#ep. quarantine

[dr-futbol-blog]

The Hive, Pt. 10

Where back on Atlantis Beckett had managed to nurse McKay back from death's door, on the hive Ford's condition seems to be getting worse. Sheppard is still crouching by his body while Neera is wiping sweat from his brow, and Sheppard still seems to be paying her no attention, his focus entirely on Ford. Sheppard speaks in soft tones, trying to encourage Ford to hold on, and it is unclear how much of this is him just having forgotten everything that has happened seeing the state that Ford is in right now, how much is for the benefit of the (seemingly) frightened young lady sharing their cell, and how much is him trying to soothe his own worry over how Teyla and Ronon are doing.

Sheppard: Come on, buddy, hang in there. Don't leave us. Ford: Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir. Sheppard: No, none of that. The mission's not over, remember? We've still gotta figure a way to get out of here. You hear me? Ford: Yes, sir.

First of all, Sheppard calls him "buddy" again, which we established earlier is his way of building rapport with Ford, of re-establishing that connection and trust they had when the young Lieutenant was still serving under him. And while Sheppard seems mostly to be doing it because it looks like Ford is dying, certainly a part of him still and always hopes that they might get that back, might be able to re-build some of the bridges burnt between them, going back to those simpler times when they had been a team and things between him and McKay had been less complicated. Where we hear Sheppard also call McKay "buddy" on occasion, he uses the moniker differently with him because for Sheppard "Rodney" is the most intimate address he can use of McKay, and calling him other things is usually in the service of not pulling him closer but to establish distance between them.

However, note his use of the "we" form here. Don't leave us. The immediate reading is "Don't leave us, myself and this woman here in the cell with us." Only, he does not seem to be paying her any attention here, he has not even looked at her all the while Ford has been on the ground being cared for by her. For him, she might as well not be there. "Don't leave us" means the same to Sheppard as it always does: the team, and more specifically himself and McKay. His "us" is ever "Sheppard and McKay." Come on, buddy. Don't leave us. The team needs you. We need you. I need you to get us back to McKay because the mission is not over until McKay is safely back in Atlantis (which, of course, he already is but Sheppard has no way of knowing that).

So, Ford is dying here and they all know it. Sheppard tries to console him, to ease his feelings of guilt by essentially giving him his last rights, albeit not in a religious manner, although also not unlike the priest in The Exorcist. He tells Ford to forget about everything that has happened in the past because none of it matters now, not when he is dying. What is interesting is that we later hear Sheppard say the exact same thing to McKay: "No, no, none of that." The exact same thing, he has only added an extra "no" to it to emphasize how much he hopes that McKay would stop putting himself down. This happens in Quarantine (S04E13), as Sheppard is holding on to the ring that McKay had purchased while on Earth to ask Katie Brown, named after the lesbian lover of Calamity Jane, to marry him because his sister had managed to convince him that he would die alone otherwise. Katie Brown, with whom McKay had not gotten to second base with according to Sheppard, whom McKay may never have even kissed beyond having been made an unwilling participant in a kiss with her by Lt. Cadman, who almost faints from sheer anxiety later when she implies that she would like to have sex with him. Who spent all the time that he was locked up inside a room alone with her having a nervous break-down because he cannot even stand the thought of being closed in a room with her, let alone in a marriage. They have this exchange:

Sheppard: Well, I'll... I'll buy you a beer later. We can celebrate. McKay: Yeah, or drown my sorrows should she say no. Sheppard: No, no, none of that. McKay: Right. Sheppard: Well, go get the girl!

Katie Brown is what is commonly called a "beard." Both toward the audience of the show and in-universe to provide a cover of plausible deniability in the interest of keeping Sheppard from becoming the target of insinuations and suspicion. It was obvious from the very beginning that what McKay and Katie Brown had was not a real relationship. The whole point of the episode was to show us that McKay and Katie Brown have never engaged in sexual congress with each other and to show us why Sheppard is "the one" for him. Katie and Sheppard are purposefully contrasted, and it is Sheppard we are shown that really knows McKay, who cares about him, who wants the best for him, who worries about him, who will move heaven and earth to save him. That's it, that is the whole episode.

