The Imperfections of Memory

Synopsis: Amanda thinks she's going crazy because she's been seeing her brother -- a brother that died years ago in a car crash. Zoe goes on another date with Philo, trying to plant the idea of getting the robot outside the lab. Adama finds Heracles, the kid sent by Tamara, and is taken to New Cap City. However, Adama gets him killed in the game, leaving him to wander by himself until Heracles sends a new guide: a woman called Emmanuel. The episode ends with Graystone coming to the realization that Zoe is perhaps still in the robot.

In this episode, we learn that Amanda was institutionalized for a few years because she was crazy, seeing her dead brother after the crash. She's now seeing him again. Well, at least that sort of explains her wild shifts in mood episode to episode. She's just nuts!

As Zoe takes to Lacy about their plans, she says, "I have another date with cute lab boy." This line bugged me because at this point she knows his name. Why not just call him by his name? Was it for Lacy's benefit? Or is it one of those annoying instances of reminding the audience who he is? I wonder if "cute lab boy" was some message board moniker for him before they introduced his name.

Their date involves flying vipers, a little nod to BSG. Obviously these aren't space-faring vipers, but more like planetary fighter jets. Still, I guess it's an early design on the way to what we eventually see on BSG.

I continue to feel like the Tamara/New Cap City storyline is mostly useless to this show. We have enough threads to follow without this one. Yes, it does further the idea of immortality in virtual form which is part of the whole STO plan. But I just don't really care about it. Also, why doesn't Tamara just stay in one place? Didn't she say, "I'll be in New Cap City so you can find me"? So they come back to New Cap City and can't find you!

Sister Clarice is further trying to manipulate Amanda, taking her to her favorite drug den to cozy up to her. Amanda starts to spill her history of hallucinations. This culminates in Clarice suggesting they are from God and Amanda needs to open up to God. Amanda replies, "Which god?" So Clarice is slowly working her over to the STO's monotheism, but to what end? Amanda doesn't know anything about Zoe. I also find something very unsettling about casting monotheists as villains on this show.

Speaking of gods, it bothers me that characters always swear "by the gods" or "oh my gods!" If they serve many gods, and some more than others, why does know when curse by or pray to a specific god? No one goes, "By Athena, that's crazy!" or "Mars help me!" This makes the polytheism kind of less believable to me. There should be more specific god veneration.

Again, this is an episode that's all about dragging stories along and connecting more dots but by the end I'm no closer to anything then when the show started. Things sort of happen, but they also don't, and I'm getting tired of episodes like that.

I would like to briefly look at the semiotics of the show, and this episode seems a good place to talk about names. The original series used mythological names and Caprica is following. The kid in New Cap City is named Heracles, a heroic name of mythology that you probably know as Hercules. Perhaps significant because in the game is the only time he feels like a hero. He's torn between godhood and ordinary humanity, as it were. Adama's new guide is Emmanuel, which means "God with us." Not a bad name for a guide, though part of me wishes it had been Beatrice or a man named Virgil, just because a guide through the underworld having a name out of Dante would amuse me. Zoe is a name that suggests new life, which is exactly what her character represents. And what about Philomon? The name is Greek, seeming to perhaps include the root "phileo", suggesting brotherly love. There is also a Philemon (different spelling) in the New Testament. There's a brief letter sent by Paul to him. Philemon was a Christian likely from the group at Colosse. His slave Onesimus had come to Paul, and the text suggest he might have run away. In the letter, Paul sends him back, saying he wished Onesimus could stay with him but that it was up to Philemon. He suggests Philemon receive Onesimus back "no longer as a slave but more than a slave -- a beloved brother" (Philemon 16). Does any of this have anything to do with the character on Caprica? No idea. But I feel like they wouldn't have just plucked the name out for no reason.

Also, the institution where crazy Amanda spent some time is at Delphi. In ancient Greece, there was a temple at Delphi where people would seek oracles from the gods. Modern archaeology suggests that it was built on vents of gas that would cause priests of Delphi to hallucinate, thus producing these oracles. So it's a little amusing that the person seeing hallucinations is brought to Delphi of all places.

That's about all for now, I guess. I hope things pick up.