#sga duet

[momoamadness]

When you need to say yes...but annoyed.

Work got you down??? My new favorite thing is making reaction gifts to Stargate Atlantis as I rewatch my comfort show for the 89,000th time. I like to be able to react to things people text me with the characters that I love. I don't ask for much in life. Just having that option is enough. I debated which of my pages I should put this gifset on. Since this is my main tumblr account, as long as I can gif a Momoa reaction, I can get away with putting it here. haha Reaction gifs: S02E04 Duet

[that-weird-potato]

SGA s02e04 - Duet

This is my favorite episode. David Hewlett is an amazing actor. Oh gosh I was laughing so hard during it.

And the kiss!!!

Best. Episode. Ever.

[dr-futbol-blog]

Epiphany, Pt. 18

We then move on to McKay and the others approaching the village, and while they are not running the way Sheppard had been running as he had made his way back from the cave the previous night, based on the fact that we can hear McKay being out of breath, they are keeping good pace. Given that we just watched Sheppard leave the village at a run back to them, the sequence of events here is interesting.

McKay: You know, I was just thinking: this entire field, I mean, not the field, I mean the field field, must generate its own day and night cycle, not to mention its own artificial climate. I mean, it's incredible! When you think... Dex: You wanna pick up the pace, McKay? McKay: Hey, he's waited for months. Another half hour isn't gonna kill him.

McKay mentions that keeping the walking pace that they have, it is going to take them half an hour to reach the village that it had taken 10 hours for Sheppard to have reached at a run. This suggest that they had indeed crossed the threshold the previous night and it is entirely possible that McKay patting the ground next to him for Weir to sit had happened just as Teer had told Sheppard to sit (and let us also note the similarity in the names, Weir and Teer -- pronounced Tier and rhyming with Weir -- that is probably not accidental; in fact, Teer = Teyla + Weir). If McKay's assessment of five minutes for the others to get in had been correct, they had started walking toward the village just as Teer kissed him, meaning that McKay was getting physically closer to Sheppard the further they were engaged in the sex. This also seems to indicate that McKay's "You know, I was just thinking" epiphany here about the artificial climate coincided with Sheppard's discussion on thunder storms over breakfast, which would mean that it had taken them c. 12-13 hours to make the same distance as had taken Sheppard 9,5-10 hours to run. This tracks.

What this means is that this is not the same place as where Avrid had first ran out of the woods to meet Sheppard, which had been "across the sanctuary" and hence closer to the cave, but that they have already crossed the sanctuary and are approaching the village. This is important for establishing that McKay's "You know, I was just thinking" was synchronous with Sheppard's "Haven't any of you seen thunderstorms?" of the previous scene. And that is curious, to say the least. The minimum of what is happening here is that Sheppard and McKay are, for umpteenth time, thinking the same thing at the same time like that keeps happening by sheer coincidence. McKay is saying "I mean, it's incredible!" just as Sheppard is saying "it's also very cool!" but because we see these things happen in sequence, we cannot appreciate the synchronicity.

It is also curious that as worried as McKay has been over Sheppard, earlier insisting Beckett come along because he does not know if Sheppard is seriously injured or even alive, he now seems entirely carefree to the point of being careless, like he is no longer concerned for Sheppard. Like he knows that Sheppard is alive and well and waiting for them where they are heading. And how could he possibly know that? That McKay does not care about him is not even an option. For some reason that is never explained, McKay seems to know. And he is feeling good, here. Like every step they take, he is feeling more at ease. And, just to re-iterate, they have bee walking for hours and he does not even seem to feel it.

Weir: We don't know how long it's gonna take to find him. Beckett: Aye, and besides that, I have a date planned with Lieutenant Cadman for tomorrow night. McKay: Oh, no, so we've only got twelve years in here! What? What is it? I'm not detecting anything. Dex: Doesn't mean it isn't there.

Ronon drops a lampshade on the viewers: just because you don't detect it does not mean it is not there. That something cannot be seen with the naked eye does not mean that it cannot have tangible effects. This being said, the t-shirt is both visible and tangible but it only has meaning in context.

But let us back-track a little. Beckett mentions that he has a date with Cadman, the first time that their budding romance from Duet (S02E04) is revisited. Later on, Beckett tells them that the affair had fizzled out and let us recall that it was only until Cadman was occupying McKay's body that she seemed to develop this interest in co-Ancient gene having Beckett. Regardless, it is clear that Beckett is here both on the field and has "got" a woman, both of which McKay had claimed that Beckett was jealous over for him during his enzyme-fueled possession in the previous episode. What is obvious here is that McKay is not jealous of Beckett for having gotten Cadman because Cadman is -- although blonde and beautiful -- among the last women that McKay would ever want, along with Heightmeyer, and that is curious given how he keeps claiming to be into hot blondes. He could care less about Cadman, and Beckett's luck with women is a peripheral concern for him when he is in control of his faculties and not trying to goad his best friend into scoring him some wraith dope. This also tracks. Also, we do not know if this is an on-going thing or this is their first date -- it might be McKay's words had even pushed Beckett into asking her out for all we know. What is interesting is that both of McKay's claims are revisited here, Beckett's dislike and not jealousy for being on the field and McKay's not getting (or wanting) all the women.

