Pilot Lives?
They did it with Spock, they can do it again.OK, so not exactly resurrection ala Spock - but could Pilot have survived the Power Base explosion? Ignoring for a minute the �positive� reasons for Pilot�s death, I think that if there had been a second season [or third] for Captain Power, it would have been entirely plausible to write a thread which involved the premise that Pilot did survive the destruction of the Power Base. All good Captain Power fans worth their Power Suits and XT-7s would have undoubtly figured out that one immensely plausible way Pilot would have survived - digitisation.
Horrible as it sounds, digitisation would have been the one only way that Pilot could have survived the Power Base explosion.Blastarr was in the same room as Pilot when she manually blew up the power source.Although from the footage, it�s not clear how close he is to her, it is entirely possible that Blastarr moved in closer to Pilot as she keyed in the combination to blow up the base in an attempt to stop her. Although the process of digitisation appears to take up to 30 seconds to complete [based on footage again - this is time for the digitiser to swing into position and activate, plus time to convert the physical matter into digital information] in some episodes, it appears to be much faster.[ie: Pariah]Noticeably, there is a short pause between Pilot keying in the destruct combination, and the actual blast itself. If we put this together with the assumption that the base�s power source blew first, and the explosion spread to other areas [ which, again, the footage suggests it does - there�s one large blast, followed by others] I would suggest there is more than enough time for Blastarr to digitise Pilot.
As a Bio-Dread, Blastarr is practically indestructable and there�s nothing to suggest he wouldn�t be able to survive the explosion. In the episode And Study War No More Blastarr survives the explosion created by overloaded geothermal plants without a scratch. In New Order Soaron survives being rammed by the Icarus platform - although he�s put out of commission for a bit. I would assume that although the Bio-Dread unit may become disfunctional, the stored digitised subjects would remain intact.
Now this makes for storylines with as much potential I think as the storylines that would have been run if the show had made it to a second season [ See DiTillio Speaks - The Shape of Wars to Come ] Arguably, it would have been possible [and more fun] to run the �Power goes on Vendetta� storyline AND have Pilot survive the explosion.
My projected second season would have had Power running around feeling guilt ridden and consumed by revenge for about 6-8 episodes - with time devoted to developing the �angry and bitter� angle and showing him becoming progressively more irresponsible about how he conducts his battle against Dread, to the horror of his team-mates. That would also then be the time to put more focus on the other members of the team who must now be able to act to some extent, independently - ie: stories on Tank, Scout and Matt. The Dread front would have Dread now going all out to destroy all opposition, convinced that he has secured a substantial victory over Power, possibly starting to hint at the Morganna II thread, while continuing the hidden agenda of Overmind. There would also be hints of Pilot�s survival but during the first 7 episodes at least, nothing concrete is revealed. This would be followed by a two-parter on Power�s discovery that Pilot is still alive and is in Dread�s hands.[forming episodes 9 and 10 in a 22 episode season]
There are many angles that could be explored on how Power would discover that Pilot was still alive - a two parter is needed because although Jon embarks on a vendetta against Dread to avenge Pilot, he�s not truly explored his feelings for her. The two parter would be the beginning of a thread which would have Jon examining his feelings for Pilot and having to really come to terms with how he feels about her. Also, when Jon discovers that Pilot is �alive� there is every reason for him to disbelieve the information. He saw the Power Base blow up. He knows that Blastarr would have heard every word of his conversation with Pilot and would have reported the information back to his master - information which Dread could well manipulate to lure Power out into the open.
The first part of the two-parter would involve the discovery of Pilot�s existance, and then the debate over whether or not to disbelieve the information. There are I think two possibilities: the first would involve Power as the believer. By this time, his authority in the group has waned slightly as the team become more wary of his kamikaze tactics. Power would try to order the team to go and get Pilot back - while Matt would attempt to counsel caution. The alternative has Power entirely disbelieving the information that Pilot is alive - Power would believe it was a Dread trick - while the rest of the time urge him to consider looking into the information. The first possibility relies largely on the strength of Jon�s feelings for Pilot - if he loves her, he may be driven to try and get her back, blind to possibilities of a trick.This possibility would be more true to Power�s first season character, and certainly indicate a more optimistic outlook. The second possibility is more in line with the projected developments for Power�s character as outlined by DiTillio - a more hardened, skeptical man and would also be likely if the information about Pilot�s existance came from a unreliable source - such as Locke, the data springer from New Order and Retribution.
