Battlestar Galactica: Daybreak (3)

March 21st, 2009

Synopsis

Raptors and raiders return as the tentative truce continues. The Final Five combine their knowledge in order to provide the resurrection technology to the Cylons. Tory becomes nervous upon realizing Chief will therefore learn that she killed Callie. As the download begins, Chief goes nuts and snaps Tory’s neck. The cylons call it a trick and open fire. Cavil says “frak this,” and shoots himself in the head.

The colony’s cannons blaze anew. Meanwhile, an asteroid hits Racetrack’s disabled raptor, causing her dead body to hit a fire button, launching several nukes at the colony. Adama yells at Starbuck to jump Galactica. She enters numbers from Hera’s song. Galactica jumps away. Flashback to  Starbuck and Lee doing shots after Zak has fallen asleep.

Galactica arrives in a new location, its hull rippling with battle damage. Tigh says the Galactica will never jump again, as it flies to a planet that is unquestionably our own, based on the shape of its continents.

Twelve hours later the rest of the fleet arrives. A landing party observes a tribe of prehistoric humans. Doc Cottle says their DNA is compatible with theirs. Lee tells his father they should “break the cycle,” saying they could give them best parts of themselves, not the ships, technology, and weapons, saying the science outraces their hearts, leaving their souls behind.

Admiral Adama decides to disperse the remaining humans across the globe. Romo Lampkin voices his surprise that so many agreed to this. Adama says everyone wants a clean slate. The robotic centurions are set free and jump away. The fleet’s ships will be flown into the sun — along with Anders — and destroyed. Starbuck sadly says farewell to Anders and gives him her dog tags. As the fleet flies into the sun, Anders recalls his quest for perfection.

Adama leaves the Galactica in a viper. Flashback to him being questioned by an interviewer for a civilian job. He becomes annoyed at a question about petty theft and decides to return to military service.

On earth, Tigh and Ellen say goodbye to Chief who wants to travel to an island away from everyone. Tigh and Ellen flashback to the strip club where they drink and embrace, planning to be together forever.

Roslin and Adama gaze at a herd of animals from beneath a tent. She has trouble breathing. Adama carries her to a raptor for a better view. They say goodbye to Lee and Starbuck before the raptor lifts off.

Starbuck tells Lee that she is done here. Flashback to Starbuck daring Lee to sleep with her on a kitchen table. They knock over a wine glass and Zak awakes. The moment passes and Lee decides to go home.

Starbuck asks Lee what he’ll do next. He says as little as possible, or explore. When he turns around, Starbuck has vanished. Flashback to Lee, seeing the pigeon in his house. He watches it fly out an open door into the sunshine.

Flashback to Roslin, just after sleeping with her former student. She asks him to leave, and then makes a phone call join Adar’s presidential campaign.

As Adama and Roslin fly over flocks of birds, her hand falls limp as she passes. Adama tearfully puts his ring on her hand.

Bands of humans with camping gear march across the landscape in different directions. Helo, Athena, and Hera smile and laugh about learning how to hunt and grow crops. The head characters tell Baltar and Caprica Six that God’s plan is complete and their lives from here on out will be less eventful. Flashback to Baltar meeting Caprica Six, agreeing to give her the security codes that destroy Caprica.

Adama sits on a hillside, looking out at a grand landscape with Roslin’s grave behind him.

Flash forward to 150,000 later: our present day. A news report announces that archaeological remains have been found of the mother of all humanity. Head Six and Head Baltar walk through Times Square, commenting on the progress of technology in this decadent society, saying all of this has happened before and will happen again — it reminds them of Kobol and Caprica. Head Six says perhaps this time the cycle will be broken and this is God’s plan. Baltar mentions that God doesn’t like that name. They pass a radio playing Jimi Hendrix’s version of All Along the Watchtower. A montage of current robots is followed by Head Baltar and Head Six vanishing into the crowd.

Thoughts

Chief finally learned what really happened to Callie and went totally nuts, bringing to completion what he started in a previous episode, but lacking a proper target for his pain, pretty much gave up on.

Baltar was redeemed by joining Galactica on the suicide mission, and I was eventually touched by his last decision to become a farmer, his family heritage that he had expended much effort to escape.

Roslin’s last moments with Adama were perfect, and quite touching. I’ve been annoyed by their relationship but this conclusion somehow made up for it. I think it had something to do with Adama’s generosity to make Roslin’s last moments the most comfortable possible, and having the courage to start a relationship even when the time together would be short.

