The Evolution of SGA Friendships

[EdenSG]

One thing that I loved about SGA from the very beginning were the characters. From the very first episode I felt connected to them and liked them. Specifically it was the friendships between the characters that helped to keep me attached to the series for five years and the friendships between these characters that I sincerely miss about the show.

Three friendships that stood out to me were:

Sheppard and McKay:
The two started off not really liking each or trusting each other very much. McKay thought of Sheppard as the military hot shot who just like to blow things up and Sheppard saw McKay as an arrogant scientist. But they quickly realized they not only needed each other on the away missions but that they brought out the best in each other. McKay needed Sheppard’s bravado, calmness and the kick in the pants (figuratively) to stay calm and focused to solve a problem. Sheppard needed McKay because he was the scientist, had the tech solutions and his abilities gave Sheppard the opportunity to think outside the box, to come up with some elaborate schemes and to have them succeed. It was nice to see their respect and trust for each other grow over the 5 seasons.

Another aspect to their friendship was their competitiveness, one-upmanship and need to prove oneself to the other - it always seemed to me like they acted very much like two brothers. I thought this aspect of their friendship was particularly appealing.

Sheppard and Weir (friends – not ship)
They were a bit adversarial at first, a bit untrusting at first, but I always felt there was a degree of respect there. They too needed each other. I think the ep “Hot Zone” forced them to work out these issues. The two developed a strong, workable bond with each other that was based in mutual respect, trust and admiration for each other. And while there were subsequent times they still disagreed, they could do it and not be at each others throats and still work together.

McKay and Beckett:
They were great together. True friends, butting heads at times, snarky/teasing each other at times, but in the end true friends who truly cared about each other – I just think that they never realized quite how much till Carson was killed and then came back. The concern and protectiveness that Rodney showed for Carson when he “came back” was very touching.

What did you think of the friendships on SGA? What aspects of those friendships did you find interesting, endearing, memorable, enjoyable - and why?

* Note: I would like this thread to discuss just friendships – not relationships aka “ships.” There are other threads for shipping characters.

[SleepZone]

One thing that always irked me was despite McKay being used a lot they never developed his relationship with Teyla and Ronon. Besides Search and Rescue, and Toa of Rodney, I never noticed him interacting with them much.

After Teyla got pregnant, he relationship with Sheppard never went anywere else, it sort of halted, so Johns vision in SAR seemed out of there to me.

I'd wish I gotten to see Weir interact with Ronon more as their initial meeting was interesing.

I did enjoy Ronon and John however as they seemed like buddies. They had a rocky start but it grew into trust and loyalty.

I liked John and Todd to an extent, like that they never fully trusted each other and were rivals. However John did make some stupid choices and at times when he should have been more relaxed he was too strict with Todd, which in my opinion would only fustrate the Wraith causing him to act less helpful.

The Sam and McKay friendship was funny because McKay liked her, but also was arrogant but didn't want to overstep his bounds but kept screwing ups, an example is Trio.

[stclare]

To me they were a bunch of misfits and odd balls who just seemed to click.

The Rodney + John friendship I very much enjoyed. On paper i would not have thought of them as friends but on screen they came accross in actions not just words as firm friends, even brothers on rare occasions.

I wish they had explored Teylas & Weir's relashionship. I know they addressed it in a small part in a couple of eps but it would have been nice to see them interact more.

Carson & Rodney's bickering also made me smile.

I routed for these misfits through some pretty poor writting and was rewarded with some great frienship scenes and moments.

(The Shrine, Tao, Sunday)

Infact i will be watching 38 Minitues tonight as part of SGARewind on Twitter and am looking forward to discussing it with other fans. Im pretty sure that Kavanagh's discussion with Weir should pop up!

[fumblesmcstupid]

I was mad at the fact that you knew John and Teyla and Ronon were friends but they never included Rodney, and Ronon and Teyla were excluded from the John and Rodney part. In fan fic the fans always remembered to include everyone... unlike the writers!

[SleepZone]

I was mad at the fact that you knew John and Teyla and Ronon were friends but they never included Rodney, and Ronon and Teyla were excluded from the John and Rodney part. In fan fic the fans always remembered to include everyone... unlike the writers!

