For the first time this season, I have very little to say about an episode. Other than a few select scenes, "End of Line" was an episode devoted to building up to cliffhangers--ones that weren't even that interesting. Syfy's stupid scheduling ,as they've done for BSG and Eureka, leaves us with no new episodes until after summer, which means we'll be left waiting for months to find out what will happen. Quite frankly, the cliffhangers didn't leave me looking for more.
I had expected lots of plot movement this week since it was the midseason finale, but I had also expected the episode to retain those intriguing questions brought up in previous episodes. In a rush towards the end, the characters and ideas didn't stand out, leaving almost a shell, an episode hinging on action and suspense. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but Caprica isn't that kind of show, and for the writers to throw away 8 episodes for the pure action wasn't a particularly good idea.
The episode begins with the robot in a car barreling down the road with cool airships following. Immediately, we know Zoe will escape by the end of the episode, setting up the process by which she will get out. Interspersed in the episode are identical snippets of the car going down the road. Daniel needs to take drastic action when the government pushes up the deadline, giving him a week to churn out the Cylons. He wants to purge the chip and wipe everything from it. A big problem is that we don't know how much Daniel knows about Zoe, and he doesn't once consider if Zoe is in there before giving the order. Zoe is in a panic and urges Lacy, who can't do anything, to get the transport to Gemenon ready.
Philomon approaches Zoe, ready to carry out the order. Zoe reveals herself, telling him she is Rachel and Zoe, and doesn't want to be destroyed. He, too, panics and hits a button to set off the alarm. Zoe throws him, and not knowing her strength, kills him, committing the first of countless deaths at the hands of the Cylons. She gets in a car, and drives. There is a military roadblock up ahead and instead of bypassing it, she drives straight at it, flipping over the barrier and exploding. I didn't know cars were that fragile... I'm guessing Zoe is still alive.
The struggle between Clarice and Barnabus is ramped up about twenty-fold in the span of one episode. I would have preferred an actual build up before everything came to a head so quickly. Clarice confronts Barnabus after stealing his weapons shipment, affirming herself to be the head of the STO cell. She will go to the STO headquarters on Gemenon to turn him in. Lacy turns to Barnabus who first gives her box for transport and then gives her a job. He has her switch Clarice's keychain with one he provides. Later, Lacy returns and sees Barnabus tracking Clarice with the transmitter Lacy switched. She is appalled when she learns it is also a bomb. Barnabus goes further, forcing Lacy, at gunpoint, to detonate the Clarice's car herself. She complies, knowing Zoe's life is at stake, and breaks down in tears.
Luckily for Clarice, she's not in the car. She is outside watching Amanda jump off a bridge. Amanda spends the entire episode distraught, seeing her visions again, until she finally cracks. Daniel more or less confirms that he stole the MCP which pushes her over the edge.
Joseph is back in the V-world, hooked on amp, and still no closer to finding Tamara. He finally finds her in a room Emmanuelle prepared for her. To end Joseph's pain from searching for her, she shoots herself and then shoots Joseph, severing the last connecting they had. In New Cap City, Tamara walks off because she is after all, invincible. Emmanuelle is also there and turns out to be Evelyn, who has a crush on Joseph.
After a season of moseying around, the plot picked up this week and propelled the show forward with several not so big cliffhangers. Graystone Industries is on the verge of collapse, the Caprica Bucs are going to be sold to Vergis, Zoe's car exploded, and Lacy is now a fully fledged STO terrorist. It's better than nothing.
Score: 8.7/10
