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dr-futbol-blog · 6 months ago

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The Storm/The Eye, Pt. 5

Believing that Weir is dead and McKay is in mortal peril, Sheppard proceeds to go on what amounts to a rampage.

The first scene of The Eye (S01E10) seems to continue the show's meta-commentary. McKay, brave toaster that he is and possibly at least partially motivated by the desperation that they can all hear in Sheppard's voice over the intercom, places himself between the gun and Elizabeth. The dialogue tells us what's going on (with the show and where it's heading):

Kolya: Sheppard put you in this position, not me. McKay: You can't do this. This is crazy. You need her! Sora: She's right, Commander. McKay: I'm not kidding. There are codes required to activate the shield – codes that only she knows. You can't do it without her! Well, you can't do this without me either. I mean, we're a package deal. You take us out of the equation and-and-and-and you don't have an end game.

The fact that Weir and McKay are a package deal is emphasized by their placement, McKay coming to stand in front of Weir and obstructing her. That is to say, the show needs to imply attraction between Weir and Sheppard to be able to explore the relationship between Sheppard and McKay in subtext, to blur the lines between the characters and their relationships. The first they could easily have done without the latter, but the latter they could never have pulled off without the former (re: the shows ties to the USAF and DADT still being a thing when it aired). It offers the cover of plausible deniability while allowing people attuned to homoerotic subtext to easily be able to recognize the narrative undercurrent.

Again, note that McKay is lying to save Weir, claiming that he absolutely needs her help to save the city. Also, it's Kolya mentioning Sheppard by name that initially makes McKay dive in front of the gun. He says "Sheppard put you into this position, not me" which has the implication that if McKay allowed Kolya to shoot Weir, Sheppard would have to live with the guilt of it for the rest of his life, and McKay wasn't about to let that happen. He hears Sheppard's name and he immediately reacts, does something really brave and heroic without even having time to think about it. Because, as I've discussed previously, he is a Big Damn Hero and this very characteristic of his is what Sheppard admires and loves in him so much, even though he doesn't even get to see it this time.

Halfway through his rant McKay realizes that he just put himself into jeopardy, and this is when he starts consciously doing the same thing he has been doing with the Genii ever since their first encounter: trying to convince them of his invaluability (and it's striking that it's always in the service of trying to save someone else, not just or even predominately himself). He has self-esteem issues, he doesn't actually believe he's invaluable. But probably since he was a child he's had to project invaluability, has had to prove to people that he is a valuable asset, to gain acceptance. He thinks that he will only be tolerated if he proves himself irreplaceable.

The characters continue lying to one another. Kolya lets Sheppard know that Weir is dead.

I want to point out two things. Where Sheppard was extremely agitated just a moment ago, willing to do anything, he is extremely and exaggeratedly calm when he tells Kolya that he is going to kill him. Of course he is very upset that Weir should have been killed on his watch. Of course he cares about Weir and is upset by this. But again knowing the outcome changed his demeanor. Sure, responding in a cool and collected way is a performance to hide the fact that he is internally shaken. But he still manages to pull it off.

Then Kolya continues with "Stay out of my way or McKay will join her." That is when we get a brief glimpse at how Sheppard is actually feeling, his internal conflict and anguish (and which is something that he has no intention of letting Kolya know, hence putting the radio down):

Now. My friends. When you desperately need something, you need something so badly that you're willing to kill for it, you start killing off things from the least important to the most important. Like when a parent starts counting down from ten when they're warning a child that unless they cease their behaviour, they're going to "get it". You don't start from one, you start from ten and count downwards.

If Kolya had thought that Weir was Sheppard's main motivation, he would not have started by killing her off. Never mind how important McKay may have been, you keep the ace up your sleeve as long as you can. And Kolya had decided that the ace up his sleeve was McKay, which is why he reminds Sheppard that he is, in fact, still very much holding him hostage.

