Rewatch: Miller's Crossing

[twinsarein.livejournal.com]

[Poll #1867711]

Comments

Comment 1

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

I'm not going to do a scene-by-scene rewatch of this episode, because so much of it is straightforward ... but I'm sure a few observations will break through. I watched it from beginning to end TWICE in a row, because there are parts of it that are transcendent. Not to mention ... magnificent.

Awww. Lookit all the scientists working hard. Is standing staring at a whiteboard for three hours working hard? Sounds more like tedious. Poor Radek has nearly lost the will to live. ::loves Radek:: Though, once again, there is a generic blonde scientist with long hair. She doesn't even have a name in the GateWorld Transcript. But it's cute to see everyone simply shut down after 10 hours, leaving Rodney to no other conclusion but to contact her (Jeannie implied).

More awww. Domestic scene in the Miller household. Madison likes to bake biiiig cookies. Mom morphs into part-time scientist to look into an e-mail from Rodney. Uh PTB, did you screw up here really badly? The last time was when it was Laura Cadman who saved the day when Rodney couldn't. So, apparently, this time and other times, Rodney's been e-mailing his sister and there's no triple-encryption on it. Isn't that a really weak point on which to hang the plot. ::sighs::

Okay, have sorta, kinda bad guys break into a Vancouver house in the middle of the night. Sorta, kinda not a Canadian thing. Or, maybe, the house was unlocked, in a throwback to gentler times. In any case, scary.

Time for team (minus Teyla) to the rescue. Always nice to see the SGC stargate. Uh ... Rodney, you sure you're still Canadian? Otherwise why would you say "They're kind of like our C.I.A."? Shouldn't that have been your C.I.A.? Though it's cute to see that John disapproves of even the Canadian government getting to name its OWN agencies. ::snickers::

Well, the team is in luck, because they can be beamed up into orbit and back down in Vancouver. Now this seemed to be really slipshod when it comes to security. Mind you, I've rarely been around a crime scene for realz. But, on this street, wouldn't the cops have set up barricades and tape and allowed only those who actually LIVE on the street entry? That just seemed sloppy, so that an outside interested party could continue to observe. OTOH, I guess it made it easier to continue the story so we'd have the impression the house (and visitors) is still a concern.

Poor, poor Rodney. Kaleb lashes out at him, blaming him for Jeannie's disappearance. Which is So. Not. Fair (it's the computer's fault, really). In any case, it's time for Kaleb to take Madison out of the house so Rodney can get to work on the computer. Also, bye-bye to John and Ronon, because Rodney might be a while.

In the meantime, Jeannie (with a hood over her head and her hands tethered together) is thrust into a room. Talk about terrifying. Uh, was it necessary to use a hood? That's far worse than just a blindfold. So ... not ALL of the bad guys are in Pegasus. Not just bad, but desperate. Henry Wallace, I don't care what your reason is, you're an evil man. You don't simply kidnap someone because you need their help. ::sighs::

In the meantime, Rodney and Agent Malcolm Barrett of the N.I.D are in a car going to a destination Rodney gleaned from Jeannie's computer that showed it had been monitored. ::sighs again at teh stupid:: Rodney's talking to John on the phone. John wants him to wait before approaching the warehouse, but Rodney's being all Action Man which includes trying to kick in an unlocked door. Uh, that's so OOC for Rodney. Or is it an indication that he'll do anything to find Jeannie.

Oops. The bad guys jump out of hiding, knocking Malcolm down and taking Rodney. When John and Ronon arrive, they find a recovering Malcolm. So the bad guys didn't kill him, only knocked him out. Still, no Jeannie and now no Rodney.

[that-which.livejournal.com]

Uh ... Rodney, you sure you're still Canadian? Otherwise why would you say "They're kind of like our C.I.A."? Shouldn't that have been your C.I.A.? Though it's cute to see that John disapproves of even the Canadian government getting to name its OWN agencies. ::snickers::

That took me aback at first too, but I eventually decided that he meant our, as in Canada's, CIA - their version of something John would recognize. If you take it that way, it's kind of endearing, Rodney explaining Canada to John the way John explains Earth to Ronon and Teyla.

I may be overthinking it, as it is a Martin Gero episode, so it could easily just be wrong.

