Battlestar Galactica: "Islanded in a Stream of Stars"

Grief has five stages. In the Battlestar Galactica universe, we have seen all five stages play out through these various and varied characters as this transcendent series has drawn ever-closer to its inevitable end. And for many of these characters, the final stage has come: acceptance.

Now, if only I could say the same thing about myself...

The love story of Laura Roslin and Bill Adama has been captivating. We have seen them through their initial wariness, to their animosity, to their reluctant alliance, to their dependence, to their friendship, to their unbreakable bond, to their love that cannot be contained by ship nor space.

"I don't think I've ever felt truly at home until these last few months here with you." -- Laura

Battlestar has always been about the philosophical and the mythical and nothing can encompass those ideas more inherently than the term "soulmate". Soulmates are intangible and impossible to define, and yet I can say with absolute certainty that Bill and Laura are soulmates. No matter where the end of this magnificent series takes Bill and Laura, we know that they will always be connected. Forever.

Laura knows this too. And she's accepted her fate. I think she accepted it a long time ago. Does she want to leave Bill? Not at all. But does she know it's unavoidable? Absolutely. And she knows that it's now her duty -- a term Bill knows all too well -- to get Bill to that all-important place of acceptance also. But he's not going quietly. Or easily. Laura presented him with only one option: "Bill, if you don't get us off this ship, you may lose both of us at the same time. Why don't you give us a chance?" Bill needs to accept Laura's mortality, but unfortunately, I think that he's now of the mind that if he gives up Galactica, he can keep Laura. But as we all know, the universe is not that kind. It is interesting to note, however, that Laura states (without a hint of judgment or bitterness, no less) that Bill probably loves Galactica more than he loves her. And yet, when he accepts that he has to make a choice, he chooses Laura. And that acceptance? Effortless.

Soulmates.

Randoms...

• Laura & Bill getting baked in sickbay and discussing her (their?) cabin by the lake. The episode's writer, Michael Taylor, gave us a beautiful nod to one of the best episodes in this show's history, "Unfinished Business". Also, we were treated to another lovely moment of Bill reading to Laura. A nice touch, considering that their mutual love of books was one of their first bonding elements.
• The idea of -- soon enough -- no longer having the pleasure of watching Mary McDonnell and Edward James Olmos gracefully playing off of and with each other, all the while being individually mesmerizing, is just devastating. The television landscape will be ever so slightly dimmer for this.
• Speaking of devastation, Helo and Athena were just heart-breaking! The fact that she couldn't look at him and the fact that he was coming apart at the seams while imploring Adama for a raptor made for a jarring audience experience. Helo and Athena's love and Helo's stoicism have been staples for so long now that it seemed damn near impossible to witness anything but. Tahmoh Penikett and Grace Park knocked it out of the... well, park.
• I keep waiting for Boomer to make the right choice, but she just can't seem to break free of Cavil's evil little clutches. Her anguish by episode's end, though, seemed to be a step in the right direction. Maybe we are going to see her make the ultimate choice, the ultimate sacrifice by series' end and finally prove her true allegiance? No matter, all of the scenes between Grace Park and the little girl who plays Hera were electric. That little girl has got some chops!
• Hera seemed to project very easily. I got the sense with Tyrol in "Someone to Watch Over Me" that projection was a learned ability and something that took a lot of energy and focus. But Hera seemed to not only do it effortlessly, but without any concentration at all. Kind of like Starbuck in "Someone to Watch Over Me"? Perhaps that's a hybrid gift? Although, you'd think that the Final Five could project better than anyone, but I guess not.
  
• Speaking of the Final Five, Ellen and Tigh also knocked it out of the park. Ellen has finally settled since returning to the fleet, and I think that the Ellen of this episode is the one, true Ellen -- a beautiful combination of the regal, insightful, all-knowing mother of "No Exit" and the emotional, petty trollop of "Deadlock" and "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down". The amalgam is delicious. Almost as delicious as Michael Hogan and his Amazing Acting Eye. "I had a child. He died." "You're wrong, Saul. You had millions." Shivers, I tell you.
  
• Kara on the toilet while talking to Baltar was an interesting and humorous touch. She bared her secret to him -- more than likely knowing that he would make her revelation known to all -- and seemingly so much more. Heh.
• If Kara is an angel, then we're all screwed. I'm more inclined to think that she's a hybrid who resurrected (is that resurrection ship still within Earth's orbit?) and then returned to the fleet. I don't believe she's an angel. Or a demon. Or anything of the like that's just as abstract. Kara is and will always be flesh and bone. She just may have a few electrical circuits to boot.
• Kara finally made a choice -- finally! -- and she chose Anders. Kara's upbringing never allowed her to implement much trust in her personal life, and she was therefore doomed to waffle and waver and self-destruct for eternity. That is, until she accepted herself and her surroundings and the people in them. And in turn, she was rewarded with clarity: she loves Anders and always has.
• Lee and Kara finally accepted what they are to each other... whatever that is. They're not friends. They're not lovers. They're so much more than that. They are family. And their bond in its truest form is a beautiful thing.
• Apparently, Sam's truest form is that of a hybrid? I think we possibly learned just how the hybrids came to be. Skinjobs who were injured in some capacity and placed in a goo bath and plugged in with the idea and intention of jump-starting them (like a car!), only to discover that they tapped into the energy and electricity of that to which they were connected to the point that they could no longer be disconnected for fear of death or contamination? Or something like that. Wow.
• The funeral, with all of the various factions mourning in their individuals ways, was spectacular. Initially, I thought that the different groups were separated, but ultimately we saw that they were all saying their goodbyes together. The blending has already begun, indeed.

Just as the characters were saying their final farewells, so was the audience. "Islanded in a Stream of Stars" was an elegy... to the characters, to the Galactica, and to the series. And I think it served as an anguished set-up for our final good-bye. It will not be easy for us to let go, but our acceptance has begun.

That's right. I'm accepting my ass off... over here in the corner... in the fetal position... sob...

Thoughts?