Aquarium 4.09 -- "Miller's Crossing" commentary

[hth_the_first]

The other day Mary said to me, "So you can flag offensive content on lj now," and I said, "SWEET! I'm starting tomorrow!" But then she explained to me that you have to have a specific reason, and that "Rodney is a secret cutter fic" and "misuse of the word 'canon' in a sentence" are not on the list. Once again, warnings labels never cover the

Comments

[darkrosetiger]

Practically everything I find something really interesting on this show, Gero turns out to be responsible for it.

Eh. I don't like Gero that much. He writes Rodney well, but that's about it. Granted, part of my problem is that I find him one of the worst offenders in the "Ronon is a big dumb grunt who shoots things" area. Much as Cooper and Mallozzi annoy me, they do occasionally try to give Ronon a little deeper characterization.

it becomes Rodney’s fault at the point where he bullies Jeannie into ignoring the basic human desire to help a dying girl and her distraught parent. By being, you know, Rodney, and snippily insisting that the only thing that really ought to matter to him is him, he pretty much guarantees that Henry is going to make it about him. Sometimes, it’s just better to start out by not being a dick in the first place.I honestly don't think he was being a dick--or if he was, then I'd have been a dick in the same way. I'm sorry that your kid is dying, dude, but at the point at which you hired people to storm my

[hth_the_first]

Eh. I don't like Gero that much. He writes Rodney well, but that's about it.

Actually, the reason I like him isn't really that he writes Rodney well, although he does. I like him because I think the way he envisions the show is a much closer match to the way I would like to see it than any of the other producers' is. I enjoy interviews and commentaries with Gero because he talks really seriously about trying to get at the core of the characters and figure out what they would and wouldn't do, and he's really interested in how you create change and growth in a character over time. I think it's *incredibly* telling that he tried again and again to get an "everybody's day off on Atlantis" story aired, while the rest of the production staff thought nobody would like that because it wasn't suspenseful enough. I think to Gero, just figuring out who these people really are is inherently interesting; his commentary on "Sunday" is unbelievably interesting, particularly the way he talks about trying to gently shove Hewlett into playing the

[darkrosetiger]

I enjoy interviews and commentaries with Gero because he talks really seriously about trying to get at the core of the characters and figure out what they would and wouldn't do, and he's really interested in how you create change and growth in a character over time.He's interested in change and growth in Rodney. I honestly don't get the sense, from listening to his commentaries, that he always remembers that it's supposed to be an ensemble show and not the David Hewlett With Some Other People Show. I'm only half-joking when I say that he needs to give David a blowjob and get the man crush out of his system

[ainsley]

I can't even begin to describe how fabulous your review is. All I can reasonably say is that it makes me want to offer you my hand in marriage. Or, since our home state doesn't allow it, tip you really well next time I'm in Durham.

[hth_the_first]

Hee! I will indeed accept cash as a substitute for making an honest woman out of me. You have excellent instincts!

[hth_the_first]

I have no trouble believing that this is already happening. I can just see him, leaning back at the lunch table with a smug little smile and saying, "You see, John, what I have learned about relationships is..." And then probably John seriously contemplates throwing a bowl of peas at another human being for the first time since he was five years old.

[liviapenn]

*bwahahahaha* Oh god!

"Leadership! Wait, I'm sorry, wrong set of index cards." *reshuffles* "...Relationships!"

[wneleh]

Great reading! Thanks for this.

- Helen

[hth_the_first]

Hey, thanks!

[anatsuno]

Like cathexys said - awesome review. I'm not sure I read it all like you; I'm kinda with Darkrose on Rodney's reactions to Wallace... There's also the fact that the whole ep seems a narrative setup to allow Rodney some kind of character growth, realizing he would die for his sister. Like he had never thought about love and family already? Letters from Pegasus, no, Rodney and Mrs Miller, no, nothing, he never reflected on these topics before, huh? I find this part of it pretty contrived (it's not the only part, obviously).

Still, highly enjoyable to watch, and the Hewletts are hot, as are John and Ronon dressed the same (yes, poor Ronon indeed, but god that was nice).

[hth_the_first]

There's also the fact that the whole ep seems a narrative setup to allow Rodney some kind of character growth, realizing he would die for his sister. Like he had never thought about love and family already? Letters from Pegasus, no, Rodney and Mrs Miller, no, nothing, he never reflected on these topics before, huh? I find this part of it pretty contrivedWell, I do not deny that the plot was obviously a contrivance to push along the emotional issues, and while it would be cool if they were a lot better at hiding that than they are, I'm generally happy enough to have an episode that *has* emotional issues, or you know, emotions, or people interacting with other people in any human way at all. So by my lowered standards for this show, Good Things happened