Ms. Smarty Pants Know It All

Caution: spoilers for “Daybreak, Part 1 (4.19)

I am a Battlestar Galactica fan who is quite content to let the action go where it needs to go. These storytellers have earned that from me.

So when this episode began way in the past, I smiled. “Yes!” I thought, “more time with the characters I am going to miss so badly come next week.”

I enjoyed learning more back story and the significance of these character moments will probably become clearer in the final two hours.

But as Baltar said to Lee, once Galactica is gone, a new world truly begins.

Everyone has had to say a lot of goodbyes lately. The post-Earth world is one of constant trial. Every character questioned himself on his own particular future. Some chose to fight on. Some chose to lay his burdens down.

It seems to me that Admiral Adama has made another choice in this episode.

His two loves are leaving. His future is sure to be without his beloved battleship and the unlikely love that he’s found.

So he’s setting out to help them both fulfill their purposes. A battleship is an instrument of war. It’s meant to launch fighters.

And Laura Roslin is meant to build the future.

She stumbled into the presidency and did a heck of a job in the office. Along the way, she’s had visions and followed prophecies that have helped the fleet get to each next step—whether good or bad.

She thinks Hera is important. Both Humans and Cylons inhabit that Opera House. So Adama’s taking his two great ladies on one final voyage of fate.

But I also think this decision is Adama’s suicide note. I think he feels very deeply that his world has passed. The next steps are for others to guide, to decide, and to travel.

I don’t think he’s consciously seeking death, but if it comes for him, then so be it. Perhaps Baltar had some influence with this when he talked about Starbuck not fearing—but facing—death.

If Laura and Galactica, the Colonies and Earth, are all gone, then he’s ready to leave too.

Which is why it makes no sense to me that they would let Lee go. If Doc Cottle has to stay, then surely the acting president is also important enough to live on.

My sense though, is that Captain Franks is next in line for the presidency. I think she could do it. She is very Roslinesque at times. Perhaps others feel the same way.

Baltar will probably end up on the mission because I am a sap and want him to do this one redemptive thing. How can he give up the Opera House?

Tactics

Based on the foreshadowing? with the model ships in last week’s Islanded in a Stream of Stars, I say that Galactica should jump in at ramming speed. With everything moved towards the rear of the ship, hopefully they could recover sufficiently from the impact to deploy.

Then the mission is to find Hera, throw her on a Raptor, and jump away. If they can get the birds inside the Colony’s corridors, jumping from inside the base would be that much better.

After Hera’s safe, it’ll be everyone for himself. Perhaps they could even push the entire thing into the gravitational pull of the black hole.

Deaths

Nothing I say here is a known spoiler because I don’t know anything like that.

I remember Joss Whedon’s commentary on the series finale of Firefly though. (Firefly spoiler in the next paragraph.)

I was so mad at what seemed like an unnecessary and random death in the series finale. But in the commentary track, Joss explained that had the sequence not started off with that death, we, the viewers, would have felt no sense of jeopardy for any of the others.

I thought about that and knew he was right.

Battlestar has set things up where we, the viewers, totally believe it to be possible that everyone will die. It’s an amazing TV feat to accomplish if you think about it. For the final battle sequences to work, I think at least some are going to be sacrificed.

Oh, it is going to be heartbreaking.

As for the president, I never thought that she was going to make it until the end of the series. I don’t think Roslin’s going to have a military death either. She should pass away in bed, surrounded by those who love her—much like in her own vision.

Questions

My remaining questions are:

1. If there is a master string puller for whom the Head characters are tools.
2. Starbuck

Although, if they chose to bypass these completely and chose to focus entirely on telling an emotionally compelling and truthful story, I would be totally fine with that.

Why do things happen? Is there a god?

I don’t think these are questions that require answers.

And Starbuck is Starbuck. She tries her best regardless of circumstances. She seeks the center during the whirlwinds. She is the power, the action, the It girl—regardless of whether she is human, misfit, or angel. The others accept her as is, and I do too.

Answers are great. A wonderfully great ending is better.

Dear BSG:

Just give me a killer ride and a true and authentic ending that’s worthy of the series. I’d appreciate it so much.

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