Sateda, Or So Much Love It Hurts
Aug. 5th, 2006 06:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stillaneSo, yes, I am fully aware that all of this has already been said by all of you brilliant people who manage to watch in a timely manner. Also, I need to see it again. This is just me babbling about the love.
But... So. Much. Love. Oh god, it was so damned... yeah
- We don't need to talk about the black combat gear. Let's just take that as a given of guh.
- "I don't know how you tell them apart." Hee. Because they're all Vancouver. This comment is particularly ironic given that this set was one of the rare non-verdant-forest ones.
- Rodney says that he remembers all the gate addresses, and he does. Later on, Sateda comes right off the top of his head. Go, Rodney!
- Ronon stops firing to watch Teyla go down. Consummate warrior that he is, he's vulnerable because of his team. Good thing they tend to save his ass.
- Rodney on the gateroom floor, with that empty look. He's got to be getting damn sick of coming back alone.
- Yay continuity! Ronon's very first big humanizing scene with Teyla! Go, little writers! Go!
- Gotta love the logic in turning Ronon back to "his masters". Yep, Ronon's the slave in this equation. You're not Wraith butlers or anything, oh "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" Guy. (And, yeah, there's a man of constant sorrow joke somewhere in there.)
- Carson, honey, why would you not let them get intel before you drug the only witness to the gills? Just saying.
- Were there always this many hair references? Seriously, is it just me, or has the fanon made the leap to screen? Not that I'm complaining. I like the hair jokes.
- Lorne? Where are you? You better just be offworld. I would miss you.
- Oh, Ronon. The semi-humorous Copperfield Knife Trick becomes something not at all funny. His hand is shaking. Ronon.
- Teyla being the expert on all things culled is right. I love her world-weariness here. I also love the empty reassurance, particularly with the Ford resonances.
- I love Ronon hitting the ground with a purpose. He knows what needs doing, and he does it. I also adore the graduated weapons acquisition. He brings a knife to a gunfight, and he wins.
- Henceforth, Dead Wraith #1 will be referred to as RayBanWraith.
- The floor scene is... yeah. I've got nothing intelligent to say. I'll just be over here grinning.
- There's been a running theme lately of family units. Shelving Sheppard's big scene for a moment, we had the whole Pegasus Project episode to emphasize how different the SGA and SGC groups are from one another, and how conscious they all are of this division. We also had the Daedalus prepped for a sacrificial run first thing this season. Caldwell's protection of his own people first and foremost is right. Yes, we love Ronon better than a nameless crew, but he shouldn't. Those people are his responsibility, his priority, and he's well within his bounds to say no to putting them in danger. I honestly don't think it would make any difference who it was. (And John, you are always getting in trouble. It's part of your appeal, but cut the guy some slack.)
- Ronon being the one in charge (or at least the one issuing orders in flashbacks) makes a painful kind of sense. These days, he takes orders. It hurts less.
- A totally shallow aside: Ceiling Ronon! Ronon in the sky with grenades! Slow-mo boom! Whee!
- For whatever reason, Ronon's flashback wardrobe stings. He's so very put together, so... clean. Softer. The fact that he has the opportunity to go back to that style, and never has, says a lot. I can't see him ever settling down again. For good or ill, I don't think there will ever be a quiet life in his future.
- More shallowness: the asskicking. Seriously. The painfully well planned asskicking.
- You know John was playing Tetris.
- The Teyla conversation (told you we'd come back to it)... She's got reason to wonder about that divide. If nothing else, way back when, John was prepared to sit back and watch a planet culled to protect Atlantis. That's got to raise some doubts, given that it's about the worst fate she can imagine. The whole issue here, I think, lies in where John's boundaries of possession are. He'll fight to the death for what's his - The Storm, etc. - and Teyla's only mistake is in thinking John's territory ends at Earth. Right idea, wrong definitions.
- Hee. John canonically sucks with "I love you". I feel all vindicated about Linguistics. And the little avoidance of eye contact during "I'd do anything" was... yep. Just right.
- Am I the only person whose response to "I have friends" was, Yes, but they're all dead?
- Carson, buddy, much as I love you? Don't quit your day job. You are a fine doctor - all questionable ethics and timing aside - but don't start thinking you know everything. We're going to skip that whole "Rodney really is a curmudgeon" thing and go straight to the important bit: he's not a bad shot. We have visual proof of this - beachboy!Wraith from The Defiant One, for example. Yes, he may have experienced some technical difficulties in the past - such as how to ensure the clip stays put - but once he gets to the actual firing, he's really got a pretty successful record.
