*Author’s Note* – Sorry for the late review. I had a mandatory family gathering to attend that left me without a TV until today, so I apologize for not getting this recap for a great episode of Caprica up on time.
Caprica was way, way better than last week’s offering. We got plot twists, character motivations, and an ugly, ugly view at Caprican society, which is very much like our own.
The first ten minutes of the episode was unbearable to watch, but not in a storytelling, creative way. The first ten minutes showed us a mirror to how our society handles the aftermath of a tragedy, which tends to involve taunting, harming (physically and mentally), and damning anyone connected, resembles, or sympathizes in any shape way or form with the suspect. Whether they be family, friends, acquaintances, or a group of people of a a certain niche, we tend to make sure to let them know that they are at fault for whatever transpired, no matter if it was there fault or not. The Graystones (and Lacy) suffered this semi-truth on Caprica this week, as the Adamas show how rough they can get when they want things to go their way.
The Set Up
Last week, I said that everyone had moved on from the train bombing except for the Adamas, Lacy, the Graystones, and other mourners. But this week it is a different story.
After Amanda Graystone’s outburst at the memorial service, everyone and anything associated with Zoe Graystone is up for damnation and the citizens of New Caprica are parched for blood. Amanda, after either being fired or turning in her resignation (I lean toward the former), has a bottle thrown at her, resulting in a gash on the corner of her forehead. Meanwhile, Lacy is taunted at school by students, including one guy named Keon Gadwick. Baxtor Sarno (special guest star Patton Oswalt), Caprica’s answer to Jay Leno, uses the revelation to spin jokes on a nightly basis. Daniel Graystone blows off steam at a boxing gym while Cyrus gives him the rundown on the hell the company is about to go through due to Sarno’s commentary and the outcries of the public. Stocks are plummeting and sales are going down due to boycotts of Graystone products. But Daniel doesn’t care. He will not try to please the public about something that he, including all of them, don’t know the facts about. Cyrus mentions bringing in a PR, but Daniel still remains bullheaded on the subject. But as he leaves the gym, Daniel is attacked by Sam Adama, who beats the crap out of him… while Joseph Adama watches. After the beatdown, Joseph demands to see Tamara again and after that his wife, Shannon. But Daniel says he can’t make an avatar due to the program belonging to Zoe. Joseph pretty much says that he doesn’t care about the BS, but that he knows that Tamara still exists and that Daniel better run a diagnostic or something, because it will be curtains if Daniel doesn’t uphold Joseph’s wishes.
The Aftermath of the Aftermath
Daniel returns home and he and Amanda share horror stories about their injuries while patching each other up. Meanwhile Zoe 2.0/U-87 watches in the corner. The convo turns to why Amanda put them in their predicament in the first place, which Amanda really thinks Zoe is the actual culprit (i.e, Zoe was the one who triggered the bomb). The two mourn this revelation, which Daniel still feels that Amanda should’ve kept to herself. Zoe 2.o is visibly hurt that her folks would think such a thing, but that tends to happen with the company you keep, Zoe… Then the Graystones decide to have sex in the lab, in front of Zoe. Poor machine girl…
Later, William Adama shows up at a gangster’s card game wanting to fit in. Sam brings William to the side and berates him on following the rules of skipping school before handing the kid a beer.
Meanwhile, Joseph gets word that a judge wants to speak to him about something, which puzzles him. When the judge finally shows up, he gets in Joseph’s ass about dropping off bribe as if the judge was a two-bit criminal. Oy vey, Joseph, what the hell is happening to you?
At the Athena Academy, Sister Clarice tries to talk to Lacy about Zoe, STO, and how Zoe used to come to her about everything and that Lacy can as well. But Lacy stalls the conversation before ultimately lying her way out of it.
At the police station, Agent Duram and his partner’s world is rocked when they find out from their superior that they had Ben Stark in custody a long time ago for curfew. The funny thing about this? Duram’s partner, Agent Youngblood, was either too tired or bored to bother investigating why Ben had wires and detonators on him at the time of his arrest. In short, the GDD gets the corruption machine revved up by covering up their little faux pas by first destroying the tape and by planting in the news that “bureaucratic red tape” is to blame for not searching the Graystones’ house. I told you Duram was a frakking snake…
The Lost Girl
Zoe 2.0 manages to link up back into Daniel’s dark secret place in the virtual space where Zoe and Tamara met with their respectable fathers in the pilot. She also says that she will try to rig a wireless connection so she can come and go when she pleases. Lacy brings up Sister Clarice’s snooping to Zoe 2.0, who thinks has to do with Sister Clarice wanting to find out about Zoe’s technology. Zoe 2.0 also reveals that Zoe didn’t trust Sister Clarice since she never let her in on any of the tech she created. While the two girls discuss this, Lacy finds a door out into the virtual world and opens it. The light from outside the door reveals a lost and lonely Tamara Adama sitting on the ground between the two girls. They ask Tamara how did she get there, but she doesn’t know. They immediately deduce that Tamara has to be someone Daniel created so they decide to help her leave the confines of the dark space. Uh-oh…
They end up taking Tamara to the Virtual Club, which is slightly more different than in the pilot. Tamara want to go outside and get fresh air. Obviously, she doesn’t know the extent of her situation. Neither do the other two girls, who let Tamara find her way home… Hmmm….
