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I can see why some people object or are disappointed; once again, the key may be low expectations. But wow, this episode went well beyond my expectations, despite some flaws.
First, an admission: I feel so stupid! After making a fuss about the new uniforms and how Deep Space 9 used that to show Julian Bashir had been taken long before the episode in which we see the real Julian again, I totally failed to notice at the appropriate time that we saw the team wearing old uniforms. Husband figured out we were watching the wrong team virtually right away (but also failed to note the uniforms). He feels Brilliant. Good.
The negatives: I don't want to dwell on these too much because I'm just so full of squee!
1. Yes, it looks a lot like "Tin Man" and "Double Jeopardy." I'm willing to forgive that, because I was really surprised by why these Replicators had done what they had--although I shouldn't be. Most artificial life forms in SF really just want to be Real Boys and Girls. (And who wouldn't? Not Oberoth, apparently. Well, sour grapes on his part.)
2. The 'fake' team takes the hit for the real team? Was that necessary? I will give them credit for a couple of things, though:
a. RepliTeam feels real, but they're suffering from existential angst--and they know they can never have full lives on Atlantis. RepliJohn and -Rodney can never go back to their 'home' galaxy. It's quite a blow. Also, when it comes down to it, they're all willing to sacrifice themselves for their teammates or their city. That's what they do.
b. Partial credit for not showing them dying. Perhaps the Replicators keep them for further study. Was that an anti-Replicator weapon? I thought it was, but![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
friendshipper said "stunner", and maybe the ARGs were bigger. If they were ARGs, they would kill the nanites, but not the people--I think.
3. Not so great a cliffhanger. I can live with that, because I'm actually tired of "we're all going to die in the next five seconds" cliffhangers: we know they aren't. I can't dodge all the spoilers; if any of them were buying the farm, I'd know it. I knew months in advance that we were losing Carson, and that Weir wasn't going to be around anymore.
An observation: it's unfortunate that Rachel Luttrell is showing as much as she is. But I respect that the show is working around it. Honestly, there are stories of soaps and other shows firing actresses for getting pregnant, and some stories of them telling them they had to get abortions. I love that they're writing in the pregnancy. But RepliTeyla can't be pregnant, so they pretend she's not showing. I'm good with that. And I really, really want to see her tell her team! But I'm glad they didn't try to crowd it into this episode, which was, asfriendshipper has said, very heavy on dialogue (and exposition).
A second observation: not having Amanda Tapping for six episodes this season is very awkward; she should have been there to approve the mission to meet with Elizabeth. They could have avoided this by doing the whole ep from RepliTeam's point of view, but then we'd have lost the scene of our team seeing Elizabeth on the screen.
The good:
I felt Torri Higginson wasn't a very good actress when she started. I think she has grown a lot in the role, and I'm sorry to see her (probably) go.
The rogue Replicators are really materialistic: they think matter is what matters. They believe they can't ascend because they aren't real flesh and blood. I think their views on the soul are odd, to say the least, but believable from their perspective.
I loved RepliRodney's reaction to finding Elizabeth, and later the real John and Rodney's reaction to seeing her onscreen. Character moments are the first things to go when they starting cutting on any Stargate show, but we got those moments last night. (More fuel for my husband's insistence that Rodney is in love with Elizabeth; I don't agree, but he's happy, so I'm happy. I think he loves her, but it's not romantic love, so much.)
I loved the team greet. Two Rodneys! "We can't both be wrong!" Actually, you can, Rodneys: the word is "output," and I'm not convinced it's a verb. If it were, the word would still be "output"; it's not "put, putted"; it's "put, put." Loved their conversation about uniforms. And I loved the two Johns, torn between suspicion and "finally, someone who knows what McKay puts me through!"
I loved the recurring characters being used so well. Not-Lorne was just off enough to be convincing, and I liked watching Jewel Staite slip between the slightly ditzy (hey, smart people can be ditzy too!) Dr. Keller and RepliKeller ("She stopped ditzing around," I said). And Radek--ah, Radek, who was very almost-Radek.
Of course, I've saved the best for last. The final scene, with Rodney and Radek, gave us what some of us have wanted for months: acknowledgment that losing Carson hurt deeply, and the characters don't forget or even just get over it. Losing Elizabeth just when they thought they'd found her again only makes things worse. And Rodney has become so much more self-aware! He knows full well what he's doing, burying himself in work: "one of the perks of the job." But he appreciates Radek trying to help, he says so, and he says he's not ready to talk yet. Rodney is a work in progress. David Nykl is great. David Hewlett is the greatest.