Again, the main stream audience is going to watch the show thinking Sheppard's entire upset has to do with Weir and Weir alone. And yet we always seem to find McKay between references to Weir and changes in Sheppard's demeanor. And once more, given what we saw of their interaction in the previous episode (Sheppard barely saw Weir when the three of them were in the lab together; he was so focused on McKay it's as though she weren't even there for him; we've really had zero indication of him harbouring some hidden secret passion for her that would explain this reaction; she is not the love of his life and a budding interest would not even begin to explain his reaction here), it makes so much more sense to interpret this reaction and the events that follow as motivated by McKay. Especially in the context of him having lost Captain Holland to enemy combatants in Afghanistan, as we later learn.

Also notice that once Kolya mentions McKay, Sheppard doesn't respond. There are probably a hundred things he could have said, maybe even wanted to say. You can read it all on his face. But he doesn't say anything because he doesn't dare do anything that might provoke this sociopath further. He actually has to stop himself from saying something he might regret. He can't risk responding. Like, he physically has to force his hand down to keep from say something that McKay might end up paying for.

Sheppard was afraid that he wasn't going to be able to save the people he cares about from the storm before, but this is a whole new kind of fear. This is a nightmare of the kind he had never even thought to have. But he's going to move heaven and earth to save the man. He's even willing to kill to save him. Kill a lot of people to save him, as it turns out.

And it is also noteworthy that he immediately springs into action, here. We've seen previously how characters are incapacitated when they lose someone important to them (cf. Cowen sitting down with his legs giving way when he mourns Tyrus). Sheppard is the opposite of incapacitated (in fact, we see him incapacitated in this particular fashion in Doppelganger, S04E04, when he thinks McKay is dead, so we see what Sheppard is like when he's lost the most important thing to him; he's slow, sluggish, going through the motions). This is not a man going through the motions, this is a man on a mission.

Again we get a transition from Sheppard's emotion to the raging storm to indicate that there's a storm also raging within him. The storm is a metaphor for what's going on inside him. And the calmness with which he then proceeds to take out the Genii is him being in the eye of the storm. Because the show is subtle with the symbolism like that.

Sheppard is moving fast, he's being strategic. He's not someone that's blinded by rage on a revenge mission because someone just killed the love of his life. He's also not acting reckless, putting himself needlessly in danger and this is not because he has some payback to do and someone to kill but because he has someone to save. You can contrast all of this with Sora's behaviour later on with regards to her vengeance against Teyla.

He even stops to check his watch at one point because he remembers McKay's words about them being under a time element, that there's a deadline looming over them all -- this is reinforced by the fact that the previous time Sheppard checked his watch, it was on the balcony right after McKay had just checked his watch (unwittingly mirroring someone's actions, again a sign of attraction; although synchronizing watches is also a very military thing to do, to be sure) and told them they have just over four and a half hours until the storm hits.

We are literally told that it's McKay he's thinking about when he stops and actually asks himself, "What would McKay do?" Again reminding us of the fact that for Sheppard, McKay is a hero. That McKay is constantly on his mind.

I also need to emphasize that he is killing actual people here. Yes, they're enemies but they are also human. This is the first time we see him kill humans after the mercy killing of Col. Sumner.

McKay starts fixing the grounding station and it's really quite sweet how he attempts to make it look like Elizabeth is vital to the process to keep her alive. It's not that he's trying to be a hero, it just comes naturally to him. He's not very good with people, though, so Elizabeth both has to explain to him that they need to stall and to actually lie on his behalf. When they overhear that Sheppard has killed some of the Genii strike force over the intercom, it's again only McKay's reaction that we get to this, not Weir's. He made a mental note of it albeit he does not seem to know what to think of it. Sheppard is alive, yes. He's being hunted by people with guns. And he's having to do terrible things.

