musings on the finale

[tielan]

I haven't seen anything since Quarantine, due to bandwidth issues. I'm trying to avoid as much spoilerage as possible in the meantime, although a little is to be expected.

This is my musings on what little tidbits I've heard. Some spoilers, but not the major kind, a few reflections on S4 and hopes for S5. What can I say? I'm getting in ahead of tomorrow's crowd. *g*

Teyla

I don't expect Teyla will be in the finale at all. Although she hasn't ever been significant in any of the finales so that's nothing new.

It really grates that the one year when they decide they're going to do something with Teyla...Rachel gets pregnant. It's like the mother of all bad timing. And as far as Season Five goes, Joe Mallozzi hasn't answered any of my mails other than to say that Teyla is still part of the team. Which, you know, is no comfort, since she was "part of the team" all through Season Three and got jack shite by way of development, plot, or anything to do.

I know, there's a Teyla-oriented story in the works.

It could be said that the Teyla-fans "did well" this year: we had a Teyla-backstory episode in Missing, a Teyla-saves-the-day story in Spoils Of War (even through the Issues over motherhood, feminism, and patriarchy). We had Teyla as a major lynchpin in Tabula Rasa, and possibly in Kindred I. (The impression I've gathering from Kindred II is that she is once again in the "needs saving" group. Whether this is right or wrong, don't spoil me, hey?) And there've been emotionally significant scenes reiterating her importance to the team (and to John) all through the season.

So, yeah, better than Season Three. But still not approaching half what's possible. It's not approaching a quarter of what I want as a Teyla-fan, or one-tenth of what John or Rodney's had over the last four years.

Still, fate has a sadistic bastard's sense of humour. Now that Rachel's no longer pregnant, I'm hoping for more significant parts for her to play - preferably paired up working with John, with Rodney, with Zelenka, with Carson, with the new administrator of Atlantis, with Jennifer...basically with anyone except Ronon. Because, hello, "primitive-appearing aliens all stand to one side and let the good white folks who know best through" is colonialist in precisely the way Joe Mallozzi thinks it isn't!

We're Not Going There. (Really.)


Ronon/Jennifer vs. Rodney/Jennifer

The Jennifer/Rodney thing. On one hand, I'm torn between wanting it just to watch the rabid McSheps tear their hair out and scream. On the other hand, I know the "Jennifer Keller, man-stealing bitch" contingent isn't too far behind the wailing and flailing and gnashing of teeth.

And I rather liked Ronon/Jennifer myself. I mean, they were cute. And, yes, she reminds him of his ex-wife, but, hello, don't be telling me that you've never ever heard of people fixating on a type of person, or falling in love a second time with someone who resembles the first. And not just the neurotics, the psychotics, and the emotionally dependents, but the people who are perfectly happy in their second relationship in spite of the similarities with the first.

Because if you've never heard of that, then I have to introduce you to my mother, my father, and my stepdad. Trust me on this.

Anyway, back to Ronon/Jennifer...I had a whole conversation with carolyn_claire about this, too. She's on the Rodney/Jennifer bandwagon, I'm on the Ronon/Jennifer one. Either way, we decided that there should be a RONON NEEDS LOVE club. My caveat would be "not from Teyla" because "lots of screentime together" and "a common background" does not mean "love and kisses forevah" in any handbook of lurve I've ever seen. (And because, hey, Teyla's already got enough trouble with Kanaan being whacked out on one hand, and John pressuring her for an answer as to whether she's coming back to the team on the other. Let's be kind to the nice Athosian lady - she's had a lot happen to her in the last twelve months.)


The RantMobile is coming! And everybody's humming!

Let's hop on the rantmobile for a moment: the John/Teyla fans who are beating on Kanaan? Or beating on Teyla for loving/sleeping with Kanaan because of John? In fic or in words? Would you mind standing up against that sunny wall? Over there. Yes, right there. Have a cigarette? You don't take them? Fine. Oh, and put this blindfold on so you can better appreciate the sun on your skin. Stand to attention, now...

So Kanaan is the fly in your ointment of Twu Wuv between John and Teyla? Cry me a bloody river, folks. Let's just say that I am no more impressed by this behaviour than I am by the behaviour of the McSheps and Shweirs who regard Teyla as nothing more than an inconvenience in the path towards their John/ChosenOne 'Soul Mates Forevah And Evah'.

Sure, Teyla went for the safe option, but John wasn't exactly making his emotional position clear. And while people might like to think that John/Teyla is obvious as all hells, I would say that there was always the possibility of more, but they never codified it between themselves, and so it was at a standstill when Kanaan made his move. You gotta be in it to win it. Kanaan was in it. John never was.

And John and Teyla didn't codify anything. Because if they had, Teyla wouldn't have slept with Kanaan. Let's not play the "Evil Woman Who Used John's Feelings" card here, thank you. Anyone with half a brain cell and no axe to grind knows that Teyla plays down the line. She's not a cheater. If she and John had an explicit understanding, or even half of an explicit understanding, she would have made her position clear to Kanaan when he put the moves on her. (And, yes, it was Kanaan who put the moves on her. How do I know this? Go watch the opening conversation in Sunday.)

