, expecting more than the character and circumstances could realistically allow. The angel!Kara we've had all season was custom-built to accomplish this voyage and lead the refugees of humanity to their new home. That's it, that was her whole function and it was clear almost from the start (her obsessive behavior in the first few eps and aboard the Demetris should have been enough evidence).

That said, could she have been more at the end, or was she just slated for ascension/de-rezzing? The more I think about it, the more I have to agree the latter was the only way to resolve the character she'd become. Its probably not even fair to think of her as "Kara Thrace", as that person died in the maelstrom (or on Cylon!Earth). What we had here was something dressed in a 'Kara suit' intent upon one goal.

I also feel that having her appear for the first time in Lee's cabin at the end of "Crossroads" part 2 would have better established the character as something other than the original Kara. If you watch that scene, you can't help but note the unholy glint in her eye as she's reciting the "I've been to Earth" line.

Others have also noted that she and Lee did have their "good-byes" in the brig. I wouldn't go counting that scene as there was no real finality to it. Lee gave her the Aurora statuette so she could return it to him later; it was a promise and a challenge between them to continue to be there for each other.

I maintain that the timing and abruptness of her ascension in that field leaves that element of final closure between them unfulfilled. It didn't need to be a grand gesture or anything; just a hug and promise of "I'll be waiting for you" would have served.

Its a scene that packs perhaps more emotional punch than any other in the entire series, but neither invokes nor promises anything positive. Ron Moore and staff may have written themselves into a corner with angel!Kara, but that doesn't mean they had to break Lee's heart (and ours) in the process.

That's my two cybols.; March 24, 2009 1:37 PM
ProgGrrl said...: After getting over the shock of Starbuck's sudden vanishing...and pondering it (and the Lee/Kara/Zak flashbacks) for a while...I've decided it's gorgeous. And mysterious.

It's a moving thought, that "angels" like Kara may have walked amongst the fleet all along...tying in with the finale's end reveal of Six and Baltar as eternal, all-knowing, possibly "divine" beings who witness all of this happening before, and happening again. And again. Hoping each time, something might change for the better.

Those Caprican flashbacks re-grounded Apollo and Starbuck and the essence of their relationship perfectly for me. The chemistry between these two actors...and characters...is a special something not soon forgotten and already missed.

I enjoyed seeing Starbuck go out this way...The Best Pilot. Daughter of The Fleet. Warrior. Harbinger. Angel. Aurora.

Also loved Anders' parting words ("See you on the other side")...and how BSG's end brings a whole new level of meaning to Anders' and Starbuck's wedding tattoos.; March 24, 2009 2:26 PM
Mitchell Clan said...: http://www.hulu.com/watch/64016/battlestar-galactica-eick-blog-do-you-believe-in-angels#s-p3-st-i2

The cast doesn't appear to have bought it either. I love the last comment of "saul tigh".; March 24, 2009 4:32 PM
Tinsie said...: I've not much cared for the whole Kara-resurrects-and-leads-humans-to-earth plotline. I much prefered the Kara that was obsessed with Lee and confused about life. At first I had a WTF moment when she disappeared out of thin air, but thinking back, there have been plenty of indications that the S4 Kara is different & that she has realised it - she even added her photo to the wall of the dead a few episodes back.; March 24, 2009 7:11 PM
tryptopham said...: i loved Kara's disappearance. a lot of people are asking what is this entity that dies, is resurrected, doesn't know who she is, and in the end disappears when her journey is complete.

as a plot device, she's a cop-out. but she also sounds a lot like the Holy Trinity. by the transitive property of Kara Thrace, i am proposing that ronald moore is asking people to consider: is Judeo-Christianity a cop-out, or is it actually... "a leap of faith"? and what is the difference?; March 24, 2009 8:42 PM
prberg said...: I agree with ethos914. The ending was disappointing to me. RDM even said they tried to find a way to handle Starbuck in the end... but they couldn't think of anything good. So they just made her vanish.

Maybe to some people that is beautiful... but to me it's Lame. It's a cheap last chapter to one of the best characters on the show.

It just felt like the angel, devil, ghost theme that the series ended on was not what the show was really about. But everyone has their own opinion obviously. The whole idea of everyone going their separate ways (lee not seeing his father again, etc) seems odd.

And I hadn't realized that none of the main human women characters are still alive. That is pretty disappointing.

