Enemy at the Gate -- Reaction, thoughts, and other things mixed in for flavor
Well guys, this is it.
The finale has come and gone, and with it, the last of the new episodes of Atlantis. I, for one, am actually fairly happy with what we got in the last episode (there are some minor quibbles, there always are), but all in all, I do think it was a fitting end. I mean, what's more fitting for the last episode but for Atlantis to finally return to its original home planet to save the day?
Ronon's (Temporary) Death
And more than that, we got team. We had team actually dying on each other, and all of the emotions in between. From each teammate. And then we had dead!teammates rising from the dead (ala Wraith, handy trick that), and relived!team saving him from death numero duo. I mean, yes, if the show had been two hours, I would have loved for them to linger a little longer on Ronon's death, get some nice reaction scenes as it starts to sink in -- and then bang! Ronon's not dead. Cue elation!
But I'm definitely content with what we got, because even in the short time span, the quick reaction shots, you could see what it did to each one of them. Teyla's quick turn and burst of gunfire I am fairly sure I imagined the scream of rage, but I don't think I imagined the fury she was projecting. Rodney's shock, dismay, and that wibbly, "oh no" face he used to make so much in the first two seasons when someone died on him tugged at me. And John, oh, John. Your eyes say so much.
Also, was I the only one who really wanted Ronon's reply to Rodney's "But you were dead!" to be "...I got better." Possibly in a very high pitched British accent? Perhaps.
John Sheppard Still Needs Therapy
John just doesn't volunteer for suicide missions, he makes them up on the spot! *g* This one never fails to crack me up, mostly because it seemed to be kind of a fanon thing to me for a while, John's propensity to try and kill himself. I think he's gotten a lot worse at it these past two seasons, sort of amping up over the course of this season. My count is at about four (Seed, Prodigal, Vegas, Enemy at the Gate). Seriously, John, you are entirely too eager to go out with a bang. Are you that afraid of old age? Retirement? Is this some sort of strange, John Sheppard variant of the mid-life crisis? ("Oh noes, I'm still alive! That wasn't supposed to happen!")
Okay, I'm kidding. But it's very endearing. In a strange, "I'm glad he's a fictional character, because if he were my friend in real life I'd be very worried" kind of way.
Wormhole Drive
...huh? You know... I thought I heard a mention of this earlier this season, but it did seem to be another case of:
They did this with some other piece of technology earlier this season... but it's late enough right now that I don't remember. Ah, well. While I do enjoy it when they successfully interweave things from episode to episode to episode, it wasn't a complete "WTF? Left field?"
Cameos FTW!
We got to see just about everybody in this episode, which made me a happy "Oh, look!" kind of fangirl. We got Sam, Walter, BaldwellCaldwell, Colonel Ellis The Tool, Zelenka, Lorne (Heroic!Lorne even! :D), Todd, two partridges in a pear tree, Clone!Carson (who somehow upgraded his ram to where he could fly the city and fire drones without taking out the tower's support columns) (Don't hurt me, Gayle, I only kid because I love), the return of the Checkett OTP, the death of John's Chair of Destiny (off-screen). All we were missing was Larrin and leather. (There was a conspicuous lack of leather in this episode. Thank you, costuming department. Thank you.)
We got also got mention of some characters that didn't make it (although there was one glaring omission... but this is happy post, we'll move on!) It would have been fun for all of SG-1 to be there, but that would have been a bit much. In my head, though, Cam was up there with the rest of the F-302 pilots, merrily blasting away at Wraith darts. And Sam was, uh, talking to him on another channel? I don't know! But Cameron Mitchell is like a happier-go-lucky, less suicidal version of John. He is incapable of staying safe on the ground when he could be zipping through the air.
We also got to see my major, non-SG1 crush, Major Davis return. I'll be honest, when they first announced the spin-off, I had some really naive hope that he would somehow get poor Lantash the (canonically very dead) Tokra, gain Jonas Quinn as his geeky sidekick, and go off to the lost city and be awesome.
For the record, I'm very glad my crazy, naive hopeful version of SGA never came true. I like what we got much better. (SNARK! :D) Um, yes. One could say I even adore it.
Ronon + Amelia
D'awww. She came to see him! While I have missed our friendly Chucknician at the helm lately (Chucksole (Chuck/DHD Console) is my OTP), I like Amelia much more than I thought I was going to. The "get lost" look Ronon directed at John in this scene made me snorfle a little. And that Amelia just had to show him the view of the San Fransisco Bay, once again: d'awww.
