#stargate returns

[spockvarietyhour]

Where's his headbonk? "The Return Pt. 1"

[dailystargatebooty]

[carsonsweebabyturtles]

A Series of Unfortunate Screen Caps - The Return Pt. 2 (part 28)

It's been an age since I made one of these but with the sheer amount of the unfortunate caps from this episode it had to be done. Mostly John and Carson.

[acrowbyanyothername]

so in the return part 1 when sheppard and mckay are one the phone, at the end of the scene mckay says ‘Hey, you know I..’ and sheppard hangs up

juxtapose that with when they’re in midway station and sheppard ends landry’s message saying ‘that way I won’t know what he was gonna say.’

well do i need to say anymore

[orion-kenobi]

10 episodes into the daniel-less season and i’m realizing that if you compare him to jonas he’s really unhinged

[mushroom-through-the-stargate]

"fifth race" this, "second evolution" that. I think the Tau'ri specifically are the foretold returned Ancients.

with very few exceptions, Earth is the only place that has people with the ATA gene

Earth is where the Ancients evacuated to after they lost the war with the wraith

the earth stargate programme is the one that has explored, rediscovered, and activated the most Ancient devices and bases (Antarctica, Atlantis, that ship in SGU, the Ancient libraries, all of Merlins stuff, all of Oma Desala's stuff, all of Morgan Le Fays stuff, the list goes on)

Earth has made contact with the Asguard, the Nox, the Tollans, the Wraith and some other allies

Earth has made contact with actual Ancients and even had at least one Ascend and come back (Daniel)

[halestrom]

Forehead touch, Rising vs. The Return

[dr-futbol-blog]

The Siege I, Pt. 5

So, finally at the LaGrange point satellite, we get a view of the puddle jumper docking with the Ancient weapons platform in a pretty phallic visual. Docking is a rather well-known sexual practice among men who have sex with men, and may even be especially pleasurable when one partner is circumcised and the other is not. Like, say, when one participant might be from the US and the other Canadian. There was really no need for them to make the shot this phallic by framing it vertically and yet here we are.

In the very next scene, inside the satellite, we are immediately asked to pay attention to McKay's heavy breathing:

Grodin: Are you OK? McKay: Yes. Why? Grodin: Well, you're breathing pretty heavily. McKay: Yeah, well, I'm feeling a little claustrophobic.

We are meant to think that McKay is breathing heavily and grunting a lot because he's out of shape while he explains it basically as being caused by anxiety. But the fact that Grodin just had to point it out tells us that it had made him think of other strenuous activities.

Miller seems to like McKay which invites us to compare him with Sheppard. If Sheppard had come in his stead, he would be the one in the space suit executing McKay's instructions, or at the very least he would be out there with McKay. There is no way that he would have let him do this alone. Further, we frequently see Sheppard take McKay's concerns seriously and try to help him overcome them--unlike Grodin, who rolls his eyes at McKay's complaining. McKay is absolutely right that he is out there doing something he hasn't been trained for that is potentially very dangerous, and they shouldn't be making light of it.

We also get another reference to something being thought dead which is relevant for the resolution of the episode:

McKay: How much air do these things hold anyways? Miller: Eight hours. McKay: Well, that's enough, right? I mean, even with the heavy breathing? I mean, they would calculate that in, right? Grodin: You're going to be fine. McKay: Yeah, that's easy for you to say--you're not the one with the eight hours ceiling on the breathing! ....It's completely dead. Grodin: Well, we thought as much.

We thought as much he says, and Sheppard reminded us of having thought McKay said it was dead at the beginning of the episode.

We are given a lot of numbers in this episode. The wraith are coming in 49 hours, it takes 15 hours to get to the satellite, he has 8 hours of air, they have 29 hours until "show-time." The significance of the numbers is unclear but they do tell us that by the end of the episode, Sheppard has not slept for a while.