- Okay, I lied. We're coming back to that curmudgeon thing. There's something to the fact that it's Carson who comes out with this attitude. There's been a lot of discussion lately about how Sam's missed the changes in Rodney, but Carson's got a lot less excuse. If nothing else, he's had ample proof that not much stops Rodney from stepping up to the plate where his team is concerned; neither enzyme, nor hive ship, nor dark of energy being will halt this genius in his appointed rounds. So, my question is, was Carson just winding him up? It seemed like a genuine puzzlement on his part, and yet this is certainly not the first time Rodney's gone on missions that weren't exactly his forte. Hmm. I need to think about this one some more. (Oh, but the answer to Carson's, "Have you ever had a conversation with the man?" should have been "When we were facing certain death on a hive ship, there was lots of time to chat.")
- More flashback heartbreak. And Ronon carrying youngins will never fail to make me melt. Yes, I am that much of a sap.
- The tattoo predates runnership. Interesting.
- Sateda makes Ronon revert to leader, and give orders to John. Very interesting.
- "Ronon appears to be quite angry." Hee. I love understatement.
- Fight scene = ow
- Carson, you are forgiven for all obtuseness. Nice work.
- "I win." Yes, Ronon, you really, really do.
- The hug and the chest pat, and Rodney's look of worry when Ronon keels over; "Who's flying the ship?" and its accompanying indulgent look... how could anyone doubt that they're a tight group?
- By the way, John lets him keep flying the ship. That's love.
I think what got me most was that they were exactly as they are in my head. From Ronon being both seriously deadly to the enemy and more bark than bite to his friends, to Rodney being willing to do just about anything for his team, to Teyla being the hardened veteran, to John being confirmed in his inarticulateness. Just... they were on.
*happy sigh*
ETA: I've used "love" eleven times in this post. Thought it bore mentioning.
- We don't need to talk about the black combat gear. Let's just take that as a given of guh.
- "I don't know how you tell them apart." Hee. Because they're all Vancouver. This comment is particularly ironic given that this set was one of the rare non-verdant-forest ones.
- Rodney says that he remembers all the gate addresses, and he does. Later on, Sateda comes right off the top of his head. Go, Rodney!
- Ronon stops firing to watch Teyla go down. Consummate warrior that he is, he's vulnerable because of his team. Good thing they tend to save his ass.
- Rodney on the gateroom floor, with that empty look. He's got to be getting damn sick of coming back alone.
- Yay continuity! Ronon's very first big humanizing scene with Teyla! Go, little writers! Go!
- Gotta love the logic in turning Ronon back to "his masters". Yep, Ronon's the slave in this equation. You're not Wraith butlers or anything, oh "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" Guy. (And, yeah, there's a man of constant sorrow joke somewhere in there.)
- Carson, honey, why would you not let them get intel before you drug the only witness to the gills? Just saying.
- Were there always this many hair references? Seriously, is it just me, or has the fanon made the leap to screen? Not that I'm complaining. I like the hair jokes.
- Lorne? Where are you? You better just be offworld. I would miss you.
- Oh, Ronon. The semi-humorous Copperfield Knife Trick becomes something not at all funny. His hand is shaking. Ronon.
- Teyla being the expert on all things culled is right. I love her world-weariness here. I also love the empty reassurance, particularly with the Ford resonances.
- I love Ronon hitting the ground with a purpose. He knows what needs doing, and he does it. I also adore the graduated weapons acquisition. He brings a knife to a gunfight, and he wins.
- Henceforth, Dead Wraith #1 will be referred to as RayBanWraith.
- The floor scene is... yeah. I've got nothing intelligent to say. I'll just be over here grinning.
- There's been a running theme lately of family units. Shelving Sheppard's big scene for a moment, we had the whole Pegasus Project episode to emphasize how different the SGA and SGC groups are from one another, and how conscious they all are of this division. We also had the Daedalus prepped for a sacrificial run first thing this season. Caldwell's protection of his own people first and foremost is right. Yes, we love Ronon better than a nameless crew, but he shouldn't. Those people are his responsibility, his priority, and he's well within his bounds to say no to putting them in danger. I honestly don't think it would make any difference who it was. (And John, you are always getting in trouble. It's part of your appeal, but cut the guy some slack.)