The second part would have Power and team coming to a decision to find out if the information is true or not, despite the possibility that it could well be a Dread ambush. Part two will then be a mostly �action� episode, involving the team breaking into a major Dread installation to �rescue� Pilot - with Jon and Hawk probably doing the actual �rescuing�.
The fun really starts in the last 10 minutes of the second part, and this is where a more gloomy thread will start. The team would have ascertained from retina scans and DNA tests [Don�t ask me how they would have done this without the Power Base technology - maybe they take her to the Passages] that the person they have rescued is indeed Pilot and not some imposter. They would also have checked to make sure that Dread hadn�t planted any bugs - as he did with Athena in �Shattered�.
As things turn out, Pilot has been well and throughly interrogated by Dread and miraculously managed to survive it - but just barely. Primarily Dread would have been trying to pry information out of her about the Power Suits,their technology, weaknesses and strengths, and any other pieces of interesting gossip Pilot might volunteer under duress. [ For an idea of Dread interrogation techniques, see footage from New Order, which affords a quick glance at an interrogation room and Judgment , which shows some Dread methods in action although doesn�t suggest what they are specifically except they involve a chair.] This has of course, left her very little more than a shadow of her former self - particularly when coupled with the trauma of being digitised. [See Athena Samuels account in �Shattered�] The two-parter ends with Power discovering just how much Pilot has endured - psychological pressure has forced her to retreat into her own world - she doesn�t recognise Jon and is no longer able to speak.
The subsequent episode [Episode 12] would have Power uncertain about what to do with Pilot. Following DiTillio�s outline, their guerilla lifestyle is not suited to someone like Pilot, who in her state, would be a burden to them. But he clearly want to keep her close. The two-parter also does not resolve Power�s feelings about Pilot and this would be a continuing thread for at least 2-3 episodes after the two-parter rescue of Pilot.
It�s possible that his character might make a recovery and go back to becoming a more responsible leader, leaving behind the vendetta now that he knows Pilot is alive. But I would prefer to see Jon�s character continue as a more hardened individual [because as Ditillio points out, the �heroic leader is a pretty thankless role�] - he�d still want to get even with Dread for what he has done to Pilot. But hardened doesn�t necessarily I think import the requirement that he continue as a bitter,loose cannon. I would see the return of Pilot, even in her traumatised state, as a calming influence on Power. Also we would see a return of his gentle and caring side when he is with Pilot.
In Episode 13, Power will decide to leave Pilot either at the Passages or Eden II [I haven�t decided which but the likelyhood is it will eventually be Eden II] where she will make progress, increasingly becoming aware of who he is and less reclusive and fearful of human contact. Leaving Pilot at Eden II is important because one story thread which David Steigers projected was the discovery of Eden II by Dread and Power. Steigers indicates that they would both discover it together. I would have Power discover it much earlier and leave the discovery of Eden II [and it�s supposed dark secret] by Dread to be the 2nd season finale [Episode 22], leading onto the next season - and with Pilot there, it would make it all the more interesting - Power has a chance to get it right this time.
Episodes 14-20 would have then been devoted to the other threads which DiTillio outlined although Power would now have re-commandeered his team-mates respect - probably this time would have been spent looking at the Ranger-Tank relationship and the mysterious Morganna II. Episodes 15- 19 would have interludes of Power visiting Pilot at Eden II, trying to rebuild the rapport, trying to bring her out of her self-imposed shell. By episode 19, she would have begun to trust him again and I would have an episode where Power takes Pilot flying in the Jumpship where they are attacked by Soaron - instinctively, Pilot takes evasive measures as she always did.
Episode 20 would have then been the Pilot-Power episode of the season [like Judgment and Retribution were for the 1st Season] Up till this point, Pilot has blocked out, either intentionally or through trauma induced amnesia, all events leading up to her capture by Dread although she is unable to escape the memories of her capture and interrogation. This means that she recalls nothing of her (supposed)last words to Jon in �Retribution�. But in episode 20, it all would have come back and Pilot and Jon would have to finally,really, talk about their feelings for each other. [Although as far back as Episode 14, Matt Masterson would have urged Jonathan to serious consider how he felt about Pilot - and to tell him that leading her on, making her believe he had feelings for her when he had none would only hurt her more.] I still don�t know at this point how Jon would decide. [See my thoughts on this issue in Captain Power and Pilot - What would they have talked about? ] Also the question of whether Pilot would return to the team would be considered.
Episodes 21 and 22 would have then formed a 2 parter lead in to the third season [ no ideas for that] which would have had Dread discovering Eden II and launching a full scale assault on it while Power is there with Pilot.