Leoben Conoy (
Number Two) is a
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
portrayed by
Callum Keith RennieCallum Keith Rennie is a Canadian television and film actor. He started his career in Canadian film and television projects, where his portrayal of Ray Kowalski in the TV series Due South was his first international success...
appearing in the reimagined
Battlestar Galactica series.
Leoben is a humanoid Cylon agent who portrays himself as possessing philosophical and religious enlightenment. Meanwhile he delights in playing
mind gameThe term mind games refers to passive aggressive behavior used specifically to demoralize or empower the thinking subject, often making the aggressor look superior....
s by engaging in disorienting and
poeticPoetic may refer to:* Poetry, or a relation thereof.* Too Poetic, a deceased rapper and hip hop producer....
discourse that entwines truth and lies.
Leoben expresses what can be judged a pantheistic view of
GodGod is a deity in theistic and deistic religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
as inherent in all beings, telling
StarbuckKara "Starbuck" Thrace is a fictional character in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica franchise. Played by Katee Sackhoff, she is a revised version of Lieutenant Starbuck from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series.-Overview:...
, "We're all God."
In the fourth season episode "
Six of One"Six of One" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the reimagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica. The episode first aired on SCI FI and Space in the United States and Canada respectively on April 11, 2008, and aired on Sky1 in the United Kingdom on April 15, along...
", Conoy's model number was revealed as Number Two.
Leoben Conoy is first encountered in the
miniseriesBattlestar Galactica is a three-hour miniseries written and produced by Ronald D. Moore and directed by Michael Rymer. It was the first part of the Battlestar Galactica reimagining based on the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series, and served as a backdoor pilot for the 2004 television series...
by
Commander AdamaWilliam "Bill" Adama is a fictional character portrayed by Edward James Olmos in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series. The character is a reimagining of Commander Adama from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series...
hiding in the Ragnar Anchorage supply depot posing as an
arms dealerThe arms industry is a global industry and business which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology and equipment. Arms producing companies, also referred to as defence companies or military industry, produce arms mainly for the armed forces of states. Products include guns,...
scrounging for weapons and supplies.
Leoben Conoy (
Number Two) is a
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
portrayed by
Callum Keith RennieCallum Keith Rennie is a Canadian television and film actor. He started his career in Canadian film and television projects, where his portrayal of Ray Kowalski in the TV series Due South was his first international success...
appearing in the reimagined
Battlestar Galactica series.
Leoben is a humanoid Cylon agent who portrays himself as possessing philosophical and religious enlightenment. Meanwhile he delights in playing
mind gameThe term mind games refers to passive aggressive behavior used specifically to demoralize or empower the thinking subject, often making the aggressor look superior....
s by engaging in disorienting and
poeticPoetic may refer to:* Poetry, or a relation thereof.* Too Poetic, a deceased rapper and hip hop producer....
discourse that entwines truth and lies.
Leoben expresses what can be judged a pantheistic view of
GodGod is a deity in theistic and deistic religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
as inherent in all beings, telling
StarbuckKara "Starbuck" Thrace is a fictional character in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica franchise. Played by Katee Sackhoff, she is a revised version of Lieutenant Starbuck from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series.-Overview:...
, "We're all God."
In the fourth season episode "
Six of One"Six of One" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the reimagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica. The episode first aired on SCI FI and Space in the United States and Canada respectively on April 11, 2008, and aired on Sky1 in the United Kingdom on April 15, along...
", Conoy's model number was revealed as Number Two.
Ragnar Anchorage
Leoben Conoy is first encountered in the
miniseriesBattlestar Galactica is a three-hour miniseries written and produced by Ronald D. Moore and directed by Michael Rymer. It was the first part of the Battlestar Galactica reimagining based on the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series, and served as a backdoor pilot for the 2004 television series...
by
Commander AdamaWilliam "Bill" Adama is a fictional character portrayed by Edward James Olmos in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series. The character is a reimagining of Commander Adama from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series...
hiding in the Ragnar Anchorage supply depot posing as an
arms dealerThe arms industry is a global industry and business which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology and equipment. Arms producing companies, also referred to as defence companies or military industry, produce arms mainly for the armed forces of states. Products include guns,...
scrounging for weapons and supplies. Apparently to avoid arrest, Leoben offers to help Adama's supply team gather cannon shells for
Galactica's
railgunA railgun is an entirely electrical gun that accelerates a conductive projectile along a pair of metal rails using the same principles as the homopolar motor....
s. After an explosive device accidentally detonates, Adama is trapped with Leoben and separated from the rest of the crew. They look for a way out, engaging in philosophical conversation, all the while Leoben claims to be suffering from allergies. As Adama and Leoben converse, Adama notices Leoben Conoy's "allergies" getting worse. This makes Adama suspicious as he feels it may be a reaction Cylons have to
radiationIn physics, radiation describes any process in which energy emitted by one body travels through a medium or through space, ultimately to be absorbed by another body...