Second thing to note is that while McKay's "twelve years" here might well be hyperbole, his math just keeps not mathing. Sheppard has spent around six months inside the time dilation field which had been c. 17 hours of real time. Assuming that by "tomorrow night" Beckett was referring to a time that, given the 28-hour "day and night cycle" on Atlantis, would be 30-35 hours from when they went in (it was daylight on the planet they left from, which of course tells us next to nothing about what time it was currently on Atlantis, but it had also been daytime when McKay had been in his lab chiding Conan and Xena). With all of this, it would still only give them about a year inside the field until it was date time for Beckett meaning that McKay's assessment of how fast time is running is way off. And what it also tells us is that it feels like years to him since he has seen Sheppard. He can quip about another half hour not killing Sheppard all he wants but dissociating has made all of this feel a lot longer for him than it has been for the others, and he keeps approximating time to have been much longer. And also that he is just not not good at mental math, he kind of sucks at it, if we are perfectly honest.

This, now, as Teyla detects something in the woods also seems to be when Teer got the shining about the beast being upon them and when Sheppard started off at a run toward them, and that also tracks. McKay's dismissive comment toward Beckett's date coincides with Sheppard being dismissive toward Teer. In fact, it is possible Teyla detected it even before Teer. While McKay seems to respect Teyla's instinct, he also relies heavily on the scanner and hence he seems to have trouble reconciling the evidence from these two sources and this too may be symbolic. Ronon, on the other hand, trusts Teyla over a machine any day of the week.

Dex: Can you see anything? Teyla: No. But I sense something is close. Weir: Maybe we should try another way. Dex: Won't make any difference. It's stalking us. Beckett: Sounds like it's more than one. McKay: Yeah, more than one what? Teyla: I do not know.

And so the beast is "upon them," the Jabberwock has found them. And it is interesting that the beast comprising of the fears of the villagers has come for them because while each and every one of them feels fear, to be sure, they are also all of them much more in touch with their fears than the locals are. They can admit that they are afraid which allows them to conquer their fears, and it seems as though all of Sheppard's friends fight their fears almost on a daily basis, fight their fears like it's their job.

The three times that we have now "seen" the beast, it seems like Teer's fear of either not getting Sheppard or losing him to another has been at the heart of its manifestation, and let us be generous and make a claim that she fears losing Sheppard to all of them here, losing him to his friends that have come to get him home. It is not as though the beast is going for McKay specifically as we see him take hold of his weapon, the one that Sheppard has taught him how to use to protect himself, and prepare to protect not himself but also the weakest member of their rescue party, Weir. McKay is afraid but that has never stopped him from being brave because It's OK to be scared, it's part of life. That is something that Sheppard has learned from Rodney McKay.

They all fire on the invisible beast, and Ronon and Teyla attempt to take it head on while both McKay and Beckett close rank on Weir. The two of them are protecting the weakest link and also the leader of the expedition who may not be the most vital of them for the running of the mission (certainly all three of the are "vital, vital to this mission"), but is nonetheless really important. And this is precisely why McKay had wanted her to stay back. But she had insisted on coming for the reason we are able to see as Sheppard comes running out of the forest, throwing himself at the beast with not a hint of fear or hesitation.

And let us point out the fact that somehow Sheppard knew exactly where to find them, he ran directly to them having gotten no direction from Teer. He knew where they would be. The fact that he was drawn directly to them is rather interesting. Sheppard loves these people, all of them, every one of them in different ways and if his time in this prison has taught him anything, it is that he does not want to live without them. And so the beast vanishes and he finds himself face down on the ground just like most of his team, and Weir runs right to him again like she is the heroine of a romantic film rushing to her beloved that has been lost for so long -- when that is not at all what this is.

Note that McKay sees Sheppard first, looks at him first, and Weir and McKay start moving toward him at the same time. But McKay loses time putting down his scanner and so, as Weir gets to Sheppard first, McKay decides to put his gun away and then goes to help Teyla where Beckett had gone to help Ronon, because both of them might have been injured by getting hurled away by the beast. And Weir goes directly to Sheppard, puts her hand on him, on his shoulder, but then draws it back almost as quickly as she lays it on. It is, frankly, impossible to say if she even really makes contact. What is important is this: she is not the first person he looks at. He looks past her shoulder before seeing her.

Teyla told us "Something is close." Beckett said: "Sounds like it's more than one." Again we find the writers are speaking to the audience through the characters. Dex had asked "Can you see anything?" We are given the option of seeing the t-shirt or ignoring it. And what we cannot see here is him touching her. We see him throwing his shoulder back because he does not want to be touched by her. Weir had tried to touch him when he does not want to be touched and while we see women frequently override his boundaries, we have never seen McKay do that. McKay has never violated Sheppard's boundaries or done things to him he did not have his consent to do. That is the difference. We saw this already in Sanctuary (S01E14), and it is as true on this day as it had been then.

