Caprica Review: “The Heavens will Rise”

Are we witnessing the rise of Imperious Leader Lacey?
Who has Clarisse’s holoband?
And will we receive answers to any of those questions, given that the series won’t see another season?

Title: “The Heavens Will Rise”

Cast and Crew

Magda Apanowicz as Lacy Rand
Eric Stoltz as Daniel Graystone
Polly Walker as Clarice Willow
Allesandra Torresani as Zoë
Genevieve Buechner as Tamara Adams
Sasha Roiz as Sam Adama
Esai Morales as Joseph Adama
Sina Najafi as Bill Adama
Paula Malcomson as Amanda Graystone

Additional cast and crew information may be found here.

Premises

The Graystones work together to contact Zoe-Avatar in cyberspace, where she and Tamara have set themselves up as virtual gods. Daniel has also enlisted the help of Sam Adama— who, of course, has his own agenda.

Meanwhile, Amanda gets hold of Sister Clarisse’s holoband, only to have someone take it during an attempted murder. Clarisse’s family learns the truth about Amanda, and wonder about the implications for their terrorist plot, and the plan to unveil their artificial paradise.

On Gemenon, Lacey discovers her power over the Cylons.

High Point

Lacey develops as a character, and we really see in this episode how the Cylons will develop into the creatures we know from BSG. It’s probably best, however, to ignore the presence of God and the Final Five in the later seasons.

Low Points

The show remains uneven, but I like how it has been developing– and we won’t see where it goes, because it has been cancelled.

The Scores:

Originality: 3/6.

Effects: 5/6.

Story: 4/6. In these final episodes, the various storyline are coming together nicely. The pacing of this one struck me as uneven, however, and the need to add soap opera twists and cliffhangers can become tiresome. We shouldn’t, as viewers, feel the manipulation so acutely.

Acting: 5/6 While the acting remains strong, I’m finding our Avenging Angels on something of a downward slide, performance-wise. Magda Apanowicz shines as Lacey.

Emotional Response: 4/6

Production: 5/6

Overall: 5/6. Caprica has a far more realistic view of virtual reality than Star Trek, though not necessarily one that bodes well for our own futures.

In total, the “The Heavens Will Rise” receives 31/42

Additional Thoughts

The impatience of networks and audiences– especially those audiences expecting BSG II— has more than a little to do with the show’s cancellation. Some responsibility, however, must be carried by the show itself. At its best, Caprica gave us thoughtful, groundbreaking SF on television. At its worst, it resembles a certain type of amateur story: the writer assures us things will grow more interesting, but the work isn’t consistently good enough to hold our us until they do.