SGA Rewatch: Enemy at the Gate
Feb. 16th, 2015 08:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
This is less a commentary about the last episode and more a reflection on SGA itself. Having rewatched the series in full, I think I have a different perspective than I did seven years ago.
I think this was the perfect ending for SGA. I'm glad it didn't continue past this for several reasons (the awful movie plot line they would have done that included Sheppard getting together with Teyla among them). There was a beauty, you see, in season five and sadly I think it was lost to many:
For McKay, Teyla, and Ronon the series ends on a happy note.
Both McKay and Ronon started the series as characters in transition.
McKay from SG-1 had been wanting as a character. He failed to understand the value of true friendship. He didn't have a life beyond work. He obsessed over his intelligence because that was all he had. After his time in Russia he meets Elizabeth and Carson who are his first friends. He comes out of his shell some and I still hold that is why he thinks of Carson as his best friend. Carson was probably his first real friend.
When McKay goes to Atlantis, he meets John and from there his life enters the amazing. He becomes someone he never imagined himself to be.
He became a good friend. He became a soldier. He became a hero.
More than anything else, he began a life with his new family. Over the period of the next five years he grew past many of his insecurities and failings. He needed this new family on a level most of us could probably never fully understand. They brought him life.
In the final scene, McKay is his normal complaining self but he smiles and he reaches his arm around Keller. He is happy. He has passed through the last five years stronger than he could ever have imagined. Now, and this is the hardest part of all for me to admit, he could probably find a life without his team if he had to. For five years he needed them. He could never be himself without them. They shaped him into someone more special and more amazing than we ever could have foreseen. Now he can just be.
It took a full five years for this transformation. McKay in The Return still needed Atlantis. He called John all the time because he needed that life to fulfill him. In Last Man he couldn't continue his life because his friends were dead and he couldn't live with that but also he still didn't know how to live without them.
I do think Jennifer had a lot to do with the final transformation. She is a steadying force for him outside of the team. She shows him new sides of himself that the team couldn't and most of all shows him a life beyond his team. Some people say she tries to change him, but I disagree. She lets him snark and complain but she calls him on it when he dwells too much on the negative. He is still McKay but she pushes him to be happy in a way only his team could do before. She just pushes him to do it on his own a little more. I do believe that is for the better.
Now, looking over at the San Francisco bridge we see a dozen possible futures for McKay. We hope, of course, that Atlantis returns to Pegasus and his team continues, but the beauty is that it doesn't have to for McKay to be happy. It wouldn't be easy but he could start a new path if he had to. In some capacity, his team will be there with him as well. Really, that's quite beautiful.
Ronon is a similar story. When the team finds him, Ronon is on the run. His life has been a treacherous, awful path of physical and emotional pain. He doesn't talk much. He doesn't trust. He doesn't really live. Throughout his four years on Atlantis he smiles and grows. He finds meaning beyond just fighting. It's intense and beautiful to watch come together as he slowly lets people in.
I think Jennifer was the first woman Ronon considered dating and that was a huge step for him. I think that's part of why so many people wanted her to end up with him (although I think she realized Ronon was simply too intense for her). I love how the last episode shows him starting a connection with a woman who kickboxes and seems to work for him. He too has a new life ready for him.
I think the best part for Ronon was in the infirmary when John tells Ronon he'll find him a way home and Ronon says, "This is my home." Right there. Perfect. Golden. Ronon in The Return stayed in Pegasus because he still saw his only purpose as to fight Wraith. It's an important purpose, don't get me wrong, but for Ronon that was how he defined himself. He couldn't see himself as much other than a Wraith Killer. It took a full four years for Ronon to realize that his home wasn't Pegasus anymore. His home was with his team.
We too can see that Ronon now has several paths ahead of him. He will stay near his team, just as Rodney will, but he can now define himself in new ways. Other lives can fulfill him now.
Let's be honest, the life the SGA team leads is a dangerous one and it's one for youth. The transformation to be okay with something different is important because the only constant in life is that it changes (can't remember who said that, but it's true!). Ronon and Rodney need to have these paths before them because fighting on Wraith Hive Ships for all of eternity isn't realistic. Survival means redefining oneself constantly and being okay with different. I love this ending to SGA because it leads us hopeful that the team will stick together but if they don't go out fighting that would be okay as well.
Teyla is a different story in that she was a complete person before meeting SGA. The team enriches her, however, and she is made better for her time with them.
I think John was so angry with Teyla for the pregnancy because it was a huge step in changing the team. By season four, I think John could see tides changing. Rodney was already seeking to get married. Ronon almost returned to his other band of friends (only returning because they were wraith worshippers). Teyla found a companion and her loyalties divided between child and team.
By the end of season five, Teyla also has her own paths waiting. She will stay near her team but she has Kanaan and Torren. She is happy. Whether or not Atlantis returns to Pegasus, we know she will do wondrous things and live a great life. (We also know she will stay near her team. They are her family after all in a way even the Athosians were not.)
