SGA 5x06: "The Shrine"

[xparrot]

Says it all:

WORTH. THE. WAIT.

I. I just. I. They gave us this.

--incoherent, out of order--

This:

Ronon half-holding Jeannie.

Enough "John"s to make up for the entire damn show prior.

Holy moses, can Kate Hewlett act. She's got down that Hewlett under-acting thing in the eyes and the voice that breaks your fucking heart because it's so real it's agony.

Which is yes, yes, that Hewlett thing, because David was. Well. Not like we didn't expect it. But WOW. Every stage of decline. And the swings, the laughing it off and the frustration and the fear and the anger and the falling apart and the gone and the wow wow wow wow.

(Except that in the early stages, his acting was to play himself, and Rodney is so very not David for all the jokes his castmates love to make. But here was McKay as David Hewlett and that was CREEPY AS HELL or was it just me? So McKay less intelligent becomes DH, in DH's mind, and that...makes much sense.)

The film of tears over John's eyes for most of the ep. And his smile of memory in the jumper.

Beer. From a mini-fridge. "A lot." They clapped and gave fanon wings, or made it a real boy, or something, but CANON NOW.

Ronon's "I owe him" and for what now? Could be a lot but Ronon's going to do it.

Teyla's hand on Rodney's forehead. Teyla got shafted (if not as badly as in "Tao") but HAND ON FOREHEAD.

And Rodney all shivery.

And Ronon CARRYING.

And Rodney in the halls, banging on the door, screaming John's name, screaming. I tell you, he could never say "John" again after this and I would still be fulfilled (sad, but fulfilled).

THE PIER THE PIER THE PIER THE PIER. And John's toes and "Betty" and "Arthur" and this is "I can't" times 1,000 and that final spittake and Rodney laughs and they enjoy being together, so much, they're just happy together.

Woolsey is <333333 and he's worried and he lets them go and he is the bestest commander ever that they have had (sorry Sam, I still adore you, but you didn't get a chance and he is and OH.)

And they go through all that and bring Rodney and he...is mad as hell and not the least grateful and OH RODNEY NEVER STOP BEING RODNEY.

Ham must be hard to come by on Atlantis? Maybe Jeannie snuck it in with her...

The holding, the touching, the grabbing, the John booking it across the cave when Rodney screams, and Jeannie and John putting themselves between Rodney and Keller, ours and you will not hurt him.

And in the end, the rest of the team is crashed one room over, where Keller had forced them to go, after John passed out after being awake for a week straight, and Ronon had a chance to carry him but couldn't make it another step himself after dropping John on the spare bed, and Kanaan came with Torren tucked in one arm and wrapped his other around Teyla, and she leaned on him gratefully as he walked her after her teammates, and now they're all in a pile across two slid-together beds and and snoring to raise the dead, waiting for their Rodney (whole, wholly Rodney again) to come wake them.

(Do need missing scenes, as David Nykl I am fairly sure mentioned a dramatic Rodney-Radek scene in this ep and we caught scarcely a glimpse of Zelenka, plus I'm wondering if there might've been more in the jumper in the first flashback as that's a very sudden transition. And the tag is way way way too short.)

So. Yes.

Don't know if it displaced "Tao" as #1, will need to watch a dozen times again to tell. Did have quibbles with Keller, quibbles with her char as it's consistently been written, but hell, will discuss that later, am planning an essay, hoping people can talk me out of it because I'd just as soon not be sulky about her.

Oddly didn't really have any quibbles with the McKeller, I don't like it but I can see it, and of course Rodney would say "love," because he does fall so fast and so easily, how many crushes has he mentioned? and he's losing his words, can't talk around it, so he just says it.

Didn't have any quibbles because Rodney said "I love you," but when he's lost more, when he's losing it all, when he's stripped down to nothing - there's only one name he remembers, and it's not Jennifer's, and it's not his own. John is Rodney's taisetsuna hito, Most Important Person. That is that is that.

(And Brad Wright - Brad Wright said it was the pier, that THIS was the scene that was what SGA was about, to him. It's about friendship and not saying goodbye and not leaving people behind and also oh yeah JOHN AND RODNEY LOVE EACH OTHER FOR EVER AND EVER AMEN. I don't care if it's slash or platonic or the way a friend feels about another friend or whatever, it doesn't matter, it's just. Yes.)

