about pairings, dichotomies, and Teyla

[tielan]

*sighs*

I can see we're going to lose a lot of John/Teyla shippers this season.

And, you know, that depresses me far more than the Teyla/Kanaan relationship in the show right now.

I really rather like Teyla/Kanaan as it's been shown at this point. Heavy-handed, perhaps, but that's symptomatic of Stargate writing. I'm slightly terrified that they're going to Mess It All Up, of course, because, hey, Dwama Llama options.

But what I like about the Teyla/Kanaan vs. Teyla/John dynamics is that they show us a lot more about Teyla herself and who she sees herself to be. Her life has been a balance between the ordinary and the conflictual: living peacefully vs. the chaos of culling, her people's agrarian ways vs. Atlantis' technology, and most importantly, her desire to be with her people and her desire to be doing something bigger.

So it is with Kanaan (the supportive man in her life, able to step back and watch her go out) and John (the man who challenges her, who forces her out of some of her comfort zones). Teyla doesn't belong to her people, she doesn't belong to Atlantis. She's a divided character in terms of what she's doing: her past is her people, her present is Atlantis, her future...well, that depends on whether they beat the Wraith and the Asurans or not.

One reason I've always liked Teyla is because she's a "woman" character - a character who embodies a lot of the conflicts and biases and issues that women face - both in the show, and from the fandom. (I don't know if there's an accepted term for it in fannish meta-circles.)

From her clothing, to how she goes about questioning authority, to how she changes people's courses of action, to the divide between 'two sides' of her life... I won't say it's 'stereotypically female' but it does embody a lot of the angles and difficulties of women in the modern world.

The divide between the two sides of her life is what the Teyla/Kanaan and Teyla/John relationships represent to me. And both of them give insight into the kind of woman Teyla is: one who wants to make a difference to the universe herself, but knows that she has a life reliant on her; one who enjoys being 'at rest', but who also yearns for a challenge; one who feels the weight of balancing a child against a dangerous career and being unwilling to sacrifice either herself for her child's needs or her child for her own needs.

Kanaan might have been a hybrid in body (and we've still got a lot to learn about him before he becomes a 'real boy' and not just 'Teyla's house husband') but Teyla's a hybrid in soul. There's no "cure" for that.

Thinking it over, with this episode, I've shown myself to be primarily a Teyla-fan, not a John/Teyla-fan. John/Teyla is an acceptable sacrifice in the name of getting more insight into Teyla. Which I think we've been getting the last few episodes, quite pleasingly.

It's not as much as I'd like (I could go all Teyla, all the time), but it's more than I've been getting the last few seasons.

Right, so that morphed a little unexpectedly. You know when you start off at point A and then somehow ramble your way across to point B and are slightly surprised to have arrived?

Comments

[unanon.livejournal.com]

For me, the shared quarters and the emotional supportiveness suggested a personal relationship; of course, I'd be happy to be wrong!

Yes, but Teyla has always mentioned how she and Kanaan share a bond because of their shared Wraith heritage. Part of that intimacy and supportiveness is something that, to me at least, is more of a trait of friendship than anything else. Part of Teyla's canonical draw to Kanaan has been that he's very much like her. I can only assume that he shares that same quiet strength and that he DOES offer good advice. He wouldn't be a leader otherwise.

Also? In no way did that episode prove that they're actually sharing quarters. It wasn't explicitly stated, was it?

[tielan]

In no way did that episode prove that they're actually sharing quarters.

True. I guess I'm making the common assumption, which doesn't necessarily have to be right. And, no, it's not explicitly stated - Teyla says that it's been easier since Kanaan was given permission to move back into the city, but never says that he's moved in with her.

[unanon.livejournal.com]

*nods* That, to me, implies that he's taken over more of the responsibilities for raising their child. *shrug* I guess since nothing is explicit it's easy for fans to see what they prefer to see. ;)

[tielan]

Or what they expect to see. :) I don't prefer to see Teyla/Kanaan, to be honest - I was hoping for a bit more Teyla/John.

You make good points about the differences between Kanaan as a man with a background and personality different to the other men in the series. The men in the Atlantis expedition are 'coded' Earth; and Ronon comes from a warrior background and is a very different personality to Kanaan.

Thinking this over, if it was any other man in Atlantis showing that easy emotional supportiveness, it would imply a closer degree of intimacy between them. Obviously the intimacy is context dependant - eg. Ronon's supportiveness to Teyla on the announcement of her pregnancy, showed intimacy in a platonic, brother-like way - but in this situation, for any other character it would automatically be assumed that the relationship is physically and emotionally intimate.

I like that you've pointed out that Kanaan isn't necessarily coded according to 'Earth males'.