McKay really is quite rattled, never having been in this kind of situation before. And it's interesting that Weir uses Sheppard to kick McKay into gear. She actually mentions Sheppard by name: "Look, from the sound of it, if we can buy Sheppard enough time, it seems like he can take care of the rest of them on his own." Not only had she figured out that this is what would motivate McKay the best, she is actually getting him to focus by appeasing him, pointing it out to him that Sheppard is really doing quite well for himself out there. She's not telling him that they're going to be alright, she's telling him that Sheppard is safe. Because for some reason she thinks that that's what will motivate him.

And Kolya does the opposite. He's trying to demoralize them by mentioning Sheppard by name: "If you're hoping Major Sheppard can diminish our numbers, you are mistaken." And notice that he is saying this to McKay. He glances at Weir a few times but when he is saying this, he is looking directly and only at McKay. An angel and a devil on his shoulders, they're both using Sheppard to get to him. I find that really interesting. Now, Weir knows him and has been able to observe them for a while now. But these people are complete strangers to Kolya, and he's still figured it out.

Now, if earlier Sheppard had to stop himself from saying something that might cause McKay trouble, McKay seems to be doing the same thing. And keeping quiet isn't the easiest thing for him, does not come to him naturally. But he keeps quiet because he's trying very hard not to make things worse for the Major.

If both Kolya and Weir are using Sheppard to motivate McKay, Sheppard himself is using McKay to motivate himself:

He has a dilemma here. He's trying to think of what McKay would do in his situation but he's come across explicit instructions from McKay not to do what he's thinking about doing. That's quite the pickle! (Also hilarious that the sign can be read as implying that touching McKay is dangerous, telling him not to do it). Are you thinking about touching McKay right now? Because this is not the time, my friend.

From the pleased look on Rodney's face, Sheppard was able to correctly intuit what he would have done in the situation when he shuts down the naqada generator. It's like they're working together as a team even when they are apart.

Continued in Pt. 6

#stargate atlantis #sga meta #sga #john sheppard #sheppard is bi #rodney mckay #rodney is gay #ep. the storm #ep. the eye #ep. doppelganger #genii

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dr-futbol-blog · 5 months ago

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The Storm/The Eye, Pt. 7

So, Weir lets Sheppard know that McKay is alright (probably because she has a pair of eyes on her and, as pointed out, she definitely noticed something between them in the lab earlier), and Kolya threatens to take McKay's life if Sheppard refuses the deal.

Sora reminds Kolya that Sheppard has done everything in order to defend his home and his people. The fact that Sheppard thinks of Atlantis as his home has been emphasized for the past several episodes, yes. In fact, The Storm (S01E09) started with Sheppard wistfully contemplating the topic of home. But his people? Most of his people are safe off world. He didn't do any of this to save his people. He did it all for one man, since up until this moment he believed Weir dead (and notice that while Sheppard says "Weir is alive?", it's when Kolya says "McKay" that he stops dead in his tracks in the stairway).

And the thing is, Kolya seems to understand this. As soon as he's finished talking with Sora, he reaches out to Sheppard telling him two things: 1) he doesn't believe for a moment that he would let Atlantis be destroyed (his home), and 2), he would do pretty much anything for Weir and McKay (his people).

Weir tells Sheppard that they are both alive, and they both tell the other that it's good to hear their voice. McKay does not get to say anything, but he sure looks glad to be hearing Sheppard's voice too:

He looks so... hopeful. Like he can't quite believe they just heard Sheppard's voice. Like he's looking at her to confirm it, to tell him he's safe.

Weir knows. And this, the fact that Weir told Sheppard what she did, is when McKay realized that she knows. She connected the two of them, she acted as an intermediary between them and it's really rather poetic, given that she's a mediator by profession.

But it's not just that Weir lets Sheppard knows McKay is alright. Kolya does it also. He reminds Sheppard that he has McKay and that he's fine, for now. Kolya also knows.

