It's NOT all Teyla's fault, after all

[not so ancient]

Last night, I rewatched "Underground." Great ep.

A recent thread here speculated that the problems with the Genii were all Teyla's fault.

Actually, the problem with the Genii is that they're thugs, and the problem with Genii as related to Teyla is really limited to one Genii, Sora, whose father, Tyrus, was taken by the Wraith. Not that Cowan or anyone else was happy about it, but Sora's the one obsessed with revenge.

But you know what? That whole thing just didn't sit right with me. I _thought_ I remembered it as more/less Teyla's initiative to help the Wraith's cocooned victims.

But I was wrong. It was actually Shepard's order to find other cocooned humans.

This is how it went down, and it really does make all the difference.

They exited the PJ and entered the Wraith ship.
They came across a fed-upon Human.
There is some discussion that some humans may be alive.
Sheppard told Teyla and Tyrus to check it out.
Sheppard, McKay and Cowan went to go find Wraith data.
Teyla and Tyrus came upon a cocooned human, who cried out.
Teyla wanted to help him.
Tyrus objected. He blew off Sheppard's directives, and I have the impression Sheppard was in charge of this mission.
The victim cried out again. Tyrus shot him.
The Wraith came upon them. Tyrus got hit immediately by a stunner. Teyla escaped.

Wish I had a transcript.

But I thought I'd just post that no, indeed, the Genii vengeance against Atlantis is really not all about Teyla.

I think her character deserves a little more respect. The snark at/about her just grates on me. That's my opinion. But the incident in Underground? Went down in such a way as she was (1) following Sheppard's orders and (2) doing the right thing.

[Gate Trippin']

Thanks for clearing that up about the whole Teyla/Sora thing. I admit that Teyla was not one of my favorite characters for most of the season and I'll tell you why. She was always there, but it didn't seem like the writers were doing anything with her character. Filler, I guess is what I'd have called her.

My attitude has changed, though, due to the last 3 or 4 eps in season 1. In "The Gift" I think her character definately develops and is now a very important piece of the plot. I'm pretty excited to see where this goes and I think she was very good in those eps!

Until now, she wasn't given much to work with. Nice to see the change.

[Darth Buddha]

Sheppard told Teyla and Tyrus to check it out.

Good catch. I'll actually give you some green as soon as I'm eligbile to give you feedback again.

I think her character deserves a little more respect. The snark at/about her just grates on me. That's my opinion. But the incident in Underground? Went down in such a way as she was (1) following Sheppard's orders and (2) doing the right thing.

(1)
Well... did he order her to RESCUE them? Nope, just check it out. That's consistent with a recon mission.... though I've got to admit for him to expect Teyla to make that differntiation was pretty silly... so I guess I agree in a roundabout way.
(2)
Well, again, the right thing by the warrior/individual honor ethic that Teyla has lived her life by. Not right by the Sheppard ethic of the trained soldier. Same can be said of the Genii. They were living under different ethical frameworks... but at least Sheppard isn't trying to crucify Teyla over the difference.