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Short thoughts on The Return
Not an episode review so much as just a few comments on various scenes from the mid-season finale, plus Richard Dean Anderson.
Every time RDA guest stars on SGA, it reminds me once again why I adored him so much on SG1. He simply steals every scene he's in, but in an incredibly understated way. Who else could get away with that "maidens and voyages" line and be cute and funny instead of sleazy or horribly cheesy? He's great with the nonverbal too -- like with his look at Woolsey when Woolsey puts a hand on his arm.
Granted, I'm not precisely capable of seeing him through unbiased eyes. I was a teenager during the '80s. First big crush? MacGyver? Yeah ... *raises hand*. And I started watching SG1 in the first place for no other reason than because RDA was on it -- I hadn't really liked the movie much. But, damn. The man can ACT!
Anyway, I'm not going to bother with a long review on this one, partly because I've already said quite a bit about it at other LJs and such. But there were a couple of scenes I had to squee over.
#1 - the scene in John's quarters. You know, I cannot believe how I've gone head-over-heels for Ronon this year. He's *funny*! And so adorable in an overgrown-puppy kind of way. The way he delivered the line about killing all the Wraith in the Pegasus Galaxy -- I just about died. And of course, the hug. THE HUG! You know, this confirms my belief that, ironically, Ronon's the least repressed of the whole team when it comes to physical gestures of affection. And the way he did it (and Sheppard's reaction) was so freakin' cute and funny.
#2 - Rodney calling John 'cause he's lonely. AWWWWWW! Can there be any doubt, any doubt whatsoever, that they're best friends? Didn't think so. And you know, this is the second time in the last few episodes that we've seen Rodney turning to Sheppard when he's feeling unhappy and insecure. He seems to be able to open up to Sheppard emotionally in a way that he doesn't do with anybody else. Granted, his pool of available people to vent to, on Earth, is quite small -- Elizabeth's not returning phone calls, so that pretty much leaves Beckett and Zelenka ... but really, can you imagine him admitting that he's lonely to ANY of the others? It just wouldn't happen. And I loved Sheppard's little grin and nod when Rodney said he didn't miss him. What are the odds that Rodney's been calling him practically every day?
On the topic of Rodney, there were a couple of things in the episode that bugged me when I first watched it, but I think I've successfully fanwanked them to my own satisfaction. *grin* One was Rodney not getting a team goodbye scene the way that Sheppard did. But, you know, thinking about it, I could *totally* see Rodney simply avoiding the issue by not allowing himself to get into a situation where he'd have to say goodbye. He was probably insanely busy in the science wing, and I could see him just avoiding them -- maybe not even consciously doing it, or realizing what he's doing. (I still would have liked to have seen a more emotionally complete reunion scene, but ... ah well.)
The other thing that bugged me a little was Sheppard hanging up on him. But, you know, that seems like more of a case of Sheppard not being able to deal with his own demons. Rodney, of all people, wants to talk about feelings while Sheppard himself is hanging on by his emotional fingernails -- I kinda think he just wanted to back out of the conversation before it descended to levels of mushiness that he did not want to explore. Plus, I dunno if it's just me, but I definitely get the impression that Rodney calling him is not a one-time-only thing. I wouldn't be surprised if Rodney's been calling him almost nonstop since leaving the SGC. My sister pointed out to me that there's not the slightest hint, back on Atlantis when all the goodbyes are said, that Sheppard and Rodney wouldn't be staying in touch. Most of the other Earthers seem to assume that they'll be scattering to the ends of the globe; we saw goodbyes with Zelenka/Beckett/Rodney and John/Elizabeth. But John and Rodney ... I think even then, the idea that they *wouldn't* stay in touch hadn't crossed their minds. And part of it just may be that Rodney-denial thing that I mentioned earlier with regards to Ronon and Teyla ... but I just didn't get the feeling that these were two people who were expecting not to see each other again.
And, after six weeks, Rodney flew to Colorado for no other reason than to see his friends ... how cool is that?
Okay, enough squee-age. The tag possibilities for this episode are INFINITE. I've got way too much to write at the moment (like, oh, the rest of "Killing Frost" for one thing) but I already have several ideas that I'd like to work on. SO MUCH POTENTIAL! John and (maybe) Carson at the SGC, Rodney seeing his sister again, delving into the backstories of Zelenka and Carson ... oh the possibilities!
