Entry tags:
SGA 4x07: Missing
Well, this week it's my turn to point and go "... what she said!" at Derry's post on "Missing". (Note: Derry's post contains mention of the big Rachel Luttrell/Teyla spoiler for this season. Most of you probably already know this spoiler, I suspect, but just in case you don't -- you will be spoiled!) And the rest of this post contains mention of that spoiler, too.
I don't know why sometimes the solo character episodes work for me and sometimes they don't. This one really did; I had major problems with some of the "survival" stuff, which just FAILED at common sense, but I really do love the whole "on the run, in the wilderness, world turned against you!" plot (which should be abundantly clear from, well, pretty much any of my long SGA stories). Actually I feel vaguely guilty for having been unimpressed by a couple of the previous solo-character episodes (Real World and Travelers) where I really liked this one. (Although I must say with both of those other eps, re-watching them and discussing them with other people has turned me around on them just a bit.)
But I have been eager for more development of the female characters this season, and getting a Teyla-and-Keller, adventure/survival episode was just a delight. I really liked Keller's outsiders-eye view on the Pegasus Galaxy; all of this adventure stuff has become commonplace for most of the others (even Rodney by this point) but it's all new to her, and her frozen astonishment when Teyla was fighting -- well, she hasn't ever seen anything like that before! (The one bit I could've done without was her falling off the bridge -- c'mon, there's ordinary-person clumsiness and then there's having to be saved from your own incompetence. But I'm not sure how well I would have done either.) I love outsider POVs and that's exactly what I was hoping Keller would provide. I liked how the women basically rescued themselves ... well, up until the horde descended on them at the end, and that coulda happened to anybody. (Oh, and the geek moment with John and Rodney matching up actors with movie villains? DORKS! Hee! And the arrow comments -- Ronon and Rodney are still the cutest thing going.)
Okay, now moving along to the Rachel Luttrell spoilers.
...
I should note that ALL I know about this is that one, big spoiler about Rachel being pregnant. I know nothing about how that plotline is going to develop on the show, and if you do know, PLEASE DO NOT SPOIL ME. Ahem.
As I've discussed in earlier posts, I had major concerns about how Rachel's pregnancy was going to be addressed. I've been worried about a "magic baby" storyline (a la SG-1 with Vala, or LOST, or most any other sci-fi I can think of off the top of my head) ever since finding out they were going to incorporate Rachel's pregnancy into an arc for Teyla. Pregnant women are rare enough in sci-fi, but pregnant women who just get pregnant the normal way and have a normal pregnancy ... I can only think of one or two. I mean, it is TV, so a certain amount of eventfulness is just fine, but I had my teeth clenched for worry that Teyla would be magically impregnanted by an Ancient device, or experimented upon in Michael's lab, or some other freaky thing...
And so, I had a little "eeeeee!" moment when I saw that they actually did give her a boyfriend; not only am I simply relieved that she didn't suffer some sort of Pegasus Galaxy immaculate conception, but it's really nice to see Teyla's love life addressed in any depth. The guys get their flings with offworld women, but Teyla hasn't done likewise ... until now. It just gave her character a lot of depth in a whole lot of ways. That she would keep it secret from her teammates is really telling of how she still compartmentalizes her life between Atlantis and Athos (as well as just wanting to avoid being teased, because I'm sure she knows better by now than to give John and Rodney ammo like that).
The cliffhanger at the end isn't really that much of a cliffhanger with the Rachel spoilers floating all around, though -- IMHO, they really should have had Keller deliver the news and then cut it off. Unless there's more to it than just the pregnancy news ...?
And since I'm so pleased with how they handled that in this episode, I'm really looking forward to next week, and finding out how this plotline is carried forward. So, once again, if you do know more about it, please don't tell me; I'd rather be surprised. :)
I don't know why sometimes the solo character episodes work for me and sometimes they don't. This one really did; I had major problems with some of the "survival" stuff, which just FAILED at common sense, but I really do love the whole "on the run, in the wilderness, world turned against you!" plot (which should be abundantly clear from, well, pretty much any of my long SGA stories). Actually I feel vaguely guilty for having been unimpressed by a couple of the previous solo-character episodes (Real World and Travelers) where I really liked this one. (Although I must say with both of those other eps, re-watching them and discussing them with other people has turned me around on them just a bit.)
