Just three episodes in, the new season of the smash Disney+ hit The Mandalorian has continued
to see Mando and the Child exploring parts yet unseen in the galaxy far,
far away. It's also found them encountering creatures
too frightful to mention for those who fear things with more than four legs.
Chapter 11 of The Mandalorian thankfully took a bit of a break from the creature feature
fantasia that dominated the first two episodes. Well, sort of. Titled "The Heiress," the latest
entry in Mando's quest to return the Child to his people saw the duo hitting the high seas,
and indeed running into yet another beastly foe. Luckily, Mando also ran into some people
of his own as he and the Child are helped out of their jam by a band of Mandalorian allies.
While this episode of The Mandalorian expands the world of the weapon-worshipping religious
sect in fascinating new ways, the arrival of those helmet-eschewing allies undoubtedly
delighted die hard Star Wars fans, because there are some very familiar Clone Wars names involved.
Chief among this is Bo-Katan, who featured prominently in the beloved
animated series as the head of House Kryze, and former Regent of Mandalore.
“What are you waiting for? Get out there!”
She was also the one-time wielder of the Darksaber, whose history she also details in
"The Heiress." While Star Wars fans were no doubt elated to hear that story and see Bo-Katan in the
flesh, they were likely just as happy to see the face of the actor portraying the fearsome warrior,
as she also voiced the character in the animated series. Her name is Katee Sackhoff,
and any true sci-fi fan should be quite familiar with her face.
Here's why Bo-Katan from The Mandalorian looks so familiar.
If you do call yourself a true sci-fi fan, Katee Sackhoff's face is probably familiar to you
because it was often front and center on one of the best-loved
sci-fi programs of the past two decades. That series was Ronald D. Moore's utterly
brilliant modern update of the classic sci-fi saga Battlestar Galactica, which found the
last remnants of humanity on the run from a murderous race of man-made android enemies,
and in desperate search of a fabled planet that may serve as mankind's new home.
“I’ve been to Earth. I know where it is.”
The series premiered on Syfy back in 2004, and quickly became a massive hit with both fans
of the original 1970s show and those who'd never heard of Adama [uh-DAHM-uh], Apollo,
Cylons [SIGH-lohns], or Viper fighters. Even if they'd never heard those names,
it's possible they had heard the name Starbuck before — not only from the pages of Herman
Melville's iconic novel Moby Dick, but also because the hotshot Viper pilot's name was
probably the most prominent to arise from the original Battlestar Galactica series.
Portrayed by Dirk Benedict in the original series, Starbuck got a much-needed modernizing for the
Syfy series reboot, with Moore transforming the cocksure pilot into a fearsome femme
the likes of which sci-fi fans had never really seen before. And yes, Katee Sackhoff was the
actor tasked with resurrecting that character for the new Battlestar Galactica. To simply say
she did that would be a gross understatement, though. More than any actor in the series,
Sackhoff didn't just resurrect her character — she wholly reinvented it, delivering what can only be
described as a towering performance almost too big even for the epic series around it.
Of course, if you've somehow slept on Battlestar Galactica over the years, it's possible you
recognize Sackhoff from a plethora of other notable small screen turns as the actor has
also appeared on the likes of Longmire, 24, and most recently Netflix's Another Life. She
also turned up in a certain CW Arrowverse hit as one of DC Comics' toughest underground kingpins.
That Arrowverse hit is none other than The Flash, which means the underground in question belongs
to Barry Allen's hometown of Central City. And yes, that was indeed Katee Sackhoff portraying
the nefarious Amunet Black on the hit CW drama. A meta-human with significant power,
Amunet Black was the premiere dealer of weaponizing tech on Central City's black market,
and therefore supplied many of Team Flash's foes with the destructive
tools of their villainous trades. In turn, Amunet Black's business dealings
more often than not put her in direct conflict with Barry and his allies.
In spite of her prominent role in the Central City underworld, Sackhoff's character appeared in just
six episodes of The Flash during its seven-season run on the CW,
most of which came during the series' fourth season. But even in such a limited capacity,
Sackhoff more than made her mark on the series, crafting a villainess as ruthless, relentless,
and delightfully devious as any that ever faced off against Barry and his do-gooding
gang — even if the character doesn't always get the respect she so richly deserves.
While Katee Sackhoff has largely made her name on television, the actor has managed to rack up
some impressive big screen credits over the years. She actually got her first big break after landing
a key role in 2002's flawed but fun Halloween sequel Halloween: Resurrection, and has since
appeared in genre delights like 2013's Riddick and 2016's gothic chiller Don't Knock Twice.
If you want to see Katee Sackhoff at her big screen best, however,
look no further than the 2013 creeper she made with Mike Flanagan. Yes,
that Mike Flanagan, the very genre mastermind behind such modern horror classics as Hush,
Gerald's Game, Doctor Sleep, and Netflix's breathtaking The Haunting of Hill House series.
Before delivering those frightful delights to the masses, Flanagan actually scored
a modest hit with a little haunted mirror creeper by the name of Oculus.
It's understandable if the term "haunted mirror" made you cringe a little.
And the initial setup of Flanagan's Oculus (which follows a woman attempting to clear her brother
of murder charges by proving the culprit was actually the haunted artifact in question)
really is a bit silly. But if Flanagan has proven anything over the years, it's that he can turn
even the silliest of premises into a soul-stirring and genuinely terrifying cinematic treat.
That's just what Flanagan does with Oculus, delivering a haunted mirror marvel that simply has
no business being as effective as it is. Flanagan bolsters the film's impact by
pulling brilliant turns from his cast, including Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites,
Rory Cochran, and a never better Katee Sackhoff as the tragically departed family matriarch.
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