And CtO? Not jossed. Kripked, if anything. gnine pointed out, too, that I so called him insisting on "Mr."...

gnine it feels weird to rewatch without you, come back soooon :(
naye get over here quickly what's taking you so long just hijack a plane and come now!!!!

Upon watching again, couple more squee-points:

Ronon's line about hot air escaping and Rodney can laugh at himself even shivering.

John in the Doppelganger black fleece of angst!!!

Jeannie's "Sweetie, I just need to go outside for one second" in her Mommy voice, because she's got a kid and she can do this (<3 Jeannie eternally)

Ronon shared a meal with his grandfather - canon Satedan feasts?

"It'll be dangerous, not just for you, but for your friends" - yup, Jennifer's learned how to use that Team Thing against them!

It's "the pier" and Atlantis has more than one, so this is definitely a regular thing...

Comments

[gnine.livejournal.com]

EXACTLY. And yeah, it's weird for me too...Not that it's stopping me cause OMG that SCENE, but...yeah, weird. And man am I gonna be out of it tomorrow. Poor Ri-chan...and she was threatening to wake me with an air horn...oh dear :-p

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

XDD you deserve the air horn! go to bed! (see you in a few days~)

[unaccompanied-g.livejournal.com]

God, John's smile in the jumper just broke me. :( He just looked so fond.

John booking it across the cave when Rodney screams, and Jeannie and John putting themselves between Rodney and Keller, ours and you will not hurt him.

Yes. Exactly.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Yessss....It was almost John's "Trinity" smile, his "my scientist is so idiotically adorable" smile. Love & love and absolutely undeniably love. *sohappy*

[sp23.livejournal.com]

I don't think Shrine displaced Tao as #1 for me, but it certainly is a lovely bookend.

My thoughts about the "I love you" to Jennifer pretty much match your own. He "thinks" he loves Jennifer when he's losing his mind, but it's to John that he turns and calls for and runs to and needs as he slips away.

And you know, I like Jennifer, mostly, but boy, did I feel that this episode needed Beckett hard! It just felt slightly off because it wasn't Carson taking care of him.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I'm in a conundrum, after rewatching (um, twice) - I think I like "Tao" overall more (because there's more Rodney - this one was about Rodney losing himself while "Tao" is Rodney being himself squared) but there's a couple scenes in "The Shrine" that beat out everything in "Tao"...

Yeah, the thing is, especially if you don't slash McShep, "I love you" to Jennifer isn't even a lie or a projection of anything; you can love more than one person, after all. And he hadn't said it before to her, while he's proved it to the others. Jennifer may be the one he bears romantic feelings toward, but John's the one closest to him...

[lavvyan.livejournal.com]

I loved how Rodney was all, "Sorry, shouldn't have woken you up," and John kind of clings to him and offers to hang out and won't let him go, because he knows full well that this might be the last chance to hang out with Rodney he'll ever get, never mind his refusing to actually say good-bye. I'm a bad person, but the desperation in his eyes made me sigh. ♥

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Oh man, if it is wrong to enjoy John's pain then I am going straight down to the 9th circle, because I could lap up his wobbly teary eyes with a spoon. He wants more time with Rodney, and he wants to make Rodney feel better, however he can...fic sometimes has John emotionally unavailable to the point of fleeing his teammates' pain, but if they really need him, and he knows what he can do, he's always there 120%...

[katikat.livejournal.com]

I didn't mind the McKeller thing either but as suzvoy said: It would have worked much better if out-of-his-mind Rodney didn't keep calling for John and John only *coughcough* ;P *puts on slashy goggles* Repressed homosexual feelings for his CO? ;P And Jennifer all teared up, watching the vid where he said the L word could be interpreted as yes, he said he loved me but when it came down to trusting someone unconditionally, he trusted only John *pulls off slashy goggles*

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I really don't even know if I interpret Rodney calling for John as slashy or even more than that - I can believe he has genuine romantic feelings for Keller, but John's deepest in his heart, that's pretty much undeniable!

[katikat.livejournal.com]

You know, that reminds me of Supernatural - no matter what happens or who the brothers are with, Dean will always be the most important person for Sam and vice versa. It's a nice notion for SGA too...

