The HOW... maybe it's time for another Brilliant Aelfgyfu-Greywolf theory! I'm sure JM will appreciate it (despite his evil last minute rewrites so we would be wrong, wrong, wrong).

Actually, I'm thinking maybe in Michael's dastardly and long-reaching plans to take over the Pegasus Galaxy (one convoluted plot thread at a time) he might have taken his Carson Beckett DNA Sample® to ye olden Wraith Cloning Center ala "Spoils of War", and stuck it through the machine to make his insta-Carson™. Now, as for the memories and nuances... that was far more dastardly. (So dastardly I have to think on it some more, but I'm sure it involves mind-linking and subliminal messages)

And I'm glad that they didn't invalidate Season Three Carson (or any of our stories... because yeah!) Most of my pouting at this point is moot. We've got him back, and that's what matters.

I'm counting this as a win. It probably helps that I had already thought of a dozen ways they could screw up the episode royally, and they didn't do any of them.

Oh, my poor, suffering Rodney! I hope we get Carson out real soon now!

Poor, woobie Rodney. I think the sentiment over on friendshipper's post as that Team Sheppard needs to get drunk. I concur. And I'm not sure on the episode order of next year, but I think it might be the second or fourth episode we get something Carson heavy.