Daily Pilots Post: Filling In the Blanks

[cosetteferaud.livejournal.com]

Hi shippers! First of all, thank you very much for all your great thinking and lovely contributions, I am really enjoying being the DPP driver this week. I adore this fandom <3. Well, we have already talked about your K/L favorite moments/scenes, but today I’d like to focus on the extended/deleted scenes… How do you feel about them?

I have always had the feeling that so much juicy piloty material was left on the cutting room floor… In RDM's podcasts we have heard of a lot of scenes that were filmed, but yet many of them had never been seen… For instance, if I remember well, from “The Passage” there was supposed to be a scene after Kara hung up Kat's picture, she turns and runs into Lee's arms and he comforts her. Also, in this episode there was a scene where Kara and Lee sit side by side throwing a ball against the wall and talk about what happened in UB. I wonder if they were actually filmed.

I honestly will never understand why certain scenes weren’t included in their respective aired episodes (hello, K/L TABFAYW scene??). But bitterness aside, I am glad that, at least, we had the chance to see those –I love most of them, and I adore all the awesomeness that was UBEX. So my questions for today revolve around this particular topic:

*Which is your favorite K/L deleted/extended scene? Why?

Given that my favorite pilots moment is the second brig scene, I guess that the extended version of this one is my fave. I love seeing Kara so vulnerable for once (even crying a little), and the picture of Lee giving her the Aurora figurine –the only meaningful token he had from his father-- as the symbol of his faith kills me. It’s very touching and sweet.
Also, even though it breaks my heart into tiny pieces, I really like the TABFYW deleted scene. So well acted and poignant. I believe this was the only time we see Kara being so honest and straightforward in her personal relationships, finally trying to be true to herself ("maybe I'm just cheating myself", gah!).
And I must confess that I have a huge amount of love for the extended “Scar” scene too, when Kara asks Lee if he can picture himself with a wife, a porch swing and a stinky rugrat pissing on his knee. I know it’s not a popular opinion, but I love “Scar” so much.

*Do you consider those scenes canon?

Personally, yes (if they don’t contradict canon, that is).

*Also, which scenes you’d have loved to see?

I guess I have a veeery long list, mainly because I am a greedy shipper and I never had enough of pilots interaction *g*. I think the scene I really, really needed to see is the Kara and Lee’s reunion after the Demetrius story arc. I mean, their farewell was pretty intense and, even though I love their next scene together –that one in Papadama’s office just before they frakked each other senseless on that desk in “Revelations”—, on a narrative level I found it contrived without a previous reunion scene.
Also, another moment I‘d have wanted to see is the beginning of their "fling" –don’t get me wrong, I love the raptor scene and the way we discovered that pilots were having a torrid affair--, but I wouldn’t have minded at all to see how it started. And another one? Well, maybe the moment when Kara met the adorable aberration that was Fat!Lee after the exodus. Can you imagine her reaction? LOL

And, here there is some inspiration for your answers. Discuss! :)

S1 pilots cuteness. Probably one of the most adorable scenes they have together –and the evidence that Lee and Kara shared little routines like jogging every morning.

Extended brig scene. I see this scene as the proof that pilots were far from over at that point –and probably that was the reason why they left the scene out.

TABFAYW extended scene. It's a totally heartbreaking scene, but I wish they'd left the full version of it in the final cut because this is probably the only time Kara actually admits in Lee's face that she loves him more than anyone and should've married him and not Sam. I would really like to know why EJO edited so much out of this scene, since it does add so much to both their characterizations.

"I think things just got more complicated" (UBEX). How much do I adore this one? I really like way UB ends, but this version… I don’t know, it's even more pilots to me, so dysfunctionally adorable (and it’s funny, I feel like it's been so long since I watched pilots… after rewatching all these moments I feel so nostalgic, this scene specifically reminded me of my emotions when I first saw UB and tore me up a little bit).



Comments

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Hello! I'll throw in my POV on the questions you all have already discussed so well.

~ I love the "No. What's wrong?" moment between Lee and Kara in the Maelstrom flashbacks. I also love Lee's quiet "I think you got him" after Kara empties like ten million bullets into the Leoben target, and their subsequent argument/banter/piloty-ness as they storm through the corridors and Lee reinstates her flight status. "Let's skip the part where you say this is harder for you than it is for me." - "Okay." - "I mean where are you gonna put me, flight simulators?..." "Kara...will you shut up and listen to me for once in your life?" I don't know, they're yelling at each other and he's treating her like his best pilot no matter what and it's just so *them.* I think it's great. On the other hand, I would leave out the extended talk under the wing stuff; I want the freedom to interpret Lee's last lingering look at Kara before they climb into their planes. I like being able to think that he's not sure what to make of the closure she's offering, that in some ways he is ready to move on and even thinks he has, but in other ways that he can't quite articulate he still doesn't believe that pilot and CAG are all they'll ever be.

~ I love the cadence-early-morning-teasing. It's so adorable. "Woah. Nice hair." and "Oh, so it's like that?" Hee! And to me it doesn't mess up their later emotional dynamics. It makes sense that Lee isn't freaked out about her casual flings, and that he even exhibits a certain sense of restraint and respect about her serious flings (like Sam), but that he does freak out over the Baltar thing because it's so clear that it wasn't about fun or comfort for her. Baltar wasn't a stranger she took home for a good time, he was someone she knew and hated. I think Lee saw *this* sexual encounter, not Kara's sexuality in general, as evidence of her self-destructive side asserting itself, and it really bothered him (in addition to his growing jealousy, which I think had previously been largely subconscious and took him by surprise here). He didn't exhibit half as much scorn and anger toward later more serious rivals like Sam, even in Scar when it seems like his jealous resentful side had every opportunity to come out in a much nastier way than it did (his comment on "dead guys" wasn't in the same category as his "pilot who can't keep her pants on" barb, in my opinion). He gets most mad at her when he sees her hurting herself as well as him, and Baltar was a case in point.

