Stargate Atlantis: "Outcast" review (SPOILERS)

[wraithfodder]

 Spoiler-ridden commentary/review on the "Outcast" episode of Stargate Atlantis.

OUTCAST

Just a running commentary as I watch...

* Sheppard showing Ronon ice skating stuff? Boy, the stock is getting low on Atlantis. Time to get some bootlegged movies ;)
* Are Ronon's shirts getting, er, lower?
* The scene where Sheppard got informed of his father's death. It was all in the eyes. Flanigan does such a good job of conveying that kind of angst with just a look.
* Would someone with a high-def TV please screencap the newspapers at RepliAva on Shep's dad. I could not read the headline. Accursed ordinary TV!
* BEST scene was McKay coming to Sheppard's quarters to offer his condolescences. And like guys, so much said, sorta, without saying anything.
* Sheppard waiting to go through the gate and then, zap, Ronon just comes up beside him "Where are you going?" "With you." Jus tlike that. Talk about loyalty!
* Damn, that looked like a pricey rental car but then the entire Greenwich-CT style estate just screamed money. 
* Shoot, see, this is why you take all spoilers with a grain of salt. Brother was David, not Graham. Ah, but it was fun to mock the name while it lasted ;)
* You could see the get in the gate winner at the buffet table where Ronon was taking everything. He was the guy grinning like an idiot ;) Hmm, maybe his character thought he was in the will...
* We find out that Sheppard basically sorta rebelled against Dad, and it wouldn't surprise me when he went to college he joined the ROTC and went into the military that way.
* Alas, we don't know why it's so complicated between Dave and Sheppard, but it's all those family dynamics.
* "I told you I had an ex-wife, right?" Honestly, I didn't see any real chemistry between Nancy (the ex) and Sheppard.
* It took me about ten minutes to figure out Ava was RepliAva. She just looked like a replicator. They 're all sorta... thin, young and have long hair ;)
* Ah, Dave is pissed that Sheppard is leaving the wake and snipes about the top secret stuff. I suppose the 'black mark' stuff was known in the family. But Dave asking if he'd challenge the will. 
* Skipping past Terminator redux (it was pretty good, particularly bringing back Bates and here's a question - I thought Dr. Lee was married. didn't he mention he had kids? yet he's scoping out bikinis??)
* Wow, Ronon's bulletproof vest was awful short...
* I like  that Sheppard figured out Dr. Poole was up to something when he went in to see the replicator. 
* So, we found out Nancy hasn't seen John for four years, so the last time she probably saw him was probably after the fiasco in Afghanistan, or before he went to Antarctica (since he said he did 11 months there was I recall).  And there's now canon he flew top secret type missions (yes, fanfic writers are now blessed to go wild, not that we haven't already). 
* In the car, well, I still couldn't see the two married, but I could see them divorced. Weird.
* Loved Dr Lee's suggestion they melt the replicator down like the Terminator, and then they instead burned him up in orbit like in Mission to Mars (in which Kavan Smith had a small role)
* Ah, the replicator beating the crap out of Ronon and Sheppard and pinning Shep to the wall like a bug, but then RepiAva saves him, but Ronon still attacks him. Geez, he must have been a Jack Russell Terrier in another life... ;)
* The solution to save Ava was pretty ingenious and unexpected. Glad they didn't toast her.
* Sheppard going back to the estate to talk with his brother, so we can assume they're ironing out problems...

Overall, it was a pretty good episode, but I'd really wanted a bit more on Sheppard than on chasing the weplicator around ;) We go to see what dissolved his marriage (the job, basically, and a bit of emotional distance as well). I suppose if the show lasts long enough, Nancy could promote to Homeworld Security and then find out the ex-hubby is battling aliens in a distant galaxy... ;)

I'm looking forward to fanfic on this. Sorry to see that Teyla wasn't there, but this was no doubt one in which the actress was probably pretty pregnant.

And that's all I can think of right now.

