False Labor

This was the last episode aired on the Sci-Fi Channel before the series was cancelled.

Synopsis: Trouble is brewing on Tauron. It's some sort gang war or something. Anyway, Sam's all upset and tries running guns to Tauron, but he's caught. He gets his revenge when he discovers Adama has Graystone plans for the Cylons. Sam takes a Cylon with him to wipe out the rival guys who caught him. Meanwhile, Graystone Industries has produced a commercial for the resurrection program, which they are calling "Grace". Graystone is busily working on fixing the program, by creating an Amanda avatar. However, he grows frustrated at how no matter what he does, she's just not real. The real Amanda is trying to worm into Clarice's family. Her biggest obstacle is Marbeth, the pregnant one. In the end, she gets into their good graces as Marbeth delivers her baby.

Hey look, it's Willy Adama! He's been missing for so many episodes. Granted, he only makes a cameo appearance here, but good to remember he exists.

I've gotta say, I just don't care about the Tauron stuff. We aren't given enough information to really know what's going on, just that something similar happened years ago which is why the Adamas are on  Caprica.

Graystone objects to the company creating a digital version of him as spokesman for the commercial. He doesn't like his likeness being used without permission. I find this interesting since that is essentially the entire point of his program -- using someone's likeness without permission. He wants to create a digital version of someone after they die without their consent. We know how poorly that worked out for Tamara. But Graystone can't see the connection.

I can understand Graystone's frustration with the Amanda avatar. It's hard for me though to know who the real Amanda is. As I've mentioned in other posts, for most of the season she seemed insane or bipolar or something. So the first hint that something's wrong here is that fake Amanda is not abrasive and crazy. However, she is vapid and horny all the time. That's pretty much all she is. Everything she says is either, "I don't understand" or "I want to make love". I wonder what information he programmed her with that this is where the program defaults!

I would like to know how it is Sam was able to get ahold of a Cylon and take it with him to Tauron like that. Graystone has no security at all? I find it somewhat unbelievable. Then we'll learn later that the guatrao (however you spell it) has been supplying other worlds with arms secretly. There's just too much going on.

I do like that the Cylon says, "by your command" to Sam. I like any time they throw that in there.

What bothers me most about this episode (and it will continue into the next one) is that the show feels the need to fake out the audience too much. When it opens with Graystone and Amanda having breakfast, we know it's wrong because she's living with Clarice. Then it's revealed to be fake in the holoband. But then they pull this switcheroo on us again at the end of the episode, where Graystone bears his soul to Amanda and admits to Vergis' death (oh yeah I forgot to mention: Vergis is dead) and basically gives this big Walter White speech about the bad things he's done and how they seemed like good ideas at the time. And after this long scene it is once again revealed that this is still not the real Amanda and Graystone flips out because she doesn't react like his wife would. Meanwhile, I want to flip out because these sorts of writing stunts are growing tiresome.

Amanda ingratiates herself to Marbeth by saying that when she was pregnant with Zoe she had no affection for her and suffered post-partum depression. She then says she wonders if babies can sense that and it's way Zoe was so cold to her as she grew up, like maybe it was Amanda's fault. In the end, she tells Duram that she succeeded by lying. But was it a lie? We are left not to know. It very well could be; Amanda doesn't seem like the type to blame herself for Zoe's actions. She's certainly put all the blame on Zoe so far from what we've seen. But is it possible there's a grain of truth here?

I wonder how common water birthing is among the Twelve Worlds. Or is this just a weird STO cult thing. I really really really hate how this show lumps every weird fringe religious trait they can think of under the monotheist umbrella. It won't surprise me if the STO training camp involves snake handling.