Rewatch: Outcast

[twinsarein.livejournal.com]

[Poll #1876299]

Comments

[twinsarein.livejournal.com]

John's totally explaining ice skating wrong to Ronon. If he mentioned how it tones the muscles and improves coordination and keeps reflexes sharp, Ronon would have totally got it. *g*

Ouch, what a place to learn your father had died - in the hallway. You'd think she could have called him to her office, or taken him into a room somewhere. Give him a little privacy to learn something so potentially devastating.

Aww, Rodney wants to help so much. Very sweet. And Ronon going with him; that was wonderful and sweet, too.

[rhia-starsong.livejournal.com]

And there was so much more they could have done with the things revealed in this episode! And we had to wait so long to get any of it. But I did love the exchange of 'Is this where you grew up?' 'One of them'.

[twinsarein.livejournal.com]

It would be nice if the episodes could have been lengthen to fit all the story they had to tell.

John certainly grew up rich, although it isn't something you'd guess by how he acts, now.

I like your icon.

[rhia-starsong.livejournal.com]

I think John went to a lot of work to distance himself from the way he was raised, including acting completely 'normal' as it seemed to him.

Thanks! I didn't make it, but I do rather enjoy the icon. ;)

[twinsarein.livejournal.com]

Man, that brother is nasty. Although, I kind of get his resentment - being the one left behind to be the caregiver, the one the parent relies on, etc. It must seem the John took the easy way out. Still to accuse him of wanting nothing but his father's money is really harsh, and perhaps shows that they were never close even growing up. I can't imagine who really knows John considering him greedy or grasping.

The scene with the ex-wife was so awkward, too. Poor Ronon, not really having anything to do with himself to escape the situation. Ronon is a super friend.

Of course, then things get interesting. Earth Scientists have built the equivalent of a Replicator. That can't be good, at all. Even worse, it escapes.

We also get to see Bates again. I kind of remember him, but not well, and I'm afraid what I know from the show may have gotten mixed up with fanfiction, because I wouldn't have thought that John would be so unreserved about meeting him again.

[twinsarein.livejournal.com]

Quite a lot of action trying to capture and kill the escaped Replicator. Ronon doesn't want any human technology - he's happy keeping his blaster (I don't blame him). The doctor betrays them, tries to save his creation (no seeds of Frankenstein and his monster here, are there? *g*)

The Replicator escapes, the doctor dies, and John has a smart idea on why the doctor tried to save his creation - he has a buyer (although I'm not sure how that will help find the Replicator).

[twinsarein.livejournal.com]

They capture the Replicator, thanks to Ava, and the Terminator movie comes in handy in getting rid of him...Stargate Atlantis style. *G* I liked that solution - same way I liked John's solution to the problem of Ava, because they were clever.

And then we end with John's brother, and finding he isn't as bad as he'd seemed earlier in the episode. Not much snark, but an enjoyable episode nonetheless.

[that-which.livejournal.com]

The funny thing for me about this episode is that Ava, for me, was one of the most successfully written female characters on this show, and she wasn't actually human. I wouldn't have minded seeing her again. I'm sort of sorry the guy who wrote it didn't write more episodes (he also wrote the Daedalus Variations, one of my favorites).

I'd have more sympathy for Dave's nastiness after John announced he was leaving early if he hadn't been catty about Ronon pretty much right out of the gate. That said, I really enjoyed that neither John nor Ronon could be bothered to react.

Comment 1A

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

[Preamble: Sorry, but I just couldn't stay up last night and did my second rewatch this morning.]

OMG, I was not a fan of this episode. Well, the crumbs we were finally FINALLY given of John's back story after four loooooong years were welcome, but the other cobbled-together bit about human form replicators was just stupid. Sorry, Joe F, but NO cigar for you.

Still, there were some fun parts. Hee – John watches figure skating movies, well at least Blades of Glory and tried to get Ronon to like it, too! The other funny thing is that I don't think I watched that movie until a couple of years ago, so I had NO idea what it was about either.

Once again, we get our impression reinforced that there is NO such thing as privacy on Atlantis, not when Sam – after merely glancing at Ronon – tells John his father has died. Joe F plays this so well; after all, we've known so little about him and he certainly doesn't offer up information easily – not Mr. I'm-fine-as-long-as-I-can-repress-my-feelings-especially-in-public.

Oh, look, another young woman with long hair – though this time she's a brunette. I believe TPTB were already casting for (boo, hiss) SGU and thought they'were pulling one over us (Why, no, we don't have a THING for long-haired blondes; see, we're hiring lots of long-haired brunettes. So NOT the same thing). Anyway, somebody sure is paying a lot of attention to the Sheppard family. Nothing good can come of this.

