Season Four OPEN discussion thread : Spoilers and Speculation for all episodes

[Killdeer]

It's interesting - I've seen several people say they liked the Larrin of BAMSR better than the Larrin of Travelers. Actually, I was just the opposite. I liked Larrin in Travelers, and I didn't see all the innuendo than most people did (except for the "shoot too soon" comment). BAMSR was another story, and I found her mostly annoying in that episode. And that tied-up scene just looked ridiculous. We know she has holding cells-why not put him in one of those?

Part of that I think has to do with the actress - sorry, Redhooks. But it just seems like Jill is much better at action than she is at dialogue. Travelers gave her more to do-not just talk. BAMSR was mostly just talking. Also, I understood her motivations better in Travelers. In BAMSR I wasn't sure why she was there-she felt out of place, as if the writers badly wanted her there, so they squeezed her in, but she didn't really fit. They never really gave a good reason that she would want to commit her people to this fight - why should she? She also came across rather cold about the loss of her people, and her "pretty little head" comment to Sheppard was annoyingly condescending.

[Skydiver]

- I also think they need to work on making the Wraith scary again. They were once, but they've completely lost that. I still prefer them to the Asurans, and I think "Todd" is cool, but the Wraith have lost a lot of their mystique, and that bothers me.

I do agree with this. the wraith - at their most basic - are vampires. they suck your life. they should be terrifying and scary and nightmare inducing.

but todd - while he certainly can't measure up to Mick of Moonlight - is as close as one can get in green face paint

so the reps are

Spoiler:

alledgely under control, now the wraith are kinda, sorta allies that the atlantis crew can track....ok, so who's gonna be the baddie now????

don't get me wrong, i like todd's potential. but also he seems to run so much interferance for them that he's almost protecting them

[Briangate78]

season 4 sucks.. they should cancel the show

With the ratings going up since the premiere, I don't think that is going to happen anytime soon. But that is just my opinion of course.

[blue-skyz]

It's interesting - I've seen several people say they liked the Larrin of BAMSR better than the Larrin of Travelers. Actually, I was just the opposite. I liked Larrin in Travelers, and I didn't see all the innuendo than most people did (except for the "shoot too soon" comment). BAMSR was another story, and I found her mostly annoying in that episode. And that tied-up scene just looked ridiculous.

I like Travelers. I like BAMSR. I basically like Larrin in both.

That doesn’t mean I take her seriously. To me she is the comic relief. A real character, with real purpose, but written to be the focus of humor. Once I got over the ‘you’ve got to be kidding’ reaction during Travelers, I started to get interested in her as a character. She brings an interesting group of people to SGA; an advanced group of people with technology we haven’t seen before. I’ll love any Pegasus group with tech, good or bad. I am so sick of primitive, medieval, pre-industrial (you get the idea) peoples …

(I hope the hints about a new advanced race are true. I would be fun to learn about them, and through them, learn more about the Ancients and Pegasus history and, hell, throw in the rest of the universe too.)

I think Larrin is a good character for two reasons related to Sheppard:

1. She is a focus for Sheppard’s silliness. I like to see Sheppard/JF get to act in ways I don’t want Sheppard to act ordinarily. Nice to see him act unsure, confused, silly, attracted to a woman. I DO NOT want to see Sheppard act silly in the middle of missions and he has not been doing that this season. So, my take on Larrin is that she provides us with a safely humorous Sheppard. I’ve decided to go with it and enjoy it without over thinking it.

2. In a season with everyone else getting romantically involved, McKay thinking of marriage, Teyla pregnant, Ronon stuck in bed with Keller , Sheppard needed to have something going on with someone. I never, ever want to see Sheppard with any main character or recurring Atlantis character, not even insinuations. Larrin can be interesting and funny, without being serious.

