Trinity
So the day after joking about the pervasiveness of nukes on SGA I watched Trinity. I was going to get all metaphorical, but instead I will point to this post by goluxemachina for a really nice analysis of the parallels between the episode and the Trinity test, which says everything I was going to, and more besides.
I am so sick of Elizabeth drawing lines in the sand and having other stomp all over them. I saw a post by someone stating that they thought she was wrong at the end to yell at Rodney; well, it was about time, is all I can say. I feel for her, being trampled by the military and then John maneuvering her into allowing things to go forward.
The B plot was an obvious mirror on a small scale. Even though it wasn't that interesting (and my God, telegraphed from the get-go; did anybody not believe that Ronon hated Kel based on that drinking scene?) it was a good device. It's all about trust, yes, we get the picture, ok.
I loved the scientists' sheer joy, talking about their discoveries and ideas. The scene with Zelenka, McKay, and Sheppard was so enthusiastic - like a bunch of puppies playing with a new bone! But I'm getting tired of the "Sheppard shows knowledge of science and astonishes McKay" cliche. Sheppard is an officer. That means he went to college. He's not stupid. (Ok, those things don't necessarily correlate!) He might not have a PhD (although you never know!) but he's not an enlisted grunt. I had a couple of military guys in my grad program, getting their MS degrees. There are geeks in the military, you bet!
And, poor John. Oh, the slashiness of it all - oh, the personal foundation of trust, shattered. And I think it hurt him, to see McKay proved wrong, because remember the "What would McKay do?" bit in Storm/Eye, his total faith that Rodney could fix the jumper in Condemned - he really does believe in Rodney, and Rodney being wrong hurts him in several ways. He put his own reputation on the line by going to Elizabeth, and he was wrong. And he has to to re-evaluate Rodney as the guy who's always right, who can always solve the problem, always figure it out - he no longer has that certainty to fall back on, he can no longer trust that Rodney will get them out of there alive. He loves Rodney (well, he does! It's OBVIOUS!) and Rodney's failure hurts him - and Rodney's failure to see the implications of his own actions hurt him, because, well, he loves him.
Rodney is so amazingly self-centered here. His failures are all reflected back on how they impact him - he has to "live with Collins's death", which is, of course, a bit different than dying. Blowing up most of a solar system doesn't seem to upset him as much as the fact that he was wrong does. And the worst for him is losing John's affection and trust (because again, he loves John! It's OBVIOUS!). I love Rodney, I really do; but he is arrogant and self-centered, passionate and excited about science and hey, Nobel prize! I think Zelenka makes a great foil for him - Zelenka is also smart and caught up in the love of science, but he doesn't have the ego driving him the same way. I loved the scene with John telling Rodney he was like the pilot that refuses to eject - because that was spot on.
And the last scene made me all teary-eyed and I think rivier says it better than I could so I'm just going to point again. That noise you hear is the sound of millions of fangirls' slashy little hearts beating faster.
Now the shallow thoughts:
David Hewlett is the most amazingly talented actor to grace this planet, or any other one. Also? Very hot in that black and blue jacket.
Jason Momoa can possibly act his way out of a cardboard box, but I have yet to be convinced.
I think I would get all swoony listening to David Nykl even reading a telephone directory in that Zelenka-voice.
Joe Flanigan/safety glasses OTP. YUM.
I am so sick of Elizabeth drawing lines in the sand and having other stomp all over them. I saw a post by someone stating that they thought she was wrong at the end to yell at Rodney; well, it was about time, is all I can say. I feel for her, being trampled by the military and then John maneuvering her into allowing things to go forward.
The B plot was an obvious mirror on a small scale. Even though it wasn't that interesting (and my God, telegraphed from the get-go; did anybody not believe that Ronon hated Kel based on that drinking scene?) it was a good device. It's all about trust, yes, we get the picture, ok.
I loved the scientists' sheer joy, talking about their discoveries and ideas. The scene with Zelenka, McKay, and Sheppard was so enthusiastic - like a bunch of puppies playing with a new bone! But I'm getting tired of the "Sheppard shows knowledge of science and astonishes McKay" cliche. Sheppard is an officer. That means he went to college. He's not stupid. (Ok, those things don't necessarily correlate!) He might not have a PhD (although you never know!) but he's not an enlisted grunt. I had a couple of military guys in my grad program, getting their MS degrees. There are geeks in the military, you bet!
And, poor John. Oh, the slashiness of it all - oh, the personal foundation of trust, shattered. And I think it hurt him, to see McKay proved wrong, because remember the "What would McKay do?" bit in Storm/Eye, his total faith that Rodney could fix the jumper in Condemned - he really does believe in Rodney, and Rodney being wrong hurts him in several ways. He put his own reputation on the line by going to Elizabeth, and he was wrong. And he has to to re-evaluate Rodney as the guy who's always right, who can always solve the problem, always figure it out - he no longer has that certainty to fall back on, he can no longer trust that Rodney will get them out of there alive. He loves Rodney (well, he does! It's OBVIOUS!) and Rodney's failure hurts him - and Rodney's failure to see the implications of his own actions hurt him, because, well, he loves him.
Rodney is so amazingly self-centered here. His failures are all reflected back on how they impact him - he has to "live with Collins's death", which is, of course, a bit different than dying. Blowing up most of a solar system doesn't seem to upset him as much as the fact that he was wrong does. And the worst for him is losing John's affection and trust (because again, he loves John! It's OBVIOUS!). I love Rodney, I really do; but he is arrogant and self-centered, passionate and excited about science and hey, Nobel prize! I think Zelenka makes a great foil for him - Zelenka is also smart and caught up in the love of science, but he doesn't have the ego driving him the same way. I loved the scene with John telling Rodney he was like the pilot that refuses to eject - because that was spot on.
And the last scene made me all teary-eyed and I think rivier says it better than I could so I'm just going to point again. That noise you hear is the sound of millions of fangirls' slashy little hearts beating faster.
Now the shallow thoughts:
David Hewlett is the most amazingly talented actor to grace this planet, or any other one. Also? Very hot in that black and blue jacket.
Jason Momoa can possibly act his way out of a cardboard box, but I have yet to be convinced.
I think I would get all swoony listening to David Nykl even reading a telephone directory in that Zelenka-voice.
Joe Flanigan/safety glasses OTP. YUM.