It is just like the show to use an episode in which McKay asks a woman to marry him to most obviously, most definitely establish that McKay and Sheppard belong together, that they are "end game" to one another. Katie Brown may say that she knows McKay all day long but we are shown that she does not know him at all. Sheppard, on the other hand, knows McKay's goddamn password. He knows his birthday, the birthdays of his favourite scientists, his favourite book, his favourite superhero, very likely knows his SSN without ever having glanced at his personnel files. And all of this is nothing compared to the fact that he knows what McKay is thinking, how he is feeling, and what he is doing when they are apart. And even all that pales in comparison to the fact that he wants to take care of McKay. He just casually risks his life because he knows that McKay is going to be feeling anxious out there.

The point is, other people have to literally be dying for Sheppard to comfort them the way he comforts McKay when he is kinda feeling sorry for himself, and that's a fact.

Sheppard: Aiden, you can make it through this. Wraith: Move away from him.

For the second time perhaps ever Sheppard uses Ford's given name, telling us just how serious he thinks the situation is, just how dire he finds Ford's condition. While he is trying to comfort Ford, convince him that he is going to pull through, he has to believe that Ford is as good as dead for him to talk to him this way, to try to make the young soldier's final moments as easy as he can, consoling him as he expires. Ford is not the first person that Sheppard has had to watch die in front of him while being helpless to do anything to ease their pain, and we will later learn that one of the most difficult moments of his life had been to witness someone he loved die in agony in spite of all of his efforts to get him to safety. While the cold dark hive is almost the opposite of the hot desert where he had willed Captain Holland to stay alive, it is still extremely likely this situation is bringing up those memories for him. Sheppard does not like it when people leave him, especially if they leave him permanently as by dying while he is helpless to stop them, which might explain why even after everything that Ford has done, this still seems to hit Sheppard pretty hard.

And things get even worse as the wraith barge into their cell, one of the queen's lieutenants with two drone guards in tow. Sheppard stands up and at least tries to shield Ford by placing himself between him and the wraith, although let us note that he is not doing it with a clear risk to his life as we have seen him do for McKay previously. We may note that as the wraith tells him to move away from Ford, Sheppard does nothing to comply, and in fact turns to look back at Ford which brings him even closer to him than he was before. Sheppard gets into the wraith's face and meets its gaze head on, not letting any of the fear he must be feeling show.

Sheppard: What are you gonna do with him? Wraith: Move away. Sheppard: He's sick! Wraith: That is why we're taking him.

The wraith repeats the command to move away, and it is not clear whether it means to move away from Ford or to move away from him because the way Sheppard is standing in his space, in his face, is a clear challenge. And we see Sheppard's defiance in how, being asked to move away, he steps even closer to the wraith, gets even more in its face about it. He is showing them no fear, has no intention of showing them any weakness, and it could be that Sheppard's experiences turning into an iratus bug taught him something about how the wraith operate.

Sheppard himself had seemed intimidated when Weir had encroached into his space in Conversion (S02E08) and so, whether consciously or subconsciously, he may recognize that getting into the wraith's space is going to bother it. Just the fact that it feels the need to bring the two guards while entering their cells speaks of the wraith taking precautions with the prisoners, especially not knowing what kind of an animal Sheppard is. But let us also note the fact that in doing this, in getting into the wraith's face and speaking his mind Sheppard is actually behaving in a way that is much more characteristic of McKay. If McKay's action-packed plan was much more like something Sheppard might have done, so Sheppard is acting the way McKay would be more likely to act here. And let us also note that Sheppard does nothing to protect the woman, he does not place himself between the wraith and Neera. He does not seem particularly protective of her. It is still as though she is not even there as far as he is concerned.

Sheppard: Where? Where are you taking him? Neera: To a cocoon. It will preserve him, keep him from dying. Sheppard: Until they're ready to feed.

The wraith hisses at Sheppard a they leave the cell with Ford, and while we do not know what it means specifically, the wraith certainly seems not to like Sheppard very much. It might just be because Sheppard got into its face, but it may also be due to the fact that he knows that this is the special prisoner, this is the queen's pet project, this is the one their plant is trying to get information out of because the queen had been unable to penetrate his mind.

