SGA 4.2, "Lifeline"

[bironic]

Man, why does this show have to be on so late?

Well, the thing with Elizabeth went pretty much as badly as Sheppard and Elizabeth had feared. He didn't even get a clean kill out of it, painful as that would have been. No closure; no certainty that the Replicators aren't extracting extremely damaging information out of Elizabeth, even if they're also busy with their new goal of attacking the Wraith. Completely FUBAR. That scene where Sheppard and Rodney were back in Atlantis' control room, trying to pick planets? You could see the both of them struggling to make decisions and move forward to save the city while knowing that at that very moment, Elizabeth was probably being tortured and/or having her entire being "reprogrammed" because (a) Rodney activated the nanites instead of letting her die last week, (b) John didn't kill her on sight as soon as he realized what had happened, and (c) Rodney and John agreed to push their luck and carry out the mission to upload the Wraith activation code*. I know it's more complicated than that, and that if they hadn't reactivated the nanites, they wouldn't have been able to infiltrate the Replicators' homeworld and save the city with the stolen ZPM, but I imagine they're both feeling the weight of their guilt.

*Although: What the heck kind of explanation was it that Elizabeth couldn't have a second chance to help them with that part of the plan? The Replicators would trace the ZPM theft back to her? How?? Not buying it.

I liked Elizabeth and John's conversation before they shipped out. It confirmed that the two of them were on the same page about her tenuous lease on life and the necessity of shutting her down the moment the Replicators connected to her, which supports John's assertion to Rodney last week that he understood her better than Rodney did. Interesting how, face to face, John wavered when Elizabeth made him promise to kill her; last week, he was the one insisting on it, the one who had his gun out when he walked into the infirmary to see what happened when she woke**, and while he still held firm tonight, making sure Rodney stayed with her in the 'jumper and flipped the switch when the time came, he still looked sad and hesitant when Elizabeth spoke to him about it, and it seemed like more than just the discomfort of agreeing you'll kill someone to their face.

** Thank you for pointing that out, moonlash_cc!

HUGE BONUS POINTS for yet more gender inversion with (fake!)Sheppard in the prison cell. You had him forced to his knees, again, the damsel in distress, again, held still while the physically imposing, domineering, sneering man-villain penetrated him, taking what he desired by force, and all Sheppard could do was wince. Until the assailant found himself inexplicably impotent. And then Sheppard morphed into a woman and laughed at him and told him he'd underestimated her. YES.

Also, first, we had Rodney say "penetrate," and then Sheppard called him on it. Then we had Rodney harping on needing to find the right angle and position so they didn't burn up on entry. Then we had him yelling, "Nice kiss." And I think at one point Sheppard said "I need you..." or "I want you..." with that slight pause, followed by (paraphrase) "to stay in the jumper and keep an eye on Elizabeth." All obvious, perhaps, but still silly and enjoyable for subtext, which was surely put in on purpose, along with all the other 'shippy biscuits.

WTF happened to David Nykl's accent? It's been spotty before, including a few wince-worthy lines in the season premiere, but today it completely fell apart.

I wish the last balcony scene had been Sheppard and McKay instead of Sheppard and Carter. Probably people are going to harp on it for setting the stage for Carter coming between them, usurping their friendship/antagonism/shared screen time as the season progresses. I do hope that's not the case, but I don't mind her in general. It's just that Sheppard and McKay had numerous serious issues they needed to discuss, or pointedly not discuss, e.g. Elizabeth being captured and/or dead and their joint roles in that and Rodney having once again overestimated the extent of his power over technology and the fact that they're on a new planet now and..., and instead we skipped over that and had a scene about five moons and a promotion. The scene itself wasn't bad, but it felt too light for a conclusion without having also addressed some of the other subjects. Perhaps Sheppard and Rodney's continuing tension was meant to suffice (most palpable as they bickered during the landing, until Carter stepped in and congratulated Sheppard for his successful landing, because McKay obviously wasn't going to do it).

P.S. Carter, it's "General Landry wants Dr. Lee and me," not "Dr. Lee and I." Thanks!

Bill Lee made a fun entry point for us fans, with his excitement over going off-world through the gate, and his taking pictures of -- well, the Apollo. *g* I thought it was cute.

So the Replicators may ease the burden of the battle against the Wraith for the rest of the Pegasus civilizations. I wonder if it'll work. What happens if/when they run out of Wraith? Or when they reprogram themselves again and decide to attack someone else?

