Review - Caprica Season 1 Episode 3 Rebirth

Compared to BSG, Caprica is much slower paced and isn't afraid to take its time with the story. Both are excellent at what they set out to do, so I have no problems there. The engrossing world of Caprica makes up for the lack of space battles and the characters aren't shabby either.

"Rebirth" built off the events of the pilot, further extending the aftermath of the train bombing, but not really introducing anything too gripping. The highly versatile Cylon which is Zoe can't be replicated in other models and Daniel struggles to meet the government's orders. Little Willie goes off with Sam Adama who shows him how to throw trashcans threw shop windows and not get in serious trouble. Lacy goes to Sister Clarice's house where they have this group marriage thing going on. Lacy doesn't act completely surprised as we would, but acknowledges it as part of Caprican society. Considering the distasteful acts done in the holoband, we should be ready for anything. There is something going on between Nestor, one of the husbands, and Lacy, but Clarice is probably doing some manipulation.

For an episode setting up the various plotlines, I mostly liked what was going on. Other than the Cylon business there didn't seem to be any focus, so I'm still waiting to see what happens. The stories are developing slowly but that could mean a bigger payoff in the future.

The periodic shifts between Zoe and the Cylon are a fascinating if awkward way to show Zoe as a human trapped inside a robot's body. Everyone else other than Lacy treat her as a thing, poking and prodding her as they please. Seeing Zoe react is much different than seeing a robot, and we see how her could potentially become dangerous. The audience empathizes with her and how could you not after seeing her distress. The drive of the show is the Cylon and its sentience. Zoe provides the vehicle for that as we see her trapped inside, not sure what to do.

At Zoe's memorial, Amanda gets up to talk despite strenuous objections from her husband who wasn't even planning on going in the first place. After talking to Ben's mother and receiving some of Zoe's personal effects, including a infinity symbol, she drops in the bombshell that her daughter was a terrorist. Unfortunately, as we saw in the pilot, Ben was the real terrorist and acted alone. Zoe really thought they were going to Geminon.In her grief/anger/insanity/fear, Amanda's thoughts all came boiling out in a very public setting. Predictably, the crowd goes wild and the Graystone's are whisked away quickly. The consequences of Amanda's actions will surely be significant and long reaching with huge implications to the Graystones, including the Cylon project.

Score: 9.0/10