My 12 odd things about Caprica (or…HOORAY CAPRICA IS BACK!)

(This is a post I was working on this summer, when I was trying to decide just how much Caprica could resemble a great dystopian YA novel like Hunger Games)

There’s a lot of politics, industrial espionage, religious debate and underworld crime going on in Caprica, but when you dig deeper you realize that three young women are the nucleus around which the entire story spins.

Let me begin with the usual warning for spoilers below. Believe me, I tried to keep it as spoiler-free as possible for those who haven’t watched the series, but there are some things that just have to be said.

Okay, with that out of the way I have two things for you to keep in mind about Caprica. First, you do not need to watch all of Battlestar Galatica to enjoy Caprica. While knowing that little Willy Adama grows up into galactic badass Commander William Adama makes the show a bit more fun, those unfamiliar with the character will dive into the story of a boy how he and his family deal with a sudden tragedy.

Second, Cylons were the big bad in Battlestar Galactica, just imagine Terminators in space for a starting point. Which is a bit of a disservice to Cylons, but it gets the point across.

Lastly, the virtual world plays a major part in this story. Don’t worry it’s not just used for your generic sci-fi rave scene, it is for the first 2 episodes but it’s  forgiven after you see how they use V-world  later in the story. The game world of New Caprica City is worth watching the show for all by itself, it’s a noir novel come to life.

Again, Caprica isn’t a YA novel, but it could be. With the rise of dystopian fiction thanks to series like The Hunger Games, the story of how three girls end up shaping the future of the twelve colonies would make for an intense series. So below I’ve listed twelve* reasons, some serious, some from the point of view of of the characters, why Caprica can be watched like a great YA novel.

• The first Cylon is born from the religious fervor of a 16-year-old girl and the despair of the father who loses her in an act of terrorism related to that very religion. If you loved the Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson or the Crashed series by Robin Wasserman, you’ll be hooked by how two of the girls deal with their second life and how their parents and friends deal with the repercussions.

• At the center of this story are three girls, Zoe Greystone and her related avatars, Lacey Rand and Tamara Adama. They are the heart, mind and soul of Caprica.

1. Zoe Greystone is the mind of the story. In a religious fervor brought on by her new indoctrination of the Soldiers of the One she creates a seemingly sentient copy of herself from within V-world. She believes that this creation will help lead humanity away from moral corruption she believes is all around. This avatar is a direct copy of Zoe, from mannerisms to the purple dress she favors wearing when she and Lacey venture into the V-clubs. Zoe’s father is basically a more suave version of Bill Gates, he invented the V-world technology. Enter the poor little rich girl.
2. Lacey Rand is the heart, she is willing to do anything for her best friend. Her only moment of hesitation is stepping on the train that would soon be blown up by Zoe’s boyfriend in a suicide bombing. When Lacey logs back into V-world to find Zoe’s copy, Zoe-A covered in blood and tells Lacey that she felt the moment of Zoe’s death. Lacey appears to be from a lower class working family, we often see her on her front steps using her V-world visor.
3. Tamara Adama is the soul, lost in V-world after being created by Daniel Greystone from the program that Zoe used to create Zoe-A as a favor to her grieving father, their reunion is quite literally the stuff made of nightmares. Tamara-A becomes hysterical in her father’s arms when she realizes she cannot feel her heartbeat. Her father is so disturbed that he throws off the V-world headset and considers her an abomination. Greystone realizes that she doesn’t delete after they leave the V-room but brushes it off. When she’s discovered by Zoe-A and Lacey, they point her to a door that leads her to the whole of V-world. She sets out to find a way home, without knowing she has no body to go back to. She later copes with this news in true Adama fashion by kicking butt and taking names all over the game world of New Caprica City.

• Zoe and Lacey both attend the Athena Academy lead by the creepily intense headmistress of the school, Sister Clarice. Morally ambiguous and a bit too involved with some of her students. She begins to hover over Lacey, offering to help with the grieving process, but Lacey knows better.

• Zoe’s boyfriend was the one that convinced her and Lacey to join the cult-like Soldiers of the One, he is also the one that blows up the train that takes Zoe’s and the Adama’s lives. Zoe believed that her calling was to create Zoe-A for a higher purpose.

• Nothing says best friends for life like joining the militant branch of the religious group that was responsible for your friend’s death in order to ship the virtual copy of that friend to another planet. Not to mention that your friend now weighs close to a ton and is under security that would make even black-ops CIA sweat.

• When you realize that you have no body to go back to, you don’t mope, you take over New Cap City.

• Is your dad passed out again looking for your dead sister in V-world again? Then it’s time to learn a little more about what your uncle does for a living! Ask him about those knives and deliver sandwiches to a few poker games to learn a little about your culture, even if it includes a healthy dose of organized crime.

• So you’ve been downloaded into the body of a 7 foot-tall killing machine, what’s the first thing you do? Call your best friend over and ask her if you still look like a girl.

• Even though the avatar of your best friend was loaded into 7-foot-tall killing machine, when she asks you if she looks too masculine, you reassure her that she doesn’t. (Even after she breaks the bed by just sitting on it.)

• Don’t worry, there will always be a boy who sees beyond the huge killer robot to the sweet, fun-loving girl you really are.

• Being in a massive robot body isn’t so bad, at least you can still go on virtual dates with the cute lab guy. Then again, you do have to watch your parents fight, your dad keeps finding ways to torture you to see if you really are in there and then having to watch your parents do…well…that.

• Your dog will always know it’s you.

So there you have it. The second half of Caprica begins October 5th and there are hopes for a second season. If you’ve seen the trailer for the second half, you know we’re in for a wild ride. There are many reasons to check out this show besides the YA aspect (Two words ladies and gentlemen: Sam. Adama.) I could see a three series set, each book told from each girl’s unique perspective.