Theory About Sumner SPOILERS for Rising
I just watched the first Atlantis episode again, and I have a completely new theory about the "mercy killing" incident that I would like to share with everyone. (and if this works, I'm almost tempted to give Rising a 9.5 or 10 out of 10 stars, but that's just me... 
) Please read everything I have to say, and remember that this thread is not here for us to debate over the morality "mercy killing". If that's what you want to do, please start your own thread, and I'll be more than happy to join in if I get a chance. 
New Theory:
-John Sheppard did not intentionally kill Sumner.
Reasons: (Sorry, these aren't the shortest explanations...
)
1
-Sheppard's character has already been established with having a strong sense of morality: (<gateworld.net/atlantis/characters>: "...He distrusts authority and always goes with his gut, letting his strong sense of common sense morality lead his actions....")
2
-He was on a rescue mission, and he said multiple times that he would do everything he could to try and save Sumner, and that they weren't leaving without him, etc... (So, it seems pointless to just kill the person you're trying to save.)
3
-He just finished having an argument with Weir about doing the right thing, no matter what the consequences. (..."And how do you know that going out there won't bring the Wraith right here, back to our doorstep?" "Maybe it will, but it's the right thing to do. Why? Because it's the right thing to do."...)
4
-He saw how quickly this was happening to Sumner, and he knew that there clearly wasn't enough time to get down to that room before Sumner was dead.
5
-He fired on the Wraith multiple times when he saw that she was killing Sumner, and then at the guards. I believe he also hit some of these guards in the head with bullets, and they still recovered from their injuries very quickly.
6
-After seeing that the Wraith still wouldn't stop killing Sumner even after being shot at (in fact she only worked faster - she was clearly gaining something important from doing this, and was almost finished), he knew that right now the most important thing was to simply get her off of Sumner as quickly as possible.
7
-Still unsure of what the Wraith was still capable of doing (this is, after all, his first encounter with them), he fired a SINGLE shot directly into the Wraith's hand that was locked onto Sumner's chest. Notice that if his intention had been to simply kill Sumner, he could have aimed at either Sumner's head or heart (which he didn't), or even fired upon him multiple times. If Sumner had been in better health, a bullet to that part of the body might have even been able to be removed later, etc... It was not necessarily a fatal shot, and the "cause of death" in an autopsy would most likely confirm this.
8
-So many of the specific details were unknowable to Sheppard at the time. If he was lucky, his bullet might not have even passed through the Wraith's semi-armored hand, and could have simply harmed the Wraith enough to make her stop. He has absolutely no idea as to what could happen. (And Sumner clearly did NOT signal anyone to shoot him. He was definitely on the verge of losing consciousness, and most likely wasn't even aware that Sheppard was there.)
9
-When the Wraith was shot in the hand, she did not stop just because Sumner had been shot. It probably wouldn't even matter to her if he was wounded or not. She dropped Sumner and immediately began howling about her hand, not the nearly-if-not-entirely dead body on the ground. Sheppard's plan was almost entirely successful.
10
-Sheppard was simply using his best judgment to work in an extreme situation. As long as his goal was trying to save Sumner, or at least not intentionally kill him (which I believe there is plenty of evidence to suggest), there is absolutely nothing immoral about doing the best you can when so many of the factors are unknowable/extreme/immediate at the time. Sheppard took an acceptable risk in his last desperate attempt to save Sumner, but Sumner's death was simply an unfortunate side effect, not an intentional murder.
11
-Sheppard did feel bad about this at the end, because I think he knew that if he had had more time/knowledge/etc..., there might have been other ways for him to still have successfully saved Sumner (and he is right), but given the incredible situation, he still did the best that he could manage, which is nothing to feel bad about. Hopefully, he will take this as an important lesson, and we will see some good character development throughout the series.
Wow. OK, I'm done typing (and thinking). So what does everyone else think about my not-so-little theory/solution? Tell me what you think about it, how probable you think it is, or why you disagree, etc...
And let's try to keep on topic for at least most of the time...
) Please read everything I have to say, and remember that this thread is not here for us to debate over the morality "mercy killing". If that's what you want to do, please start your own thread, and I'll be more than happy to join in if I get a chance. New Theory:
-John Sheppard did not intentionally kill Sumner.
Reasons: (Sorry, these aren't the shortest explanations...
)1
-Sheppard's character has already been established with having a strong sense of morality: (<gateworld.net/atlantis/characters>: "...He distrusts authority and always goes with his gut, letting his strong sense of common sense morality lead his actions....")
2
-He was on a rescue mission, and he said multiple times that he would do everything he could to try and save Sumner, and that they weren't leaving without him, etc... (So, it seems pointless to just kill the person you're trying to save.)
3
-He just finished having an argument with Weir about doing the right thing, no matter what the consequences. (..."And how do you know that going out there won't bring the Wraith right here, back to our doorstep?" "Maybe it will, but it's the right thing to do. Why? Because it's the right thing to do."...)
4
-He saw how quickly this was happening to Sumner, and he knew that there clearly wasn't enough time to get down to that room before Sumner was dead.
5
-He fired on the Wraith multiple times when he saw that she was killing Sumner, and then at the guards. I believe he also hit some of these guards in the head with bullets, and they still recovered from their injuries very quickly.
6
-After seeing that the Wraith still wouldn't stop killing Sumner even after being shot at (in fact she only worked faster - she was clearly gaining something important from doing this, and was almost finished), he knew that right now the most important thing was to simply get her off of Sumner as quickly as possible.
7
-Still unsure of what the Wraith was still capable of doing (this is, after all, his first encounter with them), he fired a SINGLE shot directly into the Wraith's hand that was locked onto Sumner's chest. Notice that if his intention had been to simply kill Sumner, he could have aimed at either Sumner's head or heart (which he didn't), or even fired upon him multiple times. If Sumner had been in better health, a bullet to that part of the body might have even been able to be removed later, etc... It was not necessarily a fatal shot, and the "cause of death" in an autopsy would most likely confirm this.
8
-So many of the specific details were unknowable to Sheppard at the time. If he was lucky, his bullet might not have even passed through the Wraith's semi-armored hand, and could have simply harmed the Wraith enough to make her stop. He has absolutely no idea as to what could happen. (And Sumner clearly did NOT signal anyone to shoot him. He was definitely on the verge of losing consciousness, and most likely wasn't even aware that Sheppard was there.)
9
-When the Wraith was shot in the hand, she did not stop just because Sumner had been shot. It probably wouldn't even matter to her if he was wounded or not. She dropped Sumner and immediately began howling about her hand, not the nearly-if-not-entirely dead body on the ground. Sheppard's plan was almost entirely successful.
10
-Sheppard was simply using his best judgment to work in an extreme situation. As long as his goal was trying to save Sumner, or at least not intentionally kill him (which I believe there is plenty of evidence to suggest), there is absolutely nothing immoral about doing the best you can when so many of the factors are unknowable/extreme/immediate at the time. Sheppard took an acceptable risk in his last desperate attempt to save Sumner, but Sumner's death was simply an unfortunate side effect, not an intentional murder.
11
-Sheppard did feel bad about this at the end, because I think he knew that if he had had more time/knowledge/etc..., there might have been other ways for him to still have successfully saved Sumner (and he is right), but given the incredible situation, he still did the best that he could manage, which is nothing to feel bad about. Hopefully, he will take this as an important lesson, and we will see some good character development throughout the series.
Wow. OK, I'm done typing (and thinking
). So what does everyone else think about my not-so-little theory/solution? Tell me what you think about it, how probable you think it is, or why you disagree, etc... And let's try to keep on topic for at least most of the time...
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