SG:A 4x16 - Trio
Feb. 9th, 2008 09:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stillaneLet it just be said, I loved this episode beyond all telling.
Stuff that I particularly enjoyed:
- Lollipop! Totally pointless, unexplained lollipop. *cackles gleefully*
- Pissy John is always awesome.
- When they were huffing and puffing on the trip out, did anyone else expect there to be some underlying plot about the respiratory problems mentioned among the locals?
- Rodney falling into the mines was nicely done. I'd seen a promo pick and knew it had to happen eventually, but they didn't telegraph it and it brought me up short. I like that it played out in real time, and that they held off on the musical overlay. Coupled with Hewlett's pretty damned realistic pained sounds, it was unexpectedly startling.
- I like Sam's unflappability in that moment, too. It's one of the things I'm most happy about in regards to her presence in Atlantis; they're a scarily competent bunch overall, but out of all of them, she's the one most likely to keep her head. She may be uncertain about the more social aspects of her job, but she settles into the zone when the pressure is on. It's a quieter nod to her history, and it fits.
- I love that Rodney never does truly lose it, and how that contrasts with him in Quarantine. In a lot of ways this is a situation very much like that one (no advanced technology, locked doors, imminent doom), and it brings out the differences in his responses so well. There, he saw nothing to work with. Here, he's got a room full of potential and Sam, who won't take any of his crap. Keller picks up on that, too, and responds in kind.
- "This whole place is a tetanus shot waiting to happen" is totally a Rodney line. I was a little skeptical about the parallels they'd been setting up between Keller and Rodney in Missing, but they had me this time. Unpopular fannish opinion ahead: I didn't much like Missing. This is largely because Keller, who I'd previously liked a lot, made me want to do nothing but whack her upside the head for the first 3/4 of it. She got it together, yes, but in the meantime she dissolved into such a whiny, aggravating person that I didn't have it in me to cheer her on. (I'm bad with horror movies, too; if you are stupid enough to go into the basement, I will totally root for the monster to eat you. Unless you are a Winchester.) I had trouble seeing her as a Rodney mirror because... well, seriously, Rodney would have bitched, but he'd have eaten the landsquid with a disgusted sigh and grabbed the nearest tree branch to bop bad guys (very likely with woobie eyes in full effect) from about day 2 of the show on. Fairly early in the game, he and John and SuperWraith had their adventures and Rodney came out shooting. The guy got himself sent to Siberia because he couldn't back down. Whatever else you want to say about his tendency towards hysteria, Rodney is a fighter. It's a central concept of his character, for good or ill, and the whole point of Keller's transformation is that she has to learn to be one.
For me, it feels like they've finally hit their stride with her since Quarantine. Keller here is out of her depth but practical, and her levels of freakout and snark are well balanced. She works much better as a reminder of early Rodney when she's allowed to have a personality of her own, and some sense behind it.
- I love that they're all scientists, through and through. It's like somebody dropped them into a living physics textbook and ordered them to solve for X, and they know what to do with that. I also like that they stick with relatively short explanations for everything. Have I mentioned my kink for competent people?
- Hee. Rodney reads Genii, and uses it shamelessly.
- The game. Oh, god, the game. I love that Sam reveals herself as a gigantic dork, and just as socially inept as the rest of them.
And for the record: Brad Pitt.
- Sam dissing Radek? :( Rodney claiming favorite child status is great, though.
- The very serious way Rodney chooses John Stewart is glorious. There's pre-existing thought there. Heh. *flails*
- I like that no one knows about the Katie thing. I like that Rodney winds up taking all the blame for it, because he would. I love that when Sam interrupts the discussion, Rodney's first thought is that he's done something wrong by being pleased that Keller thinks he doesn't stink. For him, it's no less likely than any of the hundred other times he's done something totally inappropriate, because he doesn't ever know that he's done something totally inappropriate until someone points it out.
- The kids peeking in like our crew are the monkeys at the zoo is both infuriating and hilarious.
- I don't really have anything to say about the grappling hook, other than, "Huh, grappling hook tug-o-war. Well then."
