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"Kindred" in brief
I can't even read episode reactions without being spoiled for next season! I already knew to avoid the comments ... XD Well, I promise no spoilers here -- except for the episode, of course! I'm not even watching next week's preview, 'cause I don't wanna know.
Fun episode! It was kind of a middle-of-the-road ep, not exactly a barrel of squee, but interesting enough to keep me watching and entertained.
Rodney and Teyla ... awwww. I liked the way that he went ahead and tried to be supportive about her vision even though he didn't believe it. He really has come a long way!
Hoff! That was pretty cool! I love revisiting parts of the galaxy where we've been before. And the marketplace, too, had kind of a non-Western feel to it -- at least much more so than the medieval worlds where they normally go. I really liked this episode from a "see the galaxy" standpoint (which, by the way, is one of the things I really want more of in season 5 *crosses fingers*).
I saw a picture on Mallozzi's blog of Kanan on the funeral pyre, and thought I'd been spoiled much more badly than I actually was! I really get a kick out of how totally B-movie mad scientist they've gone with Michael and his army of bug people. Aww, show ... I love you for your utter, unrepentant goofiness. Don't ever grow up!
Although they are skirting dangerously close to the "magic baby" trap that I really, really did not want for Teyla! I choose to see it as Michael being completely insane, though. He believes in some kind of mystical connection between himself and Teyla that isn't really there, aside from the actual mental connection of the Wraith hive mind. But as far as Teyla being special or connected to him beyond that, and his obsession with her baby ... it's all in his head. I liked the bit with Kanan having Wraith DNA too -- it stands to reason, of course, that Teyla wouldn't be the only one, but this is our first suggestion of others among her people with her abilities.
I like the casting on Kanan, too. He looks like someone Teyla might fall for. And oh, poor John, losing Teyla! (And OMG, poor *Lorne*, losing Teyla! Not his fault, but ... going off to protect Sheppard's PREGNANT teammate, and then losing her to the Wraith ... oh, Lorne. You're going to get all the lousy assignments from now 'till 2010, I fear!)
And, of course ... Carson! Naturally we have to wait until next week to see how everyone reacts, and if he's a clone or a Replicator or a victim of the galaxy's most unnecessarily complex kidnapping plot.
Fun episode! It was kind of a middle-of-the-road ep, not exactly a barrel of squee, but interesting enough to keep me watching and entertained.
Rodney and Teyla ... awwww. I liked the way that he went ahead and tried to be supportive about her vision even though he didn't believe it. He really has come a long way!
Hoff! That was pretty cool! I love revisiting parts of the galaxy where we've been before. And the marketplace, too, had kind of a non-Western feel to it -- at least much more so than the medieval worlds where they normally go. I really liked this episode from a "see the galaxy" standpoint (which, by the way, is one of the things I really want more of in season 5 *crosses fingers*).
I saw a picture on Mallozzi's blog of Kanan on the funeral pyre, and thought I'd been spoiled much more badly than I actually was! I really get a kick out of how totally B-movie mad scientist they've gone with Michael and his army of bug people. Aww, show ... I love you for your utter, unrepentant goofiness. Don't ever grow up!
Although they are skirting dangerously close to the "magic baby" trap that I really, really did not want for Teyla! I choose to see it as Michael being completely insane, though. He believes in some kind of mystical connection between himself and Teyla that isn't really there, aside from the actual mental connection of the Wraith hive mind. But as far as Teyla being special or connected to him beyond that, and his obsession with her baby ... it's all in his head. I liked the bit with Kanan having Wraith DNA too -- it stands to reason, of course, that Teyla wouldn't be the only one, but this is our first suggestion of others among her people with her abilities.
I like the casting on Kanan, too. He looks like someone Teyla might fall for. And oh, poor John, losing Teyla! (And OMG, poor *Lorne*, losing Teyla! Not his fault, but ... going off to protect Sheppard's PREGNANT teammate, and then losing her to the Wraith ... oh, Lorne. You're going to get all the lousy assignments from now 'till 2010, I fear!)
And, of course ... Carson! Naturally we have to wait until next week to see how everyone reacts, and if he's a clone or a Replicator or a victim of the galaxy's most unnecessarily complex kidnapping plot.

