SGA 218 "Michael"

[thegrrrl2002]

I liked this ep. A lot. It was dark, it was unsettling, and our heroes weren't very heroic at all, were they? I love the way the plot unfolded, and I wish I hadn't been spoiled for this one. Unfortunately, the summary on the main page at Gateworld gave the wraith thing away. But I'm sure I would have suspect it within the first ten minutes, though.

Kudos to Connor Trinneer for the fabulous performance. My objectivity may be clouded by the fact that I totally adore him. Trip! You're so damn cute. I loved the sparring scene between him and Teyla. Michael seemed to take great delight in actually being able to do the moves, and the little laugh when he blocked Teyla's attack was just lovely. And when he found out who he was, that was a chilling scene, especially when we hear Sheppard snarl, "we'll call you Mike".

I thought everyone was great in this. I loved Sheppard's coldness and Ronon's aggressiveness. Their "just shake the man's hand" scene was tense, I loved JF's delivery of that line. Rodney didn't have a large role in this ep, which made sense, and what little he had fit perfectly into the story. Such a terrible, terrible liar. The continuity makes me feel all tingly. And Teyla, she was fabulous. Her sympathy for Michael says a lot about her character--she was able to overcome her hatred for the Wraith in general, and was able to see and accept the human being inside of this particular one. Ronon was unable to do that, and it shows her maturity over Ronon's impulsiveness. Fitting reactions for both characters. Carson was lovely in this, too, so disturbed over what he had done.

Weir was a bit of a puzzle to me here. I wish I had seen more of what led her to the decision to test this drug on a prisoner. As for it being entirely her responsibility--doesn't she answer to someone back on Earth? Maybe the president? I would think that someone else ultimately approved this, obviously on her recommendation, but still--I dunno. It would have worked better for me if they were still entirely cut off from Earth, and a little more desperate for survival. Maybe if the Wraith threat had been a little more imminent this ep wouldn't have seemed so jarring. Although, with the Genii aware of Atlantis's continued existence, their secret isn't exactly safe anymore.

Still, I like the moral questions it raised. I wonder if any of them knew what to expect once the drug took hold--I'd like to think no one suspected that a genuine, seemingly normal young man would emerge. As for the science, hey, I can handwave with the best of them. I already buy that they walk through wormholes to visit other planets, so their wacky retro-virus biology doesn't bother me.

I'm eager to see the next two eps--I hope the dark tone continues.

Comments

[yorkybar.livejournal.com]

And when he found out who he was, that was a chilling scene, especially when we hear Sheppard snarl, "we'll call you Mike".

I forgot about the "we'll call you Mike" moment. It was chilling. That this young man was called Michael merely because Sheppard was carrying on with his naming of Wraith in an off-hand manner.

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

I thought it was also a great reminder of where Sheppard and co. were coming from in their treatment of him--he started off as just another one of the enemy, who would have killed them all in a heartbeat.

It was very nicely done.

[inthekeyofd.livejournal.com]

Let me preface this by saying how much I loved this episode. I did, I think they were all great and Connor was wonderful, and I was secretly hoping he would have stayed around, or, if the explanation they gave him could have been the truth..because I really wouldn't have minded him becoming part of Atlantis at all.

Now for morality of it:

Sheppard had me a little confused, I know that he is always "full out, willing to do anything," and with his past history (when they tried to test that anti-body against the Wraith) I can see why he would follow this testing, but still, I think after Michael became "Michael" is when Sheppard really came out, trying to be peacemaker between him and Ronon, remember he just stunned Michael, Ronon wanted to kill him.

But back to morality..

Everything that Teyla said about the Wraith is true, they are truly nasty and despicable and if given the chance they would wipe out all humans, but conversely, does that give the humans the right to change the Wraith into humans.

But the big question is, if they did change them all then what??? These humans would have the aggression of the Wraith, but what, be easier to kill?? And then, do they really want an enemy so powerful that looks just like them, that could infiltrate Atlantis easier??

It's about survival, the Wraith do what they do, the humans did what they did, but at the base level, neither one is right.

What surprised me is that the didn't seem to understand why he was pissed. If a Wraith took Rodney and turned him into a Wraith (which I would definitely feel bad for what the Wraith would have to hear about that one *smile*) Atlantis would be up in arms, so why is it different for them to do that to him?

The old saying is true, all is far in love and war.