Still a great series... but for the most part, the entire 4th season didn't measure up for me.; March 25, 2009 12:53 AM
Unknown said...: Firstly, sensational ending. Can not be bettered!

To all those who think that it would have been best to see Kara and Lee settle down together. Or anything else for that matter. That would have left a major flaw in the story. How did Kara die and come back in another viper? Only 'higher beings' can do that. In this case angels. That is what baltar said near the end. "I see angels". He might have said it jokingly but it was the truth.

What greater honour can there be for the character be an angel.

I was surprised by her disappearance but 2 seconds later relieved. It confirmed to me that she was an angel. It answered my questions about her instantly. It also confirmed to me that Baltar's invisible number 6 was also an angel. Likewise for number 6's Baltar. He was an angel. We see them at the end in human form walking the streets.

Well done BSG! The best show of all time by light years!; March 25, 2009 4:38 PM
Godot said...: I feel they should have chosen the moment of disappearance as the moment they jumped to the green earth. That was the precise moment when she had fulfilled her destiny. They could have then given her a brief moment of reappearance to say goodbye to Lee, and perhaps an ambiguous shot of her next to Anders in his tank as Galactica plunged into the sun.

All in all though, while they are a few things I feel were slightly missed opportunities, great finale.

Also, good that the jump the shark moment (RDM's appearance at the newsstand) wasn't until the very end!; March 25, 2009 5:41 PM
Buck said...: mbnjmntrb said...

' so ya'll are JUST FINE with a characters unexplained return for an ENTIRE SEASON but feel cheated when she vanishes?'

Not me. I thought her death and subsequent return was just a ploy to make the audience gasp not once, but twice. Having said that, I was willing to let the writers finish the story as they saw fit.

Her much vaunted destiny (destinies?) were hammered how many times? Yet the only apparent (i.e. visible) result had nothing at all to do with her Eye of Jupiter obsession but instead her heretofore unknown ability to program the Battlestar's nav computer by mentally transposing her new (surprise!) obsession with 'Watchtower' into jump coordinates.

Hooookay I guess, this is her destiny. Somewhat less um, you know, impressive than Leoben hammered into us episode after episode, but there's still time to finish her story, give them some slack.

And then, she 'feels good' and in yet another cinematic trick to make the audience gasp, she vanishes.

Her entire story, her purpose for being in the show, her evolution from best pilot on Galactica to deranged Joan of Arc transformed her from a person I could relate to and understand into a vague spirit whose impact I could not fathom and who's motivations I could no longer relate to.

This was dissatisfying to me not because she simply vanished, but because her disappearance was the last in a long line of trompe-l'oeil pieces strung together not because they tell a cohesive story, but because they fit into the allotted broadcast time.

Seriously, she either saved humanity or ended it, or saved the Cylons or ended them (except for the ones who got their freedom I guess) but it was HUGE, whatever she did, and we didn't get a single bit of emotion, not a shred of character reaction to that except that she 'feels good.'

So much for 'It's all about the characters.'

So mbnjmntrb, I thank you for the excellent introduction to a way out of this confusion for me.; March 26, 2009 10:26 AM
ProgGrrl said...: @Buck...For me, her obsession with the mandala made sense. It triggers her to go down into that maelstrom, which leads to her "going to the other side"...which leads her, much later after she resurrects (at the exact moment that AATW is activating the Final Four), to a series of actions that ultimately insure the survival of Hera and the rest of the Human/Cylon integrated fleet. Her memory of AATW turns out to be the saving grace, allowing the fleet to finally find Earth. Our Earth.

How you can go from Kara's disappearance to "this show is so NOT all about the characters" is a bit mystifying to me.

But, to each their own, I say...; March 26, 2009 11:01 AM
Buck said...: ProgGrrl said...

'After getting over the shock of How you can go from Kara's disappearance to "this show is so NOT all about the characters" is a bit mystifying to me.'

Thanks for the discussion, I think it's really interesting to read the various reactions.

I'm going on my emotions here and perhaps they don't make sense to anyone else. I can accept that without argument.

Contrast the character development from the Kara/Lee flashbacks to the disappearance scene. I have feelings when Kara and Lee lurch toward their drunken orgy, feelings about Kara, her flaws, her humanity. When I think back on the disappearance scene, I just don't have any feelings about her.

I just don't 'get' how making her disappear did anything good for her character, or for the other characters.; March 26, 2009 1:04 PM