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Review of Vegas: SPOILERS
I have a lot to say about this episode, almost the whole of which is positive.
I loved the way this was shot. I liked the CSI homage. I loved the arty, yea even pretentious, camera work. It reminded me very much of what vidders do when they are editing already existing footage and splicing it together in new and interesting ways. I loved that fadeout in the beginning until all you see is Sheppard at the crime scene. I love that shot of Mckay and Sheppard backlit at the end of the hall. I love the Kill Bill vibe when Sheppard pulls up to the Wraith's trailer near the end.
And speaking of vidding, how about that music y'all? *loves* We get Marilyn Manson, the Stones, and Johnny Cash in one single episode? It's enough to make a girl giddy (and think about adding a chapter to her SGA/SPN XOVER). I loved the fetishization of the Wraith in that scene with "Beautiful People." That scene was all about the Wraith's body--the naked back covered with tattoos, the long hair, the leather clad ass. It was a sexual scene, a hot scene, a scene that's a little discomfitting given that we know the Wraith are an enemy and a danger.
I love the humor in this episode, scant as it may be. I love that Sheppard isn't a sci-fi fan. I love that Robert Picardo gets to announce that the Star Trek Experience shut down. These little fourth wall jokes kept the angst at a bearable level for me.
I am a huge fan of AU in canon. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE IT, going all the way back to ST:TOS and this was no exception. I loved all the things that were the same (the Johnny Cash poster, Keller and McKay and Woolsey and Zelenka as part of the SGC) and all the things that were different (Sheppard never having been married, never joining the SGC, Todd as a slowly dying prisoner, Wraith as a real threat on Earth).
Which brings me to John's characterization in this episode. It is not very far from my personal characterization of him. I have no trouble imagining that his experiences in the war and before have made him into the fucked up and lonely man we meet in "Vegas." The John we know was never close with his family growing up and I can imagine that Vegas!John never healed the rift with his brother. I can imagine him pushing them away, rebelling, and them cutting him out of their lives as well. I can imagine that a John whose rescue mission (for someone he loved and was in a relationship with) fails so spectacularly would never marry, would have no friends, would essentially live in his office and car and own nothing. The John I see in canon has difficulties with emotional intimacy--he is interior, he is private, he seems awkward accepting or initiating physical affection (like hugs). The John I see in canon is tortured perpetually by what he thinks he's done wrong, the people he didn't save but thinks he should have (we saw that this season in the episode where John essentially beats himself up for fifty minutes and early in the series in the episode with Holland). John is self-sacrificing to a fault; he would rather ride that nuke down the mouth of hell than send anyone else to do it. And this is the John who is respected by those he serves under and with and by those he commands. This is the John who has deep and meaningful friendships with his team and others on Atlantis. This is the John whose life is full. I have no trouble imagining that Vegas!John, without any of that support, is pretty much one step up from a loser. Vegas!John seems weary more than anything else; even his voice is scruffy and scratchy, like he's just too damn tired to make the effort. *loves* I like that Vegas!John barely made detective (but he kept trying, which shows me that in any universe, John Sheppard can't help but white hat it to some extent). I like that he steals the Wraith's cash. I like that he dies. I really, really do. I mean, it made me sad and I cried, but I like that John bites the bullet. Vegas!John has nothing and no one, not even his car because she's been shot to death. I like that he isn't "saved."
I gotta say that when I first watched the episode, I thought Rodney said "him." I thought he said that the medic John went back for was a him. So when I looked at the transcript, I was a little disappointed. But that's what fanfic is for, I guess. :)
Rodney is interesting to me in the episode. He and Radek are both in suits, like Woolsey (*fans face all around*), which suggests to me that they're fulfilling other roles than just scientist. Otherwise, science blues all around. You wear suits when you're politicking or selling something, so I like that subtle nod to the differences in the way the SGC probably operates. This is a Rodney who clearly never worked with Todd and is unbothered by Todd's slow starvation. This is a Rodney who AU!John apparently impressed enough that he makes unnecessary overtures of friendship to Vegas!John. He looked John up after that little interdimensional rift. He thought John could help. I'd like to think he might have thought that he and John should be friends. And ultimately, Rodney knows Vegas!John so little that he will not be able to mourn his death. Honestly, he probably thought he was ordering John's death anyway when the planes took out the Wraith. That hurts. And I love it.
