Daybreak (Battlestar Galactica)
"Daybreak" | |
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Battlestar Galactica episodes | |
Episode nos. | Season 4 Episodes 19, 20 and 21 |
Directed by | Michael Rymer |
Written by | Ronald D. Moore |
Original air dates |
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Running time | 141 minutes (aired) 152 minutes (extended) |
Guest appearances | |
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"Daybreak" is the three-part series finale of the reimagined
The episodes portray the Galactica launching a rescue mission to retrieve Hera Agathon from the "colony", a heavily armed and defended Cylon base located near a black hole. They manage to rescue Hera and, in the end, the fleet finds a new planet to settle on, which they come to call Earth (revealed to be the actual Earth). The final episodes gave Battlestar Galactica the strongest ratings since its second season, though they received mixed reviews.
Plot
Part 1
Back in the present,
Part 2
In flashback sequences, William Adama and
Back in the present of the series, Baltar decides to join the mission with Caprica Six at the last minute; she later admits to being proud of him for the first time. At that moment it is revealed that Baltar's "Head" Six and Six's "Head" Baltar are aware of each other, and the two real-life counterparts see both of them.
Galactica jumps right next to the Colony, where they are immediately fired upon. Some of the Raptors, which are armed with
Galactica is set upon by Cylon boarding parties arriving in "platoon strength", as reported to Tigh and Adama in the CIC. As Starbuck, Apollo, Athena and Helo return to the battlestar and make their way to CIC, they encounter a boarding party composed of Cavil's modern Centurions and original Cylon War models. Hera runs away in the confusion. She is spotted by Roslin, who had a vision of her while assisting with triage, and is able to hide her from the Cylons, until she disappears again. While Roslin gives chase, Baltar and Caprica Six also spot Hera and give chase as well. The chase parallels the Opera House vision shared between Athena, Roslin and Caprica Six.[3] The chase ends in the CIC, where Cavil (Dean Stockwell) takes her hostage and demands to leave with Hera so she can be dissected and establish a method for Cylons to reproduce. Inner Six and Inner Baltar again appear jointly to Baltar, inspiring him to make the speech his entire life has led to, saying, among other things, that he sees angels,[4] and that a divine force ("whether God or Gods") has entwined the destinies of both sides. Tigh provides the final incentive, saying that the Final Five will give the Cylons back resurrection (a solution to the problem of Cylon extinction) if they vow to forever go separate ways from humanity and end their pursuit. Combined, this convinces Cavil and Adama to end the war, Cavil gives Hera back and will let them leave in peace when the Final Five give the technology for resurrection.
Part 3
Cavil calls a cease fire in preparation for the data download and the boarding parties retreat. Roslin and Adama look on as the Final Five begin the download of the technology for resurrection, with Saul and
Galactica arrives at Kara's mysterious coordinates, its final destination as the damage caused in the battle has rendered the ship incapable of surviving any further jumps. Miraculously, the Galactica finds itself in orbit around a moon, close to a habitable world: our own Earth.
Hours later, the rest of the fleet joins Galactica at this new world. Lee makes the unorthodox suggestion that they abandon their technology and start afresh, while Adama and others discover primitive humans already occupying the planet. Since finding Earth had always been the goal of the Colonial Fleet, Adama suggests they call this new planet "Earth." The survivors – Galactica's crew, the remaining inhabitants of the fleet, and the Cylon Twos, Sixes, and Eights – take basic supplies and spread out across the planet; not to colonize and impose cities like the
While resting under a tree, Roslin suddenly begins to have difficulty breathing. Adama quickly places her aboard a Raptor, and says a short, final goodbye to Lee and Starbuck before taking off. While admiring the wildlife below and looking for a place to build a cabin for them, Roslin dies peacefully. While Lee expresses his desire to venture off and explore the planet, Starbuck, her destiny as an Angel fulfilled, literally vanishes without a trace. Lee promises to never forget her. Tyrol decides to settle by himself on a remote northern island (implied to be the Scottish highlands). Helo (Tahmoh Penikett), Athena, and Hera are reunited as a family. Tigh and Ellen stay with the rest of the survivors. Adama eventually finds the place where he will build the cabin, and buries Laura on a nearby hillside.
