Amanda Graystone
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| Amanda Graystone | |
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Name |
{{{name}}} |
| Age | |
| Colony | Living on Caprica |
| Birth place | {{{birthplace}}} |
| Birth Name | {{{birthname}}} |
| Birth Date | {{{birthdate}}} |
| Callsign | |
| Nickname | {{{nickname}}} |
| Introduced | Caprica |
| Death | |
| Parents | |
| Siblings | Darius (brother)† |
| Children | Zoe Graystone (daughter)† |
| Marital Status | Married to Daniel |
| Family Tree | View |
| Role | Plastic surgeon |
| Rank | |
| Serial Number | {{{serial}}} |
| Portrayed by | Kassandra Kingsborough Paula Malcomson |
| Amanda Graystone is a Cylon | |
| Amanda Graystone is a Final Five Cylon | |
| Amanda Graystone is a Human/Cylon Hybrid | |
| Amanda Graystone is an Original Series Cylon | |
| Additional Information | |
| Amanda Graystone in the separate continuity | |
| [[Image:|200px|Amanda Graystone]] | |
Amanda Graystone is a successful plastic surgeon on Caprica married to Daniel Graystone, the computer engineer who created the Cylons. She is the mother of Zoe Graystone.
Contents
Early Life
Although Amanda Graystone lived on Caprica, she was originally from another colony (CAP: "Know Thy Enemy").
Amanda experienced tragedy early in her life when a car crash killed her brother Darius. Surviving the car crash took its toll on her, causing her to have frequent hallucinations in which her brother appeared and she chased him through corridors, streets or bridges. The resulting nervous breakdown and suicide attempt resulted in a stay at the Delphi Convalescent Institute, where she spent two and a half years recovering (CAP: "The Imperfections of Memory", "End of Line").
When she met a young Daniel Graystone, Amanda described herself as "crazy," though he proved to be a source of emotional stability for her. Following their marriage, Amanda unexpectedly became pregnant with the Graystones' only daughter Zoe. Amanda struggled through the pregnancy, coming at a time when she was focused on building her medical practice. Though she loved her daughter, Amanda believed that her unhappy pregnancy and postpartum depression affected her relationship with Zoe and contributed to their frequent conflicts (CAP: "End of Line", "False Labor").
Following the birth of Zoe, the Graystones struggled through tough economic times and even a devastating fire that destroyed their first home. Still, the Graystones found success - Daniel making his way through the MicroCap company to eventually become CEO of Graystone Industries, and Amanda becoming a successful plastic surgeon (CAP: "Ghosts in the Machine", "There Is Another Sky").
Moving to a lavish new seaside estate, Amanda enjoyed playing tennis with her husband though her relationship with her daughter, Zoe, was difficult, even hostile (CAP: "Pilot", "Retribution").
Losing a Daughter
Fifty-eight years before the Fall, Amanda experiences an enormous loss when Zoe is killed in the MagLev bombing, perpetrated by Zoe's boyfriend, Ben Stark. Devastated by the event, Amanda loses much of her connection with Daniel, drawing inward in mourning. Learning that Zoe herself may have played a part in the MLMT bombing, Amanda seeks answers from her daughter's best friend, Lacy Rand who can only say that Zoe planned to find a new family on Gemenon (CAP: "Pilot", "Reins of a Waterfall").
Pressed by Global Defense Department Agent Jordan Duram during the investigation into the bombing, Amanda insists that Zoe had neither radical political leanings nor a boyfriend. At the bombing memorial service at Apollo Park, however, Amanda is approached by Natalie Stark, Ben Stark's mother, who confirms the relationship and returns costume jewelery that had belonged to Zoe. Discovering that the jewelery in fact bears the symbol of the monotheist terror group the STO, Amanda is incensed. Grief stricken, she speaks at the service, revealing to a stunned crowd that Zoe was a terrorist and responsible for the attack (CAP: "Rebirth").
With footage of the revelation played on networks all over the Twelve Worlds, Amanda resigns or is fired from her position at Caprica General Hospital and is met with a mob of angry protesters. Despite the ramifications and the conflict that arises between her and Daniel, Amanda admits that she would do it again, saying that she truly believes Zoe was responsible for the bombing. In these revelatory moments, Amanda finds the ability to come close to Daniel again (CAP: "Reins of a Waterfall").
As a result of Amanda outburst at the memorial, the Graystones become hated figures. In response to the controversy, Daniel is forced to make an appearance on Backtalk with Baxter Sarno to repair his family and company image. Watching her husband from offstage struggling to defend himself, Amanda bursts onstage and joins in the debate with the show's host, Baxter Sarno, helping to portray Zoe as a normal, if troubled, young girl. On her way from the television studio, however, Amanda is approached by Sam Adama, who claims to be Sarno's driver and offers her a ride home. In his car, Adama - an enforcer in the Ha'la'tha crime syndicate - proceeds to intimidate Amanda, making her fear for her life for the deaths of Adama's sister-in-law and niece in the bombing. Coming away unscathed, Amanda chalks the incident up to anger over the bombing, unaware of how close to death she may have come (CAP: "Gravedancing").
