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Sateda - more detailed reaction
Words really fail me for how much I loved this episode. I was looking forward to it mainly in the hopes that we'd finally see Ronon as a more sympathetic, less two-dimensional character than he's often portrayed. And while it delivered wonderfully on that, I had no idea that there would be so much fantastic squee-age with everybody else!
There were about a dozen different scenes that, in any normal SGA ep, would have been the OMG SQUEE moment for the episode. And this was just one after another. And there was also the humor, and the action, and ... I just can't believe how well this episode *worked*, on so many levels.
What really blew my mind in this one is that SO MANY of the major character relationships were addressed. I mean, we had neat scenes with Sheppard/Teyla, Ronon/just about EVERYBODY (including Beckett!), Carson/Rodney, the obligatory (and always squee-worthy) Sheppard/McKay ... my little cup of fangirl squee runneth over. We even got aftermath, wich is something this show almost *never* gives us. In a usual episode, the jumper would have scooped them up and that would be the last thing you'd see. Here we got ... follow-through! That *thunk* you hear was me falling to the ground in shock.
And, honestly? I didn't think they ever strayed into overly mushy territory; I didn't think they ever ran outside the bounds of what's in character for these people. The Sheppard/Teyla scene had all the awkwardness that you'd think Sheppard would have when trying to express an emotion like that -- and yet, considering the circumstances and the vulnerability that Teyla has shown him, you can see why he would TRY to express it. (And I absolutely LOVED the way that that scene addressed Teyla's feelings of isolation on Atlantis -- I don't think we've seen that side of Teyla since "Suspicion", yet it totally makes sense that she would have this ongoing feeling of being an outsider.) The incredibly awkward little hand-pat was SO Sheppard, and it was great how sometimes Teyla filled in the right words, and sometimes the wrong ones. ("I have no ..." "...Friends?" And then his immediate shocked/appalled response to that.) And all the scenes with Carson and Rodney, from Carson's affectionate little grin when Rodney accuses him of not looking past the surface of people (DUH, Rodney, what do you think he's doing *right now*?) to arguing over who gets to go out and possibly die alongside their friends ... sweet and adorable and hilarious all at the same time ... And then the hug at the end, and Ronon actually doing his best to express his appreciation for all of them, in his own gruff, "I have no social skills either" kind of way.
Just about every one of the major characters got spotlighted at some point and got to be cool in their own way -- well, except for Weir, but the first couple eps of the season were very Elizabeth-intensive; she's had her moment in the sun.
Tearing myself reluctantly away from the character side of things to consider other aspects ... This show usually does good action/suspense scenes, and this episode was no exception. The bit at the end with the puddlejumper de-cloaking -- I really did *not* see that coming even though I was hoping the noncombatants would get their turn to shoot some Wraith. I figured it'd be on foot if they did get to fight, but using the jumper just made so much more sense. Loved seeing Carson saved the day for a change, and Rodney was really doing some pretty amazing flying, what with maneuvering the jumper down into the city streets and then taking off with the hiveship shooting at him.
The special effects were great. They did a really nice job on the ruined city and the battle scenes. I liked the shaky-cam effect on the flashbacks, as well as how the flashbacks were yellow-tinted while the present day was kind of blue and monochrome. (Can we be any more blatant with the color symbolism? But still ... very effective.) It's always tough to do a flashback-intensive episode without having the flashbacks drag, but they kept a good balance -- long enough flashbacks to give us some real insight into who Ronon is, but not long enough to detract from the episode.
And as if all of that wasn't enough, there was also the FUNNY. Rodney being shot in the ass ... Drugged!Rodney's description of his teammates made me laugh so hard I had to shut off the video for a minute to get control of myself. And Teyla has a sense of humor! Loved her remark to Rodney at the beginning -- "How do you live?" -- and her eye-rolls at Sheppard's constantly increasing kill count. In fact, all the character reactions were just fantastic, the facial expressions and body language.
