'The Shrine' (506) General Discussion

[lirenel]

I think this is one of the best episodes of SGA ever,though i agree with whoever said that the episode was made bittersweet by the knowledge that the show will be no more.
* DH's acting was brilliant, my heart was aching at every moment throughout the episode.
* Starting in the middle was startling but good.
* I loved how Ronon was determined to give Rodney his last day, how even though the two are so different that they are still great friends. Oh, and how Teyla backed Ronon up and they both just started leaving to take on two hiveships by themselves to give him that day.
* I about cried when Rodney went to Sheppard's room, scared that he would lose his mind and then the balcony scene about killed me. Though I did burst out laughing at the Arthur bit.
* The McKeller stuff was ok. It would have been better if Rodney had said something to the effect of "I really, really like you, Jennifer" instead of "I love you" which seemed a bit out of character (though I suppose he was losing his mind at the time)
* It would have been nice if, when saying his good-byes in the video, Rodney said good-bye also to Carson and even Elizabeth, being gone enough not to realize that she was gone (ok, maybe that's the McWeir shipper in me).
* Jeannie not being able to say goodbye just really rang true. I don't know if I would have been able to do it.

Great episode, 10/10. Just makes me even more sad that this is the last season.

[Amakusa]

Absolutely. I also think that if the situation were reversed, John would seek out Rodney.

If the situation were reversed, I think he'd sooner seek out Teyla.

[Lythisrose]

To Jelgate,
Yup, they use real drills like that with big ol' drill bits (although the ones I see used are hand cranked) on peoples heads....

I thought this was a terrific episode, loved all the character moments, especially between McKay and Sheppard. And other than that last few moments of McKeller (which I can happily ignore by ending the show early), I also enjoyed Keller in this one. She was a good, sceptical, creative physician.
But over and above everything, I loved that when Rodney got down to his most basic self, when everything else was gone, he called for John. That is where his safety and comfort are.
This is such a great show, why oh why is it not getting another season!!!!!

[metabog]

You know what I'm glad about?

At least SGA got better in the eyes of the fans before getting cancelled, unlike SG1 getting worse and worse.

I'll be watching ep soon.

[Crichiel]

I did NOT think I would like this epsiode at all because, while I like McKay, I don't like the episodes that are THIS McKay heavy. But what really made it for me were the scenes with him and Sheppard. Frickin' brilliant! Best chemistry they have had, and I alreaday thought they had something special.

Most the good points have been covered by others, so I will refrain from repeating them once again.

Only thing I didn't like was the ending. For two reasons. 1) the 'love' came out of nowhere for me. As someone else said, one beer and no other mention of their 'relationship' and suddenly he LOVES her? I am so tired of having the writers try and make the viewers love Keller as much as they do (honestly, I am not a Keller-hater. I just wish she was more of a background character). 2) all the best, most poignant scenes came from Sheppard and McKay, I thought a better ending scene would have been between the two of them. Theirs is a much deeper relationship (NOT "ship"), than Keller/McKay.

[bluealien]

The only scene I enjoyed from this episode was the scene on the balcony with Sheppard and McKay....

McKay on deaths door really doesn't engage me at all.. and the whole Shrine of Talus and operating in a cave.. utter nonsense..

And how did they expect McKay to react .. hey we brought you here to die with great danger to ourselves... you should be more grateful.. now lets eat...

Oh and McKay is in love again !!

[Franklyn Blaze]

Question, doesn't water not go through the gate if there's a flood?

[StarGateGirl]

Question, doesn't water not go through the gate if there's a flood?

what do you mean??

Awesome episode! "I laughed, I cried, it moved me Bob."

[sarcasmo]

If this is the way the show is going - deathbed confessions of love from a guy losing his brain to someone he's barely interacted with unless she's calling him whiny for being concerned about his health - then I'm glad they're canceling it.

[metabog]

Holy crap... I got teary eyed like 3 times in this episode. Why did they now suddenly decide to make great episodes right at the end?

WHY?

That was amazing, Woolsey, Keeler everyone! It's like all the characters suddenly came alive. Stuff like this is why DH is my favorite actor. In every movie I've seen him he was just amazing, great, original characters, with great acting.

[marli]

OMG, OMG i cry like a baby, it's impossible, the best episode of SGA forever, friendship moment, love moments, mckeller moment, mcshep forever, mcteam, OMG Ronon, John, Teyla you love your Rodney, i lost my faculty to post something coherent, i lost my words, this episode kill me.

why they cancelled this marvellous serie, why, it's a shame.

