Broken Ties - Review
23/10/2008 09:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rachel500Broken Ties is the 3rd episode in Season Five of Stargate Atlantis.
Review
Stargate occasionally tackles material which is dark and disturbing in nature, and Broken Ties is the latest attempt focusing on our favourite Satedan. Unfortunately, Ronon’s trauma suffers from being squished into the hour long format and a distracting subplot as Teyla questions her return to Team Atlantis. The result is that while the whole is an accomplished piece of work, the main story never quite gets told to the depth or extent that the material justifies despite great acting and direction.
It has become a tradition since Ronon’s arrival that there will be a story focusing on everyone’s favourite Satedan within the first few episodes within a new season. With successes such as Runner, Sateda and Reunion, Broken Ties had quite a tradition to uphold; angst, drama and revelations about Ronon’s past were expected. Certainly, Broken Ties delivers on angst and drama while not really adding anything new in terms of Ronon’s past.
The material is dark and disturbing, touching on torture, addiction, withdrawal, broken loyalties and friendships. It is presented seriously; Tyre’s decline, his addicted personality leading him to betraying Ronon in order to get his fix, his withdrawal, his sacrifice to rescue Ronon, the brutal fight between the two during the rescue, Ronon’s agony during the initial torture, his decline, his withdrawl…all of these elements are told with serious straightness in dialogue and acted tremendously well by Mark Dacascos and Jason Momoa. The direction, photography and lighting in these segments is just superb; the dark, claustrophobic nature of the torture and addiction scenes; harsh and uncompromising light in the infirmary withdrawal scenes. Ronon’s withdrawal scenes are particularly very well done and gut-wrenching when Ronon cries out for them to kill him (although I was almost distracted by the wig).
It’s also great to see his team to battle their own discomfort at seeing him to support him through it (loved him waking up to McKay babbling on beside him) – superb acting by all the cast. Indeed, friendship and loyalty are the underlying themes; between Ronon and his team, Ronon and Tyre. It’s a well woven thread; Tyre betrays Ronon; Ronon betrays his team; a restored Tyre sacrifices himself to save Ronon and the team help him through his withdrawal, re-establishing their bond with him. Through Ronon’s experience the audience is shown Tyre’s own journey and Tyre’s redemption. The early scene with Ronon and Tyre in the abandoned building where Ronon realises what his friend has come to; as Tyre acts like any addict with screwed up thinking; it's so powerful. Yet the friendship moments between Ronon and Teyla (at the beginning), Ronon and Sheppard (in the infirmary) and Ronon and McKay (as before) just nicely underscore their friendship with him. This entire piece is played wonderfully and it would have been good to see more of it.
For me, the main problem with Broken Ties is that it’s such a huge topic to cover in an hour, that there is only so much that can be shown and additionally, the subplot almost overpowers this main plot. Clearly, the main plot had to be distilled because of the hour long format but crucially there is no evident timeline for these events beyond a mention that it may be days before Tyre is lucid…did it take days and therefore that’s why Ronon succumbs? Because it feels like it happens very quickly (within a day) casting doubt on the believability of Ronon succumbing and recovering so fast. Equally, while the audience catches glimpses of Ronon being tortured, his entire experience of being taken to the edge and returned to life is really not shown – only some superb effects as an older Ronon morphs back to his youthful self. Whether this was a direction cut or a network cut, the main plot ends up feeling like it is told with a broad brush rather than fine detail, and as a result, it loses impact.
Unfortunately, the subplot does not help. The return to Teyla’s motherhood making her question her choices is a bit startling given Quarantine seemed to provide a justification for Teyla’s return. In fact I was as startled as Sheppard was that there seemed to be a question over her return (and again Sheppard’s reaction to Teyla seems more mission commander than friend just as in the initial episodes surrounding Teyla’s pregnancy). It’s not that I don’t appreciate the attempt to show the characters as rounded individuals (the montage at the end to the classical music is well done), as characters rather than caricatures, but too much time was given over even if Rachel Luttrell does a marvellous job at displaying Teyla’s uncertainty. Here the subplot is told in fine detail rather than a broad brush and the result is that it comes close to overwhelming the main plot.
What is a joy within the subplot – and what Stargate does so well – is the gentle humour that is woven throughout in regards to Woolsey; from his inability to leave the conference room, his comment over his ex-wife getting custody of the dog, his reaction to the baby, taking the wrong direction, his wearing a suit in downtime – it’s all very nicely played by Robert Picardo – and it does continue to bring Woolsey to life as a person. While I think it was too soon to have him consoling Teyla over Ronon or for Teyla to be confiding her uncertainties (and certainly too soon to have Woolsey sympathetic), the ongoing hint of pull and push with him and Sheppard is good. The scene in the conference room where Woolsey brings Sheppard up short like a father with an over-eager child was very well done.