(in this case emitted by the
gas giantA gas giant is a large planet that is not primarily composed of rock or other solid matter. There are four gas giants in our Solar System: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune...
the anchorage orbits). Eventually, Leoben confirms Adama's suspicions, admitting his true nature.
Adama and Leoben fight and in the ensuing struggle, Leoben reacts with amazing speed and strength, but Adama manages to kill him by
bludgeonBludgeon may refer to:* Bludgeon , a fictional character* Bludgeon , a club-like weapon* Crabtree's Bludgeon, a foil to Occam's Razor...
ing him in the head with a flashlight. Just prior to his demise, Leoben Conoy reveals to Adama that Cylons can be "resurrected" with their persona downloaded into another copy upon death, allowing all of their experiences to be saved and providing effective
immortalityImmortality is the concept of living in a physical or spiritual form for an infinite or inconceivably vast length of time....
. It is implied, however, the radiation field in which the Ragnar Anchorage is located prevents Leoben from downloading to a Cylon facility for proper resurrection.
After Adama is rescued, Leoben Conoy's body is taken back to
GalacticaThe Battlestar Galactica is a space battleship in the original and re-imagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica.The Twelve Colonies of Man in the original television series built a number of Battlestars during their thousand-year war with the Cylons, whose battleships are...
and examined, revealing humanoid Cylon variants are almost identical to humans.
Colonial fleet
In the episode "
Flesh and Bone"Flesh and Bone" is an episode of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica television series.-Plot:President Roslin sees a copy of Leoben Conoy, a duplicate of the Cylon that Commander Adama encountered on Ragnar Anchorage, in a dream. Soon afterwards, a copy of this Cylon is caught aboard the Gemenon...
", a copy of Leoben is found in the fleet hiding aboard the
Gemenon Traveller and is arrested. After dodging questions and playing mind games he claims he has planted a
nuclear bombA nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion...
within the fleet. Leoben is subsequently brutally interrogated by
StarbuckKara "Starbuck" Thrace is a fictional character in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica franchise. Played by Katee Sackhoff, she is a revised version of Lieutenant Starbuck from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series.-Overview:...
, with whom it seems he has a growing obsession.
President Laura RoslinLaura Roslin is a fictional character in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series, portrayed by Mary McDonnell. She is the President of the Twelve Colonies.-Cylon Attack and Escape:...
intervenes the interrogation and more courteously questions him. He then makes startling predictions about
KobolKobol is the name of a planet in the fictional Battlestar Galactica universe.Within the context of both Battlestar Galactica stories, Kobol is the birthplace and original home of humanity, from which the civilization departed and formed the "Twelve Colonies of Man" on other worlds...
and the future of the fleet. After admitting there was no bomb (and frightening Roslin by claiming Adama is a Cylon spy), Roslin has him
vented into spaceSpacing may refer to:* Leading, in typography, the amount of added vertical spacing between lines of type. This concept is sometimes referred to as 'line spacing'....
.
Occupation of New Caprica
In the final episode of 2nd season "
Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II"Lay Down Your Burdens" is a double episode of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica television series. Part I aired originally on the Sci Fi Channel on March 3, 2006; Part II aired on March 10, 2006 as a 90-munute special.- Part I :...
", Leoben appears again during the Cylon invasion of New Caprica. He asks Starbuck's husband
Samuel AndersSamuel T. Anders is a fictional character from the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series, played by Michael Trucco. He first appeared as a recurring character in the second season episode Resistance, but assumed a pivotal role in the series by the end...
for Starbuck's whereabouts.
In the third season premier "
OccupationOccupation is the season premiere of the third season of Battlestar Galactica, and follows the events of the webisodic short series Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance...
", it is revealed Starbuck has been captured by the Cylons, and is forced to live with Leoben for a number of months. During this period she has killed him five times, though he would simply resurrect and return, exercising extreme patience in his task of winning Starbuck's affection.
Leoben claims he created a baby from an egg retrieved from Starbuck's ovary (see "
The Farm"The Farm" is the fifth episode of the second season of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica television series. It aired originally on the Sci Fi Channel on August 12, 2005.-Plot:Commander Adama recovers enough to take command again...
") and presents a girl named
KaceyKacey may refer to:* Kvitka Cisyk, Ukrainian operatic soprano and symphonic folk singer* KC...