Coping with Loss
As the investigation into the bombing continues, GDD agents obtain a warrant to search the Graystone residence. Despite Amanda's protestations, Defense Department investigators remove most of Zoe's belongings, leaving only a few pieces of furniture behind (CAP: "Gravedancing).
- In a deleted scene from "Know Thy Enemy", Amanda disassembles the remaining furniture and contemplates turning Zoe's former room into a photography studio. Later in the episode as aired, photography equipment can be seen in the room, but it is not until "The Imperfections of Memory" that Amanda's interest in photography is mentioned.
- Another deleted scene from the same episode features Amanda pleading to see the Zoe avatar Daniel mentions having spoken to in "Gravedancing". Distraught, Amanda begs Daniel, but he resists, telling her that the avatar was not the real Zoe.
Taking advantage of Amanda's grieving, Athena Academy Sister Clarice Willow - in secret an STO cell leader searching for Zoe Graystone's avatar - gains access to the Graystones' home, claiming to be returning books that once belonged to Zoe. With only a few pieces of childhood art in Daniel's lab, Amanda is eager to have anything from Zoe's life and welcomes Willow. Bonding over Scorpian Ambrosia, the two women become fast friends and Amanda confides in Willow (CAP: "Know Thy Enemy").
While on a street, Amanda witnesses a minor car crash and rushes to aid the injured. As a crowd assembles, she is shocked to see her dead brother Darius among the onlookers. Pursuing the vision of her brother into a parking structure, Amanda finds a poster depicting the bridge on which Darius was killed. Distraught over the vision, Amanda seeks Sister Clarice's counsel (CAP: "The Imperfections of Memory").
With Daniel retreating into corporate politics, Amanda is increasingly left alone. Still haunted by the visions of Darius, she accompanies Willow to an opium den, where Amanda reveals her dark past to Clarice. As they smoke, she tells Willow that she has lost faith in the Lords of Kobol and is reminded of Pythia's famous line: "All this has happened before. All this will happen again." Amanda begins drinking heavily, mixing alcohol with her prescription medications, and descends into a deep depression (CAP: "Ghosts in the Machine", "End of Line").
Confronted by Tomas Vergis about the corporate espionage perpetrated by Daniel that resulted in the deaths of two men, Amanda is pushed over the edge. Before their Eros Day dinner, Amanda challenges her husband over Vergis' accusation. Learning that it is true and her husband may have been complicit in murder, she walks out on Daniel. Strolling to the Pantheon Bridge, she continues to be haunted by images of Darius and her previous suicide attempt. She climbs to a ledge and leaps from the bridge (CAP: "End of Line").
Unvanquished
Surviving the fall into Caprican Bay, Amanda is rushed to a nearby hospital. There she refuses to see her husband, but is comforted by Sister Clarice. Together, the two women take up residence in a cabin outside Caprica City where Amanda recovers from her injuries. Despite the relative peace of the cabin, however, she is still tormented by the loss of her daughter and is haunted by prescient dreams indicating Zoe's connection to the U-87 robot (CAP: "Unvanquished", "Retribution").
Walking with the use of a cane, she meets with GDD investigator Jordan Duram, who reveals that Sister Clarice may be a member of the STO terrorist organization and is likely responsible for the brainwashing and death of Zoe. At first skeptical, Amanda later begins to see the connections and agrees to help Duram, sneaking back into her home and retrieving a gun from her closet (CAP: "Retribution").
Taking a cab back to their cabin, Amanda holds her gun out of sight as she questions Clarice, but is mollified by Willow's answers. Unable to find any evidence linking Willow to the STO in the cabin, Amanda pleads with Sister Clarice to be allowed to live with her in her family home. Though Willow at first refuses, she later acquiesces, bringing Amanda home with her - much to the objection of one of her wives, Mar-Beth. While Mar-Beth and Amanda at first butt heads, they ultimately move past their differences, with Amanda even assisting in the birth of Mar-Beth's child (CAP: "Things We Lock Away", "False Labor").
Amanda-A
Estranged from his wife, Daniel struggles with life without Amanda, refusing to sleep in their bed and drinking heavily. As Daniel works to regain control of his company, he seeks the aid of the Ha'la'tha crime syndicate, promising them substantial profits from the creation of the resurrection program, a product that would bring loved ones back from the dead in the virtual world (CAP: "Unvanquished", "Retribution", "False Labor").
