sholio | Oh show!

I loved the B-plot here--assuming Ronon was the A-plot. I felt like I've seen Our Heroes get addicted too many times, between SG-1 and SGA.

Teyla and her dilemma, and Woolsey with his various problems, I loved. "something more comfortable"! Did you see the man's wine rack? Not bad!

I do like that they didn't brush over the problem as if it weren't a big deal for Teyla to choose. It is hard, and there are a lot of factors to weigh. The one they did not mention that was heavily on my mind was: "If I stay here, how long before I got batpoop insane and start slamming my head into the walls?" I have no doubt Teyla loves her son very much. I love Small Child very much. A long weekend with her, and I'm seriously ready for school again! Teyla might appreciate quiet more than I do--no doubt does--but I think even she would get tired of hanging out with the kid.

Huzzah for Kanaan giving her the choice and bringing some added clarity: helping lots of people's children!

Yes! TEAM! I liked this ep a lot.

Oh, yeah, I really loved this episode, too. I think part of my problem with the Seed was that it wasn't a very 'teamy' episode. They all seemed very separate to me. Somehow this one just felt more like a team episode to me. Even if Ronon was a Wraith worshiper out to convert the rest of the team.

I do like that they're dealing with Teyla and her situation. I really liked how they had Kanaan kind of sound like he was going to tell Teyla she should stay at home with her son and then he came down squarely on the other side. It made me smile a lot.

I've already watched it again, and I did find it more fun the second time around!

While it also made me laugh a lot, I felt really sorry for Woolsey when the doors shut in his face and he couldn't get them open again.

I was making such dolphin noises of glee that mom came in and told me to be quiet. SIIIGH. I need my own place. XDD

But it's a good thing because SO MUCH LOVE FOR THIS EPISODE!!

How much did I love every single thing about it? A LOT. AND THEN SOME MORE.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeee~! *flails*

Ooh, the montage! I forgot to mention it, but it was beautiful. I love how they set the different scenes to classical Earth music, instead of the general non-diagetic Stargate theme.

Yeah I was thinking that it was a bit like Teal'c getting brainwashed by Apophis. Nonetheless some great acting from Jason, and a lovely sense of team and friendship.

As much as I liked Ronon's stuff, it was Teyla and Woolsey who really stood out. At last, a story for Teyla that didn't revolve around her psychic abilities or her people! Loved it. Loved her scenes with Woolsey.

Woolsey - laughing my head off! His ex-wife got the Yorkie in the divorce - and Teyla's look of "Oh my goodness, what are you ON?". He did TRY with the baby, even if he was wise in going to find Kanaan ASAP. The clothes, the doors that wouldn't open! I wish I'd liked Voyager more, because Mr Picardo is so very watchable!

Yes, Jason did a great job (and was quite appropriately creepy in a couple of scenes!)--not his fault it's a recycled plot!

Oh, Robert Picardo was one of the best things about Voyager, and one of the major reasons I stuck out all seven years. Jeri Ryan, for all that I mocked when I first saw pictures of her, proved incredibly talented (despite being drop-dead gorgeous and consistently dressed in skin-tight outfits). The two of them kept me watching through all the "what the frell are the writers thinking?" (Garrett Wang never impressed me on the show, but he's absolutely hilarious at cons, if you ever get the chance to see him.)

And Woolsey was trying to sympathize--I like that he concluded it was not the same thing as having a child. He was feeling his way towards common ground, and he finally realized he wasn't going to get there. I do feel for the man, losing his beloved dog in the divorce! It's not a child, but with no children, and now no wife, I'm sure he really needed the dog!

I *KNOW*! Flails! This ep made me SOO happy! 'The Seed' I found frustrating on several levels, and it high-lighted some fears I was having for the season, but this one alleviated a lot of those same fears and just made me so damn happy! So much teamy goodness!

