DPP: Starbuck and Apollo, Lee and Kara

[da-angel729.livejournal.com]

Hello again! I'm da_angel729 and I'm doing the DPP this week!

Today's post is something that's been swirling around in my brain for a while.

I've heard people say (and maybe even said it myself) that 'Starbuck' and 'Apollo' are almost persona that Lee and Kara adopt to help them through whatever crap they don't feel like doing. Especially in Kara's case. And that how they act when in that mode is somehow different than their normal personalities.

I don't necessarily think that is the case, and I'm not saying that they're have multiple personalities or anything. I guess what I'm trying to say is that they sometimes have moments that don't quite match up with what we've seen or come to expect from our characters. Kara especially comes across as widely different: there's been moments that I might classify as Kara rather than 'Starbuck'-moments where she's more vulnerable, perhaps, than one would expect a hotshot Viper pilot to be, though I hope it doesn't sound like I don't expect characters to be three-dimensional.

But it's interesting that for all of those moments, I don't think it ever really feels like a disconnect between who they are and what their 'persona' is, just another aspect of the character we see on screen.

So, some questions:

-What scenes or moments would you classify as wildly different for a character than what we've come to expect on-screen. In other words, what did Kara or Lee do or say that surprised you about them the first time on seeing it?
-Do you feel the callsigns allow our pilots to adopt different aspects of their personalities in a way that then seems distinct from their normal ones?
-And, how much of their 'persona' is just an extension of their personality, and how much of it is acting or faking it?
-To tie it back into pilots, do they seem more compatible when they're being (or showing typical behaviour of) Starbuck and Apollo or Lee and Kara? Lee and Starbuck? Kara and Apollo?

Comments

[ecstaticdance.livejournal.com]

What scenes or moments would you classify as wildly different for a character than what we've come to expect on-screen. In other words, what did Kara or Lee do or say that surprised you about them the first time on seeing it?

I think the first real "ah-ha" moment I had with regards to Kara was seeing her pull out those idols and pray. It was shocking, but it was illuminating. It proved that the depth we saw in the brig was also broad. It showed her more tender side, the part of her that needed to slow down and be serious every once in a while.

As for Lee... "Lady's in charge." Again, it was the first glimpse we had of the breadth that went with the depth we saw in the mini. Not shocking, but enlightening. It showed his sense of humor and his genuine lack of ego, despite initial appearances to the contrary.

-Do you feel the callsigns allow our pilots to adopt different aspects of their personalities in a way that then seems distinct from their normal ones?
-And, how much of their 'persona' is just an extension of their personality, and how much of it is acting or faking it?

I think the callsigns give them a socially approved place to wear the masks that make them feel least vulnerable. We all wear masks. It's part of the difficulty of meeting new people and establishing meaningful relationships. We hide our vulnerabilities and flaunt what we see as our strengths, and then letting people in, letting people see the tender, humorous, un-egotistic side of ourselves... it's scary. These two just take it to an overwhelming extreme.

To tie it back into pilots, do they seem more compatible when they're being (or showing typical behaviour of) Starbuck and Apollo or Lee and Kara? Lee and Starbuck? Kara and Apollo?

I'm gonna cheat on this one and say "What Naz said." Because she pretty much perfectly captured my thoughts on the matter.

[damao2010.livejournal.com]

Yes, I agree 100%. Especially what you wrote about Lee :"Not shocking, but enlightening. It showed his sense of humor and his genuine lack of ego, despite initial appearances to the contrary."

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed your analysis here, especially your comments on the pilot's breadth as well as depth. Very nicely put.