There are certainly plot reasons why Ronon and Teyla might not be in the episode, but I think those are trumped by the utter unfairness of not allowing Rachel and Jason to play in the AU along with everyone else. They had a bunch of cast and crew in walk-on cameos; there is no earthly reason why they couldn't have had the same for Rachel and Jason. Jason asked if he could play the wraith and was turned down.
The thing is, every reason I can think of for *not* including them in the episode is a) easy to work around if TPTB wanted to, and b) could just as easily apply to any of the other cast members who *were* in the episode. How many times has John saved Rodney's life in our 'verse? And yet he's not only alive sans John, but has a fairly large role in the episode. This verse is different in so many ways; there is no good reason why any writer worth his writing pencil can't come up with some way to work in Teyla or Ronon or their actors somehow ... if they wanted to. That they apparently didn't want to, yet managed to fit in minor or short-term characters like Woolsey and Zelenka, says a lot about their priorities. Not that I mind seeing Woolsey and Zelenka! I actually loved Zelenka's part in particular. But ... the unfairness galls me -- that they couldn't even give Jason and Rachel a teeny little walk-on part.
It's not that I begrudge John fans getting a good episode for their character. That's awesome; I want to see *all* the characters get some good episodes. But I think what really gets to me about this, the reason why Vegas is the straw that broke the camel's back, is that the fandom in general has been so pissy over the last couple of months about certain characters getting the spotlight, others being excluded -- and now that their favorite is in the spotlight again, suddenly everything is hunky-dory and they don't care who's being excluded. I'm not trying to point a finger at you or anybody in specific -- I'm actually really happy that you're excited about the episode; I think that's awesome. But right now I feel like the fandom has become so very focused on gratifying one's own squee needs while tromping on other people's reasons for watching the show. I feel like the fans begrudge the show for having anyone but their own favorite in the spotlight, rather than being happy on behalf of the fans whose characters are in the spotlight at the moment -- and the show itself doesn't help at all by playing obvious favorites (this season with Rodney and Keller; in the last couple of seasons it's been John and Rodney), so that some people's favorite characters hardly get any screen time at all. I don't think it would be as much of a problem (well, not really a problem at all) if they rotated among the cast and gave large amounts of screentime and character development to everyone over the course of a season. But they *don't*, and it's gotten more and more unbalanced, and the fandom has gotten more and more touchy and less inclined to be happy for each other's squee-space. Having Rachel and Jason absent from this episode wouldn't be a problem if they'd both had some good episodes leading up to it. But if they're mostly in the background anyway, and then don't even get to play in the season's "fun" episode -- it makes me angry on their behalf and that of their fans.
no subject
The thing is, every reason I can think of for *not* including them in the episode is a) easy to work around if TPTB wanted to, and b) could just as easily apply to any of the other cast members who *were* in the episode. How many times has John saved Rodney's life in our 'verse? And yet he's not only alive sans John, but has a fairly large role in the episode. This verse is different in so many ways; there is no good reason why any writer worth his writing pencil can't come up with some way to work in Teyla or Ronon or their actors somehow ... if they wanted to. That they apparently didn't want to, yet managed to fit in minor or short-term characters like Woolsey and Zelenka, says a lot about their priorities. Not that I mind seeing Woolsey and Zelenka! I actually loved Zelenka's part in particular. But ... the unfairness galls me -- that they couldn't even give Jason and Rachel a teeny little walk-on part.
It's not that I begrudge John fans getting a good episode for their character. That's awesome; I want to see *all* the characters get some good episodes. But I think what really gets to me about this, the reason why Vegas is the straw that broke the camel's back, is that the fandom in general has been so pissy over the last couple of months about certain characters getting the spotlight, others being excluded -- and now that their favorite is in the spotlight again, suddenly everything is hunky-dory and they don't care who's being excluded. I'm not trying to point a finger at you or anybody in specific -- I'm actually really happy that you're excited about the episode; I think that's awesome. But right now I feel like the fandom has become so very focused on gratifying one's own squee needs while tromping on other people's reasons for watching the show. I feel like the fans begrudge the show for having anyone but their own favorite in the spotlight, rather than being happy on behalf of the fans whose characters are in the spotlight at the moment -- and the show itself doesn't help at all by playing obvious favorites (this season with Rodney and Keller; in the last couple of seasons it's been John and Rodney), so that some people's favorite characters hardly get any screen time at all. I don't think it would be as much of a problem (well, not really a problem at all) if they rotated among the cast and gave large amounts of screentime and character development to everyone over the course of a season. But they *don't*, and it's gotten more and more unbalanced, and the fandom has gotten more and more touchy and less inclined to be happy for each other's squee-space. Having Rachel and Jason absent from this episode wouldn't be a problem if they'd both had some good episodes leading up to it. But if they're mostly in the background anyway, and then don't even get to play in the season's "fun" episode -- it makes me angry on their behalf and that of their fans.