Sunday (317)

[venus1978]

ok i think i'm in shock, i knew it was coming but it was still shocking but very very good. this episode def got the full range of emotions from me

i wasnt keen on the end scene of mckay talking to carson tho, also that no one from sga1 seems to hang out with him

[jenks]

Why are people still calling it 3x14?

[caty]

Quick question:

Am I the only one who didn't really see the whole Rodney and Carson being best friends thing? Yes, I always gathered that they were friends, but it always seemed to me like Rodney was closer to John than to Carson.

*shrug*

No, I was a bit surprised by that, too.. Rodney and Sheppard always get across as the closest thing to best friends than anybody else.. But in Sunday, they aimed at Ronon/Sheppard and Carson/Rodney which IMHO they only did to have the scene at the end.. I don't deny that Carson and Rodney were good friends, btu this really came out of nowhere..

Can I respectfully request that we keep the character-bashing of this nature out of the ep discussion thread? If you want to make sweeping generalisations about Sheppard's relationships that verge on insinuating paedophilia then kindly take it to the appropriate anti thread or the STAKS thread.

You take the words out of my mouth, Ali!

It is so annoying that you get the Sheppard bashing in almost every thread you go to right now. It is beyond ridiculous and beyond annoying and should be discussed in a "I hate Sheppard for everything he is and does"-thread rather than here

[Anjirika]

Second half.

Spoiler:

14 hours earlier

Rodney in infirmary wearing a robe. Rodney scolding 2 junior scientists that we now know are Dr Houston and Dr Watson. They were sent on a routine cataloging assignment but they activated an alien device. Dr Houston (female scientist): But you did that. Rodney: I can fix it, you can’t. My 4 year old niece is smarter than you. You need to be more careful. Carson: Rodney. Rodney calms down. Ok, ok. Take tomorrow off. Dr. Houston: We were. It’s the mandatory rest day. Rodney looks at Carson. Carson mimes fishing. Rodney turns away mumbles: Oh great.

Door of botany lab. Rodney goes in. Calls for Katie. Katie: I have to monitor these ferns. Could have the cure to leukemia. Rodney: I need an excuse to break those fishing plans with Carson. I can’t conceive of a more tortuous, unappealing way to spend time. Katie: Why did you agree? Rodney: It was a month ago. I thought something would come up so I wouldn’t have to go. But nothing did. Can take you out to lunch? Kaite: No I have to stay with the ferns. Rodney: I’ll get lunch and bring it back here. Katie: You want to baby sit ferns with me? Rodney: Yes, as opposed to fishing with Carson.

Mess. Rodney has two lunches. Sees Elizabeth and Hot Science Guy at table. Hmm. Carson comes in. Carson: Ah, great minds think alike. I've come for snacks, too. Rodney has long story about day off plans. Rodney: We spend so little time together I don't know if we're even a couple. I told Katie I’d spend the day with her. Carson: All right Rodney. Tell Katie I said hello. Carson walks out with a sandwich, an orange and a bottle of water.

Botany lab. Katie: Didn’t think we had a chance. Cadman made you kiss me. Then you avoided me for months. I understand how you didn’t want to think about it. But you’ve really made an effort to make time for me and it’s been lovely. Rodney: Saw my little sister saw happy. So I was thinking I’d like to get married. Rodney fumbles back and forth with Katie. Oh not to you. But I didn’t mean it like that. I mean... Katie: I like you a lot. Rodney: I know and to be honest I find that baffling. When you get to know the real me… Katie: I know you. There’s not a lot of subtext with you. Rodney: Sorry I ignored you. The two lean in...

Muffled sound of an explosion. Rodney runs off.

Back to Sheppard and Ronon with Radek at gym wall.

Rodney: Drs Houston and Watson were exposed to odd radiation. Carson examined them. They had a clean bill of health. So we thought we'd we’ll figure out the device later. Big Mistake. It’s a weapon to battle the Wraith. Creates explosive tumors. Medical technobabble.

