I have mixed emotions about the mid-season finale of Caprica. The show is still oddly compelling, but nothing in the cliffhanger(s) grabbed my attention. A good cliffhanger is supposed to make you eager to come back for the resolution next week or after the break..whichever. Caprica is going to be gone until the fall. All things considered, that may be enough time for me to forget all about it.The big problem is there is so much going on, it is difficult to get hooked on any one thing. The writers appeared to want to leave every running storyline haning on a key point, but it is not only difficult managing all of them, but it is too easy to compare the lame endings to the decent ones.
There were some really dumb stuff. Joseph Adama’s guide turned out to be his lovesick secretary. She is purposefully leading him away from finding Tamara so he will crawl into her loving arms for comfort. I understand Caprica is Dallas with Robots, but an idea that dumb would not have flown in the later, ridiculous adventures of J. R. Ewing. I am not sure I care much about his amp addiction, either. He obviously gets over it. Lee Adama is going to worship his legal briefs in the far future. He cannot be a druggie by that point.
Secondly, why does Daniel Graystone want to erase his Cylon’s personality? Even if he is convinced Zoe is not in there after she "shot” the dog last episode, it is the only fraking one that has worked exactly the way he wanted. If the dramatic tension is his defense contract is up soon, it makes no sense he would be eager to destroy his only measure of progress. Unless this is supposed to be further proof he is nuttier than squirrel poop.
Speaking of which, Amanda really is nutty. The main cliffhanger is whether she successfully committed suicide by jumping off a bridge. I never saw her story as the major one, so I am surprised it was front and center. Doubly so, since I am not particularly sympathetic to either her or Daniel. She is loony and he is sadistic. How can I feel for either one?
One thing I did like was the continuation of the promised Frankenstein allusions which dropped off early on. Zoe reveals herself to Philomon, but in a fit of frustration, accidentally killed him. I did not see that coming. Not a direct parallel, but the sequence reminded me much of how I sympathized with the Frankenstein Monster as he tried to connect with people on an emotional level, but was too warped to do so properly.
I lost track of the Tamara, Lacy, and Sister Clarice stories. There was too much going on altogether for me to get emotionally invested. Some of these plot thread shave to be quickly resolved soo or Caprica is going to become a jumbled mess. As it stands, I am not terribly excited about coming back for more. Perhaps as news leaks out between now and the second half of the season, my fire will be lit again.
Interesting note; "End of the Line" was directed by Roxane Dawson, who payed B'Elonna Torres on Star Trek: Voyager. considering Robert Duncan O'Neil, who played Tom Paris, is now a producer on Chuck, it would appear VOY killed off a least a couple acting careers and forced these two behind the scenes.
Rating: *** (out of 5)
