Scar

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"Scar" An episode of the Re-imagined Series
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Overview

An ace Cylon Raider, nicknamed "Scar" by the Viper pilots, has been causing problems for the Fleet. Starbuck and Kat compete to hunt it down while Starbuck pines for "a dead guy".

Summary

• Several Viper pilots have been killed while guarding the Majahual, an ore mining ship located on top of metal ore-rich asteroid. The Fleet's goal is to gather sufficient ore there to create two new squadrons of Vipers.
• With the Resurrection Ship destroyed as well as most of the nearest Cylon fleet, the Cylons are far less brazen in attacks, sending only a few Raiders to harass the mining operation.
• Galactica stays behind to guard the mining operation with their CAP, while Pegasus stays with the civilian fleet at a remote location.
• There is too much debris in the system to use DRADIS to quickly sight and kill the Raiders. Combat Air Patrols are needed instead, using their Mark One Eyeball to find the Raiders.
• One particular Raider, known as "Scar" is the cause of the pilot deaths.
• Kat, now a seasoned and very talented pilot, challenges Starbuck over the "Top Gun" beer stein (currently held by Thrace) with the downing of Scar.
• Thrace's depression over the inability to convince Admiral Adama and President Roslin to return to Caprica to rescue Samuel Anders and his resistance causes her to drink excessively and behave very rashly. To suppress her feelings on the inability to fulfill her promise, Thrace begins to tell herself that Anders is dead.
• Thrace turns to Sharon Valerii for advice regarding Scar. Valerii explains that Raiders can reincarnate as well, and with the Resurrection Ship destroyed, Scar will do anything to survive.
• Valerii also mentions that "he probably hates you (Thrace) as much as you hate him", as well as asking "how many of us" [sic] did Scar kill. In an unguarded moment, Valerii and Thrace reminisce over old times, but when Valerii reaches to touch Thrace in friendship, marines on guard make it clear that it is not permitted. As a distraught Thrace leaves, Sharon tells her to be careful.
• When a rookie pilot from Pegasus, BB, is killed, Kat berates Starbuck for giving him "textbook" advice. Later, Kat berates a hungover Starbuck again for being late to lead her own pilot's briefing as well as assigning Jo-Jo in her place on CAP, which leads to his death at the hands of Scar.
• Thrace and Lee Adama talk over drinks, when Thrace propositions Adama for a "quick lay." The two pilots attack each other, clothes flying, but Thrace is too aggressive, which turns Adama's desire almost completely off. He asks her what was wrong, and she admits that her feelings for Samuel Anders are very confused. When Adama tells her that it's the "living guys" she can't deal with, Thrace is so confused that she slaps Adama, then kisses him for his thoughtfulness in reminding her that he is her friend before she leaves his quarters.
• Starbuck is on patrol with Kat as her wingman when they spot a Raider. Both chase the Raider, but Scar is using that second Raider as a decoy and tries to ambush them from behind.
• Starbuck's instincts tell her to check their "six" (rear), which successfully locates Scar but leaves her Viper with moderate damage when Scar scores hits on her Viper.
• Starbuck leads Scar into a canyon on an asteroid, flips, and flies at Scar on a collision course. Kat shouts at Starbuck to break off as Scar is a machine and won't break off. Starbuck realizes this; she is making a suicide run, as her mind begins to drift out of focus as she thinks of Anders.
• At the last moment, Starbuck breaks off her CBDR run, and Scar chases her. Starbuck instructs Kat to ambush him from behind while Starbuck lures him into Kat's killzone, in a similar ambush that Scar attempted on them. The ambush is successful, with Kat winning her challenge over Starbuck.
• Starbuck fills the "Top Gun" beer stein for Kat and congratulates her. Then, Starbuck praises the memory of the many pilots lost to Scar and past battles. Admiral Adama and Colonel Tigh, both laudable Viper pilots themselves in the Cylon War, attend the celebration. Admiral Adama ends the tribute with "So say we all."
• Training with Helo in the gym, Starbuck says that she could have killed Scar, but she would have killed herself in the process. Helo tells her that backing off and letting her wingman get the kill was the right thing to do. Helo notes that Starbuck didn't make the suicide run, because she has something to live for now in Anders.