Where’s Dr. Watson? In the infirmary, one of the people caught in the explosion caused by Dr Houston.

2 hours earlier

Mess. Back to Carson and Rodney. Rodney brushing Carson off.

Carson walks down hallway lined with dining tables. People are playing chess. Radek is at a table playing chess with someone. Carson: Radek, want to go fishing? Radek: I would but today we’re playing for things. Lists things already won. Can we go next week? Carson: OK.

Balcony. Carson finds Lorne on balcony painting. Carson: Would you like to go fishing? Lorne: Maybe if you asked earlier, but I'm in the middle of this painting. Carson: That's ok.

Some general purpose room. Carson sees Biro. She’s quite, um enthusiastic in her greeting. Carson doesn’t ask her to go fishing.

Infirmary. Doctor Cole at some device. She’s on call. Carson: Fishing trip is a bust, I’m going to catch up with paper work. What’s wrong with you? Cole: Migraine. Took something but still have it. Carson: You should have called me. Cole: That fishing trip was all you were talking abut for 2 weeks. Carson: It's done with now. Go rest.

Later. Carson is wrapping a woman’s foot. Carson: Don’t play volleyball in sandals.

Muffled sound of explosion. Carson orders medical personnel. Runs out.

Gym. Carson accompanies Teyla on stretcher.

Infirmary: Carson operating on Teyla.

Science lab: Rodney calls for Dr. Watson.

Infirmary. Dr. Watson is on operating table.

Carson sends his assistant to tell him Watson's on the operating table.

Rodney: Radiation caused explosive tumor. Get everyone out. Carson: He can’t move. Rodney: He doesn’t have to move you do. Carson sends everyone out but other doctor stays. Carson: We have a tumor to remove.

Science lab. John: Carson used his authorization code to seal off floor. Carson refuses to leave his patient. Rodney: You can't seriously be considering operating on this guy. Arson: Exactly how much time do you think we have? Rodney: There's no way of knowing. Houston was infected at the same time and her tumor already exploded. Carson: No time to waste, then. Rodney: Look, this all really brave and all... John: What if there's strutural damage? What if the tower comes down with everyone in it? Carson: Sending him to the other side of the city is tantamount to murder. Rodney: The man is already dead. Carson: Like hell he is. John: I can’t order you to stand down. Carson: That’s right you can’t. Have your men standing by I'll open access to the floor once I've extracted the tumor.

Elizabeth: How long has he been at it. John: About 10 minutes. We have an emergency crew standing by. Either way we're covered. Elizabeth: Can’t you bypass his access code? Rodney: It’ll take at least a half hour. Elizabeth: This is crazy.

Infirmary: Carson has extracted the tumor. Puts it in carefully in a container. Carson: Colonel Sheppard: I've extracted the tumor. He enters his access code and opens door. John: He's on his way Just sit tight. Carson: Tell him I'll meet him half way. The sooner I get this out of my sight the better. Carson tells other doctor to finish up with Dr. Watson. He takes container. Walks slowly out of infirmary. Hazmat guy is hauling a containment unit. Carson gives unit to man. Turns and walks away.

Explosion happens. A fireball engulfs Carson from behind.

Carson’s room. Rodney is in a shirt and tie. Going thru Carson’s things. Picks of photo of himself and Carson in that field on the day Rodney got Cadman downloaded into his head. (Cadman, who was escorting them, must have taken it)

Ronon comes in. Are you ok?

Rodney: Not really.

Ronon: Need help?

Rodney: No. He didn’t have a lot of stuff here.

Ronon: You sending all back home to his family?

Rodney: Yeah. I mean we will. They don’t know yet. We’ll send his body back to earth and I’m going to tell his mother.

Rodney: I should have just gone fishing with him.

Ronon: Don't.

Rodney: If I had just gone fishing, if I had checked the machine, if I hadn’t sent two junior scientists to catalog the lab…

Ronon: Rodney, what’s done is done.

