- For William's grandfather, see William Adama Sr..
- For Joseph and Evelyn's son, see Young Bill Adama.
- For other articles related to Adama, see Adama (disambiguation).
| |
|---|---|
| William Adama | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Name | William Adama |
| Nickname | Willie, Will |
| Alias | William Adams |
| Origin | Caprican born, Tauron heritage |
| Residence | 615 Olympic Street, No. 3 Caprica City |
| Occupation | Student |
| Religion | Polytheism |
| Status | Deceased |
| Relationship Information | |
| Family | Joseph Adama (father) Shannon Adama (mother) Tamara Adama (sister) Young Bill Adama (half-brother) |
| Relatives | Ruth (maternal grandmother) William Adama Sr. (paternal grandfather) Isabelle Adama (paternal grandmother) Sam Adama (uncle) Larry (uncle) |
| Significant Other | Evelyn (extended family) |
| Character Information | |
| Portrayer | Sina Najafi |
| First Episode | "Pilot" |
| Last Episode | "Here Be Dragons" |
| Episode Count | 10 |
| Image Gallery | |
William Adama (Willie, Will) is Joseph and Shannon Adama's son.
Background[]
William was born on Maius 7, 29YR and was named after his grandfather. [1] Willie lives with his father and grandmother at 615 Olympic Street, No. 3 in Caprica City. He is a student at Wilson Elementary. ("Pilot") ("There Is Another Sky")
He does not like traditional Tauron food, which consists primarily of organ meats. He does like hamburgers and also the cherry cake his grandmother makes. ("Pilot") ("Rebirth")
Tragedy[]
His mother and sister are killed in the MAGLEV Bombing on his thirteenth birthday. [2]
In the weeks of mourning following their deaths, Ruth recommends that Joseph take William home to Tauron to experience his roots. Ruth says this is what her daughter would have wanted. Joseph refuses saying that William was born on Caprica and that Caprica is his home. ("Pilot")
William goes by his father's Caprican last name of Adams. After becoming disillusioned with his encounters with Daniel Graystone, Joseph changes their last name back to the original Tauron, Adama, and tells his son about their proud Tauron roots. ("Pilot")
Tauron Ways[]
Introduction to Tauron Life[]
Willie on a family fishing trip in 41YR
Willie skips Tauron School and his Uncle Sam takes him to Little Tauron. Sam introduces him to Tauron culture and the Ha'la'tha. Willie likes it there. Sam says he and Joseph spent time there when they were kids. All the Tauron kids did. Sam picks some fruit from a cart and eats it. Willie questions whether Sam is allowed to do that. Sam says, sure, he has the approval of the shopkeeper, who has read all about him. Sam tells his nephew that his tattoos tell his whole story.
As William watches, Sam smashes a window of another shopkeeper after receiving a phone call, possibly from the Guatrau. The police show up shortly, and Sam encourages William to cooperate. Officer Mendez and his partner know Sam. Sam explains to William about the criminal system.
When William gets home, Joseph scolds him for skipping Tauron school, which Willie says is boring. Joseph said it is learning about family, but Willie says there is no family. Joseph pulls him in for a hug and holds him tight. ("Rebirth")
Uncle Sam's Words of Advice[]
Sam mentors William
- Describing a car as a metaphor for mob philosophy: It's got three-fifty under the hood, a triple-mounted clutch, which most knuckleheads will tell you is a bad thing. But if you know anything about cars, you'll realize that what you really want is a triple-C with an undermount wedge. That way, you got control and power. And it's all about "control and power." He throws a trash can through a shop window. ("Rebirth")
- Don't run. You run away, you're guilty of two things, the thing and the running away from the thing. ("Rebirth")
- About being arrested: You just pay the fine, all right? It drives them crazy. They don't even tell you about the option of paying until you've been locked up a day. You gotta know these things. When you give in on the little things, they miss the big things, okay? ("Rebirth")
- Someone tries to make you feel guilty, you figure out what they feel guilty about. You talk about that. ("Rebirth")
- About smoking:
- Sam: Also don't smoke. You know why?
- Willie: Uh, 'cause it's bad for you, maybe?
- Sam: No. Life's bad for you. You don't smoke, because they can get genetic data off a cigarette butt now. ("Rebirth")
- About skipping school:
- Sam: You always go to school first thing, all right? You wait for them to take attendance, then you skip.