~ For me, UBEX is a mixed bag. I don't like the "applecart" or the scenes of both of them being more directly mean about each others' spouses, but I'll take the quiet confessions of love any day. I think Lee's line about never really knowing the depth of his feelings before can't be taken in isolation - let him finish what he's saying, and what comes out is this: he couldn't fully admit his feelings before to himself or to her, in part because of Zak and their messed-up history but *mostly because* he was too scared to face the reality that he *needed* her, that he was so radically dependent on another person. Before that night, he knew he loved her but he also liked to think he could get by on his own, or settle for someone else, and still be happy. But that night he finally thought he wouldn't have to live that way anymore, and he felt the enormity of the difference, and it made him realize what loving her really meant - that it was about needing as much as wanting, and that he hadn't really been happy without her no matter how hard he pretended otherwise. That's how I read his side of the conversation, and of course her side everyone recognizes as uniquely beautiful and vulnerable and honest. So yes, this I keep as my canon, definitely.

~ The extended Six of One scene, and the extended Islanded scene, both rock, but artistically I prefer the shorter versions. I don't think we needed the Aurora exchange to make it clear that they believed they'd see each other again, and I admit that I *love* the aired version where, when he turns to leave, all she has to do is say his name to have him spinning back into her arms.

[daybreak777.livejournal.com]

I admit that I *love* the aired version where, when he turns to leave, all she has to do is say his name to have him spinning back into her arms.
I agree with most of your entire comment. But this. Gods. I love her tone of voice whens she says it and he totally spins. Okay, now I have to go watched the aired version. Like right now. :-)

This entire discussion makes me miss them on my screen SO MUCH.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

WORD. I love that scene, I think I may have to go watch it again, too...

[ninjamonkey73.livejournal.com]

~ For me, UBEX is a mixed bag. I don't like the "applecart" or the scenes of both of them being more directly mean about each others' spouses, but I'll take the quiet confessions of love any day. I think Lee's line about never really knowing the depth of his feelings before can't be taken in isolation - let him finish what he's saying, and what comes out is this: he couldn't fully admit his feelings before to himself or to her, in part because of Zak and their messed-up history but *mostly because* he was too scared to face the reality that he *needed* her, that he was so radically dependent on another person. Before that night, he knew he loved her but he also liked to think he could get by on his own, or settle for someone else, and still be happy. But that night he finally thought he wouldn't have to live that way anymore, and he felt the enormity of the difference, and it made him realize what loving her really meant - that it was about needing as much as wanting, and that he hadn't really been happy without her no matter how hard he pretended otherwise. That's how I read his side of the conversation, and of course her side everyone recognizes as uniquely beautiful and vulnerable and honest. So yes, this I keep as my canon, definitely.

YES! THIS!

[damao2010.livejournal.com]

I agree with you on all counts (even if I haven't seen all the extended scenes mentioned).

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I always find myself nodding along to your posts, too. I think we share a similar perspective on Lee, especially, so I look forward to delving further into pilots together as we go along :) All best wishes!

[damao2010.livejournal.com]

What can I say... great minds thinks alike? LOL

[cosetteferaud.livejournal.com]

Before that night, he knew he loved her but he also liked to think he could get by on his own, or settle for someone else, and still be happy. But that night he finally thought he wouldn't have to live that way anymore, and he felt the enormity of the difference, and it made him realize what loving her really meant - that it was about needing as much as wanting, and that he hadn't really been happy without her no matter how hard he pretended otherwise. That's how I read his side of the conversation, and of course her side everyone recognizes as uniquely beautiful and vulnerable and honest

Just doing some catch-up :). Really, really love the way you read Lee. I love him so much, but I find myself struggling with him over and over --and frankly, that line never made much sense to me. I've enjoyed your comment, but I find this bit particularly insightful.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I admit I have unreasonable love for the quiet-love-confession scene, and I tend to analyze it to bits. I can see why it's not everyone's favorite moment ~ I think it plays a bit awkwardly on Lee's side, and the dialog is somewhat conventional/confusing, but there is so much subtext going on that I really love. I actually like how awkward Lee gets when it comes to vocalizing these feelings, how his initial exuberance fades and he lets Kara see that it's a struggle for him, too, to admit how vulnerable she makes him feel. I love that she asks him about "wanting" her ("are you sure I'm what you want?"), and he not only says yes to "want," but immediately escalates to "need" and then "love" within about five seconds ~ these are the kinds of words these two just never dared to say before. And I love how Lee can barely get out the phrase "how much I needed you," his voice literally fades to a whisper there. The look on his face isn't traditionally romantic, it's the look of someone steeling themselves and working their way through a lot of personal demons. And I especially love how he ducks his head so that he's looking *up* at her when he tells her he loves her ~ there's something so unexpectedly submissive in that gesture, as if he's showing her as well as telling her how completely he's surrendering control in that moment. I don't know, the whole scene just really gets to me. Sorry to again be writing novels about subtext that may be only happening in my head :) But at least Kara seemed to be comforted by his words - she looks so happy and even victorious when she hugs him. It breaks my heart knowing what happened the next morning. Oh pilots! Oh New Caprica! Woe is us.