Rodney: I know and that’s what’s killing me.

Infirmary: Teyla is in bed. John comes in wearing his dress blues. Teyla wants to go to the memorial. John: I’ll get a wheel chair. Teyla: No I want to stand, as a testament to him. Teyla: How are you? John: It hasn’t hit me yet. I’m not looking forward to when it does. Teyla: I feel a great sadness. I feel... She’s has no other words. Teyla: A great sadness.

John helps Teyla up and they leave the infirmary.

Gateroom. The Gateroom is filled with people. There is a coffin draped in the Scottish flag is in the center of the room. Elizabeth steps up to the side of the coffin.

Elizabeth: We say goodbye to a lot of friends today. Our mission is a dangerous one. We lose people. A fact we are all painfully aware of. But Carson was… I can’t remember anyone coming to me with a complaint against him. Ever. He was a kind soul. He was a healer. And he will be very deeply missed. George Fabrica said: "Death comes to us all, but great achievements, they build a monument which shall endure until the sun grows cold.” Every single life Carson saved is a monument to him and that gives me great comfort.

Elizabeth looks up to the balcony and piper starts to play the bagpipes. The Gate dials. We look at all the faces of those closest to Carson.

John, Lorne and Radek walk to one side of the coffin. Rodney, Dr Cole and Ronon are on the other side. Elizabeth steps beside Teyla. The procession walks slowly thru the open wormhole as the bagpipe fades.

Out on a platform on the edge of Atlantis. It’s sunset. We see Rodney standing by himself, at the edge of the platform looking out over the ocean towards the horizon.

Rodney is wearing his uniform. We see Carson walk up to stand beside Rodney. Carson is wearing a simple black shirt.

Carson: How did go back on earth?

Rodney: It was, um, it was awful. Your family was amazing, though

Carson: Aye, they are. Good turnout?

Rodney: Oh, packed the church.

Carson: Oh, that’s good to hear.

Rodney: It’s not going to be the same here without you.

Carson: Oh, you’re telling me.

Rodney: You know, the universe is a big place. Who knows, maybe we’ll bump into each other again.

Carson: Aye. Who knows?

Rodney: You were the closest thing to a best friend that I ever had. I’m really, really, sorry. I should have just…

Carson: Hey. This isn’t your fault.

Rodney: You’re just telling me what you want me to hear.

Carson: Well, that’s what best friends do sometimes. And in this case, it also happens to be true. Take care of yourself, Rondey.

Rodney raises his hand.

Rodney: Goodbye, Carson.

The camera pulls back over the ocean. Carson fades from Rodney’s side. The view continues to pull back until we see all of Atlantis and Rodney is no longer visible on the platform.

I hate it. I haven't even seen the episdoe yet, and I already hate it. You did a good job with the transcript though....the ending made me cry-hell, I'm still crying...what a crappy way to kill Carson off...the Micheal plot that we came up with would have been so much better.....and I vote for an AU Carson to come back.

[jtjaforever]

I posted this on the S/W; Torri Wow & Weir threads and was encouraged to do so by a member of the Wow thread here also. I truly loved this ep from so many aspects which I will expound on in a different post, but I wanted to share this first.

Great day to all

Hi ,
I'm delurking to say two things, hope you don't mind.

Spoiler:

1. I was sorry to hear the news about Torri's change of status on the show. I have really come to like what they have done w/fleshing out Weir this season and had hoped for more esp in terms of her relationship w/Teyla. I can only hope that the scene time that is given to Weir is quality despite of the lack of quanity. Sorry again about the upset this may have caused.

Do not read the second reason if you do not want to be spoiled concerning the ep Sunday:

Spoiler:

2. Torri does an AWESOME job as Weir giving the eulogy at Carson's furneal. It is the best performance, IMO that I have seen from Torri(I did like her in TLG & RW). The emotion is that scene was just...just so real. I think it touched Torri not only as Wier, but on a personal level as Torri herself since the case is/was that they are such a tight knit group. Anyway these are just my POV.