- Willie: So what, you want me to go back now?
- Sam: No, once you start in a direction, it's best to just keep going. All right, this is what we're gonna do. I'm gonna call in. Gonna tell them that it's a Tauron Day of Devotion to Mars. Your school's got too few Taurons to figure out that it's skor, right? Then you stick around here 'til 3:00, and then I take you home. ("Reins of a Waterfall")
Sam tells his nephew not to tell his father about these things. ("Rebirth")
The Ha'la'tha[]
William likes hanging out with Uncle Sam and his pals at Goldie's Off Track Betting, and skips school to spend time there. He brings breakfast to them to earn some street cred. Francis and Paulie give him a hard time, but Willie holds his own. Dave Oneris teaches him how to play triad and Willie quickly learns how to cheat. ("Reins of a Waterfall") ("There Is Another Sky") ("Apotheosis")
Religious Instruction[]
Jupiter is the most prominent god in Joseph's home
After dinner with his uncles, Uncle Larry (Sam's husband) teaches his nephew about the four gods most important in his father's home - Order (Jupiter), Nature, Strength (Mars) and Love. Sam tells Willie that the most important god in Joseph's home is Jupiter. Jupiter is the God of Law so Joseph the lawyer values order above all. ("Reins of a Waterfall")
Coming of Age[]
Ruth doesn't tell Joseph that his son is skipping school. She tells Willie, "On Tauron, when you're thirteen, you're a man. You make your own decisions." She asks him what he wants to be, not when he grows up, but right now. Willie tells her he wants to work in the locker room of the Caprica Buccaneers. She tells him his Uncle Sam can look into it because he knows how to make things happen.
Since his father and Daniel Graystone (owner of the Buccaneers) are no longer friends, Willie doubts this will happen. However, Ruth says that you get the best things from enemies because they are scared of you. ("Gravedancing").
Estrangement from Joseph[]
Joseph tells William that Daniel Graystone has invited them to a C-Bucs game
William and his father have a distant relationship. William is closer to his grandmother (Tsattie) than he is to his own father.
When Joseph tells him that Daniel Graystone has invited them to a Buccaneers game, William asks if Tsattie can join them. Joseph says this is a guys night out, a chance for them to spend more time together. Willie replies that they have never spent any time together. ("Pilot")
Joseph seems to have been much closer to Tamara than to William. After the deaths of Shannon and Tamara, Joseph goes into a deep mourning and becomes an absent father. Sam steps in to fill the void, a development that Joseph resents when he discovers that Willie is skipping school to hang out with Sam and his Ha'la'tha friends. ("Rebirth") ("There Is Another Sky")
Joseph spends so much time in New Cap City looking for the "ghost" of his dead daughter, that he misses William's ink day (coming of age ceremony). ("End of Line")
Closure[]
William and Larry at the funeral
His Uncle Sam and Uncle Larry visit his father to convince Joseph to have the funeral rites for Shannon and Tamara. Sam says Willie needs the closure and reconnection with Tauron ways. At the funeral, Willie and Larry learn a Tauron clapping game/ritual from Sam and other family members.
The Ferryman, conducts the funeral rites in the Adama's home. He asks Joseph and William for a coin for each of the deceased. They each give him a coin. Then he asks if they are willing to bid Shannon and Tamara farewell. When father and son say their goodbyes, the Ferryman says they will live in peace. They will live forever in your hearts. Father and son bond. ("There Is Another Sky")
Tauron Unrest[]
Sam and Larry go to Joseph's home to take Willie to school. As soon as they arrive, Sam turns on the television. The news is about the civil unrest on Tauron. Government forces are using heavy armor to push back rebel insurgents. These same corrupt government forces killed his grandmother and grandfather when Joseph and Sam were children. Ruth and Sam tell Willie to pay attention. Ruth says his father and uncle went through that when they were William's age. Evelyn (Joseph's legal assistant) ends the political discussion so Willie can go to school. ("False Labor")
Tamara and Evelyn[]
Sacrifice[]
The Guatrau's daughter, Fidelia Fazekas, discovers Joseph's and Sam's secret operation to funnel robots to the resistance on Tauron. She tells her father who does not want to believe it. She tells him this will be popular and will make him look bad. He tells her to make it quick and painless. ("The Heavens Will Rise") ("Here Be Dragons")
Ruth kills Francis
Francis comes to Joseph's home under the pretense of bringing him to see the Guatrau. He starts strangling Joseph. Ruth stabs Francis in the back with a meat cleaver, killing him.
