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{{Short description|Fictional character in Battlestar Galactica (2004)}}
{{About|the characters from the 2004 reimagining of Battlestar Galactica|the 1978-1979 Galactica Boomer|Lieutenant Boomer}}
{{
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Number Eight (''Battlestar Galactica'')}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Number Eight
| series = [[Battlestar Galactica]]
| image = BSG - Number Eight (Grace Park).jpg
| caption =
| first = [[Battlestar Galactica (TV miniseries)|Miniseries]]
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}}
'''Number Eight''' is a female humanoid [[Cylon (2003)|Cylon]] model on the television series ''[[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'', a reimagining of the [[Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)|
==Notable copies==
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===Sharon "Boomer" Valerii===
Lieutenant Junior Grade Sharon "Boomer" Valerii is a [[Cylon (reimagining)|Cylon]] [[sleeper agent]] programmed with false memories of being raised in the mining colony Troy. Before the mini-series, Boomer and [[Galen Tyrol]] are romantically involved. Her programming leads her
In "[[Downloaded (Battlestar Galactica)|Downloaded]]", Boomer's preserved consciousness is downloaded into a new body in Cylon-occupied Caprica. She resists being identified with the Cylon cause and tries to persuade the Cylons to reduce hostility against humans. In "[[The Eye of Jupiter (Battlestar Galactica)|The Eye of Jupiter]]", Boomer attempts to care for Athena's hybrid child Hera on the Cylon base ship, where the child ended up after the New Caprica evacuation. In a conflict with the visiting Athena over whether the humans negotiated in good faith, Boomer is killed by Caprica Six for endangering the child. After resurrecting
===Sharon "Athena" Agathon ===
Sharon "Athena" Agathon is
Upon
Sharon and Helo are married in the gap between Season 2 and Season 3, and Sharon is
== Analysis ==
The character has been discussed in the context of [[stereotypes of Asians]], and the relationships between [[Asian Americans]] and [[white Americans]]
Number Eight's plotline has been compared to those of ''[[Miss Saigon]]'' and ''[[Madame Butterfly]]''. Athena's eventual romance with Karl Agathon, which leads her to change her allegiance to the humans, is specifically described as mirroring the narrative in "Miss Saigon", despite ''Battlestar Galactica'''s [[color-blind casting]]. This narrative is later subverted, when a scene mirroring Miss Saigon's suicide occurs when Athena is "killed" so she may download into a new body and rescue her child.<ref name="Pegues 2008"/> Bennett writes that while Number Eight in some ways defies the stereotype of a [[femme fatale]] — Athena remains faithful to Karl Agathon — narrative tension surrounds this eventual outcome, and numerous similarities exist to other robotic characters who embody that stereotype. Boomer, despite siding with the Cylons, appears to remain in love with Tyrol, and tries to persuade him to come away with her. Athena, conversely, does not entirely abandon her Cylon identity despite remaining loyal to the humans. More generally, she retains a "spirited personality", and does not flinch from expressing strong views and challenging Helo's actions. She is thus described as subverting narratives of obedient and passive "oriental" women and the "Madame Butterfly" trope.<ref name="Bennett 2012"/>
Pegues writes that in the human society depicted in the series, race is not a meaningful category, but the show nonetheless explores racial difference via Human-Cylon relations. The character of Athena also defies the Human-Cylon binary; though allied with the humans, she refuses to identify other cylons hidden among them, refusing an "absolute allegiance". Pegues describes her as a [[Liminality|liminal subject]], and writes that her "irreducibility" made the series an enjoyable one to analyze. The plotline of Athena's child, in particular, is described as examining the fear of [[miscegenation]] in [[White people|white societies]]: the "biracial" child is an object of anxiety among the humans, and its birth mother is entirely excluded from decisions about it.<ref name="Pegues 2008"/>
Number Eight, and Boomer specifically, also symbolize the [[othering]] of West Asian and Arab peoples following the [[September 11 attacks]], particularly when she is tortured in "[[Litmus (Battlestar Galactica)|Litmus]]". Pegues compares the treatment of the Number Six prisoner on the Battlestar Pegasus (where she is raped, and endures other physical abuse) to the treatment of Boomer as a prisoner on Galactica. She writes that while the comparison superficially suggests that Galactica prosecutes a more humane war, it symbolizes the overt [[Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse|abuses in Abu Ghraib]] and the less publicized treatment of prisoners at [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp]].<ref name="Pegues 2008"/>
==See also==
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==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*
* {{Cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/every-battlestar-galactica-skinob-humanoid-cylon-model-explained/|title=Every ''Battlestar Galactica'' Cylon Model Explained|first=Sarah|last=Richards|date=January 15, 2023|website=[[Screen Rant]]|access-date=January 11, 2024}}
* {{Cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/battlestar-galactica-best-cylon-characters-ranked/|title=''Battlestar Galactica''{{'s}} 10 Best Cylon Characters, Ranked Worst to Best|first=Nicholas|last=Bigelow|date=January 16, 2024|website=[[Screen Rant]]|access-date=February 9, 2024}}
{{Battlestar Galactica}}
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