The flashbacks reminded me that although it was better than being trapped on a spaceship, many of these characters weren’t all that happy back on Caprica. They were searching for something larger, a cause to dedicate themselves to. After being drunk in an alley, Adama decides to go back to the stars. After a fling with an old pupil, Roslin decides to enter politics. Tigh and Ellen were always in love with each other. More about the source of pleasure a bit later.

God

Baltar’s belief in God became extremely important when he confronts Cavil to negotiate the tentative truce. God was also used as an explanation for Starbuck and the head characters. I do take slight issue at this explanation. At worst it could be seen as lazy writing (deus ex machina). I would have preferred a pseudo-scientific explanation. Many of the show’s religious subjects were balanced in this way: Roslin’s prophetic visions could have been hallucinations from her kamala extract medicine. “Resurrection” was balanced with “downloading” — some technology that could be invented and used by Cylons. So there was a neat mix of parallel explanations, and you could choose between the two.

So I wanted a sci-fi explanation to Starbuck and the head characters. I suppose my personal explanation is some entity — he who doesn’t like to be called God — watches over all of humanity, and lends influence to ensure their survival. Just as the Final Five tried to guide the Cylons to create skin jobs and break the cycle, perhaps it’s some ancient race (aliens? other humans?) that predate generations of the Final Five — they have become so omnipotent to be indistinguishable from gods, and work behind the scenes.

But the religious interpretation is still acceptable to me. It certainly frames the entire series differently. Religion, destiny, and free will permeates the entire series, with skin job Cylons programmed to believe in God, Head Six’s conversations with Baltar about faith, the “Hand of God” in his choice of a bombing location, to the creation of his cult and followers - which now seem less self-serving and probably, divinely inspired. Now that God, angels, or demons are responsible, these events may deserve a second look.

Technology

I loved the 150,000 year leap forward. For starters, it reminded me of the “one year later” jump from the season 2 finale. Second, the entire final “Daybreak” episode is lent an epic time span, from “before the fall” to their far off future and our present day.

It seems like a big leap that all the remaining humans would willingly abandon their ships and send them into the sun — Romo Lampkin voices his disbelief. But it makes more sense considering what they’ve been through. Caprica was destroyed by technology, as was Kobol, and the first earth they discovered. The survivors spent the entire series trapped in spaceships, on the edge of sanity, running from a death they brought upon themselves. Only at the end of the series do we see green savannas filled with wildlife, and while it’s not that big a deal to us, it must be paradise to them.

The ultimate message is a warning that technology is not the entire answer. If humanity puts too much faith in technology, we could easily end up becoming slaves to it, or at worst, it could destroy us. Lee believes that science races ahead of our souls. Visually, the most dire warning is the hybrids — not quite human or machine, permanently wedded to a tank. With Anders and Tory dead, the resurrection knowledge is lost, and the Final Five — the most advanced Cylons — have completed their mission to bring peace between the humans and Cylons — their job in this generation is done.

Our difficulty with this anti-technology message is understandable — we’re immersed in the idea technology solves more problems than it creates. But in the larger scheme of things, it’s less clear cut. Our technology is destroying the planet and stripping it of the splendor on display in this episode. We already have the power to annihilate our planet several times over with nuclear weapons. We have yet to create artificial intelligence or clones or had to deal with the resulting ethical issues. We have not yet seen the future, while these characters have already lived it — they have seen several entire planets destroyed, seen their servants rebel, and know what it’s like to not have a planet to call home. We speak from inexperience.

Then add the pleasure shown by the characters, via the flashbacks and during the episode, that stemmed from love, making choices, having a cause to fight for, or taking a leap of faith in God. None of these require technology — they stem from our humanity.

The line “all of this has happened before and will happen again” presents a cycle that has repeated for ages. Humanity lives in partnership with nature. They develop technology which they become dependent on. The technology threatens to destroy themselves and their civilization. The survivors realize technology is not what makes them happy, abandon it and return to nature. Maybe they pass a few things they’ve learned, to another civilization of humans.

And meanwhile, something watches over everything, ensuring humanity endures at any point in the cycle. Maybe it wants to perpetuate the cycle, and test the human’s ability to develop free will and make the choice to break it, like an end to the cycle of reincarnation. Call it God, whatever — the point is we don’t know what it is, or its purpose, and never will — but it doesn’t matter. Faith is belief without explanation.

I think overall, it’s a pretty cool conclusion to the whole series.

Previous Episode: Daybreak (2)