. He says Kacey is a half-Cylon hybrid, Starbuck and Leoben being the parents. In
"Exodus" (part 2)"Exodus" are the third and fourth episodes of the third season from the science fiction television series, Battlestar Galactica. The episodes originally aired on the Sci Fi Channel on October 16 and 23, 2006....
, however, it is revealed Kacey is a human child taken from her mother on New Caprica, and the two are reunited (much to Starbuck's shock) when Starbuck and Kacey arrive back on
Galactica.
Leoben's role in Starbuck's destiny
Ever since Starbuck first encountered Leoben aboard the
Geminon Traveller and during the time she was forced to live with him on New Caprica, Leoben has continually told her she has a special
destinyDestiny refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. It is a concept based on the belief that there is a fixed natural order to the cosmos....
and an important role to play in future events. Despite Starbuck's guilt that she has been nothing but a "screw up" since childhood, Leoben tries to show she is more significant than she believes. In later episodes of the third season, Starbuck has bizarre dreams of Leoben, with some becoming markedly erotic.
In the episode "
Maelstrom"Maelstrom" is the seventeenth episode of the third season from the science-fiction television series, Battlestar Galactica.-Plot:Survivor Count: 41,400...
", Starbuck begins hallucinating things, such as her younger self, fleeting images of her mother, and finally non-existent Cylon Raiders. Because of this, her fitness for duty comes into question. Thinking she's losing her mind, she seeks help from an
oracleAn oracle is a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic opinion. It may also be a revealed prediction or precognition of the future, from deities, that is spoken through another object or life-form ....
who tells her Leoben is her spiritual guide and her deceased mother, Socrata Thrace, is using him to get a message to her.
During a hallucinatory
dogfightA dogfight, or dog fight, is aerial combat between fighter aircraft. Dogfighting first appeared during World War I, shortly after the invention of the airplane, and has since became a component in every major war despite beliefs after World War II that increasingly greater speeds and longer range...
with a Raider, Starbuck's
ViperThe Colonial Viper is the primary fighter spacecraft type used by the human protagonists in the Battlestar Galactica fictional universe. Appearing in both the 1978 original series and the 2003 reimagined series, as well as various derivative works, the single-pilot spacecraft are carried aboard...
takes damage and she falls into unconsciousness, ending up in a dream of her mother's apartment. Leoben appears and takes Starbuck to a scene six years prior, where she learns her mother is dying of cancer. However, her mother's heartless and derogatory comments force Starbuck to walk out on her mother for good. Her mother dies alone and Starbuck kept the pain of that decision locked inside her.
Leoben next takes her to the moment of her mother's passing and allows Starbuck another chance to be with her mother at her deathbed. Leoben consoles Starbuck, telling her death is nothing to fear. Starbuck states "You're not Leoben," to which he replies, "Never said I was. I'm here to prepare you to pass through the next door; to discover what hovers in the space between life and death." Starbuck finally accepts (apparent) death and decides to go down with her damaged Viper when it explodes in the atmosphere of a gas giant. Starbuck's reappearance in "
Crossroads Part II"Crossroads" are the nineteenth and twentieth episodes of the third season and season finale from the science fiction television series, Battlestar Galactica...
," where she tells
Lee AdamaLeland Joseph "Lee" Adama is a fictional character in the television series Battlestar Galactica. He is portrayed by actor Jamie Bamber.-Early life:...
it really is her and that she has been to
EarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun. It is the fifth largest of the eight planets in the solar system, and the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in terms of diameter, mass and density...
, may suggest the destiny Leoben had been guiding her to involves much more than her death.
The copy of Leoben that held Starbuck captive on New Caprica returns to offer a truce between the Colonials and the Cylon Rebels. He helps Starbuck finish a painting of part of her vision and eventually convinces her to travel to his severely damaged basestar. Onboard she discovers part of her painted vision of the road to Earth: a trinary star system possessing a gas giant with a rapidly receding and damaged basestar that appeared as a comet. Leoben takes her to see the ships's Hybrid who gives Starbuck a cryptic and disturbing message. The Hybrid suggests unboxing the D'Anna models to help locate the final five but informs Starbuck she is the harbinger of death leading humanity to its end.
Upon reaching Earth from the coordinates of Starbuck's viper, Leoben accompanies Starbuck through a desolate landscape, eventually coming upon the ruins of a crashed viper. The dead pilot of the Viper is revealed to be Starbuck. Starbuck asks him "what am I?" but Leoben has no answer for her and appears to be extremely alarmed by this turn of events.
In the final episode where a second "Earth" is found, Leoben states the remaining members of his model in the fleet, along with the Sixes and Eights, will remain on Earth with the humans. It can be inferred they intersperse among the population and eventually meld into the humans.
External links
- Leoben Conoy at the Battlestar Wiki