BSG 1.13 Kobol's Last Gleaming - Part 2

Let's start at the end, with what was, really, for me, one of only two truly climactic moments about this season finale. Is Adama dead? In a brilliant shock moment, Boomer held true to her fearful sense of dread about doing something bad. Having saved the Galactica by blowing up the Cylon ship, she then pulled a gun out and shot Adama in the gut.

So is he dead? I don't know. I have the feeling that since we didn't actually see him die then he'll probably make it. Just the idea of having him be in the next series just to turn up and die seems a little odd. But, hey, maybe he will. Either way, it was a great shock moment and the episode really needed it.

Elsewhere, there was the great moment with Starbuck and the Blonde Cylon facing off and having a scrap. You can't beat a good bitch fight in a season finale! That it was concluded with Helo coming in to save the day, but with the conflicting presence of (pregnant!) Cylon Boomer only added to that bizarre plot quagmire that is left to hang over to the next season.

Other aspects left hanging over for the next season were less successful for me. Gaius (it's always bloody Gaius!) and that business with the imaginary theatre and the white light thing that made Gaius kiss the Cylon and suddenly see the (ah ha!) light. . . Well, naturally, we never learned anything about what that meant. Just kept the meaning about what the hell its all about for another season! It's annoying. There's a fine line between sustaining mystery and just presenting irritating riddles. The Gaius and Blonde Cylon thing, for me, all season, has just been irritating without redemption.

Still, all in all, it has been a surprisingly good season. I do feel that it hasn't quite lifted itself all the way into a different class of other space opera sci-fi shows to transcend the genre, but it's mostly adult and sophisticated and there's clearly plenty of mileage in where the show can go from here and the greater levels it's yet to peel away.

So maybe I have sounded overtly negative, but I am also upbeat and positive about the fact that, in terms of the whole thing, I've only just scratched the surface and have a long way to go. The surface that's been scratched, it's looking good and promising. I'm in for the long haul.