Ronon + Teyla
Er, not meant in the same sense as above. I think this is going to have to count for the team roadtrip, because, hey, all four of them finally got Earth at the same time. Sure, Ronon's going to be recuperating for a while, but soon, all four of them will pile into a rental car in San Fransico and
I was supposed to be talking about Ronon and Teyla, wasn't I?
I wanted to make specific mention of the scene where Woolsey tried to offer them an out, because I rather liked it. First off, Ronon explicity stated that Atlantis was his home. We got Teyla's admission (although less straightforward) back in "Prodigal" when she was talking about "my people", and clearly talking about the Atlanteans. Secondly... the expedition finally got a little credit. Yes, they're bozos and dorks to the Nth degree and sometimes really need to learn the concept of manners when visiting someone else's homeworld -- but they're also trying. And it's nice, every once in a while, that someone throws them a bone.
But I also loved Ronon and Teyla, especially on the hiveship. My friendshippy moments between them are few and far between in the show (*shakes fist*), but I'm going to be rewatching if only for that bit when Ronon gets stabbed. Oh, Teyla, her face. If John and Rodney are my one true OTF, Teyla and Ronon are my very close second. To me at least, they've always seemed to get each other in a very similar way that John and Rodney get each other. Of course, not being emotionally constipated idiots enables them to actually speak to each other like adults every now and then (although they have their moments too *g*) -- but yes, their friendship is something I wished we had seen more of. One day, if I ever can get a handle on their voices, I'd love to be able to fill in some of these gaps.
Final Finale Rambles
While I'm sad we're not going to get any more weekly adventures, I actually think I'm fairly happy with how everything ended. I do have my caveats (in a separate, locked post), it was almost over-the-top, but... it ended in a good place. Nobody died permanently, it all wasn't a holodeck sequence (yeah, that still bugs me *muttergrumblestupidEnterprisemuttergrumble*), things weren't drastically altered (ie: Stargate Program suddenly going public because of giant cities landing in the middle of the Pacific Ocean) to make it hard for fanon to pick up, and our last shot was a balcony scene, with everyone looking out over the water together. I kind of have a balcony scene kink, so those always work for me. Like I said above, Atlantis came home to defend Earth, but it's going back to the Pegasus Galaxy -- and the adventures will continue. Whether in fanfic, virtual seasons, or even movies that can bring everyone back for one last hurrah -- it's not over.
And for the fan like me, who loves living on the spaces in between, that's right where I want to be.
The finale has come and gone, and with it, the last of the new episodes of Atlantis. I, for one, am actually fairly happy with what we got in the last episode (there are some minor quibbles, there always are), but all in all, I do think it was a fitting end. I mean, what's more fitting for the last episode but for Atlantis to finally return to its original home planet to save the day?
Ronon's (Temporary) Death
And more than that, we got team. We had team actually dying on each other, and all of the emotions in between. From each teammate. And then we had dead!teammates rising from the dead (ala Wraith, handy trick that), and relived!team saving him from death numero duo. I mean, yes, if the show had been two hours, I would have loved for them to linger a little longer on Ronon's death, get some nice reaction scenes as it starts to sink in -- and then bang! Ronon's not dead. Cue elation!
But I'm definitely content with what we got, because even in the short time span, the quick reaction shots, you could see what it did to each one of them. Teyla's quick turn and burst of gunfire I am fairly sure I imagined the scream of rage, but I don't think I imagined the fury she was projecting. Rodney's shock, dismay, and that wibbly, "oh no" face he used to make so much in the first two seasons when someone died on him tugged at me. And John, oh, John. Your eyes say so much.
Also, was I the only one who really wanted Ronon's reply to Rodney's "But you were dead!" to be "...I got better." Possibly in a very high pitched British accent? Perhaps.
John Sheppard Still Needs Therapy
John just doesn't volunteer for suicide missions, he makes them up on the spot! *g* This one never fails to crack me up, mostly because it seemed to be kind of a fanon thing to me for a while, John's propensity to try and kill himself. I think he's gotten a lot worse at it these past two seasons, sort of amping up over the course of this season. My count is at about four (Seed, Prodigal, Vegas, Enemy at the Gate). Seriously, John, you are entirely too eager to go out with a bang. Are you that afraid of old age? Retirement? Is this some sort of strange, John Sheppard variant of the mid-life crisis? ("Oh noes, I'm still alive! That wasn't supposed to happen!")
Okay, I'm kidding. But it's very endearing. In a strange, "I'm glad he's a fictional character, because if he were my friend in real life I'd be very worried" kind of way.