I will now delurk. Thanks for your patience and kindness in my sharing. Take care all.
__________________

[Linzi]

Wow, I wonder if some other people and I were watching the same episode. Talk about diverse opinions!

I thought this episode was masterfully done, certainly one of my favorites. I"m so sad to see Carson go, but I for one thought the way they did it was fantastic. And to put it into an episode where it sits in such stark contrast to the humor and "innocence" of a day off is brilliant.

Death is tragic, but when it happens so unexpectedly on what you think is a "normal" day, its even more so.

My emotions went from one end of the spectrum to the other (ROFL at Ronon's golf swing and crying at Carson's funeral)

So much good I can say about the ep, I could write a very long post, but I'll just keep it to saying Sunday sits right up there as one of my all time favorites.

Well said!!!

[Blower'sGate]

I really liked the episode... except of course for the Carson part but still he died doing his job, but true the others could have gone fishing with him... we can't change the story... TPTB can bring him back sure cause it's Sci fi. I loved Beckett, I cried but I can live without him cause I prepared myself to the eventuallity a long time ago.

Now on the ships basis. WARNING ONLY FOR PEOPLE INTERESTED IN SHIPS AND THE WAY A JOHN/WEIR SHIPPER SEES THE EPISODE ( All fans who ship other pairings are welcome to comment on this, send me a message or anything lol, but don't threaten or kill me cause it's just one opinion among thousands ! ).
.
I posted this on the Shep/Weir ship thread but I thought since we're free to speak about ships on the episode thread I thought I should repost the same thing with a few corrections though.

Spoiler:

I've watched Sunday without any expectations

Firstly, I thought Mike was really handsome, this guy definitely had something^^ *OMG COMPARING TO SIMON, HE's a GOD* And it was nice to see Elizabeth have some fun on her own, except she seemed not to want to go for it... why exactly? I guess we'll never know for sure and I'll assume that it's just because of her personnal rules against dating people under her command... True enough, but I thought about what Mike said to her being his bosses' boss...guess he found the reason why she could date him.

Secondly, I thought at first that when Ronon told John about the fact that he thought Teyla and him could...( or ever thought about having something with her ) and the "Meh" reaction he had led me to believe it was more like a "Why not". And especially considering the fact that just after that scene they go to the bomb site and John asks many times Beckett if she's gonna be alright, very concerned...

BUT ( there's always a but ), he's always concerned for the members of his team so that led me to rethink the scene between John and Ronon. We know now he's been married (OMG soo Jack) and that he's not interested in anyone in particular; that made me listen to the "Meh" reaction again and it can be intrepeted in many ways and the one I thought of might not be so true afterall, actually I still think Teyla's a friend period ( Even if she's attractive ) to him.

Now you can ask yourself why Ronon brought it up, maybe because like one of you guys said he wanted to see if the road was clear enough for him to make a move ( but we know Ronon... he's not ready -like he said- and that leads me to the Teyla scene where she talks about the feelings she has towards someone ( BUT WHO ?). Sure she said it wasn't one of her people, so we assume it's someone in Atlantis; of course it could be John but he's not the only one who isn't an Asuran, Ronon isn't either, he's from Sateda ! So nope... TpTb loves to mess with shipper fans period^^

And finally, the only high note for the sparky shipper is : The look mister Sheppard gave to Dr. Weir ( I suppose single again by the end of the episode ) again very concerned.... or maybe thinking that he possibly cares for someone more than he knows on the base ( up to interpretation ), even if it's a quick scene, it still counts in my opinion, and there's no other Shep/teyla scene till the end of the ep. AND Ronon and Teyla standing next to each other at the funeral is also a relatively good thing for the Ronon/Teyla shippers ( Go spanky ).

One last question : Why didn't Ronon ask John if he had a thing for or with Elizabeth ?

