Common Ground (307)

[Klenotka]

OK, this one will be little longer so I am sorry for some grammar mistakes English isn´t my native language.
So first, I liked this episode. I have to admit I didn´t look forward to it too much because of Sheppard. I like Shepp, especially in connection with Rodney but they almost killed his character in S2. But I liked him here. The chemistry and tension between him and the Wraith was great. And it was all nice dark. I like dark things.

What I liked:
Rodney-I loved him here. It looks like we have back the old good Rodney and I am happy for that. He cared about Sheppard and even the scene with mouse wasn´t funny. Well, yes it was but not so stupid like many other which were there just for comic. I think it was the tension they were feeling and was shooting because he thought he was in danger. Which is I think answer to your question, Jen. I think Rodney would be in frontline. He didn´t hesitate to shoot. I liked him flying the Jumper and I liked him acting like Sheppard.

I liked Weir. I understand her decision. As was said above, it is very american way do not deal woth terrorists but she, like a diplomat, knows what it mean civil war which would be the result if she gave Ladon to Kolya.

And as I said, I liked the Sheppard-Wraith scenes.

Teyla´s reaction for Rodney´s creation of Sheppard. She supported him and I loved it.
Ronon was his usual self and his loyalty to John is great. But I think he should be careful what is he doing. Destroy fragile alliance isn´t the best way how to deal things.

Few things I don´t understand:
Why did Ronon lead the strike team? I mean, he may like it or not, but Rodney is in the team 2IC. And 3IC in the Atlantis. No way he could lead the strike team (yet ) but isn´t there any other officer? Where is Lorne, he should lead the team. Not a man who even isn´t member of original expedition. Don´t tell me that in Atlantis is only Sheppard, Lorne and then a bunch of some little soldiers? We saw one major in Sateda.

What I didn´t like:
Teyla-I mean, her support of Rodney was great thing but I think she just doesn´t have anything to do. She says obvious things and then runs out with weapon. I even didn´t feel her concern too much. I think authors should quickly do something.

And now one thing I really hate:
Carson-what is it? It looks like they don´t know what to do with him. Why the hell was he in the strike team? I would understand it in Sateda where it was neccesary to move the thing from Ronon´s back. But as he said here, even if they found Sheppard, he didn´t know how to heal him. So why did he go with them? Bring Sheppard by Jumper would take 2 minutes. And his behaviorb...I don´t know. I don´t like it. His behavior to Rodney was very "Carter-like". I am really worried where is this heading. He was great in Irresistible and I even took it in Sateda. But this was too much for me. And as someone told here, I didn´t understand it in "Duet" either. I want back the old Beckett from S1. Do they believe that when he is regular now that he needs to be "useful"? Like we saw before, being regular isn´t so great sometimes because they have to be in almost every episode and they have to make them to do something. So it sometimes looks like Weir standing somewhere with computer...or Beckett with P-90 and it´s wrong.

[ILoveMe]

So did this Wraith get a fanname yet? If not, I move we call him "Clint." Because of his awesome voice, and because he is sort of a "Wraith With No Name."

I second that.

[rarocks24]

I disagree. Either he's named after Sean Connery, or he's named John, after John the Beloved.

[ILoveMe]

Sean Connory? lol. That doesn't even make sense. And John would get confusing, as it is Shepho's first name.

Long Live Clint!!!! The Wraith with no name.

[Ironic]

I’m sorry, but I gotta comment about this. I am a Teyla fan here, after all.

About Teyla's boobies (and there's a sentence I never expected to type), can we please put things in proportion? (No pun intended, of course.) Yes, she has a great body. Yes, the PTB obviously like to show it off, but that does not automatically qualify her as nothing but eye-candy. While her role in this season has largely been diminished to the background, her character still has depth. Yes, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. She is not all about boobies.

I still have faith that TPTB will remember this fact.

That is all.

[latvian_stargatefan]

I liked this episode.
Wraith aren't pure evil- they simply must feed when they're feeling hunger. Are wolves or lions evil? Or maybe some animals think we're evil because we feed on them.
I think it's not the wright thing to turn Wraith into the humans. They are different species, like JAFFA in SG-1 with their own identity. If we could find some cure for them (like for Jaffa ) to not depend only on sucking life from humans they could live in peace with us. This episode proves that they are ''people'' with honour and respect to other species.

