Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Michael was inconsistent

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Michael was inconsistent

    I think The Prodigal was one of the better episodes this season but there were a couple issues that really prevented it from being as good as it should have been.

    Chief among them is how Michael was portrayed I think. He'd been a really good villian for the show, each time he was a little different because he evolved over the time he was on the show. The problem I had was it didn't seem to make sense given his entire progression up to this point. In Vengeance he was actually willing to feed Teyla to a Iratus Bug to fuel his experiments without a hint of hesitation or remorse. I thought that was a little surprising considering his supposed compassion for her from the previous episodes. But since his explanation wasn't too far fetched, it wasn't that hard to accept. When we see him again, he's still ruthlessly carrying out his plan of vengeance but he's developed an affection for Teyla that was obvious entirely absent in "Vengeance". At first In thought it was kind of silly that such a supposedly cold and calculating villian was so upset at the fact that Teyla called him insane. But since then I think that showing he had a weakness for Teyla of some sort made for a stronger more interesting villian. Unfortunately that aspect of his characterization makes a lot more sense if it wasn't directly after "Vengeance". After "Search and Rescue" we finally see him again Prodigal and he's different yet again. The "slightly unhinged Michael" we see in his final appearance was an interesting choice. And it really helped give the impression that he's been driven over the edge with anger. But at the same time something was lost.

    I remember an interview I once saw with Wayne Pygram where he mentioned to two sides of Scorpius. The calm and calculating half and the primal rage filled half. And he said that the calm side is the one with all the power. I cannot help but feel there might be a somewhat similar issue here.

    But that's just a small thing, what's really weird is that he's apparently now completely in love with Teyla or something. Back in the Season 4 arc, he had some sort of desire to prove himself to her, but he never let it seriously affect his plan. In Prodigal he was actually seemed desperate to get Teyla to come with him. Which is so ridiculous I can't believe he seriously expected his bizarre declaration to work. I'm glad they did touch of the issue of Teyla's connection to Michael before they ended his storyline, but the way we're supposed to believe it is really hard to grasp. So now he's in love with her, even though he once tried to kill her with no mercy? Because she showed a little compassion to him once, he likes her. Fine. But his feelings towards her seem to vary wildly in no clear order. I think the way he is in Kindred is a more logical result from what happened in "Allies", "No Mans Land" and "Misbegotten".

    He went from: bitter but mostly at peace with their relationship (he never expected to see her again after "Allies"), to completely remorseless towards killing her, to coldly planning vengeance against Atlantis but trying to find some sort of understanding with her, to desperately wanting to spend his life with her after killing all her friends.

    That's a rather illogical progression of his character arc. In my opinion anyways. Some actors I think even commented on that inconsistency in an interview somewhere on the site if I recall right.

    Even the way he went about his plan in Prodigal made him look weaker than he was. Instead of trying to convince Teyla and her son to live with him, I thought it would have made more sense if he'd he'd simply offered to spare them Atlantis's fate and send her wherever she wanted in the galaxy. Its a small mercy, but it's exactly the kind of small mercy she showed him when they first met I think. It probably would have been a slightly more tempting offer for Teyla too. There's no way she'd ever want to live her life with him. But if he offered her son a normal life away from the conflict, I suspect that would provide at least a little pause for thought for her. It would make more sense given his Season 4 portrayal anyway.

    I also think their final argument was pretty weak. I wouldn't have expected he'd try to justify his actions to her, especially given earlier in the episode he actually said he didn't expect her to understand. Wouldn't it have been more logical if he'd try to get her to see his point of view by trying to show her how similar they were? That was his whole point, wasn't it? "We're not that different, Teyla?"

    Yes he became what he was out of vengeance, but so did Teyla when she was trying to find out what happened to her people. And especially given she understandably was pretty revenge hungry against him in this very episode. When she kicked him of the ledge to his death even though he was defenseless, I kind hoped he'd have some cooler last words mentioning that they weren't that different after all or something. Didn't anybody else?

    Does anybody see what I am getting at?

    I know this sounds like I'm trying to completely deconstruct the episode with a long boring rant, but I still liked it a lot. I'm just saying that there were several issues I just did not understand, good as it was.
    "First Weir, then Samantha Carter, and now, you! It's a pity you humans die or get reassigned so easily, or I might have a sense of satisfaction now!"

