Caprica 1.04: “Gravedancing”

Note: The following review contains spoilers for all aired episodes of Caprica, including the most recent, “Gravedancing.”

After the previous episode, “Reigns of a Waterfall,” which had a more epic scope, Caprica‘s fourth episode, “Gravedancing” maintains a tighter focus.  That’s not to say it’s necessarily a better episode, but it does highlight the series’ ability to present its story on both a broad and intimate scale, zooming in and out when necessary, making it simultaneously sprawling and intimate.  Its universe is rather enormous, particularly for a weekly series, but so far, it always manages to keep its juggling act in near-perfect balance, peeling back new layers of every character in each successive episode, while remaining economical in its dialogue.  Caprica has an uncanny knack for capturing people as they really are, despite its sci-fi trappings; sometimes we can learn volumes about the characters and the world they inhabit with only the most delicate touches and nuances.

For example, in this episode, we learn about the legalization of drugs in a single line; the writers are clearly encouraging us to catalogue and incorporate this new information into our internal picture of society in the Twelve Colonies.  Similarly, just a few lines from Joseph Adama’s increasingly interesting and vicious mother-in-law indicate not only a great deal about why he is the way he is, but perhaps why Bill grows up to be the person he grows up to be, while also teaching us a bit more about Tauron society and morality.  Other times, no dialogue is needed at all.  A further glimpse into Sister Clarice’s group marriage, for example, indicates without a word that they are fulfilling the concept of group marriage to the full extent that that implies.  In other words, four of them wake up in the morning in one large bed, two of the wives lying side by side, gazing lovingly into one another’s eyes, and besides them, two husbands doing the same.  Then, the fact that Clarice bounds out of bed upon receiving a warning that the cops might be onto her connection to the STO terrorist acts (or at least will be searching her school, which could cause a link to surface), without telling her husbands and wife in the room, answers a question from earlier, i.e. Is Clarice’s group marriage directly connected to her radical beliefs?  The answer now appears to be no, and that her spouses don’t even know about it–a wise move, as it removes implications of a link between immorality and atypical sexuality.

So much is revealed simply by the words that are chosen and the actions that people take.  Although as viewers we may have initially felt distrust or dislike for the investigator, Jordan Duram, because he is prying into places we feel he shouldn’t be, due to our feelings of connection with the Graystones, and because of how he obscured where his own people were at fault regarding the bombing in “Waterfall,” we start to understand him better in this episode.  When Amanda accusatorially asks him why this is so important to him and whether he lost anyone in the explosion, implying that a personal connection to a victim would explain why he is harassing her (from her perspective at least), he counters by saying that he has a connection to everyone on that train.  Just that one word says so much about him as a person and why his job is so meaningful to him.  He truly takes it as a personal affront and a personal failure when he finds himself unable to prevent the deaths of good people.

The writers are playing with our expectations of character tropes.  Just as we initially expect Duram to be corrupt, we also expect Adama’s aforementioned mother-in-law, Ruth, to be kind and wise, because grandmothers tend to be kind and wise in television shows.  We are almost completely unprepared for the revelation that Ruth is a not-too-distant cousin-in-spirit to Livia Soprano. Her old world, eye-for-an-eye mentality is an interesting link not only to Sicilian culture, which was an inspiration for the Taurons, but also ancient Greek culture, in which balance had to be kept by avenging murders.  Again, though, our opinion about Ruth begins to shift and evolve thanks to indications in the dialogue.  In earlier episodes, we heard her encourage Joseph to embrace his Tauron background, and now we are starting to get a clearer idea of what she means by that.  ”You get the best things from enemies, because they’re scared of you,” she tells the young William.