[Klenotka]

I’m sorry, but I gotta comment about this. I am a Teyla fan here, after all.

About Teyla's boobies (and there's a sentence I never expected to type), can we please put things in proportion? (No pun intended, of course.) Yes, she has a great body. Yes, the PTB obviously like to show it off, but that does not automatically qualify her as nothing but eye-candy. While her role in this season has largely been diminished to the background, her character still has depth. Yes, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. She is not all about boobies.

I still have faith that TPTB will remember this fact.

That is all.

I absolutely agree. The authors should see this and write some nice episode for Teyla.

[Quinn Mallory]

Definitely one of the better SGA episode ever in my opinion. Good to see another side of the Wraiths, that's for sure.

For the people who complained about Teyla, she did showed one strong support for Weir after Lleyton (sp?) showed up.

[RoryJ]

Absoluetly great episode! I was very impressed with it.

- I loved how Rodney behaved through the whole thing, even with the mouse. He was concerned for his friend, and he was also willing to step up and lead the search for him.

- I was very impressed with Elizabeth. She was so strong throughout the whole ordeal, but Torri was able to play it so as to show that she was still devastated by what was happening. And they actually pulled in some diplomatic issues! Thank you, TPTB!

- JF just gives another fantastic performance. I'm so glad that S3 has given him a chance to show his stuff again, since season 2 wore a bit thin for me. Keep writing for Sheppard, Ken! You kind of rock.

- The development with the Wraith was very cool. I really hope we get to see him again.

- Nice to see Carson in more scenes again - I've missed him! And I think it made sense to have there; they had every reason to believe that Sheppard would be on the brink of death and would need immediate medical attention. Now, since this was a rescue op, it technically would have made the most sense to have a doctor from the military there, but it looks like Carson has gotten a bit more confident with his weapon, so I'll let it go.

Overall a great job. I give it a 9/10 , only because I wanted a scene with Sheppard and the team afterwards, though I understand why the scene with the Wraith was more important.

[IMForeman]

I go with naming the Wraith "Bruce." After Bruce Campbell.

[Oka]

Didn't particularly like this this episode. Don't like the Genii, nor Ronon's knee-jerk response to that Ladon(?) guy. Ronon comes off as a total retard. Weir was as annoying as ever.

Nice to see Kolya again. The Wraith dude was kind of cool.

Reset button strikes again! The part about Wraith being able to restore life as well as take it is dumb. Through the entire episode you KNEW that Sheppard was going to be reset in the end, yawn!

5/10

[Sheppard's Delight]

Absoluetly great episode! I was very impressed with it.

- I loved how Rodney behaved through the whole thing, even with the mouse. He was concerned for his friend, and he was also willing to step up and lead the search for him.

- I was very impressed with Elizabeth. She was so strong throughout the whole ordeal, but Torri was able to play it so as to show that she was still devastated by what was happening. And they actually pulled in some diplomatic issues! Thank you, TPTB!

- JF just gives another fantastic performance. I'm so glad that S3 has given him a chance to show his stuff again, since season 2 wore a bit thin for me. Keep writing for Sheppard, Ken! You kind of rock.

- The development with the Wraith was very cool. I really hope we get to see him again.

- Nice to see Carson in more scenes again - I've missed him! And I think it made sense to have there; they had every reason to believe that Sheppard would be on the brink of death and would need immediate medical attention. Now, since this was a rescue op, it technically would have made the most sense to have a doctor from the military there, but it looks like Carson has gotten a bit more confident with his weapon, so I'll let it go.

Overall a great job. I give it a 9/10 , only because I wanted a scene with Sheppard and the team afterwards, though I understand why the scene with the Wraith was more important.

I thought that this episode was awesome. I thought that Joe did a fantastic job and it was so good to see a nice meaty part for Shep!!! Ken did good indeed!!

But I agree the one thing missing was a nice team moment at the end - some kind of acknowledgement of what had happened to Shep. He just seemed to brush it all off far too easily. Even if physically he was fine there would be some mental angst for all involved and this didnt get touched on at all at the end which was a shame.