[perspi.livejournal.com]

And they go through all that and bring Rodney and he...is mad as hell and not the least grateful

They did this on House, too--and Nightdog pointed out that Rodney's reaction was MUCH more realistic and satisfying. :)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I love Rodney because he does react realistically (if realistic is defined as "pretty much exactly what I would be like in a given situation", anyway, except I'd be less genius-y under pressure and more paralyzed by terror, of course ^^;)

[parisntripfan.livejournal.com]

Except that in the early stages, his acting was to play himself, and Rodney is so very not David for all the jokes his castmates love to make. But here was McKay as David Hewlett and that was CREEPY AS HELL or was it just me? So McKay less intelligent becomes DH, in DH's mind, and that...makes much sense

I had the same thought. Nice Rodney and David H. are not that different. And yes it was creepy.

I loved Rodney being mad when he learned what his team had done. He had come terms with his fate - or at least as much as he could. He wouldn't see one last day to say as himself followed by a quick death as a good thing. Ronon and Teyla would. Jeannie needed to say her goodbyes to Mer and to say them to the Meridith she knew and loved which was why she jumped at the chance. John? He was just in denial about the whole thing...and this was something he could do to at least look like he was helping Rodney. And maybe in the back of his mind he was hoping that some how this thing would cure Rodney.

I was wondering about Radek as well. If there is missing scene, I hope we see it when the DVDs are released. I would to love to know how that scene went.

What I love about the scene on the pier is that is the only time that John lowers his defenses. The laugh at the end and the smile we saw as we came out of the flashback were the only times we saw real honest emotion from John. The rest of the time he was to busy trying to be strong - for Rodney and to a lesser extent for Ronon and Teyla and maybe for himself. And trying to deny the reality of what was happening.

I am not sure I completely agree with idea that John is the most important person in Rodney's life - or at least that it is that clear cut. Jeannie ranks up there pretty high as well. As Ronon, Teyla and Carson. And even Jennifer. They are all very important to him. It says something that when he is saying his goodbyes on the video he start off with Jeannie - and apologies to her for being mean - and ends with John.

It is telling that Jennifer uses the team's safety as a reason for Rodney not to agree to the trip. She knows the way get to Rodney not to threaten his well being - but to threaten his friends well being. (not that she was actually threating them - but you get my point)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

gnine is fairly convinced that the scene where Radek brushes past them, right before they leave, was preceded by a scene of Radek talking with Rodney, and I'd tend to agree. I hope we get to see that scene someday! At the very least, get to read the script (that Radek is in "Tao" is one of the few things that might put that ep over the top for me...)

The pier scene - it's one of the only times we've ever seen John's defenses down period, I think! He usually tries to hold himself back a bit, but when his teammate needs him, he can't...but yes, that the most real emotion that we see from John is happiness...

I will fully admit that the most important person thing stems a lot from my McSheppiness, it's the interpretation that makes me happy, it definitely can be protested! Though really I never meant to suggest that Jeannie and the team and others aren't terrifically important to Rodney - in spite of surface appearances, Rodney has a big heart, he can love a lot. I honestly think he meant it when he told Jennifer he loved her. It's just that John, by just that little bit, has gotten closest (I see "Tao" the same; John's the one Rodney asks to read his eulogy, the duty of a brother or spouse...)

FWIW, I don't think John exactly returns it like that - I don't think John himself has a "most important" of his team, I think they're all his most important. And I think that perhaps for Ronon, too, John is his most important (Teyla's got her kid now, so...) Doesn't mean they don't all love each other incredibly, though.

--At the end, I'm pretty sure Rodney's final goodbye on tape is actually to Jennifer, not John; he looks up and says "goodbye" without a name, and while I thought it was general at first, I think he's actually looking at Keller as she was filming, so...

[naye]

So hey this is my heart BREAKING WITH HAPPY at the scene on the pier and the holding and supporting and collapsing and more "John" than I could shake a very happy fangirl stick at and OH NEECHAN, OUR SHOW. *squishes*

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

OUR SHOW <33333333333333333333333333

[sholio]

Oh, show! &hearts &hearts ♥

And the early seasons of SG1, when Brad Wright was more actively involved with it, were a lot warmer and more h/c-focused than later seasons. Oh, Brad Wright, you are a big fangirl deep down! You know what? No matter what fandom says, I can't wait to see what Wright and Cooper come up with in "Stargate Universe", because so far they're two-for-two at shows with a heavy focus on teamship and love and being there for your friends no matter what. I can't see any show they produce failing to have that.

