Stargate Atlantis: The Kindred, Part Two
Star TrekStargate:AtlantisFireflyby Wolfen Moondaughter
Not only do we get Carson back, but Halling!!! I’d be jumping for joy if that ending didn’t have me in tears! Talk about a (beautiful) tear-jerker! I felt as sorry for Rodney throughout this ep as I did for Carson himself!
Granted, it’s not the “real” Carson, and that did initially have me a little bummed — and eating crow (I originally typed “drow” *Snicker* Look out, Drizzt du’Urden!) — but I look at it this way: “This Mortal Coil” already set us up for the mindset that just because it’s not the “original” doesn’t mean a clone isn’t, in some respects, the same person. In fact, since the genetic martial that made him came from the original — not copied, but actually from, like a plant cutting — doesn’t that mean that part of him is, in fact, the original Carson? Just not most of his bodily material — but then, since we replace cells all the time, none of us is our completely original self anyway! And he has something like 36 years worth of the same experiences versus the 6 months that the “real” Carson lived after his capture. Yes, his friends should recognise that his experiences after are different, but I think that they should also recognise that his experiences before then are the same, at least in his mind.
So I am mollified that he’s essentially the same person, even if I am still a little sad. I will say that I’m a little disappointed from a storytelling standpoint, seeing as we were basically told early on that he was just a clone, and there was no twist later. But then I suppose that’s better than stringing us along the whole ep, making us think he was the real deal, only to learn that he was a clone at the very end.)
Now, as to the question of how Michael copied Carson’s memories to the clone, I really don’t think this is as hard a thing to accept as some of the fandom is making it out to be. Remember how the consciousnesses of the members of SG-1 were copied and uploaded into androids? Remember when Marcello’s device body-swapped everyone? Remember that device that Jack O’Neill encountered that allowed him to download the Ancient database into his brain? The same sort of device that allowed Merlin to upload his memories so that Daniel Jackson could then download them? Remember that device that planted those false memories into Cameron Mitchell? Remember how Thor’s consciousness was downloaded into clones of himself? Remember how the Replicators were able to program their clones with the memories of our heroes? Remember how the Wraith dart put Cadman’s consciousness into Rodney? Why is it so hard to believe that Michael was able to use the dart tech to copy the consciousness of Carson and put a duplicate of it in the clone’s mind? The brain is an organic computer, after all. And the consciousnesses of the Ascended Ancients don’t even have that much — their completely transient! So is it really that hard of a stretch to believe that Michael accomplished it on his own? I don’t feel so.
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The only question that remains is the matter of soul. Thankfully for me, my faith makes it perfectly believable for a soul to be split to no ill effect, half of it transferred with the copied consciousness, so I have no issues there myself. (Times like this, I really love being a pagan! *Wink* Although paganism is pretty darn varied, so there may be plenty of pagans who aren’t feeling the same way right now. Hmmm.) Otherwise, when people have been body-swapped or uploaded into machines, did their souls stay in their bodies? When Teal’cs mind was in Jack’s head and vice versa, were their consciousnesses sharing those bodies with the soul that belonged there? Or can machines transfer souls? Or do souls simply follow wherever consciousnesses go, on their own? What about the Replicators? If Eva was a soulless machine, why should anyone care what happened to her consciousness? Why should Replicators seek Ascension, which is a spiritual experience as much as it is an evolution? Doesn’t the very fact that they wish for it suggest that they have some sort of soul?
Anyway, if it had turned out that the Carson from “Sunday” had been the clone, instead, it still would have been sad that he died, at least to me, so I don’t see as this Carson should mean any less to me alive. The RepliWeir had said that she felt she, as far as she was concerned, was the “real” Weir, and that she couldn’t stay with them because she felt they would never be able to see her as such. I’m very proud of Rodney for proving her wrong, and treating Clone!Carson as the real deal, and of the others for, by the end of the story, being just as sad over this Carson’s predicament as they would have if he had been the “real” Carson.
I wonder: if Carson had woken up in a body that was different from his original, and his original body were dead, would people would be more accepting of him as the “real” Carson? If, in SG-1’s “Tin Man”, SG-1 had not turned out to be duplicated consciousnesses, but rather the only version of the team that was left, would the audience have been more accepting of them, thinking of them as the “real” team, despite the android bodies, than they’re being of Clone!Carson? I think they would have, if there were no other option. I think that the difficulty only arose when it was revealed that the original bodies still lived: suddenly they stopped being “real” at that point. And that disturbs me.
Er, in case you haven’t guessed, my inner philosopher had a field say with this one — as did my inner genetics geek ….
4.19: “The Kindred, Part 2″
Last we saw our heroes, they’d just found Carson in Michael’s holding cells. Here, the story starts with Carson being looked at by Keller and her team, in hazmats, in one of the quarantine rooms, with Ronon, John, and Rodney watching from overheard, through the observation window. (I love this set.) Keller apologises for his situation; Carson says, kindly, that he understands what’s necessary when someone’s been a prisoner for so long — he wrote the protocols that they have to follow, after all. (And by saying this, that suggests that he doesn’t know about what’s happened, about how there was another him that died. It’s a nice, subtle way of telling us that!) As she takes more blood, he advises her to check for narcotics as well, telling her that Michael was giving him regular injections of “some sort of cocktail, mostly sedatives, I think.” (And the warning bells go off on my head — he gave Michael regular injections with the retrovirus, so maybe some sort of payback is involved …. Isn’t it nice, how it’s almost like Carson’s back in charge already? It makes perfect sense to me for Keller to defer to him a bit, seeing as she didn’t want his job in the first place, and he was her mentor!)
