Yes - I am good with the ending. In fact, I am great with the ending. I think that others more eloquent that I have already articulated most / all of the things that I could say. It feels redundant to say them again in detail.
I wonder if you all will indulge me with some editting fantasies in how I might re-tell the final moments of Daybreak? First of all, I would not change any of the scenes and dialogue that we have been presented. I would move things around a bit though and maybe add a few accents.
For example, I was thinking about Kara Thrace’s disappearance. Remember Dualla’s morgue scene where they used that vocal underlay? I wonder if it would have been appropriate to use that technique again with Kara? Except this time it’s a musical underlay. So as the camera does a final pull back from Lee, there is a subtle gesture, a note or two from Bear’s cover of the Watchtower, almost unheard, fading into the sound of the wind.
Another thought, and this is dangerous as it may be way over the top, but maybe while the camera’s still maintained it’s close up of Lee, just a beat before he turns around, we hear Kara (off screen) mention his name, tentative as if trying to interject into his speech, trying to tell him something. Than he turns, he is alone…
I was thinking of intercutting music in because of Kara’s background. The last time that we ever saw her at peace, or at least at rest was with Helo, in her old apartment on Caprica, listening to her father’s music on the cassette deck. That was one of the most beautiful moments in the series. I thought that one way to further allude to her finding peace would be to evoke music. Music, for her, by being such a formative element of her core character offered both solace and ultimately, a manner to manifest her destiny. Cheesy? Over the top?
I was thinking about what Bear mentioned in his Daybreak blog about how he perceived 2 endings - an emotional one (Adama at Laura’s grave) and an intellectual one (150,000 years later). And that made some sense. I felt that the back to back ending beats diluted the impact a bit. So after Adama says “…and it reminds me of you.”, there is the finale fanfare, the screen goes to black - hold a beat - but than transition straight to credits. One extra bit I’d feel is fair to do in my ideal world would have been to stretch out the end theme music so that the crew credits don’t flash by in 3 seconds. Just this once, at the end, I’d give everyone their due, cast and crew.
I digress a bit. Typically, as the credits and music finish, we come to expect the RDM / DE trademark skit. This time though, rather than that, as we let the last credit fade, we hold a beat to give any remaining watchers a clue that something else is coming. Still with the black screen, start up the “One Year Later” piano piece, open up with Hera walking in the grass and continue with the final coda. I’d restore the original dialogue between Head Six and Head Baltar (that hint of a wager per the final cast reading video) - it seemed to give more sense to his “silly me” line. Personally, I’m a bit uneasy with the Hendrix song at the end, but it is what it is. They both walk into the crowd as we’ve seen. Fade to Black. Close with the studio logos. Fin.
PS: I’ve just been obsessing over BSG since it’s ending. Sort’s like the above, moving scenes around. Can’t wait to see the extended DVD cuts.
Thanks for putting up with that rambling…
What a story though, you know? What a story.