And this episode, omigosh! CANNOT STOP WATCHING THE PIER SCENE HELP. I still don't see the show in a slashy way, but this episode couldn't make the trust and affection between John and Rodney more obvious if they'd shouted it from the rooftops. John's who he goes to when he's scared, who he wants to make things better when he's so far gone that he can barely talk. That beginning scene - crying out for John because Jennifer's scaring him with her questions! Oh, Rodney! And the way he lights up when John comes into the room, and John's obvious pain at watching him slip away ...! Oh, John. OH BOYS. OH TEAM.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Wright loves the physical AND emotion h/c - and the c, the holding, the conversations, as much as the h - like he's an old Starsky & Hutch fan or something. Oh man! I admit, for all they've said about SG:U that sounds less than appealing, Wright's proclivities does give me some hope for it...will wait & see!

I think I watched the ep entire 3 times last night, and the pier scene...um...more than that. It's beating out the end of Miller's Crossing. Wow and wow and wow.

John & Rodney, it's love, I couldn't care less if it's slash or not! The trust, yes...and then, the scene on the pier, and the way John laughs, and smiles to remember it, and oh - John's always insane about no man left behind, but that for him, what he's losing here is laughing with his friend - they are so happy together, it doesn't matter why! (...really, I think that for Wright, friendship trumps romance - I don't think he sees John/Rodney as slashy, but rather that he sees John & Rodney's friendship as something deeper than the romantic feelings Rodney has for Keller - not that those feelings aren't genuine, or meaningful, but they're just not as significant as the friendship. ...SG-1: Continuum gave me the same feeling, really, that Daniel being Jack's best friend ultimately meant more than whatever Sam & Jack have romantically...so with Wright, I'd almost rather see them as gen, because that's what MATTERS most!)

[naye]

Just so that you'll know where all my love and squee went - COME HERE! There are kitten-dolphin noises and millions of caps. It's what happens when you try to cap every single touch in this episode, because considering this is the show where a clap on the arm or a smack at the back of the head can be the highlight of an episode for us, this episode probably had more touches than the entire SHOW thus far. At least between John and Rodney and eeeeeeee~, I love our show so much ♥ Even if my capping finger is sore, now. *g*

[grammarwoman]

Probably coming into this too late to ride the SQUEEE train, but...

(Except that in the early stages, his acting was to play himself, and Rodney is so very not David for all the jokes his castmates love to make. But here was McKay as David Hewlett and that was CREEPY AS HELL or was it just me? So McKay less intelligent becomes DH, in DH's mind, and that...makes much sense.)

YES. Completely, yes. I saw a bit of David at Shore Leave, and I could not agree with you more. I said as much to my husband right after viewing it.

(Do need missing scenes, as David Nykl I am fairly sure mentioned a dramatic Rodney-Radek scene in this ep and we caught scarcely a glimpse of Zelenka, plus I'm wondering if there might've been more in the jumper in the first flashback as that's a very sudden transition. And the tag is way way way too short.)

Heh, funny that you mention it. I was at the Chicago SG con this past weekend, and we got a chance to ask David Nykl about this. He was very surprised to hear that his scene had been cut. It turns out the conversation he and McKay had was setting up some details about SG Universe. He could only figure that either the show was running long, or they're waiting to dole out tidbits at a later point in the show. Or, you know, both.

Guh. Such an amazing job on all their parts.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

It's never too late to squee! especially since I keep rewatching this one anyway... ^^

So jealous! I've never seen DH live, but in the vids I've seen, yeah, he was playing it real...!

Ahhh I want to know exactly what the Zelenka-Rodney conversation was, and where it was! If they filmed it, maybe we can get it as a missing scene, I hope...

[grammarwoman]

So jealous! I've never seen DH live, but in the vids I've seen, yeah, he was playing it real...!

If you ever get the chance, you really should go see him. He is so charming and funny, so obviously different in a lot of ways from McKay.