I didn't want to talk about the episode itself, because you guys told most of it IMO.
This episode is full of many things, I mostly talked about my pairing. It's the first time I've done it and I'm happy to have done so cause, I think shipping is an important part of the episodes in the Stargate Universe, and we should all be able to read in the episode discussion thread what all the fans that ship different pairings have to say, their observations, interpretations of what's shippy ( or not ! ).

with my best regards/

xxxxx

[Yagami_Light]

In Sheppard's case, his marriage failure probably had something to do with another woman . . .or two. . .or three, going by his history.

What history is that? Maybe I'm watching a different show...

[Teddybear]

This episode was so sad, I really didn't know what was going to happen and that was a big shock. I'm mad at TPTB for having done that . Carson is such a nice character . Why did they do that ?
I liked the acting in this episode , Shep/Ronon, McKay/Beckett, Weir/Teyla and many other scenes.
The end was of course very moving .

Episode wouldn't have been too bad until the second half. I do prefer Teyla/Ronon to the Teyla/Shep thing. The guy is old enough to be her father, but then, Shep likes them young. He would just toss Teyla away for the next bombshell blonde that stepped through the gate anyway. No, I'm not a big Sheppard fan.

Killing Carson was just dumb. Makes me wonder just what they are smoking up in Vancouver these days. Maybe Sheppard should have poofed in the great exploding tumor of doom.

I disagree with your point of view , the tone you're employing would suggest that Sheppard is a sexual perverse only interested in female teenagers . In my opinion that's completely out of character .

I must say that I already found totally unfair for Sheppard to be "accused "of having a kirking attitude . I'm french and at first I didn't understand the meaning of this expression, by deduction I understood that it was because in some episodes he had been attracted by pretty young ladies and apparently certain people are shocked . But why a handsome single man in his late thirties would not be attracted by pretty ladies ? Do you know men who never rise the eyes when they see a pretty girl?
It doesn't mean that it's a lack of respect for them and it doesn't mean that he have sex with them all the time . In that case , if you watch carefully at all the episodes from S1 to S3 , you can notice that McKay , who is not unsensitive to pretty young ladies too , should be also accused of kirking .

As to the age of Teyla , I think it doesn't really matter , a guy can be older than her girlfriend and inversely , but it's really sure that Sheppard is not old enough to be his father , and surely , he is not the kind of guy to toss Teyla away for the next bombshell blonde that stepped through the gate .

Effectively you do not like Sheppard , and you have perfectly the right to , we all have the characters that we like or dislike , but I can't help saying nothing when I have the feeling of unfair and unjustified statements about a character I consider as a nice human being.
Last thing , I don't understand your sentence :"Maybe Sheppard should have poofed in the great exploding tumor of doom", but I have the feeling it's not really kind for Sheppard.

[LoveConquers]

I absolutely loved this episode. I think someone else put it best when they said it was their favorite, yet most hated ep this season. Those are my exact feelings about this one. Character-based eps and angst are my two absolute favorite things in a story, and this episode had it in spades. I got butterflies, I laughed, I held my breath, I gasped, I cried...how can you go through so many emotions in a single hour and not be affected? This was classic storytelling, beautifully done.

*I loved Teyla's confession at the beginning, and I loved Teyla in earth clothes. I loved the idea of her having a friend outside of the team as well, one she is comfortable enough to confide in and joke around with. She needs this.

*I loved Teyla encouraging Elizabeth to go out with Mike. Too cute!

*Carson was just adorable, teasing Elizabeth and telling her she smelled good and Elizabeth's retort to "shut up" as she walked away. LOL!

*I loved Elizabeth's conflict with Mike. I don't like the beard, but I really enjoyed how he was able to charm her and get her to let her guard down, if only for a little while. I hope it opens up more for her in terms of relationships.

*I absolutely died at the John and Ronon scenes. First, I loved seeing them paired up again like we saw in Ark. I loved Ronon and Teyla trying desperately to get out of golf, and Ronon's ability to whack the ball without even trying. I love that Jim was impressed, but John wouldn't admit it. I laughed so hard at Ronon's idea of a game, and I have to agree with John's suspicions that he was making it up to make him look stupid. It worked, in an adorable and hilarious way, it totally worked.

