Scar (Battlestar Galactica)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Battlestar Galactica episode | |
|---|---|
| “Scar” | |
 |
|
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 15 |
| Writer(s) | David Weddle & Bradley Thompson |
| Director | Michael Nankin |
| Production no. | 215 |
| Original airdate | February 3, 2006 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "Black Market" | "Sacrifice" |
"Scar" is an episode of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica television series.
[edit] Plot
Survivor Count: 49,593
As the mining ship Majahual gathers ore vital to the survival of the Colonial Fleet, Vipers from Galactica patrol the dense asteroid field looking for Cylon Raiders that have been spotted lurking in the area. Galactica is on a mission to cover the miners as they extract rich ore veins which can in turn be used to produce new Mark VII Vipers on Pegasus through her on-board workshops. Pegasus herself remains watching over the fleet while Galactica watches the critical mining operation, constantly being probed and tested by units of Cylon Raiders.
One Raider in particular has been given the nickname "Scar" and is identified by a gash in the side of its "face". Scar is feared among the Viper pilots for its uncanny sneak attacks as it hides behind asteroids and uses other Raiders to lure Viper wings to separate. Like a predator, Scar strikes lone Vipers in their blindspots.
Capt. Starbuck swears she will hunt down and take out Scar, but she is challenged by a rival, the "stim junkie" hot shot Louanne "Kat" Katraine, who vows to eliminate Scar first and take the trophy beer mug "Top Gun" away from her. Starbuck is up to the challenge, but her feelings for the Caprica survivors, especially Samuel Anders, haunt her at every turn. She promised the Caprica resistance fighters that the Galactica would come to rescue them, but President Laura Roslin and Admiral Adama had denied her request, saying that it would be too dangerous.
Starbuck turns to alcohol and a misguided sexual encounter with Capt. Apollo to distract herself. The next day, while still fighting a hangover, Starbuck is reprimanded by Kat for not being on duty to defend a pilot who was killed by Scar a short time ago. The confrontation turns ugly when Kat strikes Starbuck. Apollo interrupts their conflict and decides to send Starbuck and Kat out together to eliminate Scar once and for all.
Starbuck is shocked to learn later from the Cylon prisoner Boomer, that Raiders resurrect just like the humanoid Cylon models. Scar is very experienced, having learned from its mistakes time and time again, and it holds an especially seething hatred for Viper pilots. With the resurrection ship eliminated, Boomer feels that, once Scar is destroyed, the fleet will no longer have to fear its return.
During the dogfight with Scar, Starbuck finally comes to terms with her emotions. She lures Scar into Kat's line of fire and the Cylon Raider is destroyed. After the dogfight, Starbuck concedes the title of "Top Gun" to Kat for killing Scar.
[edit] Notes
- The opening "previously on Battlestar Galactica" segment contained scenes from "You Can't Go Home Again", leading fans to wonder if Scar is the Cylon Raider Starbuck shot down and captured in that episode. Writer Bradley Thompson has left this open to interpretation[1].
- Celebrating the defeat of Scar, Capt. Starbuck lists the call signs of 15 pilots (Viper and Raptor) killed in action since the initial Cylon attacks against the colonies. This number also happens to be the episode number.
- Starbuck's use of her thumb to block the sun in order to see if Scar was coming had originally been done by Gregory H. 'Pappy' Boyington in World War Two, where he discovered that doing so would allow him to see incoming Zeroes.
