Sheppard and Deathwishes

[mamadeb]

This is about Stargate:Atlantis and the character Lt. Colonel John Sheppard.



I've been reading story after story that seems to imply, or even state right out in the open, that John has a deathwish. Maybe I should read different stories. Or maybe I've missed a few eps, which I have.

But it confuses me, because I don't see it. And I've asked jonbaker, who has seen as many episodes as I have, but hasn't read any of the fanfic yet (he prefers gen SG-1). And he *is* a Fan, so he understands subtext and analyzing episodes and so on, as opposed to passive watching.

"Deathwish? No. He's just a standard Captain Kirk hero type." And, other than John's cluelessness about women (and I have my own explanation for that one.), I think he's dead on. John's just your basic Gryffindor - there are lives to be saved, you save them. There are thrills to be had, you take them. And don't waste time - if something needs to be done, do it. Worry about the consequences later.

I mean, a hero with a deathwish is fun to write about - witness Fox Mulder and Harry Potter - but I don't think John's one of them.

But I'll certainly listen to counter arguments. :)

Comments

[cereta.livejournal.com]

I don't think John has a deathwish, no. I think he has the self-preservation of housefly (meaning he has none, but stays alive anyway), and I think he would rather sacrifice himself than let any of his people die (random strangers are not quite the same thing), but that's not the same thing as actively courting death.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

There's a huge difference between "no sense of self-preservation" and "deathwish", yeah.

[fairestcat]

I think he has the self-preservation of housefly

Oh god, I think that's one of the best descriptions of John ever. It's so true.

I think a lot of fans see that and translate it as "doesn't care if he lives or dies" but that's not it at all. He's not actively courting death, he's not even passively courting death, it just never seems to occur to him to avoid/not do something that needs to be done just because death might be the outcome.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Basically, he lives in the moment, not worrying about consequences. "This needs to be done."

[mecurtin.livejournal.com]

Though I basically agree with you, I think Rodney could easily say, "What, do you have a *death wish*?!?" or equivalent. Because to him "no sense of self-preservation" *is* equivalent to a death wish.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Oh, *Rodney* would.

But Rodney would think that crossing the street against the light was a deathwish.

[the-star-fish.livejournal.com]

Right, so if the story is from Rodney's POV, I can see the deathwish thing ... OTOH, it's kind of becoming fanon, which is irksome.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Right, at least one of those stories was from Rodney's POV. OTOH, it was cesperanza's MVP, and Rodney got the idea not from observation but from reading John's files. Until then, he hadn't noticed.

John isn't that introspective. Or, he might be and hides it well, which is something he would do.

[isiscolo.livejournal.com]

Heh. How true.

[terri-osborne.livejournal.com]

I don't think he has a deathwish, either. Unfortunately, for legal reasons, I can't read any SG:A fanfic right now. (Trying to sell an SG:A novel, so reading fanfic in that genre is Very Risky.)

What I do think he has, though, is a nasty case of survivor guilt. At least in Season 1. This season, he's done a lot less of the "stupid crap that'll likely get him killed" stuff. He seems to have finally begun to move on from whatever happened and realized that Atlantis is his home now and he has friends there who care for him, and who he cares for as well. Some moreso than others, depending on who you ask. (For the record, I fall firmly on the Sheppard/Weir side of the force. But to me, that's so all over the screen the subtext might as well be text. "The Long Goodbye" pretty much confirmed it, using everyone's reactions to what they thought was happening as opposed to just saying it outright.)

I think Sheppard has realized that he has something of a family again this season, and he's relying on people a lot more than he did last season. It's also interesting to watch who he's relying on when, too. Little things like that are insight into the character for me.

Before I get into a rather lengthy character study of Sheppard here, I'll save that for my own LJ, just to spare you the prattling on. Hopefully, I'll get that done tonight if anyone's actually interested in reading it. :)

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

That I understand.

And I need to see more of season one. Which means getting the DVD and actually, well, watching it. Which will have to wait until we see finish Firefly...


And I'd be fascinated to read the character study wherever you post it (currently, I'm monopolizing someone else's LJ for a discussion of kitniyot, so it's not like I can complain about someone taking over mine - or that I'd ever mind it anyway.)

OTOH, if you're posting something that big, it's probably better on your own lj for visibility purposes, not buried in someone's comments.