*I won't dwell on it, but I found John and Ronon's discussion of Teyla to be quite shippy. So my little heart was happy with that scene. Remember, they weren't just talking about liking her, but making a move, or in their words, "When are you going to 'you know'?" LOL!
And John being married before, wasn't expecting that one! But I loved the backstory on both John and Ronon. And Ronon, still not over his girlfriend after being on the run for however many years and being in Atlantis for a year and a half. Wow, that poor man needs a hug. Or....something.

*Carson just wanting to go fishing and no one having the time to go with him.

*Carson refusing to leave the male scientist, regardless of the danger.

*I was not expecting Carson to die. I did not believe the rumors of the Scottish-Flag draped casket from so many months ago, and I still have trouble believing it. His death was shocking and heartbreaking. The memorial was emotional and awful and beautiful all at the same time. I lost it when the bagpipes started to play. I don't want to believe he's really gone and can only hope they will do something to bring him back, beyond basic flashbacks. I don't even care if their reason is predictable Sci-Fi, I'll still take it. I just want him back.

*The infirmary scene between John and Teyla was so emotional and beautifully played.

*Ronon coming to Rodney and talking to him. If anyone understands guilt in death, it's him.

*Rodney's goodbye to Carson. What a beautiful tribute to a wonderful character who will be sorely missed.

So many emotions in this episode. I loved it.

[florence]

Just a few thoughts about Sunday (I didn't read everything that has already been said)

It's the first time a SGA episode makes me cry...

I think it was an excellent episode and if Carson really had to die, that was beautifully done IMO. He died while saving everyone. He was a hero. I'll miss him greatly...

I didn't really like the "3 hours earlier", "14 hours earlier" and so on. After a while, it was a bit confusing.

Teyla having some fun time with Elizabeth and this other woman (sorry, I didn't catch her name)? Girl power! No seriously, it was nice to see that she had made friends inside the city.

Elizabeth having a date with that guy? Okay, why not... I don't like the beard but I guess he was kinda cute. (Just a little something: Evian is now exported to the Pegasus Galaxy! *is proud to be French*)

John and Ronon playing golf? FUNNIEST THING EVER! Stick fighting (I would like to see John winning at this game some time...) then chatting: I love those two boys! (Just a little something: John was reading a surf magazine... WHEN WILL WE SEE HIM SURFING FCOL?!?)

Lorne painting? OMG! This guy is too good to be true! Zelenka as a chess master, betting for Swedish massage? Excellent!

Rodney was very cute with Katie. I loved him in this scene (and I loved him even more in the next scenes).

And now, the end: Rodney in Carson's room... God, I absolutely loved him in this scene! (and coming from me, it means a lot).
OMG! John in uniform! If I hadn't been so sad at that time, I could have fallen from my chair!
The speech by Elizabeth wasn't necessary IMO. There are times when you don't need words... I don't even remember what she said because that's the moment I started crying.
Then they take the coffin through the gate...
And the final scene with Rodney and Carson... absolutely lovely.

All in all, and in spite of Carson's death (or maybe because of it?), it will be an episode I'll remember for a long time.

[Celcool]

Killing Carson like that doesn't make sense, to me it seemed fake and a joke the writers bestowed on us. I thought I'd manage without crying but couldn't hold it in at the end anymore. I can't believe they let him go in this way (making him like no one cared about him when there was never any indication to this in any of the previous episodes) and that we won't see the character anymore. Poor Carson.

If it weren't for Carson dying, then I'd enjoy this episode but this ruined it for me, along with the news of making Elizabeth a recurring character. Again, a decision that makes no sense, if only someone explained all this to us.

Other than that I especially loved Elizabeth's scenes, she's so lovely, we got to see the sexy, ready-for-a-date side of her, nice clothes!

