GWC Re-Watch Frak Party: Scar

Frak Party Archives BSG Frak Party Archive
#1

It’s week twenty-six of our planned off-season re-watch of the entire “re-imagined” BSG canon, and it’s time to move on to the season 2.5 episode “Scar.” So why not join us here for the GWC online frak party? There’s room for everyone, though you’ll have to bring your own snacks…

Feel free to jump in at any point with your comments on this week’s episode as the re-watch is by definition spoiler free. We’ll be in and out, but we’ll definitely take a look at your comments before we start next week’s podcast.

And for those who’re debating whether or not to jump in, you may recall that earlier this spring, GWCers voted Scar “The Hottest ‘other’ character in BSG” by a landslide:

http://www.galacticawatercooler.com/2007/05/30/watercooler-watercooler-on-the-wall/

#2

Since this is a Big Kara Episode I’ll post about my favorite fall tv antipatory article, sent my way by a friend who laughs at me for claiming Katee Sackhoff as my celebrity girlfriend.
http://www.slate.com/id/2174389/nav/tap2/

Starbuck is one of Slate Magazines top reasons to watch the new season of television!

Bringing this back to Scar: I didn’t like this ep so much when I saw it the first time, but the second viewing really changed my opinion. We’ll see how the third time goes.

#3

That’s interesting. Why no love the first time 'round? I’ve always thought it one of the better episodes (unique, I think, in that it works both as a stand-alone and a series-builder.) Sci-Fi thought so too, b/c they put this one up for free streaming on their web site for quite a while.

#4

Scar is a sexy beast.

Er, I swear I had something more intelligent to say…
Oh right, this is a cool episode-the music, as usual, is excellent and I love the device of going back in time.

#5

This is such an excellent episode. And, in the great and strange tradition of BSG, it’s also very tough to watch.

I think you all know my feelings about the Buckster by now, so seeing her going through such turmoil (even by her standards) is rough.

I also hate that Kat is such a persnickety little upstart in this one. Yeah, the conflict between her and Starbuck is epic and entertaining, but it still annoys me.

THis episode also deftly uses a flashback method that could easily have been cliched.

I hardcore, hardcore love that scene with Kat and Starbuck out on the run and there’s the confrontation with Scar that we’ve been building up to all episode. Starbuck suddenly opening her eyes and using to teamwork to bag Scar is so visually stunning.

I love the scene in the mess where Lee is so surprised by the fact that Starbuck remembers all the downed pilots names. So cool and sad and when TIgh starts to get all choked up I always lose it.

ANd hey, a whole episode about Viper pilots? Sign me up!

#6

I got REALLY hung up on how downloading works and felt like the logical conclusions I could draw from what I knew at that point led me to something that didn’t make sense: why would the Raiders have distinct personalities? Did they, even? And if they did, and were creatures advanced enough for one develop such advanced tactical and battle skills, why wouldn’t the Cylons program all the Raiders to learn from the experience of all the others? And, wasn’t it cruel and hypocritical of the Cylons to create warriors who could think and feel and adapt, who were apparently sentient (definitely more intelligent than a really smart horse or dog… maybe more like a dolphin or higher order primate like the bonobos or the monkeys that make spears for hunting)? I got waaaayyy too stuck on all those questions to enjoy the excellent action or the beauty of Starbuck’s breakdown.

Also, at that point I couldn’t see Kat without feeling such a strong and withering disdain that it kind of ruined episodes in which she was important.

All those criticisms aside, the second time around I really enjoyed “Scar.” After “Torn” and “Unfinished Business” aired last year (before I got on the GWC train around 3.5) I treated myself to a review of important Kara episodes.

#7

No, you’re entirely right. Part of what makes the episode so awesome is that Scar is just an incredibly cool looking, battle damaged ship. I mean, really, it’s the first raider with “personality”.

#8

Hello all…I’m new to the watercooler and just jumping into the mix with this episode, so hey.

Like Starbuccaneer, I also have had problems in the past enjoying episodes featuring Kat. I’ve never been able to truly enjoy the character. I don’t know if it’s a matter of not liking the character herself, the actor, or a feeling that it’s just a poor casting choice. At the end of the day…I think it’s the latter.

