It probably goes without saying -- Spoilers.
While I was rather disappointed in two of the last 4 episodes (both involving the return of Ellen, first on the basestar with Cavil, and then her return to Galactica) I can see now why that setup was necessary for the finale--I just wish they had plotted it out better.
Ellen, who we thought was a different, decent person, after resurrection, turns out to be her same old drunken jealous trouble causing self when in sight of Saul. Pure soap opera stuff. And then the subplot with Adama suddenly giving Baltar a bunch of guns just cause he asked for them? Who wrote that? And how every 8 minutes we got to see Adama walking around in the bowels of his broken down ship with the same unhappy grimace-- poor repetitive direction/editing. And I'm sorry, John Hodgman is great-- but cast in that role, in what ought to have been a pretty serious scene-it was hard to watch.
So, those things, real bad. They all could have been re-written or removed very easily. That's what I would have done differently.
But the finale? -- Damn near perfect. Action was great-- special effects were amazing, emotionally touching and tear-enducing, -- and yes, thankfully, it WAS about the characters.
Yes, I know, not everything was answered/ tied down perfectly. But who wants that?
I loved how, after essentially being bottled up on their ships for 4 or 5 years (with the exception of that chilly gray New Caprica settlement) they finally get to 'an Earth' and find their future wide open. In a way it's paradise, but not-- Roslin still dies, Chief's gonna go off and be a hermit apparently, Anders has become one with the universe, and.. surprisingly Helo DIDN'T DIE. Nothing is set. They're just free. After all that prophecy and pre-destination, things are now much less complicated. Everyone got their own destiny to forge.
Loose ends don't need tying if everyone is happy to just walk away from them.
As for Kara - yes, she disappeared and someone complained that it was never explained. Well, sure, it wasn't 'explained', but is there any other explanation? There isn't. She truly was an angel. Someone or some "God" (he doesn't like that name), sent her back to deliver mankind to a new home. That IS what happened.
I have no problem with that. I'm not a religious person in the slightest, but its weird how sci-fi can be full of aliens and "The Force" but some how the idea of God gets people up in arms. --- See, I -would- have had a problem if they explicitly put ol God up on the screen (oh look, Starbuck's dad was the piano player! and the piano player was God! and/or also Daniel! and/or Bob Dylan!!!??) and explained why each and every step along the way happened as it did. That would be idiotic, almost as idiotic as giving someone a midichlorian scan. (Jar-Jar was bad, but that one line, "His readings are off the chart!" was the moment in the prequels that brought down the original trilogy. Frak.)
Seriously, life is full of loose ends. You try to tie it all up and explain everything, that would be awful. Instead I got to watch the best couple hours of TV.. ever.