We get some exposition from Carson’s observers, John and Ronon asking Rodney things (on behalf of the audience). No, Carson’s not a Replicator — scans would have told them if he was. (By which I assume that Rodney means Carson has no nanites — which, for the moment, does not preclude the possibility that Carson is a clone made by the Replicators instead of a Replicator in disguise. The other RepliClones were fully human, after all, and only had nanites in them because the Replicators had a use for leaving them in.) John asks if Rodney thinks it’s really Carson; Rodney says no, scoffingly, but suddenly gives an about-face, with a hopeful “maybe”. (I love it when he does that, sounding absolutely certain in his answer one minute, but, given a half-second to think about it, swinging the other way.) He says that just because they’ve ruled out robotics doesn’t mean that there aren’t other explanations: alternate timeline, parallel universe, cloning. (In other words, while those possibilities don’t make him their Carson, they don’t exactly make him a fake one, either.) Keller joins them, informing them that the preliminary tests say that Carson is Carson. (And for a little while, I’m allowed to think that this means that they’ve confirmed that he’s not just a clone — but they were “preliminary” tests, after all, so they really only say that he’s a genetic match rather than someone with plastic surgery or shape-shifting abilities.)
Carson, still in hospital scrubs, paces in a room when Rodney comes in, apologising for not coming sooner, saying that “it’s been hectic the past few days.” (Is he just referring to the whole Teyla abduction, or has it been days since they found Carson? I’m actually leaning towards the former, myself.) Carson assures him that it’s okay, then asks if he can get out of there now. Rodney haltingly says that it might take a while. Carson’s a little perplexed at that. (Poor guy, all his friends are handling him at arm’s length and he doesn’t really know why …) After a pause, Rodney tells him, heartfelt, that it’s good to see him, and shakes his hand firmly. (Aww, I was hoping for a hug! Well, I guess it’s understandable that he wouldn’t.) Carson agrees, asking, as he sits, how Rodney thinks he feels, having been a prisoner for two years. Rodney pauses, confused, and, finally sitting down, says, weakly, “Two years?”
Through the course of their conversation, we learn that, back when they’d left a group of retrovirus-converted Wraith (which included Michael) on a planet, and Carson was captured by those Wraith (as chronicled in “Misbegotten”, which I actually haven’t seen yet, alas — it will be odd watching it for the first time with all that I know now), the Wraith began to revert back into their old selves. Carson thinks that they used their telepathy to summon a hive ship. When Michael was interrogating Carson during his initial captivity, he gave the doctor an injection and, next Carson knew, he woke up on another planet. (Which basically means we haven’t learned anything new or concrete about how he’s come back; we’ve just had our memories refreshed. Well, that and, if Carson is right about the summoning of the Hive ship, now we know how Todd probably got off of the planet he was left on after his first meeting with Sheppard. Wraith interplanetary taxi service: what I want to know is, do you have to stick out your thumb, and are towels a requirement?)
Carson goes on to say that Michael wanted Carson to help with the genetic research on combining human and Wraith (this also is not really news). Carson says that he wasn’t going to help, until Michael went and murdered a girl in front of him and threatened to kill another every day that he didn’t cooperate. (Which shows that Michael’s still got some actual evilness to him, or did at that time, anyway. Even if, to him, humans are just animals, he’s still harming innocents for reasons other than food or protecting himself forma direct threat Of course, I’m not exactly happy with his experimenting on people against their will now, either, but at least there’s some precedent and motive for him doing so, in that such was done to him first. To me, true Evil is being cruel for no reason other than pleasure. At any rate, this just makes Michael all the more interesting and multi-faceted. And truthfully, I don’t think it makes him totally irredeemable; I don’t think remorse at some point is out of the question for him. I’m just not sure that the writers here will ever actually do that, though, the way the Buffy writers did with Spike. Anyway, it’s nice to get a good explanation of why Carson would help him — better to convert humans into Wraith with the hope that they might be restored to normal later than let them be killed outright.)
Rodney is horrified at what the man had to go through — and feeling guilty when Carson says that the only thing that got him through his ordeal was the knowledge that his friends were looking for him. Rodney has the hard task of explaining to Carson that they weren’t looking, because they didn’t know he was missing — they’d rescued him after he was captured. Carson is hurt and confused-bordering-disbelieving. Apologetic, Rodney goes on to explain that the Carson they’d known after the rescue had died six months after they’d found him. (Timespan! Now we know that this is approximately eighteen months after “Sunday”, so if Teyla is nearly nine months along, she got pregnant … wow! Around nine months after Carson died! I guess it’s looking a lot less likely that Michael knew about or had anything to do with her pregnancy in “Vengeance” — I kind of doubt that nine months occurred in just two episodes time. So once more, I eat crow ….)
Elsewhere, Sam asks John if he’s gotten anything about Michael’s location from Todd; John says that Todd claims not to know anything, but he thinks that Todd’s lying. John figures that Todd won’t be of any use to them until they have something to offer that Todd himself would find useful. (I have to wonder at that, though — surely having the humans indebted and grateful would be a good thing? Wouldn’t it encourage them to trust him further and be receptive to helping him if he gets stuck in an emergency? I almost wish that Todd had given them intel at the end of the ep, just to prove John wrong!) John wants to look to Carson for intel, but Sam (understandably) won’t hear of it; finding Beckett could have been a trap. (If it was, it was a pretty elaborate one, though, considering that Michael was coming back with Teyla — why come back and risk losing his cruiser in a firefight instead of just letting them come in and take Carson? Does Sam think that Todd set the trap? That seems an awful lot of trouble to go through, seeing as he would have had to infiltrate Michael’s place to plant Carson there!) Sam reminds him that “his” Carson died, saying that he needs to accept that (I guess she’s thinking this is an alternate-universe Carson, given the test results, then); John concedes her point.
