A lot happened during the two-part finale of Terra Nova. Some of it
was funny, some of it was touching and some of it was sad, and although
there were some breadcrumbs setting the stage for a subsequent season,
the whole of it pretty much felt like a conclusion.
In the first half of the finale ("Occupation"), the forces behind Lucas
Taylor make their move, sending him back to Terra Nova at the head of
an army for hire. The private army takes over the settlement, pushing
Taylor into military resistance and quickly creating an atmosphere as
to make his previous absolute military leadership seem like a
Jeffersonian democracy. If we forget the scene shared by Maddy and her
soldier, everything leading up to the arrival of the army was pretty
decent, but then there was the anti-climactic moment after the
explosion. Even if you have little tolerance for battle scenes, here
the build-up was such that when the story moved from the explosion at
the Terminus to the infirmary, you had to feel a bit robbed of some
promised outcome.
As if that wasn't enough, we learn soon after that Kara was killed by
the bomb. Love triangles can be tiresome, but the show was in a way so
invested in the Josh and Kara relationship that killing her off so soon
feels like an abrupt end to a storyline that had not run its course,
even if it wasn't a fascinating one. The forgiveness scene between
Lucas and Skye was creepy and wasn't really necessary. If the
rationale behind it was to justify why he didn't throw her in the brig,
I would say there were much worse plot holes and weaknesses that could
have been addressed as well, like having the newcomers so
systematically gullible and conveniently blind, or going through the
trouble of etching those coordinates by hand on all those bullets
hoping that the message would be understood only by people sympathetic
to the resistance. And there is more: why would the operation to
plunder the Late Cretaceous be led by Lucas, the physicist?
Although the first hour included what is arguably the funniest scene of
the finale (featuring Corporal Riley's "If everyone could just shut up
for a second") involving the bomb, it was undoubtedly the weaker of
the two parts. "Resistance," the second half, took us through a full
blown coordinated reaction by the original settlers, leading to the
destruction of the infrastructure supporting the portal in the future,
temporarily (or indefinitely according to the story) cutting off the
Late Cretaceous from 2149.
Because of those events, the second part was much more gripping and
even the Taylor family feud couldn't spoil it. What is arguably the
best moment involves a favorite character, Elisabeth Shannon,
threatening Weaver (the representative of the hidden forces) and then
casually revealing that she was bluffing. By remaining interesting
throughout the finale, the actress (Shelley Conn) has once again proven
that she is the only cast member impervious to bad material from the
writers.
The Shannons' escape brought about the death of Lt. Washington. Her
ultimate conversation with the family was touching. So was the scene
between Taylor and the little Shannon, who was very appropriately used.
The death of Washington was the first event that really gave a
conclusion-chapter feel to the finale. She had been there from the
start and managed throughout the story to carve out a place in the
characters' and the viewers' hearts.
The second half also had its share of plot weaknesses. The ease with
which Lucas's employers took control of Hope Plaza, the only hope for
humanity, is intriguing no matter how deep their pockets are. The
little trip of the carnotaurus to 2149 to conveniently hunt down the
baddies was amusing, and finally, with the importance of the project,
you would think there would be a more robust operation waiting for
"goods" in 2149.
Virtually absent throughout the extended episode, Mira and her Sixers
were only used to leave some breadcrumbs for what seems to be one of
the story arcs of the next season (if there is one). About that, it
would have been more effective not to show what was found in the
Badlands or maybe show something more mysterious. The prow of a ship
had to conjure up thoughts of the Bermuda triangle and that is too much
of a giveaway, no matter how the show plans to develop the story.
In its second part, the finale managed to put the Shannons at the
center of the story with relative ease, and it seemed to bring the
story to a conclusion that would be acceptable even if production on
the show stopped. The finale was also a good representation of what the
series have been, mixing some sweet moments with good ideas not so well
executed, aimless storylines and uneven performances by most of the
cast.
