When Michael's plan for Teyla's baby was revealed I did think that you might not like it, but it didn't really have much impact on me. I suppose that I've sort of thought all along that having a normal baby grow up on Atlantis would be a logistics nightmare in terms of ongoing plot for an adventure sci-fi TV series. I mean, are they going to set up a daycare centre in the Gateroom or something? I don't think so. (Sorry, but as I'm typing this, my brother is playing game reviews by "Yahtzee" from escapistmagazine.com aloud in the background and I find his brand of staccato cynicism somehow creeping in). So, because I expected that there would have to be some plot twist to "remove" the baby some way, the idea that a villain might kidnap him (even to experiment on) seemed like a reasonably "logical" plot step to me.
I was also vaguely aware that Carson was to return. It was one of those terribly non-secret spoilers that you almost couldn't avoid knowing. And truth be told, I was almost dreading seeing him again because all the ways I thought they might bring him back seemed really lame to me. But the way they did bring him back was much less lame than I thought it would be. Cloning is kinda cliche for sci-fi, but the way they worked it in with Michael's story really worked for me. I always thought that the ethical "payback" of what his experiments had done to Michael should have been part of Carson's "downfall" from the moment I heard he was leaving in the first place. So having it "tacked on" to his return kinda works for me. And yes, he's conveniently out of the way again, but that's okay with me too. Again, I really didn't expect him to return on a full time basis. Keller has taken his place on his Atlantis and hence his medical presence is now redundant. They had to do something with him (like they had to with the baby once it's born) and locking him in stasis is again a bit cliche (see half a dozen fanfics that need a character out of the way for a bit) but it's still a logical step to take.
I *LOVED* the way all the reactions to his return were played by each character. Rodney trying to be "a good friend", but still being Rodney. The fact that he said that acknowledged that while finding he was a clone must be difficult forn Carson, Rodney himself can't help but feel like he's got his friend from the dead. Ronon not being able to talk about it (until the very end). Sheppard still being *SHEPPARD* and not getting teary-eyed or overly emotional - and appearing to support Rodney and Ronon in their emotional crisis. John isn't the type of guy to "lose it" in these emotional situations - instead he seemed (to me) to be almost an emotional bridge for the others. It's him that explains to Carson why Ronon won't talk to him. I've never really had the impression that Sam really was close to Carson, so a lack of interaction was not felt. The Beckett-Keller dynamic interested me because as I understood it, she knew the other Carson briefly and served under him before he died and she took over, but this Carson would have no memory of even meeting her. Those issues weren't specifically scripted, but I still liked the interplay between them. Teyla was a hostage elsewhere for most of the episode, but when she first sees Carson without any warning, her reaction was absolutely believable and in character.
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When Michael's plan for Teyla's baby was revealed I did think that you might not like it, but it didn't really have much impact on me. I suppose that I've sort of thought all along that having a normal baby grow up on Atlantis would be a logistics nightmare in terms of ongoing plot for an adventure sci-fi TV series. I mean, are they going to set up a daycare centre in the Gateroom or something? I don't think so. (Sorry, but as I'm typing this, my brother is playing game reviews by "Yahtzee" from escapistmagazine.com aloud in the background and I find his brand of staccato cynicism somehow creeping in). So, because I expected that there would have to be some plot twist to "remove" the baby some way, the idea that a villain might kidnap him (even to experiment on) seemed like a reasonably "logical" plot step to me.
I was also vaguely aware that Carson was to return. It was one of those terribly non-secret spoilers that you almost couldn't avoid knowing. And truth be told, I was almost dreading seeing him again because all the ways I thought they might bring him back seemed really lame to me. But the way they did bring him back was much less lame than I thought it would be. Cloning is kinda cliche for sci-fi, but the way they worked it in with Michael's story really worked for me. I always thought that the ethical "payback" of what his experiments had done to Michael should have been part of Carson's "downfall" from the moment I heard he was leaving in the first place. So having it "tacked on" to his return kinda works for me. And yes, he's conveniently out of the way again, but that's okay with me too. Again, I really didn't expect him to return on a full time basis. Keller has taken his place on his Atlantis and hence his medical presence is now redundant. They had to do something with him (like they had to with the baby once it's born) and locking him in stasis is again a bit cliche (see half a dozen fanfics that need a character out of the way for a bit) but it's still a logical step to take.
I *LOVED* the way all the reactions to his return were played by each character. Rodney trying to be "a good friend", but still being Rodney. The fact that he said that acknowledged that while finding he was a clone must be difficult forn Carson, Rodney himself can't help but feel like he's got his friend from the dead. Ronon not being able to talk about it (until the very end). Sheppard still being *SHEPPARD* and not getting teary-eyed or overly emotional - and appearing to support Rodney and Ronon in their emotional crisis. John isn't the type of guy to "lose it" in these emotional situations - instead he seemed (to me) to be almost an emotional bridge for the others. It's him that explains to Carson why Ronon won't talk to him. I've never really had the impression that Sam really was close to Carson, so a lack of interaction was not felt. The Beckett-Keller dynamic interested me because as I understood it, she knew the other Carson briefly and served under him before he died and she took over, but this Carson would have no memory of even meeting her. Those issues weren't specifically scripted, but I still liked the interplay between them. Teyla was a hostage elsewhere for most of the episode, but when she first sees Carson without any warning, her reaction was absolutely believable and in character.