As they leave, Sheppard steps forward still, stopping only at the "door" of the cell, refusing to take one step backwards because of the wraith. He calls in after them, not even expecting to get an answer, just airing his frustration. But he gets one anyway, from the woman that had cowered behind a corner as though very, very afraid of the wraith. And as Sheppard looks back at her, it is the first time he has looked at her since Ford called her an "unnecessary stop" earlier. He has basically ignored her the whole time Ford was getting sick, and even now he looks at her briefly and then continues looking out into the hallway where the wraith had vanished. He has been ignoring her but now that it is only the two of them in the cell, it seems like he can ignore her no longer.

Continued in Pt. 11

[chimerafflesia]

2 weeks until my five year anniversary of getting into naruto

[weshallc]

Erm! No, not quite! You will have to, Nurse Franklin. (and maybe always good in a crisis Tim plus chief rebel SMJ).

Meanwhile, my colleagues...

Will go home and infect their family.

And Nonnatus House where the temporary surgery is located.

And continue to treat vulnerable patients.

Call the Midwife: Series12 Episode 4

[sidras-tak]

I could watch an endless number of Secret Santa episodes, forever, eternally watching three friends psychologically torture each other with prizes and punishments while Sam laughs wildly in the background

[monsterbisexual]

the 'got 30 minutes of sleep last night' of it all just caught up to suddenly n i feel like lawrence looks at the end of saw

[rainedroptalks]

wait i thought nightvale ended brb im gonna go check something out

[crocutacanidae]

New password ep

Im one hour in.

[iftari]

long running shows like modern family start to fall apart bc they reduce the 3D-ness of their characters into quick words n change them up as dependent on the plot v understanding the characters and keeping their growth consistent. also bc theyre yt and white comedy shows dont know how to engage in anything beyond surface level humor even when they are to some degree tryign to be political

[moonrpg]

guy who just finished season 5 voice. he’s alive. he’s alive. he’s alive. he’s alive

[sunbratz]

i am finally actively spending real time catching up on dndads so! welcome back to my tag thats been out of use since like december of 2020 and hello to my obligatory "i am going to spam this thing i love post"

[funstyle]

ur working on an album 👀?

I AMMM thank uuu for asking ^_^ 🫶 it's mostly me just fxcking around with a cheap tape recorder & my brokey ebay 4 track... wouldnt go so far as to say it'll be "good" or "music" BUT im having fun with it and im hoping it'll be interesting to listen to at the least 🤷🏻‍♀️

hoping to finish her this month and slap it on bandcamp...making a lil neocities website to accompany it cus i can~

[dr-futbol-blog]

Aurora, Pt. 14

Sheppard finally emerges from the pod, likely having thought about his fairy godmother and clicking his heels together three times. Where McKay has been keeping vigil by his pod anxious for him to get out, and McKay's tone is mostly caused by the feeling of urgency and worry for Sheppard, a part of it is in response to the tone that Sheppard had used on him while they had both still been inside. McKay once more picks up their conversation just as they had left it off. He uses an expletive here ("It's about damn time!") just as Sheppard had used with him only moments ago ("Why didn't it end the damn program?") because where Sheppard has had the time and occasion to go through a whole host of thoughts and emotions while inside, McKay is still very much on their previous interaction.

McKay: Well, it's about damn time! What did you do, play a round of golf? We've got serious problems! Sheppard: What happened? Get down!

While he seems to be feeling slightly disoriented coming out, Sheppard responds to McKay's "We've got serious problems" by immediately asking what the problem is, what is the matter with McKay and how he can help. It is almost as though Sheppard is coming out of sleep, and the tone he uses intimates such familiarity with McKay's response that this cannot be the first time he has been woken up by McKay immediately demanding his attention.

Still feeling some kind of way and trying to quell his anxiety besides, McKay cannot help wanting to take a small dig at Sheppard, and so he makes a reference to Sheppard wasting time playing golf. While the audience learns of Sheppard's love of golf only later, it seems as though McKay knows about it already here. We see Sheppard play golf in McKay and Mrs Miller (S03E08) and Sunday (S03E17), and based on what we learn in these episodes, golf is something that Sheppard would very much like to play with McKay, perhaps to even teach him, but which McKay seems to have little interest in.