First, an admission: I feel so stupid! After making a fuss about the new uniforms and how Deep Space 9 used that to show Julian Bashir had been taken long before the episode in which we see the real Julian again, I totally failed to notice at the appropriate time that we saw the team wearing old uniforms. Husband figured out we were watching the wrong team virtually right away (but also failed to note the uniforms). He feels Brilliant. Good.
The negatives: I don't want to dwell on these too much because I'm just so full of squee!
1. Yes, it looks a lot like "Tin Man" and "Double Jeopardy." I'm willing to forgive that, because I was really surprised by why these Replicators had done what they had--although I shouldn't be. Most artificial life forms in SF really just want to be Real Boys and Girls. (And who wouldn't? Not Oberoth, apparently. Well, sour grapes on his part.)
2. The 'fake' team takes the hit for the real team? Was that necessary? I will give them credit for a couple of things, though:
a. RepliTeam feels real, but they're suffering from existential angst--and they know they can never have full lives on Atlantis. RepliJohn and -Rodney can never go back to their 'home' galaxy. It's quite a blow. Also, when it comes down to it, they're all willing to sacrifice themselves for their teammates or their city. That's what they do.
b. Partial credit for not showing them dying. Perhaps the Replicators keep them for further study. Was that an anti-Replicator weapon? I thought it was, but
friendshipper said "stunner", and maybe the ARGs were bigger. If they were ARGs, they would kill the nanites, but not the people--I think.3. Not so great a cliffhanger. I can live with that, because I'm actually tired of "we're all going to die in the next five seconds" cliffhangers: we know they aren't. I can't dodge all the spoilers; if any of them were buying the farm, I'd know it. I knew months in advance that we were losing Carson, and that Weir wasn't going to be around anymore.
An observation: it's unfortunate that Rachel Luttrell is showing as much as she is. But I respect that the show is working around it. Honestly, there are stories of soaps and other shows firing actresses for getting pregnant, and some stories of them telling them they had to get abortions. I love that they're writing in the pregnancy. But RepliTeyla can't be pregnant, so they pretend she's not showing. I'm good with that. And I really, really want to see her tell her team! But I'm glad they didn't try to crowd it into this episode, which was, as
friendshipper has said, very heavy on dialogue (and exposition).A second observation: not having Amanda Tapping for six episodes this season is very awkward; she should have been there to approve the mission to meet with Elizabeth. They could have avoided this by doing the whole ep from RepliTeam's point of view, but then we'd have lost the scene of our team seeing Elizabeth on the screen.
The good:
I felt Torri Higginson wasn't a very good actress when she started. I think she has grown a lot in the role, and I'm sorry to see her (probably) go.
The rogue Replicators are really materialistic: they think matter is what matters. They believe they can't ascend because they aren't real flesh and blood. I think their views on the soul are odd, to say the least, but believable from their perspective.
I loved RepliRodney's reaction to finding Elizabeth, and later the real John and Rodney's reaction to seeing her onscreen. Character moments are the first things to go when they starting cutting on any Stargate show, but we got those moments last night. (More fuel for my husband's insistence that Rodney is in love with Elizabeth; I don't agree, but he's happy, so I'm happy. I think he loves her, but it's not romantic love, so much.)
I loved the team greet. Two Rodneys! "We can't both be wrong!" Actually, you can, Rodneys: the word is "output," and I'm not convinced it's a verb. If it were, the word would still be "output"; it's not "put, putted"; it's "put, put." Loved their conversation about uniforms. And I loved the two Johns, torn between suspicion and "finally, someone who knows what McKay puts me through!"
I loved the recurring characters being used so well. Not-Lorne was just off enough to be convincing, and I liked watching Jewel Staite slip between the slightly ditzy (hey, smart people can be ditzy too!) Dr. Keller and RepliKeller ("She stopped ditzing around," I said). And Radek--ah, Radek, who was very almost-Radek.
Of course, I've saved the best for last. The final scene, with Rodney and Radek, gave us what some of us have wanted for months: acknowledgment that losing Carson hurt deeply, and the characters don't forget or even just get over it. Losing Elizabeth just when they thought they'd found her again only makes things worse. And Rodney has become so much more self-aware! He knows full well what he's doing, burying himself in work: "one of the perks of the job." But he appreciates Radek trying to help, he says so, and he says he's not ready to talk yet. Rodney is a work in progress. David Nykl is great. David Hewlett is the greatest.
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