SGA 4x15: Outcast

[sholio]

Still not feeling like doing long reviews, so itty bitty comments instead!


BATES!!!!! I was totally unspoilered for that ... and thrilled to death to see him, and find out what he's been doing over the last couple of years.

I liked the episode a lot. Sheppard's early life ... REVEALED! *g* I was a little bit spoilered for this, to the extent that I knew he had an older brother and that his dad was (probably) dead -- but I really loved those bits, and I ended up liking his brother a lot more than I was expecting to at first. The plot was pretty good this time -- Terminator, not exactly a new idea, but I didn't expect the twist with the female scientist and I loved how they solved the problem, in the end, using actual science! Score! (I'm really fond of clever uses of the technology they have. The whole thing with the knife-beacon and beaming an enemy into re-entry -- that was smart!)

I did really love that we got a little scene at the beginning with Rodney making a stab at being comforting and wanting to go along for moral support; I think I would've been very disappointed if the episode hadn't had anything along those lines. Having said that, I do like the way that they've been mixing up the characters this season into different combinations -- last week, we had a ton of Rodney/John interaction, so it was nice to get Ronon/John this week, for balance.

And I do love, love, love how we're getting a deeper understanding this year of who John is. Last season basically did that for Rodney, and this season is doing it for John. One thing I find really interesting, after this episode, is how much of his isolation pre-Atlantis is apparently self-imposed. What I mean is, it's not that he didn't have people who liked him and cared about him -- it's that he pushed them away. It wasn't just John, of course; it takes two to have a fight -- but I really liked that aspect of this episode, that we saw it was at least as much him walking away from them, as them walking away from him. It makes him much more human, and less of a woobie victim than he's often written in fic that deals with his past.

Yep, liked the episode very much. Want tags now. :D

Comments

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Very enjoyable and I kinda love how open they left John's backstory - they gave us quite a bit but still left a lot vague, like what the estrangement was really about (the gay! ...I mean, yeaaah....), and that's....that's a gift to fanon, that's what it is! This could've jossed a lot more fics than it did...

I saw Dave as the older brother because (as others have said) I cannot see John just abandoning a younger sibling like that. And in a lot of family dynamics, it tends to be more common for the elder sibling to be the more responsible, more willing to follow in parents' footsteps, and the younger to be the rebel. So without any proof I totally read them as that way, but I guess we don't actually know (I rather liked Dave, I've seen people calling him an asshole but I got the impression he was genuinely hurt by how completely John had cut himself off...he just wasn't much better at articulating it than John is. Communication is not that family's strong point, obviously. The same and yet opposite of the McKays...loud fights vs cool silences.)

Speaking of communication, oh, Rodney...he tries, and John knows he's trying, and doesn't seem to mind that Rodney had put in to go back to Earth with him without asking John first, like John actually wants him to go even if he didn't say. John's expression when Rodney leaves is just, "I am loved..." (not even in the slash sense, but John's Atlantis family is so very there for him. Ronon just coming along, awww...!)

And the plot was pretty fun, totally didn't see that she was a replicator, too, and I like what they did with her in the end, interesting option...(she & FRAN should totally hook up XP)

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

I loved the Rodney scene, and I love it more each time I watch it. (...what?) I also love how Rodney just barges into John's quarters without knocking, much as he does in "Miller's Crossing". Nice contrast with "Trinity" where he knocks and then Sheppard doesn't even let him in; their comfort level is so much higher now than it was then (and it was pretty high even then!).

John's expression when Rodney leaves is just, "I am loved..."

I got that from that look, too -- as awkward as Rodney is with his attempt at sympathy, John gets it. With Teyla, in Sateda, she filled in the blanks for him. But with Rodney, the blanks don't even need to be filled. The two of them just know, and it's so lovely.

And you know, I've been talking in various comments about how much John has changed over the seasons, but the change in Rodney can't be ignored, either. Two years ago, he wouldn't even have thought of coming by to see John. Or, he might even have thought about it, but he wouldn't have done it.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I also love how Rodney just barges into John's quarters without knocking,

Yes, gnine have been discussing this, whether John just leaves his quarters unlocked (well, Atlantis is a very dorm-like environment, and I remember rarely locking my college room door when I was in the room) or whether Rodney's got a 'key' or handprint or however Atlantis works. Either way, there's trust there.

With Teyla, in Sateda, she filled in the blanks for him. But with Rodney, the blanks don't even need to be filled.

Yes! I didn't read John as annoyed by Rodney's intrusion, but touched and not being able to show it because, well, this is John. But Rodney gets it anyway, so that's okay.

And yes, Rodney has come a long way. I've been wanting to see him being there for John, as John always is for him, and this really worked for me, along with the end of "This Mortal Coil" (man, I love the end of that ep, the "Thank you," to Radek, and then John comes to Rodney for some measure of comfort. Both of them are so uncomfortable with feelings, but they don't need to talk them out with each other to understand...it's why they work so well as friends, because they don't demand the other to say the difficult things...)

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

Yeah, in season 3 it became fairly obvious, from episodes like McKay & Mrs Miller or Tao of Rodney, that Rodney leans on Sheppard for emotional support, and I really wanted to see evidence that John relies on Rodney the same way. Season 4 has definitely been supplying that! And it's really wonderful to see that Rodney is actually capable of offering that kind of support, as awkward as he is about it.

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

Pressed "Post Comment" too soon, oops.

it's why they work so well as friends, because they don't demand the other to say the difficult things...

Yes, exactly! You weren't in the fandom yet when "Sunday" aired, but there was a lot of meta-ing about Rodney's "best friend" comment to Carson in that episode. My own reading of that whole situation is that Rodney thinks of Carson that way because Carson used to push Rodney to open up, in a similar way to how Teyla does with John. In some ways, what Rodney's become (a better person, a better friend) he owes to Carson, who wouldn't let him close himself off and push people away. But Carson also wanted more from him than he was able to give -- e.g. the goodbye scene in "Return", or the fishing thing in "Sunday". John, on the other hand, accepts him as he is. John gets him. As of "Sunday", I don't think Rodney really understood what he had, with either John or Carson, but especially with John because the comfort level is so high that he might not even realize that it is friendship -- it just is. With everything that's happened over the last year, it seems that he's starting to realize what he's got, and to reach out and not take for granted that the people around him will always be there.

[dewey3067.livejournal.com]

I saw Dave as the older brother

Yeah, I did too and did a bit of websurfing to try and find out. According to the SciFi site episode summary: His older brother, Dave, greets him coolly (http://www.scifi.com/atlantis/episodes/episodes.php?seas=4&ep=0419&act=1). So there you go - we're right! *g*

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you for the info! I didn't even think to look there. :)