In Quarantine (S04E13), we further learn that Sheppard's desire to play golf with McKay is such that he has even tried to find a compromise, playing golf with McKay on the computer in his lab while he is working. Sheppard, that is, really really wants to play golf with McKay and while he is unable to drag McKay onto a golf course or even to driving balls into the ocean with him, he has found a way to play golf with McKay in a way that they can both enjoy. It further shows us that Sheppard seems to spend a lot of his free time in McKay's lab watching him work, which is something that we have been hinted at again and again. It is somewhat ironic that McKay has no affinity for golf given the purported Scottish origins of the sport and McKay's ethnic background, but it does not seem to be his cup of tea--which may also more broadly show the difference in their social backgrounds.

It is notable that even though McKay makes the reference to golf which, given Sheppard's love of the game, should be the main draw for his attention, he actually manages to filter out the most relevant part of McKay's tirade immediately, honing in on the fact that they have problems, serious ones at that. And just as soon as he looks at McKay, McKay naturally being the first thing he wants to look at, he sees one of the serious problems coming right at him, reacting immediately. And such is their ability to work together and McKay's trust in Sheppard that as soon as Sheppard tells him to get down, he is already there, not needing to know why Sheppard wanted him to do it, moving instantly and without conscious thought or effort. Sheppard rarely gives McKay orders, and he does not even have to because McKay naturally wants to do what Sheppard needs him to do. And so Sheppard manages to clip the wraith that had only been slowed down by the shots that McKay had taken on it previously.

McKay: That happened! Not so hot now!

This is interesting, and extremely telling. McKay seems to taunt the wraith. Not so hot now. To be sure, the wraith's appearance is very different from its avatar in the virtual environment. But who is McKay saying this to? The wraith probably have very different beauty standards than humans and the wraith very likely prefers the way he looks here to the way he looked posing as a human woman. For all we know, this scout might be the winner of the Mr Wraith 2005 contest and very highly regarded among its own people. It is not the wraith that McKay needs to convince of the fact that the wraith is not so hot, it is Sheppard. And this just tells us that in spite of what he may have said previously, McKay himself never found the wraith hot, not even in its avatar form. If McKay had found it hot, his response might be something like "I can't believe I thought she was hot" or "This is the thing I called hot?" or any number of things that might betray his disgust at having actually thought that this thing posing as a human woman had been attractive.

But that is not what he does. He is clearly trying to convince one of them of the fact that the wraith is not attractive but is actually really ugly, and that someone is not himself. This betrays McKay's earlier act as an act, as complete fabrication. His issue was never that he found the wraith hot and hence disgusted himself, it was that he was sure that Sheppard thought the Ancient woman was hot and it is his own petty jealousy that disgusts him. He wishes to be a better man but he is not. He is glad to see that the wraith is not hot. There is no way that Sheppard can look at this thing and think that it is hot. And the thing is, as we noted inside the virtual environment, Sheppard did not find her hot. He was absolutely certain that the First Officer was the wraith because the way she made him feel was different from all the other Ancients. Sheppard hates the wraith, and hence makes quick work of taking it out.

Wraith: Our ships are coming. They will retrieve what I have learned. Earth will soon be ours. Sheppard: Not if I can help it.

This scene resembles the conclusion of the first part of The Siege (S01E19) that ends with Sheppard looking down at the corpse of the wraith that he had just executed. The wraith had also told him something very similar: "I will tell you this: no matter where you flee, we will find you--just as surely as we will find Earth. And when we do, we will feast." But there are important differences between the scenes. For one, this wraith had been about to attack McKay where "Bob" had been a prisoner of war, completely and utterly at their mercy. There is much more justification for killing this particular wraith, especially since it had knowledge about the Ancient hyperdrive technology that they did not want to get into the wrong hands.

Quite to the contrary, "Bob" probably had a lot of information that they could have used and Sheppard had killed it disregarding everything that they might have been able to learn from it, or even the ability to use the wraith as a bargaining chip. Sheppard had a reason to kill this wraith. Sheppard had many reasons not to kill "Bob" but he had wanted to kill it, blaming it for the rage he was feeling as he thought that McKay had perished at the hands of the wraith. Also, while Sheppard seems to feel a cold rage here to the extent that it actually frightens McKay, he is still able to quip. He is still able to talk, to wisecrack, to make a comment. Before, during and after Sheppard killed "Bob," he had been long beyond words. He had nothing to say. He had no thought left in his head. After hearing Weir announce that McKay had died, as Sheppard had understood it, he had no longer seen anything, heard anything, felt anything. He was completely numb.