What other way is there to take Sheppard’s being tied up in BAMSR? It is so over-the-top that there can be no question why it is there. It is funny. It is a piece in the puzzle that is Larrin and why Sheppard acts as he does around her. BAMSR is an indication of how their acquaintance is going to progress in the future. I look forward to seeing more of Larrin and the Travelers.

I think Larrin is a risky move on the writer’s/producer’s part, but, I always thought the silliness during missions was stupid on their part and the lowest part of the show. I’m happy to have it in a more appropriate place.

They never really gave a good reason that she would want to commit her people to this fight - why should she?

I wondered about this, too. But they did go to check out the 7 hive ships and she did know about the human worlds being destroyed. (Hard to scavenge planets when they have been leveled )

[Killdeer]

What other way is there to take Sheppard’s being tied up in BAMSR? It is so over-the-top that there can be no question why it is there. It is funny. It is a piece in the puzzle that is Larrin and why Sheppard acts as he does around her. BAMSR is an indication of how their acquaintance is going to progress in the future. I look forward to seeing more of Larrin and the Travelers.

But in an otherwise serious episode, I just felt like it was jarringly out of place. I know people didn't like Travelers, but it wasn't that OTT ridiculous as far as set up. (I didn't think anyway) Shep was beat pretty badly - that was real. Not this fake looking tie up with rubber hoses thing. That was just bizarre.

[blue-skyz]

But in an otherwise serious episode, I just felt like it was jarringly out of place. I know people didn't like Travelers, but it wasn't that OTT ridiculous as far as set up. (I didn't think anyway) Shep was beat pretty badly - that was real. Not this fake looking tie up with rubber hoses thing. That was just bizarre.

I understand. IMO, it was there to break the tension. They wanted the Travelers to become allies and they wanted to build on the Sheppard/Larrin connection. Like I said, could be a risky move. My first reaction was ‘Oh, come on.’ But I’m going to take it in the spirit that I think they intend.

[marielabbott]

She is a focus for Sheppard’s silliness. I like to see Sheppard/JF get to act in ways I don’t want Sheppard to act ordinarily. Nice to see him act unsure, confused, silly, attracted to a woman. I DO NOT want to see Sheppard act silly in the middle of missions and he has not been doing that this season. So, my take on Larrin is that she provides us with a safely humorous Sheppard. I’ve decided to go with it and enjoy it without over thinking it.

To clarify, what do you mean by silliness? I don't mind him cracking jokes while on missions; I like it, actually. But maybe you had something else in mind.

I probably could've handled Larrin if she didn't ooze smary innuendo. A female leader who is intelligent and tough, like Larrin's I guess supposed to be, doesn't need to continuely resort to that kind of behavior.

But in an otherwise serious episode, I just felt like it was jarringly out of place. I know people didn't like Travelers, but it wasn't that OTT ridiculous as far as set up. (I didn't think anyway) Shep was beat pretty badly - that was real. Not this fake looking tie up with rubber hoses thing. That was just bizarre.

Actually, I had a problem with Travelers from the beginning.

Spoiler:

When Sheppard hardly seems to react to the presence of an unidentified ship (he doesn't even put his apple down, does he?), it makes him look rather dumb. And why was he flying a mission alone at all? If that is standard protocol, it doesn't make much sense.

That Sheppard tied-up scence was indeed jarring. I wish they had given us a Teyla/Rodney moment instead.

[Killdeer]

I understand. IMO, it was there to break the tension. They wanted the Travelers to become allies and they wanted to build on the Sheppard/Larrin connection. Like I said, could be a risky move. My first reaction was ‘Oh, come on.’ But I’m going to take it in the spirit that I think they intend.

Oh it didn't ruin the episode for me. I still think BAMSR was one of the stronger episodes of the season, in spite of having so much crammed in (it really should have been a two-parter IMO). But it still felt out of place.

[Reefgirl]

Really...never noticed it, but I'm almost at season 3 in my marathon. Will pay attention to it.

