Stargate and Atlantis.
Sep. 9th, 2005 09:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mari4212
Stargate
I think this is the first week I have honestly liked Colonel Mitchell. This episode worked wonderfully for him, letting us see a lot more of what makes him who he is. He showed a lot of mental and emotional strength, and for once I could see more than the quips and the hero worship of SG-1. He came off as intelligent, compassionate, and like a guy I could honestly respect.
I even got into the Ori as bad guys plot. It was tasteful, they weren't over done this episode. We heard what they have done, but it wasn't rubbed in our noses.
And I loved the guy who took Mitchell in and taught him. It was a believable progression from reasonable hatred of the man who'd killed his brother, to a grudging respect, and finally into something approaching friendship. It worked.
And the kids laughing at Mitchell during training? I liked that.
Atlantis
I'll start with my one complaint. There was too little Rodney in this. I understand that there are plot constraints, and that he can't be the central character in all of the episodes, but still. What I did see of him worked. He's still subdued, actually even more so this episode, but that makes sense when you take into account that not only is he still dealing with the ramifications of Trinity, but his friend is dying.
The closeness of the team, drawing together when they are waiting for Sheppard to die, and then completing each other's sentence at the end really impressed me. I liked how subtlely it was shown.
I'll move on to Caldwell. He's still a bit of an iffy character for me. On the one hand, I do think that he has a valid point of view at times, but he also seems to not understand Atlantis. I'd prefer it if he would just stick to the Dedalus, or at least realize that these people interact the way they do for a reason. If he'd had a half an ounce of common sense, he would have been able to get the changes he wanted accomplished, just by waiting a while longer and coming to Elizabeth first. I understand that he is there to create some tension, but I'm not sure I like him yet.
Sheppard. I think this episode did a pretty good job of showing why I think he's the darkest character on Atlantis. He went from his normal attitude to bugitude smoothly. He recognized what was happening to him ahead of time. To me, that speaks of someone who knows they have a darker side and keeps it under tight control normally. Someone who doesn't know about their dark side would never believe that it could happen until it was too late.
As for how he interacted with people, I'll focus on the two people he seemed to have the most intense interactions with, Elizabeth and Teyla. I find it interesting that when John was interacting with Elizabeth he spent most of the time treating her as a friend and boss, or as a threat. When he was in control, he talked to her, joking at first, and then getting serious as time went on. He lost control of himself twice, and each time he became violent. To me, this is a clear indication that he does not want her in a romantic sense. His interactions with Teyla were a lot more charged. The first encounter, where they kiss, he is only beginning to be affected. It is interesting to note that she does not actively hurt him to get free, nor does she appear to get very angry. I'd also note that when he regains control and steps back, he's still within her personal space. The next one, after he has choked Elizabeth and has run, he stops for a minute when he sees her. And she was not in control of herself when she was trying to talk him down. Her voice is harsh, hoarse. Her hair is falling out of place, and her facial expression was not exactly what I'd call happy. I think it's the only time we ever see her so upset, aside from when she finds out that she's part Wraith. Their final interaction, when they are back in the practice room, seemed very emotionally charged. And she doesn't really let him apologize for the kiss, and then she calls him John. Although I'm not a huge John/Teyla shipper, I think this is a pretty strong indication of where their relationship is heading in a few years.
And Elizabeth! She is so strong in this episode. One of the few things I disliked about Elizabeth last season was that she tended to go against her better judgement and let John talk her into things. That of course, lead to him directly disobeying her at times. This season, she's strong enough to tell him no. She also now has control over the station in a way she didn't last year. When Caldwell ordered the soldiers to use any force necessary, she countermanded that order and they obeyed her, which is a nice reversal of last season, when the military obeyed John over her.
Great line:
Carson has elevated medicine into an actual science.~~~Rodney
I think this is the first week I have honestly liked Colonel Mitchell. This episode worked wonderfully for him, letting us see a lot more of what makes him who he is. He showed a lot of mental and emotional strength, and for once I could see more than the quips and the hero worship of SG-1. He came off as intelligent, compassionate, and like a guy I could honestly respect.
