Meta: Elizabeth Weir in season 2
Jan. 30th, 2006 11:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lierdumoaA conversation I had earlier this week got me thinking about the darker themes SGA has been exploring in season 2 and changes in character behavior, particularly Elizabeth Weir. This then got me thinking about her characterization in general.
Some less charitable fan opinions I've come across regarding Weir include 1) that she is badly written as a leader by writers whose only known examples of women in leadership positions were their kindergarten teachers, 2) that she is presented as merely competent at her job, putting her in poor contrast to her male counterparts, who are all excellent at their jobs, 3) corollary to both 1 and 2, that she simply hasn't shown enough talent as a leader or a diplomat to justify her having achieved the position of head of the Atlantis expedition.
I'm somewhat inclined to agree with 1 -- many of her lines, I think, could be better written. I'd be willing to argue with 2, but that's a subject for another post. As to 3, I don't care to debate whether Elizabeth is a good diplomat or leader. I will, however, argue that her skill as a diplomat or leader, on the whole, has very little bearing on her having achieved her position as head of the Atlantis expedition.
She doesn't need to be the best diplomat in two galaxies because she knows how to find advantages in the situation surrounding a debate, rather than the debate itself. She doesn't need to be the principal authority figure for every single person under her leadership because she knows how to delegate power. Where others would deal directly, she slides in through the back door. Elizabeth is not head of Atlantis for her outstanding performance as a diplomat and leader, but rather for her brilliance as a politician.
And she is a brilliant politician.
The first time Elizabeth's authority was seriously questioned was in 1x13 "Hot Zone." John directly disobeyed her order. She told him something to the effect of, "If you keep undermining my authority I won't be able to lead (and the whole expedition will fall apart—you don't want the expedition to fall apart, right?)" She then asked him for his promise that the incident would not be repeated.
Asking John for his promise the way one might ask for a favor didn't exactly put her in a position of power. But then, she knew John well enough to know that John doesn't respond well to shows of power, and that the best way to get him to go along with her was to appeal to his sense of empathy. Perhaps it may have sounded better to say, "If you do this again, your punishment will be very severe," but it wouldn't have been nearly as effective. As it was, John hasn't disobeyed her since.
The second time Elizabeth's authority was seriously questioned was in 1x20 "The Siege II." Colonel Everett waltzed into her city, disparaged her for "giving up" and starting the self-destruct sequence, and basically told her, "I going to fix this nasty wraith annoyance with my giant cock. All you civilians can go back to your knitting." Of course, Everett learned his lesson soon after.
As soon as the battle was over, Weir proceeded to pull every string at her disposal to ensure that John stayed on as military leader and Carson stayed on as head doctor, despite their being better qualified candidates in both fields. And while it would be easy to chalk these actions up to sentimentality on Elizabeth's part, one must take into account what this meant for the expedition.
Suffice it to say, Elizabeth did not go back to her knitting. In fact, she did everything in her power to ensure that no military hot shot from the SGC would ever waltz into her city and tell her how to run things ever again. Elizabeth was originally supposed to take General O'Neill's place at the SGC. They gave her Atlantis instead, her beautiful island in the sun, and by God, they weren't getting it back.
I noticed first in 2x13 "Critical Mass" (though it may have started earlier) that Ronon had begun showing up at the meetings among the leading members of the Atlantis expedition. Formerly these meetings were only attended by Elizabeth, John, Rodney and Teyla. I think it is safe to assume that as expedition leader, it was Elizabeth's decision to include Ronon in these executive meetings.
Which brings up the question -- why Ronon? Assuming Ronon isn't just there by fluke because the writers got lazy and wanted to find a way to further incorporate him into the show, Elizabeth must have had a reason for including him. Ford never attended these meetings in season 1 when he was the 4th member of John's team.
The most logical explanation I can think of is that Elizabeth wanted another military perspective when making executive decisions. She has far more military under her command than she did in season 1. She has regular contact with Caldwell and the SGC, thereby giving her the resources to go on the offensive with the wraith. Atlantis is no longer solely a civilian operation. It might have made sense for the next highest ranking military officer after John to have been in attendence, however I can see why she didn't choose, say, Major Lorne. Specifically, I'm recalling her conversation with him in 2x10 "Lost Boys" wherein he says in regards to Sheppard's team, "Oh, you know how those guys are, don't get too worried."
Of course, all Elizabeth had to do was raise an eyebrow for him to remember that failing to take John and herself seriously was a bad idea. Still, Ronon made for a better choice. He is a military specialist, intensely loyal to John and therefore to Elizabeth, and without any preconcieved notions regarding Elizabeth. He also knows how to think outside the SGC box.
I suppose I could be reaching here, but well, I've been giving the series the benefit of the doubt since I started watching and it hasn't disappointed me yet. Well, except with Miko. Self-effacing Asian female going, "filial piety yay! Yes large pompous white man, tell me how I may please you!"
...but that is a rant for another post.
Elizabeth has done everything in her power to preserve the spirit of the original expedition while at the same time transforming it into a viable line of defense against the Wraith. I do think she is a good leader. She does not, however, lead by example, thereby breaking the paradigm for how an authority figure in a sci-fi show is supposed to behave.