But the person that I truly didn't understand in all of the was Elizabeth, either she had higher orders or all of a sudden she had to do this..and yet once again Carson's retro-virus doesn't work..wonder how many more times they are going to test it out.

It's just that this kind of came out of left-field, but in a way I like that, and I'm not surprised, if Caldwell can be a Goa'uld (however they spell that, it always trips me up) with no history or follow-up, I shouldn't be surprised by this.

Damn, that made it sound like I didn't like the episode, when all the time, I loved it.

*p.s., much black t-shirt time and I still think that although there were a lack of Rodney scenes..he truly made the most of them.

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

First off, that is one fabulous icon. Hot and dorky, all at the same time. *g*

Sheppard really came out, trying to be peacemaker between him and Ronon, remember he just stunned Michael, Ronon wanted to kill him.

I'm not totally convinced that Sheppard simply didn't want Ronon to end the experiment before they were ready to. Either that, or he was torn, somewhere in between Teyla and Ronon's attitude towards the man. I could go either way on the interpretation.

But the big question is, if they did change them all then what?

I think the big advantage of the treatment is that the Wraith would no longer need to feed on humans. From what we saw in "Instinct", they are not necessarily born "evil", but their need to feed leaves no room for compromise between Wraith and humans. And I suppose, that a biological weapon that turns them into humans is a shade less immoral than one that kills them.

What surprised me is that the didn't seem to understand why he was pissed.

Yeah, they seemed to be totally in over their heads with him in that aspect. I'd guess that they never expected him to not remember who he was, although I would have liked to have that stated at some point.

Still, like you, I loved the ep, despite the flaws. And yeah, black tee-shirt time always makes me smile.

[inthekeyofd.livejournal.com]

That icon was made by samjack_girl, she gets all the credit for that..John Sheppard is one of the very few people who can make safety goggles hot. *smile*

About John, see, I think that while he didn't want the experiment to end, it was almost, how can I put this, that John expected this to happen, and in a way, didn't want to kill Michael, they could have easily instead of sending him to the Alpha Site, plus add in, if he was dead, no other Wraith would find out about him or Atlantis. Plus, with Ronon's agression toward Michael, that wasn't helping the situation at all.

While I think getting rid of the need to feed is their number one objective, the agression is still there, and while they may look alike after, I think that the "new" Wraith would still hunt down and try to destroy humans, one way or another.

I hope I didn't come off as to thinking this was flawed, actually I can see why they did that, I just really liked this episode, even more..I liked that it raised this issue, about how they kind of had to question, and I don't like this word but it fits, "superiority" how when push comes to shove, they will use any means necessary to survive, just like the Wraith.

[saeva.livejournal.com]

See, I don't think the aggression was there, while the hunger may have been (or may have been dealable if things had progressed differently). I do think that after he is told what he is he begins parroting back what he's been told -- that he's evil, that he's aggressive, a killer, dangerous -- but none of his actions show this, not even his quote-unquote "aggressive" actions.

Take it from his point of view:

- Everyone, save Teyla, around him is acting as if something is wrong, beyond the discomfort of his not recognizing them. He's isolated, then put under guard, and the reactions of various people (Rodney, John, Elizabeth) to his very presence is extreme discomfort. Ronon's reaction to him is pure violence.

- Even when he does show his ability to fight he's just happy it's *something* he remembers, a happiness cut short by Ronon's violence.

- Yet, despite that he attempts to bond with these people because they were, apparently (though he cannot recall this) once allies, teammates, and friends. He attempts, apropos of nothing, to make amends with Ronon, apologizing for something he can't remember doing and can't name because of this. He presumes, for the sake of good relations, that he did do something wrong and should apologize.

- When he discovers that something is Very Wrong and these people have betrayed him, captured him, essentially tortured him, he doesn't react with violence but with verbal anger and betrayal. There's more than one scene after the discovery where Carson, Elizabeth, Teyla are all closer to him than the guards but he never acts out.

- And when he does behave violently for the first time, it's an attempt to escape. And he only fires when he believes he's about to be fired upon. Now, we've seen these guns in action and we know they're stunners and the shots wouldn't have killed him. Did *he* know that when he returned fire upon the soldier trying to recapture him?

- Then even once he's been recaptured and celled, his reaction when he sees John is an arguably hopeful 'Colonel!' There's no malice in his response there, just desperation.