I even got into the Ori as bad guys plot. It was tasteful, they weren't over done this episode. We heard what they have done, but it wasn't rubbed in our noses.
And I loved the guy who took Mitchell in and taught him. It was a believable progression from reasonable hatred of the man who'd killed his brother, to a grudging respect, and finally into something approaching friendship. It worked.
And the kids laughing at Mitchell during training? I liked that.
Atlantis
I'll start with my one complaint. There was too little Rodney in this. I understand that there are plot constraints, and that he can't be the central character in all of the episodes, but still. What I did see of him worked. He's still subdued, actually even more so this episode, but that makes sense when you take into account that not only is he still dealing with the ramifications of Trinity, but his friend is dying.
The closeness of the team, drawing together when they are waiting for Sheppard to die, and then completing each other's sentence at the end really impressed me. I liked how subtlely it was shown.
I'll move on to Caldwell. He's still a bit of an iffy character for me. On the one hand, I do think that he has a valid point of view at times, but he also seems to not understand Atlantis. I'd prefer it if he would just stick to the Dedalus, or at least realize that these people interact the way they do for a reason. If he'd had a half an ounce of common sense, he would have been able to get the changes he wanted accomplished, just by waiting a while longer and coming to Elizabeth first. I understand that he is there to create some tension, but I'm not sure I like him yet.
Sheppard. I think this episode did a pretty good job of showing why I think he's the darkest character on Atlantis. He went from his normal attitude to bugitude smoothly. He recognized what was happening to him ahead of time. To me, that speaks of someone who knows they have a darker side and keeps it under tight control normally. Someone who doesn't know about their dark side would never believe that it could happen until it was too late.
As for how he interacted with people, I'll focus on the two people he seemed to have the most intense interactions with, Elizabeth and Teyla. I find it interesting that when John was interacting with Elizabeth he spent most of the time treating her as a friend and boss, or as a threat. When he was in control, he talked to her, joking at first, and then getting serious as time went on. He lost control of himself twice, and each time he became violent. To me, this is a clear indication that he does not want her in a romantic sense. His interactions with Teyla were a lot more charged. The first encounter, where they kiss, he is only beginning to be affected. It is interesting to note that she does not actively hurt him to get free, nor does she appear to get very angry. I'd also note that when he regains control and steps back, he's still within her personal space. The next one, after he has choked Elizabeth and has run, he stops for a minute when he sees her. And she was not in control of herself when she was trying to talk him down. Her voice is harsh, hoarse. Her hair is falling out of place, and her facial expression was not exactly what I'd call happy. I think it's the only time we ever see her so upset, aside from when she finds out that she's part Wraith. Their final interaction, when they are back in the practice room, seemed very emotionally charged. And she doesn't really let him apologize for the kiss, and then she calls him John. Although I'm not a huge John/Teyla shipper, I think this is a pretty strong indication of where their relationship is heading in a few years.
And Elizabeth! She is so strong in this episode. One of the few things I disliked about Elizabeth last season was that she tended to go against her better judgement and let John talk her into things. That of course, lead to him directly disobeying her at times. This season, she's strong enough to tell him no. She also now has control over the station in a way she didn't last year. When Caldwell ordered the soldiers to use any force necessary, she countermanded that order and they obeyed her, which is a nice reversal of last season, when the military obeyed John over her.
Great line:
Carson has elevated medicine into an actual science.~~~Rodney
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no subject
Date: 2005-09-10 02:57 am (UTC)And the kids laughing at Mitchell during training? I liked that.
Those kids were awesome! They weren't big, but they just kind of added another layer to the setting. Made it seem more real, I think. They were cute, too!
no subject
Date: 2005-09-10 03:25 am (UTC)And the kids definitly added something.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-10 03:34 am (UTC)Say, you must check out Free's journal -- I think it's the September 7 entry. Look at the comments for a very exciting jolt! :D
no subject
Date: 2005-09-10 03:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-10 03:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-10 03:47 am (UTC)That just made my day.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-10 04:04 am (UTC)