Rodney tries to comfort Carson, but the man is (understandably) a little freaked out. And then Carson realises that they told his mother he was dead, and he really gets upset. (I love that they thought to have him think of her immediately, his adoration for his mother well-established. It would be nice to see him reunited with her eventually — especially if she turned out to be a bit of a hellion, ey?) Rodney gets a little exasperated — what else were they supposed to do? Carson demands that she be told immediately; when Rodney balks at the idea, Carson demands to see Elizabeth. Rodney looks stricken, speechless for a moment before admitting sadly that she’s dead too, killed by the Replicators. (I wonder if Carson even registered the “Replicators” bit and wondered what on earth they were doing in Pegasus, since he didn’t go through the events of “Progeny”, where they met the Asurans. Well, Rodney might have explained all that a moment later …. As my friend Kimberly pointed out, this poor Carson has missed out on a lot of events — he’ll have a lot of catching up to do! I hope he’ll be pleasantly surprised by the changes in Rodney.)
Michael takes Teyla to a warehouse in an abandoned city, to be reunited with her people. We see a very short-haired Halling greet Teyla. (I’m overjoyed to see him, but … his hair! Oh, it’s almost something to be mourned in and of itself!) Halling and the other Athosians are normal-looking, no Wraith cheek-slits or zombie-like state. (Apparently Michael hasn’t converted them all. Which is a relief; I’m glad Halling’s not brain-washed like Kanaan!)
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Keller tells Sam about telomeres, how, when one’s cells divide, this substance is depleted when the chromosomes are split and rebuilt. She explains that telomeres grow shorter as we grow older — and that Carson’s telomeres are drastically shorter than what they should be for a man his age, as if coming from an adult cell, meaning that he’s a clone. (I’m puzzled by this at first, until I realise that she means that the cloning was done in a way similar to our own cloning process — that one of Carson’s cells was treated like an egg and grown from an embryo state, into infancy, and so on into adulthood. Then, yes, I could see the telomeres being shorter, because a lot more cell dividing would be going on as the person grows up. This is as opposed to just copying their entire body all at once, which is what I would have thought Michael would have done — and which would have made Carson truly the original, because he process would have involved been the original being literally split in half — that is, all the cells dividing at once — so that neither half was more “real” than the other. Well, the older cells might arguably be more real, but that would be like saying the me of yesterday was more real than the me of today. Of course, some might argue that brain cells are not split-able, so that kind of clone would be impossible anyway, but that’s debatable — especially in science fiction, since you could always say there’s some here-to-fore unknown tech that would make it possible. And now I’m a bit disappointed that they didn’t go the full-body-split route …. I’m curious as to how Michael was able to age an embryo-made clone so quickly. Was it a chemical thing? A machine? Granted, the writers probably did not come up with any explanation, never intending to answer the question anyway. Okay, the genetic geek in me will shut up now; moving along …. This situation somewhat explains why Michael would return the original, rather than returning the clone and keeping the original to torment. But only moderately — I mean, Keller really had to look hard for this, so it doesn’t really seem much of a risk. A better explanation comes later, though.)
Teyla talks to Halling and an Athosian woman. We learn that Michael has been experimenting on Teyla’s people since their arrival (well duh), and that Kanaan was among the first. Teyla says she didn’t realise that it had happened to so many. (Really? I had thought that all of your people were already converted!) Teyla is sorry that she wasn’t there for them. Halling assures her that there was nothing she could have done, saying that fifty men with stunners attacked them under the cover of night. She assures them in turn that her friends are looking for her and will rescue them; the woman tells Teyla that that was exactly what they thought Teyla would do (and look how that turned out …).
Keller shows Carson (and Rodney) the data from the tests. “And you’re certain it’s from my sample?” Carson asks. (What, is writer Alan McCullough trying to torment us with the possibility that there was some sort of mix-up, and these are the medical records of “Sunday”’s Carson? The tease!) Keller assures him that she did the tests herself, and more than once (so if we want to believe there was a mistake, we’d have to believe gross incompetence on her part, and I cannot). Rodney tells Carson firmly that it doesn’t matter. Carson protests that Rodney’s not the one who’s just learned that he was born in a test tube. Rodney counters that, as far as he’s concerned, one of his best friends has just come back from the dead. (Awwww, I’m so glad he said it! And that he said “one of” rather than flat-out “best friend” — it leaves room for him to see John as a best friend too.) Rodney adds that he’s “not going to quibble over a couple of telomeres!” Carson thanks him for that, but says that it doesn’t change the fact that he’s not the real Carson. Rodney gets a bit “tough love”, agreeing “because the ‘real’ Carson Beckett wouldn’t be standing here feeling sorry for himself; he’d be trying to help us!” (Find Teyla, I assume he means.) Carson says that he wants to, but he’s not sure his help would be wanted. (Well, if we can’t have the “real” Carson, at least we get some awesome angst out of this!) Rodney is well and truly confused by that, saying, “Why wouldn’t they?” with a frown. (Ah, bless him! I know I mentioned it earlier, but I cannot say enough how much I appreciate his quick and whole-hearted acceptance of this Carson as his friend, how proud I am of him for it! I don’t think it’s just a matter of him being so desperate to get his friend back, or to get over his guilt — I think he’s always going to be sad over the other Carson’s loss — but that this is also him being open-minded about the notion of identity, particularly after his experience with his own clone and Fran. Well, okay, it’s more of an unconscious acceptance — I don’t think he’s thought it out — but really, that makes it all the more honest, a part of his inner nature. The fact that this Carson knows almost everything that the other one knew and acts the same way is enough for Rodney to trust and, well, love him as well as he did the other. He won’t discriminate against the clone over an accident of birth, even if he has plenty of reason to be wary, given that it was Michael that created this Carson. I so want to “glomp” — tackle-hug — Rodney’s trusting, uncomplicated, almost child-like self right now ….) Carson gets a look that says he appreciates Rodney’s reaction, but … he looks pointedly over at the men guarding him. Rodney realises what he means, and looks a bit crestfallen.