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My review is here: be warned. At the bottom, after some scary capitals of spoiler, I talk about the preview for next week, so don't read that.
a victim of the galaxy's most unnecessarily complex kidnapping plot
Yep! That's where my money is!
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Honestly, I'm not sure what Mallozzi thought was the big clue. Most people seem to be guessing that it's Teyla's remark that Michael should not be so far along in his research; it's the best I've got, as well. That might possibly maybe suggest that Carson is alive, but it doesn't by any stretch of the imagination suggest how he survived, so I think Mallozzi has been blowing smoke about his big season 3 clue to what happened to Carson. I think it's at best a teeny clue.
I will say, in the writers' defense, that if there was no body, no Stargate fan would really believe Carson was dead. I still don't believe that Aiden Ford is dead, and I was convinced before I saw Leather Jacket Elizabeth that at least one version of Elizabeth Weir was still out there. They say they wanted the episode to have a big impact, so they made sure Carson was ded ded ded. Then they found out the fans were really upset about it, and I'm still waiting to see what cockamamie explanation they provide.
If they bring back my Carson, preferably without nullifying the season 3 stories I've written (some posted, one not yet), and they're true to the character that made me want to watch the show in the first place (along with Rodney), then I'll forgive them almost anything. Yes, I'm easy that way. If they give us Evil!Carson, or a Carson who has been cheerfully experimenting with human and Wraith DNA willy-nilly in Michael's
playroomlab, then they will face the Wrath of Aelfgyfu (not to be confused with the Wraith of Aelfgyfu, which is a development I hope never to see).no subject
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I do like that I have questions, and I LOVED the use of Hoff again, but, perhaps I was tired. It felt long to me. Should I blame the cold?
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To me, it felt kind of similar to "Spoils of War" and their other Big! Plot! Episodes! ... i.e. too much emphasis on moving the story from one point to the next, not enough time on the characters' reactions along the way. I did enjoy it, though.
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SGA's big eps are never as successful as the smaller ones, imo...the big eps that work well are the ones which still keep the action focused on a small cast ("The Return" - awesome eps, and potentially what's at stake is huge - the whole Atlantis expedition! - but it's all centered on Our Heroes alone, giving lots of time for char interaction. "Midway" worked on similar principles...)
I'm hoping Part 2 will be more personally focused.
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I definitely agree that the character-focused episodes are much more enjoyable than those of a more epic scope -- at least for this fangirl! Like you, I'm hoping that this week was setup for a tighter and more character-centric episode next week.
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>>I liked the bit with Kanan having Wraith DNA too -- it stands to reason, of course, that Teyla wouldn't be the only one, but this is our first suggestion of others among her people with her abilities.<<
Hmm, I think it's mentioned a few times in S1 that there are more Athosians than just Teyla who can sense the Wraith and in "The Gift" we learn, that this ability is connected to the Wraith-DNA in Teyla's genetic make-up. IIRC Charin actually says that a few people with this ability are born in every generation. I find it neat that this is not something out of the blue but actually a continuation of things we have already learned as far back as season one. :-) I just *love* it when the script authors put in this kind of continuity in their scripts. :-)
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And I knew that they were going to end *right there* on finding Carson but it still drove me nuts.
I think I'm looking forward to The Last Man more than Kindred II, but I've enjoyed the back half of season 4 ten times more than the back half of season 3.
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Luckily, I'd run across a reference to "stupid Sci-fi promo spoilers!" early on, so I didn't go and watch the promo at the website, and didn't know how Carson would be re-introduced. (Advantages, I guess, to getting the show off iTunes rather than watching it live!)
I totally agree with you about the back half of season 4. There were a couple late-S3 episodes that I liked (and I adored "Tao"), but as a whole, it was pretty weak. S4 looks like it's going out on a very strong note. Actually, the whole season has held together really well -- it's been a lot more coherent than S3, as much as I loved some of the S3 eps taken individually.
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I'm with you on the mystical stuff. So far it's all been fine. But if they go voodoo hoodoo with the baby it'll be a little annoying.
There were moments in some of the s3 episodes that I loved but there were things that just drove me crazy. I think Echoes and Ark were the only 'loves' but there were monents in ToR, Return, Submersion, Sunday, etc that I enjoyed, Vengeance and even Irresponsible where they were all just so gorgeous I could almost forgive the cheesy ending lol.