Ronon was fun tonight -- losing patience with McKay, making Zelenka nervous just by being huge, being all Serious Commando with the ZPM container and enemy-disarming and hallway-scouting, stepping forward when Oberoth walked into the cell (even though it wasn't technically Ronon), comforting Teyla. Oh, Teyla. *sniff* Despite the fact that her friendship with Elizabeth was inserted in the past two episodes, her crying scene was still moving.

(Where did she disappear to while the returned team chose planets at the end, though? She was supposed to be in charge of the city before, and then she wasn't even there. Or if she was there, she didn't contribute anything. Boo.)

HEY, I WONDER WHO WILL TAKE OVER ELIZABETH'S POSITION, NUDGE NUDGE, OTHER WOMAN IN CHARGE WHOM SHEPPARD ASKED EARLIER TO RUN THE CITY IN HIS ABSENCE. ( = unsubtle)

The heist felt a bit Firefly-y to me, in a good way. Specifically, "Ariel": the blue and gray futuristic city, the tension of infiltrating an advanced society whose inhabitants would very much like to capture you if they knew you were there, the covert ops, the mission going wrong, the escape. That's about where it ends, though. So mostly the blue and gray futuristic city with underlying tension. ETA: And Rodney's leaf reference as they struggled to land the city echoed Wash's mantra in Serenity. "I am a leaf on the wind; watch how I soar." *SLAM*

Re: next week's preview: One of Ronon's old friends is the guy from Iron Chef, isn't it? The acrobatic host who announces the secret ingredient and the winner? Ha! I love him. ETA: It totally is! I am psyched; he can out-hot much of the SGA cast. It kind of makes me want to write Ronon/his character slash already.


ETA: linabean's review

Comments

[nightdog-barks.livejournal.com]

One of Ronon's old friends is the guy from Iron Chef, isn't it?

*has fallen over laughing and iz ded*

AND THE SECRET INGREDIENT IS ... (whips the tarpaulin cover off a gigantic aquarium tank) ... MAN-EATING GLOW-WORM EELS FROM M39-584!!

God, we used to love watching Iron Chef. Until we lived in Japan, and discovered all those "secret ingredients"? Were real. Heh.

I liked this episode overall. Thought the underlying tension between John and Rodney was well-played. The fake-Sheppard bit in the holding cell fooled me, and I thought it was carried off believably. Can I say that I liked Rodney raising his hands in surrender?

I still want to get to a Rodney-centric episode, sooner rather than later, but (granted that it's only two episodes in) I'm happy so far. I really do like this series.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Me too! Even if I still think these first two episodes were a bit slow and occasionally clunky and/or plot hole-y.

The fake-Sheppard bit in the holding cell fooled me, and I thought it was carried off believably.

It got me too, right up until the meld didn't work, and when it cut to John asking if there was a problem, I remembered there'd been that John-to-Elizabeth morph in last week's preview.

Though, one day, this show may cave and do a hallucination-within-hallucination-within-hallucination-type episode, which they didn't try in "Home" or "Progeny."

Can I say that I liked Rodney raising his hands in surrender?

You certainly may. :) I had some personal squee moments during the cell scene, because of that fic I'm working on. I totally called Rodney backing up against the wall and placing himself behind Sheppard when the Replicators enter the cell, and also Sheppard being the kind of guy to say, "The hell I will!" (earlier in the 'jumper) and such. Little details, but they make me feel good for being in alignment.

p.s. Iron Chef guy is confirmed, hee. Sounds like you've got a cracky AU idea right there.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Thumbs up from me and Mr. Laundry. One small thing that made me laugh was when Sheppard & Ronon were running through the halls of the Replicator tower and they were the EXACT SAME sets as for Atlantis. Then I remembered the line a few minutes back about the Replicators loving to copy things the Ancients did, and I laughed harder.

The "nice kiss" line was totally a HoYay insert, I agree. Some people have been complaining the last two weeks that there's too much blatant HoYay-pandering in House, but that line tonight in SGA blows everything done on House out of the water in terms of shout-out. Except maybe the "Romantic weekend in the Poconos" bit. No, I reverse myself. Even that was a little bit less obvious. I knew the second Rodney started talking about a goddamn leaf that the writers were setting something up. But still I liked it!

[kensieg.livejournal.com]

the only series is more obvious about this is Torchwood.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

they were the EXACT SAME sets as for Atlantis.

*g* It certainly brings down the cost of filming. In "Progeny," the Replicators' first episode, it's established that they built a replica of Atlantis for themselves, and then expanded into the city you saw last night.