And even though Sheppard and McKay weren't spotlighted in this episode as a team, they still had some great little moments anyway. Sheppard grabbing Rodney after he's shot -- of course he'd be the one to do it. The "hair" comment in the infirmary, followed by the kind of plaintive "I think I lost him somewhere". And later, in the lab, the absolute ease and comfort with which Sheppard sits down on the floor next to McKay. I think the writers have done a marvelous job this year at conveying the idea that Sheppard and McKay spend quite a bit of time together off-duty, without ever really *saying* so.
I really don't think there was a single thing about this episode that I'd change. Not a single false note or spot where I wanted MORE. Well, aside from wanting more in general ... but in the past, a lot of the episodes I really loved, such as "Grace Under Pressure", left me feeling slightly cheated at the end by not giving enough emotional wrap-up to the events. This episode delivered. Boy, did it deliver.
There were about a dozen different scenes that, in any normal SGA ep, would have been the OMG SQUEE moment for the episode. And this was just one after another. And there was also the humor, and the action, and ... I just can't believe how well this episode *worked*, on so many levels.
What really blew my mind in this one is that SO MANY of the major character relationships were addressed. I mean, we had neat scenes with Sheppard/Teyla, Ronon/just about EVERYBODY (including Beckett!), Carson/Rodney, the obligatory (and always squee-worthy) Sheppard/McKay ... my little cup of fangirl squee runneth over. We even got aftermath, wich is something this show almost *never* gives us. In a usual episode, the jumper would have scooped them up and that would be the last thing you'd see. Here we got ... follow-through! That *thunk* you hear was me falling to the ground in shock.
And, honestly? I didn't think they ever strayed into overly mushy territory; I didn't think they ever ran outside the bounds of what's in character for these people. The Sheppard/Teyla scene had all the awkwardness that you'd think Sheppard would have when trying to express an emotion like that -- and yet, considering the circumstances and the vulnerability that Teyla has shown him, you can see why he would TRY to express it. (And I absolutely LOVED the way that that scene addressed Teyla's feelings of isolation on Atlantis -- I don't think we've seen that side of Teyla since "Suspicion", yet it totally makes sense that she would have this ongoing feeling of being an outsider.) The incredibly awkward little hand-pat was SO Sheppard, and it was great how sometimes Teyla filled in the right words, and sometimes the wrong ones. ("I have no ..." "...Friends?" And then his immediate shocked/appalled response to that.) And all the scenes with Carson and Rodney, from Carson's affectionate little grin when Rodney accuses him of not looking past the surface of people (DUH, Rodney, what do you think he's doing *right now*?) to arguing over who gets to go out and possibly die alongside their friends ... sweet and adorable and hilarious all at the same time ... And then the hug at the end, and Ronon actually doing his best to express his appreciation for all of them, in his own gruff, "I have no social skills either" kind of way.
Just about every one of the major characters got spotlighted at some point and got to be cool in their own way -- well, except for Weir, but the first couple eps of the season were very Elizabeth-intensive; she's had her moment in the sun.
Tearing myself reluctantly away from the character side of things to consider other aspects ... This show usually does good action/suspense scenes, and this episode was no exception. The bit at the end with the puddlejumper de-cloaking -- I really did *not* see that coming even though I was hoping the noncombatants would get their turn to shoot some Wraith. I figured it'd be on foot if they did get to fight, but using the jumper just made so much more sense. Loved seeing Carson saved the day for a change, and Rodney was really doing some pretty amazing flying, what with maneuvering the jumper down into the city streets and then taking off with the hiveship shooting at him.
The special effects were great. They did a really nice job on the ruined city and the battle scenes. I liked the shaky-cam effect on the flashbacks, as well as how the flashbacks were yellow-tinted while the present day was kind of blue and monochrome. (Can we be any more blatant with the color symbolism? But still ... very effective.) It's always tough to do a flashback-intensive episode without having the flashbacks drag, but they kept a good balance -- long enough flashbacks to give us some real insight into who Ronon is, but not long enough to detract from the episode.
