[Reaction Post] [Stargate SG-1] Meridian (5x21)
SPOILER ALERT FOR ENTIRE POST. But they're... forever old spoilers, since I'm on my first watch-through.
It is absolutely not okay with me. I knew that it was coming, but I just simply wasn't prepared. I knew that he died toward the end of Season 5, but I was expecting it to somehow be connected to the season finale, as such catastrophic things usually are. The fact that they threw a curve ball was actually probably a good thing from a writing perspective, but there's a tiny part of me that feels betrayed. Even knowing he's going to come back, I don't think I can remember the last time I was rattled so much by the events of an episode since Doomsday (Doctor Who).
I did cry a bit, and I felt that the episode was actually pretty well done, in spite of the fact that I didn't want to admit this since I was so angry and heartbroken that Daniel was dying.
I think that the most difficult thing to deal with was the abruptness of the beginning of the episode. The fact that Daniel knew more or less what was happening to him from the start, was still able to act very much like himself at first, and that they really didn't give us any fair warning within the show itself made it feel like a stomach punch to me. I realized, from their body language, even before they opened their mouths what was going on, but even that second's realization didn't help anything.
I must say, first and foremost, that even if I hadn't admired Daniel (obviously I do) prior to this episode, that this would have made a very good case for winning me over. I have seen a lot of "worthy" deaths from characters in the sorts of shows I watch. Many people have died doing honorable things, saving the world, sacrificing themselves, jumping in front of the bullet, etc. The fact that Daniel's death combines all the aforementioned kinds of deaths is a testament to who he is, I think. Daniel's relationship with being Action Man has been very fair weather at best, but in the most crucial decision-making moment of his life--and think about it, he's had a lot of those--he leapt into action. However, this wasn't the bravado, blind sort of action that Jack likes to jump into. Daniel didn't jump into a plot device. Well, not really, if you don't take into consideration all of the meta reasons that Michael Shanks wanted Daniel out of the primary cast at the time. Everything about what he did was very much what Daniel had become in the previous five years.
However, I must make further distinction about the fact that Daniel's jumping into the fray wasn't like jumping in front of a bullet for someone that one cares about. In fact, it was even more brave, more determined, more selfless, than something like that would have been. Granted, had the radioactive thingamajig bomb thing exploded, it probably would have wiped out at least three people Daniel cared very deeply for, the bigger thing that Daniel was doing was saving the lives of hundreds and hundreds of people he had never met. Furthermore, bullets lead to quick bleeding out, and the suffering only lasts for a few minutes if you're going to bleed out. If you're not going to bleed out, there's usually something they can do about bullets. Daniel is smart enough, educated enough, to realize that there is literally nothing human technology can do about radiation poisoning. He grabbed hold of the radioactive thing (I keep calling it that because I was too emotional to bother remembering its name) knowing that it was going to kill him--slowly and painfully at that. In my opinion, this would be a much more difficult decision than facing some quick death that would happen on your feet with much more supposed dignity.
As if Daniel dying wasn't bad enough, the way he died was just about enough to finish me off.
Daniel's assessment of his life also broke my heart. Part of me wanted to shout at him and tell him the truth about the fact that his life had not been a failure. Honestly, part of me felt like he was being a little bit self-indulgent during part of the scene with Oma Desala, but I kind of feel like he was entitled to be... Being very, very young to die, I would imagine it hard for anyone to just let go when they felt as though they had failed to accomplish many (or any) of the things they had hoped to.
On a couple of other notes, I must say that this episode send my J/D shipper bunnies to hopping when they weren't sobbing. Even keeping the shipper bunnies at bay, there was no way to stop being touched by the portrayal of their friendship in this episode. Beyond that, however, the way that their final interactions with Daniel conscious went never once strayed from the way they typically acted with one another--snarking, arguing, rinse, repeat--felt right. Part of me wanted both of them to say what they meant--particularly Jack, of course--but somehow it also seemed to just fit that some things between them really didn't need to be said, or maybe couldn't be said... something that was there but that hadn't had the opportunity to achieve the fullness of its time.
Jack's willingness to go against the grain isn't anything new, but the particular way in which he wanted to do it wasn't entirely familiar to me. He was willing to go above and beyond what is typical for him for Daniel's sake in order to save his life. Of course, I think he has done that for his entire team multiple times, but in these, as in other scenes (even with Sam and Teal'c), sometimes what Jack doesn't manage to say with his mouth, he says with his eyes. The amount of absolute desperation in trying to save Daniel at times just absolutely made my stomach turn into little pretzels.
Second note, in the spirit of multi-shipping, I also was surprised at the tonality of Sam trying to tell Daniel how she felt about things. Teal'c's goodbye was very much what I expected--there was no question of sexual tension (as I'd argue is there at times with both the other two), no equivocation. Just honesty.
Sam was very, very honest, but in a way that she rarely is because she finds it unprofessional. I was reminded of a scene from one of the earlier episodes (Solidarity, I'm fairly sure), when she and Daniel had the conversation about detachment, and she said, "Sometimes I forget you're not military."
There was some correspondence between the two moments--like bookends--and while I typically prefer to read their relationship as a platonic, even familial sort of bond as they are both the two sides of SG1's collective brain in a sense, I guess the delivery of her final words to him raised some questions in my mind. "What really matters"--she knew this because of him, specifically? And, "hope you always knew"---knew what, exactly?
That's enough for tonight about that episode which shall live on in my mental infamy, but I am very emotionally drained...
Also: RADIATION POISONING. HOW IS IT FAIR THAT MY TWO FAVORITE CHARACTERS EVER BOTH DIE FROM IT?
