SGA 4x01: Adrift

[sholio]

Okay, first, the confession. I'm actually one of those who watched the leaked episode roughs a couple of weeks back. I just haven't discussed it; I wanted to wait, and watch the finished version with everyone else, and squee along with the rest of fandom.

Having said that ...

THERE IS NOT ENOUGH SQUEE IN THE WORLD FOR THIS EPISODE.

You know, I love SGA, but it's not very often that I finish an episode and think, "Wow, that was a really good episode." Fun, entertaining, and with really good parts, sure. But SGA is not a show like, say, Doctor Who, which knocks my socks off with really well-written episodes on a regular basis.

But that? Was a REALLY GOOD EPISODE.

I just don't know where to start. It was good action/adventure, good sci-fi, and a great character episode. It had real danger, tough decisions, some really thrilling space scenes, conflict, character development ... it had everything!

... and since I can tell I'm going to completely fail at being clear-headed and analytical, I will just leave the rational analysis to other people and squeeeeee instead.

Because ... Radek! Ronon! Rodney! John! Elizabeth! EVERYBODY! SO ADORABLE! We had Ronon being a big stoic puppy, and Radek being a hero, and John and Rodney fighting and making up, and space pilot Rodney (I gasped out loud at that scene where his jumper makes a 90-degree turn and goes straight up), and a really chilling decision made on Elizabeth's behalf, and even a really nice scene with Elizabeth and Teyla -- I love how the last few episodes of Season 3, and now this one, have started actually playing up their friendship, making it evident that they respect and care about each other as leaders and as people. I liked seeing Sam and I loved seeing Bill Lee, for whom I have much more fondness than I ever would have expected a year ago. I loved how they referred back to earlier episodes, with Elizabeth's nanobots and Rodney's near-Ascension becoming plot points. YAY for continuity!

I really loved how we got to see different sides to the characters -- Rodney flying a spaceship, Radek being a Big Space Hero(TM), Ronon being soft and squishy, John trying to be a serious and responsible leader making the hard decisions. In fact, I think a lot of my massive fan-love for this episode came down to that, because they were really pushed, hard, out of their comfort zones and forced to do things that didn't come naturally to them. It wasn't just John killing Wraith and Rodney in the lab saving the day. They were really put through their paces, all of them, and I loved it.

And John and Rodney had their first real, serious fight since Trinity. I liked how that whole thing was developed, because it made sense -- it wasn't just shoehorned in there for the sake of conflict. It was reasonable that John would have made the decision that he did, with the safety of the expedition at stake, even though it would be ripping him apart to have to do it (and the expressions on his face, throughout, were wonderfully subtle and heartbreaking). But it was also perfectly in character for Rodney, with his faith in science and his difficulty obeying orders at the best of times, to go ahead and violate a direct order to save Elizabeth. The thing is, they were both right and they were both wrong, and their showdown was all the more painful because there wasn't a right choice or an easy way out.

But having done that ... then they made up, or at least both took steps towards it, demonstrating in the process how much their friendship has evolved over the past couple of years. I realize that Rodney wasn't kidding, they have to work together and the middle of a crisis isn't the place for pettiness and grudges, but still ...! For Rodney to be wrong, and know he's wrong, and admit it and say he's sorry -- it's really a huge thing for him; I know he did it after Doranda, but that was a lot more oblique, less direct. And with John, similarly, because what Rodney did in this case was probably worse in a lot of ways than his failure on Doranda, as well as being more directly painful to John himself (because now he's faced with a thing that looks like Elizabeth but might not be Elizabeth, and he's the one who'll probably have to kill her if she's not). But still -- even though the hurt and anger isn't gone, he's willing to put it aside and start patching things up.

One of the many things I loved about the episode were the little moments of leadership for both John and Rodney. I've noticed in the past that, when he exercises it, John is actually a really *good* leader -- very deft at knowing when to command and when to step back and let other people do their thing, with either a natural talent or a highly developed ability to inspire other people by refusing NOT to believe that they can do what he's asking of them. The jumper scenes were beautifully demonstrative of that: John with his crew of mostly civilians, making them do it and do it well, because he just wouldn't take "no" for an answer. Loved his overriding Rodney's protests and ordering him out there anyway, because Rodney's his own worst enemy in situations like that, and John knows it. And then letting him know he'd done well at the end ... another good-leader trait.

But Rodney was doing it too: delegating, trusting Chuck to fix whatever Chuck was trying to fix in the beginning, and matter-of-factly relaying Radek's time estimates to John, because if Radek said it'll take 45 minutes then he can depend on that. And sending Radek out to do the hyperdrive repairs, and actually bolstering him before he goes ... yeah, for all his insecurities and bluster, Rodney can be a good leader too, when he has to.

And I haven't even mentioned Rodney calling John by his first name yet! Okay, that's gonna throw me a little when I write dialogue. *g* It actually took me most of Season 3 to notice (and I had to go back and look at transcripts to be sure) that he's not calling him Colonel anymore and hasn't for a while (although in my head, he still does). And now it's to first names -- only took four years! Heh. I think I've so thoroughly trained myself NOT to have him use John's first name that it'll be awhile before I can actually manage to write it into a story, should it come up.

But really, this has gotten way too long, and I want to go read other people's reactions now, so in closing ... squeeeee!

ETA: And I wanted to mention -- please, people who have seen the second leaked episode, do not mention spoilers from that episode in the comments. Thank you! I've seen it, but I do NOT want to discuss it until next week or to spoil other people. Thanks again!