As Street moves closer to solving the nine-dimensional puzzle left by Ma'el, Zo'or seizes a chance for salvation as Da'an and the other Taelons prepare for a sacrifice, the ANA launches nuclear weapons at the mothership and a group of Jaridians arrives.

Once again, the writers have come up with a pretty cataclysmic ending, but this one somehow isn't all it's cracked up to be. The main thing it lacks is tension. These characters have faced death so many times and so often progressed towards a meaningful arc only to backtrack that it's difficult to know how to treat this tale. With rather jarring quiet scenes bereft of background music, there's no feeling of build-up, just a load of ideas prised into the same script by someone with their fingers crossed. Does it all make sense? Not really, no. There's a lot of gobbledegook about Ma'el, his secret cavern, portals, relics and destiny but it doesn't entirely hold together. Coupled with which, Ma'el must have had real faith that one human girl, one part-Kimera man and a bunch of Taelons and Jaridians would come together to survive. It all seems a little convenient that they find their way there somehow and however much people bang on about destiny, stronger plotting would cover the holes better.

Poor Liam is badly served by the whole affair, trapped in a cavern without anything to do for most of the story except keep asking Street, Augur and Renee if they've found a way to get him out yet. Likewise, they don't do more than stand about either; once they're in the cavern that's their usefulness at an end. And this is the problem. With nothing more than moving of chess pieces going on there's nothing to hold the interest, which dwindles towards the conclusion when it should build up to something big.

The Atlantic National Alliance have become a more officially recognized branch of the Resistance as well this year, but when it comes down to it they behave just like the rest of the military here, setting off the nukes for no reason than that they've decided they want the Taelons dead. What exactly did they do recently that caused this huge shift in opinion for the president, one of their keenest supporters?

And what a strange way to finish a season, with many of the main cast dead or on their way out. Judging by this, next year there will be no villains as both Taelons and Jaridians are gone and Sandoval has been blown up with the mothership. Likewise, Liam can't survive a volcanic eruption, leaving the main cast consisting of Renee, Street and Augur. What use are they? You can't help but feel that in one stroke E:FC has wiped out every one of the things that once made it great and we're now left with a pale imitation. And the question on everybody's lips is: is the grand plan now anywhere near close to Gene Roddenbery's opening concept?

***

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