Caprica: The Imperfections of Memory

Welcome back Caprica fans,

This series continues to deliver character-rich episodes week after week and what a cliffhanger we had on Friday or what is coming next seen in the promo trailer.

Amanda Graystone is having nightmares surrounding a foggy male figure.  When she wakes up, she takes out a letter from the Delphi Convalescent Center, 45 Terreo Avenue, Delphi, Caprica, D5287I (pictured below). 

For Battlestar Galactica fans, this is the place where the Cylons held Kara Thrace (The Farm) where she escaped before they could harvest her ovaries.  The Latin word “terreo” means to frighten, scare or terrify.

Rarely are things just placed in this series without there being a reference for it.  The address of the Graystone Foundation is 5520 Via Appia, Suite 100, Caprica City, Caprica C2908P.  In Latin and Italian, via Appia is “Appian Way”, a road in Rome, the first segment of which was started and finished in 312 BC that held great historical and military significance.  In addition to the famous aqueduct system, Appius Claudius built this road which went across the Pontine Marshes to the coast northwest of Naples where it turned north to Capua.   Two historical events along this road included the crucifixion of Spartacus and his army (6000 people), and the battle of Anzio during World War II.  I Googled the zip code C2908P and it came up as a 2009 Toyota RAV4 stock number.  An inside joke perhaps?

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Olaf and Nestor found that the Zoe avatar program was on the wireless download device, but it was downloaded to some other device.  Unconcerned Clarice declares that once they find it, they will have their resurrection.  Amanda is going to the memorial site every day and Clarice plans to use her to locate the program.

Similar to the scene in New York City after 9/11, the memorial wall needs to be taken down to be relocated.  Amanda is extremely agitated by this and Clarice comes to her rescue, Amanda not suspecting her ulterior motives.  Amanda sees a young man in the crowd, the young man from her nightmare, but he disappears into thin air.  It is her dead brother, Darius (actor Jesse Haddock).

Avatar Zoe calls Lacy to the V-world.  In the room, the logo for the Soldiers of the One (STO) blinks on the lighted panels behind them.  Avatar Zoe shares her concerns about Clarice at the home lab and whether Lacy is committed to their plan.  Philomon is the key to getting U87/Avatar Zoe out of the lab; Lacy still has to get her to Gemenon with the help of Barnabus.  Lacy reassures Zoe that she will not let her down, but Zoe has her doubts since she did not board the train with the human Zoe.   Has Lacy developed a deeper bond of friendship with Avatar Zoe, or is this just survivor’s guilt that is propelling her forward?

At Amanda’s house, on a bigger version of an IPhone application that shines in her window, she tries to spot Darius on the pictures she took at the memorial.  She admonishes herself for taking lousy pictures being a better photographer than that.

Equipped with two holobands, Joseph drafts Tad/Heracles to find Tamara.  They walk down a long tunnel, a tunnel that looks like one I have seen in Stargate Atlantis but a different camera angle.  He goes over the ground rules of New Cap City:  Once you die in the virtual game, you can never go back because it is tied to your DNA; it is hack-proof.  As they try to make their way out of a manhole cover, Joseph says something that reminded me of Mass Effect (Xbox 360):  “We’re gonna need a bigger gun.”

Walking around Caprica City, Amanda witnesses an accident and begins to walk over to give her assistance as a physician.  Approaching the scene with hesitance, she allows another physician who responded take over.  She looks up and sees Darius.  As he turns to walk away, she runs after him.  When the trail of the hallucination ends, she sees a poster that has emotional significance for her.  She pops a pill.

Clarice talks to Olaf.  She says Amanda is the mother of Zoe and Zoe is the mother of life everlasting.  Obviously this is corresponding to the story of the Virgin Mary in Christianity.  Clarice says that Amanda sees dead people and to her it is a sign that God is using these women to speak to her.

Joseph wonders why they just cannot fly to their destination.  Tad/Heracles plays along and gets Joseph to assume the pre-flight position.  In a smack-up-the-side-of-the-head moment, Tad/Heracles says if you cannot do it in real life, you cannot do it in a nonfantasy game.  Heracles is the Greek-mythology equivalent of Hercules, a god known for his extraordinary strength, courage, ingenuity (but not as clever as Nestor) and sexual prowess with both males and females.  Joseph wonders where the fun is in this if it is like real life.  Tad/Heracles goes through the list, but when Heracles, true to the name of the god he chose for the virtual world, he lists being able to have sex with 50 women without having to take Vinagro (Caprica’s version of Viagra), Joseph sees the immediate appeal.  During an aerial bombardment, Tad/Heracles is killed virtually and now can never go back into the game.  Joseph is now solo.