Overall, this is a very good episode which delivered on several fronts. The imbalance between the main and subplot mean that it never quite achieves the impact of Sateda or Common Ground, but there is a compelling story buried in the episode, one that is told with gravitas and drama, and which despite the imbalance leaves a lasting impression regardless of its broad brush strokes.
It has become a tradition since Ronon’s arrival that there will be a story focusing on everyone’s favourite Satedan within the first few episodes within a new season. With successes such as Runner, Sateda and Reunion, Broken Ties had quite a tradition to uphold; angst, drama and revelations about Ronon’s past were expected. Certainly, Broken Ties delivers on angst and drama while not really adding anything new in terms of Ronon’s past.
The material is dark and disturbing, touching on torture, addiction, withdrawal, broken loyalties and friendships. It is presented seriously; Tyre’s decline, his addicted personality leading him to betraying Ronon in order to get his fix, his withdrawal, his sacrifice to rescue Ronon, the brutal fight between the two during the rescue, Ronon’s agony during the initial torture, his decline, his withdrawl…all of these elements are told with serious straightness in dialogue and acted tremendously well by Mark Dacascos and Jason Momoa. The direction, photography and lighting in these segments is just superb; the dark, claustrophobic nature of the torture and addiction scenes; harsh and uncompromising light in the infirmary withdrawal scenes. Ronon’s withdrawal scenes are particularly very well done and gut-wrenching when Ronon cries out for them to kill him (although I was almost distracted by the wig).
It’s also great to see his team to battle their own discomfort at seeing him to support him through it (loved him waking up to McKay babbling on beside him) – superb acting by all the cast. Indeed, friendship and loyalty are the underlying themes; between Ronon and his team, Ronon and Tyre. It’s a well woven thread; Tyre betrays Ronon; Ronon betrays his team; a restored Tyre sacrifices himself to save Ronon and the team help him through his withdrawal, re-establishing their bond with him. Through Ronon’s experience the audience is shown Tyre’s own journey and Tyre’s redemption. The early scene with Ronon and Tyre in the abandoned building where Ronon realises what his friend has come to; as Tyre acts like any addict with screwed up thinking; it's so powerful. Yet the friendship moments between Ronon and Teyla (at the beginning), Ronon and Sheppard (in the infirmary) and Ronon and McKay (as before) just nicely underscore their friendship with him. This entire piece is played wonderfully and it would have been good to see more of it.
For me, the main problem with Broken Ties is that it’s such a huge topic to cover in an hour, that there is only so much that can be shown and additionally, the subplot almost overpowers this main plot. Clearly, the main plot had to be distilled because of the hour long format but crucially there is no evident timeline for these events beyond a mention that it may be days before Tyre is lucid…did it take days and therefore that’s why Ronon succumbs? Because it feels like it happens very quickly (within a day) casting doubt on the believability of Ronon succumbing and recovering so fast. Equally, while the audience catches glimpses of Ronon being tortured, his entire experience of being taken to the edge and returned to life is really not shown – only some superb effects as an older Ronon morphs back to his youthful self. Whether this was a direction cut or a network cut, the main plot ends up feeling like it is told with a broad brush rather than fine detail, and as a result, it loses impact.
Unfortunately, the subplot does not help. The return to Teyla’s motherhood making her question her choices is a bit startling given Quarantine seemed to provide a justification for Teyla’s return. In fact I was as startled as Sheppard was that there seemed to be a question over her return (and again Sheppard’s reaction to Teyla seems more mission commander than friend just as in the initial episodes surrounding Teyla’s pregnancy). It’s not that I don’t appreciate the attempt to show the characters as rounded individuals (the montage at the end to the classical music is well done), as characters rather than caricatures, but too much time was given over even if Rachel Luttrell does a marvellous job at displaying Teyla’s uncertainty. Here the subplot is told in fine detail rather than a broad brush and the result is that it comes close to overwhelming the main plot.
What is a joy within the subplot – and what Stargate does so well – is the gentle humour that is woven throughout in regards to Woolsey; from his inability to leave the conference room, his comment over his ex-wife getting custody of the dog, his reaction to the baby, taking the wrong direction, his wearing a suit in downtime – it’s all very nicely played by Robert Picardo – and it does continue to bring Woolsey to life as a person. While I think it was too soon to have him consoling Teyla over Ronon or for Teyla to be confiding her uncertainties (and certainly too soon to have Woolsey sympathetic), the ongoing hint of pull and push with him and Sheppard is good. The scene in the conference room where Woolsey brings Sheppard up short like a father with an over-eager child was very well done.
Overall, this is a very good episode which delivered on several fronts. The imbalance between the main and subplot mean that it never quite achieves the impact of Sateda or Common Ground, but there is a compelling story buried in the episode, one that is told with gravitas and drama, and which despite the imbalance leaves a lasting impression regardless of its broad brush strokes.