Questions

• Is Scar a reincarnation of the Cylon Raider that Starbuck captures in "You Can't Go Home Again?"
• The Fleet has obtained enough metal ore to (eventually) construct two new squadrons of Vipers: will they be Mark II's, or Mark VII's?
  • It is likely that the Pegasus production facilities will create Mark VIIs, as the Pegasus is a more modern battlestar than Galactica (which does not have these facilities). Since the Mark IIs are outdated models that were only on Galactica for museum purposes, the blueprints and equipment molds in the production facilities are most likely not set to produce equipment for the older Vipers.
  • They may also decide to produce more of the stealth fighters, as they have now seen their combat and surprise capabilities.
• With Thrace serving on Galactica, who is instructing nuggets on Pegasus?
• If Raiders reincarnate so that Cylon forces can benefit from their learned experience, why don't Centurions? (It was noted that Centurions cannot reincarnate in RDM's January 20 blog entry.)
  • The three basic Cylon models represent something of a spectrum of advancement: from their original, purely mechanical form (the Centurions), to the almost-entirely "organic" forms (the humanoid Cylons). The Raiders are described (podcast, "Six Degrees of Separation") as supposed to be "in the gap" between Number Six and a Centurion. Centurions cannot resurrect, and they also contain none of the more advanced bio-mechanical technology the Cylons have developed (as demonstrated by destroyed Centurions, etc). Raiders, on the other hand, do contain "bio-mechanical" technology, albeit not as advanced as that used in humanoid Cylons. Perhaps the resurrection technology is based on that bio-mechanical "wetware".
    • Also, the Cylons may believe that fighter-piloting takes more skill than infantry combat.
• Do Cylon Basestars also have the ability to reincarnate given that they appear to be composed of similar bio-mechanical technology as the Raiders?
  • Although humanoid Cylons are truly sentient, Raiders are not; but Raiders do have a level of self-awarenes, as an animal. Perhaps, although Basestars make use of some bio-mechanical materials, are even less developed, and they do not actually possess a "consciousness" at all.
• As Apollo was not flying in this episode and is in a supporting role, could the events of "Scar" be taking place concurrently with the events of "Black Market," given that neither Starbuck or Kat are featured in that episode?
  • Based on the population counts or Fleet status, it's not likely that the episode events are running concurrently. In "Black Market," the Fleet is united (else, Apollo could not fly to Cloud Nine or the Prometheus). In "Scar," Galactica and the Majahual are in one system while Pegasus guards the rest of the Fleet in another location.
  • As CAG of two battlestars, Apollo need not fly in every mission now with the relatively high levels of existing pilots and new recruits from Pegasus as well as Galactica's own pilots. Since Starbuck appears to have returned to her 2nd pilot in command status (acting as CAG in Apollo's absence), she manages some CAG responsibilities on Galactica, such as pilot briefings. Kat appears to brief pilots as well, suggesting she is higher in the pilot command chain than before.
• How are the consciousnesses of dead Raiders "stored"? The resurrection ship images only showed humanoid bodies awaiting download from deceased Cylon agents, no full Raiders nor dissociated bio-mechanical brains awaiting transfer.
  • There may have been bio-mechanical brains in storage we didn't see; also, the ship acts as a transmitter and could simply transmit their consciousnesses to accompanying basestars.

Analysis

• The title "Scar" refers to the "ace" Cylon Raider this episode centers around. While all Cylon Raiders appear visually identical, this particular unit has extensive hull damage, whether from asteroid impacts, scoring from near-misses or other debris, giving it a weathered, craggy look - essentially, "battle scars".
• Many of the pilots Starbuck toasts are minor and recurring characters who have died in previous episodes. In the order she lists them:
  • Flat Top - killed in deck accident in "Act of Contrition", along with twelve others.
  • Chuckles - killed in action during the Battle for the Tylium Asteroid in "The Hand of God".
  • Jolly - killed in action in the Miniseries, along with nineteen others.
  • Crashdown - shot by Dr. Gaius Baltar in "Fragged".
  • Flyboy - killed in action by a Cylon Centurion in Valley of Darkness.
  • Stepchild - killed in action during the Battle for the Tylium Asteroid in "The Hand of God".
  • Fireball - killed in action during the Battle for the Tylium Asteroid in "The Hand of God".
• Among those not mentioned were Capt. Jackson "Ripper" Spencer, KIA in the Miniseries, and Karma, KIA in "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I".
  • This may be truthfully reflecting Starbuck's earlier comment that she can't remember the names of all of the pilots that have died. This is acknowledged in the podcast.