...And John somehow jumping from "I need a fresh perspective" to "take a bath with me" Oh, oh John, your mind is a VERY interesting place. Wishful thinking, perhaps, honey? Just hearing what you wanna hear? ^_-

And, watching the ep in a group of four, and all of us were like "OMG SQUEE, Teyla has a house-husband! For the WIN! They actually did it!!!" We wanted it so bad, but didn't dare to hope and just, oh SHOW. YOu make me so very, VERY happy!

I loved this episode, it had a very teamy feel to it! I agree with you about the whole mom-at-work thing and I like how Kanaan is there, supporting her, even encouraging to rejoin the team!

Ronon and Rodney can now bond over withdrawal from enzyme, even if the circumstances are somewhat dissimilar! (Yes, I have a ficlet written in rough dealing with Rodney's POV on watching Ronon's withdrawal ...)

Woolsey is really good in this ep again ... still very much himself (a suit is relaxing? Fine wine, classical music ... the tale about the yorkie (hard to lose a loved pet, especially when it's still alive), and the scene with the baby!) and yet also supportive of Teyla as well as the search for Ronon. What is it with the doors, though? Doesn't Atlantis like him?!!! LOL!

And John is great - I love how he pushes Teyla to make up her mind, pointing out that he can't come to her everytime there's a mission to ask if she wants to come or not, and saying that he will understand whichever chioce she makes.

One thing that wasn't so much disappointing as more like 'oh yeah, I can see where this is going' was Tyre turning on the Sheppard and Lorne's team and then turning out to be trying to help them...yeah, saw that coming a mile off! But never mind, the episode was soooo good I don't really care, and I loved Tyre's sacrifice at the end. Sad to see him go, he would have been a fun character to revisit, but really, what other option was there for him, after being a Wraith worshipper for all those years?

The ending was great. I love how they set us up for the bath scene earlier, with Archemedes ... and then when we see him relaxing in the bath (squeee!) he has his own little 'eureka' moment!! Sweet!

But did he really need ALL of that bubble bath!! *wicked grin*

And John is great - I love how he pushes Teyla to make up her mind, pointing out that he can't come to her everytime there's a mission to ask if she wants to come or not, and saying that he will understand whichever choice she makes.

An excellent scene. Most of us working moms have to choose between continuing to work or staying home before our kids are born. Teyla's case is no different from any other mom who works a hazardous job and, as much as I understand her being pulled in two directions, John lays it on the line and demands an answer.

Then Teyla gets captured and she stands there in the cell, looking miserable, not saying anything because you know she's thinking about her son and about possibly not coming home to him. This is where the show really gets me--these little things that might not even be on purpose but I read into them what they mean to me. In the same scene, John's being Mr. Positive, looking at the bright side, never thinking (or, at least voicing) that McKay might be right about all the dire things he's predicting. If Sheppard is a constant A+ about situations and if McKay is always an F-, then you end up with a solid C, which is all of the possibilities that no one's thought up yet. I like that.

I, too, like Woolsey. Half of me wants more conflict, like in "The Seer," because a battle of wills and a power struggle in Atlantis would spice things up. The other half of me likes having a bossman around who is patient and understanding and who likes dogs and classical music.

SQUEAK! FLAIL! TEAM! RONON! TEAM!

... yeah, that's about it, really. ^_^

IAWTP!

Yes, I loved that they gave some actual weight to her decision, rather than just handwaving it. She got to make it over the course of a whole episode, to talk it over with John (even though we didn't see their final conversation) and with Woolsey. I really appreciated that.

Yay team! :D

The scene with Woolsey and the doors -- yeah! It was a great scene and I laughed while also feeling bad for him. He really is trying to do a good job -- which is a feeling I've gotten in several of his previous appearances (on this and SG-1); I appreciate that the writers don't simply cast him in a one-dimensional bureaucrat role, but that he's actually a decent guy trying to do his job to the best of his abilities.

