The "BSG" finale

Wow. So. How about that "Battlestar Galactica" finale? From what I've been reading on the message boards (which is really something I should not do -- when will I learn?), it looks like this is one of those episodes that you either love or hate. And I'm one of those people standing firmly on the side of "loved it."

That first hour last night was extraordinary. I didn't think anything could beat the action and excitement of "The Oath" and "Blood on the Scales" from earlier this season, but the attack on The Colony and the rescue of Hera almost managed to put those incredible episodes to shame. Yet for all the amazing space porn -- asteroids and gun batteries and old school centurions versus new school centurions!! -- it managed to pause every few minutes for some wonderful character moments. The exchange between Laura Roslin and Doc Cottle, when she thanks him for giving her extra time to live and, yes, love, was just beautiful. Then later, Baltar finds his courage and in the process allows Caprica Six to be proud of him -- "the only thing missing" -- as she put it. It was a perfect prelude to what followed in the second hour. And the "solving" of the mystery of the opera house really pulled me in -- I loved it. Oh, and how could I forget? Tory finally got her own at the hands of Tyrol. Talk about satisfying.

Now, the second hour is where things seemed to slide off the track for a lot of people but I have to say, I enjoyed it even more than the first hour. There's just no one perfect way that this show could have ended -- there just isn't -- but this solution did everything it needed to do: it provided hope, it gave our characters a place to build new lives and it solved the Earth question. And the resolutions for each character was believable and satisfying to me. I love the idea of Tyrol going off to be a hermit in Scotland. The fact that the Agathons all survived! The moment where Baltar tells Six that he "knows something about farming," totally made me tear up -- a moment of humanity emerge from Baltar. And Kara disappearing into thin air? I loved it. The idea of her as an angel has been at the forefront since she returned from the dead. It wasn't a shock, and I liked the fact that this revelation was made during such a sweet moment with Lee.

I've been avoiding mention of the Roslin and Adama moments because I will admit openly that her death -- although I've been expecting it for what seems like years now -- had me crying for the last 20 minutes of the episode. As much as I wanted her to live, it was absolutely the right choice for her to die after getting to this new Earth, the Earth she wanted so desperately to lead her people to the first time. The farewell with Lee and Kara -- that small wave from the Raptor cockpit -- was heartbreaking. And I liked that Adama was true to his word -- he couldn't live without Laura -- so he went off by himself to build that cabin they both wanted. Sniff.

As for the epilogue, well, okay, it wasn't the greatest thing in the world but it provided a fine denouement to the fast-paced, heartbreaking yet hopeful story that preceded it. I didn't really like the Ron Moore cameo because it took me out of the story and the robots were slightly silly but it didn't ruin anything for me.

Overall, I thought this was a perfect ending for a series that has always taken chances, often succeeding but sometimes not. I woke up today feeling kind of sad that it's all over but wow, what a journey.

What did you think?