• During the "previously on Battlestar Galactica" intro, a clip of a scene which has never actually aired before in any episode was played. Judging by Adama's rank insignia, it appears to be from the time when he was still a Commander. In the scene, Starbuck argues to Adama and Roslin that they must mount a rescue operation to save the Caprica Resistance, but Adama and Roslin are in agreement that it is impossible and tell her they can't. What episode this was originally meant for is unknown:
  • Thrace: The Resistance base camp is here (points at a map) 300 klicks north of the only Cylon airbase in the area...
  • Roslin: I respect what you're trying to do here, however...
  • Thrace: We have a duty to the people we left behind.
  • Adama: We understand that.
  • Thrace: We have to find a way to Jump back to Caprica, and go get them--
  • Adama: --Kara!
• During the "in this episode" sequence of the credits, there are two images not seen in the episode; one of Starbuck standing at a distance, and one of a gun being placed before the camera. These could have been cut from the training scene.
• This episode was the third of the most recent four episodes to begin in medias res, after Resurrection Ship, Part II and Black Market. Though the technique was used well in this episode -- aside from the use of the same endpoint, with Starbuck and Scar charging toward each other, for both acts III and IV -- its apparent prevalance in the series here detracts from the episode. (However, RDM's podcast for "Black Market" indicates that beginning that episode with Lee's confrontation with Phelan was not part of the original script and was done as an act of "desperation".)
  • This episode's use of the flashbacks, going back and forth between past and current events, resembled "Act of Contrition" than either of the Season Two episodes mentioned above.
  • While the openings of "Resurrection Ship, Part II" and "Black Market" were a quick teaser from the end of the episode, jumping back to the beginning (to "hook" the audience), this entire episode was structured around such flashbacks. RDM stated that the flashbacks in the other episodes were done to get the audience's attention, (as stated above, "Black Market" wasn't even supposed to have this). "Epiphanies" also had flashbacks, but these were not in media res flashforwards to later events, but straightforward flashbacks.
• Regular series writers David Weddle and Bradley Thompson seem more responsible than anyone else for expanding the minor pilot characters as the series has progressed. They wrote "Act of Contrition", in which the nuggets were introduced, then "The Hand of God", which was the second time they all appeared (and when Chuckles died). Kat and Hot Dog then reappeared in "Scattered" and "Valley of Darkness", which Weddle and Thompson also wrote. The character of Kat received more development since "Flight of the Phoenix", the writers' most recent entry before this episode.

