How did Rodney know exactly how everyone died?

[Bimmer33]

I wonder how Roney knew every detail of there deaths. No one saw what Sam did with the last minutes of her life. How did Ronan's story get out? Well maybe Rodney just filled in the blanks.

[Jumper_One]

Sam beamed her crew to the nearest planet, they probably told him what had happened. also he said

After she got the crew off she must've lost the transport system. with her engines about to go critical I guess she figured she didn't have anything to lose...

[GoSpikey]

Same for Michael 'killing' Teyla. "I guess he had no further need for her", or something alike.

He can't know for sure. Could have been an accident, problem with childbirth, virus incomparible with women...

[FallenAngelII]

We were shown what actually happened, not what Rodney told John. Rodney told John what he and the others knew, like how Ronon went with Todd and then detonated the facility once his new people had made it back to the gate and how Sam crashed into a ship and managed to get the blast wave to destroy the other two (this would be visible from the planet's surface, I guess).

[Skydiver]

in each case there were probably enough witnesses for rod to fill in the blanks.

although, if you notice - or maybe just my perception - rod's 'memories' were suitably embellished to fit his perception of the people involved

[Wayston]

I don't know if he embellished, samantha wasn't wearing anything tight and not showing much flesh either when she died

[Jumper_One]

I don't know if he embellished, samantha wasn't wearing anything tight and not showing much flesh either when she died

LOL I'm pretty sure that

Well maybe Rodney just filled in the blanks.

especially when he mentioned the IOA and Woolsey imo

[Xaeden]

As mentioned, the clips were as they happened for the audience's sake (because of them we know far more details than Sheppard). Listen to only what Mckay said to Sheppard as a setup to those clips and you'll see that what he knew wasn't really that much and certainly wasn't unlikely details for him to know.

[KindlyKeller]

in each case there were probably enough witnesses for rod to fill in the blanks.

although, if you notice - or maybe just my perception - rod's 'memories' were suitably embellished to fit his perception of the people involved

His telling of it was embellished, but not when we saw the actual memories.

Two examples:

"Zelenka may have been there." Zelenka WAS there.
"I was down in the infirmary with a pretty serious injury." He had a splinter.

[Malakriss]

Zelenka was there... getting him a cup of coffee...

You're attempting to nitpick something that occurs in thousands of movies, television shows, and video games. It happens for any recounting or storytelling that occurs on screen, where it's in way too much detail and everyone "listening" acquires those details.

[dasNdanger]

Regarding Todd & Ronon's scene, JM said in his blog:

JM: "This was a conversation we had in the room as the script was being written and we ultimately decided it would be a bit of a cheat, the conceit being that Rodney may have had this information relayed to him second-hand through the operatives who were with Ronon on the mission (and perhaps even overheard the exchange via whatever communications device they possessed prior to their heading through the gate). Or, what we are glimpsing is not so much McKay’s retelling of the events as he heard them as it is a flashback to the actual event."

I prefer to think of it as an actual flashback, given the detail, than just someone from Ronon's forces telling him what happened because they heard it over the radio. Flashback just seems more - realistic.

das

[Ranlier]

HoloMcKay would have remembered events in his own perception, so to speak.

Woolsey acted as a caricature, in real life he would have been more three dimensional about the principles driving his command decisions, but Sheppard got the "short version".