Well, I enjoyed the episode more than some. A lot can be forgiven when Teyla gets to be awesome, however briefly.
But the underlying assumptions of gender behaviour and how they're played out disturbed me a lot in this episode.
One of my problems with Stargate canon and fanon is that, as a general rule, while the men are allowed to try things that would never work in RL and are lauded for it - in the show and by the fans, the women are only permitted to do that which would logically work in RL.
When they do do the fantastic, the unbelievable, or the slightly-exaggerated, there are a dozen fans screeching about OMG!SuperSam! or Too Much Teyla.
It's a blatant double standard, but most fans never bat an eyelash at it.
So, yes, I would have taken the "unrealistic" action and had Teyla take a risk and stash her son (who, until then had been utterly silent, and according to her comment at the end of the episode slept through the entire takeover), then go out and fight the hybrid, and succeed.
I think that people put too much emphasis on motherhood being all about the well-being of the child. We have a rosy view of self-sacrificing mothers, who will do anything for their children - and many of them will do anything for their child.
But I know that most of them will also do something for themselves, and I see Teyla as not only a mother but a person in and of her own right, and that she would protect her son, but she would also take the opportunity to kick some hybrid ass.
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But the underlying assumptions of gender behaviour and how they're played out disturbed me a lot in this episode.
One of my problems with Stargate canon and fanon is that, as a general rule, while the men are allowed to try things that would never work in RL and are lauded for it - in the show and by the fans, the women are only permitted to do that which would logically work in RL.
When they do do the fantastic, the unbelievable, or the slightly-exaggerated, there are a dozen fans screeching about OMG!SuperSam! or Too Much Teyla.
It's a blatant double standard, but most fans never bat an eyelash at it.
So, yes, I would have taken the "unrealistic" action and had Teyla take a risk and stash her son (who, until then had been utterly silent, and according to her comment at the end of the episode slept through the entire takeover), then go out and fight the hybrid, and succeed.
I think that people put too much emphasis on motherhood being all about the well-being of the child. We have a rosy view of self-sacrificing mothers, who will do anything for their children - and many of them will do anything for their child.
But I know that most of them will also do something for themselves, and I see Teyla as not only a mother but a person in and of her own right, and that she would protect her son, but she would also take the opportunity to kick some hybrid ass.