Epilogue
Production
In the episode's podcast, Moore and his wife Terry commented that they had trouble scouring for robot footage and clearing rights-issues. They also described one of the robots as the "most disturbing" of the bunch. "She's freaky. She's a Six in the making".[5]
Several cues from
Before entering coordinates on the FTL-drive control console, Starbuck says "[There] must be some kind of way out of here", which is the opening line of Bob Dylan's song "All Along the Watchtower". The coordinates she enters are revealed through flashbacks to be the numerical representation of the opening notes of that same tune. The song is a recurring motif throughout the fourth season, and the version sung by Jimi Hendrix is played at the end of the episode.[8]
The episode was partially shot in the area of Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.[11] The original rough cut of the episode (all three parts) ran over four hours long.[12]
Show creator Ronald D. Moore appears in a short cameo in the epilogue, as the long-haired man reading the fictional edition of
Reception
"Daybreak (Part 2)" was watched by 2.4 million total viewers, a 56% surge from the season three finale and the series' best numbers since the season 2.5 premiere, "
Critical reception of the finale varied. Alan Sepinwall of The Star Ledger wrote "so the amazing four-year journey of Battlestar Galactica comes to an end, and I feel very, very good about it – even as I suspect others may not."[8] Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times praised Moore and the writing team for "not copping out" and commented that it was "hard to imagine a more visually and thematically satisfying finale".[15] Richard Vine of The Guardian opined that "somehow, out of all the doom and gloom, death, destruction and nihilism we've had, Battlestar Galactica finished with something approaching a happy ending." He concluded that the episode was ultimately satisfying, noting that "most of the major questions were dealt with in some form or another."[16]
Mother Jones magazine noted that the finale did little to genuinely resolve many plotlines and subplots, and pondered the implications for the industry.[17] Mark Perigard of the Boston Herald concluded that "The desire to wrap everything up in a neat package–which is so contrary to the spirit of this show–hobbled the series creators."[18] Salon.com contrasted the finale with the rest of the series noting that the episode finished with "40 minutes of speeches about lessons learned and the need to 'break the cycle', the naiveté of which did indeed feel like a break— from the knowing, worldly stoicism that made Battlestar Galactica so refreshing to begin with."[19] Time magazine noted that it seemed hard to believe that an advanced culture would discard all of its technology.[20]
Fantasy author
Josh Tyler of
References
- Sci Fi Channel.
- Sci Fi Channel.
- Sci Fi Channel.
- ^ "Do You Believe in Angels?". Scifi.com. Archived from the original on 2009-03-24. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
- ^ Scifi.com. Archived from the originalon March 24, 2009. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
- ^ This is consistent with Ronald D. Moore's statement in Battlestar Galactica: The Last Frakkin' Special Archived 2009-03-22 at the Wayback Machine that they are "messenger(s) of a higher power"
- Sci Fi Channel.
- ^ The Star Ledger. Archivedfrom the original on 2009-03-24. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
- ^ a b Bear McCreary, BSG music composer (2009-03-21). "Bear's Battlestar Blog". BearMcCreary.com. Archived from the original on 2009-04-20. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- ^ Fox, Erin (2009-03-20). "Battlestar Galactica Episode Recap: "Daybreak – Part 2"". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 2009-04-07. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- ^ "Past Productions | Thompson-Nicola Film Commission". Tnrdfilm.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-13. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
- ^ STEVE WEINTRAUB (May 29, 2020). "Battlestar Galactica Series Finale: Ronald D. Moore on 4-Hour Original Cut". Collider. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
- ^ a b Mitovich, Matt (2009-03-21). "Ratings: How Many Went Along for Galactica's Final Trip?". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d Weprin, Alex (2009-03-21). "'Battlestar Galactica' Finale Delivers Most Viewers In Three Years". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on 2012-09-26. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
- ^ McNamara, Mary (2009-03-20). "'Battlestar Galactica' finale is satisfying -- so say we all". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2010-05-15. Retrieved 2011-12-24.
- ^ Vine, Richard (2009-04-11). "Battlestar Galactica: season four, episode 22". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2015-10-11. Retrieved 2011-12-24.
- ^ Party, Ben (2009-03-23). "Is the Galactica Finale Bad News for Lost?". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on 2012-01-13. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
- ^ Perigard, Mark (2009-03-21). "'Battlestar': The final blow". Boston Herald. Archived from the original on 2012-09-15. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
- ^ Miller, Laura (2009-03-21). "Goodbye, "Galactica"". Salon.com. Archived from the original on 2009-09-24. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
- ^ Poniewozik, James (2009-03-20). "BSG Watch: A Long Time Ago, In a Galaxy Far, Far Away". Tuned In. Time. Archived from the original on 2011-10-05. Retrieved 2020-10-17.
- Martin, George R.R. (April 5, 2009). "Writing 101". LiveJournal. Archived from the originalon April 22, 2014.
- CinemaBlend. Archivedfrom the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
External links
- "Daybreak (Part 1)" at the Battlestar Wiki
- "Daybreak (Part 1)" at Syfy
- "Daybreak (Part 1)" at IMDb
- "Daybreak (Part 2) at the Battlestar Wiki
- "Daybreak (Part 2)" at Syfy
- "Daybreak (Part 2)" at IMDb
- Ronald D. Moore interview with TV critic Maureen Ryan
- https://www.moryan.com/2019/04/13/see-you-on-the-other-side-my-battlestar-galactica-post-finale-interviews-and-review/