Duet (204)

[not so ancient]

Thank you, writers--you have taught me to hate my favorite character. Not only could I hardly sit through this episode, I had to keep changing the channel and kept uncomfortably switching positions while trying not to watch lest I keep cringing through the agonizing decay of McKay's character.

So, tell us, how exactly would Rodney McKay handle having another consciousness in his brain, including seizures?

I can answer that question thusly, just off the top of my head:

(1) Snarking
(2) Dealing with it bossily and badly
(3) Applying his brilliant mind to the problem
(4) Coming through, in the end, with kindness and compassion

We saw all this in Duet. Thus, Duet was absolutely McKay, absolutely in character.

What we saw in Runner was NOT in character. McKay this week was not a continuation of the goofy moments of Intruder and the bad goofy moments of Runner.

Big, huge, fracking difference there. They might superficially look somewhat the same, but the writer of Duet understands McKay and wrote him very well here.

[ShadowMaat]

I liked Ronon's willingness to train the other troops... and their willingness to let him.

Is it an example of people being ridiculously trusting? Maybe. But I still thought it was a nice touch, and one I could believe.

Nice Ronon moments. I'm already warming to him.

[FoolishPleasure]

*sigh* Can we please, please, please, please turn him back into something other than pure comedic plot device? I may be alone in this opinion, which is fine; I mostly was feeling the need to get on here and vent.

On the top, yes, we are centering on the comedic aspects of this episode - heck we were laughing all the way through. But what was so impressive was that Hewlett managed to show McKay's terror of finding someone ELSE in his mind. . the frustration of no one believing him at first. . embarrassment at Cadman seeing him "exposed" ( ) desperation at not being able to fix the problem, and when he discovered that Cadman might have to die for him to survive, there was true sadness in his face. Such a mixture of emotion - funny, but touching at the same time. That's what impressed me so much.

[PsychoPenguin]

We saw all this in Duet. Thus, Duet was absolutely McKay, absolutely in character.

What we saw in Runner was NOT in character. McKay this week was not a continuation of the goofy moments of Intruder and the bad goofy moments of Runner.

Big, huge, fracking difference there. They might superficially look somewhat the same, but the writer of Duet understands McKay and wrote him very well here.

I agree. Granted, I'm not a McKay fan, but when I watched this, I thought, "Finally! The McKay fans will have something to be happy about." "The snark" and "the funny" were in full swing without any of "the whiny." And "the whiny" was what bugging me about McKay in the first half of last week's "Runner."

I liked Ronon's willingness to train the other troops... and their willingness to let him.

Is it an example of people being ridiculously trusting? Maybe. But I still thought it was a nice touch, and one I could believe.

I did too. And speaking as someone who's gotten thrown around a lot of mats, I loved those scenes! I know there were many great McKay lines in this, but my absolutely favorite one belonged to "unnamed marine number one"--"Why don't you try this again." beat "Sir."

Hubby and I just cracked up at it *again*. It is so the way one of his guys would have verbally flipped him the bird.

[ellymelly]

i can't wait to see this ep! from the sounds of it it was a good ep! dare i say a cult???

[smushybird]

Yeah... if I had ANY quibble, that would be it. David doesn't need jolting camera angles to tell us who's who, he can do it all on his own. The constant switching got distracting and detracted a bit from the scene. Who directed the ep? *wanders off to look*

Yes! Just what I said over at scifi.com. I could tell when DH was Cadman and when he was McKay. The camera angle switches were just distracting. I wish they had just trusted DH to act it out. He did it so brilliantly.

[coolove]

This episode was pretty much what I expected. It was good. It had me laughing so hard I nearly damn cried at times. My favorite moments where when Rodney was screaming at Cadman and everyone thought he was insane. That was just classic. The look on everyone's face was priceless.

I think the most I enjoyed was the fact we're getting to see more the of the city and everyone's rooms. I don't know why but for some reason I keep on fixating that Cadman has a huge bed compared to Teyla, Rodney and probably John. It's either that or my eyes are playing tricks on me. Oh, well. It's not important.

Something that I noticed: Weir is talking to Ronon she referred to John as a major rather then a colonel.

I'm starting to warm up to Ronon. The cafteria scene with John was great.

[SciFiGeek]

So, tell us, how exactly would Rodney McKay handle having another consciousness in his brain, including seizures?

I can answer that question thusly, just off the top of my head:

(1) Snarking
(2) Dealing with it bossily and badly
(3) Applying his brilliant mind to the problem
(4) Coming through, in the end, with kindness and compassion

We saw all this in Duet. Thus, Duet was absolutely McKay, absolutely in character.

What we saw in Runner was NOT in character. McKay this week was not a continuation of the goofy moments of Intruder and the bad goofy moments of Runner.

Big, huge, fracking difference there. They might superficially look somewhat the same, but the writer of Duet understands McKay and wrote him very well here.

Fair enough. But like I said, I think I would've handled this episode better had it not come on the heels of something like Runner (and parts of Intruder and Siege III). We've already done the let's-have-humorous-McKay stuff the season; I'm really looking for something more.