Notes

• As most of this episode is told in flashback, the survivor count is a little confusing. The episode begins with Kat and Starbuck's final mission against Scar, then flashes back to 4 days earlier, within the teaser. The survivor count is then shown to be 4 less than last week's count. Does this include the pilots killed by Scar? (because most of what we seen in the episode happens in the "past"?)
  • At least three people died onscreen in Black Market (Fisk, Phelan, and Fisk's killer), and there was more than 1 pilot killed by Scar, so presumably the survivor count is for the "96 hours previously" section.
• As the episode begins, mining ship Majahual has been conducting operations in a thick asteroid field for 29 days.
• Kat is now qualified to fly Viper Mk. VIIs.
• New nuggets are still being trained and added to the Fleet's ranks. Kat's assertion that "no replacements are coming" in "Final Cut" appears to no longer be relevant with the arrival of Pegasus and her resources.
  • It was mentioned in "Act of Contrition" that Galactica didn't have any flight training simulators and so preferred to train pilots that had prior flight experience. With the arrival of Pegasus it is likely that the fleet now has Viper flight simulators and so pilots can now be trained more easily.
• Nuggets enter the Colonial Fleet at the rank of Ensign after completing flight training.
• Pilot training apparently takes place on Pegasus, with recruits being assigned to Galactica afterward.
  • This is probably a result of the circumstances imposed by Majahual's extended mining operation. Pegasus is outside of the combat zone, guarding the civilians, while Galactica was constantly on guard for attack. Logically, trainee pilots would not be deployed to the combat zone until after they got their wings. Now that they have finished mining and have moved on, training may continue on both.
• Kara Thrace retains the rank of captain, but is now serving as a pilot on Galactica under CAG Lee Adama.
• The Fleet has found an asteroid containing large supplies of vital metals needed to build completely new Vipers in earnest (instead of making do with what spare parts they have). The Fleet has obtained a large enough supply of metals to create two entire squadrons of Vipers. (It has never been definitively stated how many Vipers are in a "squadron", but based on non-official concept outlines various interviews, it is probably 20.)
  • Pegasus has Viper production facilities, one of her more modern capabilities that Galactica lacks. During the episode, the Pegasus production team finishes its first combat-ready Viper.
• Anders appears in flashbacks (re-used footage) in this episode.
• Gaius Baltar and Number Six do not appear in this episode.
• Chief Tyrol appears very briefly in this episode. Cally is mentioned, but does not appear.
• Lt. Gaeta and Dualla appear in this episode, seen in CIC, but have no speaking lines.
• Starbuck and Kat use the word motherfrakker in this episode, its second use since it was introduced in "Valley of Darkness"
• In the podcast, it is revealed that a scene was cut of the pilots auctioning off Reilly's possessions, a tradition from the British Navy during the Napoleonic War Era. This auction, RDM explains, was a tribute to the fallen, as well as serving the practical purpose of recycling resources. There would be a shot of Apollo holding up Reilly's "skin" magazine and taking bids, etc. This "skin" magazine can be briefly seen when Starbuck is packing it into a box of Reilly's personal effects. (Its name appears to be "Nymph".) During the following scene when they're talking about Scar in the pilot's loungeroom ("88 hours ago"), if you look closely in the background, you can see Hot Dog reading it, presumably having won the auction.
• Lee Adama doesn't fly in this episode, and is never seen in a flight suit. A lot of the day-to-day work of being the CAG, such as assigning and briefing pilots, falls to Starbuck.
• The little model plane on top of the "Top Gun" mug sported by Starbuck and Kat is actually a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet.
• This episode bears some similarities to the Space: Above and Beyond episodes "Never No More" and "The Angriest Angel", both of which dealt with the introduction of an "ace" alien fighter and its detrimental effect upon the Earth military's morale, and the ensuing efforts of a main character to hunt him down.
• The song that plays in the final scene of this episode is "Cavatina", famous as the theme from the film "The Deer Hunter".

Noteworthy Dialogue

• Drinking heavily late at night, Apollo and Starbuck commiserate over all of the pilots that have died:

Apollo: You know what gets me? I know that in two weeks, I won't remember his face. I can't remember any of their faces after they're killed. No matter how hard I try, they just fade.

Starbuck: I don't even remember their names.

Apollo: Names. Oh, let's see, there was- there was Flat Top. (Starbuck spits some of her drink on him) Who bought it on his thousandth landing. There was Chuckles. (Starbuck spits out some more beer) Stop it, already. Please, not funny. All right. It's not funny.

Starbuck: It is funny. You know the President says that we're saving humanity for a bright, shiny future. On Earth. That you and I are never gonna see. We're not. Because we go out over and over again until someday, some metal mother frakker is gonna catch us on a bad day and just blow us away.

Apollo: Bright, shiny futures are overrated anyway.

Starbuck: That is why we gotta get what we can. Right now.

• After Starbuck pours Kat a drink in her new Galactica Top Gun mug, she raises a toast to nearly every pilot that has died since the re-imagined series began:

Starbuck: To BB, Jo-Jo, Reilly, Beano, Dipper, Flat Top, Chuckles, Jolly, Crashdown, Sheppard, Dash, Flyboy, Stepchild, Puppet, Fireball...(stops, crying)

Apollo: To all of 'em.

Admiral Adama: So say we all.

Crew: So say we all!.

Starbuck: So say we all.

• Kat responds to Starbuck's runaway drinking, after being called a "stim junkie":

Kat: One Tigh on this ship's enough.

Official Statements

• According to an interview on Subject2Discussion.com on January 3rd, 2006, along with "Home" (Parts One, Two), and "The Farm", this is one of Katee Sackhoff's favorite episodes.

Guest stars

• Luciana Carro as Lieutenant Louanne "Kat" Katraine
  
• Bodie Olmos as Lieutenant Brendan "Hot Dog" Constanza
  
• Aaron Douglas as Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol
  
• Christian Tessier as Lieutenant Tucker "Duck" Clellan
  
• Tahmoh Penikett as Lieutenant Karl "Helo" Agathon
  
• Sean J. Dory as Ensign Joseph "Jo-Jo" Clark
  
• Christopher Jacot as Ensign Brent "BB" Baxton