*sigh* Critiquing "The Last Man"
I'm left feeling pretty sad about the whole thing, for a number of reasons. Though there were certainly a number of well executed features.
Please, read my ramblings below. Note: SPOILERS for the finale, if you haven't seen it.
The episode certainly had its strong points:
John's little chat with Lorne at the start.
The desert sand engulfing the city. I'm not great at noticing the intricacies of special effects (other than "Ooh neat") but those images of the sand burying Atlantis were more than intriguing. (On the other hand, Sheppard walking through the red sand storm? Not so believable. Pretty fake, actually.
OldMckay, hologram or not, was charming and a little more mellow than the Rodney we're used to; this worked well for the episode.
Sam "not taking no for an answer," from the IOA or anyone else, was awesome. It's a tribute to how she really is (and could continue to be if she remained) a very competent leader of Atlantis. I really liked the little moments of Carter-Mckay working as a team, as well. And the hugging. Such a bittersweet moment. Come to think of it, this episode makes Sam feel more like the classic Sam I remember than any other Atlantis one yet. She's that perfect blend of humanity and dignity. You can see the genuine emotion in her expression, but she's ever the picture of control.
Oh, and Major Lorne in charge of Atlantis? Someone needs to write fic about this. Too fun, or at least it would be under different circumstances. And General Lorne: so adorable.
Ronon-Todd team. Very cool and something I never expected to see.With all of those "good" things, you'd think I wouldn't be so depressed. But I am.
It's the Michael aspect of the episode that makes me the most sad. And, really, sad is the best word I can think of to describe it. He feels so completely beyond redemption with this ep. And that's a real shame.
I think it's amazing that he's still able to pull off the revenge bit (the "I'm doing this because it was done to me) without seeming pathetic. He doesn't flinch when carryout his matters, and manages to be witty (in a very bitter, but cutting way) without intending to be.
But killing Teyla? It doesn't make sense. He seemed genuinely attached to her in both Kindred's I & II (though I realize that opinion is hugely influenced by my crazy fondness for Teyla/Michael 'ship). I know that OldMckay could be wrong about how Teyla died. She could have died from complications in delivery, or in the experiments related to the delivery, or other things. But to just leave her on the floor like that. It doesn't add up to me.
Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions. Villains come back all the time on Stargate, and the longer they're around the more potential there is for development, in one way or another. I shouldn't give up hope. But I do anyway. :(
The Rodney/Jennifer thing was awkward to me somehow, which is strange since I tend to pair up the oddest and most unlikely matches. It wasn't horrible, but it was strange. I was disappointed that Rodney left Pegasus. I don't like the idea of giving up, even though I can completely understand the temptation and in a way, it was Rodney's persistence with the time travel figurations that make any hope possible...
And I have questions about the 25 years thing. Earth seems quite unaffected. For all we know, SG Command effectively forgot about Atlantis, in its neglection of it. I guess Michael never intended to conquer any area outside his galaxy? With the way they described the extent of his power in that time-line, you'd think it'd be cake for him to expand into the Milky Way. Though, maybe that's not his intention. What exactly are his intentions, beyond creating the hybrids and eliminating everyone else? You'd think, being so capable, that he'd have a fairly complex master plan beyond simple extermination. Maybe that's just me, and my not very objective pov.
The actual cliffhanger point seemed more appropriate for a commercial break than a season ender. And they've seriously reused that building one too many times. It would have been more suspenseful to end the episode with John in the chamber, even though it might have been too similar to Kindred II's ending...
I'm so depressed.
So, yeah, console me if you're up to it.
Please, read my ramblings below. Note: SPOILERS for the finale, if you haven't seen it.
The episode certainly had its strong points:
John's little chat with Lorne at the start.
The desert sand engulfing the city. I'm not great at noticing the intricacies of special effects (other than "Ooh neat") but those images of the sand burying Atlantis were more than intriguing. (On the other hand, Sheppard walking through the red sand storm? Not so believable. Pretty fake, actually.
OldMckay, hologram or not, was charming and a little more mellow than the Rodney we're used to; this worked well for the episode.
Sam "not taking no for an answer," from the IOA or anyone else, was awesome. It's a tribute to how she really is (and could continue to be if she remained) a very competent leader of Atlantis. I really liked the little moments of Carter-Mckay working as a team, as well. And the hugging. Such a bittersweet moment. Come to think of it, this episode makes Sam feel more like the classic Sam I remember than any other Atlantis one yet. She's that perfect blend of humanity and dignity. You can see the genuine emotion in her expression, but she's ever the picture of control.
Oh, and Major Lorne in charge of Atlantis? Someone needs to write fic about this. Too fun, or at least it would be under different circumstances. And General Lorne: so adorable.
Ronon-Todd team. Very cool and something I never expected to see.With all of those "good" things, you'd think I wouldn't be so depressed. But I am.
It's the Michael aspect of the episode that makes me the most sad. And, really, sad is the best word I can think of to describe it. He feels so completely beyond redemption with this ep. And that's a real shame.
I think it's amazing that he's still able to pull off the revenge bit (the "I'm doing this because it was done to me) without seeming pathetic. He doesn't flinch when carryout his matters, and manages to be witty (in a very bitter, but cutting way) without intending to be.
But killing Teyla? It doesn't make sense. He seemed genuinely attached to her in both Kindred's I & II (though I realize that opinion is hugely influenced by my crazy fondness for Teyla/Michael 'ship). I know that OldMckay could be wrong about how Teyla died. She could have died from complications in delivery, or in the experiments related to the delivery, or other things. But to just leave her on the floor like that. It doesn't add up to me.
Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions. Villains come back all the time on Stargate, and the longer they're around the more potential there is for development, in one way or another. I shouldn't give up hope. But I do anyway. :(
The Rodney/Jennifer thing was awkward to me somehow, which is strange since I tend to pair up the oddest and most unlikely matches. It wasn't horrible, but it was strange. I was disappointed that Rodney left Pegasus. I don't like the idea of giving up, even though I can completely understand the temptation and in a way, it was Rodney's persistence with the time travel figurations that make any hope possible...
And I have questions about the 25 years thing. Earth seems quite unaffected. For all we know, SG Command effectively forgot about Atlantis, in its neglection of it. I guess Michael never intended to conquer any area outside his galaxy? With the way they described the extent of his power in that time-line, you'd think it'd be cake for him to expand into the Milky Way. Though, maybe that's not his intention. What exactly are his intentions, beyond creating the hybrids and eliminating everyone else? You'd think, being so capable, that he'd have a fairly complex master plan beyond simple extermination. Maybe that's just me, and my not very objective pov.
The actual cliffhanger point seemed more appropriate for a commercial break than a season ender. And they've seriously reused that building one too many times. It would have been more suspenseful to end the episode with John in the chamber, even though it might have been too similar to Kindred II's ending...
I'm so depressed.
So, yeah, console me if you're up to it.