SGA 4x13 (and a bit of TW)

[xparrot]

"Quarantine" was great. naye already said pretty much everything I'd want to about the ep, so I'll just mention in passing:

42! (now, my question - after when did Rodney tell Sheppard his password - is whether Rodney told Sheppard the meaning of the dates, or did Sheppard just know or figure it out? Oh, Sheppard, your IQ is showing! <3 And "It doesn't take a genius." "It doesn't?" was totally <3)

The Amazing Hamster!Radek!!! <3 With his Performing Pigeons! <333

Carter, you are <3, and don't let anyone tell you different. Especially when you're being all clever and sciency and getting so far ahead of Radek and then supporting and believing in him such that he has no choice but to fall hopelessly in love with you.

Pregnant belly touching! <333

Ronon's "Flammable!" as he caresses the oxygen tank is beautiful, and I totally missed it the first time.

"I don't get it. Why would you arm the self-destruct?" Oh, Lorne <3 He is so the best XO for Sheppard ever ever.

Also love how the gateroom staff blinks and then takes Sheppard's unorthodox entrance in stride. They're all so used to their chief military man.

Oh, Rodney. Is it bad that I love him almost as much when he's being a neurotic idiot as when he's saving the day? (But DH does neuroses so adorably...!)

I also loved that while Rodney totally failed to save the day, it still is his episode, the way everyone else's thoughts keep returning to him, whether it's to blame him for the problem, wondering what's taking him so long to fix it, or just to worry about how he must be freaking out.

The break-up with Katie was sweet and pretty true-to-char, and also so necessary, because she couldn't have more completely shown how wrong she is for him. Anyone would have handled Rodney better in that situation. Sheppard would have wrangled him into doing something, Teyla would have flattered him into saving them all, Ronon would have dragged him to the door and made him get it open ("As I just told you for the fifth time, it is totally, completely impossible for anyone to--" "Yeah, yeah, just open it already." "Are you listening to a word I've said?" "No.") Radek would have argued it out until they came to a solution, Carter would have provoked his competetive drive, and anybody else would have just smacked him as needed.

...That being said, I <3 Rodney's pessimism so very much. At last, a TV char I can relate to! (As many can attest, his doomsday scenarios sound exactly like me when my computer's misbehaving. "Nope, it's useless, if it was going to work it would've by now, it's totally dead! --oops, never mind, I got it back.")

Last but not least: SGA, I am trying to stay gen with you. Must you make it so difficult for me? Sheppard's all about the crazy obsessive love for all his team, I know, but the way Rodney's always on his mind, from the opening 'Rodneeeeey pay attention to meeee' (he went and found a form of golf Rodney would play with him!) to his final "McKay would love this"...yeah. Difficult.

...Not that I'm actually complaining, mind.



Also, Torchwood 2x01 - please to be giving us more of that, thank you. Rocking and idiotic and cheesy and team team team!! and fun. This is exactly the show I want. Plus the boy!kissing is always appreciated. And the boy!dating. Also more Owen/Tosh wouldn't be amiss (oh, shut up, I've decided they'd be adorable.)

"That's gorgeous." "That's a poodle." "S'niiiice."

Comments

[naye]

HEEEE~! ♥ I am just BASKING in the love I feel for this episode! I was thinking about how David Hewlett just WINS at 'adorably neurotic', and even when the team is apart, they're all thinking about each other, and - oh, John's face when he felt the baby kick. I mean - the smile! It seems like Teyla's baby is right up there with Ancient weapon of mass destructive on his scale of cool. ♥

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I know, considering they were separated, it was such a teamy eppy! yays!

And I wanted baby-kicking touching, and didn't really think we'd get it, so that we did...awwww! And John's vow about "it has a family here" - eeeeee~! (really this review left out half the squee I intended - there's just so much!)

(relating to the baby - given the way Rodney rushes past Teyla in the beginning...I know he was nervous already, but is it possible he's actually avoiding her, for whatever neurotic reasons? I would feel so much better about the utter lack of Teyla-Rodney if it's an actual character/plot point. In fact I think I'm going to make it one even if the show doesn't bother!)

[sholio]

LOL at the "desperately trying to stay gen". I KNOW! And while every slashy scene does have a perfectly plausible gen explanation, there are times when I'm almost starting to feel like I'm rationalizing, ESPECIALLY since, is it just me, or do the Katie-heavy episodes also play up the Sheppard/McKay relationship in direct counterpoint to it?

If it were a manga, I'd totally think the manga-ka was doing it on purpose -- I mean, Saiyuki is really no slashier than SGA (or maybe even not as much!), and the slash subtext in that one is so close to the surface that I spend half my time thinking Gojyo/Hakkai really is meant to be literal canon.

And OMG, you're right, John couldn't get Rodney to play regular golf with him, so he actually found a version of the game that Rodney liked! Oh, shooowwwww ...

