Theoria

It goes without saying – but, of course, I’ll say it anyway – that no one would have been satisfied with the conclusion to “Battlestar Galactica,” regardless of what that conclusion was or could have been. There are, no doubt, about as many complaints about the conclusion as there were viewers. Some people who didn’t even watch it likely had a wide variety of complaints. But, again, this is to be expected. But, it isn’t to be expected to reasons of sci-fi fandom: they don’t agree about anything! (Except, perhaps, that fanfic and slash are necessary.) Rather than speaking about a lack of satisfaction on the part of viewers, it is more appropriate to speak about a lack of satisfaction on the part of the show. Put perversely, what makes BSG satisfying is precisely how unsatisfying it is. BSG thrives on blurred boundaries and conceptual ambiguity – juxtapose, if you will, Doral’s suicide bombing with that of Duck’s at the New Caprica Police graduation ceremony. And, of course, let’s not forget the overiding theme of the entire series drawn from the first line spoken in the mini-series: “Are you alive?”

The lesson, it would seem, that we are to take home from the finale is a hope in an anemic romanticism (send the technology off into the sun!) and a belief in the latent possibility of natural man (they seem to be pre-verbal! – but also that problem of life again: their DNA is compatible with “ours”), but, at the same time, prepare for the inevitable triumph of Western capitalism, Western democracy, Western civilization. It would also seem that this romanticism is limited by a paternalistic sort of enlightenment: we can help these savages avoid our fate; we can bring them in to civilization. To capitalism, democracy and civilization, we must also add colonization. I can’t help but wonder that rather than continuing with the anti-theological premise of the show at its beginning (polytheism and monotheism alike lead nowhere) that it ends with some sort of Heideggerian death-bed plea: “Only a God can save us now” [PDF]. Of course, “he doesn’t like to be called that.”

While it seems that I am complaining about the ending, some of it was done well: Cavil died in an entirely appropriate way. However, I would have liked it had the show explored his technohilism – his desire to escape his biological flesh and, apparently, access “the thing-in-itself” in a completley unmediated way. (Recall his speech to Ellen upon her resurrection.) I’m not sure if I appreciated much else – the close quarters combat on the Colony ship was well done, but the space side of the battle was a bit lame. Cavil’s march to CIC was also well done.