With that said, I still find Scar to be an excellent episode. It really shines the spotlight on the Viper pilots, who are the warrior caste of Galactica. It’s always interesting to examine the psychology behind what makes those such as them tick…to put themselves in harm’s way…whether it be duty, glory, vengence, or something else.

This episode is obviously also very focused on Kara, providing a great deal of character development and insight (with the bonus of some kickass space dogfighting). In addition to struggling through her guilt, both at the loss of pilots and her leaving behind of Sam and the resistance fighters on Caprica, the episode highlights some of the intricacies of her relationships with the other characters. I truly enjoy the scene with Sharon where she says, “Sometimes I look at you and forget what you really are…” That short interchange really captures the substance of the Cylon dilema. Also at the forefront is her complex love/hate relationship with Lee, and the true friendship she has with Helo. Finally, I think Kat serves to hold a mirror up to Starbuck, and make her question herself and her motives. In the competition with Kat and eventual battle with Scar, she learns that there is more to life than the glory of battle.

All in all, it’s a great episode, especially if you’re a fan of everyone’s favourite specially destined Viper pilot. Or if you like watching Kara spit booze on Apollo. 'Cause that’s all kinds of awesome.

#9

I’m guessing then you loved the snipe that Starbuck makes at Kat when she leads Scar into Kat’s line of fire, which I didn’t catch before: “Don’t miss, you frakkin’ stim junkie.” That had me laughing.

#10

I totally agree, and the episode is beautifully cut. For example, when Starbuck’s viper takes fire and she says, “I’m hit, I’m hit,” and there’s the brief flash to Kat punching her in the face. And all the other stream-of-consciousness associations that are worked into that scene as Starbuck is torn between making a high-risk run on Scar vs. letting Kat take the shot.

#11

Me too. Actually I found the entire episode to be emotionally gripping.

Like the powerful scene between Kara and Sharon, with Sharon reaching out to touch Kara in this real moment of tenderness, only to be abruptly cut off by the snapping of rifles. Wow.

And knowing what happens to Kat in “Passage,” I was completely gripped by the scene where Starbuck and Kat are totally digging into each other’s psychological sores and Starbuck says that Kat’s deepest fear is that she’ll end up an anonymous photograph on the wall. Knowing that ultimately Starbuck will be the one to post that photograph and that she’ll ask for her own photograph to be placed next to Kat’s–it just adds this powerful layer to all their interactions here.

And I love the ending, with Starbuck and Helo having that playful moment together. It was just sweet and beautiful, and struck the perfect exit note for this episode.

#12

This has been discussed before and will be discussed again: how exactly does Sharon have some, but not all of, Boomer’s memories? We are led to believe that the only time Cylons “goolessly” transmit their consciousness is at the moment of death. And then it’s a cut-and-paste rather than a copy-and-paste function. Does this mean that, sometime between Boomer’s first contact with the Galactica crew and the start of the series, she had contact with the Cylons, stuck her hand in some goo, and downloaded her memories that way? Are the memories available to all Cylons? (Is this how all the Cylons seem to know who Starbuck is without having met her?) Or just the number 8 models? Or just this particular model? Someone tell me.

#13

I wonder if we’ll see a toaster-model Cylon with some personality before the show ends. There must have been some at some point, right?

#14

Ok, I’m glad I’m not the only one who isn’t in love with Kat. Most of the time I just see her as a whining little brat who is a little too big for her britches. I think Kara is dead on when she says to Kat that all her bravado and posturing is really just fear. Not that dealing with your fear by slamming down quarts of alcohol is any better, but it seems to suit Starbucks character at this point. I love Katie Sackhoff, another great performance. Makes me pine away for the good-ole-days of season one when life was simple: Cylons were black and white bad and Starbuck kicks ass and bucks authority.

dave

#15

I think this is the first time we have a cut scene snuck into a later, finished episode by way of the “Previously on…” montage. (The only other exception might be the voice-over explaining Fisk’s promotion in “Black Market” – although maybe Adama actually said that on-screen, I don’t recall; at any rate, it would have been self-evident without it, but I digress…) Of course, now having seen the extended cut of “Pegasus,” I realize that the scene with Starbuck, Adama and Roslin discussing going back to Caprica was “there all along.” But I’m going to keep an eye out for other times when this is done. Seems pretty sneaky and not quite cricket to me. Harrumph. :slight_smile:

#16

Great episode !! A really nice blend of character and action. Kara’s falling apart, off balance, and Kat is like a predator circling, using it to her advantage, sensing easy prey. (Like Scar ??) Maybe Kat feels this is her way in, to be really accepted by these people she’s become a part of under less than honest circumstances, as we know now. She’s got some talent to go with her big mouth, that can’t be denied.
Good to be able to see the pilots hanging out, get into their world a bit more. Maverick, Goose, and Ice Man would be broke, beaten, and bounced out the hatch within minutes with these dudes !!
SPFX awesome awesome awesome, from the asteroid fields to the gun camera films, to the contrails from Kara’s wounded bird…Top knotch !!
I did make the mistake of drinking rum and cokes during the watch, and ended up ALMOST getting weepy during the lost pilot’s toast scene at the end, ALMOST !! And in front of my dog, too, which would have been really embarrassing.
This EP gets my highest rating…FOUR HOOVES UP.

#17

What Strathcona said about the Starbuck/Kat dynamic is perfect. In the battle with Scar, Starbuck realizes that she’d rather try to repair herself than continue drinking herself blind and quickly go out in a blaze of glory. She has to give the kill itself to Kat in order to complete the mission and she makes peace with that (and isn’t even snarky to Kat when her “cup runneth dry”). On the other hand, Kat doesn’t seem to recognize that she wouldn’t have gotten Scar on her own. She’s too consumed with her own self-doubt to be a great warrior. I wish we’d seen more of the New Caprica year from the fleet’s perspective to know if she grew up and into the role of CAG.

Secondly: I LOVE the music in this episode. Especially in one of my favorite sequences: Kara bitch slaps Lee, kisses him hard, shoves him aside, steals his liquor and leaves… cut to her almost crying in the briefing room, watching the gun cam film over and over, draining the bottle. That discordant undercurrent to the scoring communicates Kara’s pain as effectively as Katee’s acting.

#18

Well, I will provide a “before and after” type post. I haven’t puchased Season 2 and really wasn’t planning to. GWC has turned that around for me…I’ll be picking it up on the way home so I can participate in the rewatch.

So, this is my “before” post in which I will quickly summarize my feelings about this episode after having watched it twice (I’ll explain in a moment why twice)

I hated it. Absolutely loathed it. The worst part was that I had no idea why. Wasn’t this the episode Ron Moore had talked up on his previous podcast? It certainly was. Wasn’t this the episode the entire fanbase was jumping up and down in excitement over? Yup. I couldn’t understand it.

The next day I decided I had to watch it again. Maybe I was simply in a bad mood or not the right mindset. Got to the end and was still befuddled. This episode had great moments, awesome visuals and effects, good character development…what was wrong? Why did I hate it so?

Cat. Fraking Cat. Cat destroyed this episode for me. The more I thought about it the more I realized it was true. She ruined this episode for a singular reason I am truly ashamed to admit: I couldn’t understand a word she was saying. Don’t get me wrong, I am very good with languages and normally don’t have any trouble understanding people speaking with thick drawls or speaking English as a second language.

I don’t know if it was something about how she was directed to speak or if she made a choice for this particular episode…but her delivery had this bizarre combination of hiss and slur that literally ripped me out of the moment everytime she spoke. Everytime. Everytime I would have to pause, rewind and listen again…sometimes having to go back for a third time. I didn’t get it…I never had before, nor did I ever again have a problem understanding her or anyone on the show. On this specific episode however…no dice. No chance.

So there you have it. I am still ashamed to even speak of it, but I wanted to share this with you. I am sincerely hoping on my rewatch this problem has evaporated and perhaps I just a problem in that moment in my life.

Am I totally alone on this? Just curious.

#19

I like the connection made with the Raiders and the Viper pilots learning from deaths. The Raiders from their own and the Viper pilots from their fellow pilots by studying the gun camera photage. And they both hurt.

#20

I was a bit surprised by the choice of music in the end of the episode. Has there been any official comment on it? If it was due to some late changes or so?
Felt a bit out of place when one usually get to hear Bear McCreary pieces in the series.