SGA 5.02 "The Seed" comments
Jul. 19th, 2008 07:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eliyesSpoilers, natch.
RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES!
TENTACLE MONSTER TAKES OVER ATLANTIS!
I just... Seriously. :D What. :D WHAT. XD And poor Zelenka and Ronon, getting all felt up and almost killed by the tentacles. Awesome. :D
Okay. Rewinding a little.
I'm not hating Woolsey yet. I mean, he's obviously unsuited to the job, but he knows it and so do his senior staff, so that should help. (That last scene with him and John made me very happy.) I expect more really awkward staff meetings.
The staff meeting was really well done, I felt. How uncomfortable they all were! It clearly shows already what the differences will be under this administration, and is it just me, or did John and Rodney already talk about why Sam got the boot? I mean, yeah, obvious, but still. And John looking between Keller and Rodney and saying "That wasn't the weirdest thing about that timeline." Clearly he hasn't told them they got together. I think this is actually pretty smart of him, considering it might not happen, and certainly won't happen in the same way. I do hope he warned them about the effects of exposure to victims of the Hoffan drug on Keller.
It occurs to me that if they start seeing people poisoned with that again, they'll know Michael's out there. Something to keep in mind.
Anyway, fabu acting from Hewlett and Flanigan on this one. No, really, I'm not saying that just because I like the characters. This was an episode where there was focus well spread out over characters beyond the main team. It's nice to see a balance. I still like episodes focusing on a particular character some of the time, and of course I like to see the characters I like best, but one of the things I love about this show is that I like the entire regular ensemble.
The scenes we saw with McKay were full of characterization, really expressive looks, little gestures like when he quietly volunteered to go into the Lair of the Tentacle Beast, and how uncomfortable he was with breaking into Jennifer's room. (Because he likes her. If he didn't care, he, well, wouldn't care.) He was mostly very subtle and complex except when he was freaking out a bit in his room at Teyla. Once again he helps out by anticipating the worst-case scenario that no one else thought of and which is, of course, what's happening.
Speaking of subtle, what the hell was up with John in this episode? There was a lot of emoting going on! And by emoting, I mean that face he makes when he's trying not to emote. You know, the one where he sucks in his lips and looks flushed and like he's biting back a lot. Yeah, that one. I think they saw how popular it was in "Miller's Crossing" and put it in the script this time, seriously. But there was John awesomeness to be had beyond weird faces and being "argh" about being stuck in his room (can you tell he was tempted to whack Woolsey with that golf club?) I like that he's not RAR against Woolsey. He's giving him a chance, he's acknowledging the difficulties of the decisions being made, he is, in fact, being supportive while trying to bring the man around to a more workable point of view. "Welcome to the Pegasus Galaxy" indeed.
Oh, and he died in this episode. He volunteered for it, in fact! There were many faces made. And he referenced turning into a bug. X3 I mean, yeah. Glad that didn't happen again. Mr. Self-Sacrifice also flew a jumper into a building and got gut-stabbed from one of Jennifer's tentacles. This after having major surgery in roughly the same area the episode prior, which was, what, 18 days prior? I think it's been said that's how long the Daedalus takes to get to Atlantis from Earth. I love that he would have shot her to stop her, if the serum didn't work. No, really, and I don't say this as some kind of Keller-hater; it was the right back-up plan. Sacrifice for the good of the city. Dark-haired guys with pointy ears have this thing about the needs of the many... Although John's twist on that is that if all heroes present decide to risk themselves to save one person, that's acceptable. Anyway.
So, the biggest thing in this episode for me, other than it being a fine vehicle for advancing subplots like the thing with McKay and Keller, the thing with Teyla and Kanaan, and pointing out via the mouths of the characters, for those a little slow on the uptake, that Michael stole the jumper and escaped the cruiser before it blew last ep -- the BIGGEST thing is, of course, CARSON.
I like how this was handled! Now they don't have to worry about his stasis pod being a drain on the power if they have an emergency -- in fact, if Woolsey hadn't forced that decision, he would have died when they pulled the ZPM to try to slow down Jennifer's growth. I think he'll be back. After all, everyone on Earth has thought he was dead for 2 years or more. Where else can he go but Atlantis? He has no one left he can talk to anywhere else.
Ooh! Except that Cadman's on Earth! :O
His poor hair, though. I mean, I mostly sporfled at his mockhawk rooster's crest thing, but it looked so... sad without the gravity-defying gel.
Zelenka has a really adorable new 'do, and I think David N has lost a bit of weight, too.
...Is it bad of me to hope that some version of Elizabeth stages a coup by the end of the season? :D (If this is in the works, for God's sake, DON'T TELL ME. I am not looking at spoilers for future episodes.)