Continued in Pt. 19

[twotales]

Well, hello naked and confused Rodney-

[dailystargatebooty]

[lightthewaybackhome]

Duet (S2:E4)

Since this isn't one of my favorite episodes, I decided to watch it with the commentary. It did give me a greater appreciation for the acting that went into it, but it's ridiculously hard to emotionally connect to an episode with commentary.

Condemned (S2:E5)

(First episode I've ever watched on my TV instead of my phone, and it feels oddly weird.)

I love that Sheppard labels himself as a worrier on this his first mission with Ronon.

I love the Ronon is tall, and everyone boards the Jumper by running under his gun.

Sometimes Sheppard is doing all the grown-up talking about opening trade negotiations and on his best behavior, but his hair is back-lit in all its ridiculousness, making it almost impossible to take seriously. 🤣

Okay, seriously, I will never not adore the fact that they way to motivate McKay is to threaten the life of his friends. That's when he stops being weak and cowardly. But the best part is it's true for Sheppard too. If you want him to stop being cocky and snarky, you threaten his people. Suddenly, dangerous Sheppard is here. They're perfect mirrors of each other. It's the nerd and the jock meeting at the crossroads of "You threatened our family," and I love it.

This episode is when I fell in love with Lorne. He's just such a straight-shooting support character, meaning he is just so supportive. I love it.

Ronon just doubts Sheppard so much, challenging his authority, his calls, his lack of aggression but by the end his trust is earned because Sheppard is smart, knows his people, will fight to save them.

Like every episode, Sheppard and McKay bicker until the chips are down. As soon as Sheppard goes into laying-down-his-life-mode, Rodney switches to saving him through science. Every time. 🖤

S: We're not taking you home.

Home is where we're safe, so nope.

[atomiccollectionanchorme]

Stargate Atlantis - Season 2 Episode 4 "Duet"

Stargate Atlantis | 2x04 Duet

[hearteyesmcgarrett]

after some absolutely ridiculous sleuthing of Rodney's room from Tipper (from the SGA fanart server) and I, we have confirmed the following about Rodney:

he has a PHD in Aeronautical Sciences from Northeastern University

he has a degree (cant tell the level or the field) from MIT

it looks like he has at least 6 diplomas on his wall (two of which are PHDs per canon dialogue)

this means canonically he has degrees in aeronautical sciences, physics, and mechanical engineering

also the name on his diplomas is "Rodney Ingram McKay" lmao

source: Duet

[texasdreamer01]

Per your tags on the reblog of my Trio post: top three SGA episodes you would delete!!!!

Trio, definitely, for all the reasons listed in that post.

Irresistable, because while there are parts of it I enjoyed - John and Rodney doing their schtick, the way it imitates a murder mystery with one person going down after another - it introduces some really skeevy elements and implies a lot of unpleasant things about Rodney that isn't consistent with the rest of the show, particularly outside of when McKeller is being forced onto the audience.

Duet, because all of that could have been handled very differently, and as a whole I'd rather toss it out than attempt to fix what I don't like about it. We also didn't get to see very much of Cadman and Rodney interacting after the solution to the shared body problem, and Cadman shoving Rodney into situations he's uncomfortable with, repeatedly, sets what I think is a bad tone for just a basic lack of dignity. A similar plot device could have been used without the writers' ham-handed gender-based tropes and putting Rodney down.

[autistic-danieljackson]

Another Atlantis thing that I love that they seem to have kind of stopped doing after season 1 is getting to see the characters in their everyday clothes. Like that's they're home, they're obviously not going to be in uniform 24/7 and I love getting to see some personality come through in the choice of clothes that they brought along.

[deadheaddaisy]

Cadman isn't playing!

The gay implications of Lt. Cadman taking over Rodney’s body to kiss a woman AND the gay implications of her taking over Rodney’s body to kiss a man are hilarious. It’s somehow gay no matter what.

[dr-futbol-blog]

The Long Goodbye, Pt. 3

Beckett had called their attention to the fact that Weir seemed to be waking up, and they all gather by her bed to watch her come around. Only, it is not Weir that they encounter as she sits up on the bed. It seems as though we will not see Weir again until the very end of the episode and it is the alien consciousness making use of Weir's memories that is now looking around, trying to make sense of the world as seen through the eyes of another. The woman that looks up at them is a seasoned warrior actively engaged in war, and it could be for this reason that Sheppard is the first one of them to engage her -- and not necessarily because he is the one who most cares about Weir. In fact, Sheppard had originally stopped in his tracks further away from the bed where McKay had stepped much closer to her, and it is possible something about her is tingling Sheppard's "Spidey-sense" now.

