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Bald-er, Caldwell Returns... and other stuff (Be All My Sins... initial ep reaction)
Okay, I wasn't going to watch this episode tonight, as I came home in a particularly foul mood, and didn't want my Atlantis watching experience to be tainted by that.
...but apparently all I needed was a nap, and not any deep soul searching. Something about that should bother me, but it doesn't.
Anyway...
I enjoyed this episode. I mean, I really did. It was well-rounded, the whole team had something to do, and I think everyone was pretty much in character. From the introduction of all the same ranks ("Colonel." "Colonels." "Colonel." "Colonels." "...seriously?"), which included one of my favorite supporting characters Colonel Baldwell--I mean Caldwell. No seriously, I love this guy, and I think part of it is illustrated in that initial briefing. Ellis is quick to throw his weight around, eager to take McKay down a peg or two. Caldwell says nothing, but I really wish the camera had panned to his face during Ellis's attempted smackdown (I'm going to have to watch Sam and John's reaction, because initially my mouth was just hanging open that someone of rank would be that fricking rude). I was glad though for Sam taking up for Rodney, as it was her place to, being of equal rank to Ellis and leader of Atlantis. I wonder though, if Ellis had been the same rank as John or lower, if he wouldn't have had a word or two to say on the matter.
Moving on, because that wasn't the crux of the episode or anything, I really liked the way everything played out. Halling!Wraith (yes, I know he has a name, but not on-screen officially, and until then, he shall be Halling!Wraith to me) was great as always. I didn't think it would be possible to like a Wraith more than Steve, but, well... I do. Not only is he looking out for himself, but he can look ahead far enough to finding a means to defeat the Replicators before making his escape. He's honorable though, and held up his end of the bargain. It was about time he was let go, though, because food for your pet Wraith is hard to come by.
What surprised me most was that I didn't feel the urge to put my fist through Larrin's head this episode. Her behavior this time around seemed fitting for the role she's supposed to play with her people, so maybe it was the writing... no, it's still the actress, because she still grated on my nerves, but I can wait until her next appearance for a Wraith to feed on her again. The fact that she has to tie John up in order to have a conversation with him is amusing, although what the heck was that supposed to be holding him into the chair?
As for Teyla's pregnancy reveal, it's about damn time! That said, the moment chosen for it is not one I would have chosen. Why? Because the whole team wasn't there, which is a little wrong I think. We've been having a great team moments all season, and for revealing something as life-altering as parenthood... you'd like the whole family to be there. That said, I hear we're promised a Teyla-Rodney scene discussing it, so I'll hold off on my indignant fangirl pouting. John's reaction, while extreme, was very called for. I would be pissed if someone that I was not only responsible for the safety of, but someone who was supposed to be one of my closest friends kept a secret of that magnitude from me... I'd be majorly pissed too.
However, I'm glad Ronon was there, immediately smiling and supportive. And he held her hand! I just about died from the cuteness right then and there. Of course Ronon knew it was Kanan, spending six to eight weeks with the Athosians last year, he's got more inside knowledge than the rest of the team. I've always seen him and Teyla as kindred spirits. They connected so quickly back in "Runner", and she was so, I'm not sure captivated is the right word, but I'll use it, by him up until "Trinity". I actually thought she had a teeny tiny crush on him at first, but again, that was just me. "Ronon is good as a boy or a girl's name"... right. But again, my thought on Ronon's first reaction was that he'd want to name it after himself. Oh, writers, must we think with the same mind?
I'm sure other people will have very big opinions on Fran (hee, Fran...), but I liked her, and I liked the fact that she actually did what she was supposed to. All too often these kinds of things blow up in Rodney's face. I have a feeling though Sheppard is going to take him to a shed and beat him before the season is over if he doesn't stop creating potential security threats.
Finally, a paragraph on the costuming, mostly because I actually noticed it. First, Radek has one of the new Atlantis uniforms. It's a catching trend! Hurrah! John still doesn't, poo. Fran's outfit, well, it amused me. I mean, it really did. It was "Ancient" in its colors, but it was, I want to say calico print. It was the Ancient equivalent of the blue dress on Bonanza. It cracked me up, although seriously, it did fit because she was "simple", and like any good fifties housewife, she did was hubby McKay asked and went to destroy her own kind.
RepliWeir, okay, I can't say I was floored by her being there. I just really didn't believe that she was dead, and the moment she was left behind in "Lifeline", I just knew we were going to have a "Liz going evil" story arc. How do I know she's evil? Look at her costume! For the two seconds on screen, the thing I didn't notice was "OMG! Elizabeth is alive!". No, that would be normal. I was like "Oh look, Elizabeth has the updated costume. But it's in leather. That means she's badass Dominatrix Elizabeth." Which in turn, means she's evil. Because she's not wearing the black Atlantean leather of justice, but it's the evil, shiny colored leather of deceit. Just watch, that jacket can mean nothing good.