Zoe 2.0 later asks Lacy to find Keon, who just so happens to have been Ben’s best friend… and a fellow STO member. Say WHAT??!? Turns out that Keon knows about what was supposed to had went down when the group was going to reach Gemenon, which makes me think the kid didn’t know about Ben’s plan to blow them up also. Lacy thinks that whatever was supposed to happen on Gemenon might not was going to be all peaches and creme, which Zoe 2.0 thinks otherwise by saying that Zoe said she was special, which means she was. Zoe also dated a homicidal lunatic who killed a lot of people on his own fruition in light of doing it for the cause, so I don’t think using Zoe as a reference on anything “good” is a justifiable option. Zoe 2.0 asks that Lacy get the robot body to Gemenon, which freaks Lacy out. Then Zoe 2.0 pulls out the guilt card and Lacy plays into it’s hand.
Meanwhile, Sister Clarice enters the Virtual World to go visit an unidentified person named Alvo, who thinks that Clarice’s search for Zoe’s avatar is at vain at best. They even frown upon Ben’s childish ass gung ho attempt at pleasing God, which let’s me know now that the kid was not on the same path as the others. Why? Because supposedly, Zoe and her avatar were going to help spread the truth of the one true God. So, either Ben didn’t pay attention to that particular part of God’s plan or he just ignored it. Either way, he is so not looking good in God’s graces now.
Alvo warns Clarice that they are growing thin in patience with her as well and that she better come up with something or else…
Lacy tackles Keon outside of school and gets him to confess. He says that Ben was their focal point, with “their” being other students, who I am assuming are Lacy’s torturers from the beginning of the episode. Lacy mentions Sister Clarice, which Keon knows nothing of. Keon apologizes after Lacy asks him for help in transporting the U-87 robot to Gemenon, which he says he will try to help. How do you get a big ass robot off to another world without anyone noticing? That’s what I would like to know…
Decisions, Decisions
After taking hits from Sarno, the stock market, and the fact that most of his players on his pyramid team want to be traded, Daniel decides to listen to the PR that Cyrus hired. The PR thinks that Daniel should appear on Sarno and to pretty much claim that Zoe is not the face of Graystone Industries to save the companies image. Daniel, being stubborn for the wrong reasons, declares that he will not run his daughter’s name for the sake of his company.
Daniel invites Joseph back over and they can’t find Tamara and Joseph is heartbroken. Daniel checks the avatars and only reads his and Joseph’s. Joseph, crushed, tells Daniel that he is sorry.
After seeing how crazy his world is getting in the eyes of the public, Daniel changes his mind and gets the PR to book him on Sarno’s show.
At Sam’s place, we meet his husband while Sam gives William more lessons in being a tough guy. Joseph shows up and pulls Sam to the side for a favor: Make things even between Joseph and Daniel by offing Amanda Graystone.
Shut. UP!!!!
The Caprican Tribune
– Like I said at the beginning, tonight’s episode was a mirror to how our society handles grief and revenge. We basically snap and become hypocritical, violent idiots who think that we have served our purpose by saying or doing something completely doltish, patting ourselves on the back in the process. No one thinks, period, about how when you stoop down to primal antics that you yourself become the very monster that you hate.
– I applauded Daniel’s stance on not throwing Zoe under the bus for the sake of the company. He didn’t seem to care about his image and that helped me stand behind him against Cyrus. Then Daniel returns home and has a DVR-like contraption that records anything that mentions his name and I start deducting cool points. The man is vain and actually does care about his image, but still not to the point of being a complete loser. I don’t know how I didn’t see this at first. Daniel is all about his image, what people think of him, which is the complete opposite of how Amanda thinks. She didn’t care that she said what she said and even declared she would say it again if given the chance, despite it still not being a good idea. She’s a fighter, that one. Wonder how she will take Daniel appearing on Sarno’s show.
– Where did Tamara go? Did she erase herself by being leaving the Virtual Club? Did she find her way back “home” aka the afterlife? The scene where she was revealed was done so well, that I had to rewatch it twice. Nice job, people.
– Sam and lil William Adama… I don’t know what to make of this just yet. It is becoming intriguing in it’s own weird way, but I still feel hesitant about the path young William Adama is taking. Maybe that’s because he is young William Adama, one of the greatest character to appear before my eyes on TV. I hope his journey into the underworld is a short one, but at the same time I don’t. Maybe this journey is what made Adama a hardass to begin with, if it is then I can’t wait to see his fall then his redemption. But Joseph? I think he is tainted by his obsession, which is clouding his judgment. What will killing Amanda solve? Why would he even think of such an heinous thing? This fits into the mold of stooping low to become the monster you hate. Hopefully Sam will see this before he carries out a big ass mistake.
– Sam as a married gay tough as nails gangster was done in such a subtle manner that I didn’t see how else it could have worked. It wasn’t this “OH! Sam’s gay and married a man!!”- type thing, instead it was done tastefully and not for shock value. Hell, the only thing that shocked me is that Sam is married, period, given his gangster lifestyle. It shows that the man has layers and I like that.
– Zoe was a part of a prophecy from the one true God? Whoa. Ben was a frakking idiot. Is Alvo someone we already know? My money is on Cyrus, Sarno, or Sam’s husband, people not that important, but will have a pivotal role later.
– The GDD… I hope they rot in hell. And soon.
Again sorry for the loooong wait, but life is not fair to me at the moment so again I apologize for the tardiness of the recap. Till next time.!
Follow Us
For the record, I think you meant "Caprica City," the setting of our tale, not "New Caprica."