Sheppard: You OK? Phoebus: Doctor Weir is fine. Sheppard: Doctor Weir doesn't talk about herself in the third person. Phoebus: She was simply overcome by the effects of the imprinting. Caldwell: Security team to the Infirmary.

Sheppard asks Weir if she is alright, and her answer tells them that they are not communicating with her. We may note that Sheppard takes a step back at this, and not just to get space between himself and Weir but he is actually taking a step around the bed toward McKay. Sheppard is moving to the side in preparation of putting himself between McKay and what ever they are dealing with that has taken possession of Weir's body, and this is important.

Sheppard does not know what is going on, only that something is wrong, and his first instinct is to take a step closer to McKay but because the camera only catches him and requires us to remember where McKay is standing, this gesture is once again purposefully obscured. And yet it happens. They are all alarmed by Weir talking not as herself but as another, her deeper voice alone telling them that they are dealing with someone else, and it is Caldwell that calls for security instead of Sheppard, commander of the Atlantis expedition. It is interesting to contrast their reactions here because Caldwell's immediate concern is for everyone's safety, Sheppard's immediate concern is for the man standing to his right.

Phoebus: That's not necessary, Colonel... Caldwell. She is merely harbouring my consciousness. McKay: Oh, here we go again! Sheppard: And you are...? Phoebus: I am Phoebus. We are a race of explorers. On our journey home our vessel was attacked. Caldwell: By the wraith? Phoebus: Yes.

Referring to Weir and Caldwell by name, it is made clear that who ever this is, she is able to access Weir's memories, although it seems to be taking her some effort to actually dig through them, at least initially. She is talking in a deep, slow cadence that may or may not betray her age (although both of their bodies are dying of old age, we never discover how long they had been in stasis or how old they had been when they had gone under -- but certainly it seems as though they had been waging their war for a long time before going under stasis; regardless, her voice is deeper and rougher than that of Weir), and it at least seems as though she is willing to share information about herself to begin with. From her point of view, she is in a vulnerable position being surrounded by four men, two of whom are warriors and all that are weapons trained, so she is understandably cautious.

While he had already been feeling mighty anxious about Weir, McKay sounds anguished when he interjects with "Here we go again," and it is not clear whether he is referring to the more recent possession of Caldwell by a Goa'uld or to his own possession by the consciousness of Lt. Laura Cadman which, albeit happening a while ago, had been more personal to him. It is also entirely possible the recent experiences with Caldwell, as surrounded by many dramatic twists and turns that he had been personally involved with, had refreshed the memories of his own possession in his mind, and even though he seemed to make peace with Cadman as they had been forced to work together, McKay's tone lets us know that he is still feeling some kind of way about all that. He is still affected by his experiences of having had another consciousness in his brain taking over his body, even though the consciousness in his brain had not only been human but someone he had known and been on friendly terms with -- relatively speaking. Regardless, this seems like an experience McKay is not keen to revisit and does not wish anyone else to have to experience either.

We may also note that although Sheppard initially seems unsure of what to do beyond taking that step closer to McKay, just as soon as he hears the honest anguish in McKay's tone, he starts interrogating what ever consciousness Weir is currently harbouring. We can see that Sheppard wants to look at McKay just as soon as she gives McKay a meaningful look and speaks the word "imprinting" while looking at him because that seems to sound worrisome to him, but he does not actually remove his eyes from Weir because she is the one who presents the threat. He is keeping his eyes fixed on the thing that is posing a danger. But we can tell that he is really wanting to look at McKay, is wanting to exchange thoughts with him, communicate with him, by the way his face keeps turning toward McKay even when he is keeping his eyes fixed on the possessed. Caldwell soon joins in on the interrogation but instead of probing her for information, he actually gives her an opening to lie, which she immediately takes. We learn precious little about her people and whether she and the man in the other pod are even from the same culture, and whether or not they had ever encountered the wraith or had simply wound up destroying each other is left unclear.

Telling these people that they had been attacked by the wraith seems like an easy ploy to gain their sympathy, so she takes it and runs with it. Similarly her description of her people as "a race of explorers" may or may not be true, as the Earthlings have also described themselves as explorers in Pegasus, and in fact "We are peaceful explorers" had been one of the first things they had told the natives back in Rising (S0102). A race of peaceful explorers is certainly something that Weir hopes them to be even if they have been forced to commit the odd war crime here and there, far outside the purview of the Genova Convention as they are. Explorers, on their way home, attacked by the wraith may be the truth but it is also a combination of things that will elicit the sympathy of every person standing around her, but possibly especially Sheppard -- and McKay. By now, she must know that she is going to need the help of McKay if she is to get them to open the other pod, and looking at McKay's expression, it seems to be working.

Phoebus: We were forced to abandon ship and launch our life pods. If this has happened to me, then I've been adrift for some time and the pod has determined my body is beyond resuscitation. Beckett: You're quite correct. Phoebus: Then for all intents and purposes I am already dead. Beckett: I'm sorry. Phoebus: So am I.

