Rewatch: The Prodigal

[twinsarein.livejournal.com]

When the power is shut down and most of the inhabitants are locked out of key controls, it is apparent that Atlantis has been taken over by an off-world group, soon identified as Michael and his hybrids. He is after Teyla's newborn child who is key in his quest to gain control of the Pegasus galaxy. While Sheppard and McKay try to get their hands on a jumper to launch an attack, Ronan and others who were taken prisoner by Michael during his initial invasion launch reprisals of their own. When Teyla manages to get away and hide, Michael gives her a simple choice: surrender herself and her child to him or he will use the city's self-destruct mechanism to kill everyone. Written by garykmcd


[Poll #1902409]

Comments

[twinsarein.livejournal.com]

I love it when Ronon deals with bureaucratic nonsense.

Hee, John and Rodney playing with toy cars. They were so cute racing each other. Even better when they almost ran over Teyla. There responses were spot on. Loved the looks on Teyla and John's faces when Rodney said he wasn't any the worse for being left to cry as a colicky baby (made me want to make up for the lost cuddle time for him, though).

Oooo, why did the lights go out? Only the control room has lights. John quickly gets people working on figuring things out. Double oooo, someone's shot Teyla. At least she wasn't holding the baby.

Poor Rodney climbing all those stairs. I can sympathize. I wouldn't have been in any better shape, when I got done. I'm impressed he actually made it.

[popkin16]

Loved the looks on Teyla and John's faces when Rodney said he wasn't any the worse for being left to cry as a colicky baby (made me want to make up for the lost cuddle time for him, though).

It makes me want to cuddle him too. I imagine they have at least an inkling that Rodney's childhood was not a pleasant one...

[twinsarein.livejournal.com]

Rodney and Radek have worked their magic and gotten some power. Rodney can see into Woolsey's office. Teyla is there, and her baby. And freaking Michael walks in. Yeesh. This guy has more lives than a cat.

I can't exactly blame Michael for his bitterness and resentment, but I also can't agree with him trying to steal Teyla's baby, either.

Oh, I like Rodney's description of Michael as a cockroach more than mine of him as a cat. *g*


Oops. Rodney never repaired the underwater jumpers, which were damaged two years ago. Someone is in trouble. I loved Radek's little smile as John refuses to let Rodney off the hook for that bit of procrastination.

[popkin16]

Once you've finished with this rewatch, will you be starting another? Also, are we supposed to watch within a time frame and then discuss it here?

I want to take part, I just don't know what I'm doing *sheepish smile*

[twinsarein.livejournal.com]

I probably won't start another one. But when I did start it, almost two years ago, I know there had been other rewatches before.

As to how this one does it - I post the synopsis on the episode around 10PM EST every Friday night. People can watch and comment whenever they like, although, if you want someone else to see your comments, I wouldn't wait too long.

Sometimes there is discussion, sometimes not. You can participate at any level you're comfortable with, week to week.

Welcome to the rewatch. Are you new to SGA, or just to the rewatch?

[popkin16]

Aw, no more rewatches :( That's okay, though - I understand.

So that's how it works....

I'm new to the rewatch :D I've been involved with the fandom for several years now :)

[twinsarein.livejournal.com]

While I don't want to run one, that doesn't preclude someone else from doing it. I just got permission from the mods. I don't know if they'd want another one right away, but they might. We did start almost two years ago, after all.

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

Yoo-hoo. As you may have noticed, I'm the usual blabbermouth on the weekly rewatch. If you want to participate in previous weeks' episodes, then the easiest way would be to reply to any of our comments to get a discussion started up again. After all, we LOVE our show and it's always fun to see whose opinions are similar or different. Personally, I've always liked it when twinsarein and I agree on something independently, especially as our lives and upbringing are different.

So, please, if you want to join in, find the episodes you especially liked - or loathed - and jump right in.