Also, maybe it's not really my kind of humor. Other people were laughing; I was cringing. Also, yes, he does have a tendency to get bossy when he's stressed out--but in situations like this, I think they took it a little too far; he was almost a little *too* rude.

But, you know, I'm not demanding my opinions be universally held; we'll just have to agree to disagree.

[StarDreamer]

Loved this episode!!!! I laughed so hard and loud!

David Hewlett really did well in this episode, and it helped make up for McKay's ridiculously idiotic behavior in Runner.

I loved when he, I mean "she" went to talk to Beckett while McKay was asleep, and then when "McKay" and Beckett kissed!

hehe..

[smushybird]

Okay, I have one question. Who do we pay to ensure that Martin Gero writes all of the "SGA" eps from now on? I realize it would probably cost quite a bit to compensate him for the ungodly workload he'd have to put in, but I figure if we get enough fans together, we could swing it.

So...who's with me?

Seriously though, I loved this episode, and McKay's not even my favorite character. I think it's mostly because, even though it centered on McKay, all of the characters had their moments, including those from both the main and secondary tiers. I also love the way he takes time for the small things, and doesn't get carried away with the "A Plot." Things like Shep and Weir waiting in the infirmary for Rodney to wake up, Shep taking the time to make sure Rodney knows he ordered the dart to be shot down, and Dex going to Teyla to ask "alien to alien" why she stays. To my mind, MG shows the characters a level of care and respect none of the other writers do, keeping their relationships and connections alive, while revealing sides other writers don't show us. He isn't content to take the easy laugh or have the characters act like one-note caricatures. He *gasp* writes people. And I think I love him for it!

So who's with me? How much do you think we could raise if we started right now?

I'm in. I love those things too, the little emotional moments Mr. Gero remembers to include. Those moments were almost non-existent in SG-1 eps and it was always so frustrating. Though it was a little startling to see McKay yell at Zelenka like that, I could understand McKay's fears and frustration. And I liked that at the end he and Zelenka basically made up in their own way. And the scene you mention with John coming to talk to Rodney about having to shoot him down--that's why I love Atlantis. Because we aren't cheated out of moments like that.
As far as 'ships go, I thought there were some sparks with Teyla and Ronon, but maybe too between Liz and Ronon... Maybe because they are so unalike, the scene between them was funny. Ronon's dialogue seemed a wee bit surfer dude at moments, but still very amusing. I think I could like Ronon well enough. There were moments where I got a weird little sense that Sheppard seemed subdued...more than usual...and I don't want him to be a lost character with Ronon's inclusion, a character the writers aren't sure what to do with. Did anyone else feel that or was it just me?

I also wanted to add I enjoyed David Hewlett's performance enormously. He is one talented guy.

[PsychoPenguin]

I'm in. I love those things too, the little emotional moments Mr. Gero remembers to include. Those moments were almost non-existent in SG-1 eps and it was always so frustrating.

Exactly! That one thing, as much as anything, is probably why I'm an "SGA" fan, but not an "SG1" fan.

As my hubby likes to put it when he's resisting changing the channel before a show gets all the way to the final credits, "I know. I know. You've gotta have your denouement or the whole show's a waste."

[Shipperahoy]

I really really enjoyed this episode. I had some worries about it being too slapstick and over the top but it was really great. I laughed my bum off but yet it wasn't completely farcical. David Hewlitt did such a great job with the two personalitites. He was able to portray the seperate personalities without going over the top effeminate when portraying Cadman in his body.

I think that Ronan will do just fine. For all of his tough guy act he comes off a bit lost and I like that complexity. The scene between him and Weir was pretty funny. And I learned just how flexible Teyla is. It hurt just looking at her doing the splits on her bed. Unecessary? Perhaps. Entertaining? I thought so. And the apology scene shed some more light on Ronan's character. He seemed to really want her forgiveness. I think that the Teyla/Ronan relationship (and I'm not saying "ship" relationship) will turn out to be an interesting dynamic.

[Curlyro]

I think I'm with the majority of the people when saying this but... WHAT AN AMAZING EPISODE!! I was not expecting it to be this funny! Amazing acting by the one and only DH. The Gollum-like scenes were great. Almost borderline schizo. Even more Zelenka! The poor guy get's berated by McKay. Hopefully Rodney tones down a bit after this. O_O Zelenka was only try to help.

Keep up the awesome writing guys!

[starfox]

The characterization in this episode was wonderful! Okay, there were a few moments when I didn't love Sheppard (I felt he didn't fully justify/explain his desire for Ronon on the team, but then again, I may have missed something), but other than that, it just worked.

The chemistry was just on for this episode. Martin Gero wrote in great moments for the characters and the actors pulled them off beautifully. I was beginning to wonder what was going to happen with everyone character-development-wise and not just plot-wise; this episode reassured me that we'll still get to get a glimpse of the interpersonal relationships that make me love the show so much.