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

is it just me, or do the Katie-heavy episodes also play up the Sheppard/McKay relationship in direct counterpoint to it?

Yeeeeah...I noticed that. It's the opening scene especially, the way Sheppard is so very taken aback by the ring...he plays like he's trying to be supportive, and not exactly managing. (He's showing you a ring, John, what did you think he was going to do with Katie?! Rodney can throw Sheppard off his game like nobody else.) For me, right now, I see best friendship on Rodney's side ("Can you keep a secret?" "No!" "Great~!") but with Sheppard...there's maybe more.

I'm really really wondering if it is a bit intentional. Martin Gero is in touch with the fanbase, and obviously knows about the slash...it's odd that he's written jokes about Rodney/Carson and Rodney/Radek but not the McShep, when he can't be oblivious to it. Playing with fangirl heads?

And then...okay, I saw in comments on lj, a couple people mention in that at cons recently (this year?) Joe Flanigan has made...implications about certain acting choices (it was some line like his and David's relationship was totally platonic, but that didn't necessarily mean Sheppard & McKay's was.) Which again, playing with fangirl heads, but I'm alllllmost wondering if JF wasn't entirely kidding. He is so very deliberate about his acting choices, and especially this season...there is a lot of acting - body language, voice tone, etc - that could support Sheppard having a thing for McKay. Maybe he just thought it would spice up his acting? I believe he's said he'd like to do some romance...

(...I may or may not be writing McShep now. Except for the "may not" part. Umm. *cough* It's not my fault there's so very much good, cuuuute slash out there - I am weak to good writing and cute! And AUs apparently, never knew that weakness before...)

[sholio]

... Joe Flanigan said THAT?!

It surprises me, I guess, because I'd always kinda got the impression (and I honestly don't know why -- I think I'm stereotyping here, based on him having a family and sort of coming across as a conservative-seeming guy) that between the two of them, JF would be considerably more bothered by the idea. I can totally see Hewlett both a) knowing about slash and b) being more amused than anything by the whole idea. But Joe Flanigan always struck me as a guy who wouldn't really be okay with it, even though, like I said, I'm not totally sure what I'm basing that on.

But you know, I'm almost starting to wonder if Sheppard is might actually be intended to come across as bisexual, or at least bi-curious. I really can't figure out if this is simply me spending too much time reading slashers' dissections of the show, and putting too much emphasis on a few little comments in canon. But it's interesting that of all the characters, there are so many little bits and pieces of slash-friendly dialogue or innuendo with him -- his Rodney/Radek comment, his question to Ronon if he was seeing a man or a woman ... which came across as totally honest, a genuine question, whereas in Duet, Carson's "... date with a woman?" to Rodney is obviously a joke. Guys make gay jokes to each other all the time -- at least the guys that I know do. ^^ But the Carson-to-Rodney comment is perfectly in tone with the guy sexuality-joking that I've heard ... whereas Sheppard asking Rodney and Radek why they don't make out already just ... isn't! I can't really imagine a straight guy saying that to two other guys that he knew was straight.

I'm pretty much convinced that Rodney in canon is basically 100% straight. But I honestly *wouldn't* be surprised if Sheppard actually came out of the closet at some point. I'm still leaning mostly in the direction of "it's all tinhattery, he's just a laid-back guy who's not too hung up on other people's sexuality", and that may well be true, but ... it honestly wouldn't surprise me if it did turn out to be a deliberate choice on the writers' part, either.

It's not my fault there's so very much good, cuuuute slash out there - I am weak to good writing and cute! And AUs apparently, never knew that weakness before...

I KNOW! You know, prior to this fandom, I did read slash occasionally, but it was mostly in the context of not being able to find anything gen to read. I could probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of slash fics I found in ANY fandom that I really, truly enjoyed without a niggling thought of "... damn, I wish this was gen instead." But this fandom is FULL of them. I can't figure out if it's me -- that I've become more slash-friendly over the years -- or if it's that I finally happen to have stumbled upon a pairing that I really like (well, I was okay with Goku/Vegeta for some reason, and a few others, but I didn't go out of my way to find them), or if it's just that the slash in this fandom is so damned cute and funny and cheerful that it's impossible NOT to like it. And ditto on the AU thing ... again, prior to this fandom, I really didn't read AUs, didn't even get the appeal. Now I've written one and enjoyed a bunch more. WTF, fandom?

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I haven't been able to locate the actual con report or clip with JF saying that, it's just what folks have quoted in comments. Still, I wonder. To me, JF comes across as so laid-back that I could imagine him not having any problem with it. And it does add an extra dimension to a char, more fun to play...

His so easy "Or a man" line to Ronon in "Sunday" cemented that Sheppard is, at the very least, totally cool with it; it doesn't sound like a joke, but an honest question. And yeah, the "make out already" to Radek and Rodney sounds a bit off for standard straight-guy gay jokes.

