SGA Review

[kriadydragon]

Still haven't watched Missing and Trio because - I'll admit it, not a lot of shep, but someday I'll watch them :)

Doppelganger, Travelers, Outcast and Midway are my official favorite episodes of this season, which has also brought about a new dislike - along with Kirk Shep and Emotional Know-it-all McKay, there's now stupid/clueless Shep. Sheppard is anything "but" stupid and clueless. Maybe naive and too trusting around a pretty face, but one thing I loved about Travlers was that it wasn't "Hero meets tough, sneaky chick. Hero and sneaky chick who hero "knows" is sneaky sleep with each other.Sneaky chick uses that moment to back-stab horny hero. Horny - er, uh - the hero is surprised and annoyed." I loved that instead of her annoying him, he annoyed her. Somone on LJ did a meme on how Sheppard isn't Kirk, he's Bugs Bunny, and that is so, so, so true.

Didn't like Harmony but not because of the painting at the end. It would have been a great buddy episode had it not been for that idiot of a little girl. Good, crap, I feel bad for that world that has to have "her" as their queen. They are so screwed.

One of my biggest miffs with this season was people's reaction to how Sheppard reacted to Teyla saying she was pregnant. For one thing, he was stressed and of course Teyla picked a fine time to drop that bombshell on him. For another, many made it kind of a feminist/poor-woobie-Teyla affair - dumping on John as though he'd been completely in the wrong and picking on her because being pregnant would make her weak. Personally, I side with Sheppard. I understand why Teyla wished to remain a part of the action - her people were missing and she was frustrated and scared. But she had a life inside her, a life she was responsible for protecting, for bringing into this world alive and unharmed. And it took Teyla almost losing her son to realize that this wasn't about whether she was still a capable fighter, but about that very life. For Sheppard, because he takes responsibility for everyone on Atlantis, even unborn that was one more life he felt responsible for. So, personally, I think he had every right to be upset. That's my take on it, anyways.

Then, of course, adding to the frustration is Teyla unsure of whether she'll be a part of the team after her son is born. Now she takes responsibility for that life inside, and it only took her almost losing that life to realize it. That kind of irritated me and it seemed a bit, I don't know, hypocritical of her IMO. But, again, just my take on things.

Finally, some personal observations. Sheppard looks slightly slimmer this season as compared to last, and I swear his right arm's bigger than his left but that could be the wrist band throwing me off.

And close review and we're done

Comments

[karri-kln1671.livejournal.com]

As usually, you've read my mind regarding the season. :D

Could be his right arm is bigger. He's right-handed, so he tends to do more with that arm...

I noticed he'd thinned down from Season 3. It had me worried, since series actors often seem to do that when they're expecting to have to go auditioning, so I was greatly relieved when it got picked up for Season 5.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Heh, I was worried that he'd been sick or something (I'd heard somewhere that he'd gotten food poisoning, but that was episodes down the line, so I doubt that's the culprit.) I wonder if it's hard for him to maintain a more muscular physique, what with his build and all.

Really, though, I like him lots and lots of lean. bulging with muscle is ick. Lean muscle is yum :D Well, at least to me it is ;)

[karri-kln1671.livejournal.com]

I admit I was pleased with the leaner look of season 4 (and 5, so far anyway) too. :)

[ninja007.livejournal.com]

Oh Girl, I agree with you. I was in law enforcement for 19 yrs and if an officer had put her superior in that kind of predictment, she would have been FIRED. Teyla should never have been in the field when pregnant. There is so much liability there, it probably almost gave poor John a stroke! She put him in not just a difficult position, but one where he could have been demoted or lost his command entirely.

I also think Joe's thinner and I think it's due to Joe working really, really hard lately and has been slimming down due to that. I haven't (don't shoot me) looked at his arms lately...so, I can't comment on that.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

And what really irked me was that no one touched on that! At least as far as I know. Most just jumped on it like John was belittling Teyla's ability just because she was pregnant, or being culturally biased. Then, of course, they had to go and write fic about it. I know we all do this - at least once in a while, usually without realizing - but there's nothing I hate more than when people don't take into consideration all sides of an issue.

