review: 0509.Tracker
Sep. 20th, 2008 01:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
renisanzOh, Carl Binder, how I heart thee.
He wrote this episode, and I think he was responsible for Keller's development in "Missing," also, so he gets props for that.
Ok, I pretty much liked nearly everything about this episode so I'll just list them here.
• Rodney primping in the mirror. Classic.
• Rodney practically skipping down to the gateroom, and the look on his face when he realized it wouldn't be just him and Jennifer on the little "goodwill" mission. On his day off. And Ronon's already down there. And he probably was helping Jennifer carry those big, heavy bags of medical supplies down to the gateroom while Rodney was in his room primping. Score: Ronon 1, Rodney 0.
• Ronon being willing to dine on the local cuisine, Rodney. . . not so much. 2, 0
• Ronon being eager to find Jennifer and following her trail, Rodney going back to gate to radio Atlantis. I call teamwork, so one point for each. Ronon 3, Rodney 1.
• Rodney making it to the gate, but upon seeing the Wraith, quickly hiding from view: +1. I'd take a way a point for cracking the tree branch, but it this is Rodney. I wasn't going to give Ronon a point for arriving in the nick of time, because that's to be expected, but Rodney was ungrateful (even though that's in his character), so +1 to Ronon. Score: Ronon 4, Rodney 2.
• Ronon start following their tracks. It got kind of tedious with him explaining everything, but I realize they had to do that for the viewers' benefit. Rodney incessant chatter would have been annoying, too, as I'm sure it was to Ronon, but it's classic McKay, and it was pretty funny. So, this round gets a draw.
• Maybe I should take a moment to talk about Jennifer and Kiryk, the Runner. I liked her reaction when she woke up (being terrified, but defiant), asking questions, trying to reason with him. And I liked that I grew to like Kiryk. The actor playing him did a good job.
• Ronon gets a point for saving McKay (twice) when the sprung the second trap.
• I'll give Jen a point for trying to run away from Kiryk, even though I have no idea where she was planning to go. . . Jen also gets a point for not giving Kiryk false hope about whether she could save the little girl. She didn't just tell him what he wanted to hear to keep him happy.
• Jen gets +4 for killing the Wraith, saving the Selise, carrying her to safety, and then dragging Kiryk along after that. Add 2 more for disabling the tracking device and reviving Kiryk.
• Ronon and Kiryk fighting to a draw, so +1 to both. I should take Ronon's point away, since his death would have kinda killed his chances of ending up with Jennifer. Rodney gets a point for being helpful.
• The score: Ronon 6, Rodney 3, Jennifer 8, Kiryk 1.
• Ok, everyone gets points here: Ronon for taking on two Wraith (+1), Kiryk for teaming up with them (+1). OMG. . . Jennifer's saving Rodney by attacking AND fending off the Wrath while Rodney reloaded his gun (+10), Rodney for staying relatively cool under pressure, finally shooting the Wraith (+2 because it's McKay). Ronon gets another point for training Jen. (That's so gonna be a fic.)
• I loved how Rodney was all, "You could have just asked instead of kidnapping her..." and Jen was all, "Shut up, I got you something." Rodney proceeds to tinker with the teleportation device, and he gets +2 for fixing it and admitting that he wasn't sure it was actually fixed. Kiryk gets points for the ultimate sacrifice, but it's not really quantifiable.
• Rodney gets a point for giving Selise a video game. He hates kids, so this is a big step. Ronon gets a point for bringing back the doll. I think he won Selise's favor with that one, but we'll keep it even.
• I LOVED the final scene, and didn't miss the sybolism of having it in the sparring room. Rodney and Ronon get points here. I'll give Ronon +2 for stopping Rodney and finally admitting that he did have "intentions" toward Jennifer. Rodney gets a +2 for coming to Ronon in the first place, and being rather diplomatic about the whole thing. Ronon gets -1 for the smug look of overconfidence. Maybe he knows something we don't (another fic) but I like to keep an open mind as to the outcome of this contest.
Final score: Ronon9 10,** Rodney 9, Jennifer 18.*
Wow, I can't believe the score came out even like that. I think that's pretty awesome, since I ship Ronon/Keller hard. I think it's a good indicator of how far Rodney has come. Maybe that last near-death experience ("The Shrine") made him finally "see the light" or whatever.
I suppose what I didn't expect from the end of the episode was for them to make Rodney seem like the underdog. He already realized he has a long way to go to ultimately win Jennifer's affections. Maybe that's not such a bad thing. I think it's an interesting dynamic to a relationship - the idea that the person may not necessarily change who you are, but ultimately make you see the kind of person you could be if you tried. That's never a bad thing, to realize one's potential.
With Ronon it's the same way. Like Selise said, "He's not really mean; he just pretends to be." Ronon's has to overcome his willingness to let his guard down, not be so hard and intimidating all the time, so we saw a bit of that at the end of the episode, when he gave Selise her doll. I loved how Jen was floored by the gesture, too.
