I am of two minds concerning this episode. It sacrifices a character who was finally fleshing out a bit and showing potential, but we really don't really lose out in the process, so is that really a waste? For once I'll start with my main complaint about this episode: the action is a bit limited (running and shooting, mostly) and parts of the dialogue really feel like padding (how much time do we spend watching Rodney obsess about radiation exposure?). So the pace could have been much better. The main reason for that is that the episode is busy easing Ford out and easing Ronon in. And it does that just right.
The episode begins with a puzzling situation, as everybody tries to track down Ford, only to discover that they're actually chasing after *two* different men --one of whom is the prey of a group of Wraiths. I must say the whole idea of Runners is brilliant. Cruel as the whole concept is, it is completely in keeping with the fact that the Wraiths actually consider humans as game (fox-hunting, anyone?). It also shows Ronon as the perfect opposite of Ford, who's hunting Wraiths himself. And when we finally meet him again, Ford's behaviour is deliciously erratic, one instant overly cheerful and confident, dangerously paranoid the next. Yet he always acts like himself, so to the end we can understand Sheppard's determination to save him. (By the way, Ford' half-human/half-bug make up is brilliant and really embodies the inner conflict) Even though Ford now leaves the show, Sheppard's inability to save his own second in command will haunt him throughout the series.
So, meet Ronon Dex, aka Chewie (aka Caveman, aka Conon -which is just soooo ironical if you live in 2011.) It takes about 10s to feel that this guy's a keeper. Instead of him being pitchforked into the series and then being fleshed out, we meet him as a fully-fledged character, with his own unique appearance and equipment, and a tragic past that reflects in everything he does. He says very little (and in a deep rough voice that is just perfect for a guy who supposedly spent seven years without a single human contact) but he's probably the most intense character on the show, hiding a really warm (and CUTE) smile behind gruff, battle-scarred exterior. Congratulations to Jason Momoa for getting the part down so perfectly.
So even though the title seems to promise action, this episode is actually focused on allowing the transition from one character to the next, and I must say it does so really well. I began watching Runner hoping for some follow-up on Ford's situation, and I finished it crossing my fingers so Ronon would become a regular. The fact still remains that getting rid of Ford in the process was unfair to the character, and also to Rainbow Sun Francks who didn't get to show what he could really do.
The episode begins with a puzzling situation, as everybody tries to track down Ford, only to discover that they're actually chasing after *two* different men --one of whom is the prey of a group of Wraiths. I must say the whole idea of Runners is brilliant. Cruel as the whole concept is, it is completely in keeping with the fact that the Wraiths actually consider humans as game (fox-hunting, anyone?). It also shows Ronon as the perfect opposite of Ford, who's hunting Wraiths himself. And when we finally meet him again, Ford's behaviour is deliciously erratic, one instant overly cheerful and confident, dangerously paranoid the next. Yet he always acts like himself, so to the end we can understand Sheppard's determination to save him. (By the way, Ford' half-human/half-bug make up is brilliant and really embodies the inner conflict) Even though Ford now leaves the show, Sheppard's inability to save his own second in command will haunt him throughout the series.
So, meet Ronon Dex, aka Chewie (aka Caveman, aka Conon -which is just soooo ironical if you live in 2011.) It takes about 10s to feel that this guy's a keeper. Instead of him being pitchforked into the series and then being fleshed out, we meet him as a fully-fledged character, with his own unique appearance and equipment, and a tragic past that reflects in everything he does. He says very little (and in a deep rough voice that is just perfect for a guy who supposedly spent seven years without a single human contact) but he's probably the most intense character on the show, hiding a really warm (and CUTE) smile behind gruff, battle-scarred exterior. Congratulations to Jason Momoa for getting the part down so perfectly.
So even though the title seems to promise action, this episode is actually focused on allowing the transition from one character to the next, and I must say it does so really well. I began watching Runner hoping for some follow-up on Ford's situation, and I finished it crossing my fingers so Ronon would become a regular. The fact still remains that getting rid of Ford in the process was unfair to the character, and also to Rainbow Sun Francks who didn't get to show what he could really do.
