Comments | shutthef_up: Unending

shutthef_up

Unending

Jun 23, 2007 08:37

I've been sitting here for a while thinking about what I want to say. Far, far more than my usual alcohol-induced ramblings. I feel a bit... weird, because a couple of those scenes touched me far more deeply than I ever imagined they would ( Read more... )

sg1

Comments 22

abyssinia4077 June 23 2007, 16:30:27 UTC

I may have more to say later, but I'm still really conflicted about Unending however...thank you SO MUCH for writing this. It gave me a perspective I hadn't thought about and I really appreciate you putting yourself out there a bit and sharing these thoughts because it's really helping me.

(also, your thing with right/wrong person/time and Sam vs. Vala really just WORKED for me and as a flag-waving fan for Sam/Daniel I'm still waiting for them to find that right time to be the right ones for each other.)

shutthef_up June 23 2007, 16:59:49 UTC

Thanks so much! I'm really glad it helps you.

The whole thing was quite bittersweet for me. I can understand why some fans are upset and and disconcerted by the ep. Part of it is that I was minorly spoiled for the Daniel/Vala stuff and so was able to prepare myself for it. However, I never thought in a million years that they'd sleep together or become a couple for that timeline. But the reset makes it okay for me and I can pretty much go happily on my way.

And yes, I do believe that those windows of opportunity do roll around periodlically, so there's still hope for Sam/Daniel.

abyssinia4077 June 23 2007, 19:52:55 UTC

I'd also been spoiled a little - just in that there was Daniel/Vala in the episode. I'm finally admitting that I'm a Sam/Daniel shipper (though still mostly gen) but I'm not really OTP and I like Vala and have no problem with Daniel/Vala and, honestly, the Daniel/Vala in the episode mostly didn't bother me. It was other aspects of the episode that have me wringing my hands in discontent ( ... )

shutthef_up June 23 2007, 20:32:41 UTC

The nice thing is there's a huge amount of wiggle-room.

Depending on how you view Hathor sort of dictates just how much Daniel would react to that trigger. If Daniel was truly and deeply traumatized by it (I don't necessarily subscribe to that myself, but I know some do), then it could be a massive trigger ( ... )

Thread 10

zorb June 23 2007, 16:47:47 UTC

After a second watch, I still think the Daniel/Vala scene should've been two scenes - and without changing a thing in each half, they would've been two really good scenes. Even put together as one, it was still pretty amazing, though the quick reversal will never really work for me.

I think Daniel's rant is worth the extra discussion, because as you said, it opened the floodgates on a tightly closed-off character. The amount we learned about his emotional state in such a short time, compared to the all the inference we've had to do over the past several years, was almost overwhelming. So I think I get what you mean in that as awful as he was, it was a relief to finally break down that barrier. (Or I could be totally off, heh.)

I'll probably take a few days before I actively go looking for fic with the complete canon in mind, just to process and absorb the discussion, you know? The ending was a perfect, open-ended send-off for the series that I think will keep us with plenty to work with in fandom for a long time.

shutthef_up June 23 2007, 17:07:42 UTC

Even put together as one, it was still pretty amazing, though the quick reversal will never really work for me.

I can appreciate that and I think if they'd done this as a 90-minute or two-hour arc, I think they might have done that.

I honestly think that if you haven't been there and experienced something like that, it's extremely had to comprehend and accept.

I'm not sure I'm ever going to go looking for fic. Even now, I see a pretty severe split in fandom over it and I'm sort of my own little bubble right now and don't want to be shaken or stirred. I don't even have any ficcish ideas of my own right now. Best I just contemplate my story for apocalypse_kree and leave the post-ep fics alone for a while.

surreallis June 23 2007, 17:28:14 UTC

It *was* a pretty fantastic look into Daniel, even if you don't go the Daniel/Vala route, you know? And while I certainly think there was opportunity to do it better, it wasn't bad per se. Just off-putting with the timing as zorb said.

And anytime someone can get Daniel to just lose it completely is a great thing... in a 'I want to dig into his brain and see what's there' sort of way.

I'm already musing over some Sam/Cam (and both of them with Teal'c) fic for this episode. I might have to write it, because the whole end of the series is riding me hard right now, and I might need to just soak myself in it a while before coming out the other end. Hm.

shutthef_up June 23 2007, 17:59:10 UTC

Oh, I'd like to see what you do with that!

You know, the context of Daniel losing it so completely is almost secondary for me. And it's weird because I'm not always a big fan of those sorts of scenes, generally. But Michael's such a great actor (or I'm just that smitten with him - whatever) that I was fully engaged in that scene.

So yeah, digging into his brain and it was meaty and juicy and very, very satisfying for this Daniel fan.

I should add that the really adorable smile he gave Vala when he said, 'You better not be messin' with me', yeah, felt just a leeeetle bit psychotic. Sheesh, talk about mercurial!

Oh yes, I keep forgetting to mention YES! the scene where Vala starts unbuckling his belt? HOT like the sun. (Which is pretty fucking hot, here in Denver these days)

moonshayde June 23 2007, 18:01:08 UTC

Sime you are someone that has experienced something like this, I appreciate that you bring this unqiue perspective ( ... )

shutthef_up June 23 2007, 18:39:40 UTC

I hadn't thought about placing that scene later in the ep... certainly very plausible ( ... )

stargazercmc June 23 2007, 18:19:04 UTC

I don't think it's silly at all, actually. When I look back on this episode in the future, the three things that will stay with me are Sam playing cello, the final scene, and most deeply, this scene with Daniel. I've been waiting to see that meltdown from Daniel for years. And yes, it was *painful* to watch it. But it's painful to experience it, and it was one of the most real and honest emotional portrayals I've seen in this show and possibly on television. If I have any suggestion for improvement on it, it's that I wish we would have seen more immediate build-up concerning Vala.

But the blow-up itself? So beautifully Daniel, really.

shutthef_up June 23 2007, 18:55:50 UTC

...it was one of the most real and honest emotional portrayals I've seen in this show and possibly on television.Yes, yes, yes! I really give the much-maligned writers points on this one for not pulling any punches. Because it is just *so* damned painful, no matter where you fall on the Daniel/Vala scale ( ... )