- Ronon being the one in charge (or at least the one issuing orders in flashbacks) makes a painful kind of sense. These days, he takes orders. It hurts less.
- A totally shallow aside: Ceiling Ronon! Ronon in the sky with grenades! Slow-mo boom! Whee!
- For whatever reason, Ronon's flashback wardrobe stings. He's so very put together, so... clean. Softer. The fact that he has the opportunity to go back to that style, and never has, says a lot. I can't see him ever settling down again. For good or ill, I don't think there will ever be a quiet life in his future.
- More shallowness: the asskicking. Seriously. The painfully well planned asskicking.
- You know John was playing Tetris.
- The Teyla conversation (told you we'd come back to it)... She's got reason to wonder about that divide. If nothing else, way back when, John was prepared to sit back and watch a planet culled to protect Atlantis. That's got to raise some doubts, given that it's about the worst fate she can imagine. The whole issue here, I think, lies in where John's boundaries of possession are. He'll fight to the death for what's his - The Storm, etc. - and Teyla's only mistake is in thinking John's territory ends at Earth. Right idea, wrong definitions.
- Hee. John canonically sucks with "I love you". I feel all vindicated about Linguistics. And the little avoidance of eye contact during "I'd do anything" was... yep. Just right.
- Am I the only person whose response to "I have friends" was, Yes, but they're all dead?
- Carson, buddy, much as I love you? Don't quit your day job. You are a fine doctor - all questionable ethics and timing aside - but don't start thinking you know everything. We're going to skip that whole "Rodney really is a curmudgeon" thing and go straight to the important bit: he's not a bad shot. We have visual proof of this - beachboy!Wraith from The Defiant One, for example. Yes, he may have experienced some technical difficulties in the past - such as how to ensure the clip stays put - but once he gets to the actual firing, he's really got a pretty successful record.
- Okay, I lied. We're coming back to that curmudgeon thing. There's something to the fact that it's Carson who comes out with this attitude. There's been a lot of discussion lately about how Sam's missed the changes in Rodney, but Carson's got a lot less excuse. If nothing else, he's had ample proof that not much stops Rodney from stepping up to the plate where his team is concerned; neither enzyme, nor hive ship, nor dark of energy being will halt this genius in his appointed rounds. So, my question is, was Carson just winding him up? It seemed like a genuine puzzlement on his part, and yet this is certainly not the first time Rodney's gone on missions that weren't exactly his forte. Hmm. I need to think about this one some more. (Oh, but the answer to Carson's, "Have you ever had a conversation with the man?" should have been "When we were facing certain death on a hive ship, there was lots of time to chat.")
- More flashback heartbreak. And Ronon carrying youngins will never fail to make me melt. Yes, I am that much of a sap.
- The tattoo predates runnership. Interesting.
- Sateda makes Ronon revert to leader, and give orders to John. Very interesting.
- "Ronon appears to be quite angry." Hee. I love understatement.
- Fight scene = ow
- Carson, you are forgiven for all obtuseness. Nice work.
- "I win." Yes, Ronon, you really, really do.
- The hug and the chest pat, and Rodney's look of worry when Ronon keels over; "Who's flying the ship?" and its accompanying indulgent look... how could anyone doubt that they're a tight group?
- By the way, John lets him keep flying the ship. That's love.
I think what got me most was that they were exactly as they are in my head. From Ronon being both seriously deadly to the enemy and more bark than bite to his friends, to Rodney being willing to do just about anything for his team, to Teyla being the hardened veteran, to John being confirmed in his inarticulateness. Just... they were on.
*happy sigh*
ETA: I've used "love" eleven times in this post. Thought it bore mentioning.
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no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 03:14 am (UTC)So much love for Teyla and her "They promised?" That's especially pointed since this ep comes so shortly after the "Allies" debacle. Being the voice of reason is such a thankless task on this show.
Sateda makes Ronon revert to leader, and give orders to John. Very interesting.
I loved the way that the change in context changed the terms of their relationship, and that John was completely on board with it. He had no ego problems acceding to Ronon's leadership in this case.