*If I totaled it wrong, forgive me. I was an art major.
**I actually did total it wrong the first time.
He wrote this episode, and I think he was responsible for Keller's development in "Missing," also, so he gets props for that.
Ok, I pretty much liked nearly everything about this episode so I'll just list them here.
• Rodney primping in the mirror. Classic.
• Rodney practically skipping down to the gateroom, and the look on his face when he realized it wouldn't be just him and Jennifer on the little "goodwill" mission. On his day off. And Ronon's already down there. And he probably was helping Jennifer carry those big, heavy bags of medical supplies down to the gateroom while Rodney was in his room primping. Score: Ronon 1, Rodney 0.
• Ronon being willing to dine on the local cuisine, Rodney. . . not so much. 2, 0
• Ronon being eager to find Jennifer and following her trail, Rodney going back to gate to radio Atlantis. I call teamwork, so one point for each. Ronon 3, Rodney 1.
• Rodney making it to the gate, but upon seeing the Wraith, quickly hiding from view: +1. I'd take a way a point for cracking the tree branch, but it this is Rodney. I wasn't going to give Ronon a point for arriving in the nick of time, because that's to be expected, but Rodney was ungrateful (even though that's in his character), so +1 to Ronon. Score: Ronon 4, Rodney 2.
• Ronon start following their tracks. It got kind of tedious with him explaining everything, but I realize they had to do that for the viewers' benefit. Rodney incessant chatter would have been annoying, too, as I'm sure it was to Ronon, but it's classic McKay, and it was pretty funny. So, this round gets a draw.
• Maybe I should take a moment to talk about Jennifer and Kiryk, the Runner. I liked her reaction when she woke up (being terrified, but defiant), asking questions, trying to reason with him. And I liked that I grew to like Kiryk. The actor playing him did a good job.
• Ronon gets a point for saving McKay (twice) when the sprung the second trap.
• I'll give Jen a point for trying to run away from Kiryk, even though I have no idea where she was planning to go. . . Jen also gets a point for not giving Kiryk false hope about whether she could save the little girl. She didn't just tell him what he wanted to hear to keep him happy.
• Jen gets +4 for killing the Wraith, saving the Selise, carrying her to safety, and then dragging Kiryk along after that. Add 2 more for disabling the tracking device and reviving Kiryk.
• Ronon and Kiryk fighting to a draw, so +1 to both. I should take Ronon's point away, since his death would have kinda killed his chances of ending up with Jennifer. Rodney gets a point for being helpful.
• The score: Ronon 6, Rodney 3, Jennifer 8, Kiryk 1.
• Ok, everyone gets points here: Ronon for taking on two Wraith (+1), Kiryk for teaming up with them (+1). OMG. . . Jennifer's saving Rodney by attacking AND fending off the Wrath while Rodney reloaded his gun (+10), Rodney for staying relatively cool under pressure, finally shooting the Wraith (+2 because it's McKay). Ronon gets another point for training Jen. (That's so gonna be a fic.)
• I loved how Rodney was all, "You could have just asked instead of kidnapping her..." and Jen was all, "Shut up, I got you something." Rodney proceeds to tinker with the teleportation device, and he gets +2 for fixing it and admitting that he wasn't sure it was actually fixed. Kiryk gets points for the ultimate sacrifice, but it's not really quantifiable.
• Rodney gets a point for giving Selise a video game. He hates kids, so this is a big step. Ronon gets a point for bringing back the doll. I think he won Selise's favor with that one, but we'll keep it even.
• I LOVED the final scene, and didn't miss the sybolism of having it in the sparring room. Rodney and Ronon get points here. I'll give Ronon +2 for stopping Rodney and finally admitting that he did have "intentions" toward Jennifer. Rodney gets a +2 for coming to Ronon in the first place, and being rather diplomatic about the whole thing. Ronon gets -1 for the smug look of overconfidence. Maybe he knows something we don't (another fic) but I like to keep an open mind as to the outcome of this contest.
Final score: Ronon
Wow, I can't believe the score came out even like that. I think that's pretty awesome, since I ship Ronon/Keller hard. I think it's a good indicator of how far Rodney has come. Maybe that last near-death experience ("The Shrine") made him finally "see the light" or whatever.
I suppose what I didn't expect from the end of the episode was for them to make Rodney seem like the underdog. He already realized he has a long way to go to ultimately win Jennifer's affections. Maybe that's not such a bad thing. I think it's an interesting dynamic to a relationship - the idea that the person may not necessarily change who you are, but ultimately make you see the kind of person you could be if you tried. That's never a bad thing, to realize one's potential.
With Ronon it's the same way. Like Selise said, "He's not really mean; he just pretends to be." Ronon's has to overcome his willingness to let his guard down, not be so hard and intimidating all the time, so we saw a bit of that at the end of the episode, when he gave Selise her doll. I loved how Jen was floored by the gesture, too.
*If I totaled it wrong, forgive me. I was an art major.
**I actually did total it wrong the first time.
