Caprica 1.09 “End of Line” Recap/Review

The title of the midseason finale of Caprica could stand for not only the characters’ fates, but the patience of a viewing audience as well.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not in the crowd I mentioned above, but if someone wanted to bow out now, I would understand their reasoning for doing so. “End of Line” lost me during the ‘previously on…’ segment when we see a scene with Clarice and Olaf fussing over a flyer for a missing bike that ties into Barnabas’ terrorist cell. I can’t recall that scene, but if anyone else can, please give me the episode in which it was featured.

Some of the story lines came to a head on collision (pun intended), while others just fizzled into the ether. While most of the aforementioned story arcs meshed or crisscrossed each other, it was like some strings ran short and left a messy crochet project in the process. So instead of just wondering what is going to happen next, I can’t help but wonder how will they build upon this shaky base, despite the intriguing preview for the fall episodes. Let’s do a quick recap.

Journey’s End

Joseph Adama is a mess. Sam is pissed, but Evelyn tells him to let Joseph be. Meanwhile in the V-World, Tamara is approached by Emmanuelle, who tells Tamara that Joseph is practically killing himself looking for his daughter. She asks Tamara for her help. When Joseph finally does find Tamara, she begs her father to let her go, because it is not healthy for him. He refuses, which forces Tamara to shoot herself. Before Joseph can react well, Tamara turns the gun on him and shoots his avatar out of the game. Joseph awakes in the real world crying when he realized what just happened. In the V-World, Emmanuelle watches the entire incident in a corner. After Tamara leaves the room, Emmanuelle removes her holoband to wake up in the real world as… Evelyn! She consoles a distraught Joseph and I am left wondering who the hell sent Evelyn to guide Joseph in the first place? Tad?

That’s What Friends Are For

Clarice and Nestor, with other men, approach Barnabas and Keon about the bicycle poster that I had no clue existed. They have some words and guns are drawn. Obviously this is a struggle for power within the S.T.O.

Later at a S.T.O. meeting, the group says a prayer and ends it with “So say we all…”. Lacy somehow has gotten on Barnabas’s good side, because not only has she been invited to pray with them, but Barnabas has a box big enough to ship the U-87 droid to Gemenon. Again, what did I miss? But Barnabas’s generosity comes with a price. He wants Lacy to plant a tracking device on Clarice by switching her car alarm remote to prove her loyalty to his S.T.O. faction. She accepts cause not only is she trying to do everything in her power to help Zoe 2.o, but because she is Lacy, the Naive Princess of Caprica. Lacy manages to complete the switch, but Zoe 2.0 puts the pressure on her after hearing that her identity might be wiped. When Lacy tells her friend to hold on for a week, Zoe 2.o flips and calls Lacy a coward. Then Zoe 2.0 pleads for Lacy to do something before de-resing back to the U-87 bot. Hmmm….

The Walls Are Closing In

Daniel has finally met his greatest fear: he has to sell the Caprican Buccs to save his company and help with production of the Cylons to maintain the military contract, whose due date is approaching rapidly. And it doesn’t help that the trades are reporting this move is a solution after word has leaked about Daniel ‘possibly’ stealing the MCP and killing to get it. Later, Daniel talks with a Colonel, who doesn’t waste time undermining Daniel’s ‘achievements and throwing the theft of the MCP in his face. She then moves up the deadline for the 100,000 machines to 7 days from that exact moment, because if Daniel is telling the truth then it shouldn’t be a problem to produce such a big order in that time. Daniel balks. I roll my eyes at the logic.

Daniel then orders for Philomon to erase the MCP chip and to copy it so they can start production. Of course, Zoe 2.0 is tripping at this suggestion.

Meanwhile, Amanda is in turmoil over Vergis’s revelation and is beating herself up over it by drinking, chain smoking, and taking meds, all not in that exact order mind you. After being unintentionally blown off by Clarice, Amanda only has her illusions of her time in the hospital after her brother’s death as company. Said illusions feature suicide attempts and I know this is not going to end well for our once strong minded Amanda Graystone.

While Daniel makes dinner, Amanda comes out and asks him about Vergis’s claim and asks if it’s true. Daniel says not really and that it’s complicated. He might as well had stabbed Amanda in the chest with that answer. She leaves while he still preps dinner, but not as ‘chipper’ as before.

Meanwhile, The Colonel and Vergis are finishing up a dinner date where it seems as if it is a surefire deal that Vergis’s promise to Daniel is rapidly coming true.

Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

Philomon discusses ‘Rachel’ to the punk who got his finger chopped off by Zoe 2.0 early this season. He mentions how he told ‘Rachel’ that he would like her no matter what she looked like and I nearly vomit at this blatant lie. Anyway, Zoe 2.0 and Philomon has another date where they ooh and aah over each other, but the real drama starts when Philomon begins to carry out his orders of erasing the MCP. Zoe 2.0 decides to reveal herself to Philomon and plead her case for why she did what she did and that he needs to help her escape. The techie freaks and tries to run, but is blocked by the U-87 and Zoe 2.0 tries again at winning over the techie’s allegiance. Philomon says that he did say that he would love ‘Rachel’ no matter what, but he uses this ruse to hit the security button. Zoe 2.0/U-87, in a fit of rage, throws Philomon across the room where he hits a pillar and dies on impact. After seeing what she has done, Zoe 2.0 makes a run for it.

Daniel and Cyrus look at the scene of the crime and know good and well that the proverbial crap is about to hit the fan.

The Cliffhangers

– Lacy tries to get Barnabas to get the droid out tonight, but to her horror she finds out that she has been duped into planting a bomb detonator on Clarice, who is on her way to a transport to Gemenon with Nestor to talk to some S.T.O. officials about Barnabas’s plans of domination and impending destruction of the S.T.O. Lacy doesn’t want any part of it, but Barnabas proposes that either she presses the detonator or both she AND Keon will die. Lacy choses the button and presses it, but she doesn’t kill Clarice. She had stepped out the car to see who is about to jump from a bridge they were about to pass under. The person on the ledge? Amanda Graystone. The woman places her wedding ring on the ledge before she makes her supposed leap. Poor Nestor, by the way looks like a goner when the car explodes.

– As Zoe 2.0 drives through the city and into the country, she has visions of pretty much all of Zoe’s memories and cries profusely. The police are all on the van Zoe 2.o is driving with orders to not ruin the prototype. The cops build up a road block to stop the van and when Zoe 2.0 reaches the barricade, she stops, but only to have a few moments of images flash through her head. Then she floors it head on, smashing into the barricade and crashing the truck, which explodes.

– Back at the Graystones, the phone rings and Daniel answers it. We don’t know which news he got, but it wasn’t one suitable of a happy ending.

The Caprican

The cliffhangers felt rushed, especially the Barnabas and Adama ones. With the former one, the Barnabas incident came out of left field, because of that scene that was left out of previous episodes and tacked onto the previouslies as if we forgot about it. The latter cliffhanger was sort of a let down given that Joseph has spent three to four episodes in New Cap City only to get a rushed solution. It was still effective, but after last week’s epic revelation of Tamara’s influence in the game, it felt like it was finished in some sense, because who else can enter New Cap City with connections to Tamara?

As for Zoe 2.0, I wonder how she will survive the crash? I felt as if she was either having second thoughts about everything as she drove, given the flashbacks and all. I also wonder if the machine was destroyed will Zoe 2.0 remain in the V-World afterward?

But the bottom line is that for a mid season cliffhanger, “End of the Line” was subpar. Maybe one more episode could have set up some of the story lines better, I don’t know. What I do know is that I will be here when it returns and I hope you will be as well.