...neither can the fact that she looked very strange. I'm going to have to rewatch, but her face looked different. Maybe I'm reading too much into this. Probably so, I mean, it is 3 AM as I write this.
ETA: I finally rewatched the end scene just now as I was preparing for this week's ep reaction, and I finally figured it out. Other than the creepy facial expressions, make-up department has done something to really smooth out her skin. Not say that Torri's face is craggy or anything of the kind, but RepliWeir here has a "too smooth" look to her face. (Funny enough, on some original stuff I'm working on, that's one way I've been using to describe the difference between humans and robots, lack of pores).
Okay, that doesn't nearly cover everything, but I have faith that what I didn't address, someone else will, and I can point to it and say, "Yeah, that."
...but apparently all I needed was a nap, and not any deep soul searching. Something about that should bother me, but it doesn't.
Anyway...
I enjoyed this episode. I mean, I really did. It was well-rounded, the whole team had something to do, and I think everyone was pretty much in character. From the introduction of all the same ranks ("Colonel." "Colonels." "Colonel." "Colonels." "...seriously?"), which included one of my favorite supporting characters Colonel Baldwell--I mean Caldwell. No seriously, I love this guy, and I think part of it is illustrated in that initial briefing. Ellis is quick to throw his weight around, eager to take McKay down a peg or two. Caldwell says nothing, but I really wish the camera had panned to his face during Ellis's attempted smackdown (I'm going to have to watch Sam and John's reaction, because initially my mouth was just hanging open that someone of rank would be that fricking rude). I was glad though for Sam taking up for Rodney, as it was her place to, being of equal rank to Ellis and leader of Atlantis. I wonder though, if Ellis had been the same rank as John or lower, if he wouldn't have had a word or two to say on the matter.
Moving on, because that wasn't the crux of the episode or anything, I really liked the way everything played out. Halling!Wraith (yes, I know he has a name, but not on-screen officially, and until then, he shall be Halling!Wraith to me) was great as always. I didn't think it would be possible to like a Wraith more than Steve, but, well... I do. Not only is he looking out for himself, but he can look ahead far enough to finding a means to defeat the Replicators before making his escape. He's honorable though, and held up his end of the bargain. It was about time he was let go, though, because food for your pet Wraith is hard to come by.
What surprised me most was that I didn't feel the urge to put my fist through Larrin's head this episode. Her behavior this time around seemed fitting for the role she's supposed to play with her people, so maybe it was the writing... no, it's still the actress, because she still grated on my nerves, but I can wait until her next appearance for a Wraith to feed on her again. The fact that she has to tie John up in order to have a conversation with him is amusing, although what the heck was that supposed to be holding him into the chair?
As for Teyla's pregnancy reveal, it's about damn time! That said, the moment chosen for it is not one I would have chosen. Why? Because the whole team wasn't there, which is a little wrong I think. We've been having a great team moments all season, and for revealing something as life-altering as parenthood... you'd like the whole family to be there. That said, I hear we're promised a Teyla-Rodney scene discussing it, so I'll hold off on my indignant fangirl pouting. John's reaction, while extreme, was very called for. I would be pissed if someone that I was not only responsible for the safety of, but someone who was supposed to be one of my closest friends kept a secret of that magnitude from me... I'd be majorly pissed too.
However, I'm glad Ronon was there, immediately smiling and supportive. And he held her hand! I just about died from the cuteness right then and there. Of course Ronon knew it was Kanan, spending six to eight weeks with the Athosians last year, he's got more inside knowledge than the rest of the team. I've always seen him and Teyla as kindred spirits. They connected so quickly back in "Runner", and she was so, I'm not sure captivated is the right word, but I'll use it, by him up until "Trinity". I actually thought she had a teeny tiny crush on him at first, but again, that was just me. "Ronon is good as a boy or a girl's name"... right. But again, my thought on Ronon's first reaction was that he'd want to name it after himself. Oh, writers, must we think with the same mind?
I'm sure other people will have very big opinions on Fran (hee, Fran...), but I liked her, and I liked the fact that she actually did what she was supposed to. All too often these kinds of things blow up in Rodney's face. I have a feeling though Sheppard is going to take him to a shed and beat him before the season is over if he doesn't stop creating potential security threats.
Finally, a paragraph on the costuming, mostly because I actually noticed it. First, Radek has one of the new Atlantis uniforms. It's a catching trend! Hurrah! John still doesn't, poo. Fran's outfit, well, it amused me. I mean, it really did. It was "Ancient" in its colors, but it was, I want to say calico print. It was the Ancient equivalent of the blue dress on Bonanza. It cracked me up, although seriously, it did fit because she was "simple", and like any good fifties housewife, she did was hubby McKay asked and went to destroy her own kind.
