The best scene in 'Barbie' was almost cut from the movie

• Early in "Barbie," Barbie tells an elderly woman on a bench that she's beautiful.
• The moment is poignant — and crucial to informing Barbie's decision at the end of the film.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Barbie."

The most important scene in "Barbie" was apparently almost cut from the movie — but thank god it wasn't.

"Barbie" follows Barbie (and Ken) as they attempt to fix a rift between the utopian Barbieland and the real world, forcing them to travel between the two. There's much ado about the patriarchy (which Ken misunderstands to, hilariously, heavily involve horses) and the many contradicting expectations for women, which are used to "deprogram" the Barbies from their patriarchal, submissive brainwashing.

But at its core, it's a film about embracing mortality: Barbie (played by a masterful Margot Robbie) chooses to become human, after realizing that death and change give life meaning.

The film's best, and most important, scene isn't the one where Barbie makes that decision. It's one that takes place early on during her journey to the real world, when a distraught Barbie encounters an elderly woman (played by legendary costume designer Ann Roth) on a bench. Barbie tells the woman that she's beautiful, and the woman warmly quips back that she knows.

Director Greta Gerwig told Rolling Stone that the brief scene was suggested as a potential cut, but she stood her ground to keep it. She called it a "cul-de-sac of a moment" that "doesn't lead anywhere" in the film.

While the moment may not directly lead into other shenanigans, it crucially plants the seed for Barbie's later decision to become human. The way that Robbie plays it is subtle, but deeply felt: This is the first time that Barbie, an immortal being who has just started to grapple with the idea of mortality, has come face to face with its impacts. And in that moment, it feels like all of her anxieties about death and her changing body and mindset suddenly click in some meaningful way — rather than fear, she only sees beauty.

"I said, 'If I cut the scene, I don't know what this movie is about,'" Gerwig told Rolling Stone.

"To me, this is the heart of the movie," she said.