1.17 – Here Be Dragons – Caprica Review

Posted by Samuel Walters

“Here Be Dragons” is, arguably, the most eventful episode of Caprica thus far. Several very important plot and character developments occur over the course of the episode, leading to a heart-stopping conclusion. It’s important to acknowledge the positive aspects of the episode because, like so many others during the course of Caprica’s run, the pacing and plotting are awkward at best — leading to an installment that, while often tense, simply isn’t exceptional.

There are four plot threads to the episode: Lacy faces the consequences of her influence over the Cylons; The Graystones hunt for Zoe; The Adamas go on the run; and Clarice seeks vengeance on the Graystones. With so many different elements, the episode literally lurches from one crisis to the next. And while the two plotlines involving the Graystones will eventually merge in the final scenes, Lacy’s story is over at roughly the halfway point and is entirely absent for the remainder rest of the episode.

On Gemenon, Lacy and her teen pals continue smoke up and discuss the finer points of Lacy’s ability to command the Cylons. Her boyfriend poses some interesting questions — namely, how can any religious group justify murder in the name of God (or The Gods). But such depth in discussion is quickly set aside for another bait-and-switch narrative tactic. Lacy’s boyfriend goes to his superiors to avow his ambivalence toward Lacy. He’s order to execute her and so he drags her off and puts a gun to her head. Kiss, kiss, bang, bang?

The problem for this episode is the old adage: Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Does anyone really believe that Caprica would summarily execute one of its most intriguing and ominous plot points? Would Lacy really be killed off here? Without any possible “avatar” for her consciousness to continue as? Not bloody likely. And so the moment is utterly without drama. Murdered or not, she certainly would continue as a character. Furthermore, the ruse is obvious (to everyone except the superiors): Her boyfriend is acting, the friends pop up at the last second, Lacy is saved from the superiors. And she heads off to round up the Cylons with the statement, “We’ve got work to do.”

I’ll give the episode credit: Lacy finally takes control of the Cylons and now has them at her bidding. Presumably she’ll be heading off to take control of the STO as well. And it’ll be interesting to see how the Lacy-controlled Cylons ultimately interact with and respond to Zoe-A’s consciousness which, as we later learn, is able to find its way into the old, burned-out U-87 model Daniel had stored in his basement laboratory.

Of course, the fact that Zoe-A returns to her U-87 body is thanks to the “quest” that Daniel and his wife undertake with Sam — though, I’ve no idea why Sam was even brought along on the journey in the first place. Amanda ends up killing his game avatar pretty early on. (Was it merely a contrivance to keep him away from Joseph’s house for a few hours? And if so, couldn’t they have thought of something better?) These early quest moments, in which the horses turn into dragons and Sam is shot (courtesy of yet another Crazy-Amanda Moment™), are hardly engaging.

Fortunately, the episode gives Amanda something much more intelligent to do. In fact, Amanda is the one who finally figures out how to reach Zoe_A — not through physically trekking through a forest, but by waiting patiently. It’s counterintuitive (which is probably why crazy Amanda thought of it in the first place), but it’s exactly the right tactic. Even better for Amanda’s character, she doesn’t take the bait when Zoe-A later shows up with insults.

The fact that Amanda doesn’t go crazy is important. Perhaps her character is learning . And it’s enough to convince Zoe-A to forge a kind of truce with her parents. The implications here are fascinating. Daniela and Zoe-A agree to work together, share information, while Daniel tries to create the very first “skinjob”, as Zoe-A calls it. It’s a sign that humanity and its creations can work together.

But much like the Architect at the end of Matrix: Revolutions, we’re left with a very relevant question: How long will it last? When will Daniel do something prideful enough or ignorant enough to shatter the tenuous trust? Will Zoe-A soon tire of the limitations of the human world and decide that her own creation is just as valid? At one point during the search for Zoe-A, Daniel remarks how incredibly detailed Zoe-A’s version of New Cap City is — every leaf is different (something that hearkens way back to Zoe-A’s early conversations with Philomon, if you’ll recall). It begs the question: what is reality? And how will Lacy’s control of the Cylons factor in to all of this?

These are certainly thrilling questions — they’re the reason why Caprica has always had the potential to be a truly engaging and interesting series. They speak to questions that have meaning as much for the audience as the do for the characters (and important point if a show wants to be truly relevant). It’s why this episode ends up being as good as it is — and not because of the trumped up melodrama of Lacy, or the Graystones, or the Willows, or the Adamas.

Speaking of the Willows … Clarice and her homegrown terrorists are somehow able to sabotage entire power grids and storm the Graystone family household (which apparently has no secondary power generators to keep its security systems functioning properly). They blow away Serge, and hack into Daniel’s lab with implausible efficiency (the only setback being a last-second burn the hacker-dude gets).

It’s mindless nonsense designed to heighten the tension of the episode — as if the confrontation between Zoe-A and her mother and father wasn’t tense enough. It’s also done to give Zoe-A a literal deus ex machina moment when she re-enters the damaged U-87 body in time to stop her parents from being killed. Seeing the Cylon creak back to life and virtually roar at Clarice was certainly entertaining. But the ramped up “drama” of Clarice’s mission didn’t add anything special to the episode and, worse yet, contributed to the fractured pace.

And finally …

The Adamas are ratted out by last week’s new chick (I really have no clue what her name is), who happens to be the Guatrau’s daughter. He orders the deaths of the Adamas and Joseph is nearly killed — amusingly saved the axe-wielding grandmother. Yes, you read that right. A grown man is saved by an old lady who plunges a meat cleaver into the back of the would-be assassin.

It looks as ridiculous in print as it does on screen. In any event, the Adamas try and retrieve some paperwork from their usual hangout. More assassins show up and …

.. ready for it?

Willie Adama is killed.

The boy we’ve been watching all along isn’t the future Admiral who helps lead humanity to the promised land. Quite the surprise and irrelevant twist. But the real drama from the moment is genuine: Joseph’s grief over having lost his family. He’d already lost his wife and his daughter. Now he loses his son. And the scene sells just how terrifyingly painful the moment is for the man. So even though it was pretty obvious that little Willie was going to do something stupid, even if the moment is the stuff of melodrama, I’ll grant that it was powerful — if only for the effect it has on Joseph.

Hey, it’s the most he’s had to do for half a season. Might as well give him credit for pulling it off so convincingly.

Overall Grade: B-

“Here Be Dragons” is, if nothing else, eventful. Caprica still can’t quite pull together a truly remarkable, seamless episode — this one was literally all over the place between its four plot lines. But there’s no denying just how much this episode matters to the overall arc of Caprica — abbreviated though it may be.

Topics: Sci-Fi, TV Reviews
Filed under: Caprica Reviews