I loved it.

“Battlestar Galactica” ended Friday with a two-hour finale, and while the episode wasn’t perfect, it left me almost completely satisfied. I might be in a minority though. A quick look around online forums finds a whole lot of upset fanboys (and girls). A Television Without Pity recapper even gave the episode an F. I’m not quite sure what they were expecting. I say, relax, take a step back and appreciate the series for giving us five years of brilliance. Topped by a brilliantly fitting finale.

The first hour was a special-effects spectacular, a budget-busting space battle that outshone anything in the big-screen “Star Wars” prequels. That had to be one of the best hours of action in the show’s history, just jam-packed with huge moments. Among them:

— A big cheer from me when Baltar manned-up and stayed around for the fight. He looked ridiculous in his helmet and body armor, and the most heroic thing he did was shoot up an already-dead Cylon, but it was the effort that mattered. As Caprica Six aptly put it, he finally did something to make us proud of him.

— Another big cheer when Boomer snapped Four’s neck and rescued Hera. And yet I had no problem when Athena blew her away. Boomer knew it had to end like that, that she had caused too much suffering to be forgiven, and she was willing to make the sacrifice. I appreciated how in the end she regained that little bit of humanity that she had long ago rejected. Great use of a flashback too, showing how she owed Adama one big favor. In the end, she came through.

— The Cylon-on-Cylon combat was awesome. And awesomely hilarious in places. The hand-to-hand fighting, the blasts to the faces. . . those were some brutal ‘bots.

— Did I mention the special effects? Galactica ramming the Colony, the frantic air combat, the asteroid field . . . simply spectacular.

— More on the Baltar redemption arc — he and Six shepherded Hera to safety as the Opera House vision came to life (which I still don’t totally get), and he delivered a heartfelt and profound plea to Cavill that — for a moment at least — saved the day. Baltar’s finest hour.

— I loved how Tyrol ended the shortest cease-fire in history. I was a little wary of trusting Cavill in the first place, but that was all made moot when Tyrol strangled Tory for airlocking Callie way back when. That was soooo well-deserved. Cavill’s suicide was a little convenient, but I guess he knew the jig was up and there was no way he was getting out of that ship alive.

— I was stunned that the death count wasn’t higher. Racetrack and Skulls bought it from a stray asteroid, but that was about it. Thank goodness Helo made it. I thought he was a goner for sure. It was nice to see the first human/Cylon hybrid family make it through intact. Another nice touch with Racetrack’s dead body launching the nukes that ended up destroying the Colony. (You know the Colony got sucked into the black hole and was destroyed. Another “whew” moment when the black hole didn’t play a big cliched plot role, didn’t send Galactica into a peaceful alternate dimension or something.)

— I loved how they found our Earth. I’ve always suspected the first Earth, the scorched one, couldn’t have been ours. There were just too many things that didn’t add up.

— There were some incredibly powerful parting scenes. Tyrol going into self-imposed exile (to Ireland?). Lee and Starbuck saying goodbye to Adama, and to each other. And of course, Adama staying with Laura until she died, peacefully, happily, comfortably. I gotta say, I was getting a little misty. Geez, if you didn’t, you just don’t have a heart.

— Speaking of powerful, how about that scene with Sam guiding the fleet into the sun as the theme from the original series quietly played? Beautifully done.

The problems many people seemed to have with the episode focused mainly on Starbuck and the religious theme.

So what was Starbuck? How did she just vanish? Was she an angel? A ghost? A Head Starbuck seen by the entire fleet? I don’t know. But in the end, it doesn’t matter. In real life, we don’t always get the answers. As Baltar said, there was a higher power at work. You’ve just gotta believe. And I think that bit of faith is what turned a lot of people off. Not everyone can buy into that concept of ignoring logic and believing in something that simply can’t be explained — it just is. I did buy into it, so it didn’t bug me much, but I can see how some people didn’t. (If you want to look for deeper symbolism, how about Adama, Lee and Starbuck as the Father, Son and Holy Ghost?)

Would all the surviving humans really have been so quick to give up technology and revert to the Stone Age? Maybe not, but again, I don’t care. I bought it. Think about this: technology destroyed their civilization. They’ve spent the last four years cooped in ships, or in the miserable conditions of New Caprica. Now they have a bountiful new planet and can start with a clean slate. Why not? I think it was part of breaking the cycle of human-Cylon destruction. Gotta drop everything — and I mean everything — and start over fresh.

I still don’t get exactly why Hera was so important, other than that she was the catalyst for everything that happened. Could be it’s that simple — she was important because everyone thought she was so important.

I finally got the flashbacks. Last week I thought they were confusing and unnecessary. But played out, I saw their value. Call it destiny, call it free will, but every main character had a chance to not be where they ended up. The flashbacks showed those crucial moments that defined their lives before the fall of Caprica, the moments that ultimately brought them all together. And they proved that Saul really liked strip clubs.

The biggest problem I had was the last couple of minutes. The present-day scene with Head Six and Head Baltar was preachy and way too in-your-face for a show that rarely was. Completely unnecessary and it ruined the flow. The episode should have ended with Adama at Laura’s grave, looking out onto that new, wonderful world.

In the end, the quibbles I had were far overshadowed by the satisfying conclusion. For a series known for challenging viewers, this might have been the most challenging episode in that it came at you from a totally unexpected direction. The journey ended, and I was relieved it ended on a hopeful note. This is a show I’m really going to miss.