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

Also, just a quick tip as to understanding my commenting method. I found the easiest thing was to divide the approximately 42 minutes into 3 chunks, with separations at the 14 and 28 minute marks.

An option when this is all over.

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

I know, I know, I don't want to think of the rewatch being over, but I wonder whether we could have a poll of - say - the top ten or twenty episodes (out of 200), just out of curiosity. Instead of an actual poll for the 200 100 (which cannot be done due to logistics), perhaps people could list their top choices and they'd be weighted before a list is presented for a vote. ETA: Obviously, I can't count, because the total was ONLY 100 episodes. ::sighs::

In any case, these entries will remain on this comm 4eva, so there'll always be the possibility of someone discovering them and wanting to add their opinion, even if they're missing the actual rewatch on a Friday.

[twinsarein.livejournal.com]

Woo hoo! Ronon is still in the game. It was quite enjoyable to watch him try to pry those doors open with brute force. Once they were open (with brain power), and the hybrid came in, it was awesome to see Amelia be the one to take him down. Loved Ronon's surprise - "You can fight?"

Of course, soon after, Ronon and the people he'd been trapped with discover Michael's plan to blow up Atlantis. It is telling of how much Ronon has changed - when he retraces his steps, explaining what's happened to Woolsey, Ronon asks him to "please" go with the others. Such manners he has now, even in the midst of a major crisis.

Ronon gets to the Gate Room and fights Michael. He's actually doing pretty well for a while, and I love his concern for Teyla and her baby. He doesn't even think of asking for Teyla's help. He just tells her to run. She vacillates for a couple of seconds, and then she does.

Crap! Ronon goes over the railing, and is lying comatose on the floor. Radek, who can see in on his laptop reports this to John. I like John's response - "When he wakes up..." No doubt in John's mind that Ronon would.

Woolsey has changed a lot, too. When he and Teyla try to escape the Control Tower, Woolsey insisted on going first. It's a good thing he did, because neither of them knew about the force field trap Michael had. If Teyla and the baby had run into it first, it would have been serious indeed. It doesn't look too good for Woolsey, but hopefully he's just unconscious.

[twinsarein.livejournal.com]

Yay, Teyla. Even holding a baby, she manages to take out a hybrid. Yeah, she used the force field trap to do it, but she is still damn impressive. I liked her hide hole, too. I don't know if I ever knew the walls could do that, or if I've just forgotten. I'm a little worried about what Michael is going to do to flush her out, though.

Jeez, he set the self destruct. Told Teyla he'd let Atlantis and her personnel live if Teyla came out with the baby. I don't remember what Teyla does, but I know she wouldn't give up her baby. I know as a mom, I wouldn't want him in Michael's hands for the rest of his life.

Ooo, Radek and Rodney came through with some magic, and Rodney gets to be the action hero, flying the jumper to the control tower. Too much going on all at once to keep up with, for me anyway, but I loved how everybody did their level best to stop Michael and his men, each in their own way, under their own power, but it still worked - the separate players came together beautifully. You can tell they've been a team for a while.

Even Teyla gets back in the action, once her baby is safe. I enjoyed it, when she and John tag teamed against Michael. I felt bad for Teyla, that her soul would have to suffer for killing Michael in such a cold way, but I would have done the same. She had to protect her baby, and he'd never, ever be safe, as long as Michael was alive.

[twinsarein.livejournal.com]

I'm not too good with deep thinky thoughts, but I really do feel for Michael. The people of Atlantis ripped him away from his people, and changed him, without his consent. Among other things. Then, his own people were repulsed by him. I can't blame him for feeling bitterness, resentment, or for wanting revenge. I can even understand his desire to carve out a niche for himself, somewhere - trying to create a safe place for himself, as well as trying to create others like him, so he isn't so alone.

Or course, Atlanteans were just trying to survive, too, in their initial experiments on Michael. Trying to eliminate a threat. Of course, doing so would have meant committing genocide, of a kind.

