SFF - SG1, SGA
My thoughts on the 'Gates... personal stuff follows.
Okay, first of all, I'm in agreement with surrealphantast that this should have been a two-parter. There was really too much intrigue to shoehorn into 40-some minutes.
That said, I did enjoy the ep, though I really need to watch it again to *really* get it all.
I loved Altered!Daniel, though he really was very Daniel during much of the ep.
I adored the Daniel-Jack banter (not using a slash because I'm not much of a slasher - though you all are free to see your own subtext).
I liked the Adria/Daniel stuff, lite as it was - don't know if I could have taken more, yet at the same time, I'd seen that vibe come, so it wasn't a shock.
Daniel is hot as hell in the blue Ori uniform. Guh!
While I did appreciate the cross/double-cross/triple-cross storyline, it wasn't terribly well-served in a single ep. It really required a two episode arc - or perhaps a 90 minute ep - to flesh it all out completely. If that's really what it was.
I do think this was a well-thought-out storyline from the writer's standpoint. It would have benefitted immensely from a bit more exploration into the details, but it was still enjoyable. I think this really is an ep that requires multiple viewings to fully assimilate.
I like that it was Vala who knew how to finish the assembly of the device. I really enjoyed her vacillation with Mitchell between "Of course it's right!" and "I could have done it wrong". Very natural and believable in her later persona. She's simply doing her best - for the whole team and not just Daniel.
And man, when she delivered that line (whatever it was - but it was logical and doubting) "...even it was the tiniest nagging doubt" and kicked the stool away and just walked away? Showed me that she was NOT simply the shallow, silly woman we'd been led to take her as. Nicely done. She was a thinking, powerful woman and NOT simply driven by her own desires. It was her belief in something larger than herself that inspired that. And this is someone who is very much 'on the fence' with regards to Vala. Essentially, I like her. A lot. But I don't want the show to turn into the 'Daniel and Vala show' or have her completely overshadow Sam.
I *get* that Daniel pretty much played everyone. I don't find it shocking nor surprising, yet just discomforting enough. I was never entirely sure that Daniel wasn't being influenced.
On the other hand, Vala and Sam are very, very different women. This ep pretty much showed the difference between them, yet they both had the same end in mind. And um... I hope to have more thinky on that tomorrow.
As a confirmed Sam/Daniel person, I really loved it when Sam supported his head/neck towards the end. I think she had her hand on Daniel's shoulder as they were transported out of the Ori ship, too. I don't see this as entirely 'shippy. I'm happy with it s totally friendshippy, TOO. It acknowledges the years and experience between them - along with Daniel's questioning on Sam even as he was confronted by Adria. And how weakened he was. It actually reminded me (in all the nicest ways) of Book!Verse Harry Dresden. Of how he cares for his friends and will risk anything for them. It's sort of a universal trope, but I love it anyway.
And crap. The end, where the additional Ori ships come through the Supergate. Shit. It's like they may have won the battle, but the war rages on. At least we got our Daniel back. I do adore that he didn't want to be 'frozen' (put in stasis).
Okay, I'll be the first one to admit that I'm not the biggest Rodney fan on the planet. I'm really not. I tend to prefer his sparring with Carter than his Atlantis escapades. I don't like that Atlantis has felt more and more like the "Rodney McKay and Friends" show. For that reason alone, I was dreading this ep. And yet, I didn't fully realize that this was 'The Tao of Rodney' until I'd already been sucked in.
And... I sort of fell in love with Rodney. Seriously, I did, and I don't feel bad about it. This ep gave him an element of humanity that I expect will carry me through quite a bit.
First of all, John as Ascension Coach? Okay, I love John and will forgive him a lot, but... Ascension Coach??? Probably the WORST Ascension Coach ever! Which was hysterical because he really was trying. He really was doing his best, but it's just not his forte, you know? Those scenes were fabulous!
