Caprica – Rebirth

Last week’s Caprica left us wondering about the future of the centurions because Zoe’s identity appeared to be wiped from the robot. However, in a befuddling turn of events, at least to Daniel Graystone, the MCP only works in one robot. He refuses to admit the connection has to do with his daughter’s avatar.  However, one of the lab techs takes exactly the opposite approach and begins calling the centurion “she” and “her.” While one tech treats Zoe as a work of art, the other calls her “just a machine.” Because of this, Zoe takes the first action of violence against humans and bites his finger.

When Daniel brings home Zoe to work on the project full time, Zoe contacts Lacy to visit the house. While Daniel and Amanda are at the memorial for the MAGLEV train bombing, Lacy visits Zoe and talks to her about her new form. Zoe, like any teenage girl, is concerned about her appearance and asks, “Do I look male to you?” Lacy nods a tearful yes, and the girls reunite. Sr. Clarice, who is part of an unconventional, to Earth standards, group marriage, is still pursuing Lacy’s confidence. I got the feeling that Sr. Clarice is trying to set Lacy up to become part of the family, by the way she introduced her younger husband, Nester. The family also seemed suspicious and slightly disapproving, particularly when they mentioned she has a habit of it.

The federal agent’s theory about Zoe and Ben finally get to Amanda. Distraught that she doesn’t know as much about her daughter’s life as she thought and feeling guilty for the murders, she pours her soul out to the grieving families at the MAGLEV memorial. As she is revealing her daughters’ involvement in the bombing, she interrupts Adam and Daniel coming to an agreement about their daughters’ avatars. The crowd erupts into anger yelling “Murders!” at the Graystones. They flee the scene in a car as Adama looks on bewildered.

While Joseph was trying to get in touch with Daniel to speak to him about the avatars, Willie was spending time with his uncle, learning the ways of the Tauron crime ring that their family is a part of.  Willie talks more to his uncle than his father; this may set up a conflict between the two later in the series.

This episode left Caprica in shambles. The MCP is still functioning in only one robot. The unique group marriage structure has not been explained, but I hope we will learn more about this and other cultural aspects of Caprica as the show develops.  I will be surprised if Amanda’s outburst does not have dire consequences. The anger of the crowd seems foreboding, given what we’ve seen happen with crowds in BSG. Lacy is becoming more of a central character; I think we can expect more from her part of the story in the coming weeks. I give this episode 4/5 classic cylon heads for leaving off on a great lead-in to the next episode. Although there’s still a lot left unexplained, I don’t think the writers will leave us in the dark for long.