I'm very glad you posted about Hindsight; it's a terrific first-discussion story.
Cool. I'm glad you're glad :)
The Sheppard of Hindsight is incredibly passive, which is rather odd given his profession, and that turned me off.
As I said to rivier above, I think his passivity comes from a genuine need for contact with another person outside of his work. His case with the kidnappings is emotionally draining, and after long hours in a paedophile's head, he needs to reconnect with the world. His character is similar enough to canon John's that I can't see him entering into a relationship he didn't truly want on some level. At first he just wanted the company. Then he wanted to feel like there was someone who'd take care of him. And then he began to appreciate that, began to experience genuine affection for Rodney, and allowed Rodney to steer him in that direction. The fact that he insisted on taking the relationship at his own pace speaks to the fact he was in control, at least as much as he wanted to be.
But by the second episode in which he appeared, he had already started to take on three dimensions, including some vulnerability and a sense of his own limitations where science was concerned. This is why I don't quite buy Hindsight's strident, obnoxious, truly annoying McKay as being 'pre-Atlantis'. He's at the far edge of who McKay is -- he's a big ol' bundle of irritating.
Yes, okay, I agree with a lot of this. All of it, in fact. I just found the 'irritating' less irritating, obviously ;)
I'm not able to see any defined connection between the two characters that explains why they even like each other. Why would someone like Sheppard, as portrayed in this story, be attracted to someone like this McKay?
I saw a lot of subtlety in this version of McKay that a lot of others obviously didn't. I saw depth to his character -- uncertainty, warmth, affection, selflessness... No, it wasn't as blatant as in the show, but I still saw it and that was enough for me to understand why he might have caught John's interest. He's an unusal, complex man, and John's life is pretty empty at this point -- purely from the POV of an investigator, getting to understand him a little better, I can see that providing amusement for him. Amusement which eventually turns into genuine affection.
no subject
Cool. I'm glad you're glad :)
The Sheppard of Hindsight is incredibly passive, which is rather odd given his profession, and that turned me off.
As I said to
But by the second episode in which he appeared, he had already started to take on three dimensions, including some vulnerability and a sense of his own limitations where science was concerned. This is why I don't quite buy Hindsight's strident, obnoxious, truly annoying McKay as being 'pre-Atlantis'. He's at the far edge of who McKay is -- he's a big ol' bundle of irritating.
Yes, okay, I agree with a lot of this. All of it, in fact. I just found the 'irritating' less irritating, obviously ;)
I'm not able to see any defined connection between the two characters that explains why they even like each other. Why would someone like Sheppard, as portrayed in this story, be attracted to someone like this McKay?
I saw a lot of subtlety in this version of McKay that a lot of others obviously didn't. I saw depth to his character -- uncertainty, warmth, affection, selflessness... No, it wasn't as blatant as in the show, but I still saw it and that was enough for me to understand why he might have caught John's interest. He's an unusal, complex man, and John's life is pretty empty at this point -- purely from the POV of an investigator, getting to understand him a little better, I can see that providing amusement for him. Amusement which eventually turns into genuine affection.