FINALLY Saw The BSG Season Finale! Questions (*Spoilers*):

[Beetwasher]

First of all, holy shit, I can't believe they jumped forward a whole year!

So, I'm assuming the whole "The Cylon's are leaving because attacking humanity was a mistake" thing was merely a ploy to get the humans to settle down so they'd be easier to catch?

And did Six set off the nuke knowing the cylons would detect it and find the humans? Or was there some other reason?

[ContraBass Black]

1. Yup, that's about the size of it.

Now, let's all wait patiently until October. I don't watch tv at all when BSG isn't on, so hopefully I won't be driven insane by the inevitable teasers.

[NewJeffCT]

2. the weird thing about Sci-Fi...

Is that they hardly promote BSG at all. I still watch the channel regularly to get my fill of cheesy Grade-Z movies, but I can't recall seeing any sort of promo for the show. The repeats are confined to late nights or odd hours, not like the omnipresent Stargate, which seems to have a weekly marathon. Even last year, when they had the break between Season 2 part 1 and Season 2 part 2, they didn't bother to repeat the first half of Season 2 in the run up to the 2nd part of Season 2.

[ContraBass Black]

11. They're doing so well with it, though, that it promotes itself.

Here we are talking about it, and it won't be back for months.

[Occulus]

12. Well, okay....

but the little baby-in-the-womb spot they were showing toward the end of the last season was just creepy.

You think it's an ad for Right to Life... and then you get blindsided.

*shiver*

[NewJeffCT]

3. I'm not sure on the Cylons leaving part...

or even if Six set off the nuke to allow the cylons to detect them.

it was all kind of confusing to me.

[Ravenseye]

5. yeah it could go different ways

I think we're going to have to wait till October to know for sure...

either

a) The Cylons decided to go their own way and leave the humans alone, and then changed their minds, or

b) The Cylons lied and were never going to leave the humans alone.

The problem with b) is that they apparently had no clue where the humans were until they saw the radiological signature of 'pegasus six's bomb go off a year later a light year away. Why lie about leaving them alone when you don't know where they are?

What happened with 'Six reborn' and 'Sharon reborn'? Supposedly they gained some traction with the Cylons, led a revolution of sorts in what the Cylon's wanted, and now are maybe it's leaders, maybe it's ambassadors. From the looks of Six, I'm assuming that the ones who boarded Baltar's ship at the end of the Finale are the Reborn Sharon and Six. So if they love the humans so much, and are in charge, why march the death squadron of cylons right down Caprica Ave and take over?

I think we're going to see some pretty shocking things in the first 10 episodes, maybe even the first 6, of next season. Things are going to twist around alot before they get back into space, and I'm looking forward to it. I have money laid down with my wife that Baltar is a cylon. At the very least I expect him eventually to be sitting on a throne in a basestar giving orders while one of the steel cylons responds 'by your command'.

[Beetwasher]

7. Yeah, I Had The Same Thoughts

If they were lying, perhaps they were counting on their agents within the fleet to somehow get word to them about the fleets location, thus the nuke.

Though I think there are more complex psychological reasons ALSO behind Six's setting off the nuke.

Man, I can't believe the destroyed Cloud Nine!! That was such a cool ship!

[Ravenseye]

8. Yeah that was my biggest 'Aww shucks' moment

I thought having Cloud Nine was a nice addition to the fleet. Allowed them to have a place for recreational breaks. Sort of was becoming the defacto seat of colonial government as the meeting place for the Quorum, etc.

Now with it gone, once they take back to space they're going to be even more sorely in need of someplace to relax. It's gonna get even more crusty.

[Occulus]

13. Nope. It was Six.

Definitely. Remember? Baltar gave her real counterpart a nuke as a symbol of trust. Predictably, she abused that.

The most amusing part? Caprica Six is seeing visions of Baltar, in the same way the real Baltar has been seeing visions of Caprica Six.

That's leading to something major, methinks.

[Beetwasher]

15. The Fascinating Twist W/ Baltar and Six's Visions

Six's visions of Baltar are making her act more human and betray the Cylon's, while Baltar's visions of Six are making him betray humanity. IOW, the REAL six, his "original" six, is becoming a human ally because of her visions of Baltar nagging her conscience, while the REAL Baltar is actually betraying humanity because his visions of Six are pushing him in that direction.

Awesome writing!!

[YankeyMCC]

4. On the face of it you've pretty much got it

but this show throws interesting curves at the viewers and the characters are much more complex than you're typical TV show.

For example. Did the Fleet Six detonate the nuke to signal the cylons? Seems that way. But there are layers here. Maybe it was a signal but is that the motivation she had in her mind when she decided to do it or did she believe she was doing it for other reasons, associated with the movement she started among the humans or some pathology from her rape and torture or some feelings about Baltar?

In other words was she somehow manipulated by some program running in her mind which maybe is part of a larger Cylon plan and not really a 'part of her'.

Same could be said about the 'attacking humanity was a mistake' movement.

There's a lot of manipulation going on and I think that is the big surprise, we haven't seen yet what the source of this manipulation really is and how deep and subtle it can go.

[Beetwasher]

6. Oh, I Agree, No Doubt There's Layers Upon Layers

But I was merely trying to get the first layer straightened out in my head! ;-)

It's such a rich and complex show that it absolutely MUST be discussed after each episode!

[YankeyMCC]

9. I agree which is in fact a mark of a great show!

[IndianaGreen]

10. The problem is that Galactica and Pegasus don't have the crews and pilots

most of whom were on the planet when the Cylons appeared. I don't see how they can mount any sort of challenge to the Cylons, or have the wherewithal to support a resistance movement.

The Cylons are motivated by this kinda neocon theology that drives them, they are totally untrustworthy, and they are ruthless.

[Occulus]

14. Like I said...

the writers have written themselves into a corner. It will be very interesting to see how they get out of that... I'm thinking the new season premiere will HAVE to be a two-parter. Expect another major cliffhanger at the start of the next season.

I'll agree with what someone else said upthread: this is a show that begs group viewing and discussion afterward. It's just that deep.

I LOVE BSG. Best television I've seen in years, science fiction or not.

I think one of the things that endears me to the show is the technology: aside from the FTL drives, there's nothing there we don't already have. The Galactica uses cord phones, for God's sake. DRADIS = RADAR. And so on.

(Isn't the DRADIS system modeled after the RADAR systems in the F-16 or F22? As in, an almost exact copy? I get the distinct feeling an Air Force or Navy officer would feel right at home on the Galactica's bridge, as is...)

[Beetwasher]

16. I Expect The Cylon "Heroes" (Sharon and Six) Will Have Some Role

In getting humanity out of the hole their in.