Conversion (208)

[ShadowMaat]

Did anyone think that Caldwell trying to find out more about Weir’s relationship with Sheppard that maybe he was trying to find information to possibly blackmail her somehow? Something around the lines of, “She’s only supporting him because of their relationship.” Maybe I’m just too suspicious.

As a matter of fact, I did get the impression that he was trying to suss out what their relationship was or even flat-out imply that it was more than professional/friends.

[starfox]

Okay, I've gotta say this. I've noticed it in a couple of episodes, and this one confirmed it for me: Caldwell is such a woman. I mean come on! In "Trinity" he was tossing his non-existent hair, and in this one, he frickin' shimmies! Where are my manly-military movements!

Okay, that said, on to the rest of the ep.

Yeah, Caldwell has a bit of a thing for Weir. I find it interesting that I get that vibe from him, as it doesn't seem that he respects her authority that much; he doesn't really take her seriously as a colleague, he's still seeing a prissy civilian woman. Perhaps that's why Weir gets so Alpha Biotch around him; she's asserting her authority.


The Shep/Teyla kiss: I'm really glad I was alone when I watched that, because omg did I have a fangirlish reaction, and I'm not even remotely a Sheppard/Teyla shipper. It was just...the fight was awesome and I saw the kiss coming but I didn't think he would actually do it and then BAM. And it was kinda hot, actually.

Joe Flanigan was rather good this episode. He didn't play it over the top, and he kept enough Sheppard that it was still really fun to watch. For example, when he punched out the window in Elizabeth's office, and then said "I'm guessing that didn't sell you on the idea?". Total Sheppard moment, which just drew the out-of-control-ness a little closer to home.

The team's concern was just touching. I especially loved how visibly worried Rodney was. That was just perfect.

I got more of the sibling relationship between Teyla and Ronon. When he went off for Sheppard on his own and she asked where he was going; it was such a sibling moment, like she was watching after an errant little bro.


And they actually resolved a character conflict this episode! At the end, where John went and apologized to Teyla? I was so glad they showed that; it kept the episode from being a horrible attempt at ship (because any main char ship at this stage is just bad bad bad) and restored the equilibrium between the two characters.


All in all, a pretty good ep. There were a few things that were rather unbelievable, plot-wise, but hey that's what suspension of disbelief is for.


Oh yeah, and Sheppard was totally Spiderman this ep.

[derrickh]

It's clear that Caldwell was making a move on Weir. The whole 'lets play chess' was a mini-date in the making. And then when she went nuts over him doing his job he figured that she and John might have something going on. When he mined for some details she gave the generic 'we've been through a lot together'. But Caldwell figured, "Shepard had 2 years to make a move on Weir but still hasn't, so I'm going for it". So Caldwell tries again with the peace offering at the end of the ep, and Weir gives him some cliche as an answer. (which adds to my theory that 75% of Weir's dialogue is rehashed cliches.)

Basically, Caldwell has the hots for Weir, but after Weir got dumped by Simon, she set her sights on Sheppard, but he's still working on Teyla, but Teyla is all over Ronon. It's like a high school with spaceshps.

Funny how when Sheppard was barely infected, couldn't help himself from sticking his tongue in Teyla's mouth immediatley, but a couple of days later, Weir can chat with him in a darkened room and he's not in the slightest bit attracted to her. Her self esteem probably took a huge hit there.

Here's what probably happened off camera.
Teyla -"Dr. Weir, Sheppard kissed me earlier. The virus is probably acting on his primal urges. It was a long, deep kiss,too. Kinda made me dizzy."
Weir - "Hmm, thats strange, because I was with him all day and he didn't even try to kiss me, but he was with you for 5 minutes and got to second base?"
Teyla - "Oh...umm. maybe he was distracted when he was with you"
Weir - "But later I went into his room alone, and he just yelled at me"
Teyla -"Maybe he was tired or something"
Weir - "Thats what I thought. So later, I went in again. And still, he didn't even try to feel me up."
Teyla - "Maybe he respects your friendship too much"
Weir - "Yeah. That has to be it."
Teyla - "What about that bald guy. Word is that he's crazy about you"
Weir - "But he's bald, ewww"

D

[SGalisa]

haven't read anything above yet, but, here's my take...

awww... dang!
1st viewing was...Slowwwwwww torture!! (*wink*)
2nd viewing went faster, probably because I *knew* what to expect. (and I *FINALLY* got to hear ALL of the end theme music - no commercial interruptions, too! ...should have taped the 2nd viewing instead!)

Near the beginning, when (for a change!) Shep outran Ronon, I was going to joke if TPTB put steroids into Shep's shaving cream... until I saw those nasty whiskers forming a little over a day or so later. Then I wondered if Shep needed stronger shaving cream, instead!

