Kara Thrace
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Kara Thrace, a.k.a. Starbuck (her callsign) |
| Occupation: | fighter pilot |
| Relationships: | engaged to Zak Adama, brief encounter with Gaius Baltar, affair with Lee Adama, married to and separated from Sam Anders |
| Fandom: | Battlestar Galactica 2003 |
| Other: | Played by actress Katee Sackhoff |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Initially introduced as a cocky fighter pilot with attitude and a dislike of authority, over the course of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series, Kara Thrace is shown to have many more layers than were initially obvious.
- "Kara's story could easily have been a fantastic example of the Campbellian "Hero's Journey", the epic standard by which most of the most famous icons of literature can be held. And fighting through accident, osmosis, or maybe even planning that just fell through, Kara still manages to transcend that. She is a Campbellian Hero. Her life is a central arc by which the entire show can be judged as companion to her tale. And not only that, but it is her life as an individual--she is no cliche female character existing solely for a journey of romance."[1]
The Character in Canon
The character shares some similarities with the Starbuck from the original Battlestar Galactica series -- for example cockiness, a tendency to flirt, and a love of cigars and gambling. The main notable difference may be gender: in the original series, Starbuck was male.
Due to her engagement (until he died, prior to the start of the series) to his youngest son Zak Adama, the commander of the Battlestar Galactica, William Adama treated her like a daughter, which let her get away with a certain level of flouting of authority and rules. The theme of being part of Adama's family in various ways was an important one for the character throughout the series, especially as her own mother had been abusive and her father largely absent.[2]
Another important theme was Kara's destiny (a.k.a. "The Destiny"). From an early age, her mother had inculcated in her the belief that she had a special destiny to fulfill. Events over the course of the series supported this.[3]
Kara's canon romantic relationships were as complicated as the character, often being categorizable as on-again, off-again.
The Character in Fanon
While earlier fanworks focused on Kara's canon and non-canon relationships and character arc, after the series finale aired, many fix-it stories that kept her on Earth were written.[4]
In fanworks, for longer-term het relationships Kara is mainly paired with her canon partners Lee Adama or Sam Anders.[5] There are also a number of Academy Era fics, set pre-canon which examine her relationship with Zak Adama.
Works pairing Kara with the cyclon Leoben Conoy, often focus on his unhealthy obsession with Kara and may be tagged as dubcon.
Femslash pairings are rarer, but Starbuck has been shipped with Laura Roslin, Helena Cain, Anastasia Dualla, and also with cyclons, Sharon Valerii and Number 6.
Fanfiction
- Twelve by Rheanna, You are someone else. I am still right here.
- Fearful Symmetry by Leda13, Kara on New Caprica.
- Icarus by Wisteria, Post-Rapture AU wherein Kara leaves Sam for Lee.
- The Greater Good by Wisteria, The worst of it was that she understood. She did. Needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few.
Meta
- A post in which I think WAY too much about Starbuck by themonkeycabal (Mar 2005)
- Crazy Enough to Follow Her by brynnmck at idol_reflection (May 2006)
- Vicious Wishes' Fandom Corner -- Starbuck: Making Girls Gay Since 2003, Archived version (Apr 2007)
- Kara Thrace/Lee Adama ship manifesto by ennyousai at ship_manifesto (Mar 2008)
Fanart
Vids
- Art Bitch by Hollywoodgrrl - Character study that reframes Kara's bad girl behavior as Romantic, self-destructive artistic temperament.
- A Place Inside by Dragonchic - Character study that focuses on Kara's choices and spiral (especially during Season 3) and implications of The Destiny.
- God is a DJ [1], by dualbunny
- Like My Very Own Blood [2] by Jarrow - The (oh so frakked up) father-child-like relationship between Kara and Adama
- Hurricane by Laura Shapiro - Farscape crossover femslash vid featuring Kara/Aeryn.
External Resources
- Character page at Battlestar Wiki
References
- ^ Kara Thrace and The Hero's Journey--or Why Starbuck is More Epic Than Epic essay by ivanolix at halfamoon LJ comm, 4 February 2011. (Accessed 16 May 2011)
- ^ Character page at Battlestar Wiki. (Accessed 6 April 2011)
- ^ The Destiny page at Battlestar Wiki (Accessed 6 April 2011)
- ^ {needs citation from someone knowledgeable about the fandom}
- ^ {also needs citation from someone knowledgeable about the fandom}