Both wraiths mention Earth, but it had not been his concern for Earth that had made Sheppard murder "Bob" in cold blood. And while he is concerned for the Earth, his exact words to the Captain had been "They need to modify their hyperdrives to make it to my planet, Earth, and I prefer she not do that." He would prefer she not do that. But it is very likely that this, looking down at a wraith bleeding on the ground blabbering about the Earth had reminded him of what had happened all those months ago, and even though he had McKay right by his side here, as mentioned previously, learning that McKay had not died but was in fact very much alive and on his way back to Atlantis did not make Sheppard forget how he had felt in that moment. He would never forget how he had felt right then.

"Bob" had not been the culprit for his rage, and this wraith even less so, but they had both paid for having been in his vicinity at the wrong time. And let us not diminish the fact that this wraith had been about to attack McKay when Sheppard had caught sight of it. It had very almost harmed McKay, and that was not OK in Sheppard's book. McKay flinches as Sheppard gives it the coup de grâce, probably because it had again been an unexpected loud noise. McKay had not anticipated that Sheppard would take it out in such a cold fashion. He obviously will shed no tears for the wraith, but seeing Sheppard like this did concern him. McKay does not know that he himself is the reason for Sheppard using such extreme prejudice in taking the wraith out.

But let us also appreciate the fact that Sheppard is not afraid to let McKay see him like this. He needs McKay to see him just as he is, he wants McKay to see all of him and hopefully love him anyway. McKay had watched Sheppard turn into an insect and had still welcomed him, but Sheppard thinks that this is a much uglier side of him. He has a whole host of ugly inside him and he needs McKay to see him as he is, not as any of the personas he usually shows people. It is in seeing himself in McKay's eyes that he is able to make peace with himself so it is important for him that McKay gets to see all of him.

Caldwell: Colonel Sheppard, we're reading two life signs. I hope that means what I think it means. Sheppard: Give me one more minute. Caldwell: We're out of time, Sheppard. The wraith ships are almost here. Sheppard: One damn minute and I can take care of that problem.

Caldwell contacts them, and the fact that he mentions two life-signs means that the wraith had expired and that likely they had been able to see three life-signs just before. Sheppard again uses the expletive here as he tells Caldwell to wait, and the fact that he uses this kind of language with what is essentially his superior officer and the Captain of the ship that they are only guests on tells us just how tense Sheppard is here. And it is only partially caused by the feeling of time running out, as apparently the Captain of the Aurora had explained to him how to arm the ship's self-destruct, allowing them to take care of the fast approaching wraith cruiser problem. His morose mood here is for the greater part caused by how close he seemed to come to losing McKay again, and this situation bringing up feelings that he had tried hard to repress. But, respecting that Sheppard knows what he is doing, Caldwell decides to give him one damn minute and they are able to complete the mission.

Kleinman: Wraith cruisers just dropped out of hyperspace, sir. They're aware of us. Caldwell: Battle stations! Looks like we're gonna have to fight these guys. Bring main rail guns online. Sheppard: Daedalus, this is Sheppard. We're ready. Caldwell: Beam them directly onto the Bridge. Kleinman: Targets are in range. Sheppard: Sir, we need to get outta here. Caldwell: No, we need to eliminate those cruisers. The information-- McKay: No-no-no, we need to get far away.

Sheppard and McKay are beamed aboard the Daedalus at Sheppard's request, and while we do not see them do it, it is very likely that Sheppard had employed McKay's assistance in arming the self-destruct. He even uses the "we" language again, telling them that they are ready. The two of them, working as one person again. And just as soon as they appear on the Bridge of the Daedalus, they are working together to convince Caldwell of the fact that they need to leave and fast. McKay backs Sheppard up in this, having understood what the plan is.

Note that McKay beams up in a very strange position, craning his face up with his eyes closed. Furthermore, he sounds like he is out of breath. Now, the last time we watched him being beamed together with Sheppard by the Asgard transporter, he was guarding his nether regions with his hands, trying to make himself as small as possible because he knew that the technology had not been designed to be used in the way that they were about to use it in The Intruder (S02E02).