- I can completely buy Keller's knowledge of bar trivia. It is possible to be both socially retarded and well versed in bar tricks; spend some time hanging around med or vet students, and this becomes readily apparent. You can have skipped very large, important stages of development and still be the reigning beer pong champion.
- Also, I love that they are trying to save themselves based on a trick invented to gain free booze. If John were here, he'd totally be calling it Operation: Likely to Break Our Asses. We have the best team of intergalactic screwups ever, guys. *g*
- Ooh, and more of the gratuitous shots of Rodney lifting things. Ahem.
- I like that they left Rodney's trepidation at holding Sam's leg in place subtle. I was expecting a moment of jazzhands-of-huh-uh, but they skipped it and went straight into practicality with a twinge of anxiety. Good writers. Have a biscuit.
- Cannon! Mwahaha! And reference to the nuke! In summary: cannon + canon = whee!
- Oh, man. The entire rope scene. Just... oh. There is nothing about that that I did not like. Nothing. Keller goes from terrified to smart in 0.2 seconds, Sam tries to be noble and logical about it all, and Rodney... well. Rodney. He's everything I love about him in those five minutes.
- Hands! And t-shirt! Yes!
- Keller is kind of awesome at the end there.
- I love that she thanks him, and he honestly doesn't know what he's done that's especially worthy of it. Because this? This is all in a day's work. Rodney McKay saves lives, people. *serious nod*
- Yes, that was a suggestive drink invitation, but a mild one. Are they flirting? Yep. Do I think it'll go any further? Nope. In the meantime, it's a little bit adorable.
Now I need to go find the tag fics for this, because there have to be some, right? Like, massive amounts of John and Rodney and quiet panic, yes? *raises hopeful eyebrows*
- Lollipop! Totally pointless, unexplained lollipop. *cackles gleefully*
- Pissy John is always awesome.
- When they were huffing and puffing on the trip out, did anyone else expect there to be some underlying plot about the respiratory problems mentioned among the locals?
- Rodney falling into the mines was nicely done. I'd seen a promo pick and knew it had to happen eventually, but they didn't telegraph it and it brought me up short. I like that it played out in real time, and that they held off on the musical overlay. Coupled with Hewlett's pretty damned realistic pained sounds, it was unexpectedly startling.
- I like Sam's unflappability in that moment, too. It's one of the things I'm most happy about in regards to her presence in Atlantis; they're a scarily competent bunch overall, but out of all of them, she's the one most likely to keep her head. She may be uncertain about the more social aspects of her job, but she settles into the zone when the pressure is on. It's a quieter nod to her history, and it fits.
- I love that Rodney never does truly lose it, and how that contrasts with him in Quarantine. In a lot of ways this is a situation very much like that one (no advanced technology, locked doors, imminent doom), and it brings out the differences in his responses so well. There, he saw nothing to work with. Here, he's got a room full of potential and Sam, who won't take any of his crap. Keller picks up on that, too, and responds in kind.
- "This whole place is a tetanus shot waiting to happen" is totally a Rodney line. I was a little skeptical about the parallels they'd been setting up between Keller and Rodney in Missing, but they had me this time. Unpopular fannish opinion ahead: I didn't much like Missing. This is largely because Keller, who I'd previously liked a lot, made me want to do nothing but whack her upside the head for the first 3/4 of it. She got it together, yes, but in the meantime she dissolved into such a whiny, aggravating person that I didn't have it in me to cheer her on. (I'm bad with horror movies, too; if you are stupid enough to go into the basement, I will totally root for the monster to eat you. Unless you are a Winchester.) I had trouble seeing her as a Rodney mirror because... well, seriously, Rodney would have bitched, but he'd have eaten the landsquid with a disgusted sigh and grabbed the nearest tree branch to bop bad guys (very likely with woobie eyes in full effect) from about day 2 of the show on. Fairly early in the game, he and John and SuperWraith had their adventures and Rodney came out shooting. The guy got himself sent to Siberia because he couldn't back down. Whatever else you want to say about his tendency towards hysteria, Rodney is a fighter. It's a central concept of his character, for good or ill, and the whole point of Keller's transformation is that she has to learn to be one.
