Episode Commentary: The Imperfections of Memory

It’s certainly a step up from last week, though the effects of this particular installment are a tad hard to digest, so it is difficult to say exactly how much.

Joseph Adama (Esai Morales) manages to track down the boy (Richard Harmon) who brought news of Tamara’s (Genevieve Buechner) appearance in New Cap City and the two set off on a quest to find her; the consequences of virtual death remain the same: No re-entry, so the Ha’la’tha’s favorite lawyer had better be careful.

Meanwhile, Tomas Vergis (John Pyper-Ferguson) continues to bait Daniel Graystone (Eric Stoltz) to sell the C-Bucks, precisely because owning that particular team had been the Caprican scientist’s dream since childhood. As a result of Daniel’s controversial announcement on The Baxter Sarno show, the company is steadily losing money and he may have no choice, unless he somehow manages to create additional working cylon models (and anyone who’s actually seen “Battlestar Galactica” knows exactly how that will turn out).
Sister Clarice (Polly Walker) continues to court Amanda (Paula Malcomson), who keeps seeing her dead brother, into potentially revealing additional information about Zoe’s (Alessandra Torresani) avatar.

Alternately, she expresses that the mother of the mother of the avatar could very well be a representation of the One True God – and the Sister, his instrument. This is only briefly mentioned, but already has elements of Head Six (Tricia Helfer) and Gaius Baltar (James Callis) of “Battlestar Galactica.”

She certainly contains Six’s sensual allure – as well as her dangerously cunning nature. At the very least, Sister Clarice is shaping up to be one of “Caprica’s” most interesting characters.

Bearing considerably less intrigue, but amble cuteness is Zoe’s continued virtual relationship with Philomon (Alex Arsenault) as “Rachel.” Philo’s a geek, apparently, and chooses a Viper pilot simulation for their date. This gives Zoe a chance to sprout some fantastic philosophy about the downfalls of the holoband, which is always a nice touch in Ron Moore’s darkly cerebral universe.

Overall, the episode is a resounding step up from last week, though a certain moment leaves with it a pang of regret. Perhaps that’s the point and a testament to great entertainment, but a character death – however virtual – truly feels as though it had happened too soon, since this particular persona was simply brimming with potential. He may return, however; or he may not. “Battlestar Galactica” had numerous unexpected deaths that only served to augment the quality of that excellent program.

Time will tell, as “Caprica” returns this Friday with “Ghosts in the Machine” – and hopefully, a little more Sam Adama (Sasha Roiz), who was so very missed this week.

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