"Remnants" On the Day After

[kristen999]

I admit that I can rush to judgment on things. I think I might have jumped the gun on “Remnants” last night. Yes, there are still some thing that bother me, but overall I dare say I enjoyed it.

I re-watched it after work today. I viewed it last night totally exhausted and abit emotionally spent. So, after another viewing and reading a few additional thoughts...here is a more rounded reaction to the eppy.




I did enjoy getting a better look into Woosley...he's been the best surprise this season. I love him to bits and it was awesome to see him fight to keep his job. It was also cool to see how he's been accepted by the team and allowed to enter their circle.

Big kudos for more team dinners and breakfasts this season than ever!

Loved the fact that Teyla and Ronon knew 'why' John went to the mainland and it was cute to see Sheppard have a go at the biologist. He can't date a team member or anyone under the military I doubt but here he was trying anyways with his 'care to join me' line to be shot down for a plant :-P

I still found the editing a bit choppy in this. I think when John was forced to his knees for instance and Kolya was going to chop his hand off...that moment should have benn longer..we shouldn't have seen John just kneeling like that he should have fought harder.. but I didn't catch his reaction right before the blade went down the first time and did on the second viewing..oh John. His expression got to me

The beginning stuff on the island and going back and forth to the city was also badly paced...but it wasn't as jarring the second-go-around.

I loved the chemistry between Kolya and Sheppard..they are the best of nemisies and although I knew from t eh get-go that it was in his head, it was still great to watch. It was neat to have the little hints as to the true story..How did Kolya get to the island..and how during the chase he kept alluding John.

The best part of the episode was when alien!Kolya informed John that this was all from the dark parts of his mind...that it was John torturing himself.

My biggest issue is that Kolya asked a lot of good questions. What are you running from? Why would he defend people he barely knew..and never answered them. I guess it was my expectations that provoked the biter reaction the first time. JM on his blog and Alex Lavien both said we would learn what would make John tick..so I expected something new..the answer to Why.

We all know John takes his failures harder than anyone and I just wanted more. A bit more insight.

Now upon reviewing I think it was nice that it was brought to the open. In canon and on screen and living breathing color..all of John's mistakes are like a little tally in his head. He's haunted by each and everyone. He sees only his failures....and I liked how it was only when Kolya said he killed the biologists that we got Solider!John

And it was really bad assed that John took out six Genii with one hand! He pulled every cunning thing in the book and that too was in his head! John knows he's a failure but it certainly brought out his commando side.

Upon the re-viewing I enjoyed the episode more than I thought and was just annoyed by other aspects to really discuss then before.

Do I still say it should have been two plot lines only? Yes.

Do I hate that no one knew what happen to Sheppard. Oh hell yeah. Yet, again the man gets no comfort.

But it was one of JM's best scripts, he did give us what we wanted..I just wanted more.


Okay, nap time. Then I'll play catch up and see if the muse is going to come out to write something deeper about this.

Comments

[jasper3.livejournal.com]

A fic, maybe? =) I too, like Woolsey now; but i read somewhere a while ago that someone wanted to have his bald babies and that just freaked me out.

Soldier-John is just awesome and I love that Kolya said he tortures himself. Overall it was great if a bit short.

[angelwings9.livejournal.com]

damn i've not watched it!!!! FUCK ME! i really *need* sky tv!!

it sounds wonderful...!!!

[kristen999.livejournal.com]

Yeah, fell short but it was good overall. Loved soldier!John :D

[pfyre.livejournal.com]

I completely agree - while I love ShepWhump as much as the next member of ShepWhumpers Unite - it really felt like ALL they did was confirm what fanfic writers have been saying nearly day one of SGA - that Sheppard has some very deep seated issues with guilt, responsibility, etc. that he's his own worst enemy - like Outcast - it didn't give any meat any more depth than the most basic of fanfic and that is just plain sad

then again why I would think that Mallozzi and his cronies could write anything with impact - *wacks forehead* Duh

[kristen999.livejournal.com]

I'm sure to Jm this was a big deal to 'lay it all out for us' though we all got the 'hints' for years now.

