Monday, February 8, 2010
News "Re-Caprica:" Episode 3, "Reins of a Waterfall"
Posted by Curt Holman @Curt_Holman on Mon, Feb 8, 2010 at 8:34 PM
“Caprica” may be the spawn of “Battlestar Galactica,” but it’s the kind of child who doesn’t look very much like the parent. Nevertheless, “Reins of a Waterfall” features some subliminal shout-outs to its predecessor, such as Daniel Graystone blowing off steam by throwing punches in the ring, not unlike “Battlestar’s” boxing episode. The new episode also featured some delightful conjugations of the word “frak,” such as virtual Zoe’s announcement “ta-frakkin’-da” when she separates herself from the Cylon prototype.
If virtual Zoe didn’t have enough reason to free herself from the robot (does this Cylon body make me look fat?), “Reins of a Waterfall” presented the hilariously squirmy notion of the AI adolescent girl forced to witness her parents’ stress-relieving frak in Daniel Graystone’s lab. Back in the on-line black-box theater space and able to interact with Lacy face-to-virtual-face, Zoe doesn’t just want to get out of her parents’ house; she wants to get off their whole planet. The Zoe-vatar doesn’t know what her alter ego’s intentions were for her on Gemenon, but she resolves to go the colony and find out. How she, Lacy and creepy Keon will transport the Cylon body off-world promises “I Love Lucy” levels of farce.
“Caprica’s” treatment of artificial intelligences may be the show’s most intriguing premise. The Zoe-vatar knows she’s not Zoe and reveals an increasingly distinct personality the longer she’s self-aware. I’ll bet she’ll ultimately reject whatever plan the real Zoe had in mind for her. Meanwhile, Tamara, the avatar of Joseph Adama’s deceased daughter has yet to realize that she’s an undead computer simulation. Club V freaks her out, but that might be less an aversion to teen hedonism than a dawning awareness that nobody she sees is technically alive. (The episode could have the title "Virtual Teens Run Wild!") I confess I’m a little confused as to what Sister Clarice and the Soldiers of the One know about the Zoe-vatar, and what the Zoe-vatar knows about the real Zoe, but clearly the show’s just getting started.
Sister Clarice meets an STO higher-up in what appears to be an on-line version of a Catholic confessional. Apart from the general monotheism, I find the STO’s agenda to be extremely vague for a terrorist organization. Are they theologically opposed to the pantheon of the 12 colonies? Do they harbor class resentments for Caprica’s shining cities? Do they represent a political or corporate power play? Given that the premise of the show hinges on the STO, a little clarity would be appreciated. (Or, if I'm missing something, please clue me in.)
Nevertheless, “Reins of a Waterfall” proved to be much more snappy and charged than last week’s less-focused “Rebirth.” Seemingly every other scene featured some kind of confrontation or power struggle, from Sam Adama punching out Daniel Graystone to Lacy parrying Sister’s Clarice’s questions with requests for tea service. Amanda’s public announcement that Zoe was a terrorist (something the virtual Zoe doesn’t deny) turns the Graystones into public scapegoats for the MagLev bombing, kind of like the parents of the Columbine shooters, who didn’t know their sons were plotting a massacre.
Joseph Adama brings his frustrations with Daniel to a head and demands a reunion with virtual Tamara, unaware that she escaped into cyberspace only hours earlier. At the end, Joe tells his brother that the Graystones’ lost a daughter, but he lost a daughter and a wife, and adds, “Balance it out.” The Vulture’s recap declares
"Caprica" has a penchant for cliff-hanger endings, but the threat falls flat. Thug-with-a-heart-o’-gold Sam will have a moral crisis over it. Or the police presence at the Graystones will make it impossible. But really, we just don’t buy that Joseph, who’s been half-present (and half-acted), is at his breaking point yet.
When Joseph discovers Tamara is gone, however, Esai Morales shoots Eric Stoltz a spooky, positively murderous look, so his implicit assassination order does not come as a surprise. And perhaps Adama, after getting chewed out by a crooked judge in a piss-yellow corridor, is under more pressure than the Vulture appreciates.
In other subplots, Willie serves as a go-fer at the Ha'la'tha hangout, which is reminiscent not so much of “The Sopranos” as that "Sopranos" prequel Martin Scorsese made, Goodfellas (especially those scenes with Michael Imperioli as Joe Pesci’s ill-fated errand boy). There’s also a plot thread akin to “The Wire” as the Feds discover, through old-fashioned videotapes, that they’d picked up Zoe’s suicide bomber boyfriend a year earlier, but let him go, and seek new avenues to investigate Amanda, aka “Terror Mom.”
I like the show’s portrayal of Caprican financial news and other media, like the program “Cubits and Pieces” (in the U.S. it would be called “Dollars and Sense”) and the appearance of Patton Oswalt as political pundit/comedian Baxter Sarno. “The man is anti-corporation,” someone remarks, which suggests that when Daniel goes on the show next week, he’ll be Jim Cramer to Sarno’s John Stewart.
Favorite line: “If this is a dream, I think it’s too long,” says the freaked-out Tamaravatar, whose ghost-in-the-machine plight was the show’s most poignant element. Somehow I suspect that she’ll provide a means for the Adamas and Graystones to become friends again.
Comments (2)
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I don't know how believable patton has been as a talk show host, he's less jon stewart and more of a leno, but i could be wrong and we'll see next week.. I find it interesting how this being a prequel, how much graystone's facial features remind me of apollo in battlestar.. making me wonder if somewhere down the road the graystone's have another daughter, or have a relative that young adama falls for and eventually has two sons with.. it can't be a coincidense that there is that resemblence.. especially in a series involving the planet caprica.. just something i've been thinking about.. i do wish this show had an overriding direction to it.. something strong like to find earth, as battlestar did.. i suppose the STO is supposed to be or maybe to stop terrorism, but it would be nice to have an idea of one if not several goals that the show is trying to achieve.. i don't know if i'm expressing that correctly, just it would be nice to have an idea of a direction with the show as right now things seem to be building but nothing really has become really clear enough.. feels more like we're running in place rather than somewhere.. maybe i'm expecting too much too soon..
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In most of the interviews that Esai Morales has done, he agrees that Caprica starts off slow, without revealing any spoilers. He has been repeatedly quoted as saying that when reading the script of the final episode, it left him weeping. So if in EM’s opinion, he acknowledges that it’s picking up, and he knows what we don’t. I'm hanging in there
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