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

Isn't it interesting (and perhaps confusing, even dangerous) to see how the omission of just one word can change one's perception? When "our" should have meant "Canada's", I understood it to mean "American" as in SGC/Atlantis/etc. I'm also too used to hearing Rodney talk about Canada by name.

Comment 2A

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

Rodney's just been hustled into the lab where Jeannie is (wearing more than just what she'd been sleeping in). He gets untied, etc. Jeannie – of course – blames him, because he sent her stuff via the computer. Again, is that Rodney's fault?

Well, it's time for formal introductions. Rodney's not impressed, and it's delightful for him to have faith that there'll be a "hundred Marines" kicking down the door in the next couple of minutes. Except not, because (oh, come on, this is too much of a coincidence) Henry owns the company that built the sub-cu chips. And he's deactivated them.

Not only that, but he's dug up a whole bunch of info on the Stargate program, Atlantis, yadda-yadda. Mayday, mayday. SGC, you have a HUGE security problem on your hands.

Okay, more immediate is the problem Henry shows the siblings. His daughter is dying of leukemia and he – the idiot he is with sycophantic staff (because bad guys always are surrounded by incompetents) – injected her with nanites. Rodney thought that Jeannie was the bait to trap him, but Henry says she had a better grasp of the subject. Oh, poor Rodney, being slighted like that. In any case, it's up to the siblings to fix his daughter ... or else.

There's a quick jump to the SGC, just so we know they have no leads though, hey, Malcolm says half the Vancouver PD is looking for them. He's so optimistic ... and should broaden his range.

Back in Henry's lab, Jeannie and Rodney are hard at work. While she's busy dealing with the nanites, Rodney's trying to find a way to escape. Wow – TPTB could not have made a more diametrically opposed reaction to the situation than with these two. Jeannie's focused on trying to cure Sharon but Rodney's a whole lot more pragmatic. After Pegasus, he doesn't believe they'll be released, especially if they don't cure Sharon. Jeannie comes to the reluctant conclusion that Rodney may be right, whether or not this is something only a desperate parent would understand. Rodney understands kidnapping. 'Nuff said.

So Rodney manages to release the door lock. But does it not seem stupid that such a genius would have not been able to memorize the layout? Jeannie, don't bring up the West Edmonton Mall because he was a kid (I'm thinking young teen).

It wouldn't matter anyway, because Henry just has to look at the monitor and sees an empty lab. Cue alarms and guards with tasers. Ouch. Poor Rodney. When he comes to, he's asked a really stupid question by Henry. Why? Because. But Henry insists he'd let them leave.

[twinsarein.livejournal.com]

Oh, it's got to stick in Rodney's craw to call on his sister for help. It's such a lovely domestic scene we see, though. And I like how Jeannie just jumps in to help when she gets her brother's email. Of course, the scene changes so quickly, and so dramatically. The terror as those men came in was palpable.

Ronon on Earth! Finally. I loved seeing him in regular clothes - he's right though, he does still stick out. *g*

I liked Rodney being the hero to Jeannie's husband, promising to get Jeannie back. Such a serious, resolute look on his face.

Comment 2B

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

Now this is chilling. How Rodney's words ("You never should have injected her") give Henry the idea to up the stakes. As I said before, evil and I don't care how desperate you are, you don't go around harming innocent people. ::growls::

This is horrifying, to see Rodney helpless as Henry injects Jeannie with a dose of nanites. I hate this man already so much. It's no wonder his people lied to him, saying the nanites were ready.

The only good thing about the situation is that the siblings are working together without any additional sniping. And Rodney mentions having worked with the Wraith. Fun times. I think I recall the music being good here, underlining how busy they were, though with a strong drum beat indicating that time was marching on, time they didn't have.

Meanwhile, John, Malcolm and a reluctant Ronon are trying to find leads to the kidnapper. Bingo. Well, almost, but at least now they know where to look. Ronon's going out to find food. He'll be back when they need him and his gun.

