It's odd, the different reactions people seem to have to the story. In the comment thread (now up to, like, 800 comments in total!) they were all these people saying it was all so unbelievably sad and made them bawl, etc., and I didn't get that at all. Of course there was tragedy, but the story didn't wallow in it--it was more about rebuilding of self in the aftermath. I thought it was lovely and quite hopeful, actually.

Yeah, I'm with you. I am... too prejudiced against Rodney to love the story, I'm afraid, but I absolutely wouldn't say that it's unbelievably sad. If anything... well, lemme go whitefont.

I mean, yes, okay, John died and that's sad, and then Rodney killed Atlantis which is also very sad, and kind of horrifying, actually (I suspect I'm too fond of the SGC to be able to get on his side there). But then Rodney went on with his life and worked his way back toward something I'd call happiness and became a brilliant and inspiring teacher and found real satisfaction in that. This is a Rodney who is a much, much bigger and better person for having gone to Atlantis. He was not broken by it--none of the survivors were, and if John died, well, that kind of thing will happen.

I mean, I don't want to minimize the pain he's in, because I think it's there and it's real, but I didn't find the story depressing at all (except for the dead Atlantis bit).

On the other hand, it does remind me a bit of Willemakee, so maybe if I liked Rodney I'd feel differently about it. Willemakee is more about the first moments of grief, though--it's meant to be something of a wallow, which ends with the beginning of moving forward. Freedom is about that progress forward, and how that's informed by loss.

Katie is precisely correct, especially with regards to the issues of the SGC stuff. Because, c'mon-- Carter asked specially! Doesn't he like Carter anymore?

And yet, I still liked it. Cause good writing will totally do that to me.

A rundown of why each SGA character is now your ex-boyfriend. Hilarious and true.

[link]

I am with Vonnie and Katie on the story. t bows in their direction

Put me on the Vonnie and Katie bench as well.

My bench is lonely.

::plants an Athosian mourning-flower on Dana's bench::

But, Suela, it isn't that he doesn't trust Sam. It's that he can never again trust the military/political establishment. He knows that it doesn't matter if honorable people hold the reins *now*; the question is can they ever be replaced by the dishonorable, and he knows the answer to that.

True, Betsy. But my response is entirely felt as opposed to reasoned. Clearly the SGC would be a bad place under the control of the NID. Except I'm all, "but it's Sam, and she's apologizing and fixing things!" and I'm well-trained to trust Sam's good intentions (if not her execution of them, so much).

On the other hand, one could say that Rodney has taken his own lessons to heart: he knows precisely how far he is willing to go in protecting the human race. This far, and no farther. So, I can't fault the writing there, really.

Also also, he explicitly gave himself no out. He told Atlantis not to listen to any of them, no matter what; if she takes him seriously, she won't talk to him either.