since their wings have got rusted

[reflectedeve]

Some squee, some issues, and a touch of surprise, because this show is actually making me think lately.

I've been reading some really interesting responses to this episode. I particularly found cesperanza's, liviapenn's to be interesting and useful, though I didn't necessarily agree with everything they said.

I'm not sure when the last time was that SgA affected me so viscerally. I was upset and even a little sick to my stomach at the end of "Miller's Crossing," and it actually took me a little while to work out why. It wasn't bad writing this time; or, well, some of it was, but some of it was actually good writing, and better acting. There was some annoying and run-of-the mill clumsiness, but mostly? The show did something right to make me upset, for once.

First, though, the goodness. I was really looking forward to this episode, because I love Jeannie, I love her relationship with Rodney (particularly now that it's a bit healed, so we see their banter and even bitchiness on top of a foundation of mutually expressed affection), and the promos even had pictures of John with Madison. (We did not get enough of that, alas, but such tantalizing and adorable glimpses!)

I wasn't disappointed in Jeannie at all: she remains completely awesome, an extremely strong, capable, and sympathetic character who can give back as much McKay snark as she gets, but also has a rather well-developed and vocal conscience. I was thrilled that not only has she been helping Rodney with his work, but that she's actually better at some of it than he is . . . and that it was recognized by her captor, by Rodney's team, and even (very grudgingly) by Rodney himself. Even after she's been injected with the nanites, she's shaken but hardly stricken, and gets down to working hard (and effectively) on the problem at hand. She's delightfully level-headed and straightforward. She may have a temper (it actually might be good if we could see this directed at someone other than Rodney, really), but she also has a good deal of finesse.

Another example of SgA doing a surprisingly good job with writing their women, lately, and I'm grateful for it.

Frankly, I was annoyed by her damsel in distress role: not because of the way she acted in it, but because it was badly handled in the plot. I'm in agreement with cesperanza here: if Jeannie was 1) more sympathetic to Wallace's plight than Rodney, and 2) better at working with nanites, it just makes very little sense that she be the one forcibly injected. Sure, Rodney was the one who needed motivation, and sure, he's one of the show's main characters (and thus we focus on his emotional/moral development here, not Jeannie's); I understand why the writers wanted Jeannie to be the ailing one, but they mishandled it, it didn't make sense and undermined previously established points.

On the other hand, the fact that Wallace was willing to inject Jeannie does go a fair way to establishing him as a despicable character, which is pretty important to the other main issue of the episode.

This is what upset me: Johns actions with Wallace, manipulating a clearly broken and desperate man into committing (quite a grisly) suicide. No, I certainly don't think John's a psychopath or anything like that, nor did I think it was out of character: I think he's capable of cold expedience against human life when other human life (in greater numbers, or specifically more important to John) are at stake. But what he did was absolutely unethical and disturbing, and it's probably going to have an effect on my view of the character. I don't care what Wallace had done . . . okay, I do, but it was still indirect murder, and conducted in an underhanded and manipulative fashion at that. Now, Wallace had done an unforgivable thing, and was not an innocent. Maybe he deserved to die. But he wasn't some crazed, cold-blooded, Kolya- type killer, and he wasn't standing over anyone with a knife at the time.

Joe Flanigan did an excellent job with the scene: it was completely believable, and incredibly chilling.

Now, I love the slash: I am in the fandom, and watch SgA, for the slash. The scene between John and Rodney was a scene of love; it was downright heartwrenching. I loved them both so much during that scene: Rodney for his love for Jeannie, and John for his love for Rodney (and his leader's protectiveness of his team, as always). However, that was hardly enough to transform the episode into pure squee for me.

In fact, watching John and Rodney together at the end of the episode--John looking so torn up at the same time as he's casually reading a comic book and attempting to brush off his deed with some good military spin, and Rodney concerned and disturbed but grateful--I kept thinking, what now? How can this not screw up their relationship? John basically killed in cold blood for Rodney, and it wasn't exactly heat of the moment defense (unlike in "The Storm" and "The Eye," which do not bother me). It was clear to me that he was seriously affected by what he'd done, and the show's attempt to return them to normalcy and banter seemed rather feeble (I can't tell if it was supposed to). This being SgA, I have my doubts that it'll carry over much, but it's going to stick with me.

So yeah: it was actually pretty good writing, and quite good acting. I'm impressed, but incredibly bothered . . . which speaks well of the show, really, but it's going to take a little while to digest it and see how I feel about John Sheppard afterwards.

Also, if Ronon was there on Earth, where the hell was Teyla? I enjoyed Ronon's scenes immensely, but wouldn't it be logical to bring the teammate who is diplomatic and able to integrate herself so gracefully into other cultures? A little thing, but it annoying.

Comments

[kimberlyfdr.livejournal.com]

I posted my commentary right after the episode aired. I cannot believe how AWESOME this episode was. Jeannie rocks, Rodney's emotional (and he said JOHN) and John's just...he can create so much emotion in just two words and he plays dirty, but he does it because he loves Rodney and he cannot let him put himself in danger.

[reflectedeve.livejournal.com]

he can create so much emotion in just two words and he plays dirty, but he does it because he loves Rodney and he cannot let him put himself in danger.

I guess my trouble is that the "but" doesn't make it okay for me; it doesn't make me comfortable with what John did. I squee over John not letting Rodney sacrifice himself, because he loves him: I don't squee over John all but murdering someone for Rodney. I'd prefer to think, as liviapenn suggests (http://liviapenn.livejournal.com/488828.html#cutid1), that he did it for the sake of all the people in the Pegasus galaxy that he helped endanger with the Replicators . . . and Rodney. I could be more comfortable with that, though the scene with Wallace would still be damn disturbing.

It makes John an interesting character, but it doesn't make me like him better (though I do like that he wasn't successfully brushing it off, at the end). The episode was good, but it didn't make me feel good. So I'm more sitting back and going "huh, that was interesting," and not so much squeeing about the awesomeness.

[kimberlyfdr.livejournal.com]

I like it because it gives his character much more dynamics. We already knew he was capable for killing in the act of war, closing the iris on 50? 70? Genii in Eye/Storm, but this shows that John is capable of using that same mindset in other areas when he deems it necessary. John with that edge is scary, but it also increases my love and admiration for his character.

[sweetvalleyslut.livejournal.com]

I'm having trouble with all this stuff mainly because it's built on all the unethical/dumbass things they've done in the past. Like: John never should have let that Wraith live in "Common Ground." He eats people! And John is indirectly responsible for the deaths of those people. And because they reprogrammed the replicators without *thinking it through,* they've caused more deaths and put themselves in a position where they're relying on a Wraith for information. So they have to feed him *more* people. It would almost be an impressive showing of continuity/follow-through for SGA, except that it's so infuriating.

This is why I like Teyla episodes so much--she's the only character who seems to have any braincells at all. And, okay, Sam hasn't ticked me off yet.