    *You got the touch! You got the poweeeeer!*

    "Arise, Woolseyus Prime."

    "Elizabeth..."

    #2
    i have no idea what your talking about.

    but...

    i would not like a character who doesnt evolve. and i sure know that if i was evil i would always be bragging about my plans to my captures good guys...then end up getting kicked into the pool of lava below my lair....damn

    Comment


      #3
      I never said he shouldn't evolve. That wasn't what I was saying at all. I was saying his evolution did not appear like an entirely logical progression.
      "First Weir, then Samantha Carter, and now, you! It's a pity you humans die or get reassigned so easily, or I might have a sense of satisfaction now!"

      *You got the touch! You got the poweeeeer!*

      "Arise, Woolseyus Prime."

      "Elizabeth..."

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Infinite-Possibilities View Post
        I never said he shouldn't evolve. That wasn't what I was saying at all. I was saying his evolution did not appear like an entirely logical progression.
        well yea i got the impression he had gone mad from being changed back and forth and getting pissed off so much...also all of his genetic maipulation on himself woudnt have helped

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by escyos View Post
          well yea i got the impression he had gone mad from being changed back and forth and getting pissed off so much...also all of his genetic maipulation on himself woudnt have helped

          Revenge messes with your mind. So does love sometimes and the guy had the hots for Teyla (or at least was supposed too.. wasn't always clear throughout the arc)

          All I can say is: Thank goodness he's dead.. we think.
          WraithQueenH

          * * * * * * * * *
          "You are more like Wraith than you know."
          "I'm not sure I like the sound of that."
          "There is much about Wraith that you do not know, Sheppard."
          - John Sheppard and Todd, "Common Ground"

          "We all agree the Ancients were pretty screwed up. All the ones I met were arrogant and condescending and not for good reason. Now they made giant mistakes and never fixed them." - John Sheppard

          Comment


            #6
            But I just don't understand why he's supposed to be in love with her (or whatever that was) when he tried to kill her without hesitation earlier. What changed exactly between "Vengeance and The Prodigal that would make sense enough to cause that shift in his goal?
            "First Weir, then Samantha Carter, and now, you! It's a pity you humans die or get reassigned so easily, or I might have a sense of satisfaction now!"

            *You got the touch! You got the poweeeeer!*

            "Arise, Woolseyus Prime."

            "Elizabeth..."

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Infinite-Possibilities View Post
              But I just don't understand why he's supposed to be in love with her (or whatever that was) when he tried to kill her without hesitation earlier. What changed exactly between "Vengeance and The Prodigal that would make sense enough to cause that shift in his goal?
              He started to love her in the episode "Michael". That's why he was happy they were friends (we was attracted to her at that point). That's also why he felt she betrayed him more than anyone else had. As he was changing back into being a Wraith, his feelings for her made it so he didn't want to feed on her. The Wraith in him won out right as she was rescued but the seeds of his feelings were there. In my opinion, its not that big a jump from love to hate.
              WraithQueenH

              * * * * * * * * *
              "You are more like Wraith than you know."
              "I'm not sure I like the sound of that."
              "There is much about Wraith that you do not know, Sheppard."
              - John Sheppard and Todd, "Common Ground"

              "We all agree the Ancients were pretty screwed up. All the ones I met were arrogant and condescending and not for good reason. Now they made giant mistakes and never fixed them." - John Sheppard

              Comment


                #8
                I liked Michael a lot. There was a lot of potential there, especially in his first episode. He really had a legitimate reason to hate Atlantis. Even after he helped Sheppard stop the wraith in the season 3 premiere, they once again did it to him. However, he eventually became a little too villianous. I agree the character deserved a better end than he got. I thought Connor Trinner did a great job playing him.

                Comment


                  #9
                  I liked Michael and didn't see much inconcinsisenties, although you raise a good point. I always assumed his state of mind was due to his transformations. He was a great villain and the best, if not one of the best, on Atlantis.
                  http://www.imagehosting.com/out.php/..._DanielSig.jpg

                  Comment

                  Working...
                  X