.
RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES!
TENTACLE MONSTER TAKES OVER ATLANTIS!
I just... Seriously. :D What. :D WHAT. XD And poor Zelenka and Ronon, getting all felt up and almost killed by the tentacles. Awesome. :D
Okay. Rewinding a little.
I'm not hating Woolsey yet. I mean, he's obviously unsuited to the job, but he knows it and so do his senior staff, so that should help. (That last scene with him and John made me very happy.) I expect more really awkward staff meetings.
The staff meeting was really well done, I felt. How uncomfortable they all were! It clearly shows already what the differences will be under this administration, and is it just me, or did John and Rodney already talk about why Sam got the boot? I mean, yeah, obvious, but still. And John looking between Keller and Rodney and saying "That wasn't the weirdest thing about that timeline." Clearly he hasn't told them they got together. I think this is actually pretty smart of him, considering it might not happen, and certainly won't happen in the same way. I do hope he warned them about the effects of exposure to victims of the Hoffan drug on Keller.
It occurs to me that if they start seeing people poisoned with that again, they'll know Michael's out there. Something to keep in mind.
Anyway, fabu acting from Hewlett and Flanigan on this one. No, really, I'm not saying that just because I like the characters. This was an episode where there was focus well spread out over characters beyond the main team. It's nice to see a balance. I still like episodes focusing on a particular character some of the time, and of course I like to see the characters I like best, but one of the things I love about this show is that I like the entire regular ensemble.
The scenes we saw with McKay were full of characterization, really expressive looks, little gestures like when he quietly volunteered to go into the Lair of the Tentacle Beast, and how uncomfortable he was with breaking into Jennifer's room. (Because he likes her. If he didn't care, he, well, wouldn't care.) He was mostly very subtle and complex except when he was freaking out a bit in his room at Teyla. Once again he helps out by anticipating the worst-case scenario that no one else thought of and which is, of course, what's happening.
Speaking of subtle, what the hell was up with John in this episode? There was a lot of emoting going on! And by emoting, I mean that face he makes when he's trying not to emote. You know, the one where he sucks in his lips and looks flushed and like he's biting back a lot. Yeah, that one. I think they saw how popular it was in "Miller's Crossing" and put it in the script this time, seriously. But there was John awesomeness to be had beyond weird faces and being "argh" about being stuck in his room (can you tell he was tempted to whack Woolsey with that golf club?) I like that he's not RAR against Woolsey. He's giving him a chance, he's acknowledging the difficulties of the decisions being made, he is, in fact, being supportive while trying to bring the man around to a more workable point of view. "Welcome to the Pegasus Galaxy" indeed.
Oh, and he died in this episode. He volunteered for it, in fact! There were many faces made. And he referenced turning into a bug. X3 I mean, yeah. Glad that didn't happen again. Mr. Self-Sacrifice also flew a jumper into a building and got gut-stabbed from one of Jennifer's tentacles. This after having major surgery in roughly the same area the episode prior, which was, what, 18 days prior? I think it's been said that's how long the Daedalus takes to get to Atlantis from Earth. I love that he would have shot her to stop her, if the serum didn't work. No, really, and I don't say this as some kind of Keller-hater; it was the right back-up plan. Sacrifice for the good of the city. Dark-haired guys with pointy ears have this thing about the needs of the many... Although John's twist on that is that if all heroes present decide to risk themselves to save one person, that's acceptable. Anyway.
So, the biggest thing in this episode for me, other than it being a fine vehicle for advancing subplots like the thing with McKay and Keller, the thing with Teyla and Kanaan, and pointing out via the mouths of the characters, for those a little slow on the uptake, that Michael stole the jumper and escaped the cruiser before it blew last ep -- the BIGGEST thing is, of course, CARSON.
I like how this was handled! Now they don't have to worry about his stasis pod being a drain on the power if they have an emergency -- in fact, if Woolsey hadn't forced that decision, he would have died when they pulled the ZPM to try to slow down Jennifer's growth. I think he'll be back. After all, everyone on Earth has thought he was dead for 2 years or more. Where else can he go but Atlantis? He has no one left he can talk to anywhere else.
Ooh! Except that Cadman's on Earth! :O
His poor hair, though. I mean, I mostly sporfled at his mockhawk rooster's crest thing, but it looked so... sad without the gravity-defying gel.
Zelenka has a really adorable new 'do, and I think David N has lost a bit of weight, too.
...Is it bad of me to hope that some version of Elizabeth stages a coup by the end of the season? :D (If this is in the works, for God's sake, DON'T TELL ME. I am not looking at spoilers for future episodes.)
.