But I have been eager for more development of the female characters this season, and getting a Teyla-and-Keller, adventure/survival episode was just a delight. I really liked Keller's outsiders-eye view on the Pegasus Galaxy; all of this adventure stuff has become commonplace for most of the others (even Rodney by this point) but it's all new to her, and her frozen astonishment when Teyla was fighting -- well, she hasn't ever seen anything like that before! (The one bit I could've done without was her falling off the bridge -- c'mon, there's ordinary-person clumsiness and then there's having to be saved from your own incompetence. But I'm not sure how well I would have done either.) I love outsider POVs and that's exactly what I was hoping Keller would provide. I liked how the women basically rescued themselves ... well, up until the horde descended on them at the end, and that coulda happened to anybody. (Oh, and the geek moment with John and Rodney matching up actors with movie villains? DORKS! Hee! And the arrow comments -- Ronon and Rodney are still the cutest thing going.)
Okay, now moving along to the Rachel Luttrell spoilers.
...
I should note that ALL I know about this is that one, big spoiler about Rachel being pregnant. I know nothing about how that plotline is going to develop on the show, and if you do know, PLEASE DO NOT SPOIL ME. Ahem.
As I've discussed in earlier posts, I had major concerns about how Rachel's pregnancy was going to be addressed. I've been worried about a "magic baby" storyline (a la SG-1 with Vala, or LOST, or most any other sci-fi I can think of off the top of my head) ever since finding out they were going to incorporate Rachel's pregnancy into an arc for Teyla. Pregnant women are rare enough in sci-fi, but pregnant women who just get pregnant the normal way and have a normal pregnancy ... I can only think of one or two. I mean, it is TV, so a certain amount of eventfulness is just fine, but I had my teeth clenched for worry that Teyla would be magically impregnanted by an Ancient device, or experimented upon in Michael's lab, or some other freaky thing...
And so, I had a little "eeeeee!" moment when I saw that they actually did give her a boyfriend; not only am I simply relieved that she didn't suffer some sort of Pegasus Galaxy immaculate conception, but it's really nice to see Teyla's love life addressed in any depth. The guys get their flings with offworld women, but Teyla hasn't done likewise ... until now. It just gave her character a lot of depth in a whole lot of ways. That she would keep it secret from her teammates is really telling of how she still compartmentalizes her life between Atlantis and Athos (as well as just wanting to avoid being teased, because I'm sure she knows better by now than to give John and Rodney ammo like that).
The cliffhanger at the end isn't really that much of a cliffhanger with the Rachel spoilers floating all around, though -- IMHO, they really should have had Keller deliver the news and then cut it off. Unless there's more to it than just the pregnancy news ...?
And since I'm so pleased with how they handled that in this episode, I'm really looking forward to next week, and finding out how this plotline is carried forward. So, once again, if you do know more about it, please don't tell me; I'd rather be surprised. :)

Missing
Re: Missing
I think that the writers should have made ther reason for her rage a bit more clear.
How much more clear could it get than having nearly everyone you love killed? I'd say that'd make me pretty pissed off. ^_^
Re: Missing
no subject
I know what you mean about SF pregnancies! At least Tom and B'Ellana had their own baby on Voyager, but they did a really awful episode where B'Ellana went nuts and reprogrammed the Holo Doc to do genetic manipulation on the baby in utero (one of their all-time worst eps, I thought). I can't come up with a single other normal pregnancy off the top of my head. (It's not just SF, though. A lot of other shows hide actresses' pregnancies or come up with odd explanations: I didn't watch Friends, couldn't stand it, but even I know the one character was a surrogate mother when the actress was pregnant).
I was just bothered so much by the stupid things that both characters did throughout the episode that it kind of wrecked it for me. I wonder if they'd have done it with the men? But then again, in "The Game" Rodney and John acted like total idiots repeatedly (when they weren't in a survival situation), so maybe they would have.
I agreed they should have had Keller give Teyla the news--especially since Rachel has been showing since at least the third episode of the season!
I tend to get pickier and pickier the longer I watch a show, so I do like to read reviews by people who liked it more than I did--especially when they're thoughtful reviews and not the mindless sorts of things some of the commenters on Joe Mallozzi's blog have been leaving. I appreciate reading your review, which reminds me of some of the things I did like, and makes them loom larger in my mind.
I hope the storylines of the missing Athosians and Teyla's secret get better development as the season goes on!
no subject
Amanda Tapping had at least one baby during her SG1 tenure, which they hid. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. I'm actually very glad that they opted not to hide Rachel's pregnancy, because not only does it give her a good, solid storyline for a change, but having her warrior-woman-type character become pregnant has all kinds of potential for character growth and development ... in fic if not on the show itself! *crosses fingers*
I think one of the things I loved most about this episode is that they gave the women an action-type episode -- I realize that some of the decisions they made were pretty damn silly, but it was still the kind of episode that you could imagine them doing with the guys, and ... I dunno, I really loved that it didn't seem to matter all that much that it was the girls instead. And one of them pregnant, at that!