Rodney's goodbye sequences with Radek, Teyla and Ronon? So very touching. Really, they were. I especially adored Rodney asking Ronon about how he felt about his scars. So sensitive and caring, seemingly completely in touch about how Ronon felt about them. And then, based on Ronon's answer, erased the scars. Very cool. Seriously. Because yes, if Ronon saw them as a badge of courage against the Wraith? Rodney would have left them alone. That's a level of sensitivity that we really haven't seen from Rodney before and it impressed the hell out of me.
I'm not annoyed that the writers made me like McKay. It was really well done and Rodney had very good reasons for wanting to square things with his teammates. And Elizabeth - let's not forget that, though Rodney may want to. Nicely handled.
Okay. So I like Rodney now. Shut up! Doesn't mean I need to see 1,001 fics about him to the detriment of the other characters... I'm just sayin' ;)
In other news, I got my hair cut and colored today. I should do this every 6 weeks, since I have a trade arrangement with my hairdresser. I do her taxes, she does my hair. And... uh, I have a *lot* more grey than I used to. Hmm. Does not thrill me.
However, I stopped at Peter's Chinese on the way home. My hairdresser takes a long time, so I was sort of against the clock at getting home before SG-1 aired. I made an order of Almond Chicken and Sesame Chicken and grabbed the bag they offered me. It's a long way from home and I didn't check it before leaving the parking lot. Big mistake.
What I had when I got home? An order of Cheese Wontons (which I like) and an order of Veggie Egg Foo Young (which I don't, so much). Crap. I ate it anyway, since I'm not allergic or anything and Peter's is a long ways away from me.
Also, I called in sick to work today. I went home early yesterday because I was falling asleep at my desk and my stomach wasn't all that happy after lunch. I had more of that icky feeling when I woke up this morning, so called in sick. I was also incredibly dehydrated for unknown reasons.
I drank 2 quarts of Gatorade this morning and felt better for it. Dunno what's up, but I'm not overly concerned.
Okay, them's my thoughts at the moment. I may have even deeper ones later :)
Okay, first of all, I'm in agreement with surrealphantast that this should have been a two-parter. There was really too much intrigue to shoehorn into 40-some minutes.
That said, I did enjoy the ep, though I really need to watch it again to *really* get it all.
I loved Altered!Daniel, though he really was very Daniel during much of the ep.
I adored the Daniel-Jack banter (not using a slash because I'm not much of a slasher - though you all are free to see your own subtext).
I liked the Adria/Daniel stuff, lite as it was - don't know if I could have taken more, yet at the same time, I'd seen that vibe come, so it wasn't a shock.
Daniel is hot as hell in the blue Ori uniform. Guh!
While I did appreciate the cross/double-cross/triple-cross storyline, it wasn't terribly well-served in a single ep. It really required a two episode arc - or perhaps a 90 minute ep - to flesh it all out completely. If that's really what it was.
I do think this was a well-thought-out storyline from the writer's standpoint. It would have benefitted immensely from a bit more exploration into the details, but it was still enjoyable. I think this really is an ep that requires multiple viewings to fully assimilate.
I like that it was Vala who knew how to finish the assembly of the device. I really enjoyed her vacillation with Mitchell between "Of course it's right!" and "I could have done it wrong". Very natural and believable in her later persona. She's simply doing her best - for the whole team and not just Daniel.
And man, when she delivered that line (whatever it was - but it was logical and doubting) "...even it was the tiniest nagging doubt" and kicked the stool away and just walked away? Showed me that she was NOT simply the shallow, silly woman we'd been led to take her as. Nicely done. She was a thinking, powerful woman and NOT simply driven by her own desires. It was her belief in something larger than herself that inspired that. And this is someone who is very much 'on the fence' with regards to Vala. Essentially, I like her. A lot. But I don't want the show to turn into the 'Daniel and Vala show' or have her completely overshadow Sam.