"never kiss and tell"... oh boy! Shep felt *weird*? ...why? too much testosterone aggression, and maybe subconscious thoughts about Teyla finally coming to the surface? geeeze! (he forgot about his *alien* encounter with Chaya? or was he comparing both to each other, thus the *weird* comment...?) Teyla's lucky he backed off when he did. Liked the awkward apology about it all at the end...
========

Ronon's comment to Rodney about there being a bigger predator on the prowl the eats the iratus bugs...
...is Rodney a bit paranoid? Maybe he's watched too many horror (vampire type) movies in his earlier days. I'm amazed Dr. Beckett appears more adventurous and braver than Rodney, tho - when it comes to discovering habitats of new critters. ...itsy bitsy spider crawling off the wall!

Scene with the dozens of iratus bugs - was that all CGI? They looked *really* real (in their movement), like some other bug was disguised and used instead. Whoever said this particular scene looked wayyyy cooler than the replicators was right!

But they all abandoned the salt water...

========
Later, when Shep came to the rescue (which I was anticipating to happen!), those egg sacks were huge! They looked so little the first time around. Joe Flanigan looks somewhere about 6 feet tall, and so were those egg sacks! (*yikes!!*)

*grin!* If Shep appeared to be like Spidey in THE EYE (season 1) episode from military training-
Oooooh! Spiderman he became in Conversion!!

Well, that does now explain how the Wraith are occasionally hiding out on the ceiling. I understood before about their superhuman strength, which explained the bionic leaps upward; but this explains how they actually stick to the ceiling. (Which I'm guessing is where Shep was hiding when Weir came for her last visit to him?)

...but one question remains... not one word was mentioned about any potential *damage* to Sheppard's ancient gene? (does that mean that the Wraith don't have it, or they actually do, but it is severely suppressed by the iratus' genetic influences?)

[weirfan517]

I posted this on the Shep/Teyla thread as well, but I don't know how many of you go there, so I thought I'd put the same thing here to get your opinions. The first time I watched this episode I was so torn and confused about where the characters were heading that I had to watch it again to reallly sort out what I thought, and this is what I came up with. Another note: though I'm more for Shep/Teyla, I really like the idea of a Weir/Shep and would support it if TPTB decide to go that route. These are just the observations that I made of the characters, so don't get offended if these ideas don't sit well with you. I'd love to hear your responses!

Wow, very long post and lots of good points. I have to agree with a a lot of them too, but here are my thoughts of the specific subjects:

1)The Kiss
Well I know teyla was all surpised about it so was shep and honestly it came out differnet than i thought it would. They both seem to be okay about it now and really don't have anything that you havent already said.

2)Caldwell/Weir
That was interesting and it did seem there was a little flirting with the chess scene, also it's quite obvious that he has the hots for her (can you blame him ) she seems to not really be interested as we saw at the end.

3)Weir/Shep alone scenes
Okay maybe when I was watching I didnt see any shippy stuff with those, but if you think about it as an overanalyzin part shweirian like me, i think there was something small there. Like they may not be saying anything about their feelings when theyre alone maybe cuz they might be too stubborn to admit them or they arent entirely sure or theyre both just stupid about it, those are a few things you can think of as a shipper. I personally in this ep saw it aas liz bein totally worried about one of her best friends.

4)Weir's behaiviour
Wow, got a few things here. First I'd like to say that I thought Liz handled things quite well in her situation, and Torri was just amazing, she never ceases to amaze me. Well during the ep it was basically her worrying about one of her best friends and she had to make a few tough decisions. Also when shep was choking her (which was scary) she was actually very interesting about that, dealt with that differently than I would have.

5)Ronan/Teyla stuff
I personally haven't looked at them, and really didn't see much, maybe it's cuz I'm looking at weir ships, but yeah I'll stay off this subject.

6)Teyla's actions
Well there was the she was shocked in the begining and seemed to be scared when they were chasing him in the city with the 'Dont make me do this' line and then she was much better at the end and well I dont have much on this subject either, I liked teyla in this ep though, thought RL did a great job with it.

7) The Last Scene
I thought it was weird how shep went to apolagize to teyla for being "OOC" and the kiss but he didnt say anything to liz for choking her. So anyway the last scene I saw him being a little flirty with teyla and it seems things are okay between them, i mean he was under an alien influence so the kiss wasnt that big of a deal. It basically comes down to how the fans look at it, I thought it was a little sheyla towards the end and the sigh was a 'good we dont have that awkwardness anymore' type of thing and then she smiled a little. I think this is just me looking at the sheyla stuff.

8) Shep/Weir Ship
Already covered my thoughts about that in #1.

(just adding another subject)
9) Weir and McKay
I, as the huge mcweirite i am, was not upset by lack of mcweirness (a few of my fellow shippers are though) but it was cuz the events in Trinity were a huge deal especially for their friendship. I'm glad this ep wasn't a 'suddenly everything is fine between them' ep, cuz it wouldn't make much sense, IMO. I do however would like to see them back to normal, just it might take a little time due to the fact that Rodney is probally afraid he's still in alot of trouble and wants to be very careful.

Okay those are just a few thoughts I had at the moment, I have more but have to go eat now, so later yall.

[ToasterOnFire]

Basically, Caldwell has the hots for Weir, but after Weir got dumped by Simon, she set her sights on Sheppard, but he's still working on Teyla, but Teyla is all over Ronon. It's like a high school with spaceshps.