After the opening credits, My-door-is-always-open-to-McKay-IS-CANON slides open and Rodney enters John's quarters. The music is lyrical. Awwww. Rodney's being all supportive of John (offering to talk, if John wants to which will happen in like a million years) and he would have accompanied John back to Earth if it weren't for those kids and their Ancient device problems. I keep replaying this, just to see the looks between John and Rodney. Also, John's room is SO painfully neat and bare, along with his munchkin bed that looks as if it should be in a psychiatrist's office. It was good blocking to have John and Rodney separated by that bed to further emphasize John's apartness. BTW his quarters look quite lovely (well, not lovely) ... uh, I like the way the morning light comes in through the windows.

Awwww, John looks like a little lost boy standing there all alone waiting for the Stargate to be opened. Through clever filming again, it's terrific to see how Ronon's approach is completely unexpected. And it's interesting to see how – behind the scenes – Rodney obviously had a meeting with Ronon and asked him to accompany John back to Earth because he couldn't. Rodney must have done this BEFORE he went to John's quarters, because John was already mostly packed. Also, in this case, the Atlantis grapevine is a good thing (or was it Ronon) because it lets Rodney know about the death of John's father.

Interesting to see John's annoyed reaction when he learns that Ronon's going along with him but – hey – Ronon's bigger than you are, buddy. And steps into the wormhole ahead of him.

It's time for the la-di-da fancy part of John's back story now – and a chance to make fun of Ronon-on-Earth again which is so tiring. Because, naturally, ::rolls eyes:: John wouldn't have told him ahead of time that there would be food served. But ::giggles:: it was lots of fun to see Dave's reaction to meeting Ronon (and fuelling fan speculation that ONE but not the only reason for John's estrangement from his father was his sexual orientation)! I don't think he's buying the “civilian contractor” story, unless it's a new code word for “boyfriend”.

Um ... what is that young brunette doing at the funeral? She looks out of place.

Comment 1B

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

Oh, John. It's so painfully aware that he's still feeling his father's disapproval when he steps in to the room where the casket is, buttoning his jacket as if his father were there to admonish him. The music is quite evocative. And it's lovely to see Ronon veering away outside, giving John a chance to be alone with his feelings. Until TPTB give us Ronon as a fish out of water because he's filling his plate with – whee – free food.

Time for more back story. This was only ONE of the homes John grew up in. And he went to Stanford i/o Harvard as his father had all planned out for him (and everything else since John was 14) – which his father attributed to “teenage rebellion”, lol.

So, Ronon (on behalf of the viewers) finds out that not only does John have a brother but also an ex-wife (which John may have mentioned to him in passing). Gee – she has long brown hair, too. What a surprise – NOT. Uh ... PTB, are you out of your minds? [Rhetorical question.] In what universe does a woman wear a low-cut dress to a funeral just so she can show off her push-up bra and cleavage? Not to mention basically sleeveless. Also, was she wearing boots? ::rolls eyes a lot more:: It's almost like a run-through of what Jennifer will be wearing in S5 though at least it won't be for a funeral (unless it's for the show itself ::weeps::). I can imagine TPTB hired the extras and had them come in with the advice to wear what they'd consider is suitable for a funeral. Then Nancy would really stick out!

Anyway, one notices John's initial discomfort when she approaches (huh – so he wasn't expecting her to show up though it seems his father had always been good to her and, in John's opinion of what his father thought, probably the best thing John had ever done marrying her; not quite what a woman wants to hear, even from her ex). There were some unusually smirky faces between the two of them. And there are echoes-of-Rodney because John gets her new husband's name wrong. ::giggles:: It's too bad we see the fences but not the horses (which were in some publicity shots released for the episode).

Back inside the house at the bar, we find the mysterious brunette. Um ... does nobody think it unusual that a funeral/wake at a prominent man's house would not have security (or at least somebody noting who's supposedly paying their respects)? Anyway, this is where I lost interest in the story, except for the part where it seems there are an awful lot of people who don't have security clearance and are doing dangerous and illegal things on Earth. What Henry Wallace was doing wasn't enough, there had to be more? We talk about Rodney's hubris but – OMG – if the Ancients made replicators AND SCREWED IT UP – how on EARTH should normal (uh ... even though brilliant) human beings expect to do any better? Which they don't.