And hoo boy, Sheppard takes off quick when Kolya tells him that he has 20 minutes until McKay dies. Yes, he told him earlier that he has 10 minutes until he kills Weir but it's precisely when he says "You have 20 minutes, starting now" that Sheppard gets moving. And in fact, it was when Kolya told him that he has 20 minutes until McKay dies that he interjected with "That's not enough time!". He did not say that 10 minutes is not enough time, he said that 20 minutes is not enough time.

Like, my man. Is being pretty cavalier about Weir biting the bullet here, truth be told.

Sheppard's priorities are made pretty damn clear.

Kolya: If the power is not returned to Grounding Station Three within the next ten minutes, Doctor Weir dies. Sheppard: *cracks a joke* Kolya: Another ten minutes, after which – should the power still be out – Doctor McKay dies. Sheppard: *panics* Kolya: [20 mins. until McKay dies starts... now] Sheppard: *runs like hell*

Also. Also.

When Sheppard gets caught by the Genii at the generator, he says: "I don't mean to be a bad prisoner or anything but Kolya's gonna kill one of my people if I don't get this thing turned back on in time, so…"

One of his people. One of his people.

You forget one of them, Major?

Okay, granted, he's still running the first 10 minutes. He might mean Weir. Sure. But the episode has gone out of its way to tell us what his motivation for doing pretty much everything is. Aaaaand, he's still cracking jokes, being in the first 10 minutes of the deadline:

Genii soldier: Turn around. Sheppard: You turn around. Genii soldier: What? Sheppard: Well, if I have to turn around, you should turn around.

It's also pretty interesting that where we're told that McKay and Weir are a package deal with regards to Sheppard, we have another trio in the episode: Teyla, Ford, and Beckett. We see their interaction, military and civilian having to work as a team, in a tense situation. They are all snapping at each other and while it's not as though any of them dislike each other or anything, it's not friendly ribbing, it's people at cross-purposes trying to be helpful and save their friends. It's just that, if we contrast them with the other three...

We can also contrast Sheppard and Sora when it comes to how someone behaves that has lost a person they love and want revenge for that. She lost her father a while ago, and she's still completely overrun with emotion when she hears Teyla's voice. She blames Teyla for his death, and everything to do with Teyla seems to enrage her. We see her breathing heavily, we see her abandon her mission for the chance to get revenge. She doesn't care about anything else, even her own life. She also wants to take her sweet time getting her revenge, not caring if it kills them both. The way Sheppard acted after he thought Kolya killed Weir? Pretty much the polar opposite of her.

Kolya tells them "It seems Major Sheppard wants you to live. Let's get back to work." Given that they were still in the first ten minutes of his literal deadline, Kolya could well have intended this quip to Weir alone, which would be mighty strange if we had interpreted Sheppard's entire commando routine as seeking payback for her death. As far as Kolya was concerned, Sheppard had already allowed her to die once. The most incriminating thing in this whole episode is the fact that Kolya threatens Sheppard with killing McKay as his last resort, and he does it more than once. It's not an accident.

Ford asks Sheppard how he's doing, and he tells them that he's been better and he's been worse. You know, cause he goes both ways.

(Also heart-breaking to learn that he's "been worse". But I guess we just met two of his dead friends in the previous episode and both of his "people" here are still alive).

At the grounding station, McKay thinks he has fixed the panel shot by the Genii soldiers earlier. He tells Weir:

McKay: If this doesn't work... Weir: It will. McKay: I'm just saying, if it doesn't work... Weir: It will. McKay: I'm sure it will, but in the unlikely event that it doesn't, I... Weir: Rodney! Please.

We never learn what he was going to say. Clearly, he had something to say to Weir. Was he expecting her to get shot and trying to say good-bye? Possible. But given his bad self-esteem, it's much more likely that he expected to get shot himself, no longer being useful because he thinks that being useful is the only reason people want to have him around. This being the case, maybe he wanted Weir to tell Sheppard something else on his behalf, like she did earlier. Third option is that he was planning on jumping in front of a gun for Elizabeth (for the second time). The hero that he is.