RepliWeir, okay, I can't say I was floored by her being there. I just really didn't believe that she was dead, and the moment she was left behind in "Lifeline", I just knew we were going to have a "Liz going evil" story arc. How do I know she's evil? Look at her costume! For the two seconds on screen, the thing I didn't notice was "OMG! Elizabeth is alive!". No, that would be normal. I was like "Oh look, Elizabeth has the updated costume. But it's in leather. That means she's badass Dominatrix Elizabeth." Which in turn, means she's evil. Because she's not wearing the black Atlantean leather of justice, but it's the evil, shiny colored leather of deceit. Just watch, that jacket can mean nothing good.
...neither can the fact that she looked very strange. I'm going to have to rewatch, but her face looked different. Maybe I'm reading too much into this. Probably so, I mean, it is 3 AM as I write this.
ETA: I finally rewatched the end scene just now as I was preparing for this week's ep reaction, and I finally figured it out. Other than the creepy facial expressions, make-up department has done something to really smooth out her skin. Not say that Torri's face is craggy or anything of the kind, but RepliWeir here has a "too smooth" look to her face. (Funny enough, on some original stuff I'm working on, that's one way I've been using to describe the difference between humans and robots, lack of pores).
Okay, that doesn't nearly cover everything, but I have faith that what I didn't address, someone else will, and I can point to it and say, "Yeah, that."
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I hear tale from JM there will be a Rodney and Teyla scene coming up regarding the pregnancy, and as much as I want to see his initial reaction, I would feel far, far worse for him if no one tells him before then.
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I thought Weir's costume odd. I'm not convinced she's evil. I'll wait and see (and hope they don't drop this storyline!).
Off to write my own....
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Weir's costume was just... it was so weird. I'm going to have to cap the end of the episode, because there was something just so very off from that last scene, and it's driving me nuts that I can't figure out what.
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Thank you!
Yes, the last scene was strange in a number of ways. Gero said it was originally much longer but had to be cut, so that may be part of it. That does not, however, explain the uniform!
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(Anonymous) 2008-01-06 09:27 pm (UTC)(link)One has to wonder if HallingWraith had his view of humans change after spending so much time with Shep in Common Ground. But then again, he didn't seem like the usual run-of-the-mill Wraith throughout that ep either. I like him, too. Yeah, not too many Henry Wallace's out there to use as food.
Larrin wasn't as irritating to me either but I put it down to the fact she didn't show up until halfway through and then was only shown a few minutes every once in a while. Still didn't like her but...
I understood why Teyla revealed her pregnancy when she did - just back from a mission, was stunned, need to make sure baby is okay - but I would have preferred if she had just kinda fallen behind Shep and Ronon until she could safely turn around and take off for the infirmary. Shep could have called for her when he realized she wasn't there, Teyla could have answered she was heading for the infirmary and could they contact Rodney and all meet there. After Keller checked, the teammates could have gathered around the bed and Teyla could have told them then. I honestly didn't expect Shep to be so angry. Mad, yes. But not angry. I understood his points completely but just didn't think he'd react so strongly. That reaction was the one I expected from Ronon. I've always seen them as brother/sister so I thought Ronon would blow his stack because even if she loved the father, hey, she was still his sis. Had to laugh at "Ronon is a good name for a boy or a girl". Aw, the cuteness.
And I was so sure Fran was going to backfire. Mostly because, well, that's what usually happens. But also because she detected a flaw...and they let her use the computer to "fix" it. I'm still not certain we won't see her again.
ReplicatorWeir did surprise me. Not because I thought she was gone forever - after all, when ReplicatorTeamShep tricked the Replicators by flying the jumper and getting shot down, other than ReplicatorShep, the rest of the team and Weir were behind the bad-guy Replicators so I've always assumed they escaped. But this version of ReplicatorWeir surprised me because I right away thought she was evil. My thought about her is she was one of the versions that didn't work. And I base that on ReplicatorKeller stating "we'll know what to change the next time" because that comment had me deciding there was a closet full of versions that didn't work - okay, parts of versions that didn't work (kinda like the closet full of used CDs - snort). I decided this ReplicatorWeir was the first one and that's why her face was so weird and she was evil - there was too much Replicator in her and nowhere near enough human. Also decided she had heard ReplicatorKeller saying they were going to shut her down so she pretended to "die" and when they put her in the "closet", she waited until there were enough versions of everyone that she wouldn't be missed and then escaped. Yeah, I live in a dream world but I didn't want the ReplicatorWeir who helped ReplicatorTeamShep lure the other Replicators from the real TeamShep to turn evil.
hmmmm, this is quite long. Wonder if it will even post.
Gayle