I feel the same way. The only episodes that showed McKay having a relation with someone not named Keller or Sheppard was Search and Rescue and The Shrine.

[jelgate]

I was mad at the fact that you knew John and Teyla and Ronon were friends but they never included Rodney, and Ronon and Teyla were excluded from the John and Rodney part. In fan fic the fans always remembered to include everyone... unlike the writers!

You know their are certain logistics writers are bound that fans do not have to suffer. So it seems unfair to say fans are better writers

[fumblesmcstupid]

Fans ARE better writers!

There I said it!

Cause it is true!

If the writers showed HALF the dedication to the characters that the fanfic writers do, half the people wouldn't hate Rodney for the fact that he became the ONLY character that the writers CHOSE to write for! This is STILL my bigest complaint about the writers is the tunnel vision that they had with Rodney!

At the end of Sunday, Rodney says that Carson is his best friend.......since WHEN? All the episodes I saw showed John and Rodney together as really good friends.

the Return only had Rodney say a quick goodbye to Ronon and Teyla, yeas you could say that he was to upset to say more, but the way the writers write for them 90% of the time everyone acted like strangers!

[stclare]

Fans ARE better writers!

There I said it!

Cause it is true!

If the writers showed HALF the dedication to the characters that the fanfic writers do, half the people wouldn't hate Rodney for the fact that he became the ONLY character that the writers CHOSE to write for! This is STILL my bigest complaint about the writers is the tunnel vision that they had with Rodney!

At the end of Sunday, Rodney says that Carson is his best friend.......since WHEN? All the episodes I saw showed John and Rodney together as really good friends.

the Return only had Rodney say a quick goodbye to Ronon and Teyla, yeas you could say that he was to upset to say more, but the way the writers write for them 90% of the time everyone acted like strangers!

I agree. They dont have to be in the same location to show friendship they can use dialogue for that.

[Killdeer]

One thing that I loved about SGA from the very beginning were the characters. From the very first episode I felt connected to them and liked them. Specifically it was the friendships between the characters that helped to keep me attached to the series for five years and the friendships between these characters that I sincerely miss about the show.

I completely agree.

What did you think of the friendships on SGA? What aspects of those friendships did you find interesting, endearing, memorable, enjoyable - and why?

* Note: I would like this thread to discuss just friendships – not relationships aka “ships.” There are other threads for shipping characters.

I think the friendships I found the most compelling were:

1) John and Rodney - the friendship, the snark, the banter. They seemed almost like brothers at times (to me). I would specify episodes, but there's too many to name.

2) John and Elizabeth - these two seemed to have a connection from the first (again, to me), and though they clashed at times, I enjoyed how their partnership and their connection with each other came through in episodes like The Real World. John's grief in Adrift was painful.

3) Elizabeth and Rodney - these two also didn't always see eye to eye, but I always felt like Elizabeth knew Rodney better than just about anyone else, and he seemed to care for and respect her immensely.

4) Teyla and Ronon - these two seemed to have an almost instant connection, which eventually grew into a brother/sister type relationship in the later seasons. They had an understanding of each other that the others did not, and were always there for each other.


There were a couple of relationships that didn't get developed so well that I always wished we could have seen more of - Elizabeth and Teyla, and Teyla and Rodney. I really would have enjoyed seeing those relationships developed more fully.

[EdenSG]

I did enjoy Ronon and John however as they seemed like buddies. They had a rocky start but it grew into trust and loyalty.

The John and Ronon friendship was also interesting. I agree they had a rocky start – but I always felt that even from the very beginning they – if not trust – had a real respect for each other. I think this respect grew into trust, then into a true friendship – buddies as you said. One scene for me that shows when they had a strong trust and friendship was in “Vengeance”, when Ronon confronted John and disagreed with his order to not kill Michael. I have always felt that a true friendship is one that you can be honest, disagree and speak your mind to the other – and not be condemned or shunned for it. I think they had this type of friendship – they would do anything, and risk anything for the other.