Sam discusses the situation with Rodney and John in her office. She insists that Carson was manufactured and can’t be trusted any more than the hybrids (and really, I can’t blame her for feeling that way, she has a point.) Rodney protests that he’s spent time with the man, and feels that the clone is Carson in every way, his memories, his thought patterns, and his personality. Sam makes the point that, even if this Carson believes he’s the original and genuinely wants to help, it doesn’t change that he could unknowingly be helping Michael. John says she has a point. (She does, save for that it makes no sense for Michael to have made a trap this way. Why go through all that effort and risk to place Carson in their hands when he had to suspect that they wouldn’t trust him anyway? Not to mention that he would have had to actively rely on a number of uncontrollable variables, like Todd’s involvement. No, it’s not impossible that Michael planned it all out, no, but I do think it’s pretty unlikely.) John then asks what intel Carson is offering; Rodney says that Carson knows the layouts of four of Michael’s bases of operation — apparently the hybrid man moves around a lot to keep from being found by the other Wraith. (I wonder, do the other Wraith from “Misbegotten” help him at all? Or were they normal enough that they were not ostracized, and therefore saw fit to abandon him as the others did?) John asks about addresses; Rodney explains that Michael kept Carson blindfolded for the movements form planet to planet, but adds that Carson did see one gate address when it was dialed by one of Michael’s mercenaries. John and Sam exchange uncertain looks.
We see the team — John, Rodney, Ronon, Carson, and some military types — gear up in the locker room. (Guess they decided that it was worth the risk …) Rodney doesn’t look happy. (Is it just be because he’d rather be in the lab? …) Carson tells him to go on ahead, saying that he’ll catch up. Rodney leaves without a word, still frowning; he grabs a walkie-talkie on the way out, as do the other military men, but Ronon does not. (Why did Rodney? He had his ear-radio on!) Left with just John, Carson asks if Ronon is ever going to talk to him; John says that Ronon doesn’t do well with the concept of clones and people coming back from the dead, explaining that they went through something similar with Elizabeth. Carson says that Rodney told him about it and remarks that it must have been difficult. John assures him that Ronon will come around. (Which makes me wonder if Ronon would have come around in regards to his own duplicate. Also, poor John doesn’t sound too comfortable himself, here.) Carson struggles with getting his pack on; John helps him. Carson thanks him, saying he must be rusty. “You’re not rusty, Doc, you were just never very good at this.” (And now I want to hug John, for treating this Carson as the real deal just now!) As they leave, Carson stops him, thanking him for trusting him and promising him that he won’t regret it. He moves to go, and John stops him this time, telling him that he forgot his radio, tossing him one. (Yet John doesn’t grab one for himself. I fully expect something to come of the radios being repeatedly pointed out to us, but nothing does. Unless I’m missing it …)
They enter a tavern of sorts where the barkeep tells them they’ve come to the wrong place to look for information, that nobody there cares, and tells them to leave. Ronon notes a slight movement above in the darkness of a balcony (as Sheppard later calls it — it looks like a loft or rafter, to me), and tells them to get down. The figure overhead opens fire; everyone ducks behind counters and under tables, save for the barkeep and a few unlucky others, who get shot. Rodney herds Carson to safety. (Awww, how sweet! I don’t ever really begrudge his usual flinchy-ness or tendency to cower and hide when the gunfire starts, but I like that he’s more concerned with protecting Carson here.) As John and Ronon fire back from behind the bar, John shouts that it’s a P-90 that’s shooting at them. When their assailant runs out of ammo, Ronon gets a good blaster shot in, dropping the man from his perch. Carson goes into doctor mode, immediately going to the fallen man and, after a moment of checking him over, saying that he’s not dead but they need to get him back to Atlantis. (Seems like the “real” Carson to me!)
When they return to Atlantis, Sam, Keller, and a medical team are waiting with a gurney. John informs Sam about how the attacker had a P-90; she asks where the man got it, but John doesn’t know. Carson gives a litany of vital stats and explanations to Keller and the medical team (just like old times!); we see that the patient has chest- and head-wounds. Keller pauses as she looks the man over, and reveals that this is Nabel, the man who tried to kill her and Teyla (in “Missing”). Carson takes charge, saying that that’s fine; they need to take care of the man now, and she can confront him later. (Just like old times! And really, Keller should agree — she didn’t kill Nabel when she had the chance before because she takes the Hippocratic oath as seriously as Carson’s taking it now, after all.)
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In the infirmary, Keller gets busy on the critically-injured Wraith-worshipper. Carson respectfully asks her what he can do, and she tells him to grab some clamps and get busy. (I’m glad they aren’t in a power struggle over who’s the boss. He respects that she has his position now, but is willing to do what needs to be done, even if that means overriding her when necessary. She’s still taking charge and doing her job, but she bows to his expertise and accepts his help without hesitation.) As Carson goes to do as she bids, he suddenly collapses. She abandons Nabel a moment to check on Carson, and orders her people to get hi, to a bed while she goes back to Nabel, glancing worriedly after her old boss.
