The Dirteaters

My viewing of the final episodes of Caprica continues with The Dirteaters. The title is a reference to Taurons, and it is (at long last) Sam and Joseph Adama that are the focal characters of an episode.

This hour sees Joseph being more formally inducted into the "mafia" of which Sam is a part, at the same time Sam is promoted. But it's not smooth sailing for them; Sam learns early on what Joseph has already known and quietly accepted -- that the boss is using Daniel to provide Cylons as warriors, not to Tauron revolutionaries in need, but to STO operatives. To the very organization that is responsible for the death of Joseph's wife and daughter.

The timing of this turns out to be quite an opportunity for Daniel, who learns early in this episode that the boss means to kill him as soon as he delivers his "resurrection program." Daniel approaches Sam (having boned up on Tauron customs), and strikes a deal to provide Cylons for his purposes in exchange for protection to stay alive when the time comes.

Meanwhile, in New Cap City, we pick up the story of Zoe and Tamara, who are working together and have been dubbed "The Avenging Angels." Seems all the cool kids logging on to this game want to try their hand at killing the unkillable girls, and they themselves are tiring of it. For reasons that aren't made clear and that I can't really explain, the two tap into a power that none of us knew they had, and begin reforming the New Cap City game to better suit their vision.

The Jordan storyline continues, with his dirty boss using tape recordings (incomplete, of course) to make it look like he did something wrong. It's not a straight-up frame job, but rather an effort to make it look like Jordan is indirectly responsible for the death of his own CI in the previous episode. He is suspended until a further investigation can be conducted.

Clarice appears only sparingly, in a tiny runner that shows power going to her head. Her mole in the police office has smuggled out a pin from Zoe's personal effects, which secretly held a backup of the avatar creation program -- or as Clarice thinks of it, the key to "apotheosis." So now she's planning the welcoming area for everyone who enters her version of the afterlife. Two of her husbands don't seem to think much of this power trip.

The major dramatic meat in this episode comes in a series of flashbacks, interspersed much like an episode of Lost, that show us Sam and Joseph as kids. I don't want to reveal too much of the content here, preserving the story for those who'll watch it later. It doesn't drive the plot directly in any case, though it does definitely illuminate these two characters and their relationship. It also toughens up Joseph, demonstrating that it's not necessarily Sam who is the "tough" brother.

The episode concludes with Daniel, who has seen a young man on the streets wearing an "Avenging Angels" t-shirt related to the New Cap City game. Daniel recognizes Zoe, and further, recognizes that her avatar was not destroyed when her Cylon body was; she's now in the game. Daniel also decides to share this information with Amanda, and the two resolve to go into v-world and look for their daughter together.

Lacy does not appear, and isn't missed if you ask me. (And if you're reading this, you basically did.)

The often languid plotting of Caprica does seem to be picking up now, and this episode also did a good job of bringing the character drama in the form of the Sam/Joseph flashbacks. I'd say it's definitely the best episode in the back half of Caprica's run. (At least, that I've seen so far.)