Its canon now...which I guess is something.

second look

[(Anonymous)]

We have been waiting so long to see some deep looks into Sheppard...more payoffs...that we often come to expect more than a 46-minute TV episode can provide. We can't always help our first reactions. I thought the cast did a great job with their respective parts. I thought Sheppard's flirting was adorable. Too bad it didn't work out for him. That whole trip fell apart on him. Anyway, at least we have fanfic to fall back on to make up for those missing scenes or to revise an ending.

P.S. I'm not a writer in fandom, so I have to ask humbly if anyone out there would be interested in writing an AU in which Sheppard is a firefighter battling wild fires in L.A. (or wherever you like)? Even if it's somewhere down the line when you get through all your other writing projects. I thought of this while I was looking at images of the wild fires in Los Angeles and saw a photo of a fireman laying in the street in front of a fire truck in a smokey neighborhood (taken just a day or two ago). He was surrounded by his fellow firefighters after being struck by debris, so the photo's caption said. Thankfully, he didn't appear to be hurt seriously. Looking at that image of the downed firefighter, I wondered what kind of fireman Sheppard would be. Certainly, he would be devoted to his team...risking his life for them and others, entering the burning areas/buildings first, etc. He would still be an excellent leader. Could contain the rest of the SGA cast in various roles, i.e. Rodney as the firehouse EMT, Ronon as another firefighter and Sheppard's best friend, Teyla as the Fire Chief. Or some other combination.

Re: second look

[angelwings9.livejournal.com]

give me time...i may have a fic for you. xxx

Re: second look

[kristen999.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure to whom I'm speaking with. I always find John's flirting to be adorable since he always seems to never get the girl..they're all blind!

I don't do AUs sadly, rarely ever read them. I began work one a while ago and will try to complete sometime,btu a firefigher is a bit too outside the realm for me, but I'm sure someone would love to take a stab at it.

[novembersga.livejournal.com]

Okay, so I wasn't home last night to see Remnants which was upsetting because I've waited to see this for at least three weeks. (Saw the spoiler pic somewhere and went squee!) Anyway. I set the timer to record it. I got back late and watched it, saw your first entry and thought I'd post a little tidbit of what I thought was going on with John. 'Hee – I was so tired that I fell asleep typing. I kid you not!! Slumped over sideways in the bed. (LOL) I woke up an hour and a half later saved what I typed and didn't even have the energy to put my laptop away......*shrug* oh well. Soooo, I hope this makes sense.........

This just seems to confirm what we saw a little bit of in Doppleganger. He beat the crap out of himself, but he also tormented himself verbally. His worst fear was himself....his failures. "you failed your friends, John. They're dead because of you. You couldn't protect them."

Keller's nightmares pertained to her competence and inablilty to save the lives of her patients.

Ronon's, being alone.

John's worst fear is letting his friends down. Being unable to protect them. He has a seriously massive protective streak and his role in the military further ingrains that.

I'm not suprised John's mind would conjure such a situation. He's military and it's his job. What he's trained to do. Plus, they've enountered quite a few similar situations in what was thought to be innocuous circumstances.

The fact that it was the Genii is not so surprising since they've been the biggest consistent pain in the backsides to the Atlantis expedition (Outside of the Wraith - Michael falls into that category)since arriving.

Teyla's revelation, (which I think was poor judgment), that the Atlantis Expedition woke the wraith early only fueled the Genii's misguided sense of entitlement and gave them an excuse to try to justify their backstabbing nature. Kolya was John's first major nemesis that had made a second comeback in the past after thinking he'd killed him.

(I'm not harping on Teyla, I just think it was information that should not have been shared at that particular time or in that manner. I think the Genii would still have betrayed them, eventually. But it shortened the life-span a bit on their little arrangement. - Sorry I got a bit off topic)

It's not surprising that Kolya would haunt John. Kolya was persistent and brutal and seemed to take great joy in 'sticking it' to John personally. He invaded the city, killed two of his men at the gate, threatened to kill McKay and Weir, snags Sheppard later, holds him hostage and allows a wraith to feed off of him in front of his friends and team. Geez! Yeah I think John's got issues with that man.

Um.....too much rambling have to divide this up.

[kristen999.livejournal.com]

I've read in a few places that the hatred between Kolya and John is liken to a blood feud..which it is. John defeated him, thus casting him out as an outcast. Kolya used a wraith to fed on John..I mean my god!