But, just before John takes off with Ava and Ronon so they can talk about aliens and stuff in greater privacy, he's accosted by Dave; first Dave accuses him of taking off for more important mysterious and secret stuff which he thinks is so typical of John, then basically accuses John of having returned simply in order to contest the will – 'cuz otherwise why did he even come back. The only good news he tells John is that their father had basically reversed his rejection of John and his difference of opinion, not to mention goals, by the time he'd died.

Even though I'm not thrilled with this story, it was really creepy to see that ALIEN look in the replicator's eyes when he was activated. Yuck. Also, yadda, yadda, incredible advancements. As I said, there's too much piecemeal info sharing on Earth that is creating a dangerous trend and loads more opportunities for leaked info and sabotage, etc.

Comment 2

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

Oh, look, it's a familiar face, aka No-first-name Bates who's now working (as a good guy) for the IOA. John seems pleased to see him. Even though Bates had an adversarial and conflicted relationship with John because of Teyla on Atlantis, I believe that it's always been a part of John's character to give people a second chance (unless it's Kolya, then all bets are off, amirite?).

Talk about hubris. The replicator's maker, Dr. Richard Poole, is so full of himself and his abilities. That nobody will be able to crack his encryption code. I found the interrogation scene fun, with him swivelling on his chair, mockingly, while John's face is hidden in the shadows. That's something we won't see much of again until S5 Vegas - when Detective Sheppard's hard but weary face appears. So, Richard, you claim the replicator will kill only in self-defence? After he killed two of your own guards simply to escape?

Then, it's time for some comic relief, though at least this time Dr. Bill Lee comes through and his appearance isn't presented with malice only. Yay! Though John must have been listening to Rodney when he advises Bill to use some sun block the next time he's on a beach. Gee, I hope the Apollo beams him back down to that hotel room so he can enjoy the remainder of his rare vacation!

John's a smart guy, using a threat against Ava in order to get Richard to cooperate. I also love seeing him in control of Earth forces. But – ouch – poor Bates getting hit over the noggin by Richard.

Richard, your hubris is about to get you killed. And does. Whatever made you think that your creation would listen to you this time when he didn't initially before his escape? Especially when he was built for aggression? And why'd you have to reveal how you were able to track him? Oy.

Also ... one thing I only came to see in this rewatch was the similarity of the two stories – of sons not doing what their fathers had originally intended for them. In this case the son intentionally killed his father. In John's, his father came to appreciate his son despite his absence (which reads like an elder son's abandonment of duty to his father and family). Which leads me to wonder if he had left something of value to John in the will?

This is where I lost interest just about completely. The music was nothing like Stargate and it was all terminator getting shot up and finally jumping into the ocean??? When this episode was originally released, I believe it was mentioned that the guy playing the terminator was a stunt man (or an athlete ... or both)? Because he IS believable as somebody with superhuman strength and speed.

Comment 3

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

Whoa! Big jump into water and no body, despite a search. And the replicator has masked his tracker!?! I spoke too soon about Bill. With Richard dead, Bill can't crack the encryption code. Just how are the good guys going to find the replicator?

Bringing Nancy back just to give her more screen time and interaction with John was too ridiculous. With all of the resources the SGC has (hello, anybody heard of Homeworld Security lately? And our good buddy, General O'Neill?), why would John involve Homeland Security when it could get his ex-wife in trouble? It was really fun to see them being snippy with each other. Also, John denies he ever flew into Somalia ... but North Korea's different. And Joe F makes some more weird (though familiar to us) faces.

Unexpected yay! Bill has pulled through, breaking the encryption codes, and guess what we find? Ava's a replicator, too. We shouldn't be surprised, right? Some eagle-eyed fans noted there was something not-quite-human about her immediately, but I don't have the eyes to spot that.

Oops! Too late. She's flown the coop, though at least she only knocked out the guard but didn't kill him. So our guys are pondering the differences in programming between the two replicators. And she's masking her signature, too.

Which makes it all so convenient when Nancy comes through with secret info on Project Archetype. As I mentioned above ... highly improbable for a lower level (so she's a Director: woo-hoo!) to get their hands on IMO (not to mention whether she has the ability to hide her tracks). But at least there was one good reason for having her in the scene. The music gets all lyrical and we get the clear impression that she still loves John but that his secrecy (not to mention his inability to show his feelings, duh) is what killed the marriage. Now that the shoe's on the other foot, she can see how frustrating it is to her husband when she can't tell him anything about her job. And ... goodbye, Nancy.