The tragic fact of the matter is that they are talking to the ghost of a dead woman and she knows this to be true herself. She has already expired and is now communicating with them from beyond the grave. As a doctor, Beckett is attempting to navigate the situation with empathy even though he has never had to deliver news quite like this before. We see Caldwell look at Sheppard, seeming to need to exchange a glance with him probably related to the wraith and how much of a security threat this presents to them. Sheppard quickly glances back but his focus is on the alien, he is interested in the immediate problem and not what might be coming at them down the line. McKay seems to be hanging on to her every word, for some reason especially affected by her story and, as mentioned, because she needs him, it is possible that she is trying to elicit his sympathy in particular.

As she mentions the life pods McKay looks at Sheppard, seeming to hold his gaze for a long time even though we never get to see Sheppard looking back at him. It is possible that he is remembering the Ancient warship Aurora where the crew had been forced into their life pods while they had been fleeing from the wraith, even if the life pods had never been launched out of the ship. They had likewise been adrift for 10,000 years, their bodies too old and frail to resuscitate, the experience of encountering these people in a state of living death something that had been shared by the two of them -- but which he knows had been especially harrowing for Sheppard who had formed some kind of a connection with the Captain. Sheppard was the one who had been forced to tell him the news that he was basically dead, as Beckett is now forced to tell her. And it may be for this very reason, because Sheppard is so overcome with emotion remembering the events on the ship that he does not know how to deal with, that he seems to come across as extra-brusque toward her now. He makes it sound as though he does not even care that she has died and is having to mourn her own death right in front of them, even though he is obviously as affected by this as the others, if not more.

Sheppard: Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're all very sorry. Where's Elizabeth? Phoebus: She is here also. Caldwell: And I suppose you'd like us to take your word for that? Phoebus: Would you like to speak with her? Sheppard: Yes, we would. Caldwell: Doctor Weir?

Sheppard "yada-yada-yadas" over her whole existential crisis in a manner that is really rather rude and is borne most of all out of his inability to express his feelings. Many people again interpret this as coming from his special regard for Weir; he is so anxious to speak with her that he has no time to hear some dead woman's sad tale about her own mortality. But it is more likely that he is so affected by it, by the heaviness of her story and everything else that it reminds him of, that instead of dwelling on these feelings he feels the need to repress them immediately and hence comes across as callous. He would rather be dealing with their immediate problem than wallow in his feelings and hence mows right over the sentiments of the recently deceased. "Carter" had told McKay that he never listens and is bad with people, and here we see that Sheppard is exactly the same. It is not that he does not care, it is that he does not know how to express, what do you call them, feelings. They all find this very sad, they are all worried for Weir, and Sheppard even says as much. He says that they are all very sorry, and he means it, it is just that his tone again comes across as sarcastic because he needs that distance that the sarcasm allows him to keep to actually expressing genuine emotion.

But it is ironic that people interpret this as Sheppard having special feelings toward Weir when the point of this whole scene is to show that while they all care about her, not one of them really knows her. Not one among them knows her well enough to be able to tell the difference between her and someone who is using her memories and knowledge of them to perform her to them. The entire resolution of the episode is about how even Teyla, who does know Sheppard very well, is not able to quite tell whether it is him or the alien pretending to be him. Phoebus and Thalen are able to fool everyone -- everyone -- that they pretend that they are Weir and Sheppard to, which is precisely why we do not get a scene between Thalen and McKay in this episode. We do not get a scene in which Thalen has to convince McKay that he is Sheppard. I want to emphasize this here, just as we are about to get our first scene in which Phoebus convinces every one of them that she is really Weir. What they get here is not Weir, it is Phoebus pretending to be Weir. Her performance of Weir is just that little bit off that we can tell it is not her, but none of the men currently in her life can tell. And it seems as though Caldwell is the only one of them to even have suspicions.

Phoebus: Oh! Oh, it's OK, Carson. I'm, I'm fine. Sheppard: Elizabeth? I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but there's another... Phoebus: I know. Her name is Phoebus. McKay: You seem remarkably sanguine about all this. Phoebus: Well, the imprinting will only last a matter of hours.

We have noted previously that if Sheppard is bad at expressing his emotions, Weir suffers from a similar affliction. This may be one of the reasons that it is so easy for Phoebus to fool them into believing that they are now talking with Weir. She does not let people close to her easily, and it becomes a problem in a moment like this.

Out of the men gathered around her, Beckett simply likes to believe that people are truthful, Caldwell expresses some initial suspicion before she "allows" Weir to take over, and Sheppard seems to believe that it is her outright. Sheppard is speaking to her as though he were really speaking with Weir. It is McKay who, let us note, has known Weir the longest that actually expresses some suspicion toward her behaviour, pointing out that she is behaving out of character. He uses the term "remarkably sanguine," as though it is her disposition that is irregular, and his choice of words means that at least a portion of the audience will not catch on to what is happening here. This episode is about knowing someone regardless of their physical appearance, and we see here that McKay seems to know her the best. But even he does not know her well enough that he could not be fooled by someone who has access to her memories and experiences.