From that I'd have to say that he held his temper in check far longer than many of us would and, thus, I don't think the Wraith are inherently aggressive. I don't think Michael was inherently aggressive. Just really, really scared and kinda angry that they were so gun-ho about continuing their little experiment with his body and his brain. Who wouldn't be?

- Andrea.

[20thcenturyvole.livejournal.com]

Totally agree with this! It's for this reason I really hated Weir in this episode, because her actions were completely unethical, and made the already bad situation so much worse. Even Carson knew that this was a bad, shitty thing to do now that Michael was an actual human, but Elizabeth just steamrollered him. How about that scene where he blames himself for Michael killing the Marine, and she just coolly placates him and sends him off? She didn't seem remotely bothered.

I think anyone put in Michael's position, even sans scary Wraith-bits, would have freaked and tried to get away, to just find out what the hell happened to him, what he was. I loved the performance and I loved the character, and I hope we'll see him again. This episode really left me reeling.

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Nice summary! I totally agree. I saw Michael as scared and confused, but not agressive. He was clearly mortified when he shot the guard.

Even if he was drawn to his blood. Nice creepy moment there.

[seikaitsukimizu.livejournal.com]

And when he found out who he was, that was a chilling scene, especially when we hear Sheppard snarl, "we'll call you Mike".

That scene, and the nightmare (that face was CREEPY in the mirror...but then, I watched right before bedtime) were the two most disturbing elements in this episode. The fact that Sheppard could also turn his aggression on and off was an interesting insight as well.

For instance, when they were getting ready to move Michael to the Alpha Site? Michael tried to talk to Sheppard. Sheppard didn't let him say anything but a name. Granted, it was probably the old Wraith song and dance, but when Sheppard was a peacemaker hours before....I'd say he has a great ability to compartmentalize.

Well, the darkness will return. After all, Michael is in the season finale.

PS: The icon is for your enjoyment, since you didn't get enough McKay. *grins*

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Mmmmmm, delicious icon. *g* The little chin lift just makes it.

Oh yeah, Sheppard can compartmentalize in a big way. It's fascinating. He does not want to acknowledge that Michael is human.

I didn't know the character returned for the season finale. Cool!!

[kalikahuntress.livejournal.com]

I don't know much about the next two eps except that what happens in Michael is very important for the next episode and the season finale. All three eps are connected but aren't considered a three parter for some reason.

[dvswraatins.livejournal.com]

Yes, everything you said, all of it. I *loved* this episode. A lot of that was due to CT's amazing performace and my Trip love, but I just loved seeing our heroes from the point of view of a character that starts out a blank slate, innocent and the way everything goes to hell.

Team SGA's treatment of the Wraith is understandable, morally iffy, yeah, but understandable as far as character motivations go. Their treatment of human Michael was just amazing to watch because they dealed so badly. Elizabeth seemed to hope it would go okay, but she seemed sceptical too. Teyla was the only one that seemed as though she was truly giving him a chance.

I loved that our guys came out looking bad because *this* is the reason I love the show. They're flawed people, they fear the Wraith and they do dumb things from fear.

The science was insanely cracked, yes. Don't care ;-)

I think TPTB and the actors were in top form in this episode. On to the finale! ;-)

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Aw, icon! Nice.

They're flawed people, they fear the Wraith and they do dumb things from fear.

Oh yeah. That's it exactly. It's wonderfully appealing. I love that they can make me cringe, while still loving them.

In porny, naked kind of way.

[mmmchelle.livejournal.com]

I wasn't spoiled and oddly, I didn't guess, not at first. I wasn't surprised when it was revealed, but I hadn't already figured it out.

No, our heroes weren't very heroic. Sheppard was disturbing. And Ronon, completely unable to see beyond his us/them dichotomy, wasn't surprising, but it made him seem both young and dangerous. Yes, he has a lot of reasons to hate the Wraith, moreso even than Teyla, but his inability even to accept the idea of a human within the Wraith cemented his unattractiveness for me.

Teyla, though, was wonderful. She was the only one who was truly compassionate. Aside from Kate, but that's Kate's job. She was also so clearly hoping that this could be the answer, that instead of killing the Wraith they could cure them. Of course, she had more reason than the others to identify with the Wraith.