For me, it feels like they've finally hit their stride with her since Quarantine. Keller here is out of her depth but practical, and her levels of freakout and snark are well balanced. She works much better as a reminder of early Rodney when she's allowed to have a personality of her own, and some sense behind it.
- I love that they're all scientists, through and through. It's like somebody dropped them into a living physics textbook and ordered them to solve for X, and they know what to do with that. I also like that they stick with relatively short explanations for everything. Have I mentioned my kink for competent people?
- Hee. Rodney reads Genii, and uses it shamelessly.
- The game. Oh, god, the game. I love that Sam reveals herself as a gigantic dork, and just as socially inept as the rest of them.
And for the record: Brad Pitt.
- Sam dissing Radek? :( Rodney claiming favorite child status is great, though.
- The very serious way Rodney chooses John Stewart is glorious. There's pre-existing thought there. Heh. *flails*
- I like that no one knows about the Katie thing. I like that Rodney winds up taking all the blame for it, because he would. I love that when Sam interrupts the discussion, Rodney's first thought is that he's done something wrong by being pleased that Keller thinks he doesn't stink. For him, it's no less likely than any of the hundred other times he's done something totally inappropriate, because he doesn't ever know that he's done something totally inappropriate until someone points it out.
- The kids peeking in like our crew are the monkeys at the zoo is both infuriating and hilarious.
- I don't really have anything to say about the grappling hook, other than, "Huh, grappling hook tug-o-war. Well then."
- I can completely buy Keller's knowledge of bar trivia. It is possible to be both socially retarded and well versed in bar tricks; spend some time hanging around med or vet students, and this becomes readily apparent. You can have skipped very large, important stages of development and still be the reigning beer pong champion.
- Also, I love that they are trying to save themselves based on a trick invented to gain free booze. If John were here, he'd totally be calling it Operation: Likely to Break Our Asses. We have the best team of intergalactic screwups ever, guys. *g*
- Ooh, and more of the gratuitous shots of Rodney lifting things. Ahem.
- I like that they left Rodney's trepidation at holding Sam's leg in place subtle. I was expecting a moment of jazzhands-of-huh-uh, but they skipped it and went straight into practicality with a twinge of anxiety. Good writers. Have a biscuit.
- Cannon! Mwahaha! And reference to the nuke! In summary: cannon + canon = whee!
- Oh, man. The entire rope scene. Just... oh. There is nothing about that that I did not like. Nothing. Keller goes from terrified to smart in 0.2 seconds, Sam tries to be noble and logical about it all, and Rodney... well. Rodney. He's everything I love about him in those five minutes.
- Hands! And t-shirt! Yes!
- Keller is kind of awesome at the end there.
- I love that she thanks him, and he honestly doesn't know what he's done that's especially worthy of it. Because this? This is all in a day's work. Rodney McKay saves lives, people. *serious nod*
- Yes, that was a suggestive drink invitation, but a mild one. Are they flirting? Yep. Do I think it'll go any further? Nope. In the meantime, it's a little bit adorable.
Now I need to go find the tag fics for this, because there have to be some, right? Like, massive amounts of John and Rodney and quiet panic, yes? *raises hopeful eyebrows*
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-02-10 01:09 pm (UTC)I emailed The Daily Show and The Colbert Report last night with the scene transcription (and video) in hopes they'll get a giggle :) If they can get the rights, maybe they can feature it Monday.
SG:A 4x16 - Trio
Date: 2008-02-10 08:15 pm (UTC)Love, max
no subject
Date: 2008-02-10 10:12 pm (UTC)Re: SG:A 4x16 - Trio
Date: 2008-02-10 10:23 pm (UTC)Glad you got a kick out of the rest of it, though. I do so love Season 4. *glees*
no subject
Date: 2008-02-11 12:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-14 12:56 am (UTC)