The Anhkana teaches that that which is not of Krill is without soul. The truth of those words was reinforced when the Union killed my brother.đâšī¸â Telaya[1]
Teleya was a Krill soldier, schoolteacher, and the Supreme Chancellor of Krill. Until 2419, Teleya was stationed as a teacher aboard the Yakar until its capture. She was later a prisoner of the Planetary Union until her escape and return to the Krill.
Teleya joined the military shortly thereafter and infiltrated the Union as a spy, posing as a Human officer named Janel Tyler. She dated Ed Mercer, captain of the USS Orville, and lured him off the ship and into Krill hands. The Chak'tal unexpectedly attacked the Krill, forcing Teleya and Ed to escape, and they were eventually rescued by the Orville. Rather than imprison Teleya again, Ed returned her to the Krill as a gesture of goodwill. Teleya returned to civilian life on her home planet, where she gave birth to Anaya in secret.
Teleya joined a small group of theocratic extremists. Many Krill felt alienated by Supreme Chancellor Korin's efforts to ally with the Planetary Union, and Teleya soon found herself at the forefront of a fast-growing political movement. She was elected Supreme Chancellor in 2422 after a vicious and divisive campaign. Her policies returned to hardline theocracy, and she re-ignited the Krill-Planetary Union conflict. After a failed attempt at genocide against the Kaylon, she was imprisoned by the Union and faced trial for war crimes.
She is portrayed by American actress Michaela McManus.
History[]
Early life and teaching[]
For most of her working life, Teleya held a post as schoolteacher in Krill society.[2] She worked aboard the Yakar until December 2419 teaching Krill children. The Yakar's mission was to test a prototype bomb on the Planetary Union colony planet Rana 3.[3]
During that month, Teleya's brother Arnak, a tactical officer, died when the USS Orville destroyed his ship, the Kakov, during the Battle of Kastra 4.[3]
About a week later, Teleya befriended "Chris" and "Devon" (pseudonyms of Ed Mercer and Gordon Malloy respectively), undercover agents of the Union posing as Krill survivors from the battle. Ed and Gordon sabotaged the Yakar's mission to Rana 3 by manipulating the ship's lighting to emit deadly amounts of ultraviolet radiation, killing all on the ship but Teleya and her pupils, who were saved by Ed.[3]
Imprisonment[]
With the Yakar's crew dead, Ed and Gordon pilot the Yakar to Union space and took Teleya prisoner. During this time, Teleya was interrogated. She assisted Union xenoanthropologists Doctor Darden, Karx, Franz, and Celeste to study the Anhkana and, when the four converted to the Krill religion, led them in worship of Avis.[4]
Teleya escaped some time after interrogation, though she has refused to explain exactly how.[5]
Joining the Krill military[]
Teleya chose not to return to her old life of teaching, instead choosing "to become a soldier in the divine fight."[6] Teleya was assigned to an unidentified Krill destroyer under Captain Kratok. While there, she learned to a mission infiltrate the Union as a spy and volunteered in an effort to capture Ed.[7]
Around early June 2420, the Darden and the xenoanthropologists, fully converted to the Krill religion, attempted to join the Krill but were stopped by the Orville. They compromised the ship's navigational array to send the Orville into Krill space.[4] Teleya served in an advisory role to Kratok to capture the Orville, but the Union ship managed to trick the Krill by using a holographic generator to make a shuttle look like the Orville.[7]
As the Krill pursued the false Orville, the true Orville returned safely to Union space. Teleya told Kratok she had "very special plans" for Ed.[7]
Infiltration of the Planetary Union and capture of Ed Mercer[]
By the end of June, Teleya underwent transcellular micrographing to assume a new, fake identity: the Human Science Officer Janel Tyler.[6] As Janel, Teleya worked toward a position aboard the Orville as its new dark matter cartographer and began a romantic relationship with Ed in August 2420.[8]
By October 2420, Janel and Ed planned a romantic excursion to Sensoria 2, but Janel led Ed into Krill hands. After feigning torture to trick Ed into divulging his command codes, Janel revealed herself to be Teleya.[6] At some point during their relationship, she became pregnant by Ed, giving birth secretly while back on Krill.[9]
Flight from the Chak'tal[]
In October 2420, Chak'tal soldiers attacked the same destroyer housing Teleya and Ed, forcing the two to flee by escape pod to the nearest habitable planet.[10]
Once they landed, Teleya forced Ed at gunpoint to carry a distress beacon to a mountaintop until the planet's sun crested the horizon. They briefly hid in a cave along the slope from both the light and prowling Chak'tal until Ed calculated that day on the planet would last 23 Earth days. She reluctantly allowed Ed to scale the mountain alone.[10]
Supreme Chancellor of Krill[]
After returning to Krill, Teleya becomes and politician and campaigns for xenophobic polices such as Krill withdrawing from its alliance with the Union. In "Gently Falling Rain", Union president Alcuzan and a delegation travel on the Orville to Krill to sign a treaty with Supreme Chancellor Korin, which coincides with the election for supreme chancellor. Korin expects to be re-elected, but Teleya unexpectedly wins the election after successfully rallying the people with populist speeches and computer-generated deep-fake videos. Teleya terminates the Union-Krill alliance and publicly executes Korin on charges of treason and heresy and has his head mounted in the capital. Teleya has the Union delegation arrested and plans to also publicly execute them.
