John Sheppard/Teyla Emmagan Appreciation/Ship/Discussion Thread

[CazzBlade]

Hot Zone Questions

1. When did John and Teyla start sparring together? And why?
They must have started before this due to Teyla's comment about John not practising. I can see why Teyla is sparring but not John, he obviously doesn't think it's an advantage for him military wise, and isn't bothered about being good at it. So the only possible reason is that John wanted to spend time with Teyla

2. Was John right to disobey Weir?
No, John was completely in the wrong. He should not have disobeyed Weir. His need to be 'the man' put a lot more people in danger than needed. I enjoy that part of his character though, so I'm not going to discourage it

3. If Teyla felt that Sheppard was doing the wrong thing (as she states) why didn’t she try to stop him from leaving the gym? If she had, do you think Shep would have listened?
I honestly don't know, I think she should have. And yes, I think Shep would have listened.

4. Teyla follows Sheppard’s lead very loyally during this ep, do you think she follows him instead of Weir because of the situation in Suspicion or just because he is her friend/leader of the team?
I think she purely follows out of loyalty to Shep, he has always stood by her and she will always stand by him. I don't think she holds a grudge against Weir as she understood where Weir was coming from, and Teyla doesn't hold grudges easily.

5. Do you think the conflict between Weir and Sheppard worked well in this ep? Should there have been more of it throughout the series?
I do think it worked well, I think it was a learning curve for them both. I would have liked to see more of it, maybe not this extreme, but them disagreeing, getting angry over it and then compromising as they respect each other so listen to the others POV.

6. Do you think the mystery of who made the virus was supposed to be a story arc from this, or do you think they always intended it to be the Replicators in a later season?
I think it was always intended to be the Replicators, but I don't like the Replicators So I'd hoped they has a better plan for it.

7. From the writers/producers POV, why did they have John and Teyla sparring together?
I think they did it show there was a relationship growing between them outside of the team.

[Atlantis4Life]

It’s really, really not a matter of tptb back tracking. I don’t usually defend tptb, as… well… in later seasons… they sucked… but on this matter, they never made a mistake. There was nothing in Runner or any other episode that made it canon that Ronon couldn’t be fed upon. Some fans misinterpreted it. That first question and answer I posted was from 2005. There is a whole thread on the matter here, even taking about the fandemonium author who made the mistake that Ronon couldn’t be fed on in her book and got quite embarrassed about it.

I think that even though it wasn't canon that the wraith couldn't feed on Ronon, it certainly wasn't made clear that they could (in the Runner ep). I think that this is a mistake made by the writers because it is their job to make something like this clear to the audience. When so many people (including from what you've mentioned - gateworld and even book writers for the series) think that the Wraith couldn't feed on Ronon, and somehow they could, it's bad writing. Again, I think it's sad that what they didn't mean to imply is a better storyline than what they did mean to imply. Maybe implications aren't their strength. Maybe they should just point things out clearly so there isn't so much debate, so many questions, and different "interpretations". I still don't think that it's necessary for a Wraith (or anyone) to press its hand against Ronon's chest to be able to tell (a) that he's strong and (b) that he's defiant. But, okay.

Thanks for the link. It was nice to read over some of the comments. I agree with you that in later seasons the writing kind of sucked. It's just that Broken Ties was one of the episodes that kind of sucked for me because of the writing (sadly, it was among many others that I was disappointed by )

Thanks again for the info.

[CazzBlade]

Thanks for the link. It was nice to read over some of the comments. I agree with you that in later seasons the writing kind of sucked. It's just that Broken Ties was one of the episodes that kind of sucked for me because of the writing (sadly, it was among many others that I was disappointed by )

Thanks again for the info.

I don't think Ronon being immune was a better storyline as I don't think it was feasable. Either the Wraith would have killed him (like they did everyone else who was immune) or Atlantis would have been able to synthasize the immunity from Ronon's DNA. So either way, it would have dimished the storytelling potential.