(Please do not be foreshadowing, Cosmos.)
That is all.
It is absolutely not okay with me. I knew that it was coming, but I just simply wasn't prepared. I knew that he died toward the end of Season 5, but I was expecting it to somehow be connected to the season finale, as such catastrophic things usually are. The fact that they threw a curve ball was actually probably a good thing from a writing perspective, but there's a tiny part of me that feels betrayed. Even knowing he's going to come back, I don't think I can remember the last time I was rattled so much by the events of an episode since Doomsday (Doctor Who).
I did cry a bit, and I felt that the episode was actually pretty well done, in spite of the fact that I didn't want to admit this since I was so angry and heartbroken that Daniel was dying.
I think that the most difficult thing to deal with was the abruptness of the beginning of the episode. The fact that Daniel knew more or less what was happening to him from the start, was still able to act very much like himself at first, and that they really didn't give us any fair warning within the show itself made it feel like a stomach punch to me. I realized, from their body language, even before they opened their mouths what was going on, but even that second's realization didn't help anything.
I must say, first and foremost, that even if I hadn't admired Daniel (obviously I do) prior to this episode, that this would have made a very good case for winning me over. I have seen a lot of "worthy" deaths from characters in the sorts of shows I watch. Many people have died doing honorable things, saving the world, sacrificing themselves, jumping in front of the bullet, etc. The fact that Daniel's death combines all the aforementioned kinds of deaths is a testament to who he is, I think. Daniel's relationship with being Action Man has been very fair weather at best, but in the most crucial decision-making moment of his life--and think about it, he's had a lot of those--he leapt into action. However, this wasn't the bravado, blind sort of action that Jack likes to jump into. Daniel didn't jump into a plot device. Well, not really, if you don't take into consideration all of the meta reasons that Michael Shanks wanted Daniel out of the primary cast at the time. Everything about what he did was very much what Daniel had become in the previous five years.
However, I must make further distinction about the fact that Daniel's jumping into the fray wasn't like jumping in front of a bullet for someone that one cares about. In fact, it was even more brave, more determined, more selfless, than something like that would have been. Granted, had the radioactive thingamajig bomb thing exploded, it probably would have wiped out at least three people Daniel cared very deeply for, the bigger thing that Daniel was doing was saving the lives of hundreds and hundreds of people he had never met. Furthermore, bullets lead to quick bleeding out, and the suffering only lasts for a few minutes if you're going to bleed out. If you're not going to bleed out, there's usually something they can do about bullets. Daniel is smart enough, educated enough, to realize that there is literally nothing human technology can do about radiation poisoning. He grabbed hold of the radioactive thing (I keep calling it that because I was too emotional to bother remembering its name) knowing that it was going to kill him--slowly and painfully at that. In my opinion, this would be a much more difficult decision than facing some quick death that would happen on your feet with much more supposed dignity.
As if Daniel dying wasn't bad enough, the way he died was just about enough to finish me off.
Daniel's assessment of his life also broke my heart. Part of me wanted to shout at him and tell him the truth about the fact that his life had not been a failure. Honestly, part of me felt like he was being a little bit self-indulgent during part of the scene with Oma Desala, but I kind of feel like he was entitled to be... Being very, very young to die, I would imagine it hard for anyone to just let go when they felt as though they had failed to accomplish many (or any) of the things they had hoped to.
On a couple of other notes, I must say that this episode send my J/D shipper bunnies to hopping when they weren't sobbing. Even keeping the shipper bunnies at bay, there was no way to stop being touched by the portrayal of their friendship in this episode. Beyond that, however, the way that their final interactions with Daniel conscious went never once strayed from the way they typically acted with one another--snarking, arguing, rinse, repeat--felt right. Part of me wanted both of them to say what they meant--particularly Jack, of course--but somehow it also seemed to just fit that some things between them really didn't need to be said, or maybe couldn't be said... something that was there but that hadn't had the opportunity to achieve the fullness of its time.
Jack's willingness to go against the grain isn't anything new, but the particular way in which he wanted to do it wasn't entirely familiar to me. He was willing to go above and beyond what is typical for him for Daniel's sake in order to save his life. Of course, I think he has done that for his entire team multiple times, but in these, as in other scenes (even with Sam and Teal'c), sometimes what Jack doesn't manage to say with his mouth, he says with his eyes. The amount of absolute desperation in trying to save Daniel at times just absolutely made my stomach turn into little pretzels.
Second note, in the spirit of multi-shipping, I also was surprised at the tonality of Sam trying to tell Daniel how she felt about things. Teal'c's goodbye was very much what I expected--there was no question of sexual tension (as I'd argue is there at times with both the other two), no equivocation. Just honesty.
Sam was very, very honest, but in a way that she rarely is because she finds it unprofessional. I was reminded of a scene from one of the earlier episodes (Solidarity, I'm fairly sure), when she and Daniel had the conversation about detachment, and she said, "Sometimes I forget you're not military."
There was some correspondence between the two moments--like bookends--and while I typically prefer to read their relationship as a platonic, even familial sort of bond as they are both the two sides of SG1's collective brain in a sense, I guess the delivery of her final words to him raised some questions in my mind. "What really matters"--she knew this because of him, specifically? And, "hope you always knew"---knew what, exactly?
That's enough for tonight about that episode which shall live on in my mental infamy, but I am very emotionally drained...
Also: RADIATION POISONING. HOW IS IT FAIR THAT MY TWO FAVORITE CHARACTERS EVER BOTH DIE FROM IT?
(Please do not be foreshadowing, Cosmos.)
That is all.
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