It's funny, most of the earlier slash I've seen has Rodney as being pretty openly bi/gay, which I never saw at all - Rodney's so heart-on-his-sleeve, if he had a crush on a guy I don't see how he could hide it, considering how obvious he is when crushing on women. I could maybe see him as very repressed (one more neurosis to add to the pile!) but it's a stretch. Sheppard, though, has always been so odd in the sexuality department that it's not very difficult to see him as bi or even mostly gay, but he hides it because of his career - I'm convinced that Sheppard likes flying more than sex of any sort.

And yeah, I feel a bit tinhatty about it, but I do think the slash vibe's been so strong this season (I mean, I knew the slash existed, I'm a confirmed slasher myself, and I was not seeing it until 4th season) that someone - writer, actor, director, all of them - is putting it in there, for whatever reasons.

It could be you changing, but really, I've read slash in a lot of fandoms, enough to be picky about it, and the best SGA slash is pretty much the best damn fic-writing I have ever read. It could be Sturgeon's law - there is just SO MUCH fic that the 10% is a huge amount - but this fandom for some reason seems to inspire good writers, and/or good writing. (and the AU thing - I know! I was never interested in them before, and now I'm seeking them out. WTF indeed!)

[sholio]

Rodney's so heart-on-his-sleeve, if he had a crush on a guy I don't see how he could hide it, considering how obvious he is when crushing on women.

Yeah, see, that's the thing about Rodney that really leaves me convinced he's straight -- he's just so utterly transparent, and so very outspoken about his attraction to various women, that it's very difficult to imagine Rodney keeping a big secret like that.

But between John's locked-down emotions, and the fact that he's got an occupation that would require him to stay closeted, I can completely see it. John being 100% gay is a lot more of a stretch -- you kinda have to twist canon like a pretzel to make THAT work. But being equally into men or women, even to the point of having a little thing for Rodney ... that's not really much of a stretch at all. I'm certainly not saying that I'd be disappointed if the writers lock him into a permanent relationship with a woman on the show -- I'm not even remotely OTP-ish about Sheppard/McKay as a couple. (Though if they do, I really hope that woman isn't Teyla ... I don't know why, but I never have liked John/Teyla as a pairing. I'm not even sure why. I love Teyla on her own, but with John? I have as much trouble with that one as I do with McKay/Beckett, the other major pairing that breaks my brain for no rational reason I can come up with.)

... the best SGA slash is pretty much the best damn fic-writing I have ever read.

It's really nice to hear that it's not just me! I was completely blown away by the fic in this fandom -- and yeah, Sturgeon's Law probably has at least something to do with it, because the fandom is so huge ... but there are writers in SGA fandom who are so good it's dazzling. It's the first fandom that I've ever written fic for that's really made me work as a writer, and try to better myself. Just as reading good books makes me feel like I'm improving my writing skills by soaking up good storytelling, so I'll sometimes hoard well-written SGA fics for a creative shot in the arm. When I first got into this fandom, I was really astonished to discover how much work some SGA writers put into their fic -- line-by-line rewrites, multiple betas, massive amounts of research and fact-checking -- but the longer I'm in the fandom, the more I want to do the same ... and I count that as a very good thing! One of the reasons why I tried to get out of fandom in '03/04 was because I felt like my writing skills were suffering for it. But I'm actually honing my skills on SGA fic.

[kristen999.livejournal.com]

Its very late and I find this whole discussion so interesting but I'll have to add to it tomorrow. I have a recording of that comment that my friend sent me..its from New Zealand and I'll try to dig it out tomorrow or Monday and watch it so I can quote the question and his response correctly but Joe says.. "You know its plantoic" but doesn't say anything else, no mention that John and Rodney may not be...the crowd laughs and he goes on to talk about himself and David.

I wish I knew how to upload things because its an hour talk that her husband recored.

But so much of what you're both saying I think has some grain of truth concenring the writers and Joe's part in some way.

Eeek 3:15am got to go to bed.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Oh, I would love an exact transcript of what was referred to (when you have the free time, of course!) - I hate quoting things inaccurately, and fans have a tendency to, hmm, read a lot into comments and jokes.

As far as uploading goes, if you have a computer file (mp3 or avi or whatever) it's easy, you can just put it up on one of these sites:
http://www.megaupload.com/
http://sendspace.com/
and they'll give you a link to share.
If you have a video or something you want to get on your computer, that's a bit harder...

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

XD I wondered about this myself. Though in "The Storm" it established Atlantis is pretty structurally fragile, since the Ancients relied on the shield to protect it. Still. Maybe Sheppard's secretly the Hulk? ^^

[kimberlyfdr.livejournal.com]

For all your Quarantine needs, my weekly review is up. The password thing was definitely my favorite of the night.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

The password bit is beautiful from every angle ("never underestimate the size of that man's ego." For some reason Sheppard dissing Rodney always just sounds like he's trying to convince himself he's not in love. You know you find his ego totally adorable, John!)