All the above plus: wouldn't it be really creepy and unexpected if you knelt instead? Oh John, your one-liners are getting better tis season. I can also picture the writer in my mind writing that scene ;-P

Looks like Kanaan has a whole lot of stuff going on off-screen... *nudges plot bunny into the open*

Oh, it was wonderful! It gave me happy chills, and made the Teyla/Kanaan and Ronon/John scenes so much more poignant and sublime than if they'd had dialogue over the top.

*flails with you*

This episode was fantastic! TEAMY GOODNESS FTW!

And, watching the ep in a group of four, and all of us were like "OMG SQUEE, Teyla has a house-husband! For the WIN! They actually did it!!!" We wanted it so bad, but didn't dare to hope and just, oh SHOW.

THEY DID!!! I was so, so thrilled by that! It's such a stunningly rare thing to see on TV -- in fact, the first situation I can think of on ANY genre show, even the ones in the supposedly-distant future, with a working mom and a stay-at-home dad. (BTW, that was one of the things I loved about the manga Planetes -- have you read that? -- not just Fee being an astronaut/pilot while her husband raises their son, but also how very matter-of-fact they are about it, because duh, it's THE FUTURE and of course things like that are commonplace.)

I think he knows that the IOA expects him to be their yes man and I think he equally wants to be a good leader. He's read all the reports from Atlantis, he knows what they're up against.

I loved when John and Rodney are rushing out the door to go get ready for the mission and Woolsey clears his throat to remind them they do have to kind of get permission. I didn't think he did it to make himself important, but because he's very aware that there's a chain of command that must be followed and if things go south, he's the one that's going to get into trouble for authorizing the mission and not John because he just went off and did his own thing.

Sad to see him go, he would have been a fun character to revisit, but really, what other option was there for him, after being a Wraith worshipper for all those years?

Well, I don't know if I agree about that; I wish they hadn't had him go out that way. I would have loved to see him go all vigilante against the Wraith in retaliation for everything they'd done to him, and keep turning up as a recurring character. On the other hand, his sacrifice actually made sense -- unlike killing off the RepliTeam, who didn't have to die, especially not the way that they did. In this case, it didn't feel like the team were letting Tyre die because they didn't value him as a person, and it didn't feel like he was taking the easy way out; they were in a very difficult situation, and he offered them a way out that didn't really leave a good way out for *him*. I loved the look he exchanged with Sheppard; it was obvious that Sheppard, Mr. Kamikaze himself, recognized what Tyre was planning to do.

I'm very much with you on that scene. It didn't come across as Woolsey trying to self-promote or to abuse his authority over them; it was Woolsey-the-leader reminding them that he is the leader and needs to have their respect. And it was played in a way that made this clear -- you can see that he's not being an ass, but reminding them that Atlantis isn't an anarchy and they need to at least pay lip service to needing his permission.

I know what you mean. I've been a little surprised (and maybe a little disappointed) at how conflict-free their interactions with Woolsey have been. On the other hand, he's been trying so hard to do a good job that it gratifies me to see them getting along with him.

*hugs the team*

I like this season very much!

I... might have spent the past. Um. Three hours? Grabbing screencaps and posting them in my LJ along with what basically amounts to text saying exactly this ("this" being the "flail squee YAY TEAMY GOODNESS") but using a lot more words?

Here.

Wow. This episode got me GOOD. I'm still grinning and bouncy and you know that I mean it when I say that I really ought to have been asleep by now (1:18 AM?!) but it's such a high that I'm not the least bit sleepy! (Tired - yes. Sleepy - no!) I don't wanna sleep! I wanna watch episode again! And then squee some more about it. ^_^

Oh yeah, that line from John made me laugh out loud! Oh, John. You just can't stop mouthing off to your captors, can you?

And there are SO many possibilities for side stories with Kanaan and Teyla!