Between DP and this...yeah its very fair to see that John harbors so much guilt and beats himself up daily about it....thus his willingness to do about anything to keep others safe..though I wish we knew more about what created these neuroses..I mean this is more than guilt for crying out loud. Its very deep seeded.

I've always speculated that John's aversion to physical contact was from not getting much affection growing up...but still begs the question what twisted up his psyche so much.

[novembersga.livejournal.com]

Ahem.... on with the rest of it then...........

I understand that there was a lot going on, but I just wish we'd have gotten a little more time with John's part of the story. When they took his hand it made my stomach hurt.....We didn't get to see all of it but, it still came across that Kolya beat him pretty hard. Poor guy. Didn't get any aftermath or comfort for him either. (It may not have been real, but it had to have been extrememly painful for John or he'd have known something was up. Which means he felt every blow as if it had actually happened; including loosing his hand. OUCH!)

Speaking of which, the 'AI' was playing a dangerous game with John. It may have used images and thoughts from John's mind, but it chose how and when to manipulate, and it 'went along' with it. John went over a cliff!!! Thinking he only had one hand, what if he had missed the root/vine? What if he couldn't hold on, or the root/vine had broken? What if he had been unable to catch himself at all? What if there had been nothing to hold on to? (I've got a sick mind.........what can I say?)

When Kolya mentioned torturing and killing the two scientist, you could see the switch flip by looking at John's face. He had no problem enduring torture and physical harm done to 'him.' But threaten someone under his charge/protection and you've got problems 'jack'. Thinking Kolya had killed two defenseless people he was responsible for 'lit his fire' but good. Another mental twist of the knife and another tally on John's own mental list of failures. Problem is he's not a failure. You can't protect everyone all the time. You are going to lose people not matter how hard you try, or how vivilant you are. I think 'deep down' he knows this. It's the only way he can stay sane. But he feels the losses deeply as well as the regret. He will forever be his own worst critic and harshest taskmaster. He is determined to make those losses as few as possible and he goes to great lengths to do so. Not to say that even though he has a firm grip on reality, his guilt eats at him to a point that he may not feel his own worth.

Okay! Well, I think I've rambled enough for one night. Hope some of this is intelligible and this ep BEGS for some very talented writers to tag it or even AU the ep? (Hint-hint) :D

[novembersga.livejournal.com]

Okay, so it's supposed to be 'no' matter how hard you try or how 'vigilant' you are

Gee, how'd I miss that??

Unsure of how to make a correction so thought I'd clarify.

[angelwings9.livejournal.com]

woah, woah. they took his hand? jesus! i NEED sky tv!!

[novembersga.livejournal.com]

Oh, sorry! I hope I haven't ruined anything for you! It was a good episode I just wish we had gotten more 'John time' He's in a pretty bad situation and I wish they'd have spent more time on it. He gets the crap beat out of him and well, other stuff. I hope you will be able to see the episode soon.

[angelwings9.livejournal.com]

don't worry! if i was afraid of spoilers i wouldn't be reading this post!!

i can't wait to see it!!

[kristen999.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I saw the switch 'flip' once Kolya said he killed the civilians...that triggered that dangerous/commando John that we know is deep inside.

I agree about what the AI was doing---obviously it had 'enough' not wanting John to die...so he obviously could have if he fell off the cliff. And if the hallucination were that 'real' his body's physiological response could have been very dangerous.

Just once, ONCE I'd like to see his team express how much he means to them.

sigh

[novembersga.livejournal.com]

!Just once, ONCE I'd like to see his team express how much he means to them.

AMEN to that!!! I mean, he gets the crap beat out of him and then it's like, "hey, want to go grab something to eat? I hear they've got blue jello" Um, whaaaa? :(

Search and Rescue was awesome whump. But I was kind of hoping they would spend some time on it like digging him out and the infirmary and aftermath care/comfort. Instead they beamed him out and then he has to go running around a wraith ship to find Teyla. (I guess I wanted more of what was happening with John and Ronon. Ronon was assessing injuries, talking to him trying to keep him conscious while likewise trying to dig him out.

(Ronon digging through debris)
John: Uh, you're going to wrong way chief.
Ronon: I'm not leaving you here.

Loved it!! Wanted more. Much, much more.