The Destiny

For information on an Original Series separate continuity novel, see Destiny (book).

The nature of Kara "Starbuck" Thrace's specific destiny began in the season 1 episode, "Flesh and Bone", continues through "Maelstrom", where the character dies, and continues with theological ramifications in the season 3 cliffhanger, "Crossroads, Part II". Indications from the series' events strongly suggest that Thrace has an unknown connection to one or more locales or entities: The Temple of Five, the Cylon's final five, the Thirteenth Tribe and the The Lords of Kobol.

Thrace is told of her part in a destiny by the second copy of the Cylon Leoben Conoy in the season 1 episode "Flesh and Bone" during his interrogation. The lines suggest that Thrace's destiny also involves the Leoben himself:

"This is not your path, Starbuck. You have a different destiny."

"All this has happened before, and all of it will happen again."

"You kneel before idols and ask for guidance and you can't see that your destiny's already been written. Each of us plays a role, each time a different role. Maybe the last time I was the interrogator, and you were the prisoner. The players change, the story remains the same. And this time...this time, your role is to deliver my soul unto God. Do it for me. It's your destiny, and mine."

In this same dialogue, the Leoben talks of the abuse that Thrace suffered at the hands of her mother, Socrata Thrace.

The Eye of Jupiter

The Eye of Jupiter in Starbuck's apartment

Fewer elements are noted about the destiny in season 2. In the episode "Valley of Darkness", Helo and Thrace enter Thrace's old apartment, where, among other paintings, a noticeable "bullseye"-like painting is seen. Several episodes later, in "The Farm", the Cylon later to be known as Sharon Agathon tells Thrace after her rescue from the farm: "They know who you are, Kara. You’re special. Leoben told you that. You have a destiny." A Simon also reflects knowledge of Thrace's abuse as a child through a medical examination in the same episode.

The 'mandala' in the Temple of Five

By late into season 3, the episodes "The Eye of Jupiter" and "Rapture" reveal the Eye of Jupiter, a symbol left by the Thirteenth Tribe in the Temple of Five. As the home star of the algae planet goes nova, the star's discharge is very similar to one that was observed in the distant Ionian system at the time of the Thirteenth Tribe's journey, and greatly resembles the symbol of the Eye in the temple. Only Helo had seen what is now called the "mandala" by the Fleet leadership before, and shows Thrace the photo of one mandala from the Temple of Five, comparing it to Thrace's symbol. Thrace remembers the words of the Leoben from "Flesh and Bone."

By "Maelstrom", Thrace is seeing the mandala in many objects: the dripping of wax, and as the colors of a gas giant's planetary storm. Thrace becomes increasing distracted by and attracted to the symbol whenever it appears. When she is knocked unconscious during her last flight and "awakens" in her old apartment (where the mandala appears again), a person in Leoben's likeness greets Thrace and allows her to relive the last moments with her mother. This section vaguely alludes to information that Socrata knew about her daughter's path in life and tried to prepare her for it as best she knew how. The podcast for the episode by Ron D. Moore supports this by stating:

[. . .]"(In) this episode, you could see that there was really something behind it. That Kara really does have a destiny. That Kara really was fated for a particular end. And that mom was trying to prepare her for that. And prepare her for those roles, on some level, even if she couldn't quite articulate why and what she was doing to her daughter, that her mother believed and had seen oracles and had felt that Kara was special, and that out of her desire to toughen her daughter and make her daughter strong enough to take on the challenges that she was gonna face one day, she had really stepped over the line and had abused the daughter and had created this really toxic relationship between mother and child."

Socrata Thrace's use of oracles strongly support the connection between Thrace and the Lords of Kobol.

The Aurora Connection

When Thrace visits the oracle Yolanda Brenn, the pilot finds a figurine of Aurora, ostensibly a figure of worship in the Colonial faith, if not a Lord of Kobol itself. The oracle tells Thrace to keep the figure until Thrace realizes who should receive it. That person is Admiral Adama. After Thrace's death, Adama places the Aurora figurine on his sailing ship model as a figurehead. The figurehead on a ship given by Thrace may allude to a connection to the path to Earth through Thrace and her destiny, but little more can be determined by this aired information.

The most mysterious element towards the end of the episode involves the revelation by Thrace that the Leoben in her vision is not in fact Leoben (nor does it claim to be). What or who the vision was that guided Thrace in the vision is unknown, but "Leoben's" presence with Thrace in her last moments before choosing to die reflects the "Flesh and Bone" line from an actual Leoben: "You have to deliver my soul unto God. Do it for me. It's your destiny, and mine." The "Leoben" claims to guide Thrace to what lies "between life and death". Thrace then reawakens in her cockpit, and finds herself rapidly losing altitude, endangering her Viper. After briefly saying goodbye to Lee Adama, she intentionally lets her Viper drop below the critical altitude. Thrace sees a vision in a white light (viewers also see Thrace as a young girl) after which her Viper explodes.

In the Season 3 finale, Kara Thrace's destiny as a possible avatar of Aurora appears to gain support when she reappears in a pristine Viper Mark II, flying alongside and speaking with Lee Adama. The fact that Apollo spots Thrace's Viper on his DRADIS suggests that it is a physical object, not a hallucination or other vision, although it is possible that in addition to hallucinating Thrace, Adama in turn hallucinates her Viper on the DRADIS scan. The method of Kara Thrace's resurrection is unclear. The podcast for this episode confirms that Thrace did die, and has returned— something that, prior to this episode, only a humanoid Cylon could do. The resurrected Thrace is not a virtual being.