Sam talks to John, Ronon, and Rodney, in her office. Sam is not a happy camper, saying that Carson ended up leading them into an ambush. John’s more positive; they captured one of Michael’s operatives, after all. Ronon doesn’t think that it was a big deal, since it was just one guy attacking them. (Well, Ronon came around very quickly! I expected him to be in agreement with Sam, saying that Carson wasn’t to be trusted. Maybe he just likes the idea of the trouble — read: fun — Carson might get him into.) Sam’s not convinced, upset about the fact that that one guy had one of their own weapons. Rodney protests that that was only because Nabel had been Michael’s spy in the Athosian village, saying that he got the gun from their weapons cache there. (So Nabel probably waited for a day when he knew Teyla would be coming to New Athos soon, and then called down the Wraith-worshippers to kidnap the village beforehand, so that they could make sure they could capture Teyla herself without risking hurting her. And then the Bola-Kai messed things up. Did Michael plan to breed Teyla with Kanaan all along, and it was just a happy accident that it happened on its own, or did his manipulations reach further back, to somehow orchestrating their relationship on the first place? He’s used the power of suggestion on Teyla, back in “Michael”— did he use it on Kanaan even before he even gave him the retrovirus? If Nabel and the other could get there easily enough, did Michael visit himself at some point?) Sam insists that the point is that, intentionally or not on Beckett’s part, he was used to lead them into an ambush, and it succeeded. (I don’t think Michael actually planned for them to rescue Beckett purposefully just for them to be led into a one-man ambush — he would have just killed them all when they made the rescue in the first place! More likely, this is just a world Michael frequents and leaves spies at as a matter of course, so Nabel just happened to be there, and word came of their arrival through the Stargate, giving him a chance to hide.) Keller calls Sam to the infirmary, saying that something’s happened to Carson; the other men follow.
Keller tells everyone that she’s found traces of necrosis in Carson’s major organs, that his cells aren’t regenerating fast enough to sustain the tissues. She doesn’t know why it’s happening, but she guesses that it’s a side-effect of the cloning. She’s trying to treat it, but doing so is like trying to treat old age: Carson is dying.
Later, Rodney and Keller stand over a now-conscious Carson, who says, “No wonder I felt like a dog’s breakfast ever since I got here ….” (This is a British phrase referring to something that’s a mess, but it has another significance here: for those of you who missed mentions in other editions of this column and haven’t stumbled across the news elsewhere, Rodney’s portrayer, David Hewlett wrote, directed, and starred in a dark comedy he named A Dog’s Breakfast, and Carson’s portrayer, Paul McGillion, was one of his costars. I love that they made the reference here! I wonder whose idea it was ….) Rodney asks what I’m wondering: why Carson hasn’t felt these effects before, in the two years that he’s been with Michael. Keller realises that Rodney has a point, and says that at the rate Carson’s cells are deteriorating, he should have died long ago. Carson figures that this must be why Michael gave him those weekly shots — Michael had said that it was a sedative to keep him from escaping, but it must have really been something to keep his cells from deteriorating. (Which of course means, in answer to my earlier puzzlement, that it wouldn’t have been possible to send the clone back instead of the original Carson — the clone would have died early on. Then the Atlantians would have learned that he was a clone and gone looking for the original. It also makes for good drama, having Carson’s life being in jeopardy again so soon. And, well, it’s kind of karmic that Carson would need continuous injections in light of how he gave Michael daily ones, ‘ey?) Carson figures that, seeing as it had been only four days after his last injection that he’d been rescued, the effects must really last seven days, so they’re only wearing off just now. He wants to take a look at the scans that taken at his arrival, and right away, but Keller insists that she’ll work on it, that he needs to stay in bed and rest. Carson refuses to just sit there while he’s dying. Keller looks to Rodney for back-up; he gives her a look that says the man has a point.
At Michael’s warehouse, Teyla tries to appeal to Kanaan through the bars of her enclosure, saying that she knows deep down that he is still the man she remembers. (Not loves? Odd.) She says that if he doesn’t help her and their people escape, ten Michael will force on them what he’s done to Kanaan. She adds that their baby will be born soon, and that Michael will take the child and “use him for some terrible purpose.” (Yeah, good luck with that, Teyla — I seem to remember Kanaan being all for that in the previous ep. Although, he does seem to be paying better attention ….) There’s a sound, like a door opening, and Kanaan hurries off, heedless of Teyla’s cries.
Carson and Keller are working on determining, by his earlier tests, what exactly Michael was giving him that was keeping him alive. They’re having no luck, and Carson’s getting dejected. Happily, Keller suddenly finds “an unidentified polypeptide chain” in one of his kidney cells. He tells her to try scanning it for Wraith DNA — bingo! Keller conjectures that it’s a Wraith enzyme of some sort. (So now that Michael doesn’t need to feed, his enzyme is a bit different than that which Ford was taking, I guess?) Data scrolls on the screen in a hurry; Keller remarks that the enzyme is very complex and won’t be easy to duplicate. Carson goes back to his station, ready to get to work.
Back at the warehouse, men come in to where the Athosians are prisoner. Halling grabs Teyla’s arm, telling her not to incite them. One of the men points to Teyla (choosing her for the next test subject, it seems). Halling stands protectively before her, demanding that they take him instead; another man smacks him across the face, knocking him to the ground. Teyla rushes to his side, as do other Athosians, but the newcomers grab her and drag her off. Coughing, Halling struggles to his feet, gripping his ribs and crying out in objection as he stumbles after them; the woman from earlier holds him back, telling him no. (His wife, maybe?)