A few hours have gone by since Rodney and Jeannie finished their work. So, plenty of time for Jeannie to grill Rodney about his love life and intentions of marrying Katie. Okay, so we're back to the vicious twist Jeannie had in McKay and Mrs. Miller. Not only that, what sister in the universe thinks about her brother's hotness – or lack thereof – and compares him very unfavourably to his teammate. That was WAY disturbing. Just ew. Of course, I blame the writing.

Oh, thank goodness. They're interrupted before Rodney can get even more of an insightful analysis of his shortcomings by his sister. The siblings are introduced to a fully-recovered Sharon.

Back at the SGC, Ronon's found the commissary and a very, very, VERY talkative Walter Harriman. I'm not too thrilled about his characterization either. But, hey, TPTB are rather disdainful of SGC employees. Ronon is thrilled to be rescued by John (who also rescues one of Walter's fries). And they're off.

It seems that Henry's ready to celebrate with champagne, but Rodney's being his naturally sceptical self. In any case, Henry admits he knows he'll go to prison but, as long as his daughter will live, he's okay with that. Poor kid, first motherless and now with a father in prison. What a terrific life – NOT. Well, it's too soon to have a toast, because one of the guards interrupts them. Back in the hospital-like room, Sharon is flatlining. The medical staff use a defib on her, but it's no use. She's dead. While Rodney wants to use the situation to get out of there, Jeannie expresses her regrets, then tries to get Henry to understand that she has to get help for herself by returning to the SGC. Henry is too distraught at his daughter's death, but I also get the feeling that he's not going to let them go because they've failed to save her.

Comment 3A

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

Eeeeeeeeek! Sharon's alive. Well, sorta, kinda. The lights are on but nobody's home. Why? Well, the nanites decided to do some extra repair work. Once they'd cured the cancer, they went on to the next problem. Which terrifies Jeannie because, in order to cure her epilepsy, the nanites would shut her brain down.

Luckily, we don't have to go down that road, as the good guys break in and rescue them. It's beamout time again. Yay!

Back at the SGC, Rodney's arranged to have Jeannie put in a medical coma and he's broken her legs, so the nanites have something to fix. Gee, what a terrific brother!

But, otherwise, Rodney's still stuck. He really does need help. It's time to call the expert. We see the Wraith (later to be known as Todd) stumbling down the ramp of the stargate. He really doesn't look so good himself. Rodney tries to appeal to whatever sense of kinship he may have – though Rodney has no idea what kind of family groupings Wraith have, if any. Still, it's amazingly touching to see Rodney talk about Jeannie and her family. Okay, as that speech isn't working, Rodney appeals to Todd's desire to eradicate the Replicators. Working on the nanite code will get him a lot closer to that. Yup. Paydirt. Todd agrees.

The work seems to have been going on for hours between Rodney and Todd. The music is inquisitive and challenging. We see an unconscious Jeannie in the Infirmary, as if we could forget. Then Todd collapses. Uh-oh.

What follows is simply one of the most amazingly magnificent Rodney and John moments from any season. I'm starting to tear up just typing. Rodney says Todd needs to feed. John says the N.I.D isn't just going to supply him with a human meal, so Rodney says it's got to be him, even though he's aware he WILL die. The music here is utterly sensitive, devastatingly so. And Joel Goldsmith did it with only SIX notes.

John's face goes through several contortions. Joe F is so talented, letting his facial expressions show how conflicted he is, while saying almost nothing. But, wow, how full of meaning is the barely uttered "I'm sorry". And, yeah, you don't have to be wearing your slash goggles to see that John loves Rodney (though by now I think it's way past how-a-friend-loves-another-friend) that he won't let him sacrifice himself. Not happening on his watch.

Re: Comment 3A

[tavabean.livejournal.com]

Yes, brilliant, brilliant scene!

Re: Comment 3A

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

And, ultimately, one that TPTB didn't like, as it meant there were simply too many heroic characters on Atlantis. Better to show backstabbing, petty ones, right???

But we will ALWAYS have that scene to remind us of nobility of character.

Comment 3B

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

Okay, it's time for us to get our heartbeats down again. John is meeting with Henry in a cell. He says that Jeannie will die if the guest expert doesn't get to eat. He shows Henry the pictures of Kaleb and Madison. Okay, I actually disagree with what Henry says next: "I never meant for any of this to happen." Sorry, Mister, I do NOT believe you. You're a wealthy and powerful man who thought he could fix things by force. You chose to inject your daughter and, then, knowing how dangerous the nanites were, you killed Jeannie, on a time-delayed basis. I'm not buying your lies. Thankfully, John reminds him that Rodney's blaming himself for the entire situation though John and Henry know better.