Oh wait, one more thing. The tie. Sheppard's shimmering red and blue tie as he and Dave talked.  ;)

Comments

[erin-anderson.livejournal.com]

Are Ronon's shirts getting, er, lower?

This is a bad thing??

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

As long as he doesn't raid Fabio's wardrobe ;)

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Hooray! Backstory! Really, though, you don't want too much backstory. Sometimes it's nice to have a little left to speculate over. Oh! I can't wait to read the transcript. All the spoilers have given me an idea for a story, but I need to know more, first.

And the divorce was job related, not John cheating on her. No fodder for the anti-kirkers! Ha!

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Ah, you're right. The folks who scream "KIrk! Kirk!" have no ammo now ;) Phew.

[bramble-rose.livejournal.com]

I'm wondering if she didn't step out on him, he knew the name of her sig other (Grant?) and they hadn't seen each other in awhile.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's been four years, so the divorce may have been even longer ago than that.... Grant, I think. Yeah.

[(Anonymous)]

is someone going to write a crossover where the Grant in question is DH's character from "Traders"?
.
.
.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

That would be... odd ;) hmm, someone's bound to write it

[kimberlyfdr.livejournal.com]

The John and Rodney scene WON THE NIGHT for me :D Also, I forgot how much I missed Bates until he showed up and then it was all "where have you been, I missed you!!"

And I just checked Mallozzi's blog post for tonight. The casting spoilers? HA! A really good SGA Friday :D

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Yup, the McKay- Sheppard scene was the highlight of the episode :):)

[parislove27.livejournal.com]

It was great. McKay said it all without saying it when he came to Sheppard's quarters.

Joe did an awesome job because all he did to convey his feelings was the "hurt eyes". It pulls together the "being military, I have to show no feelings" and the "I'm still human so I still have emotions".

I also enjoyed seeings Bates again! :)

[kristen999.livejournal.com]

Upon re-watch, the scene between Rodney and Sheppard WAS pure gold. It sizzled with great performances between the two.

[nightspring.livejournal.com]

I kept on wanting to prod Rodney and tell him "Hug John already, he needs it!" :p

[parislove27.livejournal.com]

It looked like he was considering hugging him at the time but thought against it.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

I could just watch that one scene and ignore the rest...

[faekitty71.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed the episode but I agree with you, less repilcators more backstory. I was really hoping the two would intersect more like in the SG-1 episode of Cam's high school reunion. I was hoping that people at the funeral would think he was a failure and then ta-da he's actually quite important.

I did like the sequences with his brother, it needed a lot more.

Ronon at the buffet table was priceless. "Is this free?" then piling it on.

There were pictures but no actual segments with John and the horseys.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Ronon plowing through the buffet was priceless :) but I would have loved to have seen some reaction from people going "well, look who showed up" type stuff, just to see what was going on, because we actually know zip about what caused Sheppard to break away from the family (except that his father had his life planned out since he was 14).

[negolith2.livejournal.com]

Was it just me, or did the ex kinda remind anyone else of Larrin? They could have been sisters....

!?!?!

Grraaaggghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No no no no no no no.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

There was a similarity between the two women. In fact, the hair looked the same. I was sorta surprised that a Director in Homeland Security wouldn't comb her hair ;)

[lerah1.livejournal.com]

No HD, but if i'm reading the download version correctly the newspaper headlines say:

"Utilities Mogal Patrick Shepherd Dies at 69" - picture of Dad.

"...ogram System Wows Crowd" - picture of blond woman not in uniform but possibly Carter.

"Air Force Colonel Wins Second Binder(??) Prize" - picture of Carter in uniform.

"Scientist Awarded $600K Grant" - picture of Rodney.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Rodney won a grant? For WHAT? I mean, he's been out of country, off the planet, for years! Hmm.. The Binder award is an inside joke about Carl Binder, no doubt.

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

I had to laugh at Ronon during the climactic battle at the end when he started punching the Replicator. Dude, you guys just shot it how many times without even slowing it down? What exactly do you think your fists are going to do?

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, I'm watching that going, wow, he doesn't give up but that's gotta hurt...