Of all the things I expected, coming away with "Woolsey is such a woobie!" was last on the list--but he WAS! I wanted to find his wife and smack her for keeping the Yorkie! And I loved him in his suit as his "something more comfortable". I also loved John asking for permission to go offworld and totally sounding like, "Dad, can I have the car keys, please?"

I was happily surprised by the way they handled Teyla's decision--it was thoughtful and well-done. Kanaan is still too much of a plot device for me to have much of an opinion on, but I do appreciate that he was totally backing her up.

And oh, Ronon!

Re: Woolsey-as-woobie - I KNOW! I can't get over how much I love him, and I never thought I would! I liked him before, but I was expecting him to basically come off as "Rodney lite" as a show regular, i.e. the one who says and does the things Rodney *would* have done before he started to develop some social Clue. And he's not! He's sweet and out of his element and homesick and trying so very, very hard. Oh, Woolsey!

I agree with you about Kanaan the non-entity. On a totally meta-show level, I think it's hilarious (and oddly cool) that Teyla has her very own Woman-in-Refrigerator/non-entity ~~girl~~boyfriend. In other words, Kanaan is totally coded as the girlfriend who is only there to back up the hero, but he's a guy. I find this very amusing, though of course, it's not on purpose. But as a character, yeah, there's not much to have an opinion about. I wish he had even ONE character trait to call his own. We know a lot more about him from Teyla describing him to Keller in "Missing" than we do from all his actual appearances on the show.

This is one of those eps that has to sink in - so many layers. It wasn't about Ronon's life being in danger but about what it takes to break a man, what a man will do (who he will betray) for a fix, how a woman can choose to leave her child at home and risk her life on a daily basis. It was beautifully done. Jason Momoa was unbelievable. Teyla's story was well handled. I LOVED Woolsey, and I find the fact that he has to go to his quarters and put on a suit and tie to be incredibly sad. I hope the day will come when he can find a friend and feel comfortable in an Atlantis uniform. He is so alone.

While I love the fact that Kanaan was so supportive of Teyla, a small part of me wonders if it isn't guilt and gratitude driving it. He missed most of her pregnancy (although not his fault), he didn't release her no matter how often she asked, he was saved and returned to normal by her friends.

I adored all the team moments here - the worry for Ronon and the shock of John AND Rodney when Teyla admitted to having not made a decision. John's refusal to leave the Wraith lab without Ronon even though Ronon had "betrayed" him. Now I REALLY want to know what happened between John and his dad. But the scenes that choked me up were the 2 times Ronon broke down. *sniffle* Especially after John gives him that sword. I really hope we see some repercussions of this in future eps. (Yeah, not holding my breath.)

Really loving S5 so far.

I wish we could download get the episodes quicker. I WANNA SEE!

For all the things I loved about the ep - and there were a lot - the thing I was flailing about most was Teyla and Kanaan as stay-at-home dad. That they actually did it - wow. I didn't think I'd ever say this about the show, but I truly respect the writers of SGA for how they handled Teyla's entire pregnancy and her family now. I've never seen it done so on a scifi show, and if they keep this up, then for all the fun I make of SGA, this will be the one element that will actually get me rec'ing the show to non-fans, something they've done that I haven't seen before.

And I admit to being way too amused right now that Kanaan doesn't really have much of a personality, that he is the guy Teyla had to rescue that is now all lovey-dovey and supportive and happily takes care of the Teylet while Teyla runs off to save the galaxy with her sexy, sexy boys. It's such absolute gender-switching, and all the more endearing because it's unironically so (since the SGA writers aren't really, um, sophisticated enough for irony...) Kanaan is Keiko O'Brian! I do hope he'll develop something of a personality and character eventually, but I hope it's not at the expense of Teyla's little family, because seriously - it is WAY TOO CUTE and I don't want to lose it. (I want a Teyla & Kanaan wedding and then they can live happily ever after! To heck with 'shippers! ...Wow, I am such a magnificent hypocrite. But still!)

--Also, I loved that Rodney mentioned his piano lessons. After 4 seasons, canon SGA mention of his pianist past!!

