The Tao of Rodney - Review
23/10/2008 02:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rachel500The Tao of Rodney is the 14th episode in Season Three of Stargate Atlantis.
Review
Every so often Stargate doesn’t just have one of its characters taking the lead within a story, but it focuses the entire story to the actual examination of that character – what makes them tick, how they think, their relationships with others; the Tao of Rodney is the latest in that repertoire as McKay is put in the spotlight. What results is a tight character study that is both touching and humorous, excellently performed by the cast and polished to a high quality by the overall production. Yet in amongst a great deal of sweetness is one odd sour moment.
This sour note is struck by an early cafeteria scene where McKay sat on a table across the cafeteria and overhears the rest of his team discussing his weight and eating habits. It makes it feel like McKay is an outsider to the team. It’s such an unnecessary moment as the objective of the scene – to demonstrate McKay is beginning to develop abilities – could have been achieved in any number of ways that didn’t exclude McKay from the team in this way. Luckily, the rest of the episode more than makes up for this one frankly bizarre moment.
The team dynamic is much better represented in the death-bed scene as they all congregate around him to say goodbye and much of the touching scenes between McKay and his team-mates come in the third and final acts when McKay attempts to ‘release his burden’; his heartfelt apology to Zelenka, his healing of Ronon’s Wraith-runner scars, his memorial tea with Teyla, the book he has written in defence of Weir’s leadership, imparting his last wishes to Sheppard, and the death-bed thank you to Beckett; all are deeply touching and give a window on how McKay feels about each individual. The music underscoring the scenes tugs at the right emotional heart-strings; every cast member excels but David Hewlett is superb.
Hewlett turns in a wonderfully moving performance as he deconstructs McKay in front of us; peeling off layer by layer to reveal the core of the man McKay wants to be and who he truly is underneath the outer shell of scientist. He portrays a sensitive McKay who loves and cares for the people around him even though he usually has a hard time expressing that; who admires and respects Ronon and Zelenka, who appreciates Beckett. It is a great achievement not least because Hewlett provides a remarkable contrast to his portrayal of McKay the Superhero in the first half of the episode. ÜberMcKay is annoying, arrogant, dismissive and intolerant of those around him and Hewlett easily conveys it with subtle smirks, gestures and quick-fire dialogue (especially in the scene where he mind-reads his fate from Weir and Sheppard without them saying a word). Within the story the turnaround of the character is aptly portrayed through McKay’s relationship with Ronan.
The first half, as Ronan is assigned to watch over McKay, their banter over the idea of Batman and Ronon, and Ronon’s half-serious plea to Weir of ‘Can I shoot him now?’ gently paints a picture of two very different men merely tolerating each other. Yet in the second half, McKay’s approach to Ronon before he heals him and the actual act of healing reveals how much McKay cares for Ronon just as Ronon carrying an unconscious McKay onto the device platform reveals how much the Satedan cares for McKay. When Ronao hugs him and welcomes his ‘buddy’ back at the end, it is believable and touching. The pairing of McKay and Ronon is great and provides a change of the usual dynamic of Sheppard and McKay.
Not that the Sheppard/McKay dynamic is missing; their scenes of meditation are laugh-out-loud funny as Sheppard is ordered to help McKay ascend thanks to his experience with the Ancients in Epiphany. While the scenes are great and the reason given, they do highlight the shocking under-usage of Teyla who should have been the natural choice to assist McKay with meditation and finding an inner peace. At least McKay also gets time with Weir as she tries to help him with Ascension and coming to terms with his fate. Higginson turns in another good performance demonstrating a compassionate Weir whose leadership and friendship shines in how she gets McKay focused. The end scene with McKay teasing Weir over telling him they loved him, heading out for an afternoon snack together and bantering about Sheppard is very sweet.
Although much of the story revolves around McKay and character interaction, it does provide some good moments of action; the opening scene of McKay getting zapped by the machine, Zelenka’s injury and McKay’s healing of him, McKay’s own rescue by the team to the end. This latter scene is highly dramatic and tense thanks to the urgency imbued by the shot of the team running down the corridors with McKay on the medical bed, the darkened lab and not least the superb music. The special effects of the device reactivating help to bring the scene to a great climax. Indeed the special effects throughout are great whether the subtle slide of the notepad into McKay’s hand, Beckett’s levitation, the healing of Zelenka or the device. All add a quality polish to a quality episode.
