Is it weird to buy yourself three boxes of chocolate?

[dragojustine]

There is so much love over at the Valentine's Day Game. You should all go look!

I was rewatching Lost City and I think I've finally put my finger on some of what bothers me so badly about the introduction of Cam.

You see, I still haven't watched the majority of seasons 9 and 10, partly because I strongly suspect they go downhill fast, but partly because Cam just bothers me. Part of that bothering is what I called the "shiny-newness" here. All his gee-whiz wonder and enthusiasm, which was so endearing and wonderful from Daniel in those first few seasons, just seems horribly cringe-inducing in some ways now. He confronts Daniel and asks him to stay, with this total credulousness and hero-worship and non-comprehension, just as Daniel has been through so much and is so checked out, so done, so desperately needing to be done with everything he's gone through. Despite the medical backstory, Cam just seems so happy and undamaged and shiny, in a way that just doesn't let him fit with the rest of the team, and that contrast makes me cringe.

But that bothersome aspect is, I think, actually good characterization. I mean, I can totally believe it and feel like it's fair storytelling and a new dynamic that might be fruitful.

But something else bothered me, and I finally figured out what it was:

The last stand during Last City was Hammond's, dammit.

Hammond standing between SG1 and Anubis, Hammond setting course to crash into Anubis' ship and bring them both down together- I watched Last City and it was so totally Hammond's crowning moment of awesome, and such an utterly worthy send-off for him, and, frankly, while Lost City is obviously incredibly pivotal for Jack and incredibly interesting for Jack/Daniel, I always thought Hammond was the real hero of it.

And Cam shows up and the show re-writes the Lost City last stand, in retrospect, as Cam's heroism. And that bothers me, because obviously the X-302 fighters were hugely important, and obviously they were led by somebody who deserves accolades, but I saw that battle. I saw that battle, and it was Hammond. Purely an emotional objection.

So it's a triple-threat: Cam replaces Daniel as the idealistic, enthusiastic one in the dynamic, and he replaces O'Neill as commander… and he replaces (cheapens, overwrites, makes us forget about) Hammond as the hero of the battle over Antarctica.

Now that I get it out in the open, interestingly, it bothers me a lot less. I do wish we'd at least seem Cam during Lost City-- that would have made it hugely easier for me, I think-- but fleshing out a minor character and letting us see pivotal events from their point of view? I like when stories do that! Hell, one of the things I love most is when texts acknowledge that minor characters are the heroes of their own stories (Hello, Deathly Hallows), which is at least some part of what's so awesome about fanfic. Obviously, the Antarctic battle looked completely different for a 302 pilot who had never met SG1 and didn't know what was going on behind the scenes. And obviously it's a story worth telling. And obviously that doesn't actually diminish what we already saw Hammond do.

Amazing how spelling these things out logically helps. Still miss Hammond, though.

Comments

[princessofg.livejournal.com]

chocolate is a food group.

it's fascinating to see your take on Lost City and the S9 retcon.... I never felt that the way they told the story from Cam's POV impinged on Hammond's actions -- there was certainly plenty of heroism to go around, IMHO. But thanks for that.

I'm not a Cam fangirl like half the people in SG-1, but I do like him very much. So I see your reluctance. But there is much to love about S 9 and 10, truly. Although my favorite seasons are early seasons, I confess.

sg1 4 evah.

[jd-junkie.livejournal.com]

I love the way fandom botherations go round and round. Because the "shiny new" aspect of Cam is exactly the way I felt about Jonas. There he was, all eager and bright and ... fucking irritating ... and we were told (by TPTB and the characters goddammit) that we would all love the super kewl, hunky, did I mention kewl? new character.
Hey, guess what? I didn't.
And in between season 6 and the introduction of Cam, they learned nothing.
I actually grew to like Cam a lot. I don't fangirl him as I do Daniel because Daniel owns my heart for all sorts of reasons, and I don't have issues about him replacing Jack (he'd checked out in any real sense for me seasons ago).
Cam doesn't impinge on Hammond's actions and achievements for me, either, but I see where you're coming from. Interesting stuff to ponder, thanks. :-)