SGA Ep: The Shrine

[the_other_sandy]

I honestly don't know whether to sigh heavily or throw things. This episode was thiiiiiis close to being awesome.

With Jeannie there along with Rodney's whole team, there was a great opportunity to see Rodney interact with the people he cares about the most before he died like in "Tao of Rodney." Instead, that took a back seat to Rodney's interaction with his great love, Keller. Who he has apparently loved for "a long time," even though it wasn't that long ago that he bought a ring for Katie Brown. He certainly bounced back fast from that heartbreak.

At least the McShep friendship was more in evidence than it has been so far this season. Whenever Rodney got scared, it was John he called out for and ran to. And poor John looked so desperately uncomfortable with the touchy-feely stuff, as he so often does, but he bravely soldiered through it for Rodney's sake. Yet, after this episode, I'm even more confused about why Rodney keeps saying that Carson is his best friend when he's never said anything like that about John, and John is the one who's always by his side in times of crisis (of a non-emergency medical nature, anyway).

Poor John has more fodder for his nightmares. Last week, he failed to save Elizabeth. This week, he got to watch Rodney have brain surgery literally right in front of his face.

I wish they'd been able to afford the special effects to do something more with the flooded gate, like showing Sheppard diving to dial the DHD. Seeing the whole team crouched on top of the gate like a flock of birds to stay out of the water was cool. And the show actually had some continuity for once. One of the parasites that invaded Rodney's brain swam by the camera during the flooded gate scene.

Random question #1: How the heck could the costuming department spend $10,000 on a wig made from Jason Momoa's own dreads, yet wind up with an end product that looks so little like his real hair did?

Random question #2: If Rodney has always hated the name Meredith and gone by Rodney instead, why doesn't Jeannie respect that and call him Rodney? I can see her sticking to Meredith as a kid because she knew how much it bugged him and that's what little sisters are for, but she should be past that stage now.

Soooo close to being awesome. The Keller romance stuff just killed it for me. Not even the pier scene (as much as I loved it) could overcome my aversion to the romance.

Comments

[viridian5.livejournal.com]

The Keller romance thing annoyed me, though some aspects tickled me in a twisted way. The Rodney she fell for is the happy-go-luckier, tripping toward Alzheimer's Rodney. The real Rodney is much pissier and pricklier. I got a sadistic glee over the idea that she missed the diagnosis partly from being smitten with his new self and resisted going to the shrine out of what looked like selfishness. I can only help the Atlantis folk also saw it that way.

The show often has characters say things that don't hold up to actual experience. "Carson is my best friend." Or all the knocks at Rodney, who this season seems to be one of the squishiest people there (like having daily talks with in-stasis Carson and showing more concern over parasited Keller being left in the dark without warning in "The Seed").

It says big things about their friendship that John is the person Rodney ran to at his scaredest and that he placed so much importance in John even when most of his mind was gone. That scene at the pier really was wonderful.

#1: That did look bad this episode. Jeez.

#2: Some people never stop being brats?

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

The Rodney she fell for is the happy-go-luckier, tripping toward Alzheimer's Rodney.

Katie Brown seemed to have the same ability to ignore Rodney's real personality and see only the parts she wanted to see.

I got a sadistic glee over the idea that she missed the diagnosis partly from being smitten with his new self and resisted going to the shrine out of what looked like selfishness.

I was totally unspoiled for this episode, so I couldn't figure out why Keller was being all mineminemine about Rodney, instead of respecting his team's opinions more (they know him better). Then I finally figured out it was a shippy episode. I'm glad TPTB finally spelled it out for me, because Rodney and Keller have no detectable UST and about as much chemistry as baking soda.

It says big things about their friendship that John is the person Rodney ran to at his scaredest and that he placed so much importance in John even when most of his mind was gone. That scene at the pier really was wonderful.

This was totally my favorite aspect of the episode. I would've liked it even more if they'd cut out some of the Keller bits to make more room for John, or for Ronon and Teyla, who barely had anything to do all episode.

[viridian5.livejournal.com]

Keller doesn't just focus only on Rodney's better points at will. Do you remember that episode when she went on an away mission with Teyla, smugly talked about how Rodney is a whining hypochondriac, and spent the episode promptly getting badly injured, demanding coddling from Teyla, whining about her injury and everything else, and refusing to eat icky food? How about in "The Seed" where she talked about how Rodney is an asshole then had a dicussion about Rodney in which they spoke of how he went to see in-stasis Carson daily and talked to him? Keller is special in some ways Katie can't match.

I wish they'd stop tossing Keller at male castmembers to see who she might stick to. I didn't see her having any chemistry with Ronon either.

Teyla barely existed this episode. At least Ronon got to suggest the shrine, get argumentative when people tried to dissuade him, and wanted to give Rodney a chance to die with "dignity and honor." Jason Momoa did a lot with the little they gave him.

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

Keller doesn't just focus only on Rodney's better points at will.

No, but like Katie Brown, she seems to react to Fluffy!Rodney as if that's the real Rodney McKay, instead of a rarely shown aspect of a much more acerbic personality. They don't seem to get that Rodney is a sarcastic, arrogant, whiny hypochondriac at least 85% of the time and that it's not a front for some fluffy marshmallow center that they can reveal through the power of love. Katie got her rude shock when she was trapped with a helpless Rodney during a crisis, and that was the end of their relationship. Keller still hasn't shown any attraction to Rodney's true self, just the 'making peace before I die' self.

P.S.--I try really hard not to think about Keller's whiny, ankle-spraining episode. I still don't understand why Gero thought "Missing" above all other eps would be the one that would make everyone fall in love with Keller.

(Edited to fix my typos.)

[viridian5.livejournal.com]

But all Rodney needs to show his true fluffy self is the love of the right woman! Right.

A few seconds of Keller being awesome doesn't make up for an entire episode of Keller's whining and hypocrisy. I wanted to hit her with a shovel.

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

I wanted Teyla to hit her with a shovel. Teyla was how pregnant and trying to save Keller's life, and Keller was all, 'Could you find a different way to save my life, please? I don't like that one.'