Back in the medical lab, Carson is depressed to find that their attempt to duplicate the enzyme isn’t working; they’re “back to square one.” Keller tries to comfort him, pointing out that they haven’t been at it long and they knew that it wouldn’t be easy. Carson has a moment of pain; Keller gently tries to get him to accept that he needs rest, but he insists on getting back to work. Keller suggests that he get into a stasis pod to give them time to find the cure; Carson refuses, not willing to risk being stuck in there forever if they can’t find one. (Hmm. I see both sides, but in the end, I’m with Keller — he could always make her promise to get him out again if a certain amount of time passes with no cure, and then he could just live out what time he has left on a last-ditch effort, when all other avenues are used up. That wouldn’t be the same as him being made to just lie in bed dying, after all. Then again, maybe he’s afraid that she wouldn’t follow through with his wishes, keeping him in there until she succeeds, or that something would happen to Altantis before he’s let out …)
At the warehouse, we see bodies on green-lit, tarp-covered shelves (test subjects incubating), and Teyla strapped to a tilted table surrounded by Wraith tech and some medical implements. She senses a Wraith approach, and assumes that it’s Michael: it’s actually Kanaan. (Well, isn’t that interesting? Is it that she can’t tell Wraith-essences apart, or that Michal’s mind-control leaves his signature on everything?) She begs Kanaan to help her, so that she in turn can help everyone escape, including him. She seems to get through; he seems more aware when he calls her by name, like he’s waking up. He touches her belly, awed, then starts to undo her bonds. Suddenly he stops and stands to attention. Michael comes in, and, after giving the situation something of a worried look, tells Kanaan, calmly, to leave; Kanaan does. “Now. Let’s get started,” he tells Teyla with a small (but sincere) smile. (Interesting how this “act” of the story kept swinging back and forth between just Teyla and the warehouse, and Keller and Carson in the lab, nothing else; no Rodney, John, Ronon, or Sam.)
Nabel wakes up to find himself surrounded by Keller, John, Rodney, and Ronon. He’s amused that Keller bothered to save him, saying that it was a wasted effort because, once Michael finds out that he was captured, he’s “as good as dead anyway.” John says that they’ll protect him if he helps them; he insists that there’s nowhere in this galaxy that he can hide from Michael. “Who said anything about this galaxy?” John asks. (Okay, it’s a funny line, but could they seriously take an enemy to Earth? They’d have to keep him under lock and key, wouldn’t they? Unless the plan to put him in a virtual environment similar to what they did with Eva?)
Back at the warehouse, Michael prepares a device, telling her conversationally that he had to adjust it for human use, but while it’s crude, it works rather well. He holds up a paddle-like thing with a cord attached to it. (I immediately think “Ultrasound!”) As he turns his attention to a screen, she begs him not to harm her child; he turns back in confused surprise, saying that he wouldn’t dream of it. He tells her to relax, that this won’t hurt, and to listen. He waves the paddle over her belly, and we hear the tell-tale sound of a heartbeat heard via ultrasound. He tells her the baby is healthy, and shows her images of it on the monitor. She asks what Kanaan meant when he said that their baby “would serve the cause.” Michael points out that both she and Kanaan have the gift, asking her what she thought that might mean for their child. (So definite confirmation that it is Kanaan’s. Darn it, it being Michael’s would have been interesting. Well, I still feel like he had something to do bringing about its existence — I’m stubborn that way.) To Teyla’s horror, he reveals that he’s hoping that the child’s genetics will help him sort out a few details with his hybrids. As he prepares a needle for an injection, he says that she should be proud of how well she’s taken care of the baby. (Heh, when she finally started to care about its welfare, you mean?) He can’t risk anything happening to it, though, hence the injection he gives her. (Is it Wraith enzyme? Will it make her complacent to him? What’s it for?? We never do learn in this ep, alas …)
John tells Sam that Nabel gave them the address for where to find Teyla. A moment later, we see Carson telling her, John, Ronon, and Rodney about the layout of the particular facility Teyla is at, having compared notes with Nabel to determine which safehouse the ‘Gate address leads to. He suggests they take him with, saying that the place is like a maze. Sam says okay, giving him a polite, dismissive thank-you; he leaves. She turns to the others, looking for their thoughts. Ronon says that if it’s a trap, it won’t make much difference whether Carson is actually there with them or not. John agrees, adding that, if it isn’t a trap, then Carson could be very useful. This time, it’s Rodney who protests, saying that this mission could kill the man. Sam points out that he volunteered. “Oh give me a break,” Rodney replies. “Easy, Rodney,” John tells him, his tione both a warning and soothing. (Heh, guess Rodney’s so used to thinking of Sam as an equal, he has to be reminded sometimes that she’s the boss-lady. It’s kind of nice to see him willing to snark at her, though, actually ….) Rodney rants about them being cavalier with Carson’s life because they think he’s just some cheap copy. (Bravo!) John points out that Carson’s doing it for Teyla, saying to Rodney, “Don’t stand there and pretend that you wouldn’t do the same thing if you were in his place.” (*Cheers* I love this line! For one, it shows that John respects Carson’s right to make a decision to help his friends, that he’s not just allowing Carson to do it because he doesn’t see him as the real Carson. For another, it shows how highly he regards Rodney, that he believes that Rodney, too, would sacrifice himself if need be. Of course, Rodney proved as much in “Miller’s Crossing”. Oh, wait — too bad they didn’t have Rodney point out that John wasn’t willing to let Rodney sacrifice himself for Jeannie! Thing is, if this were the original Carson, I think John would still respect that Carson’s wish to risk his life as well — I think he simply won’t risk losing Rodney under any circumstances, that he cares for him that little bit extra. *Grin*) Rodney looks away without responding, shifting uncomfortably. (One has to wonder if he’s thinking that no, he wouldn’t sacrifice, and is afraid to admit that he doesn’t think he would.)
Out in the hall, Carson doubles over in pain, and his military escort helps him to his feet. Rodney hurries over to him; Carson tells him that he was just going to get geared up. Rodney tries to talk him out of it, worried sick. Carson reminds him that Rodney himself said that “the real Carson wouldn’t sit around worrying himself, when he could do something to help.” Rodney protests that the real Carson also never listened to his advice, adding, pleadingly, that this Carson doesn’t have to prove anything, “certainly not to me!” Carson says that he knows, and assures him that he’ll be fine, then hurries off to the lockers. After a dismayed pause, Rodney reluctantly follows.