To this end, Daniel creates a holographic avatar of Amanda as a test case. Basing it off of an existing holoband character template, the Amanda avatar is augmented with the personal journal entries of the Graystone Family, including Zoe's. Still, the avatar is unable to surpass her base programming which heavily emphasizes a desire to please and sexuality. Instead of truly remembering the events of Amanda Graystone's life, the Amanda avatar simply repeats passages from the journal entries (CAP: "False Labor").
Though she is not the "perfect copy" that the Zoe avatar had been, the Amanda avatar displays some signs of true self awareness and appears frustrated that she is not what Daniel had hopes. Testing her responses, Daniel reveals to the avatar that he was responsible for the deaths of Vergis' men. Though it is a heated exchange, the avatar fails to react as the true Amanda Graystone would and, in a moment of defeat, Daniel attacks her, causing her to derez (CAP: "False Labor").
Following the "awful derezzing incident," as the Amanda avatar puts it, Daniel makes one final attempt to perfect the program. With the project predicted to take three months to complete, the head of the Ha'la'tha gives Daniel only two weeks to show him promising results. Under enormous pressure, he visits the Amanda avatar in V-world where she again makes an effort to act like the real Amanda. Still, despite showing sarcasm, neuroses, and even anger, the avatar is unconvincing and Daniel deletes both it and the backup copy (CAP: "Blowback").
The STO & The GDD
As a confidential informant for Jordan Duram, the real Amanda Graystone uses her position in the Willow home to pass information about STO operations to the GDD, frequently meeting with Duram in Caprica City's Orpheus Park (CAP: "False Labor", "Blowback").
Misdirection
Though she had at least temporarily earned the trust of Mar-Beth Willow, Amanda again raises suspicion when she is caught by Mar-Beth spying on Clarice. Amanda quickly covers, telling Mar-Beth that she believes Clarice has relapsed and is once again using "purple." Mar-Beth, however, is unconvinced (CAP: "Blowback").
Telling Duram that Mar-Beth is her chief obstacle in fully infiltrating the Willow Family, Amanda convinces the GDD investigator to provide her with a listening device that could be planted in Clarice Willow's bedroom. Suspicious that a mole within the GDD might be funneling information to the STO, Duram at first refuses to reveal the identity of his confidential informant to Director Gara Singh. However, after evidence in the MagLev bombing case housed at the GDD turns up missing, Duram decides to mislead Singh, implicating Mar-Beth Willow as his CI. When Mar-Beth is reported missing - having been murdered and mutilated by Clarice Willow - the mole within the GDD is revealed to be Director Singh himself, and Amanda Graystone's position as a confidential informant remains hidden (CAP: "Blowback").
The Holoband
Director Singh removes Agent Duram from active duty, citing the death of his "confidential informant" Mar-Beth, but in reality worries Duram will expose him as a traitor. Rather than abandon his investigation, he resurfaces and meets Amanda at Orpheus Park to continue without GDD backing (CAP: "The Dirteaters","The Heavens Will Rise").
Following Mar-Beth's death, Amanda says that the Willow family seems spooked, moving into the attic of their home where they are busy planning some kind of operation. With the listening device planted in Clarice's bedroom now useless, Duram persuades Amanda to switch Willow's personal holoband with a fake and return it to him (CAP: "The Heavens Will Rise").
Sneaking into the Willow attic and switching the holobands, Amanda returned to the park to deliver Willow's holoband to Duram. As they discuss the case and Mar-Beth's death, Duram reveals himself to be as much a zealot as those he is trying to fight. Disgusted, Amanda leaves just before Duram is hit by a sniper's bullet, sending him tumbling down a hill. Rushing to his aid, Amanda calls for paramedics, listing Duram as "John Doe" to protect him (CAP: "The Heavens Will Rise").
Back at the Willow residence, Clarice and her spouses quickly discover her holoband is a fake, realizing that Amanda is the true mole (CAP: "The Heavens Will Rise").
Zoe Lives
As Amanda works to bring down the Soldiers of the One, Daniel attempts to find his daughter, tracing her to the V-world gaming environment known as New Cap City. With Amanda finally back home, Daniel reveals the truth about Zoe, telling Amanda that their daughter - avatar or not - is alive (CAP: "The Heavens Will Rise").
V-World
Volunteering to enter V-world to find Zoe, Amanda first decides to clear the air with Daniel, tell him about her involvement in bringing down Clarice Willow's STO cell. A short time later, Amanda and Daniel - along with Sam Adama - enter New Cap City, now reconfigured to be a wooded mountain pass, to retrieve the avatars of Zoe and Adama's niece, Tamara Adama (CAP: "The Heavens Will Rise").
