304 Script Excerpts
Hi everyone! Back with some tidbits from 304 that we covered on the pod. Hope you enjoy! In particular, I think these ones offer a pretty good counterargument as to why editing is really important. While I would give anything to see the extended dream sequence or Colin crossing to his window before leaving for the ball (which I shared last time and will share again here for context), I think some of these cuts definitely improved the plot and pacing in this episode. What do you think?
Also, on the podcast we have broken our 304 rewatch into a couple of parts because there's so much to discuss (and we tend to talk a lot). So for now, we're only covering 304 up until Colin and Violet's scene on the staircase. I'll post more script excerpts from later in the episode when we post the corresponding rewatch episode.
Note: The info presented here is biased because we focus heavily on Polin. Other characters had lines and entire storylines cut out of Season 3. So if it seems like Polin got the brunt of it, that’s because we spend most of our time talking about them specifically.
If you haven’t listened to our past episodes about the scripts we reviewed for Seasons 1 through 3, they were accessed through the Writers Guild Foundation Shavelson-Webb Library, an archival library for TV and film scripts.
Because the manuscripts are unpublished, they sadly cannot be shared online. And while photos are allowed, they ask that you limit taking them as they are unpublished copyrighted material, so you must visit in person and they encourage taking notes. Thus, I've typed up the scenes in script format here for everyone to read! (And apologies in advance if you notice any mistakes or typos. I am human and have recently not been getting the sleep I need.)
Also, here is a link to our Show Notes, which has full references for the individual episodes we referenced.
Okay, this isn't a script excerpt but provides context for the next one, which is a cut moment from the Fuller Library. In this earlier conversation, Philippa shares that she has morning sickness and Prudence basically doesn't believe she's pregnant, which she leads her to--
--look up other illnesses that could be responsible for Philippa's "puking." Cutely, Dankworth offers to help her. If you remember when all those stills were dropped back before S3, this was one of them, and it refers to the cut scene above. (And yes, the script refers to Philipa with one 'p' but I just can't write it that way here. I'm too used to the alternative spelling.)
Here we have answers for another mysterious still. This cut moment occurs right before Violet comes to ask Colin to join Fran for Samadani's visit. If you ever wondered why Colin thinks back to the hand cut scene at the end of the episode, it's because it originally happened here - when he was actually looking at his hand. I think they just didn't want two scenes of him kind of lost in thought in his study bookending the episode, so they cut this first moment of him dwelling on his thoughts.
Colin's thoughts at the tail end of this scene, plus references to him perhaps looking at his scar one last time.
This was the photo Luke posted recently on Colin's birthday. We're pretty sure the photo he posted is from a cut scene that takes place right after the Fuller Library. This was likely cut because it hits the same emotional beats as the brothel, and it may have seemed repetitive to have him staring off into the distance while mournfully thinking of Penelope two scenes in a row. With the reshoots, it no longer worked. That being said, I do think the progression of Fuller Library > Colin in bed > Will's bar made more sense considering the way Stanton discusses their night of "revelry." The inclusion of the brothel almost suggests they went out to the brothel together before going for drinks, which I find a bit weird.
To reiterate, this scene immediately follows the one of Colin in bed shared above, but it's a reshoot that was added into the script after the fact.
Okay, so originally, the sequence at Will's bar was much, much longer. A lot of dialogue has been cut from this sequence, starting with some of Alice's dialogue at the very beginning of this scene. I think they cut the "neighbors" line because it almost suggests the Mondriches are having too much success and making friends when the whole point is Will is almost being treated like a pariah until he accepts his new role in society. But I do wish they had kept the bit about "Daisy" since Alice later basically argues with Will that he's not spending enough time with family, and there isn't enough evidence of that in the show IMO. This would have actually set that up better. But we move on.
So originally we saw Colin entering the scene and he had a longer conversation with the Lord Squad, during which Colin kind of laughed in response to a joke Fife made about Penelope. Because of the 208 parallels, I think they had to cut this, especially at this point in their love story.
I LOVE the "Ugh" here.
...But I don't love the way this conversation initially ended, with Colin apologizing to the Lord Squad. This is why editing is important.
Continuing on from the last bit, Colin then went to buy drinks for the Lord Squad and chatted with Will. While I think Colin's remark about how he admires people who don't give up on their passions was interesting considering the drama in Part 2, I think Will's on-the-nose dialogue right before (about his bar and his son's title) might be why they cut it.
Pen's thoughts prior to leaving for the Queen's Ball, which sum up the journey we see her on in this episode.
And as a reminder, this is how the scene with Colin in his study originally went. Instead of the flashback to the hand cut scene in 302, he crosses to his window and takes in the view of the Featherington House, thinking of Penelope. 😭