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
Re: Keiko's pregnancy
no subject
no subject
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
It also added a couple of interesting details to the Pegasus galaxy, and I'm all about that. The ground-squid was awesome! First off-planet alien creature! Whoo! (Wasn't it?)
Now I'm desperate to find out how Teyla's pregnancy is going to go, and if there is more to it than just "you're pregnant". It's possible that Keller was so hesitant because she knows the baby's daddy has just disappeared, together with Teyla's entire people, and she feels a bit weird couching it as happy news, but... On the other hand, there could be a lot of "ands" or "buts" to the news. (I hope not, but - this is TV. Are pregnancies ever natural and normal on TV? Other than on Psych, which did so good it deserves a lifetime supply of cookies!)
no subject
I would also be terribly remiss in my fanfic-writer duties if I failed to mention that it's now total canon that the Athosians make wine ... and that Sheppard's been drunk on it! And goes to their parties! One assumes...
I generally expected that Keller's hesitancy was just because the baby's daddy is missing and she's about to give Teyla news that'll turn her life upside down. I'm desperately looking forward to the next episode, though -- I really, really hope that we get to see the team's reactions when they find out, and I really would love to see the show actually address issues like: should Teyla continue to be on a first-contact team while she's pregnant? What will happen to the baby after it's born? My fanfic-writer brain is already buzzing around scenarios for the characters arguing such things out, which probably means that I shouldn't get my hopes up too much, but it really was a MASSIVE weight off my mind to find out that she got pregnant the normal way! Not only is she normally pregnant, but pregnant and single, which is not only rare enough on regular TV, but almost unheard-of in sci-fi!
Tangent alert! It's weird how sci-fi is so conflicted about women and sex. On the one hand, there are skimpily clad, beautiful women everywhere, and the male characters can hardly turn around without tripping over a willing female. Yet, as far as a woman having sexual interests of her own ... it's rare, aside from falling for one of her male co-leads, and that usually turns out to be more his story than hers. I do love sci-fi and I swear I don't mean to sound like a raging feminist here, but ... I just would like to see a more even-handed treatment of the characters, that's all! Like we got here! Yay for Carl Binder!
(no subject)
no subject
Actually I feel vaguely guilty for having been unimpressed by a couple of the previous solo-character episodes (Real World and Travelers) where I really liked this one.
Well, Real World was a total snooze, and Travelers was babe-of-the-week fluff, so do feel too bad. *g*
no subject
I haven't really read through your episode review for this one beyond skimming the beginning, but this season has really rocked, hasn't it?
no subject
Teyla on the other hand, loved her. Lutrell, like the others, seems to have stepped up her game this season.
no subject
no subject
What killed it for me was Keller's constant whining. When Rodney complains he's still useful and or funny....with Keller I wanted to smack her. I also didn't like that we learned decent nuggets about her when its taken seasons to get that type of personal info on the original Team. Now I'm not anti-Keller, she began a bit wooden for me and I've warmed to her of late...this eppy kind of ruined her for me...though I did like what she did in the end, finding some inner-strength.
My other issues were just plot ones. Why don't the Athosions the original allies to Atlantis have no way to communicate during an emergency?
There were two guards at the gate that Teyla didn't take out but she held her own during the big group fights?
Overall, it was cool to see the beginning of Teyla's plot line over the season and seeing a more layered character...we were stuck with too much Keller and we had no minor B plot line to back things up.
Season 4 rocks and this is still better TV than most shows, just not one I'll watch again.
no subject
In any case, it's probably a "your mileage may vary" thing; I adore the "outlaws on the run in the wilderness" plot enough that they might be able to do it with ANYONE and I'd still be there with bells on. And I'm a gigantic sucker for h/c, another area where this episode really scored for me. :)
But I can see that if you weren't enjoying Keller, the episode wouldn't have been much fun.
no subject
no subject
no subject
When the wraith-worshipping plot came out I instantly thought "oh, side effects of life, the pegasus way! people on LJ are going to love it!"
And they gave a nod to Carson, which really endeared Keller to me :)
And even with the cheez-oh of the Bolo-kai this was pretty darker relative to this series - and pretty awesome that we got to see another way the humans survive in pegasus: nomadic squatters.
And cheers for hopes of a normal pregnancy on a genre show!
no subject
This season has generally been better at both maintaining the dark tone (something that the last half of season 3, for all that I loved some of the episodes, really didn't do well at all) and giving nods to past seasons.