S4 has been a lot more coherent. I think there was a far better job done in structuring it and bringing it all together. I've enjoyed more of the episodes for their actual *stories* than Sheppard's role in the stories.
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I also got a kick out of seeing the Hoth and learning about their fate. Not that I am happy the Hoth were wiped out, but it makes prefect sense for the Wraith to do that. I also liked how that part of the story played out.
I too am worried about what they are going to do with the baby. I really hope they stay with a nice, normal, if somewhat unplanned pregnancy. I am hoping that Micheal is looking to fact that in this case both the parents have the gene. Well I do think he has some feelings for Teyla as she did treat him decently back when he had been captured that first time. I think that could be an interesting relationship... even if it is very one sided. I love how he keeps trying on insist they are a very similar, but Teyla keeps resisting the idea. It is a wonderful interaction and cheers all the way around. The writing and the acting in those scenes.
And yes, poor Lorne. Losing Teyla as he did...I know it is not your fault, but even so...that had to hurt. I figured they were being lead into a trap, I just wasn't expecting said trap to be sprung as early as it was. Very well done I think.
Carson...I have no idea. Or I do, but nothing concrete. For all the talk about his return they have managed to do a good job of keeping that part a secret...
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And, yes, I did enjoy getting some closure on Hoff! This season has been fantastic for referring back to past seasons -- we've seen what happened to Bates and Kavanagh, they've revisited the Athosians in a major way and even the Genii. (I would have liked to see more discussion on the whole Hoff situation and the morally problematic aspects of it, but compared to some of the stuff they've done since, the Hoff thing was relatively black and white!)
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I agree with you about Michael although I think this baby might have strong Wraith sensing abilities than Teyla since Kanaan has Wraith DNA too. I love Michael being OTT with CT playing him so mellow. Truly freaky.
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And my vote for Carson is: clone (just my opinion - I have no prior knowledge).
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I, too, had a moment when I thought the story would be told in flashback ... I was glad to find out that wasn't the case, though I do find Teyla's visions just the teeniest bit credibility-stretching. (A nice call-back to Wraith telepathy, yes. But if Michael has been able to do this all along, why is he just now using it? And why is he using it in the manner that he is -- if he really has the ability to mislead Teyla that completely, couldn't he have done a more thorough, subtle mind-fuck on her?)
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http://margec01.livejournal.com/10918.html#cutid1
No spoilers that you haven't already mentioned.
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How did Michael know of Teyla's pregnancy? Kannan (or Kaanan? or Kaannaann?)didn't know he was a babydaddy when the Athosians were abducted, so he couldn't have spilled the beans.
And Carson! Keeping my fingers crossed that we don't end up scratching our heads about how he is alive after all. Geez, though, it was good to see him again. I figured that the clues to his aliveness lay buried in the Teyla/McKay dialogue in "Vengeance," so I'm feeling like a genius about that, along with, like, 50,000 other people.
But, Friendshipper, what did you think about the fact that Michael doesn't have a feeding slit anymore? I mean, that's huge, really. A complete surprise and one that puts Michael squarely in the middle between being human and being a Wraith. And what does it mean for the galaxy?
I'm DLing the ep right now to watch again. My husband was trying to talk while Michael was chatting with Teyla, so I was a bit distracted.
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The lack of feeding-hand is creepy indeed. If I were Michael, though, I think I would've kept both feeding systems if possible! Giving up such a powerful advantage, even if it can also be a handicap, seems like a bad move. It's much slower and less efficient to feed the human way, even if it's more versatile in the long run. Plus, it's a good way to terrorize and interrogate prisoners ...
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I think that we were meant to believe that Michael, masquerading as Kanan, discovered Teyla's pregnancy through his telepathic connection--much like the Wraith Queen sensed the child in Spoils of War. He probably meant to involve Teyla at some point anyway, because he's creepy & obsessed like that, but once he discovered the baby? Done deal.
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What I want: angst surrounding Carson's revival.
I don't think i'll get it though, I think there's going to be some action scheme that brings back Teyla and thwarts Michael without killing him, and then Carson will be swiped under the carpet a la Clone!O'Neill.
Truthfully, I know Carson is one of your favourites but I've never been able to connect to the character. He and Heightmeir seemed to be put into the show specifically for the purpose of thwarting the main heroes' plans. I really dislike it when medical profession is used in this way. It's always the case of the psychologist not believing your visions or what not, always the case of the doctor forcing the patient to stay in the infirmary. This is perhaps as much a fault of fandom as canon, but I just see Carson as this jailer who gets in the way of everything people want.