Basically, it's a bad situation all the way around.

Comment 1

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

This was definitely an odd episode with parts that were deadly serious juxtaposed against juvenile antics. More on that at the end.

Gotta giggle at Richard's stubbornness when it comes to bureaucratic conformity on Atlantis. His latest victim is Ronon who now needs to file mission reports. He gets a digital voice recorder, so no more objections. Ha! We'll see.

Next let's visit the two youngest residents of the city, John and Rodney, who are busy racing RC cars. And trash talking each other which is okay, but the misogyny most definitely was NOT. I can't believe that John would say “don't trip on your skirt”. He appears to be one of the most egalitarian military commanders one could find and has a strong woman on the primary team. ::glares at TPTB:: Unfortunately, their antics nearly cause an unsuspecting Teyla to drop a fussing TJ as she walks the halls of Atlantis hoping to get him to sleep. [I know it's early in the episode, but I have to SCREAM at the presumptuous arrogance of TPTB regarding childcare and medical knowledge when dealing with Pegasus natives. Because ::rolls eyes:: Teyla's never been around ANY babies and therefore wouldn't know that TJ's colic is just a phase if Dr. Keller hadn't told her that. /sarcasm. Stupid, stupid dialogue, unless of course it was written so we the viewers couldn't forget about Jennifer, even though she's not in the episode. And, yes, I acknowledge that advanced medical care is something that was lost whenever the Wraith obliterated worlds, but colic is something parents all over the galaxy would recognize and have homemade remedies to soothe fussing babies.]

Okay, mini-rant over, so we can commiserate over poor Rodney's childhood. His mother didn't fuss over him and just let him cry himself to sleep. And he thinks he turned out just fine. Uh-huh. John doesn't believe him either. John's trying to show he's supportive, but we can see that he's not keen to carry a baby around. As it appears that TJ's finally asleep, Teyla's heading back to her quarters, still in glaring Mommy mode, so Rodney and John pretend their game is over. Do you believe them? Me neither, and they resume their silliness immediately.

With a momentary cutaway to show Teyla putting TJ into his cradle, we're back to our boys carrying their cars. Apparently, Rodney's car had a technical malfunction. Though does “the shaft needs a bushing in the lube” make ANY sense? Well, no time to answer as all the lights go out. Everywhere except for the Control room that they can see from a balcony. Also, no power to their headsets. Oops. Does anyone else have a very bad feeling about this?

Well, at least John is in fixit mode. OTOH, the doors to Teyla's quarters slide open and she's stunned by a couple of unknown men.

While Radek's busy trying to find out why the power's out, Rodney has joined John on a stair-climbing exercise. Poor, poor Rodney. Lots and lots of stairs.

Back in his lab (wait a minute; how did he get there?), Rodney finally calls up the surveillance cameras and we see a Jumper parked in front of the Stargate. Changing the camera view to Richard's office, we all see an unconscious Teyla in an armchair though she wakes up and sees TJ on another chair. Then someone (who just won't go away) walks into the office. Yuck. Yes, it's Michael. He just “borrowed” the Jumper. Should we intuit that Michael had Carson create the ATA injection using his own blood as a template, so that Michael could have the artificial gene? Or was it explained elsewhere that non-gene holders could still use Ancient gizmos once they were initialized?

Anyway, it's time for a flashback to when Richard gave Ronon the recorder. When the shield is lowered to admit a returning Jumper, Ronon's the first one to realize that something's very wrong. Even though he yells at people to get out, it's too late as a forcefield expands from the Jumper and knocks the Atlantis people out. Michael's men drag their bodies off and take over the consoles so that Michael can get to work. /end flashback.

What work? Well, after Michael takes TJ away, as he tells Teyla, he's going to destroy Atlantis. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

Comment 2

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

It's strategy time in Rodney's lab. I'm glad he called Michael a “cockroach” because it's so difficult to get rid of him. Oh, yes, speaking of cockroaches and their exoskeletons, did anybody else get a Nazi vibe from the coats Michael and his hybrid minions were wearing? I did.