Oh gods, no! *tears out hair*


Nitpick number 3...
Bully for TPTB for keeping Ronan's "alienness" prominently displayed by having him wear his long coat (cool thing too). But after watching the team trudge through Vancouver Forest Set C I noticed how much the coat makes him stick out compared to the rest of the team in dark uniforms. Isn't some amount of camoflague desireable? Now I certainly can't see him wear the SG uniform, but couldn't he have worn something a little...darker? At least Teyla's wearing the full jacket.
And can we lose the sword?

[atlantis2184]

Does anyone notice that the first time we see John's bedroom in Conversion when he tells Beckett about his arm "infection", there is a guitar in background? Maybe he will sing a love song to Weir. lol
And when Weir come to see him when he is in the room with light turn off, there is a frame/ picture where we can see a old man and a young boy (maybe John and his father).

[Traveler Enroute1]

Funny how when Sheppard was barely infected, couldn't help himself from sticking his tongue in Teyla's mouth immediatley, but a couple of days later, Weir can chat with him in a darkened room and he's not in the slightest bit attracted to her. Her self esteem probably took a huge hit there.

Here's what probably happened off camera.
Teyla -"Dr. Weir, Sheppard kissed me earlier. The virus is probably acting on his primal urges. It was a long, deep kiss,too. Kinda made me dizzy."
Weir - "Hmm, thats strange, because I was with him all day and he didn't even try to kiss me, but he was with you for 5 minutes and got to second base?"
Teyla - "Oh...umm. maybe he was distracted when he was with you"
Weir - "But later I went into his room alone, and he just yelled at me"
Teyla -"Maybe he was tired or something"
Weir - "Thats what I thought. So later, I went in again. And still, he didn't even try to feel me up."
Teyla - "Maybe he respects your friendship too much"
Weir - "Yeah. That has to be it."
Teyla - "What about that bald guy. Word is that he's crazy about you"
Weir - "But he's bald, ewww"

D

<<my snips>>

LOL! Wicked but funny!

But don't agree Teyla/Ronon. Friendly soldiers in arms, IMO.

Just laughin', just sayin'.

[Traveler Enroute1]

Funny how when Sheppard was barely infected, couldn't help himself from sticking his tongue in Teyla's mouth immediatley, but a couple of days later, Weir can chat with him in a darkened room and he's not in the slightest bit attracted to her. Her self esteem probably took a huge hit there.

Here's what probably happened off camera.
Teyla -"Dr. Weir, Sheppard kissed me earlier. The virus is probably acting on his primal urges. It was a long, deep kiss,too. Kinda made me dizzy."
Weir - "Hmm, thats strange, because I was with him all day and he didn't even try to kiss me, but he was with you for 5 minutes and got to second base?"
Teyla - "Oh...umm. maybe he was distracted when he was with you"
Weir - "But later I went into his room alone, and he just yelled at me"
Teyla -"Maybe he was tired or something"
Weir - "Thats what I thought. So later, I went in again. And still, he didn't even try to feel me up."
Teyla - "Maybe he respects your friendship too much"
Weir - "Yeah. That has to be it."
Teyla - "What about that bald guy. Word is that he's crazy about you"
Weir - "But he's bald, ewww"

D

<<my snips>>

LOL! Wicked but funny!

But don't agree Teyla/Ronon. Friendly soldiers in arms, IMO.

Just laughin', just sayin'.

[Traveler Enroute1]

Ok, some glitch is posting me twice. Sorry all.

Just sayin'.

[Easter Lily]

What I found great about Caldwell's role in this ep, as well as the entire season, is that we're constantly left wondering just what he is up to. And Mitch is doing a wonderful job playing him.

I like that ambiguity about Caldwell... He looked like he was offering the olive branch one moment and then trying to assert himself the next. But one thing's for sure Weir's wary of him. Don't see any shippiness there.

[Easter Lily]

Funny how when Sheppard was barely infected, couldn't help himself from sticking his tongue in Teyla's mouth immediatley, but a couple of days later, Weir can chat with him in a darkened room and he's not in the slightest bit attracted to her. Her self esteem probably took a huge hit there.

Because he's becoming less human and more bestial? Barely infected? I thought when you're infected, you're infected...

Does she know about it even? Can't see Teyla blabbering about it to anyone...

[SnoggingPicard]

Weirfan157 -- thanks for answering! Some really great points, and the Shep/Weir stuff was exactly what I got out of it -- friendly concern and being scared of losing someone so important. Appreciated your ideas!

[the fifth man]

Awesome episode, in my opinion. Loved seeing Sheppard turn like that. Thought he was great in the episode. And the Shep/Teyla kiss, awesome!!

[SnoggingPicard]

Shep/Weir fans are definitely taking the kiss as an unreciprocated, terrifying event on behalf of Teyla. I respect that, but I didn't see it that way at all; there was something there, and I think we should all remember that the first inklings of Sam/Jack was when she mauled him in "Broca Divide", and that was written off to the whole animal instinct thing. And the last scene of "Conversion" was a very adorable, cute, and purposely vague way to cap it off.