The Heavens Will Rise

Synopsis: Clarice is moving forward with her plans for apotheosis: she's going to blow up the stadium for realsies this time, and use Zoe's avatar program to save the martyrs responsible. Duram was killed by a mysterious sniper in the woods after revealing to Amanda his hand in Marbeth's death. Lacy discovers she has control over the Cylons on Gemenon, one of which is the Zoe-bot U-87, though whether Zoe's still in there is unknown. Clarice finally learns that Amanda was the spy and she killed her innocent wife for no reason.Zoe and Tamara have made a little jungle fort/Great Wall of Monotheists inside New Cap City and Graystone popped in to talk to Zoe, who promptly booted him out. Now he's going back in with Amanda and Sam as a bodyguard. Though Sam has been scheming with Evelyn and may have an ulterior motive. Zoe's feeling? "Let them come."

Okay, this is more like it. The show still has numerous problems, but this episode was much more engaging as plot threads are advanced and people who have been stupid are called out for their stupidity.

Graystone admits how wrong he was for the fire torture he inflicted on Zoe-bot. It's nice to see Daniel and Amanda cozying up to each other again.

Graystone gets into the game the first time because he says he has backdoor access to all the programs in the holobands because he invented them. If that's the case, why couldn't he and his company shut down all the illegal hacks in V-world?

Clarice's demonstration of apotheosis to the church was not a hypothetical. She's literally planning to bomb the stadium. What kind of ridiculous message is that to send to people? "Follow my one true god or I'll blow you up!" And apotheosis won't help the many many dead who won't get their avatars uploaded, nor will it convince the polytheists of her apotheosis ideas. How will anyone else know about her little virtual heaven? ...And can't people just hack their way into it like they hack into everything in V-world, thus negating the purpose of dying in the first place? Clarice is just another crazy terrorist no better than Barnabas, and her delusions of godhood are getting to her.

It was nice though to her her husband say he had second thoughts about the mass casualties of their plan, since he could just upload the avatars without murder. Glad there is some voice of reason in the STO.

Duram getting shot was a shocker! Sure, he deserves it for getting Marbeth killed, but I'll miss him. He does prove his bias against monotheists though. He doesn't care about Marbeth's baby since he'll just grow up to be another terrorist. Uh, not if you stop the terrorists, silly!

There's a moment when Willy comes home wearing an Avenging Angels shirt and Sam immediately makes him take it off. Okay, that's fine, but is Willy so stupid that he doesn't know he's wearing his sister on that shirt? Why can't this kid figure this out? Especially because the people in New Cap City KNOW who Tamara is! If people at school are talking about the Avenging Angels, are they talking about how one of them is his dead sister? Why does he have no feelings about that? Why is the show not addressing this? And why is Willy barely a character now?

I like the wrinkle that Lacy can command the Cylons. Not sure what else is going on with her though. I miss the Lacy who was too scared to get on the train.

I love that moment when Clarice is called stupid for killing Marbeth, and the sense of overwhelming panic that floods her. She deserves the tongue-lashing! Finally someone on this show says the things I've been thinking!

Overall, this was a much better episode than those that preceded it. Despite the problems this show continues to have, it's building to a conclusion of some sort. I hope the pay-off is worth it.