Phoebus: The other pod, Phoebus urgently desires to be here when we bring the other pod back to Atlantis. Sheppard: Why? Phoebus: She believes it's her husband. Caldwell: Husband? Phoebus: He escaped the ship, she's certain of it and...

Although Sheppard does not seem to doubt that Weir is who she claims to be, he is nonetheless suspicious of this alien consciousness and seems especially cautious of bringing in the other pod, having seen what had happened with the first one -- McKay having been just as close to the pod as Weir. He does not think that Weir is lying to them but is not sure that the alien consciousness is not lying to her for nefarious purposes. Sheppard knows that bringing in the other pod will require McKay to work on it and we have seen time and time again that he does not like taking chances with McKay's safety. And so Phoebus begins spinning a yarn. Now, the interpersonal relationship between Phoebus and Thalen is never made explicit. She calls him her husband, then calls him the enemy and that she had only used this ruse to get them to revive him so that she could kill him herself, but it is also obvious that they have a long history between them, that they know each other intimately. But whether or not they have an intimate relationship, the reason she is telling them about her husband now is to get access to him.

If we assume Thalen is someone that she hates so much that even realizing that she has died and the man is about to die soon as well, she still wants to see him suffer before he dies, then it must be important for her to see this through. It seems to be important enough to lie about it, to fool these people into thinking that they would not just be doing her a favour but participating in this romantic narrative, this love story. Of all the things that she could have used as an excuse to get them to open the other pod (he might have been their greatest scientist who possessed the cure to space cancer or free energy or any number of things), she chooses this story, and this is an important point: she is not choosing this angle because she thinks it is what Weir would find convincing but it is the angle that she, based on Weir's knowledge of the men now standing around her bed, thinks would convince them.

She thinks that this love story angle will convince especially Sheppard and McKay, because the first has to make the call and the second has to open the pod. Phoebus uses a love story to get Sheppard and McKay to do her bidding because that is everything that Weir knows about them told her to do. And it works. We already see McKay looking helplessly around the room when the word "husband" is spoken because he does not seem to know where to look, just knowing that it is not safe to look at Sheppard. And make note of how Beckett, who we have noted previously knows that his best friend is gay, glances at McKay when she says the word, and McKay very quickly acknowledges his look. What on Earth would make Beckett think about McKay when the word "husband" gets spoken? It certainly is not all the girls that he is getting. But it gets even more interesting then.

Phoebus: ...the rush of emotion is... it's overwhelming. Sheppard: I can imagine. McKay: No, no, you can't. Sheppard: No... I can't.

This really should have been their first clue, because Weir is not expressive with her emotions like this. Even with the love of her life Simon we never saw her like this. And just to emphasize, this is Phoebus putting on a performance that she is hoping will convince Sheppard and McKay, the two of them in particular, into helping her get access to the pod and its contents. She is performing for them. The mainstream viewer thinks that Sheppard is somehow moved by watching Weir being emotional and romantic here when she is making these two men imagine what it feels like to miss a husband. She is inviting them to empathize with her in the expectation of being reunited with the husband that she thought she had lost, to be able to get her man back one last time. She is basing this on the memories of Weir, who we may note, had been there when Sheppard thought that McKay had died and she had been there when McKay was fearing for Sheppard's life. The math is not that hard here.

Sheppard and McKay have a curious exchange here. The implication seems to be that McKay is referring to Cadman. He has experienced what it is like to be possessed by someone, which is what Weir is experiencing now, and as Weir tells them that she is being overcome by someone else's emotions and Sheppard seems to be saying he can imagine what it feels like, McKay is telling him that he really cannot imagine. Although Cadman and McKay never had access to each other's thoughts or memories, it seems as though the physical sensations they experienced gave them some indication into the other's emotions and McKay certainly could experience some spill-over for example from Cadman having used his body to kiss his best friend in front of his entire science crew, but how much of Cadman's actual emotions McKay ever had access to is another question.

However, Sheppard does not seem to be referring to that. He is not saying that he can imagine what a rush of emotion feels like, let alone what the rush of emotion of another consciousness feels like. Because he is caught up in the romantic yarn that she is spinning, he is saying that he can imagine what the rush of emotion of when you are reunited with someone you love that you thought you had lost feels like, and Sheppard has not just experienced this very thing, he has experienced it recently. In fact, Sheppard has experienced this very thing (which is precisely why she is using this ploy, she is playing them) more times than most people. The rush of emotion when you thought you had lost the love of your life only to have them returned to you, Sheppard is basically a pro at that. He has experienced that more times than he has gotten a new pair of combat boots.

