Caprica: 1x02 The Reins of a Waterfall.
Lacy / Zoe
Lacy / Zoe
“Can you be free if you’re not real? “ –Lacy
Lacy asks this question in regard to Tamara, the tragic daughter of Joseph Adams (now Adama) who is trapped inside the dark room, left behind by Daniel Graystone, but it is even more relevant in regards to Zoe 2.0, who she now sees for the first time as the Avatar, within the virtual space, and not as the massive Cylon. It’s a question of freedom from a destiny, if destiny is the purpose the real, dead Zoe has given this “trinity”. So far, Zoe 2.0 is set on following the plan of her creator, going to Gemenon and finding the family she was promised, so as to find out about her purpose. Lacy, who is coming to terms with the idea that her group of friends were willing to use methods she does not agree with it, questions Zoe’s motives:
Lacy: “You’re going to Gemenon?”
Zoe 2.0: Well Zoe said I had a purpose on Gemenon. God wants me there. She was bring me there and I was gonna be something special.”
Lacy: “What if the purpose is bad?”
Zoe: “Zoe said my purpose is wonderful, so it is. You have to take me there in the robot body. Somehow the chip and the body are working together to make me.”
Lacy: “Do you realize you are six feet tall and you weigh a ton.”
Zoe: “Please. I need to know I can count on you to do this. I need to know that youre gonna get me to Gemenon. You chickened out once.”
Lacy: “I was scared.”
Zoe: “You can’t be scared now.”
Lacy: “God if I had gotten on the train I would be dead.”
Zoe: “She is dead. And I am all that is left of her. If you are my friend, you’ll do this.”
What IF the purpose is bad? If we disregard the final episode of BSG for a minute here (I do that often, with mixed success), then it makes complete sense that the later sentient Cylons would be monotheistic: after all, they were CREATED by one person, they are the creation of Zoe Graystone, and they carry her inside, as part of their programming. But what if that god was fallible, obsessed with an idea, single-minded, selfish and brutal?
What is stunning about Zoe here is how much she is a teenage girl. She is the genius creator of code that surpasses even her father’s abilities, but she is also the impulsive, aggressive girl we saw in the pilot. She is not wise, or all-knowing, or standing above things. She is not objective. And this version of her does not question her decisions (“SO IT IS”, she says), at least not yet.
I find Lacy far more interesting: she is all over the place in these first episodes, the shy and ostracised girl at school, who can’t even talk to Zoe at eye level when she is just a girl, not a machine, and is met with demands she can’t fulfil. Sister Clarice continues to try and pull her to her side, to find out what Zoe was doing, but Zoe 2.0 remembers that apparently her creator did not trust her, as she never shared information with her. Lacy’s scene with Clarice is interesting: the older woman tries to seduce her (both into sharing information, and going by the last episode, possibly joining her family), but she awkwardly gets out of the situation (asking for sugar, lemon, a spoon for her tea, not joining the conversation, and finally leaving rather awkwardly, but effectively). Zoe’s request to be taken to Gemenon will be harder to turn down, because Lacy is clearly still very much endeared to her – the power relationship between the two girls is one of the most interesting aspects of the show. Even burdended with the six feet tall body of a cylon and trapped in her parent’s home (watching them have sex, getting scarred for life), she still exercises power over her friend. We see Lacy’s other side as well: her representation in virtual space is far more self-assured than in real life (and her clothes are that more revealing), and her little scene with Ben’s best friend made it clear that she is not usually a wet blanket (“My knees are pointy and fast and hard.”). It’s Zoe who is holding her back, and it will be interesting to see whether Lacy manages to liberate herself from the influence Zoe has even after her death (it’s the same thing for Zoe 2.0).
What is stunning about Zoe here is how much she is a teenage girl. She is the genius creator of code that surpasses even her father’s abilities, but she is also the impulsive, aggressive girl we saw in the pilot. She is not wise, or all-knowing, or standing above things. She is not objective. And this version of her does not question her decisions (“SO IT IS”, she says), at least not yet.
I find Lacy far more interesting: she is all over the place in these first episodes, the shy and ostracised girl at school, who can’t even talk to Zoe at eye level when she is just a girl, not a machine, and is met with demands she can’t fulfil. Sister Clarice continues to try and pull her to her side, to find out what Zoe was doing, but Zoe 2.0 remembers that apparently her creator did not trust her, as she never shared information with her. Lacy’s scene with Clarice is interesting: the older woman tries to seduce her (both into sharing information, and going by the last episode, possibly joining her family), but she awkwardly gets out of the situation (asking for sugar, lemon, a spoon for her tea, not joining the conversation, and finally leaving rather awkwardly, but effectively). Zoe’s request to be taken to Gemenon will be harder to turn down, because Lacy is clearly still very much endeared to her – the power relationship between the two girls is one of the most interesting aspects of the show. Even burdended with the six feet tall body of a cylon and trapped in her parent’s home (watching them have sex, getting scarred for life), she still exercises power over her friend. We see Lacy’s other side as well: her representation in virtual space is far more self-assured than in real life (and her clothes are that more revealing), and her little scene with Ben’s best friend made it clear that she is not usually a wet blanket (“My knees are pointy and fast and hard.”). It’s Zoe who is holding her back, and it will be interesting to see whether Lacy manages to liberate herself from the influence Zoe has even after her death (it’s the same thing for Zoe 2.0).