Now it's time for a bit of comic relief, even though I think it's just badly written and played. Rodney's trying to get back into his lab, obviously to sacrifice himself, but the card he's using won't work. Ha – he snagged Bill Lee's (under the pretense of having been in the gym with him). In any case, he doesn't need a card as the door opens. John says it's okay for him to enter.

Lots of suspicious stuff inside. Such as guards removing a zipped-up body bag. And Todd is busy working away. Rodney's horrified to hear what John's report is going to say ... how Henry died: "The Wraith got the upper hand."

What's amazing is Todd's almost instantaneous recovery. He's finished! John hustles Rodney to get the program uploaded.

Next we see a groggy Jeannie waking up. Rodney reassures her she's fine. Then she takes the opportunity to blame him, something she'll never forget. So he'll have to atone, eating vegetarian food, reading Maddie extra stories ... and buying her a hybrid car. But, then, she relents and says she loves him. When Rodney doesn't return the sentiment in a direct way, he gets the LOOK until he actually does say "love".

Finally, back on Atlantis, Rodney walks into John's quarters. Remember, people, this is canon. John has an open door policy where Rodney is concerned. John's lying on his munchkin bed, reading a magazine. Rodney mentions the guilt purchase of a Prius then wants to talk about what John did, aka talking a man into killing himself. John disagrees. All he did was "present" a situation. Though TBH Henry had absolutely nothing to live for. His wife and daughter dead. His criminal actions that included attempted murder. And, wow, if Rodney thought he was feeling guilt, it's nothing compared to what John's feeling. Though I still think John would justify it in a heartbeat, where Rodney is concerned.

Rodney tries to lighten the situation by suggesting they get something to eat in the Mess. And then very clumsily brings up a comparison of their relative attractiveness between each other. John derides him with "Who's been lying to you?" Oh, Rodney, you are so insecure and shouldn't have listened to your sister. Who should not have been making such an observation. Baaaaaad Jeannie.

And that's the end of the episode, returning us to life going on in Atlantis.

[twinsarein.livejournal.com]

Ick, I didn't like this guy on Desperate Housewives, and I don't like him here. I can understand his desperation, though, and even though his efforts are misguided and wrong, I have to admire the fact that he's willing to do anything to make his daughter better.

Of course, then we learned that it's his fault for giving her nannies - a tech they didn't really understand. I wonder who was stupid enough to tell him that they had them all figured out. Suuuure you did.

Jeannie wants to get the problem solved, and Rodney is focused on getting them out of there. He's got such a good plan, but then gets lost on the way out. They get recaptured, and Rodney is quite blunt with the crazy, desperate man. Not his smartest move. Jeannie gets injected with the same nanites that Henry injected into his daughter, Sharon.

Now, the thumb screws are being tightened.

Closing thoughts: A

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

Too tired for these last night, but I have to write about them in the light of day (even though it's barely past a dull dawn).

First of all, there's the concept that desperate people will do desperate things. I believe that one's personal morality will allow someone to go only so far. Henry Wallace's personal morality was, shall we say, flexible. He believed saving his daughter justified kidnapping, though it was interesting to see that his hired goons did the least amount of damage to Malcolm ... so he wasn't killed. Kaleb and Maddie hadn't been harmed either. Just in case we don't see the comparison, we can feel so reassured that the people who kidnap first instead of asking don't only live in Pegasus. Don't you feel so much better knowing that? Nah, didn't think so.

Compare and contrast that with Jeannie. Her life's been more than threatened but she still thinks of helping someone else. I don't think it's simply because she's a mother (that's too simplistic); it's just the way she is. On the other hand, I believe it's because she was a SAHM with fairly limited recent exposure to the cutthroat environment of large corporations why her reactions were on a personal scale. Fix Sharon and I'll be okay. Everything will be okay.