With Scorpion ambrosia in tow, Clarice calls on Amanda at her home.  Amanda shares that she was a passenger in the car crash that killed her brother.  She shows Clarice the poster she found, saying it was the exact place where the crash occurred.

Before passing out from the combination of the pills and the alcohol, she calls Clarice a friend.  Polly Walker plays Clarice beautifully.  One minute you hate the character for using Amanda Graystone and Lacy Rand to get to the Zoe avatar; the next minute you think that Clarice might actually care on some level about Amanda and all that she has gone through.

Tomas Vergis visits Daniel and Cyrus at a pyramid game.  Word on the street is that Graystone Industries has only one working MCP (metacognitive processor) and Tom says that one he stole from the Vergis Corporation never worked.  Graystone Industries is obviously going to need cash and he reminds Daniel he wants to buy the team.  Cyrus wants him to sell, too.

Lacy and Keon meet at the park.  Keon says Barnabus will not help her unless she is STO.  Committed to Zoe, Lacy wants to sign up.  Keon looks worried that she will get involved with this organization.  Lacy kisses him on the cheek.

Meanwhile, love is blooming in the virtual world for Philomon and Rachel/Zoe.  This date is a flight simulator.  I think I would love this date, too, being the geek I am.  The jets look like an older version of the Battlestar Viper.  There are great special effects here as Rachel/Zoe spins out of control like a scene out of Top Gun. I wanted to scream, “GOOOOOSE!”

On land, Rachel/Zoe and Philo have a conversation about the V-world and she suggests the possibility of extending life in there.  Philo is turned on by the geek tech talk and they kiss.  Rachel/Zoe continues to give him advice which sparks an idea about his top-secret military robot.  She tries to convince him that real-life experience might benefit the V-world and the robot, and Philo is stuck on the idea of it being a thing that would be unable to be copied.

Back at home, Daniel shares his day with Amanda.  He notices the ambrosia and they tease each other, Daniel wondering if he should be jealous.  Amanda takes another pill and calls Clarice.  Clarice invites her to come down to The Dive.  Daniel goes to his lab where he finds Philo using his holoband.  Philo suggests that the part of the reason they have not been able to create another U87 is because part of it is analog.  Daniel says he will take over and sends Philo home.

Amanda meets Clarice at The Dive.  Sharing a key phrase from the Battlestar Galactica series, she says to Clarice, “All of this has happened before and all of it will happen again.”  This phrase, according to Ronald D. Moore on one of his BSG commentaries, actually came from the story Peter Pan.  Amanda was at the Delphi Institute for 2-1/2 years after having a nervous breakdown 3 years after the accident (a total span of 5-1/2 years).  Amanda was seeing her brother everywhere.  She says, “Surviving is the punishment for leaving things unsaid.”  In her drug high, Clarice talks about God, that He does not want to punish her, that He made her in His image.  ‘We have to trust in his wisdom.”  I love this moment between the two women when Clarice asks Amanda to trust God.  Amanda, in her drug high, does not catch on that Clarice is talking about one God.  She responds, “Which god?”  However, I think, her eyes tell that she knows Clarice is STO on some level.

Joseph goes back to New Cap City to look for Tamara.  Tad/Heracles sends someone named Emmanuelle (actress Leah Gibson, Riese)  to help, but this kind of help comes with a fee.

I loved the commercial tie-in here for a new Nintendo DS game called “Glory of Heracles.”  See http://www.gloryofheracles.com for details.

While Daniel is going over data, Caesar, the dog, wants to play ball.  When Daniel throws it, he goes to retrieve it, but instead of bringing it back to Daniel, he drops it in front of U-87/Zoe.  This is not the first time he has done this.  Avatar Zoe is trying to verbally shoo him away, and then kicks the ball.

Daniel thinks the dog brought the ball back and he throws it again.  The dog continues to bark at U87 and wants U87 to play fetch.  Daniel FINALLY makes the connection that the dog made a long time ago.  In a fantastic camera angle from the Cylon’s eye point of view, he says, “Zoe?”

WHAT AN ENDING!!!  I cannot wait to tune in next week!

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PBMom