And as if all of that wasn't enough, there was also the FUNNY. Rodney being shot in the ass ... Drugged!Rodney's description of his teammates made me laugh so hard I had to shut off the video for a minute to get control of myself. And Teyla has a sense of humor! Loved her remark to Rodney at the beginning -- "How do you live?" -- and her eye-rolls at Sheppard's constantly increasing kill count. In fact, all the character reactions were just fantastic, the facial expressions and body language.
And even though Sheppard and McKay weren't spotlighted in this episode as a team, they still had some great little moments anyway. Sheppard grabbing Rodney after he's shot -- of course he'd be the one to do it. The "hair" comment in the infirmary, followed by the kind of plaintive "I think I lost him somewhere". And later, in the lab, the absolute ease and comfort with which Sheppard sits down on the floor next to McKay. I think the writers have done a marvelous job this year at conveying the idea that Sheppard and McKay spend quite a bit of time together off-duty, without ever really *saying* so.
I really don't think there was a single thing about this episode that I'd change. Not a single false note or spot where I wanted MORE. Well, aside from wanting more in general ... but in the past, a lot of the episodes I really loved, such as "Grace Under Pressure", left me feeling slightly cheated at the end by not giving enough emotional wrap-up to the events. This episode delivered. Boy, did it deliver.
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And I absolutely LOVED the way that that scene addressed Teyla's feelings of isolation on Atlantis -- I don't think we've seen that side of Teyla since "Suspicion", yet it totally makes sense that she would have this ongoing feeling of being an outsider.
Yes! That made me very happy. That, and her sense of humor, teasing McKay and dealing with John's fragile male ego after she killed more Wraith than him. But the way she came to thank John, and the way he forced himself to say all those things to make sure she knows how much she means to him - there are no outsiders, in that team. They're family, a family of socially awkward dorks and outcasts and people who have either lost there homes, or never knew there could be a place like it before they found Atlantis.
And, honestly? I didn't think they ever strayed into overly mushy territory; I didn't think they ever ran outside the bounds of what's in character for these people.
See, that's something that impressed me too! They do occasionally slip up with the characters, like John letting himself be convinced to play host to an alien consciousness in "The Long Goodbye", but here? They were all themselves. Rather awkward and dorky and utterly adorable, all around. John and Teyla's conversation was perfect, because of the general level of awkwardness and total lack of any eloquence, but they still managed to convey so many very important things. Like Teyla said, after - "Thank you for what you meant to say". And Teyla wasn't reading his mind - I loved that she got some of her words wrong!
And then Rodney went way over the top with his answer to "why are you doing this" - he didn't open up to Carson; he just babbled. Like an idiot. And Carson saw right through it, but didn't say anything. There was just - that grin. Poor, long-suffering Doctor. ♥
Not to mention Ronon, and - the "I win" was great, because to me it sort of read as if he was counting his loyal friends as the best weapons anyone could ever have against the Wraith, despite his telling Sheppard not to shoot. And of course he doesn't have any social skills, because no matter what his life was like back on Sateda, he's spent most of his adult life living as a wild thing... Seeing him actually express his thanks was an unexpected bonus.
The whole tag was an unexpected bonus! I didn't realize you were complaining about the same thing the first time you watched these eps, but the lack of resolution - ack! It can be so frustrating. But both with Sateda and McKay & Mrs Miller, we got - an ending. Not just a fade-to-black as soon as the action was over and done with, but actual reactions and talking and - not much, but enough. Enough. ♥
In fact, all the character reactions were just fantastic, the facial expressions and body language.
Good observation - they really were on a roll with this episode. I loved everything about it, and you can feel it was an intense one for the actors, too. After a year, finally Jason got to do more than grunt and loom, and he does it so well, it energizes the rest of the cast.
And even though Sheppard and McKay weren't spotlighted in this episode as a team, they still had some great little moments anyway. Sheppard grabbing Rodney after he's shot -- of course he'd be the one to do it.
See, what you said in the beginning of this post, it's so true, because in any other episode, that scene might have been my OMG SQUEE moment, but it happened so early on that I'd almost forgotten about it by the end - of course, now that I think about it, it does make me squee quite happily. ^_^