Here, the technology is being used for its intended purpose and furthermore, McKay was not the one who was in radio contact with the Daedalus (we saw Sheppard look up at the ceiling as he was talking to Caldwell earlier), and even if he had been, it does not explain why his eyes are closed. It does not explain why his hands were coming up as though to grab something the moment he rematerialized. And it certainly does not explain why he sounds breathless. I am not saying someone had necessarily been kissing McKay while they still had a moment alone together but it sure is a strange position to be in.

Caldwell: What? Sheppard: The Captain gave me the Aurora's self destruct code. He assures me that it'll take care of the wraith ships too, but we need to get clear. Caldwell: Bring sublight engines to military thrust. Helm: Military thrust.

As Sheppard explains the plan to Caldwell, he glances at McKay, either sharing something with him or needing assurance from McKay for something. He looks at McKay on the words "wraith ships too," which indicates that it was the destruction of the Aurora that made him look at McKay. While McKay had pointed out that Sheppard's eyes lighted up at the mention of an Ancient warship, it was actually McKay himself that had probably been most excited about getting to explore one and now that they were forced to destroy the ship without having had a chance of studying the technology, losing something important forever, it is possible that Sheppard is checking in on how McKay is taking this blow. He knows how important both the technology and the chance of communicating with the Ancients had been for him. But needs must.

As the Aurora explodes, we see McKay illuminated as though by the rising sun. He looks sad and there is definite wetness in his eyes. Sheppard, on the other hand, seems to feel a personal loss and we see the light fading from him as though he is at dusk, night-bound. But note that as both Sheppard and McKay have turned to look out of the window to see the explosion, McKay is standing at Sheppard's right side and after the Ancient warship is gone, Sheppard turns to look at McKay. His look is brief, but he seems to need to draw some comfort from McKay, the both of them having spent the final moments of the ship onboard together. Sheppard had wanted to provide McKay with an opportunity to talk with a living, breathing Ancient that he had denied him previously and he had failed to do that. While the wraith had been destroyed, they had managed to keep Earth and Atlantis safe for now, this did not feel like a victory. It felt like losing a friend.

With regards to chess, which is what the episode opened with, destroying the Aurora to get two of the wraith cruisers seems symbolic of the "Queen's Gambit," the white seeming to sacrifice a pawn to get positional advantage. Given that the Ancients were dressed in whites, they are obviously the whites in the war against the wraiths, the blacks. But while the war is obviously symbolic for chess given that it features two armies in battle, as mentioned in the beginning, love is also often considered a kind of a game. But where in a war two sides are trying to defeat each other, in love both sides are in contest on how to give more, how to treat the other better, how to help the other person win. Like Jeannie told Major Nelson, she thinks that he was letting her win. And so in the episode both McKay and Sheppard were letting each other win, McKay in getting Sheppard to enter the virtual environment first and Sheppard in getting McKay to leave it when he found out that they were under threat of annihilation while inside. McKay said that Sheppard and himself have gotten into the habit of saving each other, and that they certainly have. But much more than that, they are both trying to keep the other safe without letting the other person in on the fact that they are doing it.

After the Daedalus has returned to Atlantis we find the team and Caldwell all sitting in Weir's office, apparently completing a debriefing. The camera pans from a distance, closing in on the scene, and what an interesting scene it is.

McKay: We monitored all transmissions from the wraith cruisers prior to the explosion. They never got a chance to board the Aurora or upload any of the Ancient information.

As mentioned, there is a clear connection between Trinity (S02E06) and Aurora (S02E09), and this scene recalls the scene in the earlier episode where McKay and Zelenka were explaining the Ancient project Arcturus to Weir and Caldwell. As McKay was giving his presentation, Sheppard had been seated precisely where he is seated now, although he was not folding his arms then but was holding his hand on his lap to shield his crotch from Caldwell. Now, the defensive set of his arms is partially again directed at Caldwell and the fact that the man is standing and hovering above him in a power position, but it is also partially caused by the situation. There were many difficult emotions dredged up by the mission, and he is trying to shove them down and repress them to the best of his ability.