As for slim Joe, as I was telling Karri above, I wonder if its hard for him to maintain a more bulky physique - because of his build, he is very stretched - so he loses it easily. Heh, not that I'm complaining;) I like him slim (not skinny, just really lean). Bulky is just, at least for me, not all that attractive.

I think Karri has a point that he probably uses his right arm more so it looks bigger. My right arm's stronger than my left and it's part of the reason, I think, why my neck hurts.

[ninja007.livejournal.com]

I also love a lean man... Joe looks good slim. Ben Browder is the only actor I've ever liked a little bulky. I even liked Daniel Jackson when he was leaner...

I never read any of the fics of John belittling Teyla about anything. It wouldn't have been something I would have wanted to read... I like my fics of John Sheppard the way you write them... Or Kodiak, Kristen999, or obsessed1...to name a few!

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

The fics I stumbled on, as I tend to do because, really, I never learn :/. As much as I try to stick with my favorite authors and fellow shep-fans, sometimes my need for whump causes me to stray :S

[jasper3.livejournal.com]

I don't know about Joe being skinnier, but I think that at moments in this series he looks VERY ill. I don't know if it's the make-up or something but he looks pale and looks like he has thick black lines under his eyes.

As for the Teyla thing, I read a fic where John got left out by the team, and people around Atlantis began disrespecting him because of how he reacted to Teylas revelation. I didn't like this fic at all, because we all know that John is just over-protective of his team and hell, If I was him I would be hurt that such a good friend had kept this from me.

What really annoys me aswell though, is that Jennifer didn't jump in when it became necessary. You'd have thought that at a certain point she would have told Teyla that if she didn't tell the team, she would have to remove her for medical reasons. She just kept letting her go out there. As the CMO, she must have seen how much danger herself and Teyla were putting unborn-Torren in, and I think that she put her friendship with Teyla before her responsibility.

I stiil like them all though, it just fired me up. =)

Larissa.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

"I don't know about Joe being skinnier, but I think that at moments in this series he looks VERY ill."

Yes! I thought so too. It's why every time someone gushed over how tan he was, I was like "What? Tan? sheppard?"

"As for the Teyla thing, I read a fic where John got left out by the team, and people around Atlantis began disrespecting him because of how he reacted to Teylas revelation."

Oh, man. If I'd read this fic I probably would have ended up chewing the author a new one. With some writers, it's as though as soon as John gets a little snippy with someone, they jump all over it for the chance to produce poor-woobie fic (Ex. Trinity). There's way too much sacrificing quality stories for wish fulfilment crap in fanfic. It's obnoxious.

"What really annoys me aswell though, is that Jennifer didn't jump in when it became necessary."

Excellent point. You'd think a doctor of all people would be all "Teyla: baby first, your need to kick but very, very last."

[sabine-26.livejournal.com]

Oh, I am so glad someone thinks Teyla was putting John in a tough spot. Anyone who knows John would know that he would never forgive himself if something happened to Teyla's child on a mission. And he certainly could not justify leaving her on the team if the IOA asked questions.
I wasn't sure from what you wrote - did you watch all of Season 4 (except the useless Missing and Trio)? I was going to say something about Teyla in the later episodes but I don't want to spoil them for you.

I think Joe Flanigan is thinner in this season, and I also thought it was that he's not naturally bulky and loses mass when he doesn't work out. I know he had said that after this season he was absolutely wiped out and really didn't even have time to exercise much.

Your four favorites are my four favorites too, with Outcast my number one.
And Sheppard as Bugs Bunny - I love that.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

"Anyone who knows John would know that he would never forgive himself if something happened to Teyla's child on a mission."

Exactly.

Except for Missing and Trio, I've seen every episode at least twice - except of Harmony (blech!) The four mentioned favorites I think I have memorized now ;) I'm also pretty much spoiled for all the episodes aired thus far in season five. I have no patience.

"I think Joe Flanigan is thinner in this season, and I also thought it was that he's not naturally bulky and loses mass when he doesn't work out."

Heh, poor guy. Hope he comes to realize that most of his fans like him lots of lean ;). Personally, I don't think bulkies a good look for him (but, then, I've never been partial to bulky physiques.)

Love your icon, by the way. Too cute :D

[sabine-26.livejournal.com]

Oh, I definitely prefer Joe looking lean too, but not because he's exhausted. And I too have never liked bulkier builds, like McKay's.

