Storytime with Rachel F Hundred

Showcasing Teyla but failing to give her the spotlight

With ‘girl power’ forming a theme for SG1’s episode, it is a nice to see a continuation in SGA’s, Submersion. Powerful women leaders are the name of the day as Teyla, Weir and a Wraith Queen are all given primary roles within the story yet somehow it is still Sheppard and McKay who seem to leave the more memorable impression.

Teyla is a great character; a leader of her people, imbued with Wraith DNA that lends her a special ‘Buffy-esque’ quality, mischievous and funny, a warm, compassionate, friendly nature, stubborn and unyielding at times; a warrior with the strength of character to leave her people and join the fight against the Wraith as an integral part of Sheppard’s team. It is one of the mysteries of SGA that the writers have created such a complex and wonderful character and yet have failed to ever fully showcase her. The Gift and Echoes probably jointly hold the position as the episodes closest to portraying Teyla as a complete character, or even attempting to make Teyla a focus, and Submersion joins them.

The episode provides Teyla with a good storyline; she takes on a Wraith Queen telepathically and wins. There are some great moments: Teyla’s certainty that she is sensing a Wraith, her beating of Ronon when under the influence of the Queen, her agitation with not being allowed to help find the Queen, and her eventual victory. Rachel Luttrell plays every scene to the hilt and puts in a very good performance. Her scenes with Torri Higginson are very well played especially coming on the back of Sunday and convey a wonderful caring friendship between the two women and a special empathy between them as leaders.

Higginson’s character also does well within the story; it is Weir who leads the interrogation with the Queen, yet who cedes authority to Sheppard in exploring the drilling station, whose curiosity and desire for knowledge has her walking off with McKay, excited like kids in a candy store at the possibilities. If Teyla’s strength is written in large letters with a neon sign around it, Weir’s is much more subtly woven into the mix yet is just as effective – perhaps more so.

Teyla’s ability to win is something of a question mark given the set-up of how strong the mind of the Wraith Queen is within the plot. The total possession of Teyla at the beginning, the inability of Sheppard to resist the Queen, the physical strength that has her lurching from the table to lunge at Weir, the strength of will to swim to the station from her ship and back again, her carelessly admitted ability to be able to crush Teyla mentally. It is very successful in drawing a formidable opponent who won’t be easily bested…and yet the plot asks us to believe that in the end she was easily fooled with a few sedatives and by a false memory that Teyla ‘reveals’ to her. It’s a little unbelievable and undermines Teyla’s part of the story.

Maybe it is this that allows Sheppard and McKay to overshadow Teyla once again as they end up being integral to capturing the Queen and destroying her. Their banter and relationship as they walk across the ocean to the Wraith cruiser and once the Queen is vanquished is as enjoyable as ever. Both characters also get memorable moments; Sheppard in his failing battle to withstand the influence of the Queen’s mental abilities and McKay with his relationship with the ill-fated Graydon.

McKay’s careless treatment of his subordinates feels a little too careless, a little too offhanded given the events of the previous episode and three seasons of character development. If I have one complaint about Ken Cuperus’s usually excellent characterisations, it is with McKay. He too often shows a McKay who would fit perfectly into early season one and who seems to ignore the events that have enriched and changed the character since. McKay noting despondently that of course they should run toward the gunfire, for instance, just doesn’t ring true for him anymore to me. The references to superheroes though, both the Bruce Wayne mention and the ‘spidey-sense’ reference are all brilliantly in character.

It is difficult to understand why Sheppard and McKay do overshadow Teyla; maybe because their scenes are funnier or more dramatic or simply more memorable. Maybe because their characters are more familiar in all their quirks and flaws, and their relationship more developed on-screen than that of the Weir/Teyla dynamic shown in comparison. Whatever the reason, neither Sheppard nor McKay, nor the combination of the men, is minimised enough within the story to maximise Teyla as a character. It does beg the question why such mechanics seem necessary to prevent Teyla becoming a sub-player in a story meant to highlight her but unfortunately I think it is the result of the imbalance between the characters in the series that has evolved since it began.

The issues with Teyla and the plot aside, the episode is accomplished; the set design is suitably Ancient yet dark and creepy; the lighting atmospheric, the specific effects of the ocean well done. The costume and the make-up of the Wraith Queen are dramatic and different; she looks as powerful as she acts. The music adds to the tension and never detracts. The moments of humour are all nicely done from the bickering in the puddle-jumper to the wonderful contrast of military and science at the end.

In conclusion

Submersion is nicely directed, acted and produced, and ultimately, it is a solid and entertaining episode. It never reaches the quality execution of Common Ground or Sateda as a character episode but it does showcase Teyla even if it fails to fully give her the spotlight. I continue to eagerly await an episode that provides a successful showcase for the wonderful female character that has been created and I hope I don’t wait in vain.