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SGA 3x06: Real World
Well, I wrote last week that eventually an episode would come along that wouldn't make me squee, and this was that episode.
I didn't dislike the episode because it was Weir-centric. On the contrary ... I actually enjoyed seeing her in a central role for a change, and getting to do something other than a lot of talking-head shots with diplomats. I really enjoy the episodes where Elizabeth gets to Do Stuff, much as I enjoy seeing Sheppard go into geek mode or Rodney fire a gun -- I love seeing characters outside their normal comfort zone.
No ... I disliked it because they had some great, creepy setup and then blew it. I can deal just fine with the science not making a lick of sense ... hey, it's SGA, I'm used to that. But it could have been so much better, and it started so well and ended so lamely and ... sigh.
The first part of the episode was creepy and chilling and very effective. I love creepy, psychological horror (a la "The Sixth Sense") and they did a really good job with Elizabeth's disorientation and the creepy sense of "that's not quite right".
And then they cut to the real world (the *real* real world) and you find out exactly what's going on ... and most of the "creepy" factor just drops right out, leaving a fairly banal and predictable plot with a lot of WTF?? moments (like O'Neill making a hockey reference that Elizabeth didn't get -- hello, he's in her HEAD, how can he know things that she doesn't?). Every horror movie fan knows that as soon as you find out what the monster is, the movie's pretty much over. I mean, it's not like we don't know Elizabeth's going to survive, and once the secret of the monsters in her head has been revealed, the suspense is gone. The little bits in Atlantis were fun -- John asking Rodney "How do YOU know what it looks like?" ... Rodney and Carson arguing ... John going into "do anything for my team" mode, even if it DIDN'T MAKE SENSE that touching Elizabeth's arm would be any more effective than talking to her from outside the LEAST EFFECTIVE ISOLATION CHAMBER *EVER* ... But it would have been so much better if they'd saved the big plot-reveal moment for the very end of the episode.
My husband thinks they introduced the rest of the cast halfway through so as to keep viewers from deserting and/or forgetting what show they were watching. Which may be the case, because I was actually not looking forward to this one all that much due to it being very light on most of my favorite characters, and was surprised how much I enjoyed it despite that. But I can think of LOTS of other ways that they could have been worked in without pulling the curtain off the whole plot like that. What about Elizabeth encountering AU versions of her friends who'd never joined the SGC? That would have been *awesome* -- seeing her brain come up with different versions of Sheppard, Rodney, Carson, et al.
There are so many possibilities inherent in an episode that takes place inside a character's head! And they didn't do ANY of them! *vex* I mean, you could have had Elizabeth sprout wings and fly, darnitall! And we didn't even really find out anything about her that we didn't already know -- except that she WILL fight when backed into a corner, and it was nice to see that. And we saw her mom. But other than that ... there wasn't a whole lot of point to the episode, overall.
The one scene that really got me was when Elizabeth's mom gives her the pocket watch, and she mentions having taken it to Atlantis and then realizes what she's lost and doubles over in tears ... that was a very powerful scene, I thought, because in typical, subtle SGA fashion, they never had to SAY that that's the moment when Elizabeth realizes that she's lost all her best friends. But you can tell. It was a very real, very affecting moment.
And it also amused me that Elizabeth's subconscious decided to trigger her nervous breakdown by killing off Simon, the guy who left her for another woman. Got a little latent hostility there, Elizabeth?
I didn't dislike the episode because it was Weir-centric. On the contrary ... I actually enjoyed seeing her in a central role for a change, and getting to do something other than a lot of talking-head shots with diplomats. I really enjoy the episodes where Elizabeth gets to Do Stuff, much as I enjoy seeing Sheppard go into geek mode or Rodney fire a gun -- I love seeing characters outside their normal comfort zone.
No ... I disliked it because they had some great, creepy setup and then blew it. I can deal just fine with the science not making a lick of sense ... hey, it's SGA, I'm used to that. But it could have been so much better, and it started so well and ended so lamely and ... sigh.
The first part of the episode was creepy and chilling and very effective. I love creepy, psychological horror (a la "The Sixth Sense") and they did a really good job with Elizabeth's disorientation and the creepy sense of "that's not quite right".
And then they cut to the real world (the *real* real world) and you find out exactly what's going on ... and most of the "creepy" factor just drops right out, leaving a fairly banal and predictable plot with a lot of WTF?? moments (like O'Neill making a hockey reference that Elizabeth didn't get -- hello, he's in her HEAD, how can he know things that she doesn't?). Every horror movie fan knows that as soon as you find out what the monster is, the movie's pretty much over. I mean, it's not like we don't know Elizabeth's going to survive, and once the secret of the monsters in her head has been revealed, the suspense is gone. The little bits in Atlantis were fun -- John asking Rodney "How do YOU know what it looks like?" ... Rodney and Carson arguing ... John going into "do anything for my team" mode, even if it DIDN'T MAKE SENSE that touching Elizabeth's arm would be any more effective than talking to her from outside the LEAST EFFECTIVE ISOLATION CHAMBER *EVER* ... But it would have been so much better if they'd saved the big plot-reveal moment for the very end of the episode.
My husband thinks they introduced the rest of the cast halfway through so as to keep viewers from deserting and/or forgetting what show they were watching. Which may be the case, because I was actually not looking forward to this one all that much due to it being very light on most of my favorite characters, and was surprised how much I enjoyed it despite that. But I can think of LOTS of other ways that they could have been worked in without pulling the curtain off the whole plot like that. What about Elizabeth encountering AU versions of her friends who'd never joined the SGC? That would have been *awesome* -- seeing her brain come up with different versions of Sheppard, Rodney, Carson, et al.
There are so many possibilities inherent in an episode that takes place inside a character's head! And they didn't do ANY of them! *vex* I mean, you could have had Elizabeth sprout wings and fly, darnitall! And we didn't even really find out anything about her that we didn't already know -- except that she WILL fight when backed into a corner, and it was nice to see that. And we saw her mom. But other than that ... there wasn't a whole lot of point to the episode, overall.
The one scene that really got me was when Elizabeth's mom gives her the pocket watch, and she mentions having taken it to Atlantis and then realizes what she's lost and doubles over in tears ... that was a very powerful scene, I thought, because in typical, subtle SGA fashion, they never had to SAY that that's the moment when Elizabeth realizes that she's lost all her best friends. But you can tell. It was a very real, very affecting moment.
And it also amused me that Elizabeth's subconscious decided to trigger her nervous breakdown by killing off Simon, the guy who left her for another woman. Got a little latent hostility there, Elizabeth?