I also adore the way this episode leads into the next and gives them a plausible reason for the Wraith to be on Earth.
I loved the way this was shot. I liked the CSI homage. I loved the arty, yea even pretentious, camera work. It reminded me very much of what vidders do when they are editing already existing footage and splicing it together in new and interesting ways. I loved that fadeout in the beginning until all you see is Sheppard at the crime scene. I love that shot of Mckay and Sheppard backlit at the end of the hall. I love the Kill Bill vibe when Sheppard pulls up to the Wraith's trailer near the end.
And speaking of vidding, how about that music y'all? *loves* We get Marilyn Manson, the Stones, and Johnny Cash in one single episode? It's enough to make a girl giddy (and think about adding a chapter to her SGA/SPN XOVER). I loved the fetishization of the Wraith in that scene with "Beautiful People." That scene was all about the Wraith's body--the naked back covered with tattoos, the long hair, the leather clad ass. It was a sexual scene, a hot scene, a scene that's a little discomfitting given that we know the Wraith are an enemy and a danger.
I love the humor in this episode, scant as it may be. I love that Sheppard isn't a sci-fi fan. I love that Robert Picardo gets to announce that the Star Trek Experience shut down. These little fourth wall jokes kept the angst at a bearable level for me.
I am a huge fan of AU in canon. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE IT, going all the way back to ST:TOS and this was no exception. I loved all the things that were the same (the Johnny Cash poster, Keller and McKay and Woolsey and Zelenka as part of the SGC) and all the things that were different (Sheppard never having been married, never joining the SGC, Todd as a slowly dying prisoner, Wraith as a real threat on Earth).
Which brings me to John's characterization in this episode. It is not very far from my personal characterization of him. I have no trouble imagining that his experiences in the war and before have made him into the fucked up and lonely man we meet in "Vegas." The John we know was never close with his family growing up and I can imagine that Vegas!John never healed the rift with his brother. I can imagine him pushing them away, rebelling, and them cutting him out of their lives as well. I can imagine that a John whose rescue mission (for someone he loved and was in a relationship with) fails so spectacularly would never marry, would have no friends, would essentially live in his office and car and own nothing. The John I see in canon has difficulties with emotional intimacy--he is interior, he is private, he seems awkward accepting or initiating physical affection (like hugs). The John I see in canon is tortured perpetually by what he thinks he's done wrong, the people he didn't save but thinks he should have (we saw that this season in the episode where John essentially beats himself up for fifty minutes and early in the series in the episode with Holland). John is self-sacrificing to a fault; he would rather ride that nuke down the mouth of hell than send anyone else to do it. And this is the John who is respected by those he serves under and with and by those he commands. This is the John who has deep and meaningful friendships with his team and others on Atlantis. This is the John whose life is full. I have no trouble imagining that Vegas!John, without any of that support, is pretty much one step up from a loser. Vegas!John seems weary more than anything else; even his voice is scruffy and scratchy, like he's just too damn tired to make the effort. *loves* I like that Vegas!John barely made detective (but he kept trying, which shows me that in any universe, John Sheppard can't help but white hat it to some extent). I like that he steals the Wraith's cash. I like that he dies. I really, really do. I mean, it made me sad and I cried, but I like that John bites the bullet. Vegas!John has nothing and no one, not even his car because she's been shot to death. I like that he isn't "saved."
I gotta say that when I first watched the episode, I thought Rodney said "him." I thought he said that the medic John went back for was a him. So when I looked at the transcript, I was a little disappointed. But that's what fanfic is for, I guess. :)
Rodney is interesting to me in the episode. He and Radek are both in suits, like Woolsey (*fans face all around*), which suggests to me that they're fulfilling other roles than just scientist. Otherwise, science blues all around. You wear suits when you're politicking or selling something, so I like that subtle nod to the differences in the way the SGC probably operates. This is a Rodney who clearly never worked with Todd and is unbothered by Todd's slow starvation. This is a Rodney who AU!John apparently impressed enough that he makes unnecessary overtures of friendship to Vegas!John. He looked John up after that little interdimensional rift. He thought John could help. I'd like to think he might have thought that he and John should be friends. And ultimately, Rodney knows Vegas!John so little that he will not be able to mourn his death. Honestly, he probably thought he was ordering John's death anyway when the planes took out the Wraith. That hurts. And I love it.
I also adore the way this episode leads into the next and gives them a plausible reason for the Wraith to be on Earth.