John Sheppard (Stargate: Atlantis)

[_medley_]

Title: We Can Name it Later
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Character: John Sheppard
Author: _medley_
Spoilers for: Pretty much all of seasons one and two
Notes: Quotes are from the transcripts on www.twiztv.com/scripts/atlantis

Comments

[nightspring]

A thorough and informative analysis of Sheppard, thanks!

Just have one question:
He and McKay go from somewhat adversarial to, well, adversarial in the way that friends can be.

I certainly see the "adversial in friends way" part, but I'm just not sure what you mean by they were "somewhat adversial" in the beginning. Could you perhaps point to specific scenes where you feel they are "somewhat adversial" with each other?

[_medley_]

Thank you!

Actually, when I said that, I only had one scene in mind, which is the "720" scene in the pilot, where Rodney's trying to tell him they can't track the Wraith. "Adversarial" is probably too strong a word for it, but I do think that's the point when Rodney realized that there's more to John than meets the eye, and I think John realized the same about Rodney when he walked into the energy creature in "Hide and Seek." I see those as being early turning points in their relationship, where they began to respect each other.

[nightspring]

Thanks for the clarification! I do agree that "720" is the point where Rodney recognizes John as a noteworthy human being -- I think up until that point, John was just another one of the masses of bodies swimming around. *g*

I keep wondering what John saw in Rodney up till the end of "Hide and Seek" -- they do seem to genuinely enjoy each other in the opening scene where they are testing the personal shield. John might not yet have realized Rodney's full capacity for bravery and self-sacrifice, but it does seem like something had "clicked" between them by the beginning of that epy.

And I find it interesting that we don't actually know exactly when John picked Rodney to be on his team. We get Weir telling John to pick a team at the end of "Rising," and then nothing is mentioned about it in "Hide and Seek," and then the one after that is "38 Minutes," with both Rodney and Teyla already part of John's team.

[_medley_]

John might not yet have realized Rodney's full capacity for bravery and self-sacrifice, but it does seem like something had "clicked" between them by the beginning of that epy.

Oh, definitely. I love that playfulness between them. Didn't somebody say something in "Grace Under Pressure" implying that John and Rodney had been bugging Elizabeth to let them take the jumpers underwater? I'd like to have seen that. I'd like to have seen John ask Rodney to be on his team, too. Well, at least there's fanfic to fill in the gaps.

[zyna_kat]

Excellent! I totally agree with your take on John. One thing:

In Intruder, he says nobody expected him to make Captain,

IIRC, he said he wasn't expected to make it past Captain.

[_medley_]

Thank you! And you are so right about the Captain comment. ::smacks forehead and goes to fix it::

[thepouncer]

Condemned was kind of a key episode in my understanding of Sheppard (who is far and away my favorite character on SGA). Ronon makes some comment about Sheppard not wanting to fight and Shep replies something like, "No, I'm just lazy but I'll fight if I have to." To me, the heavens opened up and the light beamed down - Sheppard's charm is an intrinsic part of him, and one he uses because it's *easier* to deal with friends than with enemies. It's not insincere, but it's part of the way he's chosen to live his life. Turn on the charm, make friends, and maybe he won't have to fight them.

[_medley_]

I thought that was a great line, too, and it just fit so well.

Turn on the charm, make friends, and maybe he won't have to fight them.

Oh, yes, exactly.