Clarice: “I’m not abandoning god’s plan. I know that Zoe Graystone was beloved by god, and that she was given the spark of life itself, and that was her gift to all of us, and that will save all of us.”
Joseph
Elsewhere, William Adama’s father turns out to be anything but the ethical lawyer we made him out to be, who tried to escape the influence of the criminal connections his brother is so deeply emerged in. Having lost his daughter and wife, and starting a feud with Daniel Graystone, he embraces his roots (returning to his traditional name “Adama”), and at the end of this episode, he does something truly shocking:
Elsewhere, William Adama’s father turns out to be anything but the ethical lawyer we made him out to be, who tried to escape the influence of the criminal connections his brother is so deeply emerged in. Having lost his daughter and wife, and starting a feud with Daniel Graystone, he embraces his roots (returning to his traditional name “Adama”), and at the end of this episode, he does something truly shocking:
“Daniel Graystone lost his daughter, right? I lost my daughter and my wife. Balance it out.”
Sam, who we see in the context of his family life here, with his partner, doesn’t seem very happy to become a hired assassin for his brother, but we know how important family is for the Adamas. We also see that Bill Adama was probably more influenced by his father’s brother than his father during his childhood: here he skips school, tries to impress his uncle’s questionable “colleagues” and drinks beer. I’d forgotten about the glimpses into Adama’s troublesome early years we saw in “BSG”.
Daniel
Daniel, the most public figure of all the protagonists in “Caprica”, deals with “spin” this episode. One of the explanations for Amanda’s desire to over-share her newly found knowledge on television is how badly Zoe’s parents deal with her death: they can’t talk about it with each other, especially since Daniel is keeping secrets regarding Zoe from his wife. With Amanda’s revelations that resulted in his company’s stock plummeting (apparently, where BSG was a running narrative about the “fight against terror”, Caprica is going to delve into economy and how the media works?), Daniel once against can’t deal with his daughter’s death on a personal level. In this episode, it’s all about “Spin” – explaining to an enraged public that Zoe was a terrorist, and not a normal girl, not the normal girl Daniel still wants her to be so badly, although we see in the scene in which Lacy and Zoe find Tamara in the virtual room that Zoe clearly wasn’t the normal girl Tamara is. Daniel states that he “hates TV and PR” – but in fact, he is already far to entangled in this to have the luxury of removing himself from it, especially now that his conflict with Joseph Adama and his very different, but not necessarily less powerful resources, is open.
Random notes:
It's fascinating to see how all the facial expression's of Zoe 2.0 (naturally) don't translate into those of the Cylon body.
Daniel
Daniel, the most public figure of all the protagonists in “Caprica”, deals with “spin” this episode. One of the explanations for Amanda’s desire to over-share her newly found knowledge on television is how badly Zoe’s parents deal with her death: they can’t talk about it with each other, especially since Daniel is keeping secrets regarding Zoe from his wife. With Amanda’s revelations that resulted in his company’s stock plummeting (apparently, where BSG was a running narrative about the “fight against terror”, Caprica is going to delve into economy and how the media works?), Daniel once against can’t deal with his daughter’s death on a personal level. In this episode, it’s all about “Spin” – explaining to an enraged public that Zoe was a terrorist, and not a normal girl, not the normal girl Daniel still wants her to be so badly, although we see in the scene in which Lacy and Zoe find Tamara in the virtual room that Zoe clearly wasn’t the normal girl Tamara is. Daniel states that he “hates TV and PR” – but in fact, he is already far to entangled in this to have the luxury of removing himself from it, especially now that his conflict with Joseph Adama and his very different, but not necessarily less powerful resources, is open.
Random notes:
It's fascinating to see how all the facial expression's of Zoe 2.0 (naturally) don't translate into those of the Cylon body.
I fear that “Caprica” will not be able to tell the whole story, but ultimately, the aim would have been the first Cylon war, I suppose? I wonder whether starting that war would have been Zoe 2.0’s purpose.
I’m not supposed to like Amanda Graystone, right? Cause I don’t (and it’s not Paula Malcomson, because Trixie in “Deadwood” was rather likeable).
Patton Oswalt’s late-night host Baxter Sarno is supposed to be Jon Stewart, yes? (the “more than half of the college-aged people say he is their primary news source” and Daniel’s “That’s sad” reply was pretty funny, too).
Zoe: “Tah frakking da”
Lacy: “Oh my god, you have a body.”
I’m not supposed to like Amanda Graystone, right? Cause I don’t (and it’s not Paula Malcomson, because Trixie in “Deadwood” was rather likeable).
Patton Oswalt’s late-night host Baxter Sarno is supposed to be Jon Stewart, yes? (the “more than half of the college-aged people say he is their primary news source” and Daniel’s “That’s sad” reply was pretty funny, too).
Zoe: “Tah frakking da”
Lacy: “Oh my god, you have a body.”
Points for “dialogue that couldn’t happen in any other show” (oh wait Dollhouse)
Look out for characters named “Olaf Willow” and “Cyrus Xander” in the upcoming episodes. Jane Espenson, not subtle, but I kind of love these breadcrumbs for true fans (Like the “strawberries” bit in the last “Dollhouse”).
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