Also the John/Ronan scenes were okay, they'd be funny if I didn't know what was gonna happen.

All in all, an episode that was certainly different but not necessarily to my liking. At times it seemed too unnatural, if that even says anything. Maybe even (some of) the actors weren't that into it... I have no idea.

[ste]

{Mod SNip}

on a lighter note, in the last scene when the camera is zooming out, i noticed what looks like rust on the side, now you would think the Ancients could come up with an alloy thay wont rust, or at the least a good paint, hahahahaha

[Domesticated Equine]

Yeah, because such "comebacks" are always so much fun ...not.
If they pull a "Ford" on him or bring him "back" like Janet... that would make it even worse for me, seriously. And I would feel like they used Paul to boost ratings after kicking him out so pitifully.
Just my opinion though.

You know, I do agree with you. I think Beckett got a good send-off and further appearences, unless done extremely well, would just diminish it.


Anyway, it seems to me that the majority of the people who don't like the episode do so for reasons relating to Beckett's death: That it happened at all or how it was done. This is completely understandable since the death of a major character is bound to polarize fans. I was quite pleased with how they dealt with the death since I'm not too deeply attached to Beckett to get outraged by his being written off, yet care enough about him to be moved by the death and the following scenes.

But what do people think about the beginning of the episode? I think we had something of an aberration for SGA: A light episode focussing almost exclusively on character interaction with minimal plot. We got background for some of the characters, a lot of information concerning their relationships (romantic and otherwise) as well as numerous funny moments.

Personally, I think the episode really succeeded in both bringing the funny and allowing us to get to know the characters much more than we usually do. Furthermore, the show managed to balance the funny with the dark well, ditching the jokes when a more serious approach was needed. SGA doesn't always manage this, as evidenced by e.g. Irrestistible.

I used to have zero interest for Ronan, but I was entertained with his scenes with Sheppard and could see myself caring for Ronan if he continues to be written like this. Weir's scenes weren't all that great because of Mike although I do think she handled herself well. Tayla's another character I'm usually not invested in, but I really liked her scene with Weir.

Rodney, who's mine and evidently the writer's favourite as well got a strong outing. Hewlett got to show a good range of emotions since Mckay was everywhere: Disciplining his underlings, "wooing" Katie and bumbling with the marriage-thing, wieseling out of the fishing trip, finding the reason behind the explosion, blaming himself after Beckett's death and finally coming somewhat to terms with it in the final scene.

Speaking of Beckett, I do think this is was a strong episode for him aswell. The defining moment for him is when he finds out what's wrong with Dr. Watson and takes control of the situation. The look on his face when he tells McKay that leaving Watson to die is tantamount to murder and confirms that Shepherd can't order him to stand down is what really sells the scene for me.

On another note, I noticed on second viewing that Watson asked Beckett to take a look at his chest earlier on. Had Beckett done it, it's likely the tumour would have been noticed and no one would have died. Obviously, I think Beckett's refusal was perfectly reasonable and he couldn't have known what would happen or that Watson would not go see the other doctor after all (so I assume). Sometimes things just go wrong and no one person is clearly at fault. Should McKay have investigated the device himself? Should Watson and Houston been more careful with the device? Should McKay have started analyzing the device immediately after the radiation exposure? Should Beckett have taken a look at Watson the next day or should Watson have gone to the other doctor? I think the people made reasonable choices in their situations, but sometimes that's not good enough and you can't go back and fix them.

Finally, I think some of the minor characters really got to shine as well. Zelenka and Lorne interacted well with Beckett and got to show a bit of a new side of themselves. Katie was quite nice with McKay and their relationship could be interesting if handled well. The asian surgeon (whose name I don't know) handled the high-pressure situation with Beckett expertly and didn't waste time convincing him not to try to force her to leave. Have we seen her before?

[Arctic Goddess]

Consider this: Vancouver legalizes the use of marijuana in 2004. This is around the same time that major and rather odd decisions were being made about Stargate. The trend continues today. Coincidence? I think not.