A lot of this episode deals with handling the consequences of actions while making the majority happy. In Daniel’s case he has to handle both the consequences of his daughter’s actions and his wife’s statement, while simultaneously trying to keep his Board happy and his own conscience. By contrast the only thing that Joseph wants is to avenge his wife and daughter’s deaths, but at what moral cost?
Daniel’s plan to have a rational discussion on “Backtalk with Baxter” deals heavily with separating what his daughter did from what his company produces. He is pushed, several times, to say she was “troubled” before the Mag-lev bombing. Not say she was crazy, which Amanda vehemently protests, but that she had issues. Initially he refuses, he tries to forge his own path while talking to Baxter, and Baxter runs right over him, and later Daniel regrets his choice of words. Baxter pushes that the holobands are the problem. “Let me just tell you what I see here. I see a lot of young people growing up in a virtual world right now…and learning that there are no consequences…” (Baxter), to which Daniel protests.
Is Baxter wrong, however? In the Pilot we saw what V-World was like for teenagers. No supervision meant free reign to do anything. From violence to orgies and everything in between. And Zoe did hate it. She disliked it immensely. But just as in real life video games and the internet are coming under fire for possibly corrupting children, holobands are, as well, and Daniel makes a reckless decision to push public scrutiny away.
Meanwhile the GDD is closing in. Raiding the Graystones’ home, and Zoe’s room specifically, for signs of her “terrorist” leanings. Making a raid on a private school to find other STO members. We’re not told who informs Clarice of the GDD raid at the school, but she in turn informs the STO student population. One of whom, Keon, has detonators and bomb equipment in his locker. Lacey, seeing his nervous expression, asks to talk to him later on, which he ignores as he hurries away. Agent Durham, the one constantly harassing Amanda, seems to take a grim satisfaction out of the proceeding both at the school and the Graystone home. His statement to Amanda claiming that he lost everyone during the bombing is suspicious, to say the least.
Later, when Lacey confronts Keon at his job, she proves her mettle by helping him fix a bike up, impressing him and obligating him to listen to her request. He reluctantly agrees to take her to Barnebus, the other STO Kingpin, who Clarice is worried might be leading the movement into a dangerous way of thinking.
Meanwhile Zoe-R searches for Lacey in V-World but is stopped by her admirer Philomon, who continues to attribute human qualities to her cylon body. He goes so far as to dance with her robot self, further endearing him to her, but definitely not to Daniel, who looks at him like he’s a loonbird. Whether he’s just that desperate for some sort of connection, or if he senses something within the cylon body, Philomon’s behavior makes Daniel watch him more closely.
Interestingly, Sam has been watching Amanda Graystone all this time, as per his brother Joseph’s wishes to see her dealt with. Joseph continually calls him to see if the deed is done, becoming more and more anxious as the day wears on. Ruth, Joseph’s mother-in-law, urges him to do something about Daniel to avenge their family and bring peace to both their daughters. The more Joseph second-guesses his decision, the more erratic he becomes. Ruth watches him with growing disapproval. When he finally gets in touch with Sam, nothing turns out the way he thought it would, and Sam condemns him for not understanding what he asked him to do.
Everything has a price; the question is, when is that price too high? Both Daniel and Joseph try to put a price on what happened to their daughters, on how far they’re willing to go in their memory. In the end neither is able to handle the price they thought they could pay and have nothing but regrets to console themselves with.