The moments in the lab between McKay and Zelenka are some of my favorites from the series so far. Those two are just great to watch, and the yelling at each other was perfect. Zelenka's shaping up to be a really interesting character; hopefully we'll see more of him throughout the season.

And though I'm still determined not to judge Ronon yet, I did like the scene where he was training the Marines. The character felt more real to me in that moment than he did in any other point in the ep, or in Runner.

Plus, I'm just psyched to see more female characters on Atlantis.

All in all, brilliant writing and brilliant acting (especially by DH).

[Tain]

I REALLY REALLY liked the close ups of the wraith dart remnants. It showed us they were not shiny metal at all, but are indeed made out of some kind of techno-carapace. Very cool, and definitely helps show some of the organic flavor of the wraith. Also, did anyone else cactch that the Dart canopy seemed to be made of energy? How cool was that! If the wraith can create an energy shield stable enough to replace cockpit plexi, certainly they can maintain some kind of defensive energy fields. Rock on.

[GeekPride]

Yeah... if I had ANY quibble, that would be it. David doesn't need jolting camera angles to tell us who's who, he can do it all on his own. The constant switching got distracting and detracted a bit from the scene. Who directed the ep? *wanders off to look*

I'm pretty sure Peter Deluise directed this ep. Did anyone notice if he made a cameo in this ep or not? There is a pic of someone holding up a diploma or something in McKays room-it is most likely Mckay of course, but my eyes must be bad because I couldn't tell for certian if it was David or Peter (making a cameo).

I loved this ep sooo much! I am so glad that I recorded it! My tape only had enough space for one more ep of SG-1 or Atlantis and I am so glad that I chose Atlantis! I still like SG-1 and all, but I am just still waiting for the story to get going. I know they said it was a three parter but since this ep still had Vala in it and they were still frekkin' with those bracelets-it felt like a 4 parter! Enough already! Sorry, had to vent!

My favorite scene would have to be when Rodney was on his date! How can a man that smart be so dumb when it comes to the ladies?

Maybe Cadman will still try to give him some lessons? I really hope she comes back, I loved her......much better than Vala.......running away now before Vala lovers attack me!

You'll never catch me!

PS...I thought Cadman kissed McKay?? I remember seeing a spoiler pic where it looks like she grabs him and lays a big smooch on him. Maybe as a way to both say thank you and apologize for making him kiss Carson?

[Carbito]

Yeah, one of the best parts of this episode was to see a Wraith Dart up close, very interesting. However I feel that this episode would have been better to be based on Ronan Dex and save this McKay plot line to air at some other point in the series.

[sparklegem]

This was the one episode I had been most looking forward to for months and I was not disappointed! Mr. Hewlett really showed his talent and did an incredible job. Period. You could see the Cadman distinction as soon as he pushed himself up on the bed. I can't imagine how hard it was to pull off the hallway scene after the date, where Rodney was struggling against Cadman. Now we know that both Mr. Hewlett and Mr. Shanks can talk really fast and bring multiple personalities to life.

Both Rodney and Cadman were in bad situations, but I wonder how Rodney's handles this experience. Granted, Cadman is no Goa'uld, but it's got to be an frightning and unnerving feeling to not be able to control your own body, especially for someone like Rodney to be out of control.

I agree with everyone who has praised the character moments. Even though Teyla didn't have a huge role, I liked what she did.

On the visual side, I really, really loved the expansive picture of Atlantis at night. It was beautiful. And I LOVED the picture of Rodney on his wall.

It was nice to see Carson is a more expansive role than CMO in the infirmary. I really liked the opening scene where he attempts to passively interact with the Wraith, and then Sheppard comes in and promptly deals with it. It was a nice contrast. I loved all his interactions, including the late night call and date scene. Squeezing Cadman's hand at the end was sweet.

Sheppard not hesitating to shoot down the dart and then approach Rodney later was such a great thing to follow up on his conversation with Caldwell in Runner because it shows that can and does do what's necessary for the greater good.

One of the things I was most pleased about was that the Ronan subplot didn't take away from Rodney's plot, which needed ample time to flesh itself out in order to not feel rushed, incomplete, and leaving things to be desired. This was no Chimera.

[The_Gate_Builder]

Did anyone else here notice becket losing his accent while running from the dart (i think while yelling)

[AGateFan]

I think the most I enjoyed was the fact we're getting to see more the of the city and everyone's rooms. I don't know why but for some reason I keep on fixating that Cadman has a huge bed compared to Teyla, Rodney and probably John. It's either that or my eyes are playing tricks on me. Oh, well. It's not important.

I'm starting to warm up to Ronon. The cafteria scene with John was great.

Yeah, I guess they get more than one personal item now. They are really starting to make themselves at home. I like to see more of those little touches.

Ronon in the Cafteria was really funny. Now he is from a fairly advanced race so I am sure he has used utensils before but I guess 7 years on the run will do that to you. I was impressed with the scene because I didnt think the writers would give John the guts to suggest the fork and Knife and I thought if he did that Ronan would be an az about it.. But no to my happy amusement John did suggest it and Ronan just took the suggestin in stride. I liked that scene.