Battlestar Galactica: Every Starbuck Episode Ranked Worst To Best

3. Flesh And Bone

Battlestar Galatica Starbuck Leoben
Universal Studios

With Kara sidelined from piloting any Vipers while her leg heals up, she is enlisted for a new duty: interrogation. After a fleetwide search is conducted, another copy of the Leoben model - the same one that Adama beat to death with a pipe on Ragnar station - is found and brought to a cell. From the first moment, he shares that he knows something more about Starbuck than he should.

Leoben and Kara's relationship is one of the most fascinating plotlines in all of Battlestar Galactica. While he is adamant that he is a servant of God, she is staunch in her belief that his God doesn't exist, and he is simply delusional. She tortures him for information, based on the lie that he has planted a bomb in the fleet.

Over the course of their time in the cell together, she develops something of an attachment to him - something that the audience will see come back again and again before the end of the show, requiring President Roslin to snap her back to reality.

The episode is one of the darkest of the show's first season, complete with two stellar central performances.

Contributor
Contributor

Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"