I wish they would do more with Elizabeth,too, show us where she is coming from and what her thought processes are, because this was a monumentally bad decision. Why did she make it? Out of hope that they could "cure" the Wraith, thus saving both themselves and the Wraith? I can see that as possible, but a diplomat should have less ethnocentricity. I loved Michael challenging their assumption that it is better to be human than Wraith. As he points out, it's only better if you're human.

The fact that they can get in touch with Earth and have both a ship and the ZPM makes their choice that much more chilling. They didn't have to do this. For me, it goes a long way toward making up for their facile, superficial treatment of torture in "Critical Mass."

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Oh, interesting that you didn't guess it right away. I was wondering how it would play out to the unspoiled folks.

Ronon was very unappealing in this ep, I agree. But I liked it, it felt right to me. He should not be easily assimilated into 'earthly' ways of thinking. I would love to know more about his background (although--Sheppard first!). I would guess he was raised in a very militaristic society. Anyway, I liked the reminder that he came from a very different place. I wouldn't expect him to have the same sensibilities as someone who grew up on Earth. In a that regard, Teyla's sympathetic reaction was even more surprising and impressive.

I forgot to mention Kate--I'm really enjoying her character. You've got to figure this is something she never could have imagined having to deal with. You could see her become uneasy at times, and it was wonderful. She comes across as very genuine.

Out of hope that they could "cure" the Wraith, thus saving both themselves and the Wraith?

That's the most likely reason, although I would have loved to have seen the discussion around it, too. Maybe she really thinks she's 'saving' them.

[thepouncer.livejournal.com]

I guessed at 14:26, when Michael had the dream and saw the Wraith in the mirror. I'd known something was up beforehand, but I went in blind. Everybody's reactions were *off*. It was a great experience watching.

[feather-autant.livejournal.com]

I was completely unspoiled for this ep, and it haunted me for the rest of the day. It's not often I can say that about anything! I found it very disturbing. I *loved* it!

It seems we've started a dark, spiraling descent in Atlantis. Yes, they're at war, but Elizabeth admitted she'd stepped over the line with Kavanaugh during the whole Caldwell incident, and I think she did here, too. It chills my blood to think they've justified experimenting on sentient beings, even if those beings and humans are at cross-purposes. I couldn't help but think of the experiments done during WWII.

I adored Teyla in this. She's loathed the Wraith her whole life, and with good reason. Yet she seems to be the main source of compassion for Michael. I can't help wondering what she thinks about the humans she's joined up with. They're becoming ruthless.

Carson seems so torn buy what he's done. I don't think any of them bargained for what they got. This will haunt him for a very long time, I think.

Elizabeth has changed so much, hasn't she? I would *never* have suspected she'd agree to something like this back in the beginning.

Rodney was perfect! All uncomfortable and twitchy. *g* Ronan stayed true to character, an uncompromising warrior. John? God I love him. He can flash between warrior and friend in a heartbeat.

So, I'm, all uncomfortable and twitchy, and I can't wait for the next two!

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Elizabeth *has* changed, hasn't she? Now that I think about it, I can see her being tremendously affected by the Siege the year before. Almost having lost the city and her people--maybe this doesn't seem so over-the-top for her after all.

John? He can flash between warrior and friend in a heartbeat.

That was especially well done. I can't wait to watch this ep again, because he was utterly fascinating in it.

Yeah, haunting is a good description for this ep.

[clarkangel.livejournal.com]

This was a fascinating ep to me. Dark and disturbing.
I found everyone but ELizabeth to be, basically, IN character.

Carson was an oddity. Why did he want to do it? I would think after what happened with Shep's conversion, he'd not want to try something like this. HE was good at lying though.

I like how unsettled Sheppard seemed. I wanted more scenes between him and Michael. Sheppard had TRANSFORMED in reverse and it would have been interesting to have them talk. Or, at the very least, to know Shep's thoughts about what was happening. He was chilling one minute, unsettled about it the next. I loved how he was concerned about Michael roaming about, and rightly so.

I put the blame for the mess they're now in solely on Elizabeth's shoulders. In the end it was HER decision alone and she messed up big time.

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Sheppard was particularly wonderful to watch in this. He was clearly disturbed by it.

While Elizabeth is responsible for the final decision, I can't fault her for it. It was a risky move, but I didn't get the impression anyone else was particularly against it. (Although I need to watch it again to be certain.) And she certainly didn't force Carson to do the research.