So, back to Bill Lee and going through what seem to be meaningless documents. Until we hit the jackpot. [Complementary side note: Ever since I started watching Castle, I love how any random word can spark an association that leads to a murder case being solved.] In this case, it's a shipping waybill for “preassembled masonry panels” that just happens to be a code word for neutronium, which is used to make nanites. Now we're getting somewhere because the replicator needs to repair all of the damage he's sustained.

Yay for extra geek points between Bill and John who gets an idea of how to eliminate the replicator before taking off to corner the replicator where they think he'll be holed up.

Okay, by ALL rights, the replicator should have killed John even before he was pulled off when Ava interfered. So, she also had the ability to fight programmed into her, even though it seemed to be secondary to her more social aspects. Luckily both she and Ronon just needed to distract him so that John could stab him with a blade attached to a transporter locater. Say, bye-bye, military replicator guy. You're gonna have a fiery end as your molecules get disintegrated in re-entry to Earth's atmosphere. Not as comic-bookish as a volcano, but creative and it worked.

One down and one to go. But the problem is just what to do with Ava. After all, she DID help them of her own free will.

That was a clever (and compassionate) idea, to place Ava's consciousness into a VR world before scrapping her dangerous physical body.

Finally, John cleans up his last unfinished business. However, did it make ANY sense for him to hire a cab to take him to his brother's house – all the way out in the country – when he originally used either a rental or a car that belonged to the SGC to attend the funeral? ::shakes head at weird directorial decision:: At least his brother appeared to be more accepting when he opened the door. It's also possible that someone (even Nancy) may have spoken to him about how John really did have a vital excuse and couldn't help but leave the funeral/wake without that talk they were supposed to have had (especially after she got the stone wall treatment herself when trying to dig for more info on John). And that's the end of the episode.

Closing thoughts

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

Just a few observations, especially as I did way too much editorial commenting above.

1* Joe F looks FABULOUS in a well-tailored suit. Even though he wore a jacket in Miller's Crossing, it wasn't meant to look as if it flattered his body. But this jacket ... ::fans self:: whoa, mama! Of course, it's completely understandable that John's not going to show up at a funeral at the family home looking like a deadbeat. But I wondered about the protocol and who decided to have him attend in civvies. What's the official military take on how one dresses out in the non-military world? Is there any leeway? But, once again, very droolworthy (and I don't even like suits).

2* Dave was resentful that John – as the elder brother and heir – abdicated his responsibilities to take off and join the Air Force. Hmmm ... are there any modern allegories of rich people who think they're exempt from serving in the military, simply because of their powerful positions? But, then again, Dave didn't have to GIVE IN to his father, not in ALL aspects of his life. Good grief (thanks, Charlie Brown), he could have argued with his father to hire someone extremely competent to run the company (even if he and his dad kept an eye on it) and gone on to do whatever he wanted. But the thing is, he was the weak one who couldn't stand up to his father, and probably thought he'd be disowned. No wonder he also thought that John had shown up merely to contest the will.

In some ways, I do feel sorry for Dave. Even though he was rich, he was imprisoned by certain societal standards that he couldn't change to his advantage. I'm also wondering at the writing decision to not give him an obvious wife for the episode. So, I'm thinking he may have been married at one time, but his devotion to his widowed father and the company ruined his personal life as well. It's always interesting to see what conclusions we the fans imagine, especially when TPTB don't provide sufficient information.

3* Um ... I was intending to write about John telling Ronon to go on ahead while he took care of some unfinished business. So, just where was Ronon supposed to go, all on his own? With his Pegasus blaster? Seriously, guys??? ::sighs::

4* Is there something the writer really wanted to convey about John in this episode? Starting with the outrageously flamboyant figure skating movie and proceeding with Dave's automatic and predictable conclusion that Ronon's John's boyfriend ('cuz John could have gotten away with saying Ronon's his hired security detail which would have helped with his cover story when he had to leave suddenly) sorta, kinda stage whispers gay-all-the-way to me.

5* Yes, I know that Rachel L's pregnancy was keeping her from filming but it would have been nice if she'd been mentioned. Or if she'd left something OFFSCREEN in John's quarters that Rodney might have commented on when he stopped in. Keeping TEAM in our minds is important, so I call that a teensy writing omission.

6* Back to drooling at Joe F in a suit jacket. I wonder if I'm reacting this way because he looked so hot in that jacket whereas he looks mostly respectable and distinguished in his Dress Blues and they don't accentuate his trim waist the same way. And also because Joe wears those plaid shirts to cons so often. The couple of times he's worn a white shirt with a dark jacket have been a very pleasant surprise!