I agree that the writing for BT was dissapointing. I don't think it was a particularly bad episode, as it was engaging for the most part, but it had no depth. It should have been a much better episode than it was, or even a 2/3 parter, to do the storyline justice. However, I wish they hadn't done it full stop to be honest, I don't like the 'gift of life' being used to transform worshippers, makes a mockery of what Todd said in Common Ground, and having Ronon tortured that way makes light of what Sheppard (and the team watching on) went through in CG.

[bluealien]

I think that even though it wasn't canon that the wraith couldn't feed on Ronon, it certainly wasn't made clear that they could (in the Runner ep). I think that this is a mistake made by the writers because it is their job to make something like this clear to the audience. When so many people (including from what you've mentioned - gateworld and even book writers for the series) think that the Wraith couldn't feed on Ronon, and somehow they could, it's bad writing. Again, I think it's sad that what they didn't mean to imply is a better storyline than what they did mean to imply. Maybe implications aren't their strength. Maybe they should just point things out clearly so there isn't so much debate, so many questions, and different "interpretations". I still don't think that it's necessary for a Wraith (or anyone) to press its hand against Ronon's chest to be able to tell (a) that he's strong and (b) that he's defiant. But, okay.

I always assumed that Ronon was immune to feeding because of that action.. it looked like an attempt to feed to me. I also wouldnt think they needed to put their feeding hand on anyone to judge their strenght..
I thought that once they discovered they couldnt feed on him, they decided to use him for something else .. ie runners and thats how the whole running thing came about..

Thanks for the link. It was nice to read over some of the comments. I agree with you that in later seasons the writing kind of sucked. It's just that Broken Ties was one of the episodes that kind of sucked for me because of the writing (sadly, it was among many others that I was disappointed by )

The writers did seem like they were backtracking after Broken Ties.. to me it was just another way to cover up their bad writing.. it just added to the list of Torren instead of Tagan... Teyla having a sparkle in her eyes for Kanaan way back before Weir died but at the same time hoping someone not from her culture would make their move... ...

[Atlantis4Life]

I don't think Ronon being immune was a better storyline as I don't think it was feasable. Either the Wraith would have killed him (like they did everyone else who was immune) or Atlantis would have been able to synthasize the immunity from Ronon's DNA. So either way, it would have dimished the storytelling potential.

How could you say that when for 3 seasons after the Runner episode so many people already really did think that Ronon couldn't be fed on? I think that it was feasable simply because it's what I believed until the Broken Ties episode. Again, I thought that the Wraith killed the weak/unskilled people that were immune. But, because they could look at Ronon and tell that he was strong, and they knew that he was tactically skilled because he was in the military on Sateda fighting them (that's how he got caught), they knew that he would be a formidable challenge in their "game" so they spared his life and used him for sport. That's what I thought. Maybe other people too.

As far as storylines go, I thought Ronon being immune added to the SGA story because we don't know how long it would take Carson to synthesize the immunity from Ronon. The Hoffans worked on something similar for generations and still didn't have it quite right with Carson's help. And, since Ronon is a person with his own genetic make-up, who knows how well it would have worked on others since I would guess that some kind of compatibility might be a hurdle that Carson would need to work on getting over. That would have given Carson something to do, and us to see him working on. I also thought that since the Hoffan drug was out of the bag so to speak, the Wraith might begin their own testing on people that took the hoffan drug and it worked, and also on remaining runners that simply had the immunity naturally. This would have opened up new storylines and brought in new characters/cultures for us to learn about. I just don't see where the storytelling potential would diminish, only increase. That's just me though. I think we may just have diffent opinions on this one, and that's okay with me.

I agree that Broken Ties didn't have enough depth. It could have been better.

[Atlantis4Life]

I always assumed that Ronon was immune to feeding because of that action.. it looked like an attempt to feed to me. I also wouldnt think they needed to put their feeding hand on anyone to judge their strenght..

I thought that once they discovered they couldnt feed on him, they decided to use him for something else .. ie runners and thats how the whole running thing came about..

Same here.

