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Clarice Willow

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Clarice Willow
Clarice Willow

Name

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Age
Colony Sagittaron; later relocated to Caprica
Birth place {{{birthplace}}}
Birth Name {{{birthname}}}
Birth Date {{{birthdate}}}
Callsign
Nickname {{{nickname}}}
Introduced Caprica pilot
Death
Parents
Siblings
Children Several in her group marriage (if any are hers biologically is presently unknown)
Marital Status Married to Nestor, Mar-Beth, Helena, Tanner, Olaf, Rashawn, and Desiree Willow, in addition to a few other men
Family Tree View
Role Priestess
Rank
Serial Number {{{serial}}}
Portrayed by Polly Walker
Clarice Willow is a Cylon
Clarice Willow is a Final Five Cylon
Clarice Willow is a Human/Cylon Hybrid
Clarice Willow is an Original Series Cylon
Related Media
@ BW Media
Additional Information
[[Image:|200px|Clarice Willow]]

Sister Clarice Willow was an Athenian High Priestess and the headmistress of the Athena Academy on Caprica. Clarice was also a closet monotheist and central player in the Soldiers of the One, leading several Caprican terror cells.

Early Life[edit]

Born in the slums of Sagittaron, Clarice Willow, moved to Gemenon at an early age. There she joined the Soldiers of the One in its early days of recruiting and quickly became the "brightest star" in the STO training camp. Despite her success, however, Clarice's faith in the "One True God" transcended simple loyalty to the Church, becoming what Obal Ferras called "dyed in the wool" zealotry and Messianic aspirations (CAP: "Pilot", "Unvanquished", "Retribution").

Seemingly at odds with her religious devotion, Clarice developed a strong inclination towards alcohol and eventually drugs. As an adult, Clarice frequented the Dive Bar in Caprica City where she indulged in opium use and was at times a heavy drinker. Clarice particularly enjoyed drinking Scorpian Ambrosia, saying that she was "practically weaned" on it as a child (CAP: "Rebirth", "Gravedancing", "Know Thy Enemy", "The Imperfections of Memory").

Caprica[edit]

Some ten years after her training on Gemenon, Clarice immigrated to Caprica where she lived in the capital city, entered into a group marriage, and secured a position of authority within the Athena Academy, focusing on the teachings of the Goddess Athena. At the academy, Clarice used her cover as a polytheist religious teacher to recruit students into the Soliders of the One, bringing several teenagers - the first being Pann - into the Caprican cells (CAP: "Pilot", "Rebirth", "Retribution").

Apotheosis[edit]

Clarice in a virtual version of her Apotheosis.

In her time on Caprica, Clarice began to view the Monotheist Church differently, believing it had changed in her absence. While it had once held far more radical positions, Clarice objected to the Church's softening relationship with the Polytheist Churches around it. She believed in a more dramatic approach, hoping to convert the masses by offering them a tangible, certain life after death - Apotheosis (CAP: "Unvanquished).

At Athena Academy, Clarice mentored Zoe Graystone, daughter of famed scientist Daniel Graystone and computer genius in her own right. Together, Clarice and Zoe conceived of Apotheosis as a process by which life everlasting could be achieved through the use of computer-generated avatars in the Virtual World. As Graystone perfected the avatar technology and created an identical copy of herself within V-World as a test case, Clarice rallied several members of her STO cell around her notion of Apotheosis. Among those she convinced were Nestor Willow and Olaf Willow, two of her husbands from a group marriage that included several others unaware of her clandestine activities (CAP: "Pilot", "Gravedancing", "Know Thy Enemy", "End of Line").

Unconvinced by her ideas of Apotheosis, however, was Barnabas Greeley, another STO cell leader operating out of Caprica City. To Greeley, Clarice's Apotheosis amounted to her becoming a "bouncer in some homemade heaven", an ideological rift that ultimately became a rivalry (CAP: "End of Line).

Sister Clarice attempts to "mentor" Lacy Rand.

As work neared completion on the Apotheosis program, Ben Stark - fledgling member of the STO and Zoe Graystone's boyfriend - bombed Caprica City's MLMT train in an act of terror, killing both himself and Graystone in the blast. With Zoe Graystone's death, lost was her work in Apotheosis to Sister Clarice. Unable to locate the Zoe Avatar in V-World, Clarice reached out to Graystone's best friend, Lacy Rand. Hoping Rand could lead her to the avatar or a backup copy, Clarice attempted to mentor Lacy as she had Zoe. Unbeknown to Sister Clarice, however, Lacy was already in contact with the Zoe avatar, trapped within the body of a U-87 robot and deeply distrustful of Clarice. Together, Lacy and the Zoe Avatar worked to conceal its existence from Sister Clarice by going to Barnabas Greeley for help in transporting the U-87 off world (CAP: "Pilot", "Rebirth", "The Reins of a Waterfall").

Hoping Zoe Graystone's mother might somehow help her locate the avatar program, Clarice maneuvered herself into a friendship with the grieving Amanda Graystone, plying her with liquor and feigning sympathy for her loss. As she descended deeper into mourning, Amanda revealed to Clarice that she had begun to have visions of her deceased brother, Darius. The revelation struck Clarice, who believed that Amanda - like her daughter Zoe - may have been touched by God (CAP: "Know Thy Enemy", "The Imperfections of Memory").

Power Grab[edit]

Clarice addresses the Conclave on Gemenon.

As tensions rose between STO cells on Caprica, Clarice went on the offensive, intercepting a shipment of arms intended for Barnabas Greeley. Pistol whipping Greeley and threatening him at gunpoint, Clarice demanded that the cell leader fall into line. In retribution, Greeley persuaded Lacy Rand to place a bomb on Sister Clarice and to ultimately detonate it. Escaping the bombing unharmed, Clarice traveled to Gemenon to meet with the leaders of the Monotheist Church (CAP: "End of Line).

On Gemenon, Clarice introduced her notion of Apotheosis to the Conclave, attempting to rally their support behind her. Skeptical of her proposition and calling it blasphemous, Obal Ferras questioned whether Clarice wanted to serve God or be God and convinced Church leader "Mother" that Willow must be killed. However, Obal Ferras was himself murdered by members of the STO and the Conclave, all having been persuaded to Clarice's side. Forcing herself into an audience with Mother, Clarice was able secure control of all STO cells on Caprica and returned home (CAP: "Unvanquished).

Clarice takes control of the STO.

In hiding on Caprica, Clarice took up residence in a cabin with Amanda Graystone following Graystone's attempted to suicide. In her new role as leader of the STO, Clarice acted quickly to quell dissent, killing the members who had tried to murder her, including Pann and Hippolyta, and kidnapping Lacy Rand. Finally resolving her rivalry with Barnabas Greeley, Clarice handcuffed Greeley to an explosive and detonated it, telling him that "others need to learn the price of disobedience" (CAP: "Retribution").

Notes[edit]

  • Sister Willow mentions to Lacy Rand that she was raised in the slums of Sagittaron in a deleted scene.
  • Sister Willow wears a large disk ring that resembles the Mandala. [1] [2]