But let us note the fact that Sheppard and McKay are seated next to each other, just as they were in the virtual environment. And what is more, they are seated on a love seat. And people do not start filling in seats at the edge of the room from where Teyla and Ronon are sitting. Teyla and Ronon had not come to the room first and taken these seats, it had to have been Sheppard that had walked in first and McKay had taken his seat right next to him, probably having walked in after Sheppard. Just from this scene we are able to tell that Sheppard and McKay are much closer than they had been in previous episodes. From start to finish of this episode, we are able to appreciate that Sheppard and McKay are much more comfortable in the physical presence of each other. They seem to want the closeness. Where McKay is giving Weir a presentation like he had in Trinity, he is not standing here but is seated next to Sheppard.

Caldwell: Both cruisers were destroyed in the explosion. Dex: It's too bad we weren't able to figure out the wraith weakness. Sheppard: At least we found out they had one.Weir: Good work. Thank you, everyone.

Note also the fact that Sheppard is sitting at a strange angle, twisting his body in an unnatural way. He seems to be turning his torso toward McKay while twisting away from Caldwell but unable to sit on his right cheek to fully turn his body toward McKay because of the thigh holster. The fact that there is an empty bench right next to Sheppard just emphasizes the fact that these men want to sit next to each other, and considering that they are right under the watchful eye of Caldwell, this is extremely close indeed. As McKay gets up to leave, he also looks back at Sheppard as though expecting him to come with. Only, Sheppard had other plans for them right now.

Sheppard: Before we break up the party, there's something I'd like to do. Might seem a little strange, but I promised to do something when we got home. To the crew of the Aurora!

While it is possible now that they have re-established contact with Earth that they might have bottles of Champagne lying around, it might also be that this bottle that they open here is the one that General O'Neill had sent along when they had first stepped through the gate to the Pegasus galaxy in Rising (S01E01), and that they had been saving for a special occasion. It is a heartfelt moment, and it is because the Captain of the Aurora had cared about his crew, had tirelessly fought the wraith and had considered Atlantis his home that had made Sheppard relate to him so much, had made him able to see himself in the man. And while this is peripheral: Sheppard avoids touching Weir as he takes the glass from her where McKay full on drives his hand into Sheppard's. We see them standing next to each other in the middle, surrounded by a Ship's captain and their near and dear as one might find at a wedding.

i'll return to the topic with Inferno (S02E19) when Sheppard gets to name the sister ship of the Aurora, but let us just mention here that Aurora (Jeanne-Marie Beaubier) is a Canadian superhero whose twin brother Northstar was one of the first prominent gay superheroes. We had a subtle reference to Jeannie of I Dream of Jeannie in the episode, and let us recall that Jeannie is also the name of McKay's sister, as we learned in Letters from Pegasus (S01E17), Aurora making up the Jeannie trifecta. But even though he is Canadian (and gay), Northstar outwardly resembles John Sheppard more than McKay, both in his dark looks and pointy ears (because he is half "fairy," which was an intentional reference to his sexuality back when the Comics Code did not allow for the character always designed to be gay to be outed), as well as his love for speed. There is no doubt that Sheppard, as a comic book afficionado, would be familiar with this superhero.

But why is the episode called Aurora? Obviously it is a reference to the dawn and the coming of the light, things starting to seem incrementally brighter between Sheppard and McKay from hereon out. But given that we had an explicit textual reference to Sheppard's eyes "lighting up again" (which McKay thinks is related to technology but actually seems to be caused by his presence) and in the virtual environment both Sheppard and McKay's eyes held vivid colours, there is a poem by Emily Dickinson (Struck, was I, not yet by Lightning), either a gay or at the very least bisexual poet, that mentions something interesting:

Most—I love the Cause that slew Me. Often as I die Its beloved Recognition Holds a Sun on Me—

Best—at Setting—as is Nature's— Neither witnessed Rise Till the infinite Aurora In the other's eyes.

It is the infinite Aurora that Sheppard and McKay see in each other's eyes. We have been textually pointed out that McKay sees this in Sheppard's eyes, he merely fails to recognize its origin. They had also literally been struck by lightning when McKay called it down to power the city's shield around the time that they had fallen in love. And slowly but surely they are returning toward that place.