The writers did seem like they were backtracking after Broken Ties.. to me it was just another way to cover up their bad writing.. it just added to the list of Torren instead of Tagan... Teyla having a sparkle in her eyes for Kanaan way back before Weir died but at the same time hoping someone not from her culture would make their move... ...

I agree. Sometimes I think it would have helped if they watched previous seasons of their show before they started writing for the next season. Or, maybe they just needed to sit in a room together and really hash out the season. Mr. Mallozzi has said that they do this, but perhaps not enough.

I just saw this emoticon, so I'm using it.

[CazzBlade]

How could you say that when for 3 seasons after the Runner episode so many people already really did think that Ronon couldn't be fed on?

Quite easily. They were wrong.

The Hoffans worked on something similar for generations and still didn't have it quite right with Carson's help.

But they didn't have somebody who was immune. Carson managed to locate and sythesize the ATA gene, he'd be able to locate and sythesize a vaccine as that's much more in line with regular medical/genetic studies (unlike the ATA gene which was something brand new so would be much more complicated for them to investigate).

[gater101]

*squeals likee a pig*

Paul mcgillion in Glasgow!!! *does happy dance*

[CazzBlade]

*squeals likee a pig*

Paul mcgillion in Glasgow!!! *does happy dance*

Cool! What's he there for?

[gater101]

I don't think Ronon being immune was a better storyline as I don't think it was feasable. Either the Wraith would have killed him (like they did everyone else who was immune) or Atlantis would have been able to synthasize the immunity from Ronon's DNA. So either way, it would have dimished the storytelling potential.

I agree that the writing for BT was dissapointing. I don't think it was a particularly bad episode, as it was engaging for the most part, but it had no depth. It should have been a much better episode than it was, or even a 2/3 parter, to do the storyline justice. However, I wish they hadn't done it full stop to be honest, I don't like the 'gift of life' being used to transform worshippers, makes a mockery of what Todd said in Common Ground, and having Ronon tortured that way makes light of what Sheppard (and the team watching on) went through in CG.

I don't think it even needed to be a 2/3 parter... i think it could have been a b-plot for three or four episodes (you know, trying to find Ronon etc) and then like episode 8/9 being them getting Ronon back and him going through withdrawal etc... but that's just me. i think it would have been amazing.

[gater101]

Cool! What's he there for?

A signing session in A1 Comics. In Braehead On the 21st. I <3 Paul

[CazzBlade]

Good news! From da blog o' doom:

Spectre writes: “I was wondering if you knew that if the SG-1 and Atlantis movies were to be made, would they be using the old filming and editing techniques that defined the series for all those years, or will it be using the fancy new stuff learned from SGU?”

Answer: We would stick to the tone, look, and shooting style that Atlantis fans are familiar with.

Not that there'll be a movie but...

Edit: Hmm, just noticed he only addressed the Atlantis movie... I presume that because he's working on that and not the SG1 one

[CazzBlade]

I don't think it even needed to be a 2/3 parter... i think it could have been a b-plot for three or four episodes (you know, trying to find Ronon etc) and then like episode 8/9 being them getting Ronon back and him going through withdrawal etc... but that's just me. i think it would have been amazing.

Aye that could have worked well! (but then that would only leave Teyla to hold up the walls The wall would fall!)

A signing session in A1 Comics. In Braehead On the 21st. I <3 Paul

You <3 Paul Hold the front page! I did not know that Sounds awesome Do the signings cost anything?

[SanGate]

A signing session in A1 Comics. In Braehead On the 21st. I <3 Paul

Good news! From da blog o' doom:


Not that there'll be a movie but...

Edit: Hmm, just noticed he only addressed the Atlantis movie... I presume that because he's working on that and not the SG1 one

That's a good point! It's probably that, as he wrote the script and might not know for sure if they'd do so with SG1. But like you say, not that there will be one

On the Ronon-feeding-runner thing: I had no idea there was even a scene where that was addresssed like that until I saw people mentioning it here after BT. I don't pay well enough attention in eps. It's shown again

[CazzBlade]

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