Well, I'm pretty conflicted about this finale.
Stuff I didn't like:
Rushed, with a pretty anticlimactic resolution half-way through the episode. Some of the direction/editing felt a bit too flashy. Cosima apparently dying and having that hallucination struck me as cheesy and exploitative. What was the point of the whole convoluted-pencil-contraption thing? Marion was going to free Sarah anyway so it seems like it was there only for shock/revenge value. Sad to see Duncan go, he turned out to be surprisingly interesting. Helena getting yanked away AGAIN only minutes after the big reunion (did no one notice or care the next morning?).
Stuff I'm unsure about:
The dance party - on one hand it was cute, a nice opportunity for Tatiana to show the differences between the characters and a good technical achievement - OTOH, it was a bit too cute and fanservicey and I feel like Helena meeting the other clones should have been dealt with in a somewhat more ambiguous way (she is still an unhinged killer). Paul/Mrs S - Paul being a spy for the military makes him more interesting and the two of them actually play off each other nicely but the whole web of allegiances and "who knows what?" is so convoluted now.
Stuff I liked:
Marion isn't just a simple villain and has an agenda of her own (and a little clone of her own!), that's interesting - and it's great to see Michelle Forbes getting an expanded role. The Duncan/Rachel scene while he dies, great acting. The clone interactions - Sarah and Cosima talking in bed was such a wonderful scene (IMO, much more effective with its' subtlety than the dancing). Cosima in general was great this episode, like when she was doing "science" with Kira. Helena being adorable as usual. Mark and Gracie are still in the picture, they haven't just dropped out of the show. The male soldier-clones - originally I would have put this in the second category but the more I think of it, the more I like it, there are some potentially interesting parallels and conclusions to be drawn from that storyline.
Stuff I didn't like:
Rushed, with a pretty anticlimactic resolution half-way through the episode. Some of the direction/editing felt a bit too flashy. Cosima apparently dying and having that hallucination struck me as cheesy and exploitative. What was the point of the whole convoluted-pencil-contraption thing? Marion was going to free Sarah anyway so it seems like it was there only for shock/revenge value. Sad to see Duncan go, he turned out to be surprisingly interesting. Helena getting yanked away AGAIN only minutes after the big reunion (did no one notice or care the next morning?).
Stuff I'm unsure about:
The dance party - on one hand it was cute, a nice opportunity for Tatiana to show the differences between the characters and a good technical achievement - OTOH, it was a bit too cute and fanservicey and I feel like Helena meeting the other clones should have been dealt with in a somewhat more ambiguous way (she is still an unhinged killer). Paul/Mrs S - Paul being a spy for the military makes him more interesting and the two of them actually play off each other nicely but the whole web of allegiances and "who knows what?" is so convoluted now.
Stuff I liked:
Marion isn't just a simple villain and has an agenda of her own (and a little clone of her own!), that's interesting - and it's great to see Michelle Forbes getting an expanded role. The Duncan/Rachel scene while he dies, great acting. The clone interactions - Sarah and Cosima talking in bed was such a wonderful scene (IMO, much more effective with its' subtlety than the dancing). Cosima in general was great this episode, like when she was doing "science" with Kira. Helena being adorable as usual. Mark and Gracie are still in the picture, they haven't just dropped out of the show. The male soldier-clones - originally I would have put this in the second category but the more I think of it, the more I like it, there are some potentially interesting parallels and conclusions to be drawn from that storyline.
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, but I was enjoying the episode up to that point and then that took me right out.
But I don't want her to turn into some crazy villain archetype, complete with a gruesome injury inflicted by the person she wants revenge on, and I'm afraid that's where they're going. I don't want her to turn good either, that would be impossible, but compared to the way Helena has been redeemed, just turning Rachel into a crazed villain seems pretty boring.