I think the saddest part of the season five ending is that John fits none of the above. His friendship with McKay (while I believe it to truly be non-romantic) is the closest Sheppard has to having a significant other. He needs Rodney in a way Rodney no longer needs him. Don't get me wrong, their friendship is essential for McKay, it's just not...everything. To John it still is everything.
John starts the series alone. He likes his current job because nobody bothers him and he can just fly. As long as he is alone he can wall himself in and not bother with living.
His team changes everything. John's boyish charm and love of adventure is lived out in his life on Atlantis and especially through his friendship with McKay. They live in ways John could only have imagined and slowly their childish games help John exit himself. He even starts to acknowledge feelings.
The sad part, however, is that we don't see the same paths traced out for John. He hasn't fulfilled his transformation yet. Everything he has become is still defined within the confines of the team. Who is John without Atlantis? It's not an easy question to answer. The series ends with his team growing in ways he's not a part of and he has nothing to hold him up.
Will John adapt? I imagine if Atlantis returns, then all would be mostly well but even then John has to face a future where his family's priorities are shifting. If Atlantis does not return, he is left on a vast world to find himself. Of course his team will stay there by his side. Rodney will visit him constantly or at least call incessantly. Ronon and Teyla will hold him up as they always have. Only...how will John find his own path? I'm not sure. Maybe he'll convince them all to be part of an SG team but again youth is fleeting and soon the battles will no longer be their fights.
I love this ending of SGA because it leaves us fulfilled for some and questioning for others. I feel as though there is resolution but there is also hope of continuation. As far as leaving an open canon, I'm not sure we could have hoped for better. We get a complete team ready to face the world together even if that world is not in Pegasus.
Side note: Oh, and Todd is on Atlantis. Bestie thinks I'm crazy because I consider Todd an awkward and disturbing part of the team. I wonder what paths lay before him?
I think this was the perfect ending for SGA. I'm glad it didn't continue past this for several reasons (the awful movie plot line they would have done that included Sheppard getting together with Teyla among them). There was a beauty, you see, in season five and sadly I think it was lost to many:
For McKay, Teyla, and Ronon the series ends on a happy note.
Both McKay and Ronon started the series as characters in transition.
McKay from SG-1 had been wanting as a character. He failed to understand the value of true friendship. He didn't have a life beyond work. He obsessed over his intelligence because that was all he had. After his time in Russia he meets Elizabeth and Carson who are his first friends. He comes out of his shell some and I still hold that is why he thinks of Carson as his best friend. Carson was probably his first real friend.
When McKay goes to Atlantis, he meets John and from there his life enters the amazing. He becomes someone he never imagined himself to be.
He became a good friend. He became a soldier. He became a hero.
More than anything else, he began a life with his new family. Over the period of the next five years he grew past many of his insecurities and failings. He needed this new family on a level most of us could probably never fully understand. They brought him life.
In the final scene, McKay is his normal complaining self but he smiles and he reaches his arm around Keller. He is happy. He has passed through the last five years stronger than he could ever have imagined. Now, and this is the hardest part of all for me to admit, he could probably find a life without his team if he had to. For five years he needed them. He could never be himself without them. They shaped him into someone more special and more amazing than we ever could have foreseen. Now he can just be.
It took a full five years for this transformation. McKay in The Return still needed Atlantis. He called John all the time because he needed that life to fulfill him. In Last Man he couldn't continue his life because his friends were dead and he couldn't live with that but also he still didn't know how to live without them.
I do think Jennifer had a lot to do with the final transformation. She is a steadying force for him outside of the team. She shows him new sides of himself that the team couldn't and most of all shows him a life beyond his team. Some people say she tries to change him, but I disagree. She lets him snark and complain but she calls him on it when he dwells too much on the negative. He is still McKay but she pushes him to be happy in a way only his team could do before. She just pushes him to do it on his own a little more. I do believe that is for the better.
Now, looking over at the San Francisco bridge we see a dozen possible futures for McKay. We hope, of course, that Atlantis returns to Pegasus and his team continues, but the beauty is that it doesn't have to for McKay to be happy. It wouldn't be easy but he could start a new path if he had to. In some capacity, his team will be there with him as well. Really, that's quite beautiful.
Ronon is a similar story. When the team finds him, Ronon is on the run. His life has been a treacherous, awful path of physical and emotional pain. He doesn't talk much. He doesn't trust. He doesn't really live. Throughout his four years on Atlantis he smiles and grows. He finds meaning beyond just fighting. It's intense and beautiful to watch come together as he slowly lets people in.
I think Jennifer was the first woman Ronon considered dating and that was a huge step for him. I think that's part of why so many people wanted her to end up with him (although I think she realized Ronon was simply too intense for her). I love how the last episode shows him starting a connection with a woman who kickboxes and seems to work for him. He too has a new life ready for him.
