#john sheppard

McKay tells Zelenka to do what he had asked him to do before, which was "go ahead and try the left one," having asked him to wait until he would say "When" previously. Having failed to communicate his desire to his non-native English speaking colleague before, he commands him now with just telling him "Now," but in contrast to before, Zelenka seems to hesitate to "try the left one" now -- whether or not he had been cowed by the look Sheppard had thrown his way when he had tried making a joke about killing McKay earlier.

The first time that Zelenka asks Mckay to confirm that he wants him to act now, McKay tells him yes. But the second time, when Zelenka fails to comply and instead elaborates on why he seems reluctant to do as he had been asked, McKay's frustration is obvious and he speaks Zelenka's name in a warning tone. What is interesting about the interaction is that not only is McKay the one who wants to act quickly and Zelenka is being slow and making sure everything is working but we later hear McKay express similar uncertainty to others only to be met with equally frustrated responses as what he gives to Zelenka here. It may be a case of "what goes around comes around" but it is possible we get a glimpse to how McKay feels when he is confident and in control and how his confidence seems to wane the more pressure he is under, when he is having to perform to Sheppard and he is responsible for Sheppard's life. It is obvious to see how Zelenka is once bitten and twice shy here, and McKay is probably feeling something like this with Sheppard.

What they are doing here is just a test-run and the stakes are still relatively low, and so McKay is speaking to Zelenka like he would speak to anyone working under him even if it is clear that McKay trusts Zelenka more than anyone else working for him. In fact, we had seen McKay hand-pick Zelenka to help them get out of a tight spot in 38 Minutes (S01E04), having been the only scientist among the lot he had felt was competent even if he could not remember his name, while he did not believe that what might have been more accomplished scientists like Kavanagh and Biro could help them. There could be a class aspect to why McKay seems to feel so comfortable working with Zelenka since the man apparently comes from abject poverty, which means that McKay does not have to hide his own background with him. With Zelenka McKay can trust that he has done the work to get where he is whereas with the others, he can never be sure.

McKay: OK! Zelenka: Yes? McKay: I think we've got it. Zelenka: Good, good. Now, as long as we don't burn up all of the power on the initial jump, then-- Yes, yes, right. OK. I'll leave now.

Zelenka finally does what McKay had asked him to do and it seems McKay is satisfied by what he reads on his datapad, announcing that they are ready. They had finished his experimental prototype engine that he had designed when he had been much smarter than he is now, and McKay sounds relieved to have been able to figure it out because as competitive as McKay feels about intellectual things with other people, having to lose to himself is a whole new kind of hell for him. Note that McKay uses the "we" pronoun here, possibly referring to himself and Zelenka since the two of them had worked on this project but possibly also himself and Sheppard since now the two of them would now be able to embark on this mission.

Zelenka actually uses the plural pronoun himself even though he is not going to join them in on the mission, clearly feeling a sense of ownership for their accomplishment. He may not be able to actually participate in the test drive but he feels like he is going to be with them in spirit. Hobbling over to McKay, Zelenka shares some of his concerns not with the intention of reminding McKay of something that he must already be aware of but just to run a tally in his own mind to go over everything and to see if they had missed anything, clearly doing his due diligence with the project. But while Zelenka has a valid point and it turns out later that he had been correct, this is simply not something that McKay wants to hear right now.

McKay had mentioned to Sheppard the thousand things that could go terribly, terribly wrong and he has been going over them in his mind this whole time. McKay does not actually respond to Zelenka with words but merely gives him an impassive look, waiting for Zelenka to realize for himself how much he is not in the mental space for this conversation right now. Zelenka seems to get the gist quick enough and acknowledges that maybe McKay does not need this kind of talk right now -- but instead of turning it into a "You can do it!" pep talk, he turns to leave as though feeling like he had outstayed his welcome. Zelenka leaves without saying goodbye or even telling them good luck, although it is clear from his concern that he wishes them the best of luck -- they are all hoping that they succeed.

Dex: You ready? McKay: Yes. Look, I'm still not sure this is gonna work. I mean, I've done everything I can to make it-- Dex: Sheppard, we're ready.

Having gathered his things, Zelenka hobbles past Ronon who is just coming in carrying some gear for their mission, possibly anti-replicator guns that are the most useful piece of equipment for this kind of heist. He does not say anything to Zelenka as he passes him and Zelenka says nothing to him either, seeming intimidated by the big man that he likely views as some kind of savage on account of not really knowing Ronon very well. Ronon can be intimidating but even though McKay is also cowed by his gruff demeanour that seems extra gruff now for reasons that may pertain to his injuries and knowing that he is not fully fit for the field, we can see the contrast in how Zelenka and McKay react to Ronon in their personal space by how McKay is not physically intimidated by him -- even if he is slightly put off by his taciturnity.