In a room off the Control room, Ronon wakes up amid a whole lot of other bodies. He's always the hardest to stun, isn't he? Well, the doors are slammed shut and his blaster is gone.

Question: why are bad people always so impatient? And threatening? I know I've mentioned this before. Anyway, Michael wants Atlantis ready to be destroyed, or else. I'll feel a bit sorry for his minions. After all, they didn't ask to be minions.

Two teams led by John and Evan blast through stairwell doors but are unable to get past the forcefield. Back in Rodney's lab, he gets to splain it all. Radek calls it a “stun bubble”. Which Michael's conveniently powering using the Jumper. That's clever. And problematic.

Aww, isn't this touching? NOT. Michael's willing to spare Teyla's life because she once showed him compassion, so she can care for TJ and Michael will care for both of them. ::shudders::

Back in Rodney's lab, John says they need to blow up the Jumper to disengage the forcefield. But how? Can't use the Chair to fire a drone, because Radek only got them so much power. And the Jumper Bay is blocked off. No problem for John. He'll just take a Jumper from the previously flooded underwater Bay. Oops. Rodney and Radek look at each other. Just one problem, naturally. There are two Jumpers there, but both are broken. Even though it's been a couple of years, Rodney never got around to fixing them 'cuz he was busy. Well, John's dragging Rodney there NOW. Radek's smug.

Back to Ronon and Amelia who's managed to get the doors open. Ronon subdues a hybrid along with Amelia's hitherto unknown splendid kickboxing. Yay! Then Richard and others are coming to.

Ronon slips into the Control room and sees what's happening, before returning to the other room and reporting. It's fabulous to see how take-charge Ronon is and that Richard, despite being the authority over the city, defers to his skills and knowledge. [I'm really happy about this, because it diffuses the whole he's a Barbarian reaction Jennifer had on the Daedalus.]

Ronon attacks the minions and ends up fighting with Michael. Lots of body slamming and tossing against consoles. Ouch. Ronon manages to yell to Teyla that she should run. She does, bumping into Richard. But unfortunately for Ronon, Michael sends him over the balcony railing (shades of Doppelganger) and Ronon ends up on the floor below, unmoving.

In the underwater Bay, Rodney's explaining how each of the two Jumpers are damaged. John's giving him 15 minutes to make one work using parts from the other. Rodney's so not thrilled.

Meanwhile, in the stairwell, a gentlemanly Richard who insists on going first gets zapped and falls forward. Teyla manages to kick a hybrid through the forcefield before running away down a corridor. She hides with Torren behind a panel, clambering up a retractable ladder. Gee, Teyla really knows her Atlantis. And, once again, we see that hybrid minions are just as stupid as regular Wraith. Hear a baby cry and don't see it, so just walk away puzzled. ::rolls eyes::

Comment 3A

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

I guess it's been around 15 minutes and Rodney's got one Jumper working. Just one problem. The weapons won't work.

Michael's not happy that his minions couldn't find Teyla, so he'll use his own methods. The self-destruct alarm starts to sound. Uh ... don't you need two people to enable it? I'm not thrilled with another convenient plot device that his minions figured out the codes.

Well, the sound screws up John's plans, because Rodney would need more than ten minutes to get the drones working. So that leaves John with the suicidal option: crash the Jumper into the tower. Rodney doesn't like that idea at all.

Michael uses some of the time to persuade Teyla. He promises her, if she surrenders herself and the baby to him, he'll stop the self-destruct. Oh, sure he will. /sarcasm.

Rodney's getting set to say goodbye to John for ever, even though John's sure he'll survive this time, just like always. But they shake hands. Aww, boys. Luckily Radek interrupts the parting scene. He's got back more control of the city including the Gate shield, so John won't have to crash and kill himself. Whew!

