Nice list of scenes. :D Yeah, I think we needed the scenes at the beginning for balance; it wouldn't have been the same if the episode had just kicked off on Earth. TPTB been much better this season at giving us those little character moments woven in and around the main action, and I really appreciate them for it. And I liked the scene at the end with his brother, too. Like I noted in another comment, I think it's a nice indication of how much John has changed since he's been in Atlantis. I don't think season 1 John would have gone to see Dave like that, but by this point he's learned a lot of hard lessons about losing people and not taking for granted the ones you have left.
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