CAPRICA: The Final Five Episodes (2011)

Did ‘Caprica’ answer the questions needed to bridge the gap with ‘Battlestar Galactica’?

When it was announced last October that Syfy would not be picking up “Caprica” for an additional season, there was concern that the show would end without answering the vital questions it set up. Fortunately, Syfy opted to air the remaining five episodes (“the Final Five”) as a marathon on January 4th and those Final Five did answer many questions – while not all, enough that fans got a sense of resolution.

The fates of each of the primary characters were addressed: Zoe Graystone, or rather the avatar-version of Zoe, (Alessandra Torresani) returned home in V-world to work with her parents on creating a “skin job” body so that she could roam freely in the real world; Daniel Graystone (Eric Stoltz) convinced the Adamas to help him remain in control of his company in exchange for Cylons to ship back to Tauran; Sam (Sasha Roiz) and Joseph Adama (Esai Morales) made a deal with the daughter of Guatrau to spare their lives in exchange for their allegiance — after she permitted the murder of her father in retaliation for the death of Willie Adama (Sina Najafi); Sister Clarice Willow’s (Polly Walker) STO plot to blow up the Pyramid stadium was foiled when Daniel used Cylon soldiers to eliminate the STO suicide bombers; and Lacy (Magda Apanowicz) took control of the STO regime on Gemenon after she discovered that the Cylons would obey her commands.

A few characters whose storyline were not fully addressed in the end were: the fate of Tamara Adama (Genevieve Buechner) – would she also ultimately be granted a “skin job” body like Zoe? Did Gara Singh (Peter Wingfield), the evil GDD agent, escape from the showdown at the Graystone residence and flee Caprica? Did Jordan Duram (Brian Markinson) return to the Global Defense Department and clear his name after Gara Singh’s treachery was unmasked? Did Cyrus Xander (Hiro Kanagawa) also survive the showdown at the Graystone residence and return to working as Daniel’s right-hand man at Graystone Industries? Were Amanda Graystone’s (Paula Malcomson) mental illness problems gone forever, never to be haunted by visions of her dead brother ever again?

All in all, the bigger questions were addressed. Zoe went on to become the first full-fledged Cylon in human form. As Zoe was welcomed into the warm, waiting arms of her parents as she stepped out of a familiar looking tub of goo, we were given a glimpse of the first Cylon. Zoe was not only the first robot-form Cylon, when her avatar was placed in the U-87 robot; she was the first humanoid Cylon as well. The Graystones were indeed the forefathers of the Cylons. They inadvertently created a whole new race of beings – man-made machines at their core – but beings that developed varying levels of artificial intelligence that allowed them to yearn for independence and equality.

Unfortunately, because Cylons were not met initially with equality and yet had the capacity for independent thought, they began to seek out someone who would recognize them as more than mere robots – e.g., slaves to humans. Coincidentally, Sister Clarice was looking for a willing “flock” to impart her distorted religious views and she was not so choosy whether they were human or Cylon. Sensing a need in the Cylons, Clarice became their prophet – the voice they listened to because she said what they wanted to hear – that they were beings in their own right. The Graystones’ greatest mistake was failing to see that the robot Cylons had enough of Zoe’s avatar imprinted within each of them that they had a similar desire to be recognized as beings and not just machines. It was just a fluke of timing that Clarice needed an audience – a willing flock of sheep or Cylons, if you will – that would listen to her warped vision of utopia. The Graystones created the monsters that would one-day attempt genocide on the human race believing that as the children of man, they had the right to rise up and replace humans. Clarice simply filled the void that was created by the Graystone’s failure to pay attention to the developing A.I. of the Cylons.

The final pin in the coffin was the fact the one human the Cylons would obey without question was Lacy. As Zoe’s best friend, each and every Cylon instinctively trusted and responded to her. It would have been impossible not to – Lacy was the only person who Zoe really trusted. That one small detail was crucial in what would mark the uprising of the Cylons. Lacy, in a cruel twist of fate, was recruited into the STO organization simply because she wanted to help Zoe escape Caprica when Zoe was stuck in the robot. This became a moot point when Zoe reconciled with her parents and they created her a “skin job” body. But Lacy was stuck amongst the STO and forced to become an unwilling participant in their terrorist activities. Lacy’s escape was of a different kind. Rather than just getting away from Gemenon once she discovered that she could control the Cylon robots, Lacy chose to stay and take over the reins of the STO organization, proclaiming herself the Blessed Mother of their religious organization.

This was the birth of the Cylons’ belief in the one true god. Lacy was the one person that they would obey no matter what and they did not even know or understand why. Lacy dare not reveal to anyone why the robots would respond to her commands, for it would have immediately placed her in jeopardy. So being amidst a group of fanatical zealots predisposed to believe there was only one true god, Lacy simply took on that role. She was not god, but she was close enough. Her inexplicable power to command the Cylons meant that both the Cylons and the STO deemed her to be their god.

Reflecting back over the series, it is a final irony that a teenage terrorist became the Cylon god. Lacy was not a god, but the Cylons were willing to hold her up as one because they did not understand why they would obey her without question. Lacy took on the role in an act of self-preservation.

In the upcoming series “Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome,” which is intended to bridge the time gaps between “Caprica” and “Battlestar Galactica,” it will be interesting to see whether the final fates of Zoe, Daniel, Amanda, Joseph, Sam, Clarice and Lacy are revealed. We know that Joseph’s new son Bill will one day become Commander William Adama, who will leave the mere 50,000 survivors of the Cylon genocide fleeing into the stars in search of a planet called Earth. But what really truly became of the Graystones and Adamas? And what of the STO – are they relegated into a part of history as the Cylons rise up?

“Caprica” did not answer all the questions, so let us hope that “Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome” does. In the meantime, “Caprica” presented a fascinating tale of the genesis of Cylons and the beginning of a religious war that would entangle the entire human race. We await the next chapter with baited breath and hope that it dares to continue defying expectations.

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