So with that in mind, I am hoping for huge angsty story as far as Rodney and maybe John are concerned, with realizations that their Carson is never coming back, and that the man in front of them might be identical but he hasn't gone through what they've gone through and just doesn't know them anymore because they've changed and Carson has remained static, waiting for his resque, working on the Hoth drug.
If he's a clone, he's been cloned before Carson's death. For all we know, actually he's the real Carson and they had a clone on Atlantis for years, you know? I just don't want him to come back and be a Brilliant Geneticist Jailer again. I could accept him in a different role.
I would also like for him to show signs of PTSD and want to go back to his mom. Because that would be in character and seriously, nobody on Atlantis has had a breakdown yet? Attempted suicide? Even in SG-1 we had "The Light" episode sort of touched on the issue of these people living under enormous stress, but it's even worse on Atlantis because of being cut-off. Now that mid-way is gone again, it's the perfect time to show something of the stress affecting the average joe on Atlantis. Maybe Carson wanting to go to Earth could do it for me. Unless it's enforced leave, because he's a clone and thus for some reason not real enough.
I have a lot of baggage with Stargate, can you tell? *g*
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In Carson's defense, though -- Carson-as-infirmary-jailer always seemed far more fanon to me than canon. Heightmeyer definitely got cast in the plot-antagonist role, but I don't remember that being true of Carson. The only episode in which Carson really ended up in the role of medical antagonist that I can recall was Critical Mass, an episode in which NONE of the characters really showed off their best side.
Which is not to say that there wasn't a whole lot of ethical WTF-ery going on around the Michael storyline. That was honestly my least favorite part of the series ... I recognize that there are ethical considerations with the whole thing, but for me personally, that was the part where the issues really reared up and smacked me in the face.
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I do think that Carson-as-jailer is more fanon, but it's already so easy to see that merely not disproving the notion is enough to make me see it. If that makes sense. Somehow I rarely felt this way about Fraiser on SG-1, and that's probably because she was given smart and useful things to do, which were ultimately benefiting the team. And she seemed human, adopting Cassie, her obviously warm friendship with Sam. On SGA most people are trying to get away from Carson, or being unwilling somehow (a la Rodney with fishing in "Sunday") and yet supposedly he is this charming man, he's dating Cadman entirely offscreen. I want to be shown that, not told. Then, I'm with you on the whole Michael thing smacking me in the face and maybe I never quite recovered from it.
I do think there's a lot of potential with Carson being back now as long as they don't ignore all the surrounding issues.
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I never saw it as "most people are trying to get away from Carson"; on the other hand, up until recently, the characters' personal relationships have been almost ENTIRELY off-screen aside from their interactions on missions and during crises, so there has been a whole lot of "telling, not showing" going on, especially with situations like the Carson-as-Rodney's-best-friend thing (which was almost entirely unsupported by canon, at least recent canon).
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I like your take on Michael, he's clearly insane, constant genetic modification I guess does that to you. I never thought of him taking out his feeding need. I do find the idea of a Wrath that can kill humans by taking their life force, but not needing it as required sustenance to be a really interesting idea. (I don't think that is what Michael did this is just the writer in me)
The hybrid changes seem sleeker and I think could represent an even bigger danger to both human and Wraith aside.
I see Michael and Todd as opposite lords in a big old throw down with humans/ Atlantis in the middle.
And yes poor Lorne! Eeeek! Sheppard's been trying to protect Teyla whether she needed it or not and she gets nabbed with Lorne there.
Not going to touch Carson, have NO CLUE how they are going to explain it all.
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I just can't come up with anything that even KINDA makes since! Being unspoiled, I know nothing about what they have in mind, although I'm kinda leaning towards the Michael-captures-Carson scene in "Misbegotten" coming into play somehow (though I could easily be mistaken on that).
Guess we'll find out ...
Re: Carson
I'm screening your comment so that others aren't spoiled too. Since it's my journal, please respect my preferences on this.
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I honestly don't care about Carson one way or the other, but if I have to make a guess - sheer speculation - this Carson is a Replicator, same version as the Team replicators in This Mortal Coil. They simply cannot bring the real Carson back from the dead, that would be too much of a stretch.
