sga "Miller's Crossing"

[xparrot]

Okay, so I must admit, as I was watching, I was thinking that some of this ep wasn't living up to expectations - I mean, it's not the ep's fault that my expectations were raised somewhere beyond the rings of Saturn, it's been two weeks since an ep, and a Martin Gero McKay ep to boot - anyway, it was fun and whatnot, but it wasn't...

Please note, I said it wasn't living up to them.

Because. Uh. The last eight minutes there. Yow.

Just. Sheppard. Oh man. I...just. "I'd do anything, for any one of you," and yes, even Rodney. Yow.

Rodney, not just willing to give up his life, but shouting about it, trying to break into the lab, walking willingly into a Wraith's embrace...but he can't, because John...because he is part of John's team, and John's team and family, his everything, has been reduced to three people; their lives are his, not anyone else's, not even theirs - they are his and he will not suffer the loss of any.

Of course John can't say it, will not articulate it except, "I can't" - can't let Rodney do this, can't lose another of his family, can't let his friend sacrifice himself, can't give Rodney this choice. It takes him so long to even understand what Rodney's going to do, it just doesn't register, that Rodney could do this; it's so entirely not an option that he can't believe what he's hearing. For honor's sake, for friendship's sake, John should allow Rodney his sacrifice; but he can't. And it's not that the Atlantis mission needs Dr. McKay's unique skills: "You're an invaluable member of my team." Always.

You don't see the guy accept the proposition, the actual response to Sheppard's presented "situation"; because the acceptance is meaningless - he had no choice about it, and the guy knows it from the moment Sheppard says, "They eat humans;" he looks in Sheppard's eyes and sees then that his life is forfeit, that justice is coming to him whether he's willing or ready. Gah, John is scary in that scene, so calm, so friendly (so hot), and so matter-of-factly the executioner.

Then in the lab, where Sheppard won't meet Rodney's eyes; and the end, when he will - Rodney coming to John because they both need it, and he doesn't know what to say because he's Rodney and can only be so awkwardly blunt...except it's Sheppard, so it's the right thing to do, to say "Thanks" and move past it. Sheppard trying to forget, and Rodney letting him.

So. Yeah.

Yow.

I liked a lot of other bits of the ep as well, of course, from Zelenka losing his will to live, to Sheppard with Madison for that barely-seen moment (Uncle Mer's clearly been visiting his niece at least a time or two, and Ronon and Sheppard have come to the Miller household before, it seems; Rodney doesn't take the time to introduce them and I can't see Kaleb would let his daughter with them alone otherwise. Which means I can take Cybersyd's Sunday tag as canon, and this pleases me immensely.)

The most frustrating parts of the ep were Gero's usual problems handling the rest of the team - we didn't even hear why Teyla didn't come (poor Teyla; she's never around in the McKay eps, drives me nuts), and Ronon was fun when he was around (where did they dig up duds that fit him? FBI specials for both him and John...not that I'm complaining or anything, roawwwr, but...) but then he disappears in the end. I heard the ep went long so there are missing scenes, very curious what they are. Especially since the pacing was odd even for an SGA ep.

The McKay & Miller show was wonderfully fun, twice the Hewlett = entertainment squared. And two hugs! Rodney & Jeannie do seem to be staying in touch, they're still snarking (as siblings do) but it's more comfortably. (I do wish when Rodney got zappitied, that we'd gotten to hear Jeannie shout, "Mer!" or whatever; she didn't get much chance to worry for her brother for all the worrying her brother did for her.) But hee to the discussions of Meredith's amazing skills at getting lost in malls, and awwwww to the final "I love you"s, because that's so....that wasn't acting, that was sister and brother, and awwwwwww!

Confirmation that McKay does have two PhDs! Now please to be telling us in what...Astrophysics, and...? Engineering of some sort? Also, "How do you even know I exist?" - you know, it's small wonder McKay is so obsessed with getting acknowledgment; he's doing some of the most brilliant work in two galaxies but he's not been published for how many years? Has to be frustrating for any scientist.

And now...ahh...I need to go rewatch that scene for the tenth time (I am so not joking there.) (The ep is like "Doppelganger", moving along all fun and tense and interesting, and then WHAM sharp left into McShepville, population 4.6 million screaming fangirls.)

(Finally, gnine would like it to be noted that we now know canonically when Rodney will call him "John" - it's obviously only in situations involving nanites in women. XP)

ETA: Forgot to mention how damn much I love this Wraith, if I haven't said so before. He's so brilliantly manipulative and oddly...honorable, or so very good at calculating his best self-interest, anyway. naye makes the great point that he never actually asks to be fed, lets the humans handle it. And he so deliberately timed his hunger collapse; that close to being done, he knew just what he was doing. Bet he was withholding the crucial info Rodney would need to complete the reprogramming for just that purpose. Tricksy little space-bug Sephiroth clone!

Comments

[naye]

BWAH to saying "John" in situations involving women with nanites! Oh, J-chan. ♥

As for the rest of this... it's really difficult to believe we're not watching these eps together! Because my reaction post reads a LOT like yours. And then you say things that I thought, but didn't actually write, and - basically, I agree with everything you've written here, so I don't have anything to add?

MUCH love for the Sheppard-McKay interaction, obviously. I've only rewatched that particular scene three or four times, but I'm getting there...! I am. It's just - wow. Spectacularly well played, too. I was very happy with the directing choices in that scene - and like you say, then in the lab John won't look at Rodney. I'm not sure - I found the choice wasn't dark enough, in one way, because Wallace had already forfeited his life the moment he kidnapped Jeannie, and it was made clear that he did not have anything left to live for if his daughter died... So as soon as Todd started fainting from manly hunger needing to be fed, I was expecting them to turn Wallace into his snack. Which - I don't know what it says about me, or about my interpretations of the characters that I wasn't surprised by John's actions.

...okay, just got a notification that you commented on MY post, so I'll be continuing this over there. XD

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Hee, yeah - I said this in my comment to yours, but yep, I totally knew they were gonna feed Wallace to him, and I agree that the choice wasn't as dark as it could've been; but then, I don't really *want* it to be. I don't want my squeeful little show going dark; I don't want these heroes to be too tarnished and gray. And still, John is scary in that scene - it's angst-lite, but the guy's still dead at the end. And I like that you don't actually see how far Wallace really went along with it, how much John...twisted his arm or put a gun to his head, or whatever he had to do...(those Marines in the room with them - were they the ones who brought Todd from Atlantis? Are they Sheppard's people, or...? Because there were a fair bit of witnesses to Todd's midday snack, and Sheppard obviously didn't clear it with everyone...)

Wish we were watching it together, but post-ep discussions are always fun! Except I really need to sleep - catch you tomorrow!

[kimberlyfdr.livejournal.com]

I posted my commentary right after the episode aired. I cannot believe how AWESOME this episode was. Jeannie rocks, Rodney's emotional (and he said JOHN) and John's just...he can create so much emotion in just two words and he plays dirty, but he does it because he loves Rodney and he cannot let him put himself in danger.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

It really was a fun ep, no? I gotta say, Rodney's "John"s make me squee so loud I could set off earthquakes. Gotta watch out for those SGA-induced tremors!