We never learn. But we see in the look that Elizabeth gives him that she knew what he was going to say.

From the grounding station we transition directly to Sheppard talking about Mckay to other people (the trio) because he just can't stop doing that. Ever. Even when he's alone with nobody around. He cannot keep that man's name out of his mouth: "McKay figures he can harness the storm's lightning to fire up the shield."

And again.

As McKay is explaining his plan to Kolya, Sheppard is apparently doing the same thing, at the exact same time, to Ford, Beckett, and Teyla. Conrast this with Beckett confessing earlier that since he's not an engineer, he has only a rudimentary understanding of how Rodney does things. Since we transition from McKay and Kolya to Sheppard et al and back, we can assume that Sheppard is explaining McKay's plan to them pretty much beat for beat:

Kolya: What does that have to do with my men? McKay: Now that the grounding station's been deactivated, electricity will be free to flow through the conduits that line every corridor of the city. Beckett: What kind of plan is that? Sheppard: A Rodney McKay kind of plan. [second time that he mentions his name inside like... a minute] It's all we got. Ford: Then it leaves us only one place to go. Teyla: Where the Genii will also be. McKay: Now, the Control Room and Stargate Operations are shielded – but the rest of the city, once lightning starts to hit... Sheppard: ...anybody left in the hallway is as good as dead.

That's way beyond finishing each other's sentences. That's sharing one goddamn mind.

Not only does Sheppard seem to understand McKay's plan perfectly, he's able to translate it to other people, people with very limited understanding of anything that went into making it happen.

God. Damn.

Then, as if we need visual confirmation of what has been narratively highlighted pretty much throughout the episode: in the control room, Weir is in a red shirt (girl!) and McKay is in a blue shirt (boy!). Same thing is also emphasized in text:

Sheppard: The Jumper Bay is part of Stargate Operations, so it'll be protected. Ford: Then maybe that's where we should be headed. Sheppard: Once the shield goes up over the city, Weir and McKay are expendable to Kolya. We've gotta take the Control Room first. Teyla: Would he really kill them just because they are of no further use to him? Sheppard: No. He'd kill them to punish me.

Sheppard's mission is to save Weir and McKay. Because Kolya would punish him by killing them both. Because Kolya knows. And Sheppard knows he knows. And to keep them safe, Sheppard isn't just willing to kill (like, a lot of people, as we saw previously). He also orders Ford, the young soldier that has to obey is commands, to kill actual human beings to keep them safe.

Sheppard also lets us in on his endgame: "City saved, Weir and McKay saved, take the rest of the day off."

Oh, honey.

Ok, so he says Weir and McKay, mentioning her name first. Cause Weir is his priority, right?

Only, he's mentioned McKay five times during his walk-and-talk to the trio. Teyla gave Ford a look when Sheppard mentioned that he thought Kolya would kill them to punish him. Because she also knows.

He's putting Weir's name first because main text is used to hide the subtext. But in-universe, he's also using Weir's name to shield Rodney, to protect him in a kind of superstitious circumlocution. Like as long as he's saying "Weir and McKay", he's not inviting something bad to happen to him, for his plan to save him to fail. And like we're going to see time and time again, when it comes to heavy emotional stuff, he has trouble saying Rodney's name out loud in these situations (even though he otherwise cannot keep the man's name out of his mouth), because it means too much. It's too heavy on his tongue. So saying "Weir and McKay" instead makes it okay, makes it easier. Yes, he cares about Weir. But McKay is becoming, every day a little bit more, the one he can't live without.

Continued in Pt. 8, whence we reach the climax.

#stargate atlantis #sga #sga meta #john sheppard #sheppard is bi #rodney mckay #rodney is gay #ep. the storm #ep. the eye #genii

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