Obviously there is no way I could possibly have seen SGA 5x01...

[sholio]

You know, last year, when episodes leaked ahead of time, I tried to be the best I could possibly be (aside from not watching them, which would clearly have been beyond my willpower). I didn't post about them, didn't pass around links -- clamped down on all my fannish impulses, squeed quietly by myself and waited for the rest of the world to see them.

This year ... feh. I try to be a good fan, I really do; I buy the episodes on iTunes *and* on DVD; but I've been waiting months and it's not MY fault if they keep tempting me beyond endurance and ... I want to post about it, darn it!

Oh my show, my silly silly space show. I ♥ ♥ ♥ YOU SO MUCH.

Rodney delivered Teyla's baby. RODNEY DELIVERED TEYLA'S BABY. Sadly, I was spoiled for this just last night watching the 30-second preview. Had I only known! But I don't really care, because RODNEY DELIVERED TEYLA'S BABY. You know, if Mallozzi and Gero had come knocking on my door and had said, "Layla, what would you like to see in Season 5 of SGA that hasn't happened yet, no matter how unlikely?" ... aside from "realistic alien cultures", I would probably have said "Rodney delivering Teyla's baby". But I doubt if I'd even have bothered listing it on a Season 5 wishlist, because ... what are the odds of THAT happening?

Pretty good, apparently! And once again, I'm so pleased with how they've handled Teyla's whole pregnancy and, now, childbirth. They've kept her Teyla -- still capable and self-possessed and believably herself, even while delivering a baby on a hiveship. And I liked the childbirth scene -- okay, I did find myself trying really hard not to think about where the placenta got off to, but all in all, for a TV childbirth scene, it was at least passingly realistic and they kept Teyla in-character, which was what I was most worried about. None of my worst fears about the Teyla-baby storyline have come true; it was a (relatively) normal pregnancy and a (relatively) normal baby ("relatively"="by Stargate-verse standards") and they got baby AND mother back safe and sound! SQUEE!

And there was SO MUCH ELSE! All the Ronon-and-John-in-the-ruins stuff, their macho-ness and rough boy-affection and "stay with me!" and most of all their "last" stand ... and John's "McKay's alive?" to Keller with his heart in his eyes (because he hadn't even dared to ask when they rescued him about the fate of anyone in the ruins he cared about -- oh, John!) ... and FORD!!!!!! ... and John running around half-dead trying to rescue Teyla while the rest of his team tries to watch out for him (Rodney seeing right through him -- because his lousy people skills are only lousy with people who aren't John -- and Ronon's "You don't have to do everything yourself!" ♥) ... and Teyla so brave and trying so hard not to go into labor and knowing that her team would come for her ... and naming her baby after John ... and Rodney bringing Teyla the world's dorkiest bouquet of flowers ...

... and, uh, I just realized, in enumerating my squee, that we never saw what happened to Kanaan. Er. What? Last we saw, he was showing the team to safety and then ... nothing. Um. That's, er, kind of a major loose end there. I can't help thinking there should have been another scene that got cut. There were lots and lots of places where it would have been nice to have a little bit more, but nowhere else that was plot-critical in quite that way.

(Also, didn't the name of Teyla's father used to be Tagan?)

*distacts self with squee* JOHN WITH CUDDLY BABY AND DOPEY "I HAVE A BABY" EXPRESSION. DESERVES CAPSLOCK. OMG.

Anyway.

This episode was total FANFIC, all the way. And unabashedly space-opera enough that I really didn't care about nitpicky plot details such as two USAF colonels letting an injured soldier and two mildly injured civilians single-handedly pull off a rescue operation when they have a whole ship full of uninjured, trained soldiers whose job it is to do that stuff. I mean, really, IT MAKES NO SENSE but I'm so easy -- I don't care as long there are awesome space explosions (the hyperdrive window winking out when they shot Michael's ship made me gasp! I love f/x that surprise me) and John being self-sacrificing and Rodney delivering a baby and TEAMY TEAM all over the place. And cute baby! Baby with Rodney! And baby with John! Why does guy+cute baby never get old? The only thing we didn't really get was Ronon+cute baby, but he got to carry Teyla+cute baby around for awhile, so I guess it all evens out.

Comments

[sholio]

Incidentally, Teyla introduces herself as "Teyla, daughter of Tegan". But no-one among the Athosians ever says that her father's name was Tegan. It is entirely possible that her mother's name was Tegan, and her father's name is Torin.

*flails a bit* Okay, I LOVE this, so much that it is now personal canon for me. And it, uh, actually makes sense -- much like the midriff-baring shirts that actually aren't midriff-baring with non-Atlantean pants; it may or may not be what the writers originally intended -- I'm leaning towards "or not" -- but is considerably more plausible than any canonical explanation they might have had in mind. I also just realized that they've never specifically said that she's the Athosians' leader (or, at any rate, spokesperson) because her father had that position ... have they? The fandom generally assumes it, but (at least based on what's explicitly stated in canon) it could just as easily be passed down from her mother, or be a merit-based position.

[tielan]

I've wondered a lot about Teyla's parentage (being the fan that I am) - and the fact that everyone has completely latched onto Teyla's father kinda boggles me.

It's like Zeus and Athena: no-one ever remembers Athena's mother (Metis). Athena's known as the "daughter of Zeus" and she was born fully-fledged from her father's head, but she was originally conceived of Metis and Zeus.

[sholio]

I'm more than a little embarrassed that I'd never even thought to question the fanon that Teyla's father is both Tagan and the source of her authority. Well, okay ... in light of canon, I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that this might have been the intent when the original scene was written. But it's by no means the only explanation, or even the most reasonable explanation -- especially since Halling obviously defers to Teyla, and the only other powerful/respected person we've seen among the Athosians was Charin. It makes an awful lot of sense to me that the Athosians place a lot of power in their women. (Plus, it's just interesting to contemplate. And it would give us the names of both her parents, which is more than any of the other characters have!)

[tielan]

It's not an unreasonable assumption for most fans, I think. We are the products of a culture that has very strong roots in patriarchy, even if a great many of us are self-aware women: we still focus on men, the male, and "masculine" traits to the detriment - intentional or otherwise - of women, the female, and "feminine" traits.

I suspect that the "Teyla, daughter of Tegan" thing was tossed off casually by TPTB, without any real thought to it. And, doubtless, Tegan was originally intended to be Teyla's father, since Teyla's mother is never mentioned. It just so happened that Teyla's father was never named as being "Tegan", and so no retconning was necessary when it came to 'Search And Rescue'.

Well, that's my take on it, anyway. :)

I admit that a part of me has always hoped that Athos was a matriarchy of sorts - recognising not only the ability of a woman to bear children, but also to be the deep strength of a people, to anchor the adventurousness and energy of men, to manage a million and one things - including the constant flow of people that must be a very significant part of a community that lives with only tent walls between one household and the next - and that Teyla's leadership was part of that recognition.