[Franklyn Blaze]

what do you mean??

Awesome episode! "I laughed, I cried, it moved me Bob."

Sg-1 Watergate: The stargate connected to a water planet and a sub marine was sent through. The water didn't come rushing back in the gateroom.

[Sateda]

Sg-1 Watergate: The stargate connected to a water planet and a sub marine was sent through. The water didn't come rushing back in the gateroom.

Incoming to atlantis = flood (Thats why sheppard said keep the shield up)
Outgoing into the water = water can't flood atlantis
thats why they sent a jumper into the water after the stargate reached its timelimit and deactivated.

either way an amazing episode one of my favourite stargate episodes ever. Its amazing that atlantis being canceled doesn't stop it from being even more amazing than ever.

[MyStargateLife]

Question, doesn't water not go through the gate if there's a flood?

The gate is designed to account for any kind of gravity or pressure change. Just like in "Watergate" the water didn't come rushing threw because the gate balanced out the weight of the water pushing on the wormhole.... either that or it didn't come threw cause Atlantis had the shield up the whole time. xD

I posted my thoughts about the episode in another thread... just gonna repost the same thing here.....

Holy CRAP! o.o I can't even count the amount of times I uttered those words while watching this episode! I am completely ecstatic!! David Hewlett's performance dominated this episode, without a doubt. He played everything to perfection. I can't possibly express in words how amazing he was!!

I have to say, while I don't slash John and Rodney I find their friendship the best friendship EVER. Second ONLY to Jack and Daniel. And that scene with the two of them on the pier was just... ugh... it was awesome!!! I mean, talk about superb acting! My favorite line in that scene (other then the obvious "you're a good friend, author" xD) is definitely "You're stuck with me, Rodney, just accept it." That's probably the slashiest line I've ever heard but it was just so precious. I'm IN LOVE with that scene xD And John's smile right after the flashback is priceless ^.^

All I was expecting from McKeller in "The Shrine" was a few little comfort scenes and maybe some romantic looks but an actual declaration of love?!? Holy Crap! o.o This episode is like the "Divide and Concur" of Stargate Atlantis! August 22nd should be officially made the McKeller ship day! xD

As for Rodney remembering that he told Keller that he loved her, that could really go either way. When they were in the Shrine Rodney clearly remembered his conversation with John on the pier. He also said that he already made his goodbye's... soon after we see what he's talking about. Rodney said goodbye to everyone on the 18th day (at the bottom right hand it said what day the recording was from). Rodney told Keller that he loved her on the 10th day. Which could have been even before the whole episode with John. But, then again, those things seemed to be the only thing's Rodney could remember. So it could go either way. And even if he doesn't remember telling her, he definitely remembers his feelings cause he says on the recording that he had been in love with her "for some time now." I wonder when he first started loving her... hmmm.... Oh, and the shippy music playing during that scene??? Ugh, so beautiful!!!!! Really reminded me of the Sam/Jack theme.

As for Keller... I must admit I didn't quite understand why she was being so protective over Rodney starting right at the beginning of the episode. At first I though 'Oh, well, she cares about him' but the deeper into the episode it got, the more that just didn't make since. Until they showed the tape of Rodney saying "I Love You." He said it on the 10th day, which was very early on. So she obviously had this in her mind the entire time. And THAT explained why she was being so protective. After hearing him confess that she just couldn't let him go, she HAD to save him. So this really was the best McKeller episode of all time. It didn't even need a kiss, in my opinion!

And did anyone else catch the tension between Ronon and Keller? I mean... they were down right GLARING at one another! I know, by the end, they had basically forgiven one another. But still, they got pretty nasty toward one another. That just shows that they would NOT work out together in a relationship. I honestly can't see Keller choosing Ronon over McKay, not after this episode.

The only thing that bugged me about the episode was Ronon. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Ronon, he's one of my favorite characters. And I LOVE the Ronon/McKay banter, it almost as good as the Sheppard/McKay banter. But Ronon just seemed a little out of character. I can see him fighting to save McKay and wanting him to die with honor as his true self, but something just seemed... off? The Ronon/Miller scene was just... weird o.o I really hope we get to see some of the good ol' Ronon again in the near future. Cause this was kinda awkward.

In short, I loved the episode. Wish there were more like it.

[gateactivation]

if everything is going so well now,why cancel SGA??if every episode is as good as this one,why cancel the show??why not make a stand alone movie and still keep SGA??this only shows that the writers are capable of saving SGA..why stop now??how can one continue watching the remaining episodes of SGA S5 knowing that this is the last season???