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I'm very intrigued as to how it's going to work with Carson. I'm hoping for an explanation more interesting than clone!Carson or Replicater!Carson as that's been done to death, but I guess we'll see. My first thought was that maybe Carson will be SGA's answer to Daniel Jackson - dies once a season on average. :p
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I don't think Michael's messed with Teyla's baby yet, but I think the baby might be potentially special due to its DNA - born of two Wraith-sensers, and Teyla at least is a pretty powerful one. "Spoilers of War" implied the baby's got strong Wraith-genes...I was guessing then that Kanan also had the gift, so I was really glad to hear that supposition carried out. Still, it doesn't bother me as much in the 'magic baby' way because at least the baby came by his genetics naturally!
Oh, Lorne. He looked so nervous, coming back through the gate Teyla-less...
Michael!!! Is such a deranged supervillain. I luffs him muchly. (especially because, well, I completely sympathize with him. Yes, deranged supervillain, but the Atlantians made him that way! It amuses me up in a dark way that everything bad that happens in Pegasus is Atlantis's fault, these days. Like in this ep, the Hoff drug wouldn't ever have been completed without the Atlantians' help, and Michael wouldn't exist, and I so am tempted to write the AU wherein SGC is 50 years late getting to Pegasus and they arrive to find the Genii and Hoffans and various others have just finished up with defeating the Wraith...of course then the SGC would have to save the galaxy from the Genii's not-so-benevolent dictatorship, but still...)
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I'd assumed that Michael was completely and utterly off his trolley, right from 'I'm going to build an army of bug people' (or Vengence as I supposed I should call it...I prefer my title...) onwards. I would have liked him and Todd to have more to do than stand around looking menacing, but then our guys were doing more than enough running to make up for it.
Like you, one of the things I really liked was seeing them go to another world that was different, that was distinctly Pegasus, where 'gate travel is usual, and visiting other worlds isn't an issue. It's a while since I watched SG-1 and my memory's lousy, but it feels different to the way the Milky Way worked. I guess when the 'gate system isn't controlled by the Goa'uld, and people need to make a run for it on a regular basis, movement is much more common. It's a nice, world-building thing that really adds depth.
a victim of the galaxy's most unnecessarily complex kidnapping plot.
Hee. You know, at this point, nothing would surprise me...
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I really, seriously worry about Teyla's baby being in Michael's reach, because that just can't be good. I didn't feel they were doing monster/magical baby as much as setting the baby up for a really, really bad time. Actually, it's already somewhere Michael could possibly do something to it, and that scares me. I so want this to be a regular, normal baby... But then I was also hoping that Teyla might find her people again. Which. Well. Errr. Oops? (I feel so terribly bad for her now!)
And poor Lorne indeed! I loved that he'd already volunteered to come with them and rescue Teyla, because the poor guy was a study in guilt when he came back through the gate. And facing not only his commanding officer, but also Rodney and Ronon, and then he LOST HER and the Wraith have her and he couldn't do anything to stop them? NOT GOOD.
if he's a clone or a Replicator or a victim of the galaxy's most unnecessarily complex kidnapping plot.
I know!! Wanna know~! I - the last option just cracks me up, because if it's true - well. It can't be true... can it? It's got to be a clone? Or... something? AU Carson? Though considering the way Michael was playing around with growing soldiers, he probably grew Carson. I don't even wanna know what he used for base material, but - he made himself a Carson and OH, RODNEY. Rodney's face...!! And John's face! And Carson's utter confusion! I sense a great need for hugs right now.
I saw a picture on Mallozzi's blog of Kanan on the funeral pyre, and thought I'd been spoiled much more badly than I actually was!
Ehehee~! I was full of glee when that was the very first scene, and I could celebrate a little because if it's a dream then I'm not actually spoiled at all, and - and now there are only two more episodes to go (only two?!?) and I only have one more spoiler and... It's actually really cool to have things like Carson showing up and Kanan being Wraithified taking you by surprise!
I have much love for the show today. It wasn't an ep that pushed any of my own buttons that much, but I thought it was really, really solid. A really good episode, with lots of interesting, more or less sense-making plot developments. (As long as they don't give Todd their virus research. Because. Really? BAD IDEA, GUYS.)
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... hey, only two days 'till the second half!