Then look at Rodney. He's been affected by his time on Atlantis and exposure to – who else but – John. John always sacrifices himself first. If that's the only way to save everyone else, he won't even think of the consequences to his life. Rodney's been kidnapped before, his life has been in danger. He understands that his first priority is to escape (or wait to be saved by his team). Nothing else reaches that priority.

However, where Jeannie is affected, he understands instinctively that he cannot allow himself to be the first priority, not if living means that she dies. It's not just that. He's learned the value of "family" (gee, I wonder how – NOT) and can't see hers broken up over her unnecessary death. So he proposes a desperate measure, one that will not harm any outsider, but only himself. We all know that John's the same way. [I don't really want to talk about this, but the SGC could have gotten a death-row inmate, but that's an area where TPTB, being Canadian, probably didn't want to explore. And we wouldn't have had this moral dilemma.]

But someone like Henry Wallace was already unhinged enough to take the next step ... to infect Jeannie. He knew what he was doing but didn't care about the consequences. Only his daughter's life was important, but no one else's, not his and not any stranger's. Once again, I think that kind of entitlement comes from being rich and having people at one's ... disposal. If Jeannie died, that would have been ... unpleasant but he would have blamed Rodney for not working hard enough to save her. He would refuse to take responsibility and would instead project it outward. What he did also continues to demonstrate what I believe the problem was with his science teams. They assured him they'd ironed out the nanite coding problems – anything to tell the boss exactly what he wanted to hear. And then they probably got out of there ASAP. Working for the bad guys is usually not something you can put on your résumé. Especially if you've been sucking up and basically lying to cover your ass.

Closing thoughts: B

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

Getting back to being rich, because Henry was unhappy with the limited span of knowledge the SGC was giving him, he decided to dig for more facts. I wonder how much instability and potential calamity his actions caused. How many others are like him, those who will dig to learn more? [For these tantalizing questions, stay tuned to Season 5!] And I'll return to the issue of security between the SGC and Jeannie. Where are the multiple encryptions on her computer – like nonexistent – so that strangers can monitor her transmissions? Or did the bad guys break in when the entire family was out and bug the computer AND the house? The SGC should have had a stronger security system in place to handle a special circumstance such as hers. Such as whatever the I.O.A was using, as their people were high-ranking civilians.

When we examine Rodney and John and death, we also see how they're different from the way the bad guys operate. Rodney's been on the receiving end of people sacrificing themselves to save him (the "Barcelona McKays" pilot in Grace Under Pressure). When that happened, Rodney couldn't understand WHY that young man did so. Even for someone with such an enormous ego (whether justified or not), there's a sense of humility, of being undeserving. It's a very powerful indicator of his humanity. I believe that every death close to Rodney has scarred him: they're etched on his memory. Elizabeth, Brendan, Peter, etc., etc.

[I also wanted to mention something slightly OT, namely the idea that Rodney wasn't trained to be a killer. I read a fic last week where Elizabeth refused to rescue John from Kolya, so Rodney went behind her back, rescued a severely beaten and injured John and then executed Kolya with a bullet to the forehead. When John learned what had happened, he was so angry AT Elizabeth (outraged, incensed ... whatever word expresses his feelings the strongest) that someone like Rodney – a scientist - should not have the deliberate taking of a life on his conscience.]

I believe John carries the same burden of death or loss the same way, though – with the exception of how he's dealt with losing Aiden and Elizabeth – he usually does not allow others to see just how much. Until Rodney's willing to die. And then we see that there is no way in hell that John will allow it, even if he has to spout team cohesiveness as a pretty weak excuse to cover up any personal, deeper reasons.

Will John carry the burden of Henry's death? I believe just a tiny bit. Just as John did when he closed the shield on Kolya's invading force. But whatever he's evert felt is far outweighed by his responsibility to keep his own safe. He will always be the Defender of Atlantis. [And here I go, starting to cry again.]

So, the above was mostly the good stuff (with the exception of the lousy security). Now the bad. Jeannie is such a manipulator when it comes to Rodney. Was it really HIS fault that she was kidnapped? Seriously? But, then again, it's easier to blame the person you're related to instead of the one who's just injected you with nanites. Right, Jeannie-bean??? She would have never been a target if she'd never sent in that original proof to her professor; so, in a way, she only had herself to blame, if we're going to be completely irrational about it. And, hey, Kaleb: you're not helping either, though I can understand you're the vulnerable husband – and, once again, Rodney makes an easy and convenient target.