I *get* that Daniel pretty much played everyone. I don't find it shocking nor surprising, yet just discomforting enough. I was never entirely sure that Daniel wasn't being influenced.
On the other hand, Vala and Sam are very, very different women. This ep pretty much showed the difference between them, yet they both had the same end in mind. And um... I hope to have more thinky on that tomorrow.
As a confirmed Sam/Daniel person, I really loved it when Sam supported his head/neck towards the end. I think she had her hand on Daniel's shoulder as they were transported out of the Ori ship, too. I don't see this as entirely 'shippy. I'm happy with it s totally friendshippy, TOO. It acknowledges the years and experience between them - along with Daniel's questioning on Sam even as he was confronted by Adria. And how weakened he was. It actually reminded me (in all the nicest ways) of Book!Verse Harry Dresden. Of how he cares for his friends and will risk anything for them. It's sort of a universal trope, but I love it anyway.
And crap. The end, where the additional Ori ships come through the Supergate. Shit. It's like they may have won the battle, but the war rages on. At least we got our Daniel back. I do adore that he didn't want to be 'frozen' (put in stasis).
Okay, I'll be the first one to admit that I'm not the biggest Rodney fan on the planet. I'm really not. I tend to prefer his sparring with Carter than his Atlantis escapades. I don't like that Atlantis has felt more and more like the "Rodney McKay and Friends" show. For that reason alone, I was dreading this ep. And yet, I didn't fully realize that this was 'The Tao of Rodney' until I'd already been sucked in.
And... I sort of fell in love with Rodney. Seriously, I did, and I don't feel bad about it. This ep gave him an element of humanity that I expect will carry me through quite a bit.
First of all, John as Ascension Coach? Okay, I love John and will forgive him a lot, but... Ascension Coach??? Probably the WORST Ascension Coach ever! Which was hysterical because he really was trying. He really was doing his best, but it's just not his forte, you know? Those scenes were fabulous!
Rodney's goodbye sequences with Radek, Teyla and Ronon? So very touching. Really, they were. I especially adored Rodney asking Ronon about how he felt about his scars. So sensitive and caring, seemingly completely in touch about how Ronon felt about them. And then, based on Ronon's answer, erased the scars. Very cool. Seriously. Because yes, if Ronon saw them as a badge of courage against the Wraith? Rodney would have left them alone. That's a level of sensitivity that we really haven't seen from Rodney before and it impressed the hell out of me.
I'm not annoyed that the writers made me like McKay. It was really well done and Rodney had very good reasons for wanting to square things with his teammates. And Elizabeth - let's not forget that, though Rodney may want to. Nicely handled.
Okay. So I like Rodney now. Shut up! Doesn't mean I need to see 1,001 fics about him to the detriment of the other characters... I'm just sayin' ;)
In other news, I got my hair cut and colored today. I should do this every 6 weeks, since I have a trade arrangement with my hairdresser. I do her taxes, she does my hair. And... uh, I have a *lot* more grey than I used to. Hmm. Does not thrill me.
However, I stopped at Peter's Chinese on the way home. My hairdresser takes a long time, so I was sort of against the clock at getting home before SG-1 aired. I made an order of Almond Chicken and Sesame Chicken and grabbed the bag they offered me. It's a long way from home and I didn't check it before leaving the parking lot. Big mistake.
What I had when I got home? An order of Cheese Wontons (which I like) and an order of Veggie Egg Foo Young (which I don't, so much). Crap. I ate it anyway, since I'm not allergic or anything and Peter's is a long ways away from me.
Also, I called in sick to work today. I went home early yesterday because I was falling asleep at my desk and my stomach wasn't all that happy after lunch. I had more of that icky feeling when I woke up this morning, so called in sick. I was also incredibly dehydrated for unknown reasons.
I drank 2 quarts of Gatorade this morning and felt better for it. Dunno what's up, but I'm not overly concerned.
Okay, them's my thoughts at the moment. I may have even deeper ones later :)