Kanaan moved and Teyla didn't rebuff. Ergo, she and John had no explicit understanding.

If there was an implicit one, then John might have thought they had something, but, again, Teyla wouldn't have gone into a relationship with Kanaan unless she believed she was a free agent. Basic character comprehension. Capische?

We're Not Going Into This, Either. (Really!)


So, I think I've gotten the most pressing of my Stargate Atlantis fandom issues out in there. There's a backlog of issue-ness, but it can wait. :)

Comments

[amathela.livejournal.com]

I would say that there was always the possibility of more, but they never codified it between themselves, and so it was at a standstill when Kanaan made his move.

That's exactly the way I see it. Depending on how you read the conversation in Sunday, Teyla may or may not have explicitly acknowledged feelings for John (though not to John himself); John, on the other hand, while he may have feelings for Teyla, certainly isn't acknowledging them to anyone else, and maybe not even to himself. And even if they're both aware of the other's feelings ... I can see John believing they have some sort of understanding, because he's all repression-don't-talk-about-it guy, but I can't see Teyla believing herself to be in a relationship (or pre-relationship, or having an "understanding") with someone unless they'd, y'know, actually talked about it. John never made his move, and even if she did have feelings for him and/or believed that he had feelings for her, I'm hardly going to fault a girl for not sitting around pining after someone emotionally unavailable instead of actually going out and trying to be happy.

[carolyn-claire.livejournal.com]

we decided that there should be a RONON NEEDS LOVE club.

And Jason agrees! Or, that he needs to get some, anyway (Ronon, I mean. *g*) I just recently saw the interview (done early in the season) where he talks about how it's been more than long enough since the death of his woobie for Ronon to be seeing some action, but, sadly, he isn't. There you go! Bring it on! :)

I had forgotten the convo in Sunday, but it certainly does point to Kanaan being the man she meant. The other women says, well, you know him better than I do, and Teyla responds, I should think so! Sort of a "well, duh," on Teyla's part, which would certainly be apt if the man she meant were Athosian. And she also says that her people do things differently when it's suggested to her that she just approach the guy; if she had meant John, she wouldn't have been as invested in how her people conduct courtship, IMO. She wasn't saying "As a woman, I should not approach John because that is not what my people do," she was saying, "I should not approach Kanaan because that's not what he would expect me to do." Because Teyla, living apart from her people and immersed in the culture of the new Atlanteas, wouldn't worry about John following (or even being aware of) the precepts of her people in courtship, and wouldn't be so hidebound that she felt she had to follow them with this alien man, either. She's already demonstrated her adaptability, and, even though she does care about and follow many of her people's ways, she'd also be canny enough to realize that any woman who waits for John Sheppard to see it coming probably has a long wait ahead of her. *g* So, yes, I see that convo the same way--good catch.

Though, you know, anyone who wants to write yer-cheatin'-heart fic about Teyla/Kanaan/John can go right ahead with my blessing, for all I care. I can get behind the kind of relationship angst that comes from a love triangle, relationship angst being my bulletproof emotional kink. (Not when the couple is married, though; I'm very anti-marital-cheating.) What I hate is character bashing, choosing to accuse a character of being a dirty, cheating whore on little to no evidence of wrongdoing and screeching about it all over fandom. Woman-bashing, especially, I can't get in line for, and though I was a little taken aback for Ronon's sake by Jennifer flirting with Rodney, at first, I get now that there wasn't meant to be anything serious implied between her and Ronon, so I'm over that. So any big-whore-Jennifer stuff bugs the hell out of me, and now we're also going to get Jen-bashing for coming between the OTP slash ship, aren't we? *sigh* I've hated the way some slashers have treated women who might potentially be in the way of their woobie pairing since forever, and now I imagine we'll get it in spades. Thanks for reminding me. *sigh* Again, a little triangular angst isn't a problem for me; I like it. Bashing, though, makes me want to pinch heads. I really wish bash warnings on stories were, like, the law, or something. Since they're not, I'm going to have to keep relying on the kindness of reccers.

[greenconverses.livejournal.com]

Since we've talked several times about my issues with the Kanaan-hatas and author's punishing Teyla for having a romantic relationship other than John, I don't feel like I can add anything more to that discussion other than a healthy amount of word.

As for your season five worries, I hope that the PTB actually pull something off and let Teyla actually participate in stuff this year. Ronon got increased screen time this season - not anywhere near Rodney and John's, of course, but we saw him and got to know him better than we did in S3 IMO.

Part of the problem with the back half of this season was that Rachel went on maternity leave and she was missing from three episodes - which I completely understand on Rachel's behalf, but I can't let PTB get away with. Not even mentioning her or what she was doing during those episodes? Lazy writing. And it's not like they couldn't have picked up a few shots for those episodes while Rachel was still around.