There is little to quibble about in the Tao of Rodney; the story is well-planned, well-constructed and beautifully contrasts every facet of McKay and every relationship. Damian Kindler deserves praise for the script but with every part of the episode shining from performances, make-up and special effects, Martin Wood also deserves recognition for pulling it altogether as director. However, the main honours should go to Hewlett for a masterful performance in a fabulous episode that showcases what SGA can achieve when it focuses on a character-driven story. More of the same for the other characters, please.
This sour note is struck by an early cafeteria scene where McKay sat on a table across the cafeteria and overhears the rest of his team discussing his weight and eating habits. It makes it feel like McKay is an outsider to the team. It’s such an unnecessary moment as the objective of the scene – to demonstrate McKay is beginning to develop abilities – could have been achieved in any number of ways that didn’t exclude McKay from the team in this way. Luckily, the rest of the episode more than makes up for this one frankly bizarre moment.
The team dynamic is much better represented in the death-bed scene as they all congregate around him to say goodbye and much of the touching scenes between McKay and his team-mates come in the third and final acts when McKay attempts to ‘release his burden’; his heartfelt apology to Zelenka, his healing of Ronon’s Wraith-runner scars, his memorial tea with Teyla, the book he has written in defence of Weir’s leadership, imparting his last wishes to Sheppard, and the death-bed thank you to Beckett; all are deeply touching and give a window on how McKay feels about each individual. The music underscoring the scenes tugs at the right emotional heart-strings; every cast member excels but David Hewlett is superb.
Hewlett turns in a wonderfully moving performance as he deconstructs McKay in front of us; peeling off layer by layer to reveal the core of the man McKay wants to be and who he truly is underneath the outer shell of scientist. He portrays a sensitive McKay who loves and cares for the people around him even though he usually has a hard time expressing that; who admires and respects Ronon and Zelenka, who appreciates Beckett. It is a great achievement not least because Hewlett provides a remarkable contrast to his portrayal of McKay the Superhero in the first half of the episode. ÜberMcKay is annoying, arrogant, dismissive and intolerant of those around him and Hewlett easily conveys it with subtle smirks, gestures and quick-fire dialogue (especially in the scene where he mind-reads his fate from Weir and Sheppard without them saying a word). Within the story the turnaround of the character is aptly portrayed through McKay’s relationship with Ronan.
The first half, as Ronan is assigned to watch over McKay, their banter over the idea of Batman and Ronon, and Ronon’s half-serious plea to Weir of ‘Can I shoot him now?’ gently paints a picture of two very different men merely tolerating each other. Yet in the second half, McKay’s approach to Ronon before he heals him and the actual act of healing reveals how much McKay cares for Ronon just as Ronon carrying an unconscious McKay onto the device platform reveals how much the Satedan cares for McKay. When Ronao hugs him and welcomes his ‘buddy’ back at the end, it is believable and touching. The pairing of McKay and Ronon is great and provides a change of the usual dynamic of Sheppard and McKay.
Not that the Sheppard/McKay dynamic is missing; their scenes of meditation are laugh-out-loud funny as Sheppard is ordered to help McKay ascend thanks to his experience with the Ancients in Epiphany. While the scenes are great and the reason given, they do highlight the shocking under-usage of Teyla who should have been the natural choice to assist McKay with meditation and finding an inner peace. At least McKay also gets time with Weir as she tries to help him with Ascension and coming to terms with his fate. Higginson turns in another good performance demonstrating a compassionate Weir whose leadership and friendship shines in how she gets McKay focused. The end scene with McKay teasing Weir over telling him they loved him, heading out for an afternoon snack together and bantering about Sheppard is very sweet.
Although much of the story revolves around McKay and character interaction, it does provide some good moments of action; the opening scene of McKay getting zapped by the machine, Zelenka’s injury and McKay’s healing of him, McKay’s own rescue by the team to the end. This latter scene is highly dramatic and tense thanks to the urgency imbued by the shot of the team running down the corridors with McKay on the medical bed, the darkened lab and not least the superb music. The special effects of the device reactivating help to bring the scene to a great climax. Indeed the special effects throughout are great whether the subtle slide of the notepad into McKay’s hand, Beckett’s levitation, the healing of Zelenka or the device. All add a quality polish to a quality episode.
There is little to quibble about in the Tao of Rodney; the story is well-planned, well-constructed and beautifully contrasts every facet of McKay and every relationship. Damian Kindler deserves praise for the script but with every part of the episode shining from performances, make-up and special effects, Martin Wood also deserves recognition for pulling it altogether as director. However, the main honours should go to Hewlett for a masterful performance in a fabulous episode that showcases what SGA can achieve when it focuses on a character-driven story. More of the same for the other characters, please.