On Atlantis, Weir has a meeting with the Athosian Halling, and their discussion likewise has some bearing on how the episode ends:

Weir: There are concerns the Wraith will be able to make it to Earth if the city is left intact--but I assure you that plan will only be executed in a worse-case scenario. Halling: Such as three hive ships flying towards Atlantis? Weir: We do believe we'll be able to destroy them before they arrive.

Weir: I have to do everything I can to make sure the power and technology of Atlantis does not fall into the hands of the Wraith -- and, yes, to ensure they never make it to my galaxy. Halling: Even if it means sacrificing the future of this one?

Sheppard is operating under the same belief as Weir. They have a self-destruct plan in place because they believe that protecting Earth is worth each and every life on Atlantis. Furthermore, Sheppard believes that he is personally responsible for unleashing the wraith on this galaxy and even likely thinks that if he had only gotten to Col. Sumner faster, the wraith would never have found out about the 'rich new feeding grounds' on Earth. All of this hangs in the balance.

Back on the weapons platform, Grodin and Miller have joined McKay after he hooked up the generator and got life-support going. Grodin switches on the artificial gravity without giving proper warning to McKay, causing him to injure himself--and this is played as a comedic interlude:

Grodin: I think I found the switch to initialize the gravity. McKay: Great, just give me a second to-- Oh yeah. Yeah. That's permanent back damage. Grodin: Sorry. I assumed it would come on more slowly. McKay: Well, you assumed with my life. Grodin: You'll be fine. It was just a little bump. McKay: What have you got? Grodin: Looks like every system is back online--except for the weapon. McKay: Ah, details. Let's get to work. Oh, thank you. Thank you! Yeah, that's vertebra damage, that's pain...

Miller helps McKay up, seeming much more sympathetic to his plight than Grodin. Their relationship has been somewhat antagonistic throughout. In fact, one of the first things we ever saw Grodin do was to take a swing at McKay:

McKay had a point, there. That seems like some pent-up rage. It could just be that they rub each other the wrong way as people sometimes do but as I've speculated before, Grodin does not seem to be entirely straight himself.

There could be a hook-up in their past, somewhere within the weeks or months spent in the cold recesses of Antarctica. Since they are both civilian contractors, it would at least have been relatively safe to fool around. "Where did all those Saturday nights go?" McKay asked him in Sanctuary (S01E14). I wonder.

What ever their history, the horrified look on Miller's face as he watches McKay on the ground suggests that Sheppard did have some kind of a talk with him before they took off on the mission, meaning that he knows Sheppard holds him personally responsible if anything happens to McKay.

Miller helps McKay up from the floor, looks to see that he's alright and even pats him on the shoulder as a sign of compassion. He further gives Grodin a look that seems to contain a warning that McKay doesn't get to see. Miller is acting protective of McKay and there is really only one reason that would explain this behaviour.

McKay is clearly surprised by Miller's gesture, not used to receiving such acts of kindness (from anyone other than Sheppard, anyway). His first thank you is just reflexive while his second thank you actually expresses his gratitude for the gesture. This, from the man that never says 'please' or 'thank you'.

Meanwhile on Atlantis, Sheppard and Ford are continuing the search for a new Alpha Site, going through a list on a computer in the meeting room. This time neither Weir nor Bates are present, and neither is Teyla. Presumably both Teyla and Bates are cooling off somewhere else, and from how Sheppard sounded when they were trying to get the belligerents separated, he probably doesn't want to see either one of them for a while.

The way Sheppard is sitting is both similar and dissimilar to how he was sitting in the first meeting. He has his hand up on the table between himself and Ford, and he seems to be resting his jaw against his fist with one finger pressing against the corner of his jaw with the effect of turning his face slightly away from Ford. Again, nothing he has against Ford or even his physical presence, they are just two guys sitting in proximity and he needs to establish a perimetre between them, to have some personal space.