I think the best part for Ronon was in the infirmary when John tells Ronon he'll find him a way home and Ronon says, "This is my home." Right there. Perfect. Golden. Ronon in The Return stayed in Pegasus because he still saw his only purpose as to fight Wraith. It's an important purpose, don't get me wrong, but for Ronon that was how he defined himself. He couldn't see himself as much other than a Wraith Killer. It took a full four years for Ronon to realize that his home wasn't Pegasus anymore. His home was with his team.
We too can see that Ronon now has several paths ahead of him. He will stay near his team, just as Rodney will, but he can now define himself in new ways. Other lives can fulfill him now.
Let's be honest, the life the SGA team leads is a dangerous one and it's one for youth. The transformation to be okay with something different is important because the only constant in life is that it changes (can't remember who said that, but it's true!). Ronon and Rodney need to have these paths before them because fighting on Wraith Hive Ships for all of eternity isn't realistic. Survival means redefining oneself constantly and being okay with different. I love this ending to SGA because it leads us hopeful that the team will stick together but if they don't go out fighting that would be okay as well.
Teyla is a different story in that she was a complete person before meeting SGA. The team enriches her, however, and she is made better for her time with them.
I think John was so angry with Teyla for the pregnancy because it was a huge step in changing the team. By season four, I think John could see tides changing. Rodney was already seeking to get married. Ronon almost returned to his other band of friends (only returning because they were wraith worshippers). Teyla found a companion and her loyalties divided between child and team.
By the end of season five, Teyla also has her own paths waiting. She will stay near her team but she has Kanaan and Torren. She is happy. Whether or not Atlantis returns to Pegasus, we know she will do wondrous things and live a great life. (We also know she will stay near her team. They are her family after all in a way even the Athosians were not.)
I think the saddest part of the season five ending is that John fits none of the above. His friendship with McKay (while I believe it to truly be non-romantic) is the closest Sheppard has to having a significant other. He needs Rodney in a way Rodney no longer needs him. Don't get me wrong, their friendship is essential for McKay, it's just not...everything. To John it still is everything.
John starts the series alone. He likes his current job because nobody bothers him and he can just fly. As long as he is alone he can wall himself in and not bother with living.
His team changes everything. John's boyish charm and love of adventure is lived out in his life on Atlantis and especially through his friendship with McKay. They live in ways John could only have imagined and slowly their childish games help John exit himself. He even starts to acknowledge feelings.
The sad part, however, is that we don't see the same paths traced out for John. He hasn't fulfilled his transformation yet. Everything he has become is still defined within the confines of the team. Who is John without Atlantis? It's not an easy question to answer. The series ends with his team growing in ways he's not a part of and he has nothing to hold him up.
Will John adapt? I imagine if Atlantis returns, then all would be mostly well but even then John has to face a future where his family's priorities are shifting. If Atlantis does not return, he is left on a vast world to find himself. Of course his team will stay there by his side. Rodney will visit him constantly or at least call incessantly. Ronon and Teyla will hold him up as they always have. Only...how will John find his own path? I'm not sure. Maybe he'll convince them all to be part of an SG team but again youth is fleeting and soon the battles will no longer be their fights.
I love this ending of SGA because it leaves us fulfilled for some and questioning for others. I feel as though there is resolution but there is also hope of continuation. As far as leaving an open canon, I'm not sure we could have hoped for better. We get a complete team ready to face the world together even if that world is not in Pegasus.
Side note: Oh, and Todd is on Atlantis. Bestie thinks I'm crazy because I consider Todd an awkward and disturbing part of the team. I wonder what paths lay before him?
no subject
Date: 2015-02-16 09:33 pm (UTC)You know, at the end of the series the first time around, I think I would've argued about John not really being left with a place, but reading this, I think you're right. Actually, John and Ronon both ended up having their lives defined largely in terms of the team and Atlantis. Rodney and Teyla could both probably be happy anywhere at this point, but neither John nor Ronon have really found their ... long-term future, I guess. (Though, given that's the case, they could always do something like ... become private detectives or mercenaries together, if Atlantis never goes back to Pegasus. XD)
But yeah, I didn't mind the ending nearly as much as a lot of people did. It's very open-ended, I think. They're all together, with a lot of potential future adventures and a number of different ways they could get back to Pegasus, with or without Atlantis. I can think of worse ways they could've ended the series ... and like you, I'm kind of glad they never got around to doing the season six stuff they were planning.
no subject
Date: 2015-02-17 07:11 am (UTC)I think the best part of the ending is how many ways fans are free to take things. I missed out on reading most post-series fics for SGA and now I think I'm finally ready to dive in. I'm especially hoping to find some John fics that show him finding his long-term future.
Interestingly enough, I believe it was one of your fics that got me to seeing John this way! I just read it a week or so ago. John, Jennifer, and Rodney stuck in a jumper in the ocean and John bitter about his changing team. That fic really resonated with me and reading it right before watching the end of the series made me really wonder about John's future.