Ronon asks McKay if he is ready as he comes in, and there is a comedic beat in how McKay answers him and then starts sharing his concerns but Ronon reacts only to his initial answer, having wanted a "yes or no" answer from him and satisfied getting his "yes." He completely sidelines McKay's attempt to waffle about the engine or the plan possibly not working, which results from McKay needing to lower the bar for himself in the way we have seen him do many times. McKay may have finished work on the engine and he is fairly certain that they will be able to make the jump but he does not want to promise anything because under-promising and over-delivering is his way of dealing with the pressure. What is ironic here is that McKay could have said these things to Zelenka and gotten encouragement from him, assurance that it is going to be fine and that he can deal with any issues that might arise, but Ronon is the wrong guy to turn to with his concerns. Not only does Ronon not understand the technical issues that have gone into it but he is not really interested in them either, preoccupied now with planning on what they are going to do once they get there.

Getting the affirmative answer he had been looking for, Ronon informs Sheppard that they are good to go and that they are waiting for them in the jumper, and although he does know that they need to get this show on the road, it is not the clock ticking down that compels him to disregard McKay's concerns but that he knows that McKay is wasting both of their time trying to educate him on the dangers with the science. He had mentioned to Sheppard that he felt like he needed to learn some science in First Strike (S03E20) because he feels useless in the kinds of situations where only science can save them but he has learned all of zero science since that moment. But since they were about to get into a situation where he might have to get into a fight or need to break out of somewhere, kill someone, that was where he could chip in. Ronon had been trying to teach McKay to keep his eyes on the enemy in Vengeance (S03E19), and while he does not say it and McKay likely does not get it, he may also be imploring McKay to put his game face on now. It was mission time, and the time for waffling about what might and might not work was past.

We do not hear a response from Sheppard but in the next scene we see Sheppard and several of his burly marines escorting Weir to the jumper bay. She is dressed in a black tactical uniform and we see a couple of civilians watching their march, and it is not clear what they think is happening here, how much the average person in the city would know about the plan and what is going on. Atlantis is a small community that may have been reduced to something resembling a skeleton crew before they had attempted the plan to take the city in space, as indicated by Keller mentioning that most of her medical people were in the Apollo in the previous episode. While Sheppard may have been trying to control information on account of not wanting people to panic needlessly, in a small community word travels fast, and it is doubtful they had been able to hide Weir's condition or what Keller and McKay had done to save her life. The civilians do seem cautious as they watch them pass, seeming almost to be pressing themselves back against the wall to give the soldiers room to walk past them, escorting their prisoner who used to be the leader of the expedition.

While Weir and Sheppard are both wearing uniforms and them walking side by side might be mistaken for the two of them having partnered up and that they were being escorted by the men for their security, the security detail is clearly intended for Weir. Sheppard had placed men at the door of the observation room to make sure that she would not get out and not that others would not get in, and he has increased their number now to escort them to the jumper. Sheppard does not trust her not to become a killer robot at the drop of a hat. This scene is actually reminiscent of Conversion (S02E08) when armed guards had been escorting Sheppard to the jumper to join McKay and the others on a mission on the iratus planet because they needed his help getting the iratus eggs that could be used in making the cure that would save his own life.

Sheppard had been pretty far gone at that time, having lost most of his humanity as he had walked grimly to where the guards were escorting him wearing a cloak that hid his monstrous form from onlookers, looking a lot like Anakin Skywalker when he had already started turning to the Dark Side but not yet in his mechanical form. While Sheppard had not ordered the guards on himself at that time, likely he had been responsible for the protocol and he certainly had not faulted the others for taking the precaution at the time. And this is the level of threat that Sheppard seems to believe that Weir poses for them and for McKay in particular, even though McKay had been insisting to him that the quarantine was not necessary in the previous episode. Sheppard trusts McKay when it comes to science but he does not trust him when it comes to knowing what is best for his safety, and he certainly does not trust these tiny robots that had already almost killed McKay once in Hot Zone (S01E13). He may have agreed to take Weir with them and he may acknowledge that their chances of making it out alive and with a ZPM are better with her than they are without her right now, but this escort of what seems like six professional soldiers, including himself, speaks of what Sheppard really feels toward Weir in this moment. It certainly is not lingering desires, secret longings for her touch.