Conversion (208)

[not so ancient]

If I had a friend I respected, and maybe liked a bit, and one day he showed up under the influence of drugs/whatever and shoved me around, made odd remarks, and kissed me, but then apologized days later. Would I EVER want to attempt a relationship with this man again? The answer to that is. . NO. I may remain a friend. I may even respect him to a point. But there would never be a romantic involvement after that. Teyla's look of "Whew" told me all I needed to know about THAT "ship". But if TPTB do intend to use this as a recognition of "love" between those two, well. . .that would just be an indication of how little they understand, or even respect women. And what would that say to men? Its okay to push a lady around, kiss her violently, apologize, then later say, "I love you"? That is okay? I'm probably WAY over-analyzing this, but it did bother me that Gero said earlier this year that Shep and Teyla's relationship would "blossom" in this episode. I wouldn't call it "blossoming" by any stretch of my imagination. That wasn't deep-seated caring/romance, it was violence. But kudos to Rachel and Joe, who both played their parts very well.

If you had a friend who caught the stomach flu and accidentally threw up on your shoes, would you end your friendship with him or her?

Sheppard did not voluntarily ingest drugs or drink, and thus bear some responsibility for his actions.

He got involuntarily sick from Ellia's attack. Thus, I think the flu/throwing up analogy is more accurate than the drunken pass-making analogy.

Teyla might have been shocked and made uncomfortable by the kiss, but as soon as it became known that Sheppard was acting weird because of his illness, she should have put 2+2 together and gotten the idea that he was acting under influence of the virus.

Sheppard did apologize and she, rightly, said it need not be spoken of.

Gero's statement that their romance 'blossoms' in this is one of those cryptic spoiler hints that seems to say something more/different than what occurred. It's a fair criticism that this is not, indeed, romantic, but everything that he says should be taken with a grain of salt anyway.

[cybergaki]

One of my observations...my there certainly is a lot of sexual tension on Conversion. Weir/Caldwell, Shep/Teyla (under the influence). And yes, Caldwell obviousy wants to peel that uniform off of Weir somplace private. And there was some flirtation on her part until Caldwell starting pushing his true agenda, to take over military command of Atlantis. Sorry folks, I like Weir..she can wear the full metal corset and she can wear the velvet one as well. The woman has a spine. And it is probably part of the attraction Caldwell has for her.

As for devolving...many insects are mini-olympic athletes with abilities far beyond ours, ants being a good example. Before the spider bite, Parker was a skinny, unbuff geek. A spider isn't an insect, but you get the idea.

And has been mentioned, real team building on this episode. Sure, it was uneeded to send the main cast out on the bug hunt, but people tune in to see them, not red shirts.

The scene with the kiss was hard to watch. It was violent and unsolicited and if John hadn't had a sudden moment of lucidity, might have progressed even further.

[puddlejumper747]

Ancient statis chambers....yeah, those should have worked too. And then I suppose they could have even used that captured wraith-beaming technology to snag an entire egg sack without disturbing the nest.... *sigh*

I'm thinking the MALP might not work, though....didn't Sheppard have to jump way up to reach those egg sacks? I don't think the MALP could reach quite that high, even with extend-o-arms. Plus they'd have to navigate it over all that terrain past the gate to reach the cave....so I'm thinking it's probably just not worth the time and effort.

[TheGreatCatOfRe]

This was a very good eps. Good Character interactions...really enjoyed them. I actually gasped when the kiss happened. I had a different intrepretation of Teyla's Whew at the end though...we'll see. Yes, the plot was typical and everyone knew that he would be ok...but the whole character development was worth it. Although if you think about 38 Minutes from last year that was also typical and then they used it again this year. Hmmmm....more develops to come perhaps. What is Caldwell up to...at first I thought he was being friendly with Weir then I wondered when he started to take over and then again at the end I was back to thinking he wanted to be friends...kind of a puppy dog look at the end. JF was great in this eps...I really felt a lot of compassion for him and also he was freaky all at the same time. I like the way they let Dex go his own way when they were looking for Shep also.

It will be interesting to see Shep's reaction to Ford when they meet next.

[Gargen]

Im so glad teyla and shepperd got to kiss you can they both wanted it since season 1

[TechnoBoY]

I thought the ep was pretty good. Shepperd climbing up walls!

Why didnt they just use Prometheus to beam some of the sacks out?

[grasshopper]

Just chimming in that I enjoyed this episode.