Teleya meets with Ed, and unbeknownst to him orders that he be returned to his ship so he can escape, but Ed is intercepted en route by a group of Krill who support the Union alliance, and they reveal that he has a daughter with Teleya named Anaya, who is kept in seclusion to protect her from her people's xenophobia. Ed returns to confront Teleya, and she has him imprisoned again. Teleya assembles the Union delegation to publicly execute them, but they escape when Ed's Orville crew-mates in disguise as Krill soldiers stage a rescue. After a Union fleet arrives to rescue the delegation, Teleya orders the Krill fleet to engage. The Union delegation escape the planet and their fleet withdraws.[11]
Following the expulsion of Moclus from the Union, the Moclans and the Krill form an alliance. The Union develops a powerful anti-Kaylon weapon which the Union uses as leverage to end the Union-Kaylon conflict. Admiral Perry steals the weapon after the Union decides not to use it to wipe out the Kaylon, and delivers it to Teleya, knowing she will use it to destroy all of the Kaylon. Teleya has the weapon brought to a Moclan compound with a quantum core powerful enough to wipe out the Kaylon, leading to the Union and the Kaylon forming an alliance to disable the weapon. The Union successfully prevent the weapon from being activated, and Teleya is apprehended and brought to Earth to stand trial for war crimes.
Personality[]
I know fear when I see it. You're afraid to accept the fact that your superiority may just be a comforting myth."â Ed and Telaya[12]
"Who are you to lecture me about myths? You fell in love with a woman who did not exist."
"You know what? She did exist. For me, anyway. And I think that there is a lot more of her in you than you're willing to admit. And if she is in there somewhere, tell her... tell her I miss her.
Teleya was friendly and outgoing towards other Krill. She went out of way to introduce herself to Ed Mercer and Gordon Malloy while undercover on the Yakar despite still being in mourning for her brother. That changed when they killed nearly everyone on the Yakar and captured the ship, barring Teleya and her classroom. So disturbed the act of war, Teleya abandoned her life as a teacher to join the Krill army wishing to personally get revenge against Mercer for all he did to her.
Despite everything Teleya has done, Ed still believes she has a good heart. While being pursued by Chak'tal soldiers, Teleya repeatedly shows the Captain mercy and spares his life on multiple occasions. Further solidifying Ed's faith in her and in hope for a diplomatic solution between the Union and the Krill's ever present rivalry.
Teleya scorns post-religious civilizations as a-moral, such as the Union. "You reject the guiding hand of Avis," she tells Ed. "And without belief, there can be no moral code."[6]
Ed says that Teleya is afraid to admit that her "superiority" may only be "a comforting myth."[6]
Despite her loathing for humans, Teleya loves her half-human daughter Anaya, having her raised in secret to keep her safe from other Krill whom she fears likely would kill her. She is quite offended after Ed asks why she had Anaya given she treated her this way, denouncing abortions in general.[13]
Production[]
Teleya was originally written to be a character for only one episode, Krill, but after actress Michaela McManus's performance, creator Seth MacFarlane decided to revisit the character in Season 2.[14]
Trivia[]
- Her favorite film in Ed Mercer's collection is Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, because she found Dr. RenÊ Belloq and the Nazis to be sympathetic heroes.
- She is one of Seth MacFarlane's favorite characters.[14]
- She is annoyed by Ed's snoring when he sleeps on his back.[6]
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
- Episode 1x06: Krill
- Episode 1.5x03: The Word of Avis, Pt. 1 (flashback)
- Episode 1.5x04: The Word of Avis, Pt. 2
- Episode 2x01: Ja'loja (as Janel Tyler)
- Episode 2x04: Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes
- Episode 2x10: Blood of Patriots (mentioned only)
- Episode 2x11: Lasting Impressions (mentioned only)
- Episode 2x13: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (mentioned only)
- Episode 3x04: Gently Falling Rain
- Episode 3x09: Domino
References[]
- â Episode 1x06: Krill
- â Teleya: "I did not return to my post..." Episode 2x04: Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes
- â 3.0 3.1 3.2 Episode 1x06: Krill
- â 4.0 4.1 Episode 1.5x03: The Word of Avis, Pt. 1
- â Teleya: "After I was interrogated by your Union, I escaped." Episode 2x04: Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes
- â 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Episode 2x04: Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes
- â 7.0 7.1 7.2 Episode 1.5x04: The Word of Avis, Pt. 2
- â Episode 2x01: Ja'loja
- â Gently Falling Rain
- â 10.0 10.1 Episode 2x04: Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes
- â Gently Falling Rain
- â Episode 2x04: Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes
- â Gently Falling Rain
- â 14.0 14.1 "Mindscape 58 | Seth MacFarlane on Using Science Fiction to Explore Humanity". Sean Carroll. Aug. 5, 2019.