[saberhagen83]

Great episode! It's nice to see the Genii again, and Koyla especially. The Wraith was pretty cool, and it's good that they show this other side of them. Sure I knew that Sheppard was going to be fine at the end, but that still doesn't take away the fact it was a very good ep. It's great to have these eps that focus mainly on one character, hoping for more this season! The only thing I missed in this one was more team interaction at the end. But I'll give it a 9/10, one I will watch again, I'm sure.

[Adrius]

-Count me in as those not impressed with Rodney's latest fumbling with a gun. Come on writers, make up your mind - is he competent or not? I tire of using him in this way for a cheap laugh. Though I did enjoy his "Shep-like" comments to the departing military, and his macho thumbs up to Weir! HA!

Something people have failed to realize or mention with McKay's mouse death dealing..

Whil ehe may have been startled, he actually turned very quickly (no real time to concentrate on his target) and wasted a very small target.. sounds like he goes to the shooting range a lot

[A.L.]

As with The Real World, I loved this episode for both it's Shep/Weir Shippyness and it's story aspects.

Spoiler:

We start off strong with Ronon and Shep being the last to run through the gate, only for Shep to be snatched back suddenly. I agree with Shep, cool harpoon thing. My sis came running down and asked what happened and I said Shep was harpooned and she freaked.

Then, enter Kolya. I know some fans are getting tired of the Genii bit. Not me. I love Genii episodes. I could be partial due to the Sparky (Shep/Weir) aspects that seem to surface under these circumstances but the Genii, specifically Kolya, are awesome enemies. If I had to pick an arch nemesis for Shep it would totally be Kolya. There's a certain respect there along with their mutual hatred of each other. I think the only proper ending to this particular story line is for Shep to kill Koyla at some point. It seems to me the only death Koyla would find worthy, and Shep the only one worthy enough for the honor.

My heart cringed seeing Shep tied up with a gag and knowing that a wraith wasn't far behind. I know Torri said in some interviews she felt she was too reserved in this episode, I think that's silly. She was perfect. We could see the inner turmoil in all that was happening to Sheppard but as we've come to learn, she takes her responsibilities to her people very seriously. She can't afford to make the trade of Ladin for Sheppard but she'd not going to just sit by and let Shep die without putting up a fight. Major Sparky in this epi in my opinion.

I loved how on the second or third transmission, Kolya asks her again to trade. In the back, Shep shakes his head no slightly. Elizabeth reaffirms the negative and Sheppard seems to nod yes in agreement and then get's fed on again. Killer! Loved it!

Although she didn't do it herself, the image that comes to mind when seeing Lizzie in this epi is a scene from The X-Files episode "Pusher". When Pusher, Mulder and Scully are all around that table in the hospital for a game of Russian Roulette. Mulder pulls the trigger on the gun aimed at his own head and Scully bolts from her seat, slams her hands on the table screaming "No! D@mn you! You b@strd!" to Pusher. That's the kind of emotion that while not vocalized I totally got from Elizabeth's expressions in this episode.

And I loved the whole Wraith and Sheppard team up aspect. I loved how it was a reluctant teaming up but how they both pulled their weight in getting out, trusting the other not to kill them at the first opportunity.

I know how some people might see the wraith being able to give back the life they took as a Big Red Button to fix it all but I disagree. I was bummed that we actually got more Wraith info instead of Shep backstory but it worked. I admit I'm getting a little tired of Carson always saying "There's still so much we don't know". At this point it sounds more like "The writers can't explain it yet either" but giving us this bit of info from a wraith made it better.

I love how the Wraith and Shep gained a bit of respect for each other. The Wraith basically called Shep his brother and then they both agreed all bets were off if they meet again. Perfect.

I loved the team interaction in here as well. Ronon getting more vocal and finally calling Sheppard his friend. The loyalty showed by all and the struggle to do what was necessary instead of what they all wanted which was to just trade Ladin and get Shep back.

Full of great dialogue:
Elizabeth: If you find Kolya first-
Ronon: No promises.
Elizabeth: Exactly.

Kolya: I think you underestimate Dr. Weir's sympathy.
Sheppard: YOU underestimate Elizabeth.

Of course, I paraphrase since I can't remember the exact wording.

I thought this epi was great. I would have loved a Shep/Weir end scene for this epi (What can I say? I'm a die hard Sparky Shipper) but the final scene being between Shep and the Wraith was fitting and well done.

This epi definitely goes into my top 5 list of fave epi's. Great job to everyone in the show.

AL