Maybe I am blind but I do not see ship potential between Caldwell and Weir. (It amazes me that if two people have a conversation in a show, people start on about sexual chemistry.) I took all their interactions as a setup for the second half of the season. I think Caldwell is after Atlantis. He wants control and he was playing Weir, and she caught on.
I don't think Weir was over the top at the end either. Actually, I have liked Weir tons more this year. (As a side question, would she be getting labeled mean or cold if she had been a man and said that? Not trying to start a gender war, just an observation.) She said what needed to be said to Caldwell, that she knew what he was up to, and she was having none of it. Remember when Caldwell asked to play chess and he made the comment about being a military strategist? This episode started placing the pieces on the board (I think they have been setting this up since Intruder).
Maybe I am too Machiavellian, but I like this storyline.
I also like Teyla more this season. And for the craziest reason....the looks she keeps throwing to Rodney and her comments to him have been hysterical. Again, not shippy, just funny!
I do like the Weir/Sheppard dynamic. And I hope it continues to build. All of their scenes together were great. I think this episode showed Weir's ability to have feelings for someone yet continue to keep Atlantis' well-being a priority. She didn't back down to any John’s demands.
And a great big shout out to the makeup people, John’s conversion was creepy!

[IMForeman]

I thought the ep was pretty good. Shepperd climbing up walls!

Why didnt they just use Prometheus to beam some of the sacks out?

Cuz the Prometheus is in the Milky Way!

I liked this episode. Didn't love it, but I liked it. It was a marked difference from Ford, how long Sheppard held onto himself, inhibitor or no.

I do think that the thing on Shep's arm is gonna play a role later...

I also think that "Don't make me do this" is becoming Atlantis's catch phrase.

-IMF

[SnoggingPicard]

This was a very good eps. Good Character interactions...really enjoyed them. I actually gasped when the kiss happened. I had a different intrepretation of Teyla's Whew at the end though...we'll see.

I definitely didn't think of the "Whew" as how others have been seeing it either. I picked up a little half-smile in there, and the way John was looking at her as she walked away was very interesting. When she called him John, watch his eyes -- it's almost as if he isn't really sure what just happened between them, kind of like the kiss itself. They really don't know what they think about each other, and I don't think that this episode killed the ship, like many on the Shep/Weir thread have been saying. What did you think about the last scene, I'm curious to know.

[weirfan517]

Hello, never posted in one of these ep threads before, but loved it and had a few things about it to say.

First of all the story was interesting and science fictioney (is that even a word?) and I was expecting to see a very shep heavy ep (it was sorta) but weir stole the show. I loved her in here even though maybe a few small things that could be worked on but once again Torri Higginson did not cease to amaze me. Okay I went crazy when chess was mentioned and she was playing (possibly cuz I'm a huge weirnut and chessnut) and then she was just cute with the whole 'bedside manner' thing. I think you should use Torri on the show more often cuz she's so awesome and does so much with the material that she's given (trust me on that, I 've seen her in other things and she's awesome) and makes the character 'human' if you know what I mean. I mean weir is not this all powerful flawless being, she has feelings and has to make tought choices sometimes and maybe makes a few mistakes but learns from them. I think weir is the best character and that the ppl who still don't like her by now are just crazy. So, anyway I'm here rambling about Liz probally should do that elsewhere, but loved the ep cuz she was in it alot and Torri deserves that nomination she got. This has been so far this season my favorite weir ep. I also liked John in here, it was kinda cool how he was stronger and funky looking due too his condition and Rodney was funny in a few scenes. It was great with all the character interaction, we got to see more Caldwell (whos a little interesting) and Lorne (he's so cute) Ronan. These are a few lines that stuck out to me:

Rodney: That's disgusting
Ronan: They're in there
Rodney: You had to pick it up and smell it to figure that out

Sheppard: Did Ronan shoot me?
Weir: You had it coming

Rodney: Congratulations Carson, you have once again elevated medicine to a real science

I think I got the last one wrong, but anyway, awesome ep and hope to see more soon.

[ShadowMaat]

I prefer to read that final scene as Teyla expressing relief at escaping Sheppard because I find the idea of them having romantic feelings for each other, however "subdued", to be utterly repulsive and unrealistic.

[knocknashee]

I prefer to read that final scene as Teyla expressing relief at escaping Sheppard because I find the idea of them having romantic feelings for each other, however "subdued", to be utterly repulsive and unrealistic.

ROFL! Quite...though that was some kiss...

There were some ace lines in this episode...and it was especially well scripted I felt...

[coolove]

I really enjoyed this episode. Joe's acting was superb. The one thing I did find that annoyed me to no end was Weir. I did like the little chess scene with her and Caldwell. They were making progress but then it seemed she did a complete 180 and went on a power trip in the next two scenes with him. The whole enemy line was well... Didn't she say almost the exact same thing in Intruder and Condemned? I really don't know what's going on with her. Perhaps, The Long Goodbye will explain it.

And this kiss I think was no big deal. Sheppard was under the influence of the bug. That's it. I did find it strange that it's been almost a year since they met and she still called Shep by his rank.

[FoolishPleasure]

What did you think about the last scene, I'm curious to know.

I took Teyla's look as a, "whew, glad that's over" feeling.

Besides, I saw the wink between Teyla and Ronon earlier in the episode.

[smushybird]

I am sorry, but I have to post this frivilous comment in a serious discussion thread. I cracked up when I saw Joe's convention outfit appearing at the end of the episode; light blue shirt and tan pants. Anybody who was in Vancouver or Burbank knows what I mean.

Oooo yes, and he looks damn good in it, too.