(no subject)
no subject
Oh! And may I just add that B.C.(I suppose that's where they shot this) is GORGEOUS! OMG. I couldn't even concentrate on the rescue, I was too distracted by nature. I'm jealous of anyone lucky enough to live there.
no subject
I'm not really fond of the season 4 costumes either. I do like that we're seeing both Teyla and Ronon in some different outfits -- who wears the same shirt for three years? Since they're not limited to uniforms, it stands to reason that they'd both have a number of changes of clothes, especially Teyla. And I can stare at Sheppard's black shirt all day. *g* But, yeah, overall I find that their season-4 look is striving a little too hard for "cool and edgy" (and failing). The leather/vinyl uniforms look unflattering and uncomfortable; I preferred the looser, more comfortable-looking jackets from earlier seasons.
(no subject)
no subject
I think it was a bit different from the single-char eps you name (which I didn't care for much myself) in that it wasn't one char on their own, but one char with an ally (more like GUP, really). And Keller is an outsider becoming an insider, and some of the emphasis of the ep was her relationship with Teyla, and her relationship with the Atlantis mission, coming to terms with the kind of things you have to do, the person you have to become, in the Pegasus galaxy. Rather than random interactions between Sheppard-and-pretty-not-very-good-actress, it was development between two chars that hopefully will continue.
I liked that Keller wasn't very capable - I didn't mind her with the bridge, really, because, yeah, sprained ankle, slight acrophobia, woods with monsters - I'd have done worse than her. She wasn't brought to Atlantis for her wilderness skills but her medical ability; the wilderness skills stuff is supposed to be taken care of by the soldiers! (why they didn't take someone else with them...no idea. Why didn't they at least radio ahead to make sure the Athosians were still there before leaving Atlantis? --it's a credit to how I enjoyed the ep that this didn't actually occur to me until now ^^;) Early-season Rodney would've been even worse. And she comes through in the end, as any true Atlantean must...
Really rather liked Teyla's attitude in this ep. She is awfully impatient with Keller - which is not only a previously-established trait (I think she's got less patience with Rodney carrying on than any of them - I'm thinking "The Siege" with the "shall I leave you to be eaten by the Wraith?" line) but also was explained in this ep - 10 days of survival training as a kid! Teyla just isn't that used to dealing with people who aren't self-sufficient; she understands it intellectually but emotionally it just is wrong to her.
<33333 to Ronon sniping at Rodney about the arrow in his ass. They are the cutest brothers - they squabble more and more pettily than Sheppard & McKay, really, and it's adorable. I so want a Rodney & Ronon ep ^_^
no subject
I think this is absolutely what makes the difference for me. I've never really enjoyed the "lone hero" archetype in storytelling; I remember talking about this a little while I was reading the "Dresden Files" books, that I was a little lukewarm on the books until Harry started developing a stable of regular allies and supporters. So, whether it's an ensemble show or not, I'm just not that interested in a single character running around alone; I want them to have someone interesting to interact with, someone who cares about them. To pull another one out of the air, "McKay and Mrs. Miller" didn't even really feel like a solo character ep to me, because even though the first half was Rodney running around without the rest of the cast, his interactions with Jeannie were so much fun.
She is awfully impatient with Keller - which is not only a previously-established trait (I think she's got less patience with Rodney carrying on than any of them - I'm thinking "The Siege" with the "shall I leave you to be eaten by the Wraith?" line) but also was explained in this ep - 10 days of survival training as a kid! Teyla just isn't that used to dealing with people who aren't self-sufficient; she understands it intellectually but emotionally it just is wrong to her.
Absolutely! In fact, I really liked seeing more of the flawed side of Teyla in this episode. Looking at past episodes, I think she gets impatient with the people around her a lot -- she's just usually too polite to say so. It makes her much more human and easy to relate to than if she's always the voice of reason in every situation.
I so want a Rodney & Ronon ep ^_^
Oh, that would be SO fun! Or even just an episode that spotlights their one-on-one interactions for awhile. Their relationship has really grown by leaps and bounds over the last season-and-a-half; I think the last time (maybe the only time?) they were on their own for an extended period of time was "No Man's Land", and they've come a long way since then.
no subject
I really liked kick-butt Teyla. We don't see her as a killer very often (of non-wraiths?) and she was just vicious here, really heartless. I was a bit stunned when Keller broke in with the this isn't like you stuff, I didn't feel like any of it was off, if anything stopping to help the guy in the first place seemed off. She's lived a hard life and I think maybe Atlantis lets her be the diplomatic put together person she wants to be but she's still got years of training in fighting and a lifetime of surviving. Is it just me or is Rachel in more fights now that she's pregnant? I try to think of her fighting last season and I can really only think of her with a gun but two episodes so far this season she's been in outnumbered circle fights. I disagree with whoever says she's showing. I mean I guess her wardrobe is all about hiding it with the layers or whatever, but I stared at her stomach all episode after someone talked about how obvious it was in some other post and I just don't see it. If I hadn't been spoiled I would be pulling my hair out wondering what Keller was going to tell her.