What I was going to say about Teyla was just that I find her baffling. Teyla makes a couple of rather pointed comments to John. In BAMSR, she asks him (I can't remember the exact phrasing) if by keeping her off the team, he's trying to protect her or if he's just angry because she didn't tell him about her pregnancy sooner. Which struck me as a very nasty, personal jab - to accuse him of behaving in a petty way because his feelings were hurt. Which, I would be hurt too if a close friend chose not to tell me that she was pregnant. And her tone is not sympathetic, it's more sneering. Then in Kindred, Teyla again has a rather sneering tone when, after some fruitless searching for Kanaan on the part of Sheppard's team, she asks John if he doubts her interpretation of her vision or the vision itself.
Teyla is generally a polite (although IMO very condescending) person. She's not usually so openly snotty. Except with John. For example, she was much more understanding when Rodney doubted her vision.
I wasn't really sure why she behaved that way. First putting John in a really difficult position and then being very short with him for no real reason. Is that just supposed to show that they are close enough friends that they can behave badly with each other? Her whole behavior confused me. And it continued in Season 5 with her dithering over whether to stay on the team, again putting John in an awkward position and being rather angry with him for no reason. I wish someone would explain Teyla to me. My view is that everyone should be really nice to John, except when someone has to be mean for whump purposes.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Heh, I kind of pinned it to hormones and frustration. She's pregnant, her people have gone missing - so, yeah, she's going to be a little moody. But it does seem to be John who's taking the brunt of it.

I've heard people say that there wasn't much in the way of Teyla character developement in season four - mostly just angst, angst, angst for her, and she does seem all over the map, especially after BAMSR. There was "supposed" to be, or so I heard, more of a romantic developement between her and Sheppard. But then she got pregnant and things had to be rearranged. And I really feel bad for the writers in that respect. They had this idea of where season four was supposed to go and had to change things at the last minute - or close to the last minute. As a writer, I know that changing a story line, no matter how big or small, is a nightmare (in fact, I had to do just that with a story I'm currently working on, and won't be able to post it for a while because of all the tweaking I have to do.)

So I guess, for that reason, I also feel bad for Teyla's character as they made her rather obnoxious this season. I like Teyla, and it's rare for me to like female characters (most TV shows tend to make their female characters such know-it-all little snots.) So I hope they get a better handle on her character in season five. I'd really hate to end up disliking her.

As for her treatment of John, that could be in part that the writers are still entertaining the notion of getting her and John "hooked up" and her feelings for him, and Kanaan, are causing her internal conflict, therefore causing her to take it out on John (just a theory). Either that or they really are screwing up her character :/.

[thandie-16.livejournal.com]

Hi, just popping up here to add my two cents on Teyla's behaviour. I totally agree that John had every right to be pissed and very, very pissed at that but I also get where Teyla was coming from. The pregnancy wasn't something she planned on and i think she was trying to figure out how to deal with it herself, much less how to get everyone else to deal with it. She was dragging her feet, trying to get it together and in doing so put John in a bad situation.
As for being snippy, I do think she was but I get why it was directed at John mostly. Out of everyone on the team she trusts him the most and is possibly closest to him. It is an unfortunate fact, but a true one that we always take our frustrations out on the ppl closest to us simply because they're the ones that will, if not understand, at least forgive us.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, I totally understood where Teyla was coming from. And for that reason, I wasn't frustrated with her - not until later on, when she started to question whether or not she would remain on the team, having pushed so hard to do so while she was pregnant. I just felt that rather hypocritical.

What irritated me was how "fans" reacted - basically shaking their fists at John, saying that he was being completely unfair, a total jerk, etc. All without taking into consideration where he was coming from, or that Teyla wasn't just putting herself in danger but her baby as well. They just saw a guy picking on a pregnant woman and went with it. Not everyone, of course, but a lot of fic had been written that made John out as some kind of bad-guy needing put in his place. It got my hackles up.

"Out of everyone on the team she trusts him the most and is possibly closest to him. It is an unfortunate fact, but a true one that we always take our frustrations out on the ppl closest to us simply because they're the ones that will, if not understand, at least forgive us."

That makes sense. Heh, poor John ;)