Some people have been complaining the last two weeks that there's too much blatant HoYay-pandering in House

Some people need to lighten up! The nice thing about the 'shippy jokes in both shows is that they're completely interpretable in both ways: they work as wink-wink 'ship references from writers to fans, but they also work perfectly well within a non-'shippy context. Cool!military!Sheppard was poking fun at sex-starved/clueless/geek!Rodney's use of the word "penetrate"; Wilson had a somewhat terrified moment where he thought House was coming on to him, and they both backed right off.

[roga.livejournal.com]

Wilson had a somewhat terrified moment where he thought House was coming on to him, and they both backed right off.

What what, where?

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

[roga.livejournal.com]

I'd forgotten about that! (It's moments like this that make me go oh, RSL instead of oh, Wilson.) Thanks :-)

[dangomango.livejournal.com]

Some people have been complaining the last two weeks that there's too much blatant HoYay-pandering in House People complain about that? *g*

[roga.livejournal.com]

I... forgot everything I wanted to say, but I loved your review. Also, word on Zelenka's accent.

I'm kinda pleased with what they're doing with Sam. She's not imposing - I get that this was just a prologue, in a way, so I can accept the fact that the Sam and the team plotlines haven't really been meshing yet. And with Keller, now - I think Sam, Teyla and Keller banding up could be completely adorable. Very yay.

John and Elizabeth in this episode = love. Although, god, first Ford, now Elizabeth MIA? And first Sumner, and now another superior sacrificed? Poor John. Poor John's record.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

LOL. I wonder if the SGC will pin Elizabeth's loss on John. It wasn't his fault that Rodney disobeyed a direct order, but the nanite reactivation still happened under his watch, and it was his decision to go ahead with the Replicator mission. It did sound from Sam's "General Landry sends his condolences" that everyone back home is simply mourning her loss, but that could be because the grief is still fresh, and later he'll take some heat for it.

I think Sam, Teyla and Keller banding up could be completely adorable.

Yes! I hope we get to see some of that. We've lost Elizabeth, but we've gone from two women to three (it's even now!), even though I have a sad feeling that many of their plots for the near future will be revolving around how difficult it is to be a leader (already gone there with Keller; now probably going there with Teyla) and how tough it is to join a team where everyone else is so tightly bonded (Sam; which probably reflects the actress's predicament in joining the SGA cast in the first place). I hope they get to be strong and competent.

[roga.livejournal.com]

I hope we get to see a lot of Keller soon, so I can get to know her character well enough to start writing fic.

Do you really think Teyla's going to be the new leader, or was that sarcasm? (I am occasionally slow on the uptake.) I'm not spoiled, but Teyla taking over the expedition sounds kind of impossible.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure, but they seemed to be laying ground for Teyla assuming some higher leadership role. I can't see her or Sam replacing Elizabeth, or rather I can see one as easily as the other; Sam's military, so she couldn't head the civilian expedition, and and Teyla's not from Earth, so the SGC wouldn't want her in charge. But you know they're not bringing in someone new, or the person would be in the opening credits, right? Perhaps co-leadership with Sheppard and McKay, or Sheppard, McKay and Teyla, as we've been seeing, or Sam, McKay and Teyla, if Sam's higher rank takes precedence over Sheppard's Pegasus experience.

[roga.livejournal.com]

I don't know. You're right, I seriously cannot see the SGC giving Teyla any kind of official authority, with her not being from Earth. I may be too influenced by "Victors", but John giving her a mandate doesn't equal the SGC giving her one, you know?

And I was actually sure, when I heard of the casting, that Sam was coming in to take Elizabeth's place. I can see Earth deciding to turn the expedition military, under the circumstances, or excuse it by saying Sam's a scientist too and is therefore capable of seeing all sides of an issue rationally. Co-leadership of anyone sounds too tricky - at least in RL, you never know what the show will decide to do. And there's no way they'll let either John or Rodney take charge. Oh, if only Daniel Jackson was available...

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Daniel would tap into the database, never to emerge again, leaving John and Rodney de facto leaders of Atlantis. *g*

You're probably right about Sam; if the SGC argues that Atlantis needs to be under military command (as they've done many times before, except they always lost) now that the Replicators and Wraith are active, Sam does offer a scientific and military perspective (thus making her better than, say, Caldwell, whom they tried before). John wouldn't be able to argue with her as easily as he argued with Elizabeth, though, given chain of command issues.

[roga.livejournal.com]

And it makes sense that it wouldn't be John. I think for purely dramatic reasons, it can't be him - John, like House, needs someone to limit him, someone to argue with, a Cuddy, as it is, to emphasize his heroism. Plus, the commander is the guy who stays behind, and that can't be John.