Closing thoughts: C

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

Okay, so Jeannie will force Rodney to eat vegetarian (without complaining about it; ha! that'll be the day), read Maddie more stories and buy the family a car. Is that all? Nope, she'll still never allow him to forget what happened. Which was NOT his fault. She should learn to direct her anger in the right direction, aka the SGC and the bad guys.

She should just STOP nagging Rodney about his love life. She's been on Atlantis and knows he has a family (though it was brutally inadequate in that episode, until the ending). Is focusing on Rodney's shortcomings (emotional AND physical) a way to bolster his confidence ... his chances ... or merely yet another way we now know the elder McKays screwed up their children, where everything had to be a competition. Anyway, it's just bad manners and she should know better. Is that how she's raising Maddie? And, for the record, I think "Did you bring me a present" from the previous episode is a terrible expression to come from a young child's mouth! Writing fail for the sake of a cheap laugh.

I've already mentioned the EW factor, but will again. I'll blame the writing again, with greater emphasis as the script was written by a man (Martin G) who had to include a female POV of a male obsession (yes, I mean comparisons of penis size). Jeannie is out of line and also acting very mean (see, that's where I get confused: how could a person who is so catty to her brother be a kind wife and mother; it's schizophrenic behaviour AFAIC). And please note it's not the same thing for John to brush off Rodney's question. After all, he gets called "Kirk" by Rodney often enough. It's not a ONE-sided street. Beside that, they are best friends and teammates.

One final thing where I believe TPTB are being really silly. Are we really to believe that Jeannie is smarter than Rodney though she dropped out several years ago and yet came up with the gatebridge concept in her spare time, using fingerpaints??? Rodney's mind is being stimulated on a daily basis (often not how he'd prefer it, as he's involved in running for his life, lol); he's surrounded by other capable scientists (Radek) and minions, so he's constantly showing off to maintain his superiority. Except for this episode where he had to admit – to himself and others – that he needed outside help. And, guess what? His sister has a better grasp, while baking cookies, etc., of the science. To the extent that a stranger could evaluate and acknowledge her superiority. To me, it's not realistic.

I believe the writers did that deliberately, once again to bring the geek back down to Earth. As it wasn't enough to belittle his intellect, they move on to his attractiveness as a man, on getting a mate. Is that how they view themselves, loathing their inner geek and allowing their bitterness to escape in the way they write Rodney's character? Well, I believe you know what my answer is.

To end this on a high note, it's wonderful to see Rodney as a hero. Yes, we've seen him do heroic things before (like all the times I've mentioned during the rewatch). Somehow, though, I believe this time is the first time Rodney's come the closest to feeling what goes through John's head before a suicide mission: that there's NO time to come up with an alternate plan and he's the only one who can do it and succeed. I love this Rodney so much ... and, yes, crying again. Huh – must be my allergies, lol. Just as well, I'm all thunked out.

[that-which.livejournal.com]

You ever notice that pretty much all the episodes where a female character behaves shabbily towards Rodney and he's supposed to be grateful that she's willing to forgive him for his unworthiness and acknowledge his existence were written by Martin Gero? We're talking The Brotherhood, Duet, both of the Jeannie episodes where she treats him like a meanspirited thirteen year old (The Shrine was someone else), and Brainstorm, all Gero.

Dial forward to today, and he's making The LA Complex, starring Jewel Staite as an embittered aging ingenue who once knew science fiction stardom in her youth but has now tossed her scruples aside to try to get her career back, and he's hired Carl Binder, the guy who wrote the Jennifer tied up in the woods in a tight shirt episodes of season 5, to write for it.

I think it's why the poor kid dislikes his viewers so much. Television is the therapist who never got an unlisted number, and we're butting in to his Very Private inner drama. Which is, you know, on our televisions.

[helenkacan.livejournal.com]

I did not know any of that (but it gives me an excuse to use my pissed-off Rodney icon). It helps explain a lot. ::sighs::

But why should I even be surprised, considering how much evidence these guys left behind of their fumbling of character development.