How much worse can things get?
SGA 2x18: Michael
Well. This was a very intense episode that I did enjoy. It was dark and dark and… Did I mention dark?
Seriously, the whole episode is told from the vantage point of Michael, a test subject who also just happens to be a former Wraith. This was an interesting episode because we got to see a different side of our heroes—a darker side and one where most of them have no compulsion about lying to someone's face.
We have Carson Beckett playing a new version of Dr. Frankenstein with his newly minted retro-virus. Bascially, he's trying to create THE biological weapon to use against the Wraith. This is a touchpoint in a way because viewers can see both sides of the coin. They are in the middle of a war—that the Ancients lost—with the Wraith and there doesn't look like they're going to pull a rabbit out of the proverbial hat. The Genii and other know that they survived the "explosion" from "The Siege 3" so its only a matter of time before the Wraith come looking for them again and their new feeding ground.
But what about the moral aspects? They are essentially experimenting on sentient creatures without their permission, without any kind of consent. What then, makes the Atlantians any better than the Wraith? And who's to say that the Wraith's way is wrong? It seems wrong to us—the humans who tend to get the life sucked from them—but for the Wraith, that's how they eat, how they live. What right to they have to try to change them into something else?
I'm very eager to see the "payback" in episode 2x20 and how it continues in season three.
Also, as a side point, this episode was VERY McKay light. One real scene and a few other group scenes. I'm guessing that was because they were filming "Grace Under Pressure" and "Michael" at the same time. Which makes a lot of sense. But it also opens up some interesting fic plot bunnies for us authors. Why wasn't McKay more involved? He's senior staff and would have some kind of clinical interest in it. He was the first one to get the ATA gene when they got to Atlantis so he's not one to go against genetic manipulation—at least when it gets him what he wants (the ability to use Ancient technology). What if McKay decided to go against the majority? What if he decided that this was a bad idea and wanted nothing to do with it? He is the type of person to do that, character-wise. He's used to being the "odd man out", the one on the outside, so for him to take up that kind of a position, it wouldn't be that far a reach.
:: shrug ::
I'm waiting to see what everyone else comes up with, but I've also started my own little fic taking into account the events in Michael. You can find the first chapter of "Heaven Help Us" here. It's a WIP and my first SGA fic, but I plan on finishing it up…maybe even wrapping it into the events of the season finale once I see that.
OH. And Carson has sheep on his wall calendar!
Favorite lines:
Ronon: He’s changing directions. The tracks are difficult to follow. He’s good.
Sheppard: But you, uh, can follow them, right? I mean, that’s your thing. Among many other things.
Michael: What do you want from me?
Ronon: Just waiting for you to give me a reason to kill you.
Ronon: You know, you may be able to make him look like a human, talk like a human, but he’ll still be a Wraith. Nothing you do will ever change that.
McKay: So, you’ve been, um, released, I see.
Michael: Just now, but I have some bodyguards following me around everywhere, and Colonel Sheppard’s probably somewhere close by. They wanna keep an eye on me in case I suddenly, um ... freak out.
McKay: Yes, freak out, yes. Well, I don’t think you’re gonna ... you’re not gonna ... You’re fine, aren’t you?
McKay: Hey, what happened to the, um, to the blue jell-o? My favorite, all of a sudden it’s off the menu. What gives?
Beckett: Michael, we believe you may be suffering from what’s called generalised dissociative amnesia, which usually occurs as a result of significant trauma.
Michael: Trauma caused by the Wraith?
Beckett: We don’t know for certain. Hopefully, over time, your memory will return. In the meantime, we’ll do our best to help you fill in the gaps: a wee bit at a time so as not to completely overwhelm you.
Michael: I’m already completely overwhelmed. How much worse can it get?
Well. This was a very intense episode that I did enjoy. It was dark and dark and… Did I mention dark?
Seriously, the whole episode is told from the vantage point of Michael, a test subject who also just happens to be a former Wraith. This was an interesting episode because we got to see a different side of our heroes—a darker side and one where most of them have no compulsion about lying to someone's face.
We have Carson Beckett playing a new version of Dr. Frankenstein with his newly minted retro-virus. Bascially, he's trying to create THE biological weapon to use against the Wraith. This is a touchpoint in a way because viewers can see both sides of the coin. They are in the middle of a war—that the Ancients lost—with the Wraith and there doesn't look like they're going to pull a rabbit out of the proverbial hat. The Genii and other know that they survived the "explosion" from "The Siege 3" so its only a matter of time before the Wraith come looking for them again and their new feeding ground.
But what about the moral aspects? They are essentially experimenting on sentient creatures without their permission, without any kind of consent. What then, makes the Atlantians any better than the Wraith? And who's to say that the Wraith's way is wrong? It seems wrong to us—the humans who tend to get the life sucked from them—but for the Wraith, that's how they eat, how they live. What right to they have to try to change them into something else?
I'm very eager to see the "payback" in episode 2x20 and how it continues in season three.
Also, as a side point, this episode was VERY McKay light. One real scene and a few other group scenes. I'm guessing that was because they were filming "Grace Under Pressure" and "Michael" at the same time. Which makes a lot of sense. But it also opens up some interesting fic plot bunnies for us authors. Why wasn't McKay more involved? He's senior staff and would have some kind of clinical interest in it. He was the first one to get the ATA gene when they got to Atlantis so he's not one to go against genetic manipulation—at least when it gets him what he wants (the ability to use Ancient technology). What if McKay decided to go against the majority? What if he decided that this was a bad idea and wanted nothing to do with it? He is the type of person to do that, character-wise. He's used to being the "odd man out", the one on the outside, so for him to take up that kind of a position, it wouldn't be that far a reach.
:: shrug ::
I'm waiting to see what everyone else comes up with, but I've also started my own little fic taking into account the events in Michael. You can find the first chapter of "Heaven Help Us" here. It's a WIP and my first SGA fic, but I plan on finishing it up…maybe even wrapping it into the events of the season finale once I see that.
OH. And Carson has sheep on his wall calendar!
Favorite lines:
Ronon: He’s changing directions. The tracks are difficult to follow. He’s good.
Sheppard: But you, uh, can follow them, right? I mean, that’s your thing. Among many other things.
Michael: What do you want from me?
Ronon: Just waiting for you to give me a reason to kill you.
Ronon: You know, you may be able to make him look like a human, talk like a human, but he’ll still be a Wraith. Nothing you do will ever change that.
McKay: So, you’ve been, um, released, I see.
Michael: Just now, but I have some bodyguards following me around everywhere, and Colonel Sheppard’s probably somewhere close by. They wanna keep an eye on me in case I suddenly, um ... freak out.
McKay: Yes, freak out, yes. Well, I don’t think you’re gonna ... you’re not gonna ... You’re fine, aren’t you?
McKay: Hey, what happened to the, um, to the blue jell-o? My favorite, all of a sudden it’s off the menu. What gives?
Beckett: Michael, we believe you may be suffering from what’s called generalised dissociative amnesia, which usually occurs as a result of significant trauma.
Michael: Trauma caused by the Wraith?
Beckett: We don’t know for certain. Hopefully, over time, your memory will return. In the meantime, we’ll do our best to help you fill in the gaps: a wee bit at a time so as not to completely overwhelm you.
Michael: I’m already completely overwhelmed. How much worse can it get?
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