Later, we see our boys enter the warehouse. Rodney says that the LSD is picking up a bunch of lifesigns nearby. Ronon suggests it’s the Athosians; Rodney worries that it’s a bunch of Michael’s “Frankensteins”. “Doctor?” John says, looking to Carson. (Doctor? Awww, John, would you have addressed Carson like that? At least call him “Doc” instead ….) “It’s this way … I think,” Carson replies. “Carson,” Rodney chides, exasperated, clearly wanting to rant about how, if the man can’t remember, there was no point in him coming along. Carson assures him that he remembers, and leads them on.
Michael comes into the lab, escorted by two hybrids, and focuses on the machines. Teyla asks what’s going on; Michael doesn’t answer. She says, snidely, that she can sense his fear through their link. He calmly replies, “I wouldn’t go that far. Let’s call it … concern.” He shuts off the machinery, including the lights in the shelves. She asks what he did; he says he shut them off. “You mean you killed them,” Teyla says, disgusted. He tells her that he can’t afford to leave any loose ends behind, adding that there’s more where those came from. (Yeah, uh, treating her people’s lives as throw-aways isn’t exactly going to make her cooperative ….)
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As our boys creep along through the dimly-lit building, suddenly they find themselves being shot at. They duck for cover, returning fire. John complains that he’s tired of getting shot at with their own guns. “I’m generally not fond of it regardless of the weapon,” Carson says, from behind the John (not surprising — I don’t expect him to shoot the ordinary people). The Athosians, meanwhile, hear the gunfire. It stops, the enemy dispatched. After a long moment of silence, Halling calls out through the bars of the door. The boyos find them and set them free. (And it warms my heart to see Halling meet the Atlantians again, too …. Fun bit of trivia — two of the young Athosian boys are Joe Flanigan’s own kids!) John asks where Teyla is; Halling says that Michael has taken her. Rodney looks stricken. (Awwww.) John tells Halling to get his people out of there while they go after her.
In the lab, they find the dead bodies left by Michael’s pulling the plug. Ronon find the syringe, holding it up and getting Sheppard’s attention. “Do you think Teyla …?” Rodney asks. (I love his perpetual look of worry!) “No, I don’t thinks so, and you don’t think so!” John growls. (Don’t think what? That she’s dead? Been turned into a Wraith?) Suddenly they’re under stunner-fire. Ducking down, Rodney puts Carson’s safety before his own, herding him behind some of the shelves. There’s a shoot-out. Rodney pulls out his LSD and yells anxiously that he’s picking up an energy reading that indicates that the ship is being fired up. The shootout continues, with Rodney joining in; while he’s busy, Carson slips away, heading out a back doorway. Rodney notices just as the man escapes, yelling after him, but stays to help John and Ronon rather than give chase.
Carson finds Teyla and shoots her hybrid escorts. She not only shocked to see him, she’s very wary, backing away. (I guess that’s understandable, but she seems more frightened of him that I would expect her to be after meeting her own, very friendly clone.) He understands that seeing him is a shock, but says that he doesn’t have time to explain, they need to get back to Sheppard and the others. She refuses, saying that she needs to find the father of her child. He tells her there’s no time, starting to pull her along by the arm, when Michael arrives. Carson aims but doesn’t shoot. Michael admonishes Teyla for not running when she had the chance, letting her emotions get the better of her. (People have been highly critical of this, but I don’t really see it as an easy situation — I don’t think I could have left without my love either. All or nothing.) Teyla yells at Carson to shoot, but he still doesn’t. (And isn’t it interesting to see how much her attitude towards Michael has changed from compassion to murderous? Understandable, of course, but still fascinating.) Michael explains that Carson, like all of his creations, is open to his influence. Teyla tries take the gun from Carson, but Michael draws a stunner on her. (Oh, go for it anyway, Teyla — the worst he could do is stun you, lest he hurt the child, but at least you’d have a chance to kill him!) Michael takes the gun from Carson, to Teyla’s dismay. Michael then remarks on how unwell Carson looks, saying that he should have stayed with him and adding that he’d give the man an injection if he had one with him. (See, he might be crazy, but he seems pretty darn rational …) “Anyway …. you’ve served your purpose,” he finishes (sounding rather pleased with Carson, really, like he’s congratulating him on a job well done). Then he stuns Carson. He scowls at Teyla, saying that it’s time to go, and leads her away.
The shootout is still going on. John asks Ronon if some cylinders on the wall behind some of their enemy look like gas containers to him; Ronon thinks so. Ronon hits them with his blaster, and a white gas shoots out, knocking the enemy over with the pressure. (Huh. I thought they would explode.) Rodney ducks back behind his shelves to escape the gas, while Ronon and John finish the enemy off. Rodney comes out into the open; John asks him where Beckett is. Rodney frantically points the way, hurrying off. They find Carson just as he regains consciousness — and just as the rumble of a ship starts up. John tells Ronon to help Carson; Ronon grabs Beckett by the collar of his tac vest and hauls him to his feet (much like how he and Sheppard treat Rodney — it’s cute!) Ronon helping Carson along, they hurry out of the warehouse just in time to see Michael’s cruiser take off. The boys look on dejectedly as the realise that they just missed Teyla again. (Poor boys— and poor Teyla!)
Back in Atlantis, John walks with Sam, saying that they searched the whole place but found no sign of Teyla. Sam says that they’ll just have to assume that she’s alive and with Michael. John says that they have the prisoners they captured there; he’s confident that they’ll find her with them. (Assuming Michael told them where he was going, and that he didn’t decide to take Teyla to a totally new place.) They go into the infirmary, where Carson is bedridden again. Keller tells them that Carson’s body is shutting down, and there’s nothing more she can do for him — they have to get him in stasis now. Sam says that Zelenka is prepping the pod.