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

looking forward to see this soon, and it looks very intriguing in the questions it raised. *g*

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

It's a very intriguing ep. And has a very different feel than the previous ones. Very impressive.

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

*g* i love how they're developing the show and the characters.

[cetpar.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I really enjoyed it too. And unsettling is definitely how I'd describe it. I mentioned this in my LJ, but I think this is the darkest episode so far, for many of the reasons you mentioned already. The fact that they (the team) went beyond just experimenting on Michael and really, really messed with his head while doing it is what makes the episode more disturbing for me. It definitely put our heroes firmly in the grey areas of morality issues. And I *like* that.

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah. It was a desperate move on their part. I love our heroes being flawed and human. It made for a haunting episode.

[nel-ani.livejournal.com]

And when he found out who he was, that was a chilling scene, especially when we hear Sheppard snarl, "we'll call you Mike".

That was so fucking freaky, because at that moment, our guys *were* the bad guys to me.

Carson was lovely in this, too, so disturbed over what he had done.

Oh, man, yes.

I'd like to think no one suspected that a genuine, seemingly normal young man would emerge.

With everyone so uncomfortable in that very first scene, I really don't think they'd thought that far ahead. Their lies were so elaborate and planned, but I don't think they expected him to be, well, nice.

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

That was so fucking freaky, because at that moment, our guys *were* the bad guys to me

That really impressed me. It's not something you'd ever see on SG1, and makes SGA stand out as a very different kind of show.

but I don't think they expected him to be, well, nice.

Exactly. It threw them off balance. I guess they didn't expect him to turn out to be CT. *g* I would love to know what exactly they expected though.

[nel-ani.livejournal.com]

That really impressed me. It's not something you'd ever see on SG1, and makes SGA stand out as a very different kind of show.

Yes yes yes. I think they touched the subject in Unnatural Selection, but I think SG-1 felt too bad about it for us to get freaked out enough.

Exactly. It threw them off balance. I guess they didn't expect him to turn out to be CT.

Oh, CT... He needs a scifi show that's just his own!

I would love to know what exactly they expected though.

Yeah...they seemed surprised that he'd lost his memory, yet they'd made up an elaborate story about who he was. I suppose if I were them, I'd expect more of a blank sheet, personalitywise, not someone quite so human.

[melagan.livejournal.com]

Oh, very well said.

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It was such an interesting ep, wasn't it?

Am I the only one...

[(Anonymous)]

...Who can't believe that they could have been so freaking stupid in this?

I've been waiting for someone else to comment on this ep just so I could say how mind-boggled I was about it. I mean, what they did was crazy!

--Captured a Wraith and brought him to Atlantis, when they had, apparently, no idea of how the drug would actually work (as in, if it would make him completely human, if he would need to be redosed, if he would lose his memory), which means they set up a situation where they would have to kill the Wraith or risk discovery. Well, I guess they didn't have a problem with killing the Wraith, but
--When the Wraith ended up human, they set up a scenario that was in no way sustainable. They tell 'Michael' he's from Earth, and tell him he might well go back there, they give him a picture of parents, when there was actually no way Michael could ever be sent to Earth, or if he actually was, how could they possibly continue the ruse?
--And then they had a human who had been a Wraith, and suddenly there was the moral dilemma about killing him or not. I actually think that Ronon was right in that instance--they should have killed Michael to protect the entire city (and Earth). It wasn't like they had standards to live up to at that point.

Obviously the couldn't do this in the show because it wouldn't have been as much fun for the audience, but they should have made sure they could conduct the test at the Alpha site. They could have told Michael anything once they discovered he had no memory--that he was the lone survivor of a terrible disease on his home-world, for example, and he was being kept here under quarantine. There was no reason to bring Atlantis or Earth into it at all. Instead they seemed to go out of their way to create a scenario that risked the mission. I found it hard to believe they would make that kind of mistake.

At least Weir no longer has anything to say to McKay anymore about destroying a solar system. :)

Leah

Re: Am I the only one...

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Yeah, in order to set up the plot, the writers made the characters amazingly stupid. ::sighs:: But I enjoyed the ep so much, I did the wild hand wave of "whatever" during it.

It might have been the presence of CT that softened me up a bit. *g*

Re: Am I the only one...

[(Anonymous)]

CT was lovely, wasn't he? So sweet and Trippy, and yet different.

And they made him from Texas! I'm sure that was just for me. ::g::

Leah