Rewatch: Trinity

[twinsarein.livejournal.com]

The away team visits Doranda, inhabited according to the Ancient database. McKay doesn't detect any life signs however. In orbit they find a large destroyed Wraith fleet, on the surface everything is turned into dust. Only one building is left standing and McKay recognizes it as Ancient. It looks like an improved ground based version of the weapons satellite. McKay and Zelenka find out the ancients were experimenting with high-energy physics to find the ultimate power source, harnessing vacuum energy from our own space-time. McKay is one hundred percent convinced he can finish their project. Meanwhile Teyla travels to the planet Belkan to obtain a disease-resistant strain of flaxseed. Ronon joins her and one of the Belkan negotiators tells he's not the only surviving Satedan.  [Poll #1798215]

Comments

Comment 2B

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

Interesting because Steven is acting uncharacteristically soft. He normally does not speak this way. He explains he's simply looking for a rationale that would allow Rodney to continue "his very important work". Liz regards him with suspicion.

Rodney defends Collins and says they were all doing their jobs. So, why? In terms of physics, it shouldn't have happened. But he insists the device did what it was intended to do. John grinds out that it didn't. He reminds Rodney that it overloaded and Rodney couldn't stop it. Rodney's not accepting that accusation. He says they won't know for sure unless they go back down there "and try again". David H is acting very cavalier in this scene.

John thinks he's ... well.... He asks, "Are you serious?" Rodney: "Yes." Liz looks back and forth between the two of them, a worried expression on her face. John looks incredulous, with a member of Rodney's staff "in the morgue". Rodney says he's "painfully aware of that". He sent him there and he'll have to live with that for the rest of his life. Unfortunately, science is a much more demanding master than life or death to Rodney. "But we have a responsibility to understand what happened and learn from it." He's met with silence. Even Radek tries to move Rodney from his inflexible position, that they don't even know what went wrong. That just makes Rodney angry and he insists that's why they have to go back there.

Steven stares. John stares. Liz acts as the diplomat when she says that, when they came to Atlantis, they knew certain technologies would be out of their reach at the time. Rodney doesn't agree with her. "Not in this case." But Liz isn't buying it. She tells him he has the data from the first attempt and can run all the simulations he wants. The smug factor is growing in Rodney's behaviour. Add an annoyed huff. He's not willing to let go in case the military get a hold of it first. But Liz's answer is no. We see everyone leave (I think it's possible John was still there).

Back in the land of many drinks, Teyla's helping a staggering Ronon into a bedroom. She says he's had enough. He agrees with her. He calls out to her as she's exiting. I think he's crying as he mentions 300 of his people. He just looks so young and vulnerable.

It's a dramatic night-time shot of the towers of Atlantis. John's walking to his door when it opens and there's Rodney, left hand up, finger getting ready to indicate something important. He mentions a scientist on the Manhattan Project who accidentally irradiated himself. It took him a month to die but what did he do during his last 30 days? He worked. "He tried to understand what had happened to him so that others could learn from the tragedy."

Rodney doesn't want Collins's death to be pointless. Besides, he thinks he knows what happened. [Here and for the last few seconds, Joe F has been acting very weird. Kind of antsy, perhaps flippant, the facial expressions are too brief to pin down.] At least John's willing to listen. When Rodney wants to know if it's okay if he comes in, John says no. My impression is that the cracks (in the close friendship between these two) that started earlier in the episode have been growing because John is in no way showing that he's ever been Rodney's friend.

So, what's Rodney's reasoning. "The Ancients had it wrong." I think John's blood pressure is going up. Rodney just thinks the problem is in the automatic containment protocols. John gives him a dumb look and asks what his fix is.

After Rodney's convenient answer, John asks, "How come the Ancients didn't figure this out?" Well, according to Rodney, it could have been the heat of battle, or they just weren't smart enough. "And you are?" "I didn't say that."

So, Rodney, how BIG is this? "The wheel. The lightbulb. The hotdog." [Say again!] Best case scenario, he wins a Nobel Prize, he says with glee. Worst case scenario, tear a hole in the fabric of the universe. "The risks are nothing compared to the potential benefits." Rodney pleads with John. He tells him that Liz'll listen to him and that he's never asked this of him before but thinks he's earned it. Then those fateful words. "Trust me."

Re: Comment 2B

[twinsarein.livejournal.com]

I really like how you put this: science is a much more demanding master than life or death to Rodney. For him, at least in these early years, there isn't much balance in his like. He's all about the science, the discoveries, the knowledge to be gained, etc. I'm having trouble remembering, now, but I know he grew as a person during the series, so I'm thinking his balance improved, at least a little. I'll have to keep an eye on that as we watch.