Carson’s talking to Rodney, lamenting that he couldn’t shoot Michael. Rodney insists, “It’s not your fault! He made you receptive to the mind link; it’s how he controls all of them! The … hybrids,” he clarifies awkwardly. (Rodney’s really bad at being a comfort, but it’s so cute how hard he tries.) Carson says that it would have been nice to have made a difference; Rodney assures him that he did, and that they’ll catch up to Michael soon enough, in a don’t be silly, it’s no big deal, pshaw sort of tone. “Rodney …” Carson says; Rodney tells him not to say anything, that he’ll go into the stasis pod until they figure out how to fix him, acting like it’s no big deal. It’s clear he’s actually scared himself, though, and trying to be brave and comforting for his friend. (I need a tissue!) Carson tells him, point blank, that, as a doctor, he knows that once he goes into the pod, there’s a good chance he may never come out. Rodney has nothing to say to that. (In fact, I don’t think he’s even really let himself even think about it until just now.)
A bit later, everyone’s gathered in the room with the stasis pod, Rodney announcing that it’s all set. Keller wheels Carson in, helps him to his feet, and assures him that they’re going to find the cure, that she’s got all their best people working on it. John adds, his face sad but determined, “Either way, we’re gonna get the cure, soon as we capture Michael.” Carson talks to a sorrowful-looking Sam next (he calls her by given name because he did in fact know her back when he and Rodney were working on Earth, in Antarctica), telling her that he’s written a letter to his mother, assuring her that it doesn’t reveal anything about the Stargate project. He tells Sam to pretend that it was written a while ago and just found recently; it’s “just some things” that he “should have said a long time ago.” She nods, voice a little chocked up as she promises to make sure the woman gets it. (I need another tissue.) He faces John again. John pats him comfortingly on the arm, telling him quietly, “Don’t you worry, Doc, we’ll have out of there in no time.” Carson relies, equally somberly, “Colonel, you bring her home now, you hear?” “Count on it,” John promises. Carson turns to Ronon next, who says, “This is exactly what I was afraid of.” (Ahh, so his being cold to Carson was less about clone weirdness and more about being afraid of having to say goodbye again!) “I know big mon, I’m sorry,” Carson tells him. Ronon hugs him. (Third tissue. If you can believe it, I’m more broken up with this third watch than I was the first two times!)
He turns to Rodney, who chatters about how the pod will work as Carson gets inside. Putting on the brave face is more of a struggle for Rodney this time; he’s more awkward now. Carson thanks him and tells them all that being able to see them again these last few days was worth it. Rodney tells Carson, with a hopeful note in his voice, that he’d always toyed with the notion of programming dreams into the stasis pods, and asks if Carson would like to be fishing in the highlands with a couple of tall, blonde massage therapists. Carson assures him that he’ll be fine. “Of course you will,” Rodney says, smiling reassuringly, “‘Cause this is not ‘Goodbye;’ this is ‘See you later!’” (And doesn’t Hewlett do confident on the surface while falling apart underneath so very beautifully? … John’s looking at them, and I can’t tell if he’s looking sadly at Carson, or worriedly at Rodney — I think it’s the latter, but if it is, then the question becomes is he hoping Rodney will shut up now for Carson’s sake, or is he hurting for Rodney because he can tell the man’s losing it under all that bravado? Maybe a mix of all three.) “That’s what we agreed,” Rodney adds. “Did we?” Carson asks sincerely. “That’s how I remember it,” Rodney answers firmly, with a touch of cheerfulness still. “All right then,’ Carson says with a small smile, “See you all later.” He straightens, bracing himself. Rodney’s smiling, but it quickly falls with the realisation that the time has come to turn the pod on. He taps buttons on his datapad, visibly swallowing back a lump. He lifts his eyes slowly, reluctantly, as a field swallows Carson. We see Sam take a deep breath as she contemplates Carson’s new state. (Déjà vu to when Jack had to be put in stasis when he was dying, huh Sam?) The camera pulls back, showing Becket’s friends standing about mournfully, Rodney looking lost.
I need another tissue-box. While it’s appropriate that Rodney would insist that this wasn’t a goodbye, I was hoping for a hug this time, and maybe some words from Carson about what Rodney means to him, since the goodbye in “Sunday” was just a dream or hallucination. (You know, I hope they address Rodney’s penchant for hallucinating at some point.)
And I wonder how long we’ll all have to wait for Carson to come out again …
In the end, all philosophical arguments about the nature of identity and soul aside, I think that the writers themselves intend for us to look at this Carson as Carson, not a substitute, not a separate entity. I could be wrong, but I really think that this was the best way that they could come up with to give him back to us after Sci Fi demanded that they kill off a major character. I think that we should stop looking a gift hose in the mouth and accept that this is just how they worked out that return, rather than pushing aside their wonderful gift to us as something that is “not ours, so it doesn’t really count, and we’ll never get our Carson back”. If Ford or Weir came back, they would be less like the ones we knew than this Carson is — so why do I feel like they would be treated as more “real” and therefore more acceptable in some people’s eyes? *Sigh* Poor Paul McGillion! Well, I, for one, am grateful to have him back.
See you all next week for “The Last Episo—er, Man”!! *Wink*
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Wolfen Moondaughter is on the editorial board for the comics industry webzine Sequential Tart for which she has written since late 2001. She’s also written for Newtype USA, contributed to Andy Mangel’s book Animation on DVD, self-published a novel (Memory of the Brightwing). Writing as “Anastasia Witchhazel”, her fantasy short story, “Chase”, is the title story in a homoerotic anthology from Wapshott Press. She’s an artist, too, having done spot illustrations for Dragonlance, a few panels for Barb Lien-Cooper’s webcomic series Gun Street Girl, and private commissions. In her spare time, she’s a fanficcer/fanartist. See more of her work at her site, Wolfen’s Webworld.
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