Every time RDA guest stars on SGA, it reminds me once again why I adored him so much on SG1. He simply steals every scene he's in, but in an incredibly understated way. Who else could get away with that "maidens and voyages" line and be cute and funny instead of sleazy or horribly cheesy? He's great with the nonverbal too -- like with his look at Woolsey when Woolsey puts a hand on his arm.
Granted, I'm not precisely capable of seeing him through unbiased eyes. I was a teenager during the '80s. First big crush? MacGyver? Yeah ... *raises hand*. And I started watching SG1 in the first place for no other reason than because RDA was on it -- I hadn't really liked the movie much. But, damn. The man can ACT!
Anyway, I'm not going to bother with a long review on this one, partly because I've already said quite a bit about it at other LJs and such. But there were a couple of scenes I had to squee over.
#1 - the scene in John's quarters. You know, I cannot believe how I've gone head-over-heels for Ronon this year. He's *funny*! And so adorable in an overgrown-puppy kind of way. The way he delivered the line about killing all the Wraith in the Pegasus Galaxy -- I just about died. And of course, the hug. THE HUG! You know, this confirms my belief that, ironically, Ronon's the least repressed of the whole team when it comes to physical gestures of affection. And the way he did it (and Sheppard's reaction) was so freakin' cute and funny.
#2 - Rodney calling John 'cause he's lonely. AWWWWWW! Can there be any doubt, any doubt whatsoever, that they're best friends? Didn't think so. And you know, this is the second time in the last few episodes that we've seen Rodney turning to Sheppard when he's feeling unhappy and insecure. He seems to be able to open up to Sheppard emotionally in a way that he doesn't do with anybody else. Granted, his pool of available people to vent to, on Earth, is quite small -- Elizabeth's not returning phone calls, so that pretty much leaves Beckett and Zelenka ... but really, can you imagine him admitting that he's lonely to ANY of the others? It just wouldn't happen. And I loved Sheppard's little grin and nod when Rodney said he didn't miss him. What are the odds that Rodney's been calling him practically every day?
On the topic of Rodney, there were a couple of things in the episode that bugged me when I first watched it, but I think I've successfully fanwanked them to my own satisfaction. *grin* One was Rodney not getting a team goodbye scene the way that Sheppard did. But, you know, thinking about it, I could *totally* see Rodney simply avoiding the issue by not allowing himself to get into a situation where he'd have to say goodbye. He was probably insanely busy in the science wing, and I could see him just avoiding them -- maybe not even consciously doing it, or realizing what he's doing. (I still would have liked to have seen a more emotionally complete reunion scene, but ... ah well.)
The other thing that bugged me a little was Sheppard hanging up on him. But, you know, that seems like more of a case of Sheppard not being able to deal with his own demons. Rodney, of all people, wants to talk about feelings while Sheppard himself is hanging on by his emotional fingernails -- I kinda think he just wanted to back out of the conversation before it descended to levels of mushiness that he did not want to explore. Plus, I dunno if it's just me, but I definitely get the impression that Rodney calling him is not a one-time-only thing. I wouldn't be surprised if Rodney's been calling him almost nonstop since leaving the SGC. My sister pointed out to me that there's not the slightest hint, back on Atlantis when all the goodbyes are said, that Sheppard and Rodney wouldn't be staying in touch. Most of the other Earthers seem to assume that they'll be scattering to the ends of the globe; we saw goodbyes with Zelenka/Beckett/Rodney and John/Elizabeth. But John and Rodney ... I think even then, the idea that they *wouldn't* stay in touch hadn't crossed their minds. And part of it just may be that Rodney-denial thing that I mentioned earlier with regards to Ronon and Teyla ... but I just didn't get the feeling that these were two people who were expecting not to see each other again.
And, after six weeks, Rodney flew to Colorado for no other reason than to see his friends ... how cool is that?
Okay, enough squee-age. The tag possibilities for this episode are INFINITE. I've got way too much to write at the moment (like, oh, the rest of "Killing Frost" for one thing) but I already have several ideas that I'd like to work on. SO MUCH POTENTIAL! John and (maybe) Carson at the SGC, Rodney seeing his sister again, delving into the backstories of Zelenka and Carson ... oh the possibilities!