Caprica doesn’t tell us how to feel about the characters but simply shows us their actions and words and allows us to make up our own minds.  Joseph waffles on his decision to have Sam kill Amanda; the reason for his ultimate change of heart might be a growing respect for Amanda Graystone when he hears her speak on the Sarno show, it may be due to Daniel’s decision to lift the charges for licensing on the holoband, it may be because Ruth’s anger is frightening him, and it may be a combination of these things and more.  Furthermore, the scene in which Sam “punishes” Joseph by pretending to have killed Amanda has some meaty implications.  He seems to have always seen Sam as his attack dog without considering that when one finds himself master of such a dangerous force, that force could easily slip from his control and devour him in the process.  That is not to say that Sam would one day attack Joseph but that Joseph teaches him here that deciding to kill someone should not be as simple a process as buying and returning a hat.  If Joseph chooses to use Sam in that capacity, he has to live with the consequences of taking someone’s life.  He cannot fancy himself a law-abiding citizen, because law-abiding citizens don’t have people killed.  He is just as guilty as Sam and needs to either embrace that truth or distance himself from it all together.  Again, however, Caprica doesn’t judge Sam, despite being a hitman.  Sam is, in effect, something of the voice of reason in this scene.

The series similarly doesn’t tell us what to think about the fascinating scene in which Philomon runs a diagnostic test on Zoe and compels her to dance.  On the one hand, we see Zoe responding well to him, smiling, perhaps falling for him a bit, and we see him enjoying his work and addressing the robot as if it is a person, saying that it needs a name.  On the other hand, there is something a bit disturbing about the way he says, “I’m going to make you dance,” as if he considers himself a god who can control this massive Cylon to perform his every whim–not unlike Joseph using Sam as his fists and also the same sort of human hubris that will lead to the Cylons’ ultimate rebellion against their masters.  After all, Joseph may think he controls Sam, but Sam is physically stronger, and the Cylons are, of course, much physically stronger and larger than their human oppressors, who they always could have squashed like bugs whenever they felt like it.  The question also lingers whether the Zoe who is responding to him is Zoe the teenage girl or whether her Cylon side is, at this point, beginning to grow accustomed to/enjoy being in a submissive state (a cybernetic Stockholm Syndrome of sorts) for Philomon.  Where does Zoe the girl/avatar end and Zoe the Cylon begin?  Are the three slowly becoming one and the same?

And then there is the main event of the episode, Daniel Graystone’s appearance on the Sarno show, which becomes an impromptu interview of both Graystones, when Amanda, displeased with the direction it is going, barges on stage herself.  This is an absolutely remarkable scene, because it feels as unstaged as it’s supposed to be.  At first, one can see how Sarno is taking Daniel’s words out of context and not letting him speak, in order to make him seem weak and to strengthen his own agenda, but we also know that Daniel isn’t telling the truth.  Once Amanda joins him, however, the two are able to gain strength from one another, giving reactions nearly as honest as Amanda’s unexpected speech at the memorial.  In the process, Daniel doesn’t tell the whole truth but instead of giving pat PR answers, speaks from his heart, even revealing his conversation with Zoe’s avatar, something Amanda hadn’t known.  They even decide to revolutionize Graystone Industries, while spitballing ideas on the air, in front of the entire planet, if not all of civilization.  In a sly bit of satire, after Daniel goes against everything she initially tried to get him to say, the PR woman, with a dumbfounded expression on her face, refers to what he just did as “Great PR.”  Sometimes the truth works and makes people come across as more genuine. Shocking concept, no?

The nicest outgrowth of the Sarno interview, however, is that it has started to break down the walls between the Graystones, who when they return home, begin to speak honestly with each other in a manner they haven’t been able to since before Zoe’s death. Now, Amanda still doesn’t know the whole truth about the avatar, something which will most certainly cause trouble further down the line, but for the moment, ending the episode on an optimistic note was the right way to go. Even if this is just the calm before the storm, it is heartening to see a glimpse of what made the Graystones such a dynamic couple in the first place.

All Caprica Reviews

Related posts:

1. Caprica 1.06: “Know Thy Enemy”
2. Caprica 1.08: “Ghost in the Machine”
3. Caprica 1.07: “The Imperfections of Memory”
4. Caprica 1.09: “End of the Line” (Mid-Season Finale)
5. Caprica 1.03: “Reins of a Waterfall”

Tagged as: Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, TV