It could have been a really interesting storyline, and who's to say the writers wouldn't have found a reason why Lee couldn't be the one to go over? Kara is the second seniormost of the pilots after all, it's not impossible though I don't think it's any more unbelievable than Lee's taking command of the Pegasus - if TCH storyline had had Kara going over without Lee and then having to deal with Garner and end up in charge when he goes off, I'd have bought it.

Though OMG, they're SO YOUNG. I know Katee was like 25 during S2 filming, and Lee and Kara are hardly any older than that - imagine a 27-year-old in charge of a Battlestar! Though that used to happen in actual wartime when senior officers got killed off a lot, too.