Episode Commentary: Ghost in the Machine

The penultimate episode of “Caprica” 1.0 leaves little to be desired as the prequel to BSG is truly beginning to come into its own.

Joseph Adama (Esai Morales) continues to wander through New Cap City looking for his daughter, Tamara (Genevieve Buechner), while Daniel Graystone (Eric Stoltz) wages psychological warfare on the avatar of his own daughter, Zoe (Alessandra Torresani), held within the metal confines of the first cylon.

Meanwhile, Sister Clarice Willow (Polly Walker) continues to hunt Zoe’s avatar by manipulating Amanda (Paula Malcomson), who still sees the ghost of her dead brother, Darius (Johnson Gray) in the slithering cars and shadows of the city.

“Ghost in the Machine” does little to stimulate anything by way of adrenaline; instead, it focuses chiefly on character development.

As usual, the New Cap City arc is absolutely captivating. After managing to kill the avatar of Heracles (Richard Harmon), Joseph must now rely on Emmanuelle (Leah Gibson), and for real cubits, to boot. He’s attacked and cannot retaliate. Emmanuelle tells him that she thought that the Taurons had more stones. He asks his brother (Sasha Roiz) precisely how he deals with committing murder; Sam tells him that he imagines that it isn’t real – that it’s just a game.

What a fantastic notion. One of Ronald D. Moore’s greatest abilities as a storyteller always dealt with weaving adjacent storylines in a seemingly subtle manner. Joseph is in a game and cannot kill his fictional opponents. Sam assassinates his real-life targets by pretending that they are virtual.

The parallels are certainly interesting, though it would be nice if he found Tamara already. Both “Battlestar Galactica” and “Caprica” have thus far excelled because its nuances were dealt with quickly, allowing the show to move faster, so it’s ultimately surprising that this reunion is taking so many episodes to transpire.

More disturbing, however, is the arc involving Daniel and Zoe. Following a strong suspicion that the cylon contains the psyche of his late daughter’s avatar, Daniel stages a series of trials to elicit a tell of sorts. He’s successful once – but Zoe’s determined. As she tells Lacy (Magda Apanowics), she no longer trusts her father, who she perceives to be primarily a user. Lacy suggests that it may not be so bad if Daniel knows, and perhaps she’s right. After all, he only sought the offending military contract with ferocity following the avatar’s perceived disappearance.

The story behind his wife is more interesting at the moment, however, since Amanda seemed so very together since the show’s inception – with the exception of a certain notorious and highly revealing televised breakdown. Perhaps Sister Clarice is simply that good.

The aftermath of these many events will have to be seen in “End of Line,” however, as “Caprica” airs its mid-season finale and only return in the fall. One thing’s for sure: The withdrawal will not at all be easy.
So say we all.

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