There was just so much teamy goodness in this one! And Woolsey and just ... everything. Eeee, show!

That's a good point about Kanaan. I guess one of the problems is that we know so little about him that we really have no idea what's going on in his head.

Hee! :D

Heh. I actually had similar thoughts to yours, on Teyla and her "Man in Refrigerator" -- see here. I know they're not doing it on purpose, but the effect is an amusing role-reversal.

I'm basically unspoiled for the Teyla storyline this season, but I don't have much hope that they'll keep things the way they are now. But, you know, maybe they will! I've been very happy and impressed with how Teyla's storyline has been handled, from the pregnancy on up to the working-mom thing. I would love it if Teyla continues to have Kanaan and the baby to go home to, all through this season. After all, there are plenty of examples of the reverse, the cop or soldier or whatnot with the rarely seen wife and kids.

And Rodney's piano lessons! Yay for continuity! Actually ... yay for that whole scene; I thought it was totally adorable that Rodney was the one who happened to be there when he woke up. (And that we *saw* all the sitting-at-bedside stuff. Yay team! Yay show!)

There were some good things about the ep, mostly the quality of the acting, but to me, as a story, it was lame. It seemed a tired retread of Plots That Have Gone Before, at least in terms of Ronan's storyline. Honestly, who didn't see Tyre's turnaround, Ronan being broken of the enzyme, the team standing by him etc coming? Too predictable by half. As I say, the quality of the acting was what saved the episode but if this is going to be the standard of storyline for this season, we've got problems.

On the plus side, huzzah for not brushing Teyla's decision to return or not under the carpet. I did like the scenes between her and Kanan (sp?) and Woolsey. It was a good look at a difficult decision. If I have any gripe at all, I'd liked to have heard Tayla articulate her reasons for returning a bit more, but eh, that's a minor gripe.

On the subjet of Woolsey, he's been the biggest surprise for me this season so far. I was all ready to hate the character, as I was expecting much bureaucratic nonsense and antagonism between him and Sheppard, but they haven't gone that route. They've taken the much smarter route of showing him as a guy doing the best job he can in a very difficult situation, one for which he perhaps wasn't the best prepared. And obviously, in Bob Picardo, you've got a guy who can portray all that and the comedy too, in a way that gets you on Woolsey's side at once. Damn them all! Robbing me of my hate! :D

Fair enough; to be honest, my expectations from SGA with regards to quality of plot are so low that I'm content as long as it delivers on the character-interaction front and doesn't happen to have any plotholes that trip my personal pet peeves. I adore the show, but it sure ain't gonna win any writing awards. *g*

Woolsey has been handled wonderfully. I was actually quite surprised that there's been so little conflict, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the characters have a real clash at some point, but he's very likeable and sympathetic so far.

Just out of curiosity--mostly because this review came up early on my flist and everyone seems so gleeful...The thing I got stuck on was the wraith being able to feed on Ronon. I thought that they couldn't, and that's why he was made a runner. I really need an explanation for that, because the rest of the ep was wonderful but that part is really bugging me. Thoughts?

That's fanon, actually. It was how some people interpreted that flashback scene in Runner when the Wraith backed away from feeding on him, but Mallozzi (or one of them, anyway) said in one of the commentaries awhile back that they'd never meant to imply that he couldn't be fed on, just that the Wraith thought he looked strong and decided to make him a Runner rather than feeding on him. I wish I could point you to a specific link, but I can't remember where exactly it was -- just that the show-runners have gone on record as saying that he can be fed on just like anyone else.

Oh, that makes me feel better. I never read one way or the other in fic or anything, but I've thought of that scene from Runner this whole time as implying he can't be fed on. Huh. Weird. Because now I realize that it colored how I watched the show...I thought part of Ronon's, um, brazenness was because he knew he was immune to the feeding enzyme. Interesting.

Oh show!

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