Battlestar Galactica 2.15: "Scar"

Written by Bradley Thompson and David Weddle
Directed by Michael Nankin

In which the fleet stops to mine for materials needed to build more Vipers, but when the operation comes under attack by a seasoned Cylon, Starbuck comes face to face with her issues…


There are a lot of similarities between this episode and the previous installment, but I thought there were some fundamental differences that made this episode work. Despite the use of a writing device that has become an annoying bad habit (that “XX hours earlier” thing), events proceed according to a logical extension of what has come before in previous episodes this season.

That was the big difference for me. In the previous episode, Lee was taken into territory that qualifies as character development on a certain level, but didn’t match what had come before in an organic fashion. It makes sense that Lee would find himself in a dark place after his near-death experience, but the episode relied too much on retroactive continuity changes.

This episode, on the other hand, was the logical extension of several character threads. Starbuck in particular has been on this path for quite a while, and she created each and every one of her problems in this episode. All of her self-righteousness against Tigh earlier in the series comes back to haunt her, she creates her own worst nightmare in Kat, and she can’t seem to handle the fact that she’s still in love with a man who’s probably dead.

That’s what Lee was supposedly dealing with in the previous episode, but unlike that situation, we’ve seen Kara with Anders, and we know that she’s taken steps to attempt a rescue as recently as “Resurrection Ship”. It gives her actions and emotions in this episode context. In short, it builds on elements already present.

One of the similarities that I appreciated was the change in perspective. The previous episode delved into the ugly side of the civilian world, which hasn’t been seen very much, and this episode takes us into the world of the Viper pilots. A listen to the podcast for this episode reveals the amount of research that was applied to that depiction, which is why a number of elements ring true.

This provides Kara’s downward spiral with a strong context. Add to that a number of nuanced performances, and this episode shines all around. More than once, I was struck by how well the characters’ emotions were communicated without dialogue. I actually felt like I learned more about Lee’s recent descent from his few scenes in this episode than in the entire hour devoted to his psychology.

As I’ve said in reviews for other series, whenever an episode focuses on a single character, enjoyment of that episode is often predicated on a person’s like or dislike for that character. I’ll admit that I’m more interested in Kara than Lee, but that certainly wasn’t the only difference between the two episodes. For me, it came down to the fact that this episode was better the second time around, whereas the previous episode actually seemed worse on the second viewing.

While they aren’t necessary for an episode to be strong, the effects during the battle sequences were quite impressive and truly enhanced the gritty side of the Viper pilot lifestyle. The scene between Kara and Sharon was also quite good (and Sharon looked incredible, as always!). Likewise, the ultra-awkward Kara/Lee scene was something to behold. Those were just a few of the highlights, and for that reason, this was one of the better episodes of the season.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10