Battlestar Galactica Series Finale

Having watched the series finale last Friday, then re-watched it this Friday (at least a little bit), I have a few things I like and didn't like:

Likes:
1. The way Kara Thrace's story resolved was haunting and interesting. It allowed the character to remain true through the very end. It's difficult to imagine Kara blending in to the early human civilization that the Galactica characters encounter at the end, at the "second" Earth, so in a way the way Kara's story ends is fitting.

2. The back stories from Caprica before the fall added depth to the characters. I'm not sure why the writers left these stories to the finale, but they made for an interesting back and forth in time and raised the level of the storytelling.

3. The climactic battle, though a bit predictable, brought all the elements of the story together -- Galactica's survivor ethos, the rebel Cylons and the "final five" coming together to support the final attack, Hera's vision of the opera house combining with the command center, Kara's retracing of her roots through the song that the "final five" hear -- it all worked together.

Dislikes:
1. The last word on the show was given to the two "imaginary" versions of Gaius Balthar and the Cylon known as Caprica-6. The discussion they have in the middle of modern New York City was way too stilted.

2. I didn't like the fact that Hera's father, Helo, survived after being shot in the climactic battle. It was too good to be true, and didn't add much to the storytelling.

3. I'm sorry to see the show end! The finale left me wanting more. I guess that's a good thing.