And my hopes for the Teyla episode aren't too high this year. The episode title is The Queen so, unless the PTB do something completely unexpected (ha!), you can guess where that's leading to.

Eep! I'm letting my frustrations with TPTB show! *runs off*

[viciouswishes.livejournal.com]

I always see the freaking out of shippers about a pairing getting in the way of their one twu luv to be uncreative writers. But then, I'm a bitch.

[amathela.livejournal.com]

I would say that there was always the possibility of more, but they never codified it between themselves, and so it was at a standstill when Kanaan made his move.

That's exactly the way I see it. Depending on how you read the conversation in Sunday, Teyla may or may not have explicitly acknowledged feelings for John (though not to John himself); John, on the other hand, while he may have feelings for Teyla, certainly isn't acknowledging them to anyone else, and maybe not even to himself. And even if they're both aware of the other's feelings ... I can see John believing they have some sort of understanding, because he's all repression-don't-talk-about-it guy, but I can't see Teyla believing herself to be in a relationship (or pre-relationship, or having an "understanding") with someone unless they'd, y'know, actually talked about it. John never made his move, and even if she did have feelings for him and/or believed that he had feelings for her, I'm hardly going to fault a girl for not sitting around pining after someone emotionally unavailable instead of actually going out and trying to be happy.

[carolyn-claire.livejournal.com]

we decided that there should be a RONON NEEDS LOVE club.

And Jason agrees! Or, that he needs to get some, anyway (Ronon, I mean. *g*) I just recently saw the interview (done early in the season) where he talks about how it's been more than long enough since the death of his woobie for Ronon to be seeing some action, but, sadly, he isn't. There you go! Bring it on! :)

I had forgotten the convo in Sunday, but it certainly does point to Kanaan being the man she meant. The other women says, well, you know him better than I do, and Teyla responds, I should think so! Sort of a "well, duh," on Teyla's part, which would certainly be apt if the man she meant were Athosian. And she also says that her people do things differently when it's suggested to her that she just approach the guy; if she had meant John, she wouldn't have been as invested in how her people conduct courtship, IMO. She wasn't saying "As a woman, I should not approach John because that is not what my people do," she was saying, "I should not approach Kanaan because that's not what he would expect me to do." Because Teyla, living apart from her people and immersed in the culture of the new Atlanteas, wouldn't worry about John following (or even being aware of) the precepts of her people in courtship, and wouldn't be so hidebound that she felt she had to follow them with this alien man, either. She's already demonstrated her adaptability, and, even though she does care about and follow many of her people's ways, she'd also be canny enough to realize that any woman who waits for John Sheppard to see it coming probably has a long wait ahead of her. *g* So, yes, I see that convo the same way--good catch.

Though, you know, anyone who wants to write yer-cheatin'-heart fic about Teyla/Kanaan/John can go right ahead with my blessing, for all I care. I can get behind the kind of relationship angst that comes from a love triangle, relationship angst being my bulletproof emotional kink. (Not when the couple is married, though; I'm very anti-marital-cheating.) What I hate is character bashing, choosing to accuse a character of being a dirty, cheating whore on little to no evidence of wrongdoing and screeching about it all over fandom. Woman-bashing, especially, I can't get in line for, and though I was a little taken aback for Ronon's sake by Jennifer flirting with Rodney, at first, I get now that there wasn't meant to be anything serious implied between her and Ronon, so I'm over that. So any big-whore-Jennifer stuff bugs the hell out of me, and now we're also going to get Jen-bashing for coming between the OTP slash ship, aren't we? *sigh* I've hated the way some slashers have treated women who might potentially be in the way of their woobie pairing since forever, and now I imagine we'll get it in spades. Thanks for reminding me. *sigh* Again, a little triangular angst isn't a problem for me; I like it. Bashing, though, makes me want to pinch heads. I really wish bash warnings on stories were, like, the law, or something. Since they're not, I'm going to have to keep relying on the kindness of reccers.

[greenconverses.livejournal.com]

Since we've talked several times about my issues with the Kanaan-hatas and author's punishing Teyla for having a romantic relationship other than John, I don't feel like I can add anything more to that discussion other than a healthy amount of word.

As for your season five worries, I hope that the PTB actually pull something off and let Teyla actually participate in stuff this year. Ronon got increased screen time this season - not anywhere near Rodney and John's, of course, but we saw him and got to know him better than we did in S3 IMO.

Part of the problem with the back half of this season was that Rachel went on maternity leave and she was missing from three episodes - which I completely understand on Rachel's behalf, but I can't let PTB get away with. Not even mentioning her or what she was doing during those episodes? Lazy writing. And it's not like they couldn't have picked up a few shots for those episodes while Rachel was still around.

And my hopes for the Teyla episode aren't too high this year. The episode title is The Queen so, unless the PTB do something completely unexpected (ha!), you can guess where that's leading to.

Eep! I'm letting my frustrations with TPTB show! *runs off*

[viciouswishes.livejournal.com]

I always see the freaking out of shippers about a pairing getting in the way of their one twu luv to be uncreative writers. But then, I'm a bitch.