That feeling, that rush of emotion, is so familiar to him that he does not even hear what he is saying here, in front of his superior officer. He cannot hear it but McKay can. And McKay is telling him "No, no you can't," not to say that this is something that Sheppard is unfamiliar with, he is not telling Sheppard what he can and can not imagine feeling. He is saying "No, you can't talk about husbands in front of Caldwell, how are you so bad at this?" McKay, who is much better at flying under the radar about the whole not asking and not telling affair with the military, is telling Sheppard "Ix-nay on missing the usband-hay". He is not trying to invalidate Sheppard's feelings here, he is trying to protect his career.

And just as soon as Sheppard realizes what he had been saying, we see him back-pedal full strength, looking slightly panicked. His reaction is not "Oh, I'm sorry I invalidated your feelings of being possessed by Cadman" because we know that his sentiments on that are "When are you going to stop being creeped out by her?" No, his reaction is more "Abort! Abort! I take it back!" And this harks back to the previous scene where we had seen how surprised and taken aback McKay had been with Caldwell's surprise visit. He had not been prepared to see him there because it meant that the two of them had to adjust their behaviour. And it is obvious Sheppard had needed this time to adjust his behaviour as well. At the same time, this shows us just how expertly Phoebus is using Weir's knowledge to play each and every one of them.

Phoebus: John, I'd like you to try. Phoebus has a favour she would like to ask of you.

After referencing this rush of emotion one feels toward a husband, Phoebus uses Weir's knowledge of Sheppard to suggests to him that this is something that he might want to try. We have noted before that Weir seems to think that Sheppard is gay-gay, and she seems to enjoy being in on his secret. She seems to like having little inside jokes with him about his preference for men, and this could well be Phoebus attempting to do the same to him using Weir's memories of their relationship with each other. We see Weir wagging her brows impishly here as she suggests that Sheppard takes another man inside of him, and Sheppard does not seem to know how to react to this at all. Not just the proposition that he take an alien consciousness inside but her joking about him taking a guy in front of Caldwell -- we can see that this is an issue in how he very subtly glances at Caldwell to see his reaction to what she had just said at the end of the scene. Caldwell is not his confidante in the room, the person he looks at when he needs advise or support -- Caldwell is a representative of the military that does not have a sense of humour about these things.

So again, we have to make it clear that although they all think this is Weir that is talking to them, it is actually Phoebus, we are confirmed as much at the end of the episode. This is an important episode for people who enjoy the dynamic between Sheppard and Weir, the traditional unresolved tension between male lead and female co-star. They get to do a whole Mr and Mrs Smith routine, so it must mean that there is some romantic tension between the characters, yes? I have written about the reasons why they could never had pursued this relationship on the show due to the whole military-entertainment complex and how it would have been morally bankrupt, but the way they play out this episode allowed them to tease "the ship" without committing to anything, to use the kiss as a ratings grab without having to compromise the characters or the central story. But this episode is not about Sheppard and Weir's relationship. Theirs is not the long goodbye on the show.

It is important to note that it is not Weir who makes the choice on who to get as Thalen's avatar but Phoebus, based on the information that Weir has. It is not Weir who chooses Sheppard but Phoebus. And it seems as though she is not looking for a husband but someone to kill -- So the question is, why choose the most capable soldier among them? It could of course be that she wants a challenge. But out of the men gathered around her bed, she knows that she would never be able to convince Beckett to do it, nor would the others let him. They need McKay to spring Thalen loose and again Sheppard would never let him undergo the experience. Caldwell and McKay also have recent experiences of being possessed that they are likely reluctant to re-experience. At the same time, although it is not true for the show given his status as a protagonist, Sheppard is also the most expendable of the four men.

Phoebus intends on killing him, and his Ancient gene aside, Sheppard is the easiest of them to replace -- in fact his replacement is standing right there next to him. He had been promoted ahead of schedule, and given that she has access to Weir's memories, Phoebus may even know that in the case both of them died, Sheppard would be replaced anyway. Sheppard is only commander because of her, and if she is not around, neither will he be. So it is not because Weir is just so smitten with Sheppard that she wants him to try on the husband of the woman hanging out inside her mind like a Sunday suit, it is that Phoebus thinks that Sheppard is the most expendable. And again they are lucky that she does not pick McKay, even though he might have been just as easy to catch with this romantic yarn that she is spinning (and in fact, she is using the romantic story to get him to open the pod; to pull this off she needs him too). If either one had picked McKay as their avatar, they would be lucky if the Daedalus currently circling the solar system at a wide orbit would have survived.

Continued in Pt. 4

[twotales]

Jfc Radek yelling at Rodney in this episode is hot af

[deadheaddaisy]

What’re your most rewatched ENT episodes? What about your most rewatched Stargate episodes? (And do you think those have anything in common, like similar plotlines or similar themes?)

Oooh, now that's something I hadn't ever considered. Let me see.

By now you should know that I don't do anything by half measures. So I managed to cull my list down from over 200 to 79 of my most-replayed episodes (and this does not mean they are the highest-rated or best, just what I rewatch regularly, sometimes for certain scenes only, sometimes because they're good in the background). I went for both SG-1 and Atlantis as they both overlap with Enterprise in air-dates (The Storm overlaps with Babel One and Unending in timing, for one, and now I feel really ancient since SGA is 20 years old and the others are way older).