Really, the only quibble I have is the scene with Caldwell. His position was, "I'm not unwilling to help, but I'm not sending my ship and her crew up against an enemy we can't take to save one person either," which is *totally reasonable*. John jumping all over him the way he did felt very forced. I did like that when Weir started lecturing him, he called her on it. I would like to see a scene where Caldwell takes John aside and tells him that he's not John's enemy, and John needs to start treating him with some damn respect. And I'd like to see John be adult enough to take it to heart.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 06:27 am (UTC)Rodney and Ronon really don't seem likely to have a lot of conversations
The thing is, I've been struck in the past by how much of the truth Rodney's telling when the writers have him played for comedic value. Last week's "We're quite close," for example. I think Rodney, for all that he's written as being silly and suspect, is absolutely right about that "deeper than words" thing. They may not have a weekly poker game or anything, but I don't doubt that Rodney and Ronon have a connection that Carson just doesn't get. I keep going back to the scene in Conversion where the team is huddled together in their little ball of misery, rather than scattering to their respective corners.
That said, I'd still like to see them hanging together in their downtime. It could be like a cultural exchange: Ronon teaches Rodney how to be stealthy, Rodney teaches Ronon the mechanics of blowing things up. It would be beautiful. *g*
He had no ego problems acceding to Ronon's leadership in this case.
I have this theory that John's whole issue with authority figures comes down to a matter of trust. Basically, he doesn't. Whether it's a matter of relying on them to back him, or make the correct decision, or just keep themselves in one piece, I don't think John gives up control easily. With Ronon, though, he already trusts him pretty implicitly. He can be confident that they have (relatively) the same goal, and that Ronon is straightforward in the extreme. He even lays out the ground rules of this suddenly shifted relationship first thing, just so there's no confusion.
With the Atlantis vs. Caldwell deal... They keep trying to set Caldwell up as the moral bad guy, and I'm just not buying it. (Well, since he got de-snaked, at least.) He's thus far proven startlingly honorable, and willing to go to some pretty distant lengths to support people who view him with suspicion. He'd be a rather crappy commander if he tossed his people into harm's way at the drop of a hat. Aside from that, he's got to come from the perspective of the rescuer; there's nobody who can sweep to his ship's defense, should the situation go to hell.
I tend to look at it like two lawyers in divorce court. Each has a side that he's duty bound to defend to his utmost, and whether or not he can see the other guy's point is irrelevant. Although that applies more to Caldwell and Elizabeth, really. As far as John goes, he's a damned possessive guy. I have (yet another) pet theory that what's John's is sacrosanct, and everything else is fair game in the protection of it. Actually, I'd love to see a situation in which he had to choose between Atlantis' people and Earth. I have a feeling Earth wouldn't necessarily fare all that well.
Also, Caldwell's reaction to being lectured on leaving a man behind was rather... forceful. It felt like there was backstory there, but if there is I'm missing it. Hmm.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 02:03 pm (UTC)The "have you ever had a conversation with him" scene, on re-watching, seemed like it could have been intended as a parallel with the John and Teyla scene. Even though Rodney uses more words than John does, he doesn't always express his feelings more successfully. And we already knew he was in the same boat about family and friends.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-22 03:28 pm (UTC)Man, I'd like to see that too. You've made a plot bunny bite me on the ass with that comment. Mind if I run with it?
no subject
Date: 2006-08-22 04:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 01:32 pm (UTC)I loved your thoughts and I pretty much agree with them. Both infirmary scenes with Rodney and Carson really didn't rub me the right way. I have no idea what it is between them, but everytime they're on screen together, Carson's acting like a total jerk. They're friends, okay, but most of what Carson does is bring Rodney down, with his indulgent and stabby remarks. It bugs me, has bugged me for a long time. Especially if there's a third person in the room, the chances that Carson will take their side are huge. Which makes him look like a bit of a suck-up.
Caldwell had every right to be that bitchy. I may have uttered 'ooooh burn' to Elizabeth, when he reminded her that she was willing to sacrifice his crew a few episodes ago. And John was acting irrational, I have to admit. They're trying to demonize Caldwell so hard, and it's just not working for me. He may be a bit on the boring, deus-ex-machina-y side sometimes, but he is not evil. Please.
- The tattoo predates runnership. Interesting.
Heh, I caught that as well. Wedding symbol??
no subject
Date: 2006-08-07 05:41 am (UTC)Alternately, I could see it as a mark of rank, maybe. Or it could be rather like American servicemen - not sure if it's a universal deal - who often have tattoos designating their branch, etc. There ought to be a story about the night Ronon's squad took him out for drinks and the morning after, when he woke up with the tattoo, a hangover, and the urge to commit murder. *g*