Thursday DPP: The Incomparables
Mar. 15th, 2012 07:51 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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no_takebacksWe like to think of the pilots as unique. And of course they are; our gutsy but screwy Kara and noble but flawed Lee, simmering away in their tortuous stew of baggage and war and Hero Problems and temperamental differences—they’re in a class of their own.
But do we see other duos in pop culture who have something in common with their dynamic? Mulder and Scully’s way of perfectly complementing each other, professionally? Dharma and Greg’s exaggeratedly mismatched approaches to law and social conventions? From Casablanca, Rick and Ilsa’s situation of being separated by side effects of a culture of war?
Do we know other individual characters who are like either one of them? (Is it just me, or does Dawson Leary tell us something about a young Lee Adama? Tell me if you hate that idea, I can handle it.) Some of the characters who remind me most of Kara are strong female characters on nighttime soaps, like Sandra Oh’s Christina on Grey’s Anatomy and Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl. ‘Cause ladies who are both powerful and flawed ain’t the easiest to come by.
Though I haven’t read it yet, I know there’s an impressively scaled Hunger Games/BSG crossover fic out there. I wonder if Katniss, Peeta, and Gale tell us anything about Kara and Lee (and Sam).
So—to whom should we compare the pilots?
Who do we see in shades of Starbuck and Apollo? In what ways? Too many of my examples above are from American TV (sorry), but let's allow our brains to roam through whatever we want. TV, movies, books, graphic novels—nothing’s off the table. This would also be a great time to rec crossovers that tap into an AU dynamic.
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Date: 2012-03-15 01:01 pm (UTC)Another fictional couple that reminds me of pilots is Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox from Tana French's mystery novel In the Woods. They're cop partners and they do get entangled and...manage to spectacularly fuck themselves up. But this K/L graphic (http://no-takebacks.livejournal.com/30358.html#cutid1) with a quote from In the Woods that I made really symbolizes that bond I think. Such an excellent book!
I see shades of pilots and their relationship in other characters here and there but these two are the most strongly reminiscent of them for me.
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Date: 2012-03-15 04:22 pm (UTC)spoilers inherent
Date: 2012-03-15 04:44 pm (UTC)Kat and Gale are much younger, but I think they share the whole "should've been together but doomed by fate" angle. The whole scene in the woods at the beginning of THG just made me fall in love with their partnership and so reminded me of pilots on Kobol working in tandem, and she's always leaving him (sniff), and the kiss in CF reminds me of Home and....Kat's guilt for Peeta mirrors Kara's for Sam (and Zak) to me. And....yeah. I guess on SO MANY LEVELS they remind me. But oddly the ending of MJ makes me feel so differently than BSG canon. Lol. I want Gale to go off and be happy with Johanna. And I never want Lee to fall for anyone else.
Re: spoilers inherent
Date: 2012-03-15 04:49 pm (UTC)And anyway, Lee's tried being with a nice girl and it failed quite spectacularly when Kara was still dead, why would he be inclined to repeat the process now that she's well and truly gone again?
Re: spoilers inherent
Date: 2012-03-15 05:38 pm (UTC)Oh that's exactly how I feel about Lee settling for someone else post-Poof
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Date: 2012-03-15 05:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-15 06:17 pm (UTC)(I'm excited for you to read the Tana French! Lol. Soooo good.)
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Date: 2012-03-15 06:23 pm (UTC)(Me too!)
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Date: 2012-03-15 06:33 pm (UTC)(YAY! The Likeness is also awesome!!)
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Date: 2012-03-15 06:43 pm (UTC)(I got all three!)
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Date: 2012-03-15 06:51 pm (UTC)Awesome. Her voice is so excellent. Great reads all of them. Can't wait for the next one this summer.
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Date: 2012-03-15 08:29 pm (UTC)Same here! I think it’s because Mockingjay ruined Katniss for me. By the end of the book I didn’t care for her anymore, I could barely recognize the character I loved in the previous books. All I wanted was to slap her in the face LOL (Gale defintely deserved someone better --like Johanna!) And of course, this never happened with Kara. I adored her right to the bitter end --and that’s why I want Lee to grieve forever! (pretty unrealistic and definitely unhealthy, poor guy, but I guess this is my greedy shipper heart talking :P).
And yes to all the Cassie and Rob similarities, of course! They never reminded me much of Kara and Lee individually but their dynamic as friends and their romantic story arc is very pilot-y indeed. The whole thing is just so horrible --like Unfinished Business without the making up LOL. I just can't thank you enough for reccing those wonderful books! <3 <3
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Date: 2012-03-15 08:34 pm (UTC)UGH YESSSS A THOUSAND TIMES YES. It took the worst elements of her characterization (her passivity, her closed off ness) and made them a thousand times worse by the end of MJ complicated of course by her PTSD. All the people who always say to me "Well didn't she deserve to just sit in a field and rock and have a simple life at the end for all the terrible things she went through?" make me just look at Kara -- who also went through PTSD and horrible things and still remained a total fighter throughout it all. That's what I wanted for Katniss--for her to fight harder than ever because of what she experienced not essentially crawl into a field of dandelions and wait to die because of it. Ugh. (Re; Lee forever grieving! YES! That's why he needs to die five minutes after the poof! So he doesn't have to live in terrible sadness for long!)
And yes about Cassie and Rob!! They both actually reminded me of Kara in certain ways, but collectively their bond and partnership and banter and reliance on each other--totally reminded me of pilots. <3 <3 I need her to go back and tell their story more/better dammit!! But you're very welcome. I'm excited for Broken Harbor in a few months! Yay!
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Date: 2012-03-15 09:06 pm (UTC)UGH. I AM STILL SO MAD AT SUZANNE COLLINS!!! Seriously. I can’t even get excited for the movies because that ending sucked so much!!! And I think Katniss PTSD was incredibly poorly handled –but oh well, most of the characterizations in MJ fell flat and the pace felt so rushed. Johanna definitely emerged as the kind of heroine Katniss should have been. Le sigh.
I am excited for Broken Harbor too! I'm sure she can't write a book I won't like. Buuuuuut, TANA PLEASE BRING ROB AND CASSIE BACK!!! :P
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Date: 2012-03-15 10:22 pm (UTC)To be fair, Johanna didn't even rate much of a mention at the end at all, so who knows what happened to her, but I think she was a fighter and a survivor and yeah, I think she would've managed.
Yeah that's how feel too about French. I do at least hope her next book has a strong female protag (and how about some romance!) because I'd like to see what she can do with another lady character.
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Date: 2012-03-15 11:27 pm (UTC)And yeah, Johanna was a very secondary character but she was so awesome! She went through similar circumstances and was as broken/damaged/traumatized as Kat and never stopped fighting. The same goes for Gale –he ended up being my favorite character from the whole series (I think he could have been better developed, but still).
I want Tana to write another female character too! Oddly (because I am always drawn to ladies) Rob is my fave of them, but Cassie was a great combination of badassery and vulnerability and I’d love to see how she handles another female protag.