(no subject)

[merelyn]

I put this up at sga_noticeboard, but there were spoilery comments for "Trinity" on it, and the post got accidentally deleted instead of the comments (and actually, I don't think you're supposed to have discussions on there anyway, oops, just links). Anyway, I was asked to repost it, and decided to put it up here and link to it.

I have a random question about "Condemned":



Okay, so after I watch the episode on Friday, I was talking to my sister about it, and both of us were kind of confused as to what was going on with Rodney fixing the Puddle Jumper. I re-watched it, and I'm still confused. The different reviews I've read seem to say to different things about it as well.

Was he bluffing about not being able to fix it? If so, what for? The jumper was pretty much a sunk cost, and powering up the gate for the convicts wouldn't have been that bad; it certainly wasn't presented as such in the episode.

Did he know how to fix it but didn't realize it consciously, and somehow Eldon and John picked up on it better than Rodney himself?

Or is it a case of everyone assuming that Rodney could fix it, and him honestly not being able to (which you know, is technically true, because he *couldn't* get the thing the fly). Was Torrell's comment about Rodney waiting to fix it at the last minute in order to make himself out to be a bigger hero completely off the mark or not? (Considering that Torrell nailed him pretty well otherwise?)

What do you think?

Comments

[npkedit.livejournal.com]

Well, some of it may have to do with Rodney's tendency to follow the Montgomery Scott rule of miracle working, which inflates fix times to X degree.

I thought Rodney genuinely believed the jumper was unfixable so far as flying (he may not have considered the other options until faced with imminent danger). On the other hand, I think Tallihensia is correct: Rodney tends to be more practical in computing odds than the rest of the gang, which is why they may go more for the long shot. Why not? Rodney's come through for them in the past. He's shown himself to be incredibly adept at working (and being creative) under intense pressure, so they may have a very different view of him than he does of himself.

But what I really want to know is this--how the heck did Torrell know Rodney would be the go-to guy for fix-it jobs to begin with? It's not as if he'd met any of the gang before then. There had to have been a lot of missing scene time in between their capture and the Torrell ordering McKay to fix the ship (especially for Torrell to get such a decent fix on Rodney).

[lurkerlynne.livejournal.com]

But what I really want to know is this--how the heck did Torrell know Rodney would be the go-to guy for fix-it jobs to begin with? It's not as if he'd met any of the gang before then.

Howzabout this; Of the four, Rodney is softer around the edges and stays out of the way during the ambush, ergo- not a fighter/warrior/whathaveyou. Why bring a non-fighter along on your exploration of a convict island? Tho' the leap to jumper-mechanic is a pretty big one.

Then again, Rodney has a large mouth and doesn't always know when to keep it shut.

[tallihensia.livejournal.com]

how the heck did Torrell know Rodney would be the go-to guy for fix-it jobs to begin with

I saw that one of coming straight from Rodney himself. When Torrell asked the question, he wasn't looking at any one of them in particular, but *Rodney* was the one who answered it and with a pretty definitive stance of "It's unfixable but I would be the one fixing it" -- not so much in words, but his whole attitude shouted it (good acting from DH).