Just one thing. John wants Rodney to do the flying, while he leads the strike force.

Michael's still trying to convince Teyla to come out of hiding and accuses her of being a bad mother. She wants him to turn off the self-destruct as a show of good faith before she goes with him. Oh, Teyla. That was your unbearable Sophie's Choice decision.

While Rodney does his wee flying bit, Michael answers Teyla. And his reply makes absolutely NO sense. Hey, she just said she'd surrender to him, but he's now disappointed in her and will leave her to perish. After all, Michael reveals he's already collected TJ's DNA and will be able to clone him. It'll delay his master plan but not halt it. ::shakes head at the irrationality:: Still, he can't leave until he collects one final souvenir. I think it's supposed to be Ronon's head, 'cuz a dreadlock wouldn't have the same impact, right?

Luckily, that's when the shield comes down and Rodney dials in. Yay for obliterating a huge chunk of Michael's Jumper. Remember kids, NEVER park in the kawoosh zone! Radek reboots the power and John's forces attack. At the same time, Teyla emerges from the wall conduit.

So, this is slightly sexist, that Teyla hands TJ over to Amelia, asking her to take care of the baby. Because it would be remiss of TPTB to not soften a female soldier by sticking a baby in her arms. OTOH, I'm hoping that Teyla's aware of Amelia's kick-ass abilities and feels very safe in entrusting her child. It's weird though to hear Teyla ordering that nobody leave the room. Well, they were mostly extras.

Comment 3B

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

But finally we get to the big fight between Michael and John, on a platform outdoors. We can admire how easily John manages to swing himself back up onto his feet from a dangling position (I'll never forget Quarantine). But then Michael gets the upper hand, so it's mighty convenient that Teyla shows up and starts beating him up too, pushing him to fall over the edge of the platform, so he's the one dangling by his fingers and too weak to pull himself up. Teyla, as the magnificent avenging mother/angel, steps forward and kicks his left hand off, so he's really dangling. John looks on but doesn't interfere. Then, FINALLY, Teyla kicks Michael's right hand off and he plummets to the ground. Teyla shows no regret.

In the daytime, Richard, with his arm in a sling and other minor cuts and scrapes, visits Ronon in the Infirmary. I absolutely loved his speech of gratitude to Ronon: “Anyway, I just wanted to drop by and commend you for your exemplary work. Your courage in the face of danger continues to amaze and – dare I say – inspire me.” Awwww, Richard, that's so sweet and a lovely indication that he's not so thoroughly bound by protocol that he can't recognize immediate take-charge leadership in a crisis. But ::giggles:: I don't think he's going to win the mission report battle with Ronon, especially after hearing Ronon's two very short sentences, four if you include “mission report” and “end of report”. LOL.

And, then, we're back to silly boys and their silly cars. Which nearly run Teyla over as she's carrying TJ. Uh ... that doesn't look like a comfortable way to carry a baby, especially without a sling to distribute the weight. Though isn't it incredible that TJ had a full night's sleep during one of the worst emergencies in the city? Kids, I tell ya. Teyla's being pragmatic about what happened. Though Michael may be gone, she's sure there will be another threat but – without a Season 6 – that's a moot point. It's still nice for John to compliment her by saying she's “Super Mom”. Anyway, can't stop, as John has to cheat by starting his car on the count of “two”, leaving Rodney to protest and try to catch up. And the episode ends with mindless hilarity. Just another night in the big floating city.

Closing thoughts A

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

I have a number of disjointed thoughts about this episode.

I believe there's a military understanding that, should there be a threat to a base, then the only option is to eliminate that threat. [Or am I just dreaming in black ops?] So, no matter what happened, Michael had to be eliminated. Regardless of the morality of how he was created (and I've already dragged Carson and others who agreed to that decision over the coals), he'd become an insane sociopath and had to be dealt with – permanently.

