Caprica/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Non Sequitur Scene: Very brief but in The Imperfections of Memory, Joseph and Emmanuelle walk by a graffiti-covered wall. The camera lingers and eventually zooms to a specific graffiti: The image of a man that somewhat resembles Gaius Baltar. Next to the image is written "This is not me, It's just my body vehicle". It obviously has a deeper meaning and may even be some Foreshadowing but it is never referred to and has no weight to the rest of the episode or the following episodes.
  • Crowning Music of Awesome: The theme song, for the visuals almost as much as the music. Thank you, network, for keeping Bear McCreary as the composer.
  • Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy: It can be hard to find anyone to root for among the main cast.
  • Fanon Discontinuity: Lets just say that the last two episodes are a major Base Breaker for Caprica watchers who kept on with the franchise even after BSG's controversial ending.
  • Follow Up Failure: As a spinoff to Battlestar Galactica hesitance was given to Caprica from the start. The pilot was tested as a release on DVD and streamed for free on Syfy's website before it aired. After the mid-season finale it was announced that Caprica would return in January of the following year. With less than a month's notice it returned in October only to be cancelled before Sweeps.
  • Fridge Brilliance: Joseph Adama's wife is called Evelyn in documents seen in Battlestar Galactica; the one killed in the bomb blast is named Shannon. At first, it doesn't compute...and then Adama's assistant (or something) shows up (played, incidentally, by Teryl Rothery); she gets him coffee (reluctantly), and he complements her on her shoes. Her name? Evelyn.
    • Also, the scene where this Evelyn seems quite interested in Joseph's tattoo - which is situated on his chest. This question is likely to be answered sooner then later.
      • More or less confirmed as of "End Of Line;" Emmanuelle from New Cap City is shown to have been Evelyn all along, who wanted to get Joseph out of V-World; she caresses him after Tamara kills his New Cap City avatar.
      • As of "False Labor", Joseph and Evelyn have gotten intimate. With the blessing of Shannon's mother Ruth. So yeah, Evelyn is clearly Willie's stepmother-to-be.
    • In the Grand Finale of Battlestar Galactica, a flashback shows William Adama becoming insulted and refusing to continue with a polygraph test when asked if he as ever stolen money out of a cash drawer. Now, with Caprica, we find out that his father was a lawyer for and that his uncle was a made man in the Tauron mob - How long do you think it'll be before we see young Willie Adama stealing money from a cash drawer (or, at very least, being presented with that moral choice)?
      • Never, as it happens. William "Willie" Adama dies, and Evelyn and Joseph name their son after him. However, Willie was shot while he, Joseph, Evelyn, and Sam were trying to take money from Sam's old workplace. Since his namesake died doing it, embezzlement is a sore spot for Bill.
  • Game Breaker: Being a "deadwalker" in New Cap City gives you immortality and Reality Warper powers.
  • Harsher in Hindsight: "Dirt eater".
  • Les Yay: Between Amanda and Clarice. Commented on.
    • Taken further in "Unvanquished" when it's revealed that they're secretly living together.
    • And then in "Here Be Dragons", Clarice actually says, "I loved you".
  • Moral Event Horizon: Sister Clarice's proposal to the Conclave at the start of season 1.5 / season 2.
    • Clarice gets another one in Blowback, shared by Agent Durham: The murder of Mar-Beth. Agent Durham because he framed Mar-Beth as a GDD mole and Clarice for the actual killing. To her credit, Clarice seems genuinely conflicted by the act but come on...
  • Narm Charm: Robot Zoe dancing with Philo.
  • Nightmare Fuel:
    • Tamara Adams' Avatar can't hear the beat of her own heart.
    • Daniel's torture of the Zoe-Cylon in "Ghost in the Machine." The things he does and says are disturbing enough on their own, but when you consider that it's his daughter he's tormenting, and abusing his knowledge of her deepest fears to do so, it hits a whole new level. Also distressing is the speed Daniel goes from "trying to talk rationally" to "borderline Mind Rape."
    • "Things we Lock Away". Vergis forces Daniel to kill him after the latter proposes an alliance. Both actors do a really good job in the scene; remember that this is, as far as we know, Daniel's first direct kill, ever.
  • Sci Fi Ghetto: In reverse, people not liking the lack of spaceships and battles.
  • Straw Hypocrite: More subtle then most of examples, but show made it sure that you understand that Guatrau's talk about honor is total bullcrap.
  • Too Good to Last: The network's official statement says it all: “Unfortunately, despite its obvious quality, ‘Caprica’ has not been able to build the audience necessary to justify a second season.”
    • To add insult to injury, the cast and crew have been very clear that (a) the first season finale, which was filmed before the cancellation report, contains multiple cliff-hangers and would not make a satisfying end to the series, and (b) the second season has been planned out in more detail than any BSG season was, and it's a really good plan.
  • Uncanny Valley: The Cylons don't look even remotely human, but they have very human reactions and gestures. Examples include the first Cylon looking to Daniel for permission to finish off his opponent during the first demonstration, the Cylon ostentatiously checking his clip to see if there are any more bullets, and the combat maneuvers in the Pyramid stadium.
  • Unfortunate Implications: All the monotheists are terrorists or dupes of same.
    • This is lessened if you've watched Battlestar Galactica all the way through, in which case it becomes obvious that God was always the good guy and the crimes committed in His name were misguided. Of course, this has the Unfortunate Implications that the polytheists really were the bad guys.
    • Also, the two most prominent LGBT characters (Sam Adama and Sister Clarice) are a hitman and a member of a fanatical religious group. Of course, both of them seem to care deeply about their spouses and families in general and there are very few characters who aren't shady in some way, but so far it looks like Caprica is following BSG in having mostly "bad" queer characters. Of course, of all the straight characters in the original series, only Helo could be considered purely good. And "Know Thy Enemy" indicates Clarice isn't really a bad person - quite the opposite, she's opposed to the pro-terrorism elements of the STO.
      • Opposed more on the fact that it was a political struggle between herself and Barnabas. When it comes to pushing her agenda she has no qualms about sending off her followers to suicide bomb a stadium full of people. She might be just as Ax Crazy as he is.
    • The only three black characters, one is the Chauffeur without lines and one is a judge who accepts bribes. The other is part of a cult some elements of which engage in and/or encourage terrorist activities.
  • The Woobie: Both Zoe-A and Tamara-A are this to varying extents, though in the latter case it's particularly so. Zoe's situation in part seems to be partially her own doing, whereas Tamara is completely obvlivious - at least at first. As of the end of There Is Another Sky, Tamara has upgraded into an Action Girl. Still pretty woobie-ish though.
    • Lacy is quite the woobie too.