Green shows my go-to, will always rewatch these when I need something on. The other colours don't really matter for the purposes of this ask.

Most of these are quite action- or humour-heavy. Hathor and Bound are very much "the guys get brainwashed by pheromones" though I find the women of the SGC far more capable than Enterprise's in taking back their base (knocking out several men to do so, partly out of frustration and partly to stop being attacked themselves). There's also the issue of consent and what happened to Daniel, though that's kind of sidelined. 

Friendship and found family are big, big drawcards, and there are several excellent episodes across all three series that highlight this, which is what I love most of all in my shows. Fighting back against a takeover makes an appearance across all three, too, which makes Foothold, Prometheus, the Storm arc, and Midway so enticing in Stargate; and Shockwave, The Catwalk, and Chosen Realm (okay, the second half, as the first half makes my blood boil) in Enterprise. 

On the whole, I'd say most of these episodes either show the crew/team/individuals kicking ass and taking names, or facing natural disasters (especially Inferno), alien threats, or war time. I also love individuals showing their true natures and growth (hence both versions of Proving Ground, Death Knell - Samantha Carter is an absolute badass in this one - Sleeping Dogs, the Romulan/Andorian arc, Malcolm's Section 31 arc, Rodney's sister episodes (David Hewlett and his sister bring their true sibling dynamics to both).

And then humour, of course. John Billingsley is a hoot in The Other Guys and Bound (and I love Phlox in all the Enterprise episodes, natch), and then Rodney's performance in Duet and Harmony makes my day. And Window of Opportunity, Wormhole X-Treme and 200 are among the very best of SG-1's line-up. 

I am a big fan of (space)ships, hence my love of episodes introducing these (aside from the NX-01 and NX-02, naturally). Thor's Chariot introduces us to the sexy beast that is a Biliskner-class Asgard warship, with Earth's Prometheus making two appearances; in Enterprise's Proving Ground we see the Kumari Andorian warship (and then again in Babel One, getting the living hell blown out of it, sadly); and in SGA, an Aurora-class battle cruiser in Inferno (not to mention the Daedelus showing up in The Siege). 

I love Marauders because it shows Malcolm in his element, being an actual tactician and playing with his big guns; while Hoshi shows how all that training he gave her made her a crack shot; even if the whole Klingon storyline doesn't do much for me.

Vox Sola introduces my rarepair and I dig it for Hoshi and T'Pol's interactions (also in Sleeping Dogs, plus Hoshi insisting on using all the torpedoes). For me that's very much a Death Knell and Upgrade kind of situation - and Foothold, go Sam yet again! - for SG-1. And then Elizabeth and John facing off in The Long Goodbye - the diplomat against the military leader? Yes, please. Plus, the kiss! 

I have Exile in there even though I hate the stupid nightgown-wearing what the hell because it's such a Hoshi-Malcolm-centric episode, right down to Tarquin using an avatar that looks very much like Malcolm - short, dark-haired, light-eyed. I imagine Hoshi feels safe around Malcolm so Tarquin uses that look as part of his stratagem to trick her into feeling at ease. And also because Hoshi shows just how tough she actually is when her people are threatened.

This is already way too long an answer, or I'd go through every episode, but as you can see, several of them cross over in themes, across all three series, and it depends on what I'm looking for at the time.

Thanks for the ask!

[atomiccollectionanchorme]

Stargate Atlantis - Season 2 Episode 4 "- "Duet", Rodney McKay, Carson Beckett

SGA s02e04 - Duet

This is my favorite episode. David Hewlett is an amazing actor. Oh gosh I was laughing so hard during it.

And the kiss!!!

Best. Episode. Ever.

[wideeyedloner]

SGA The Shrine

I’d heard a lot about this episode and I finally got there. I think I must have abandoned SGA before I got to this point during the original run because I would have remembered an episode that had me crying almost the entire time.

I wish that instead of getting rid of so much of the main cast and replacing them with other characters who didn't add much besides unnecessary bureaucratical drama or comphet romantic side plots, the showrunners had kept the original cast and focused on giving the team solid, emotional stories.

The Shrine, like S2E4 Duet and S4E1 Adrift, grapples with issues of identity and agency, further exploring what happens when you lose those things.

As McKay loses the mental capabilities he so prides himself on, his entire personality changes. He’s painfully aware of his decline and he clings to Sheppard, even going to his room in the middle of the night for comfort. He grieves himself and doesn’t want to be seen or remembered as the person he will become, trying to say goodbye in advance. Eventually, he's bedridden and barely able to make conversation.

And John Sheppard, the man who refused to discuss McKay's potential eulogy in S3E14 Tao of Rodney and refused to say goodbye earlier in this episode, is at McKay's bedside. There's no suicide run for him to make, no Genii to kill, no prisoner to talk into self-sacrifice to guarantee the safety of someone he loves. For the first time, we see him near tears.