DPP: In the End

[callmeonetrack.livejournal.com]

I thought maybe today we could talk about the evolution of things. From start to finish, what do you think of these characters and this relationship now that you've digested the whole show? Have your views of the characters both individually and together changed from when you first started watching/first entered fandom?

A lot of fans from the early days of the show stopped watching because they were let down too many times by the narrative. But those who stuck it out tend to try to define the places where things changed definitively for them. Some people say their personal canon stops after a certain episode (maybe Maelstrom, maybe Unfinished Business, maybe Lay Down Your Burdens, maybe even sooner)? I think, for me, I adored their relationship in S1 and early S2, but I love their journey in Season 4.0/4.5 the best. They didn't have nearly as many moments as they should have, but what they did share was beautiful--every moment was about growing and supporting each other both emotionally and physically. (My one exception is Daybreak Part 2, so I guess my personal canon ends their journey at Islanded... or maybe Daybreak Part 1, since that has the scene where they are revealing the mission to everyone together, finishing each others' sentences.) 

The words in the banner above are from the song "All We Are" by Matt Nathanson. The lyrics talk about love wasted, believing that the simple must be hard, and dreams that scatter and fall like (nothing but the) rain in the end. It is my end-of-story song for pilots and was even before I saw the finale. That resolution was not what I wanted for them (I still and will always believe their story required a happy ending to come properly full circle) and I can't fathom fanwanking it or pretending they meant the hollow words they spoke to each other or ignoring the painful expressions on their faces. But I can believe in this song which says in the end, all the mistakes and missteps didn't matter, because from start to finish, the brig to the memory wall, the love was always there.

I think I've strayed from the point in all this, which was to ask how our feelings about this ship changed or didn't with the conclusion of their story. My answer is that I love them possibly more because I will always feel the injustice of that ending. Maybe if I loved the ending I wouldn't be as interested in them still. I don't know.  I've always loved Kara and that has never changed. I didn't always love Lee and that has totally changed (s4.0 is my favorite Lee in fact). I love them together more now, as I have this overwhelming protective instinct towards this relationship that makes me want to write fic and natter on and just attempt to fix the ingregious injustice any way I can.

So what's your answers?

Comments

[scifishipper.livejournal.com]

I love S1 and S2 Starbuck and Apollo. I love them as individuals because they're tough and snarky and hot. They break a lot of stereotypes and blast their way through the universe saving the fleet as they go along. In S1/2, I always think of the angst and the hot and the almost-secksing, but I never picture them "together" as in an actual relationship. Kara can't commit, Lee seems to be okay being friends (!) and the two of them seem to fight more than anything else.

S3 is when I see them starting to be more well-rounded characters that might actually have a shot at a relationship. Lee got to that place first, but Kara just wasn't ready. After UB, I started to think it might just work for them. Of course, her death frakked that all up.

In S4+ I loved loved loved Lee (and Kara). Kara was harder for me because she'd changed so-o-o much from Starbuck. Lee's transition made more sense to me than hers. We've talked about her character's transitions many times, so I'll just leave it at that. But the two of them in S4+ are mature, relatively settled, and calm. They each seem able to express their love more openly and without reservation. Maybe it was because they were not in a romantic relationship, I don't know, but something allowed them to just love each other. Even if the writer's suddenly made K/S OTP, it did not diminish their love.

The end of the series for me comes when Lee and Kara watch Bill and Laura fly away in the raptor. She doesn't poof. They just hold hands and the rest of the story continues.

Writing this makes me miss them so much. *cries*

[entaiaime.livejournal.com]

In S4+ I loved loved loved Lee (and Kara). Kara was harder for me because she'd changed so-o-o much from Starbuck. Lee's transition made more sense to me than hers.

I completely agree. I love the Lee of S4+. He really chooses to love Kara unconditionally and trusts her completely. I just wish they could have given them the ending that they deserved.