Earlier, when McKay was talking in front of him, he was not pressing his jaw against his fist but was pressing two of his fingers against the side of his neck to better allow him to angle his face toward McKay. And here, his fist is between the two of them while previously he stretched his chin up so as not to have anything between himself and McKay. Here, he is hunched over while previously his posture was much more open.

These are minute details of a man basically doing the same thing and yet, so different. Even without any dialogue, just looking at the body language, he is open to McKay, all the time, while not so much toward other people.

Sheppard does not seem to be in a very good mood. Ford excitedly tries to name a planet with a name that Sheppard would probably ordinarily disapprove of because he thinks that he's the only one that gets to name things, and there are several times in the past that he has told Ford that he doesn't get to name things. This time, however, Sheppard doesn't even respond. In the past, his intention has been to poke good-natured fun at the young soldier, ribbing at him to create a sense of familiarity. Ford's intention here was probably an attempt at connecting with Sheppard, too.

But he just doesn't have it in him, right now. To pretend that things are normal. He has that clock ticking down internally, the external sensors tracking the approaching hives on the screens all around them, and he is doing all that he can to keep at bay the dread building inside him. He probably hasn't slept, either. He is doing this, looking for an Alpha Site, because this is what he stayed back for. And because he stayed back for this, he's going to find them a new Alpha Site even if it kills him.

But before they have made any decisions, there is a voice on the intercom telling them that there is a "situation" at Generator Station One. What fresh hell is this?

They take off immediately and find two marines there that have discovered Bates, unconscious and clearly beaten up on the floor. They call for a medical team to take him to the infirmary and Sheppard kneels by Bates' body, just watching him helplessly. He doesn't know what has happened but he does know that he is blaming himself for allowing it to happen. Yes, he was at his wits' end as to what to do with the man but he never wanted something like this to happen.

It is unclear where Sheppard spent his night but next we are clearly shown that time has passed with shots of Atlantis first at night and then in the morning. It is doubtful he was sleeping, in any case (he hasn't changed his clothes, for one). I will point out that they are within comm distance from the satellite and in the next scene we see that McKay has withdrawn from the other two, crouching on the platform above them and is fiddling with some kind of a device we have never seen before. This device does not seem to have anything to do with what they are doing; he just punches a few buttons in frustration,* looks at the screen and then just ignores the device like he's not using it anymore. He also seems distracted like he had been only half-listening to Grodin. After he puts the device away, he's focusing on what they are doing again.

So, in the morning we find Sheppard coming to visit Bates by his hospital bed, and there is also a difference between his two mental states: he was clearly freaking out internally when he was crouching by Bates' body last night and now, in the morning, he seems much more calm and is concerned for Bates' well-being, being compassionate. I'm not saying Sheppard and McKay necessarily had a chat but they make it clear that they had time for one. For some reason, they show them crouching in mirror image of each other as though facing one another. Also, Sheppard asks Beckett "When can we talk to him?" drawing attention to the timing of talking with someone.

When Sheppard walks in from where ever he spent his night Ford is already there, watching Bates. In the previous episode, they were standing similarly by Teyla's bed and while I don't think it has anything to with Ford per se, Sheppard managed to keep more space between himself and both Weir and Teyla than he does with Ford. There is a visual parallel here, at the very least.

None of them want to believe it but obviously Teyla is the main suspect. Sheppard himself has likely felt what it is like not to be given the benefit of the doubt so many times in his past that he is willing to hear Teyla out before condemning her:

Ford: Teyla and Bates got into it pretty badly yesterday, sir. Sheppard: A fistfight and a beating like this are a long drive apart, Ford. Ford: I understand that, sir, but they were in a fight; they were both looking to continue it. Sheppard: Anything pointing to who did this? Beckett: I'm having a forensic exam of both his body and clothing performed right now. Sheppard: Let us know what you find out. Let's go get her side of the story.

He doesn't need this right now. They don't need this right now. It seems like he is losing control of the situation and the wraith aren't even here yet... or so he thinks.