Joseph realizes that the Guatrau has put a hit out on him and Sam. They have to go off-world and disappear. He calls Sam, but his brother does not answer, so he leaves a message for Sam about a rendezvous.
He and Sam keep fake identification and cubits stored at Goldie's. Evelyn argues that although that is Sam's place, keeping it there and having to go there now is dangerous. They argue and that upsets Willie. Ruth tells them to fight about it later and leave now.
Joseph, Evelyn and William go to Goldie's. Sam arrives soon afterwards. Since he had not heard anything, Joseph thought they had got him. Sam and Joseph go inside while Evelyn and William wait in the car.
Tommy and two other enforcers show up and confront them. One of the men asks where Frankie is. Joseph says Frankie is gone. Sam asks Tommy to spare his brother because he has a kid. Tommy says he wishes he could.
Evelyn tells William he will like it on Tauron. Her brother has a farm there. William tells her they have been in there for too long, but she says they are fine. Willie gets out of the car against Evelyn's objections and dashes inside. He runs through the room which distracts Tommy and his men. The two enforcers are shot dead. Sam and Tommy fight. Sam pummels him and beats him senseless.
Willie dies in his father's arms
Joseph shouts for Sam to stop and come help him with Willie who is wounded. Evelyn rushes in with a gun. They think Willie was superficially wounded, but they soon discover he was shot in the abdomen. William dies in Joseph's arms. Evelyn comforts Joseph and Sam cries over Willie's body. ("Here Be Dragons")
Consequences[]
The morning after William's murder, Joseph and Fidelia make a deal. Joseph and Sam kill the Guatrau to satisfy the "blood for blood" debt to avenge William's death. Fidelia sacrificed her father's life to ensure that their family continues. With his death, she becomes the new Guatrau. ("Apotheosis")
Memorial[]
By the end of 42YR, Joseph marries Evelyn and they have a son, Bill, who is born in 43YR. He is named after Willie per Tauron custom. His family gathers on the fifth anniversary of his death (47YR). Joseph begins the ceremony:
Oh, Jupiter, to you I pray on the anniversary of my son William's death. For he was not yet a man, he chose a man's death. William was a proud Tauron and a good boy.
Our father's name lives on in another way now. Bill, you were named after your brother. This is our tradition. You will do the rest. As we are from the soil, so shall we return.
Bill drops some soil into a candle flame. Then everyone cheers him and says, So say we all. ("Apotheosis")
Additional Images[]
Behind the Scenes[]
General[]
Throughout the series, viewers are allowed to infer that William Adama (Willie) is the William Adama who will one day command the Battlestar Galactica. However, William is shot and killed in "Here Be Dragons". In the season finale, Joseph Adama and Evelyn are revealed to have had a child whom they have named Bill after his deceased brother. ("Apotheosis")
Bloopers and Continuity Errors[]
It is established in the pilot that William Adama is eleven years old. In Gravedancing and There is Another Sky, it is established that he is thirteen. Thirteen is the age of manhood on Tauron and both of those episodes refer to Willie as a man. The events of those two episodes happen only one month after the the events of the pilot. Since the pilot episode, all references to his age are thirteen, so eleven must be considered a continuity error.
When Caprica was initially planned, the series was set fifty years before the Fall of the Colonies. The timeline was subsequently readjusted from fifty to fifty-eight years before the Fall. However, it was later realized this would have made Willie too old to be Admiral Adama in the Battlestar Galactica television series. He would have been in his seventies instead of his sixties. So they killed Willie and Bill Adama was born so he would be the appropriate age to play the Admiral. [3]
References[]
- ↑ In the Pilot, it is established that William is eleven years old. In There Is Another Sky, Sam says on Tauron he would be a man already, which is thirteen years old. See Bloopers and Continuity Errors.
- ↑ William's age, Ibid.
- ↑ "Apotheosis." Caprica: Season 1.5, created by Ronald D. Moore and Remi Aubuchon, commentary by Kevin Murphy, episode 118, Syfy, 2010, disc three.