In fact, when Teyla tensed up and we saw it scuttling around, I was OMG hoping that it would be some kind of animal, because we see alien wildlife so rarely!
Hee! I had the same reaction! And I was so very pleased when it had tentacles, and wasn't just some kind of big mole or something. Yay for indigenous Pegasus fauna! Having thought about it, I'm pretty sure the only other animals we've seen were the giant fish-whales on Lantea. Aside from horses and such, that don't exactly count as "alien".
I'm afraid I lack both of your sophistication; my initial thought when I saw something moving was: my goodness, those primitive hunters have technology that makes them invisible. Once it became clear there was something moving underground I decided that they must actually be able to burrow. :p Once it was revealed to be a land squid I cheered for its existence and was reminded that I need to see if pentapus has done any new drawings.
I think maybe the bolokai are misunderstood by the Athosians and they aren't actually cannibals or Wraith worshipers (though that was just the bad guy saying they were), they just like to pick fights or whatever Ronon said in the jumper (did he corroborate the people eating? I really miss my DVR...). I liked getting to see another group of people and way of life even if it needed a little less cheese. Most people they meet are kind of boring.
I didn't have a problem with Keller this episode (well sometimes the whining bothered me a little bit, but not in a way that made me dislike her as a person, just in a way that made me want to slap her and say don't you know there are people with axes chasing you?!?!!), it gave us some more info on her, but I was confused about her talking about signing up to be CMO in Pegasus. I can't decide if she was always on base and we missed her in the throng of doctors or if she came specifically after Carson died, in which case why was she so whiny to Elizabeth when she was first introduced as a character? It's also funny that I now know more about her family than Sheppard's or even McKay's since I don't think I know where he's from.
Little thing that miffed me: since when do people not travel with soldiers? I know, it's not really necessary while visiting your own people is a decent excuse, but it felt wrong to me the minute they walked through the gate. It felt wrong they weren't taking a jumper, too, but blah blah necessary for the story blah.
no subject
(no subject)
no subject
A few people (on Joe M's blog) have accused Keller of being spineless - but I don't think she is - I think that *she* thinks she is, but she found strengths in this episode as it went along - fooling the bola whatevers with the false address, working out that the guy was a Wraith worshipper, shooting him in the leg... She even managed to eat that land squid creature (and how cool was that alien animal? We don't see many alien creatures; the iratus bug, the whales... can't think of anymore before this ep).
I also loved the McKay and Sheppard geeking out scene (had to read Joe M's blog to find out what they were talking about, though! Apparently they are matching up actors with Batman baddies...! Total geeks, perhaps even edging over into nerd-dom a little, especially for McKay!!). And McKay's reaction to the mention of arrows - and then the appearence of real arrows... Poor Rodney, but you can fully understand his dislike of them!!
I liked the ending - okay, so it's not a secret to most of the fandom, but there are still some who don't know - people on the edge of fandom - and even knowing, I liked it. I'm looking forward to next week's ep - I'm wanting to see how the team reacts to the news... (And looking forward to the one after that even more; Miller's Crossing, but then I am a Rodney fan!)
All in all, a good ep, but then I've liked all of them to varying degrees so far, which just shows how easy I am to please!!! And the start of what looks like an interesting Teyla arc; I wonder what *has* happened to her people? Time will tell...
no subject
I'm loving this season! The only episode that's fallen flat for me so far is Travelers, but that had at least a little bit to do with my personal tastes; it just happened to not supply what I want out of an episode. I do actually think that Mallozzi wasn't just spinning PR when he said this is the best season they've done so far.
(no subject)
no subject
I must admit that reading a lot of the comments at yours here, I was actually a bit surprised by how much anti-Keller feeling there is out there. I kinda expected a bit of a backlash because of Carson, but really the "I hate Keller" sentiments still surprise me for some reason. Kinda makes me even more glad that I avoided most of the fandom kerfuffles during the hiatus.
BTW - maybe it was partially because Jewel Staite had such prominent part in this ep, but was I the only one who thought "REAVERS!" when the Bolokai first appeared?
;-)