I like that the writers won't have to twist canon around to make that make sense, though. It really does make sense, with John's record and his attitude towards paperwork (or is that fanon? I can't remember) that they'd bring someone in from the outside.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

In ... the season three finale? he didn't want to do his evaluations, just said everyone was great.

Plus, the commander is the guy who stays behind, and that can't be John.

Yes. Sam also has ten years' experience working with military and civilians together, not to mention experience on an SG team.

[theninth.livejournal.com]

Rodney and John agreed to push their luck and carry out the mission to upload the Wraith activation code*. I know it's more complicated than that, and that if they hadn't reactivated the nanites, they wouldn't have been able to infiltrate the Replicators' homeworld and save the city with the stolen ZPM, but I imagine they're both feeling the weight of their guilt.

*Although: What the heck kind of explanation was it that Elizabeth couldn't have a second chance to help them with that part of the plan? The Replicators would trace the ZPM theft back to her? How?? Not buying it.

Elizabeth wouldn't have a second chance to help them because the Nanites routinely synch their code. If the code got uploaded and it was too close to a code push, Elizabeth's Nanites would get rewritten again. The Nanites would then know what she knows, including the location of Atlantis. And just the fact that they'd recognise her would mean they'd know who stole the ZPM and why.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Here is how I understood what happened:

1. When they arrived in the Asurans' city, Rodney linked up Elizabeth. That put her in danger of detection, and in certain danger if the Replicators underwent a synch-up while they were still in range. I thought that once they were done, they could un-link her and then with distance, the danger would ease again, as it had done when they were still on Atlantis.

2. The first idea was to reprogram the code in Weir's brain and use that to upload the changes, but they needed to wait for next merge (and didn't know when it would be), and when the Replicators synched up, they'd know she was there and would assimilate her.

3. The next idea was to upload the code straight into the data core. No need to use Elizabeth; in Rodney's words, they could be halfway back to Atlantis by the next merge. When John heard that the core was at the center of the city, he said they'd come back later. Then -- and this is where I felt the explanation lacked logic -- Rodney and Elizabeth said they wouldn't have another chance. Why:

"Once they realize the ZPM is missing, they'll be able to trace the source of the infiltration. I will never get this kind of undetected access again."

Trace the source of the infiltration how? If the Atlanteans are far away and Elizabeth's unlinked again, how could they possibly know who'd stolen the ZPM?

[theninth.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay. Point three. I understood it to mean they wouldn't have a second chance because by the time they came back the Replicants would have found out the ZPM was missing, they wouldn't be able to risk linking Elizabeth in again.

It's possible that linking in at all leaves some sort of a trace (like websites track IP addresses). They could reprogram to watch for her specific signature and if the Atlantis team came back in again, they'd recognise her immediately when she tried to synch up.

Or they'd just recode themselves to watch for the jumper when it came near (which was my big problem with the episode. They managed to cloak somehow when they landed, but no one noticed the ship flying into their atmosphere and across the city?)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

I think they cloaked when they came out of hyperspace, then decloaked and initiated the anti-Replicator shield? I could be remembering that wrong.

It's possible that linking in at all leaves some sort of a trace (like websites track IP addresses).

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking, and I like your followup about the Replicators programming in an alarm if they ever detect her signature again. It'd have been nice if they'd thrown in a line about that first part! With all the rapid-fire explication Rodney had, it wouldn't have clogged up that scene any more.

[theninth.livejournal.com]

We could all storm over to David Hewlett's blog and demand an explanation!

[elynittria.livejournal.com]

The question I was left with at the end of the episode was, What about the Athosians? Are they still back on the mainland of the old planet, totally vulnerable to Wraith attack and without even access to a Stargate for evacuation and/or trading purposes? I really dislike dangling threads! (Although I must admit that SGA has fewer of them than House.)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Did the Athosians ever move back to Lantea after the Ancients relocated them in "The Return"?

[elynittria.livejournal.com]

Good question. I assumed that they had returned, but I'm not sure the show ever made it clear one way or the other. I'll have to go back and check at some point.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Hm. I don't remember hearing either way, either. We can pretend they stayed put on Unnamed Second-Best Planet... I'd guess Halling et al wouldn't have wanted to move again, especially if they still felt bitter over the Ancestors' betrayal ("It was not the homecoming we had envisioned") and uncertain of the Lanteans' continued presence/protection, considering all the evacuations that had gone before. Heck, they could be safer over there, without Atlantis getting into all those scrapes in their backyard.