"Scar" | |
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Battlestar Galactica episode | |
The Cylon Raider nicknamed Scar.
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Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 15 |
Directed by | Michael Nankin |
Written by |
David Weddle Bradley Thompson |
Original air date | February 3, 2006 |
Guest appearance(s) | |
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"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.
In the episode, Viper pilots Starbuck and Kat form a rivalry over which of them will destroy Scar, a feared Cylon Raider. Tormented by her feelings for Sam Anders, Starbuck nearly allows Scar to kill her in a game of chicken. In the end, she swerves and lures Scar to Kat, who destroys Scar.
Executive producer Ronald D. Moore insisted that the episode include only one dogfight. As a result, the episode focuses on the differences between Starbuck and Kat and how their personalities come into conflict rather than on space combat. Their mutual animosity has been identified as an inversion of typical gender roles, especially in comparison with the male pilot Apollo. According to one analysis, Scar represents more than just a professional rivalry, but both characters' personal demons.
Critical reception to "Scar" was mostly positive. The episode appeared on several retrospective "best of" lists.
Drunk in the pilots' mess, Starbuck vows to destroy Scar, a Raider known as the Cylons' ace of aces and dreaded for his sneak attacks. Kat challenges Starbuck, getting her to bet her beer stein labeled "Galactica Top Gun". Later, Kat interrupts Starbuck during a briefing, breaks her record in a test of shooting a side arm accurately while dizzy, and chastises her after her advice gets a rookie pilot killed by Scar.