Caprica Review: Things We Lock Away

Fighting in the Matrix, death on Caprica, and Zoës, Zoës everywhere– I don’t know what to think.

Title: “Things We Lock Away”

Cast and Crew

Eric Stoltz as Daniel Graystone
Polly Walker as Clarice Willow
Allesandra Torresani as Zoë
Magda Apanowicz as Lacy Rand
Genevieve Buechner as Tamara Adams
Sasha Roiz as Sam Adama
Esai Morales as Joseph Adama
Jorge Montesi as the Gautrau
Sina Najafi as Bill Adama
Paula Malcomson as Amanda Graystone
John Pyper-Ferguson as Tomas Vergis
Hiro Kanagawa as Cyrus Xander

Additional cast and crew information may be found here.

Premises

  • As Daniel takes control of his company once more, Amanda infiltrates Sister Clarisse’s household.
  • Sister Clarisse keeps Lacy Rand prisoner, with the hopes of turning her into a stronger agent.
  • In the virtual world, Zoë and Tamara confront each other, and we learn more about Zoe’s nature.

High Point

Confusing though aspects of it may be, we’re seeing the origins of many aspects of the Cylons that will be, and encountering the questions they raise about humanity and identity.

There are many copies Zoës.

Low Points

While the episode made the most of Zoë confronting Tamara, the virtual world bystanders, well-wishers, and killers seemed…. I don’t know, even videogame-addicted teenagers should have more imagination than this.

The Scores:

Originality: 2/6. More of what we’ve seen—and, of course, a fight between two young female characters in an alternate world. I’ll let the anime fans out there tell me how many times they’ve seen that one before.

Effects: 5/6. The effects this week mostly consist of the virtual world, which always looks slightly askew and unreal.

Story: 4/6. Perhaps due to complaints that last year’s story arc moved too slow, the writers have been fast-tracking everything this year. The keeps the show interesting, but its sense of reality suffers somewhat.

Acting: 5/6. The young actors do especially well. Genevieve Buechner seemed unduly grandiose, but she has been through a good deal, and I’m willing to accept the stylizations, especially in the virtual world.

Eric Stoltz brings a bit of subtlety to Graystone’s realization that he doesn’t really understand the people with whom he has chose to deal.

Emotional Response: 4/6

Production: 5/6. I accept that Caprica looks uncannily like our world, but more might have been done with, say, brand designs and road signs.

Overall: 5/6.

In total, the “Things We Lock Away” receives 30/42

3 replies on “Caprica Review: Things We Lock Away”

  1. I believe there is a slight mistake in the “Premises”. Shouldn’t “Zoë and Amanda confront each other” be “Zoë and Tamara confront each other” instead? I don’t remember Amanda being in New Cap City ever before.

    The question that most strikes me is how they’re going to get the “Final Five” and the story of the original Earth to fit into their current story line. If I remember correctly, weren’t the FF inferred as being a major part of the development of the Cylons?

    • What mistake? It says Tamara.

      Erm, now that I changed it. Thanks for the sharp eyes!

      As for the Final Five, I dread the possibility that they might appear. The show is doing an excellent job of showing the Cylon genesis without the nonsense the parent show added later.

      Perhaps Zoë’s brilliance or the monotheist movement takes some influence from the Five? Maybe Dan Graystone didn’t copy her designs: maybe they both received messages, somehow.

      (Which takes us into tinfoil hat territory. Personally, I’d prefer it if the show just ignored the Final Five, but I suppose they’re part of the chronology now).

    • The Final Five were responsible for the development of the humaniform Cylons, not the original mechanicals. They didn’t arrive until the war was well underway and their help was conditional on the cease fire happening.

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