[crodisd]

sigh yeah mlp multi is a thing in progress now @ekvuus

[andyridgeley]

i love when one (1) shot can make me cry 🤌

[kanmom51]

Please help 😅 I think there is something or some conversation l have missed in JIKOOK’s timeline. Something about our Jimin getting so upset that he left the members and went home to heal from some trauma caused by V & Jk ?? The next we heard about him was when he was hospitalised suffering from covid?? Please fill in the blanks for me if you know any deets.. l would be grateful. No pressure though😂🫶🏽

Idk what fan fiction this is from, but WOW.

JM healing from trauma caused by V and JK?

The next was when he was hospitalized with covid?

Bull bloody shit is what I can tell you.

But let's look at the timeline why don't we?

At least what we know of it.

JM was hospitalized end of January 2022. Not because of covid but because of his appendix, and when in hospital tested positive for covid.

This followed the group going on a break after their 4 concerts in LA in November 2021.

Last time we had all three together was in their live on 28 November 2021. That was a chaotic super happy live. Only bullying I can think of, jokingly, would be Tae constantly mentioning brand names he wasn't supposed to, lol.

You can find many links to posts I wrote about that live here:

Then JK and JM returned to Korea with Jin. Just the three of them. They were supposed to go into quarantine as they returned, separately, as the government rules stated, and yet JK waited for JM at the airport upon their arrival thinking that they will be sharing a car only for the two to be separated.

There is absolutely, and I repeat absolutely NOTHING to show that there was anything wrong between JM and JK at that place and time!!!

JM and JK were fine, and there was no bullying going on from Tae and JK. What AO3 fanfic is that even?

As for the stupidity I've been hearing of since Ep. 3 of Are you sure? JK and V bullying JM, like wtf is wrong with people?

Every time I think people have reached the limit of being the worst they just prove that they can surpass themselves.

I think people lack basic ideas of human interactions if they claim that the playfulness we saw in that episode can be called bullying. If that's bullying then every single time those three played throughout the years would also be. These are 3 young men who grew up together and at times roughhouse. Like men do.

I've kind of lost hope in trying to explain to these people, who love to see JM as a victim, and therefore think they are his knights in shining armour, that JM is a grown ass man who knows exactly how to put both JK and Tae in their places if he wanted to!!! He's got the physical strength to do so, not to mention the personality too. He's known to have done both, when he wanted. And here's the news flash. Maybe he didn't want to! JM knows how to be assertive. Being such a nice human being doesn't make him a weak human being. I think that many of those that claim to love him and want to protect him either don't know him at all or want him to be weak so they can show up as his great protectors against the big bad JK, whom they would love to get rid of, cause he's just not good enough for JM, in their warped reality. Perhaps because they want JM for themselves.

JK is the person that JM loves most in this world.

The person that stood by JM's side and supported him when he was going through the turmoil he was experiencing during the pandemic.

The person that JM wanted to go on these trips with and came up with the idea to create this show so that they can go on these trips together.

The person that he flew from Korea to NY to be with for his solo debut.

The person that he can't stop talking about and bringing up in conversations that have really nothing to do with him, like during the Minimoni album exchange.

The man he chose to write a song for and write these lines to:

Baby, don't leave Just stay by my side, yeah To you, who see me bigger than what my little self is (to you) So that I can give as much as I’ve received (oh-oh) So that I can keep my word (oh-oh) Don't worry, just stay by my side, yeah (Yeah) We don’t know what the future holds (holds, yeah) And that’s scary and makes us afraid (oh-oh) But don’t forget that we’re always together (don't forget)

The person he chose to enlist with and be with for the 18 months of their military service, even though it meant a more difficult placement, even though it would raise eyebrows and questions marks seeing that the two are the first ever idols, both in their late 20s to do this!!

I've said this once I've said this a thousand times. People need to go live their lives and stop looking for drama where it doesn't exist in JM and JK's life.

They are together.

They are good.

Even if they are idols and public figures.

Even if they are two gorgeous young men who happen to love each other and are, god forbid, in a queer relationship.

Even if being in a queer relationship in their industry and society is frowned upon.

All those don't mean that their relationship isn't just a normal stable long term relationship with everything that such a loving relationship entails, including the struggles.

Enough with trying to insert drama where there is none.