I really freaking love my show.
Some less charitable fan opinions I've come across regarding Weir include 1) that she is badly written as a leader by writers whose only known examples of women in leadership positions were their kindergarten teachers, 2) that she is presented as merely competent at her job, putting her in poor contrast to her male counterparts, who are all excellent at their jobs, 3) corollary to both 1 and 2, that she simply hasn't shown enough talent as a leader or a diplomat to justify her having achieved the position of head of the Atlantis expedition.
I'm somewhat inclined to agree with 1 -- many of her lines, I think, could be better written. I'd be willing to argue with 2, but that's a subject for another post. As to 3, I don't care to debate whether Elizabeth is a good diplomat or leader. I will, however, argue that her skill as a diplomat or leader, on the whole, has very little bearing on her having achieved her position as head of the Atlantis expedition.
She doesn't need to be the best diplomat in two galaxies because she knows how to find advantages in the situation surrounding a debate, rather than the debate itself. She doesn't need to be the principal authority figure for every single person under her leadership because she knows how to delegate power. Where others would deal directly, she slides in through the back door. Elizabeth is not head of Atlantis for her outstanding performance as a diplomat and leader, but rather for her brilliance as a politician.
And she is a brilliant politician.
The first time Elizabeth's authority was seriously questioned was in 1x13 "Hot Zone." John directly disobeyed her order. She told him something to the effect of, "If you keep undermining my authority I won't be able to lead (and the whole expedition will fall apart—you don't want the expedition to fall apart, right?)" She then asked him for his promise that the incident would not be repeated.
Asking John for his promise the way one might ask for a favor didn't exactly put her in a position of power. But then, she knew John well enough to know that John doesn't respond well to shows of power, and that the best way to get him to go along with her was to appeal to his sense of empathy. Perhaps it may have sounded better to say, "If you do this again, your punishment will be very severe," but it wouldn't have been nearly as effective. As it was, John hasn't disobeyed her since.
The second time Elizabeth's authority was seriously questioned was in 1x20 "The Siege II." Colonel Everett waltzed into her city, disparaged her for "giving up" and starting the self-destruct sequence, and basically told her, "I going to fix this nasty wraith annoyance with my giant cock. All you civilians can go back to your knitting." Of course, Everett learned his lesson soon after.
As soon as the battle was over, Weir proceeded to pull every string at her disposal to ensure that John stayed on as military leader and Carson stayed on as head doctor, despite their being better qualified candidates in both fields. And while it would be easy to chalk these actions up to sentimentality on Elizabeth's part, one must take into account what this meant for the expedition.
Suffice it to say, Elizabeth did not go back to her knitting. In fact, she did everything in her power to ensure that no military hot shot from the SGC would ever waltz into her city and tell her how to run things ever again. Elizabeth was originally supposed to take General O'Neill's place at the SGC. They gave her Atlantis instead, her beautiful island in the sun, and by God, they weren't getting it back.
Interesting side note:permetaform was looking through scenes for a vid. She noticed that the background characters in Atlantis are generally always intermixed, of both genders and usually multiracial. She then noticed an SGC scene showing scientists on one side, military on the other, and all of them white men.
I noticed first in 2x13 "Critical Mass" (though it may have started earlier) that Ronon had begun showing up at the meetings among the leading members of the Atlantis expedition. Formerly these meetings were only attended by Elizabeth, John, Rodney and Teyla. I think it is safe to assume that as expedition leader, it was Elizabeth's decision to include Ronon in these executive meetings.
Which brings up the question -- why Ronon? Assuming Ronon isn't just there by fluke because the writers got lazy and wanted to find a way to further incorporate him into the show, Elizabeth must have had a reason for including him. Ford never attended these meetings in season 1 when he was the 4th member of John's team.
The most logical explanation I can think of is that Elizabeth wanted another military perspective when making executive decisions. She has far more military under her command than she did in season 1. She has regular contact with Caldwell and the SGC, thereby giving her the resources to go on the offensive with the wraith. Atlantis is no longer solely a civilian operation. It might have made sense for the next highest ranking military officer after John to have been in attendence, however I can see why she didn't choose, say, Major Lorne. Specifically, I'm recalling her conversation with him in 2x10 "Lost Boys" wherein he says in regards to Sheppard's team, "Oh, you know how those guys are, don't get too worried."
Of course, all Elizabeth had to do was raise an eyebrow for him to remember that failing to take John and herself seriously was a bad idea. Still, Ronon made for a better choice. He is a military specialist, intensely loyal to John and therefore to Elizabeth, and without any preconcieved notions regarding Elizabeth. He also knows how to think outside the SGC box.
I suppose I could be reaching here, but well, I've been giving the series the benefit of the doubt since I started watching and it hasn't disappointed me yet. Well, except with Miko. Self-effacing Asian female going, "filial piety yay! Yes large pompous white man, tell me how I may please you!"
...but that is a rant for another post.
Elizabeth has done everything in her power to preserve the spirit of the original expedition while at the same time transforming it into a viable line of defense against the Wraith. I do think she is a good leader. She does not, however, lead by example, thereby breaking the paradigm for how an authority figure in a sci-fi show is supposed to behave.
I really freaking love my show.