Pressing on the through the dense virtual forest, the Graystones are amazed by the reality of the digital environment Zoe has created. Unaware of just how angry this version of her daughter is, Amanda is surprised when Zoe lashes out, transforming their horses into dragons that attack and nearly kill Amanda. Despite the narrow escape, Amanda presses on. Overhearing her husband and Adama discussing the possibility killing the Tamara avatar - and remembering how threatening he had been in their previous encounter - Amanda shoots and derezzes Adama, saying that there was nothing to stop him from trying to kill Zoe too (CAP: "The Heavens Will Rise").
After hiking alone in the virtual wilderness for hours, in freezing rain and surrounded by all manner of unseen danger, the Graystones finally find their daughter. Standing in the forest, Zoe confronts her parents, dagger raised. She screams at Amanda, telling her that they have never met and that she isn't the Graystones' real daughter. Still, Amanda gets through to Zoe, holding her in her arms and telling her that there is a virtual version of their home waiting for her, and that she would be welcome when she decides to come home. Leaving it at that, the Graystones remove their holobands . . . (CAP: "Here Be Dragons").
The Break-In
. . . And discover that their house had been broken into, the power out, connection to the outside world severed, and emergency defenses raised. Trapped in the basement lab, Amanda and Daniel watch as monitors show Clarice Willow and her husbands Olaf and Nestor attempt to raise the barricade separating them from the Graystones. Helpless, Amanda and Daniel can only watch as the Willows finally break through, holding them at gunpoint and demanding they return Clarice's stolen holoband.
Despite her husbands' aggressive behavior, Clarice Willow is calm, approaching Amanda and telling her she loved her and Zoe. Amanda balks, accusing Clarice of sending Zoe to die on the MLMT train. Despite her initial kindness, Willow is angry, telling the Graystones that she's going to kill them and that her God will praise her. Creating a diversion, Daniel is able to stall the Willows long enough for Zoe to transfer into the damaged U-87 body, still undergoing repairs in Daniel's lab. Coming to life, Zoe as the U-87 clubs Nestor Willlow to death and chases Clarice and Olaf away before collapsing.
Meeting Zoe in the virtual version of their home, the Graystones greet their daughter, telling her that she can live there while they perfect a new body for her, this one with skin - a "skinjob" (CAP: "Here Be Dragons").
Bomb Plot
In the aftermath of the break in, Global Defense Department agents, under Gara Singh, storm the Graystone home, accusing them of being terrorists and the true planners of the MLMT bombing. Ripped from her daughters arms in V-world and back into the real world, Amanda is forced to leave Zoe behind as she and Daniel escape in their private Phoenix aircraft. Believing the key to defeating Clarice is on that stolen holoband, Amanda instructs the pilot to bring them to Orpheus Park, where the holoband was last seen. Landing in the park, the Graystones go to work searching the area. Quickly locating Clarice's holoband, Daniel activates it, viewing a simulated bombing of Atlas Arena - the rehearsal for a real attack to occur within just a few hours.
Rushing to Atlas Arena, Amanda and Daniel enter the stadium in disguise, breaking into a press box and incapacitating the photographer inside. As Amanda restrains the man, Daniel activates a remote link to a squadron of U-87 soldiers, bringing them to Atlas Arena. As the Caprica City Police attempt to force their way in to arrest the Graystones, Amanda holds them off, giving Daniel enough time to command the robots to eliminate the suicide bombers and prevent the explosion (CAP: "Apotheosis").
The Future
In the aftermath of the battle at Atlas Arena, the Graystones are cleared and life returns to a semblance of normality. With Zoe living in the virtual version of their home, the Graystones are allowed to continue their relationship with their daughter, and Amanda is able to hold Zoe in her arms. Amanda and Daniel devote their attention and resources to the development of Zoe's new "skinjob" body. Amanda uses her experience in plastic surgery to construct a robotic body for Zoe, composed of a mechanical skeletal structure with human-looking hair and skin. Working out of their home lab, Amanda and Daniel complete development of the body and greet Zoe as she emerges into the real world. (CAP: "Apotheosis").
Notes
- Amanda Graystone was played by Irish actress Paula Malcomson who originally auditioned for the role of Sister Clarice.
- In an early version of the Caprica pilot episode, Amanda was seen having an affair with Tomas Vergis, then played by Roger R. Cross. According to David Eick in the podcast commentary for "The Imperfections of Memory", these scenes were excised from the episode in order to make Amanda more identifiable. At least one production still survived depicting Amanda with that early version of Vergis. [1]
- In the podcast commentary for the same episode, Paula Malcolmson stated that she believed Amanda hailed from a colony other than Caprica. This assertion is supported by dialogue in "Know Thy Enemy" in which she and Clarice call native Capricans "babies". [2]
- Of her character, Malcolmson stated "As an actor you have to sort of put aside your own judgments in terms of whether your character is necessarily good or bad. ...t was tough and I did think about it: particularly that many people would perhaps find Amanda unsympathetic. I just really tried to tap into the character’s loss and pain as well as the fact that she has made mistakes and then go from there, you know?" [3]
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