"Scar"
Battlestar Galactica episode
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 15
Written by	David Weddle Bradley Thompson
Directed by	Michael Nankin
Production no.	215
Original airdate	February 3, 2006
Episode chronology ← Previous Next → "Black Market" "Sacrifice"
Episode chronology

"Scar" is the fifteenth episode of the second season of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica television series. It aired originally on the Sci Fi Channel on February 3, 2006.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Notes 3 See also 4 External links

[edit] Plot

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 looking for easy kills. The asteroids make the DRADIS useless; the only way to protect the mining operation is by constant Viper patrols.

One Raider is nicknamed "Scar" due to a long gash in the side of its "face". Scar is feared among the Viper pilots as the best raider in the Cylon fleet. Its uncanny sneak attacks from hiding places behind asteroids and use of other Raiders to lure Viper wings to separate and become vulnerable have proven lethal. Like a predator, Scar strikes lone Vipers from their blind spots and then jumps away before the pilot's wingman can respond.

Capt. Starbuck swears she will hunt down and destroy Scar but is challenged by a rival, Louanne "Kat" Katraine, who vows to eliminate Scar first. 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 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 fighting a hangover, Starbuck is challenged by Kat during a pilots' briefing for not being on duty to defend a pilot who was killed by Scar. Starbuck orders all of the other pilots out of the room and the confrontation turns ugly, with Kat accusing Starbuck of not even honoring the lost pilots and Starbuck striking back about Kat's previous drug addiction. Kat hits Starbuck but the altercation is cut short by the arrival of Apollo, who decides to send Starbuck and Kat out together to eliminate Scar.

Starbuck learns from the Cylon prisoner Sharon that Raiders resurrect just like the humanoid Cylon models. Scar is very experienced, having learned from its mistakes time and time again, and holds an especially seething hatred for Viper pilots. Every time Scar has been destroyed and reborn it has suffered pain and is a machine filled with bitterness and anger. With the resurrection ship eliminated, Sharon 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 about her relationship with Anders. She forgoes a risky opportunity to eliminate the Cylon and instead lures Scar directly into Kat's line of fire where it is destroyed.

After the dogfight, Starbuck finally concedes the title of "Top Gun" to an ecstatic Kat for killing Scar, but not before toasting all of the pilots—by their individual call signs—who have perished since the war began, effectively sobering Kat's enthusiasm.

[edit] Notes

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (December 2007)

• 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].
• 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 II, where he discovered that doing so would allow him to see incoming Zeroes.
• The background music in the last scene is "Cavatina", better known as Stanley Myers's theme from The Deer Hunter.

[edit] See also

Music not original to Battlestar Galactica

[edit] External links

• "Scar" at the Battlestar Wiki
• Episode review at official website