I still remember reading fans' reactions when the episode first aired. Some of the most unusual (more like “bizarre”) were the ones that hated the idea that Teyla killed Michael ... because they could have been together, like a nice happy family along with Torren. ::shudders:: Of course, these fans were conveniently forgetting that Teyla had a mate – of her OWN choosing – and had no reason to want to be with Michael, unless she was suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Which she wasn't.

Some were upset that Teyla was the one to kill Michael. IMO, she's the one who had the greatest right to do so. She'd objected to the retrovirus being administered, so couldn't be tainted with that decision. Michael had abducted, experimented on and killed many of her people and had left her to die in the original time-line. Michael was obsessed with her son and, even if he said he'd be fine with a clone, we all know that, had he survived and known Atlantis was still around, he would have tried to abduct TJ again.

John has killed before so he could have done it, but in this case the rightful vengeance was all Teyla's. Once again, if you think of Michael as a constant threat, he had to be killed. The only other option would be abandonment on a planet via a space gate but no guarantee he'd stay put.

Some fans were upset that the killing was by a woman, especially a mother. But, even if women are either naturally gentler – or socialized to be so – that doesn't mean they won't react to extreme provocation with equally extreme actions. IMO, there is nothing reprehensible for Teyla's reaction.

On to other things. Oh, plot devices, how I hate you. So, Teyla got to be the only parent because Kanaan was conveniently visiting the other Athosians. Poor Rachel L got to carry a heavy baby for most of the episode. Are we to believe that a fretting baby would sleep through most of the emergency? Gee, I guess it must have been so soothing. /sarcasm.

I had to laugh when I saw the candles in Teyla's quarters, so she wasn't as affected when the power went out. I can imagine how many others would have been uncomfortable stuck in the dark.

Closing thoughts B

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

I don't like it when Rodney and Radek snipe at each other in a mean way, so I loved the fact that both men had things they could contribute scientifically. But I'll admit to gloating along with Radek when John made Rodney accompany him to the underwater Bay.

Some fans just couldn't get the whole car chase thing between John and Rodney. But, then again, these two men have had a long history of turning to each other for recreational relief, whether it's playing chess and later the “Game”, or team movie nights or cars in this case. One criticism was that two heads of the city wouldn't do something so childish. Uh ... sometimes the stress of leadership needs to dissipate in unthinking recreation. I can't think of two people who need to unwind more than Rodney and John.

There's also the matter that both men had unideal childhoods. John was being groomed to be a leader of industry until he was finally able to escape into the Air Force. I'm sure that any traditional pursuits (such as horse riding) were simply considered to be a part of a refined upbringing. Rodney, along with being ignored as a baby by his mother who was using her own rigid child rearing principles, grew up in a highly competitive household. Even if he was naturally competitive, I believe his parents would have still pushed him, that he could still do better. I don't think games would have been a part of his daily life. After all, when you build a bomb in Grade 6, you're not really doing it for fun, but to show off and gather praise.

Is it any wonder that they would want to try to have some fun, even when pushing 40? To have the childhoods they missed out on? OTOH, I believe it's this “second childhood” that would make Rodney an unlikely candidate to marry someone and to have a family. He's too immature – and I'm not saying that to be mean. OTOH, he may be pushed in that direction because his best friend will always sacrifice himself in times of trouble. So Rodney's romantic overtures may be simply because he wants to have someone in his life on whom he can rely ... someone who won't put herself at risk. Hey, it's a new thought (brand new as of this morning).

The other thing that captured me about the car races after a life-and-death experience is that it's very realistic. I remember engaging in some gallows humour when a wonderful friend died. I wasn't being disrespectful, but I was including his death as a quirky reminder of his value and how much I missed him. So, once again, relieving stress through silly games wasn't OOC.

Finally, and this is strange for me to say, I don't remember anything about the musical score. Usually, it makes quite an impact. But I guess this time the drama overshadowed all other aspects in the presentation of the episode.