Anyways, it's something I truly hate about Atlantis...the military turn. I loved the civilian feel...well, with that being lost, and several other elements lost...and I'm seeing the last one lost too rather soon... I can move on and start watching Dr. Who season 3 (and 4) and get into the Sarah Conner Chronicles maybe.

It's a good start, they haven't shown the Sarah Conner Chronicals here yet but I might give it a go. They have released the 3rd series box set already which is incredibly early here

[Briangate78]

I think the 2nd half of this season is going to impress a lot of folks. Even for the folks who have not been enjoying this season. I know a lot of folks were happy with the outcome of BAMSR. I think my optimism spread throughout the forums after that one.

Anyway, So far, we've seen an amazing epic episode, followed by a very good solid episode. What else is there to look forward to....

Spoilers for Season 4.5...

Spoiler:

Teal'c guest starring in "Midway", The return of Michael and Carson in the " The Kindred", continued story arc for Teyla and her baby, The season finale "The Last Man" which looks very promising. Oh and the return of "Todd". It's gonna be an exciting 2nd half, actually it's been an exciting 2nd half so far, and much more to come, imo

[blue-skyz]

To clarify, what do you mean by silliness? I don't mind him cracking jokes while on missions; I like it, actually. But maybe you had something else in mind.

I like the jokes and the Sheppard/McKay snarkiness.

I don’t like stuff like Sheppard hanging over McKay’s shoulder in Progeny and asking repeatedly ‘how long’ etc. Love the episode, hate Sheppard acting stupid.

I probably could've handled Larrin if she didn't ooze smary innuendo. A female leader who is intelligent and tough, like Larrin's I guess supposed to be, doesn't need to continuely resort to that kind of behavior.

I don’t like the overt sexiness either. It seems to be a tactic to handle Sheppard, because she turns it off otherwise. I don’t think there is too much spoken innuendo, yet. I just hope they never let it reach Vala (in the beginning) proportions.

[Killdeer]

I like the jokes and the Sheppard/McKay snarkiness.

I don’t like stuff like Sheppard hanging over McKay’s shoulder in Progeny and asking repeatedly ‘how long’ etc. Love the episode, hate Sheppard acting stupid.

I liked that scene.

[Killdeer]

I think the 2nd half of this season is going to impress a lot of folks. Even for the folks who have not been enjoying this season. I know a lot of folks were happy with the outcome of BAMSR. I think my optimism spread throughout the forums after that one.

LOL - I hope you're right Brian. It's true that I do feel better about SGA after BAMSR and SoW, but I always figured those two would be probably be some of the stronger ones. However, I'm fairly skeptical of the next five episodes - of those, I'm guessing Outcast might be my favorite. But I'm not really hyped for anything until Kindred. Those two better be awesome.

[Briangate78]

LOL - I hope you're right Brian. It's true that I do feel better about SGA after BAMSR and SoW, but I always figured those two would be probably be some of the stronger ones. However, I'm fairly skeptical of the next five episodes - of those, I'm guessing Outcast might be my favorite. But I'm not really hyped for anything until Kindred. Those two better be awesome.

I have VERY high hopes for the last 3 episodes.

[marielabbott]

I like the jokes and the Sheppard/McKay snarkiness.

I don’t like stuff like Sheppard hanging over McKay’s shoulder in Progeny and asking repeatedly ‘how long’ etc. Love the episode, hate Sheppard acting stupid.


I don’t like the overt sexiness either. It seems to be a tactic to handle Sheppard, because she turns it off otherwise. I don’t think there is too much spoken innuendo, yet. I just hope they never let it reach Vala (in the beginning) proportions.

Oh, yeah, I didn't particularly like that scene either. But I like the occasional joke--or stuff like him slapping Mckay upside the head in Instinct. Part of my problem with Travelers is that I thought it made Sheppard look dumb, not like the capable military commander he is.

I've never seen Vala, but I already think they're too much innuendo, so I really hope we don't get anymore.