Okay, finished S5/the series, so time for some final thoughts! After a mostly solid final season, despite the budget cutbacks, we got an absolutely outstanding third-to-last episode (the siege of the home base), and then... a meh fart of an ending, I'm afraid. The many scenes of the Colombian villains bickering ended up going absolutely nowhere, with the most interesting character on that front (the uncertain second-in-command) being unceremoniously dumped at the eleventh hour. We didn't even get the unexpected thrill of the devious wife taking over; she ends up a simpering mess. And the constant switching between Spanish and English during said scenes really got on my nerves. Either have the balls to do whole conversations in Spanish, or have the actors speak English and let us assume the camera is translating for us. But the mish-mash and constant, arbitrary switching was just plain maddening.
As for the finale, the amphibious landing sequence was kinda cool, albeit marred by a pointless new reporter character, but it couldn't match 5.7's Cuba battle for tactics and intensity. That ordeal, which dominated its episode, was damned convincing (apart from our heroes apparently having zero artillery which which to shell the enemy tower over a period of days), and it built to a great reveal of the replica command center. But the beach landing should have taken place in the penultimate episode, not the last one. (And, unless I'm much mistaken, Diaz, the Lost Boy turned Sailor, appears as an apparently living member of the movie-watching audience in the penultimate ep, despite having been killed off earlier in the season?! And then shows up with his fellow ghosts in the finale's mystical coda?!)
Also: in the end, the enemy battleship gets taken out by... a sinking Nathan James hitting it in the side? WTF?! Another loose end that should have been tied up (and sunk!) in the classic Last Ship game of cat-and-mouse during the penultimate ep.
As for the ending itself, while it was nice to see a few familiar/fallen faces in Davy Jones' Locker (yay, Tex!), I would far rather have seen our heroes come home, and get a farewell with each other, their families, the current president, etc. Though not as blatantly unsatisfying and abrupt an ending as that of Voyager, I was reminded of its sudden conclusion, and that's not a good thing. Master Chief Jeter, who lost his family before the plague, had definitely earned a thoughtful send-off, as did Slattery. And I can't disagree with Jocko "Burk" Sims' observation that too many POC characters were killed off, leaving most of the remaining white guys standing.
Overall, I love the series (A-, easy), and am glad I stuck with it 'til the end. Due to a weak ending, however, I've got to give S5 a B-. I'd recommend Seasons 1-3 to anyone, and wouldn't discourage anyone from continuing on to 4-5, but I wouldn't urge viewers to power through them, either. In conclusion, it's been a great ride, with an amazing cast, mostly great writing, and a unique focus on tactics and expertise. It's a shame it didn't maintain its outstanding quality to the very end, but the Nathan James and its crew absolutely deserve an Honorable Discharge and a proud legacy in our memory. That is all.
As for the finale, the amphibious landing sequence was kinda cool, albeit marred by a pointless new reporter character, but it couldn't match 5.7's Cuba battle for tactics and intensity. That ordeal, which dominated its episode, was damned convincing (apart from our heroes apparently having zero artillery which which to shell the enemy tower over a period of days), and it built to a great reveal of the replica command center. But the beach landing should have taken place in the penultimate episode, not the last one. (And, unless I'm much mistaken, Diaz, the Lost Boy turned Sailor, appears as an apparently living member of the movie-watching audience in the penultimate ep, despite having been killed off earlier in the season?! And then shows up with his fellow ghosts in the finale's mystical coda?!)
Also: in the end, the enemy battleship gets taken out by... a sinking Nathan James hitting it in the side? WTF?! Another loose end that should have been tied up (and sunk!) in the classic Last Ship game of cat-and-mouse during the penultimate ep.
As for the ending itself, while it was nice to see a few familiar/fallen faces in Davy Jones' Locker (yay, Tex!), I would far rather have seen our heroes come home, and get a farewell with each other, their families, the current president, etc. Though not as blatantly unsatisfying and abrupt an ending as that of Voyager, I was reminded of its sudden conclusion, and that's not a good thing. Master Chief Jeter, who lost his family before the plague, had definitely earned a thoughtful send-off, as did Slattery. And I can't disagree with Jocko "Burk" Sims' observation that too many POC characters were killed off, leaving most of the remaining white guys standing.
Overall, I love the series (A-, easy), and am glad I stuck with it 'til the end. Due to a weak ending, however, I've got to give S5 a B-. I'd recommend Seasons 1-3 to anyone, and wouldn't discourage anyone from continuing on to 4-5, but I wouldn't urge viewers to power through them, either. In conclusion, it's been a great ride, with an amazing cast, mostly great writing, and a unique focus on tactics and expertise. It's a shame it didn't maintain its outstanding quality to the very end, but the Nathan James and its crew absolutely deserve an Honorable Discharge and a proud legacy in our memory. That is all.
