EXTRACTS FROM A DRAFT OF THE PILOT SCRIPT: (5) Who broke Jane's heart first?
Continuing the series of extracts from the August 20, 2009 draft of the pilot script (here are Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4), this is my favorite extract, from the beginning of Act 4, and includes a couple of scenes that were never aired. The second one is just between Jane and Maura, and it's a beauty.
At the end of Act 3, Jane finds Korsak having been attacked (presumably by the Apprentice), but Karenna Ghent is also found alive, so that's who "the victim" that Maura refers to is. Everyone is at the hospital. Jane had her surprise confrontation with Dean in the woods earlier, and as we see, expresses suspicion and hostility towards him. He suggests going out for "coffee" to clear up any confusion:
So Maura was initially agreeable to coffee, but as soon as Jane storms off, she ditches Dean, and suggests - well, you're about to see! And then a lovely, adorable conversation takes place. I'll let you read it before I offer my comments:
First, Maura suggesting drinking alcohol rather than coffee made me laugh - shades of Twitter-Maura and Jane! And I loved the touches of having Jane pour Maura's wine for her and paying at the end; sweetly chivalrous (or chivalrously sweet?).
And then - then, Susan Smart! Not only was she the first person to break Jane's heart, she's still the reason that Jane's no good at relationships. Oh Jane, there are a million girls out there who wouldn't dream of throwing you over for anyone else - for the love of God, look at the woman you're sitting with RIGHT NOW. Don't judge us all by the fool who was Susan Smart; in another six episodes in a semi-alternate universe, when you casually consider that maybe you ought to be a lesbian, that deafening roar you hear will be I and an army of smitten kittens (for you, for Maura, for the true love between you) yelling yes - yes, YES, YES!!
Ahem.
So ... we also get some insight into Maura - her fascination with biology and chemistry, her sense of herself as weird - that we didn't actually see in what aired until 1.09 The Beast In Me. This is a nice mirror of Maura opening up to Jane, without the "OMG, I'm like a serial killer" angst in that tearful 1.09 scene. And then we have Maura saying "That's why you love me" to Jane. Neither of them ever mentioned the "l(ove)" word in relation to each other in the aired season, so it was a wonderful shock to see this here! I wonder how the reaction shots [OFF JANE, in script-talk] would've gone, and yes, I realize it is slightly odd to be speculating about a hypothetical reaction for a scene that was never, and will never be, filmed.
As if to offset the gay vibe, the very next exchange is about them being attractive to men. Well, except if we see Jane refocusing on some random guys as a deflection of something she's not ready to deal with yet. In any case, you just can't kill the subtext :-).
Also, I wonder if the aired scene near the end of 1.02, when Jane and Maura compare their lack of success dating men, was in some respects a reworking of this; it sort of has the same effect of demonstrating Jane being man-dating-"challenged," although the Maura here is aware of her sexual power (to men, at least). TV-Maura is not unaware, exactly, but we never saw her use - or abuse - that power. Is script-Maura closer in this respect to book-Maura?
Back to the extract: the scene ends with Maura offering to have Jane stay with her indefinitely - well, till they get Hoyt and his apprentice, I guess, and Jane - once again - letting Maura see how disturbed by all this she is. Many of you commented that you preferred the aired version of the bed scene because it ended with Jane confessing to Maura that she had never been so scared in all her life, and Maura reassuring and comforting her. Well, in this script, we would've gotten this scene instead. Was it a good trade-off, do you think?
In any case, I hope the deliciousness of this extract makes up for the Dean-heaviness of the last one (those exchanges between Jand and Dean at her apartment happen right after this, actually).
At the end of Act 3, Jane finds Korsak having been attacked (presumably by the Apprentice), but Karenna Ghent is also found alive, so that's who "the victim" that Maura refers to is. Everyone is at the hospital. Jane had her surprise confrontation with Dean in the woods earlier, and as we see, expresses suspicion and hostility towards him. He suggests going out for "coffee" to clear up any confusion:
So Maura was initially agreeable to coffee, but as soon as Jane storms off, she ditches Dean, and suggests - well, you're about to see! And then a lovely, adorable conversation takes place. I'll let you read it before I offer my comments:
First, Maura suggesting drinking alcohol rather than coffee made me laugh - shades of Twitter-Maura and Jane! And I loved the touches of having Jane pour Maura's wine for her and paying at the end; sweetly chivalrous (or chivalrously sweet?).
And then - then, Susan Smart! Not only was she the first person to break Jane's heart, she's still the reason that Jane's no good at relationships. Oh Jane, there are a million girls out there who wouldn't dream of throwing you over for anyone else - for the love of God, look at the woman you're sitting with RIGHT NOW. Don't judge us all by the fool who was Susan Smart; in another six episodes in a semi-alternate universe, when you casually consider that maybe you ought to be a lesbian, that deafening roar you hear will be I and an army of smitten kittens (for you, for Maura, for the true love between you) yelling yes - yes, YES, YES!!
Ahem.
So ... we also get some insight into Maura - her fascination with biology and chemistry, her sense of herself as weird - that we didn't actually see in what aired until 1.09 The Beast In Me. This is a nice mirror of Maura opening up to Jane, without the "OMG, I'm like a serial killer" angst in that tearful 1.09 scene. And then we have Maura saying "That's why you love me" to Jane. Neither of them ever mentioned the "l(ove)" word in relation to each other in the aired season, so it was a wonderful shock to see this here! I wonder how the reaction shots [OFF JANE, in script-talk] would've gone, and yes, I realize it is slightly odd to be speculating about a hypothetical reaction for a scene that was never, and will never be, filmed.
As if to offset the gay vibe, the very next exchange is about them being attractive to men. Well, except if we see Jane refocusing on some random guys as a deflection of something she's not ready to deal with yet. In any case, you just can't kill the subtext :-).
Also, I wonder if the aired scene near the end of 1.02, when Jane and Maura compare their lack of success dating men, was in some respects a reworking of this; it sort of has the same effect of demonstrating Jane being man-dating-"challenged," although the Maura here is aware of her sexual power (to men, at least). TV-Maura is not unaware, exactly, but we never saw her use - or abuse - that power. Is script-Maura closer in this respect to book-Maura?
Back to the extract: the scene ends with Maura offering to have Jane stay with her indefinitely - well, till they get Hoyt and his apprentice, I guess, and Jane - once again - letting Maura see how disturbed by all this she is. Many of you commented that you preferred the aired version of the bed scene because it ended with Jane confessing to Maura that she had never been so scared in all her life, and Maura reassuring and comforting her. Well, in this script, we would've gotten this scene instead. Was it a good trade-off, do you think?
In any case, I hope the deliciousness of this extract makes up for the Dean-heaviness of the last one (those exchanges between Jand and Dean at her apartment happen right after this, actually).