Wormhole Drive
...huh? You know... I thought I heard a mention of this earlier this season, but it did seem to be another case of:
They did this with some other piece of technology earlier this season... but it's late enough right now that I don't remember. Ah, well. While I do enjoy it when they successfully interweave things from episode to episode to episode, it wasn't a complete "WTF? Left field?"
Cameos FTW!
We got to see just about everybody in this episode, which made me a happy "Oh, look!" kind of fangirl. We got Sam, Walter, BaldwellCaldwell, Colonel Ellis The Tool, Zelenka, Lorne (Heroic!Lorne even! :D), Todd, two partridges in a pear tree, Clone!Carson (who somehow upgraded his ram to where he could fly the city and fire drones without taking out the tower's support columns) (Don't hurt me, Gayle, I only kid because I love), the return of the Checkett OTP, the death of John's Chair of Destiny (off-screen). All we were missing was Larrin and leather. (There was a conspicuous lack of leather in this episode. Thank you, costuming department. Thank you.)
We got also got mention of some characters that didn't make it (although there was one glaring omission... but this is happy post, we'll move on!) It would have been fun for all of SG-1 to be there, but that would have been a bit much. In my head, though, Cam was up there with the rest of the F-302 pilots, merrily blasting away at Wraith darts. And Sam was, uh, talking to him on another channel? I don't know! But Cameron Mitchell is like a happier-go-lucky, less suicidal version of John. He is incapable of staying safe on the ground when he could be zipping through the air.
We also got to see my major, non-SG1 crush, Major Davis return. I'll be honest, when they first announced the spin-off, I had some really naive hope that he would somehow get poor Lantash the (canonically very dead) Tokra, gain Jonas Quinn as his geeky sidekick, and go off to the lost city and be awesome.
For the record, I'm very glad my crazy, naive hopeful version of SGA never came true. I like what we got much better. (SNARK! :D) Um, yes. One could say I even adore it.
Ronon + Amelia
D'awww. She came to see him! While I have missed our friendly Chucknician at the helm lately (Chucksole (Chuck/DHD Console) is my OTP), I like Amelia much more than I thought I was going to. The "get lost" look Ronon directed at John in this scene made me snorfle a little. And that Amelia just had to show him the view of the San Fransisco Bay, once again: d'awww.
Ronon + Teyla
Er, not meant in the same sense as above. I think this is going to have to count for the team roadtrip, because, hey, all four of them finally got Earth at the same time. Sure, Ronon's going to be recuperating for a while, but soon, all four of them will pile into a rental car in San Fransico and
I was supposed to be talking about Ronon and Teyla, wasn't I?
I wanted to make specific mention of the scene where Woolsey tried to offer them an out, because I rather liked it. First off, Ronon explicity stated that Atlantis was his home. We got Teyla's admission (although less straightforward) back in "Prodigal" when she was talking about "my people", and clearly talking about the Atlanteans. Secondly... the expedition finally got a little credit. Yes, they're bozos and dorks to the Nth degree and sometimes really need to learn the concept of manners when visiting someone else's homeworld -- but they're also trying. And it's nice, every once in a while, that someone throws them a bone.
But I also loved Ronon and Teyla, especially on the hiveship. My friendshippy moments between them are few and far between in the show (*shakes fist*), but I'm going to be rewatching if only for that bit when Ronon gets stabbed. Oh, Teyla, her face. If John and Rodney are my one true OTF, Teyla and Ronon are my very close second. To me at least, they've always seemed to get each other in a very similar way that John and Rodney get each other. Of course, not being emotionally constipated idiots enables them to actually speak to each other like adults every now and then (although they have their moments too *g*) -- but yes, their friendship is something I wished we had seen more of. One day, if I ever can get a handle on their voices, I'd love to be able to fill in some of these gaps.
Final Finale Rambles
While I'm sad we're not going to get any more weekly adventures, I actually think I'm fairly happy with how everything ended. I do have my caveats (in a separate, locked post), it was almost over-the-top, but... it ended in a good place. Nobody died permanently, it all wasn't a holodeck sequence (yeah, that still bugs me *muttergrumblestupidEnterprisemuttergrumble*), things weren't drastically altered (ie: Stargate Program suddenly going public because of giant cities landing in the middle of the Pacific Ocean) to make it hard for fanon to pick up, and our last shot was a balcony scene, with everyone looking out over the water together. I kind of have a balcony scene kink, so those always work for me. Like I said above, Atlantis came home to defend Earth, but it's going back to the Pegasus Galaxy -- and the adventures will continue. Whether in fanfic, virtual seasons, or even movies that can bring everyone back for one last hurrah -- it's not over.
And for the fan like me, who loves living on the spaces in between, that's right where I want to be.