The Steamy Barbie Scene We'll Never Get To See

There's a whole lot going on in "Barbie," honestly. There's a dream ballet, lots of TVs playing videos of horses, an extended car chase, an inspiring monologue, and a real stunner of a final line as Barbie (Margot Robbie) makes her way into the real world. What it doesn't have is a real central love story, especially when you consider that Barbie doesn't have a whole lot of interest in her default boyfriend, Ken (Ryan Gosling). So is it possible that we missed out on a scene between Ken and a totally different Barbie?

Mashable, among other outlets, released a behind-the-scenes photo of writer-director Greta Gerwig (who wrote the movie alongside her real-life partner, fellow filmmaker Noah Baumbach), donning a pair of pink headphones and hysterically laughing at the scene before her. That scene in question appears to be something that's definitely not in the movie: namely, a moment where Ken lays in the "pool" (it's plastic) with his head in the lap of Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) as she strokes her hair. Notably, Mashable also clarifies that Ken is wearing pants with a lightning bolt on the side, indicating that he's "bad Ken," meaning the version of Ken that comes from his discovery of the patriarchy. So was this merely an on-set goof, or is there an undoubtedly delightful deleted scene coming our way?

The film's theatrical cut establishes one thing: Weird Barbie has a pretty big thing for Ken. She even directly tells Barbie, his "girlfriend," that she's taken a fancy to her Ken, telling Barbie that she'd love to see the "nude blob" Ken's packing under his jeans. 

Beyond the obvious reference to what all Ken dolls are packing under their jeans — namely, a whole lot of nothing — this line feels like a throwaway, but paired with this picture, it could mean a lot more. There's one important thing to consider, though. Ken, considering he's "bad Ken" by this point, is brainwashing the rest of the Barbies while Robbie's Barbie is out in the real world trying to solve her newfound existential crisis, so is he simply in the process of brainwashing Weird Barbie too? Maybe, but it also doesn't feel possible, considering that Weird Barbie is completely separated from the rest of Barbie Land and would, as a result, likely be immune to Ken's "charms." The idea of Weird Barbie falling like a damsel in distress is... well, just plain weird, so as awesome as that photo is, it seems like it might just be McKinnon and Gosling, who worked together on "Saturday Night Live" a few times, having a grand old time on set.

The larger point here is that "Barbie" has no whiff of any "steamy" scenes contained within its narrative — and that's a good thing. At the beginning of the movie, Helen Mirren's narrator informs us that while Barbie has a good day every day, "Ken only has a good day when Barbie looks at him," though he faces constant romantic disappointments every time Barbie does look at him. After she deigns to invite him to her massive party with all the Barbies, he asks to spend the night because they're boyfriend and girlfriend, but he's not sure what they'd do together if he does. That doesn't matter, though; Barbie doesn't want him there. It's Barbie's dream house, she reminds him; it's not called "Ken's dream house."

Ken, feeling slighted, ends up bringing the patriarchy to Barbie Land, as we previously mentioned — but even when that's resolved and the Barbies are back in their homes, Barbie still has to admit, out loud, that she's not in love with Ken. Put more bluntly, it's not her life's purpose to be in love with Ken, and that's okay; as Ken's sweatshirt says, even without Barbie, he is "kenough." "Barbie" is a story about coming to terms with your self-worth and finding your own path... not about anything steamy.

"Barbie" is in theaters now.