Continued in Pt. 6

-* Much later (The Return, S03E10) we are shown that Sheppard does not say goodbye even on the phone because he doesn't want to hear McKay say goodbye to him under any circumstances and if he ends the call abruptly, he doesn't have to know what the other person was going to say. Now, one might find that frustrating is all I'm saying. The way McKay is punching the buttons certainly seems like the behaviour of someone that had just been hung up on.

[stinalotte]

Gosh, this show and its constant, numerous, wonderful variations on friendship and home and family. Ronon was ready to leave Atlantis and be with his Satedan friends from the old days, what he thought could be his family again—only to discover what they had become. And he's already made his decision in this scene and says it so casually. My friends are right here. It's you guys. Let's go home.

Also can we talk about this badass shot:

[raurquiz]

#qepd #JamesEarlJones #rip #actor #DarthVader #StarWars #AnewHope #EmpireStrikesBack #ReturnofJedi #holidayspecial #rogueone #rebels #stargatesg1 #clearandpresentdanger #thelionking #patriotgames #fieldofdreams #conanthebarbarian #comingtoamerica #thesimpsons #TheSandlot

[spockvarietyhour]

Your plan has failed.

Stargate Atlantis "The Return Pt. 2"

[dailystargatebooty]

[carsonsweebabyturtles]

Carson Beckett in Every Episode - The Return Pt.2 (S03E11)

[lightthewaybackhome]

I decided after my second SGA watch through to watch SG-1 and do this whole chronological order thing.

Over the weekend, I got to the divergence between the two shows and was able to start SGA over again. Guys, I'm going home!

I've really grown to love SG-1, but Atlantis will always be my Gater home. I didn't think I would have that many thoughts, because I thought all the thoughts last time through. (Y'all have got to be tired of my meta by now.)

I was wrong.

First off, it was supremely rewarding to watch this in chronological order, to go from SG-1 to SGA. It's like I've read the other half of the story, heard the other side of the conversation. I know Daniel and Jack at this point of their life and what they've been through. I know Elizabeth. I know that she's the anti-military who stood up for the military to the vice-president. I know she's earned their trust.

John "I like Antarctica" Sheppard. Of course he does. Also I love that he goes into the Stargate program basically blind, but he goes. It really shows he has nothing on earth and no one.

Highlights include:

Weir says: We need him. Everyone else with the Ancient gene can train to get better. John Sheppard does it naturally. I love that she picked Sheppard. She saw his potential.

When he walks into Atlantis, I always think: The city that lights up for Sheppard just the way Elizabeth left it for him.

When Teyla says Summner looks right through her and Sheppard asks if he does, and she says no.🥰

Okay, so when Sheppard picked up Teyla's necklace, did he activate it? Because 3 drones show up right away.

They all feel so light, buoyant. Even when you know Sheppard is here because he has no home, he's worlds away from the man he is in Doppelganger. And the same with Rodney. Rodney isn't really even stressed yet. He's kinda calm. Even when he knows they're running out of power he's not freaking out, not really freaking out. (So, does that mean the better you know Rodney, the more he's willing to whine at you?)

Also, the cinematography stood out to me because it's often framing Sheppard and Rodney in the same shot, like a hint at their friendship, or is panning between Elizabeth, Rodney, and Sheppard, hinting that they're the crew, the team, the family.

Also, Peter. Sigh.

[ourformers]

Probably won't finish this so here it is

The captain and the medic

Minus Maximinus and Stargate

If you have any questions about them send an ask! (this is a threat)

[sga-owns-my-soul]

Y'ALL

I JUST REALIZED

bc my cousin decided to fuck off and stop talking to me, all the things of hers that's still in my house now get to stay in my house

WHICH MEANS I NOW HAVE A COPY OF COOKING FOR THE RUSHED FUCK YEAH BABEYYYYYYYY

who gives a fuck about family drama when you now have a copy of the cookbook you've been looking for for 7 fuckin years