Teal'c

[woodface]

The more Teal'c centered episodes I see, the less I like him. Teal'c is rapidly turning into the one member of SG-1 that I just do not want to know.

The first time I started hmmming was in Crossroads. Here we have Teal'c having an affair with Sho'nac. Now, I am willing to be openminded about this because it is unclear whether or not Teal'c is at that moment with his wife (she having been married to that other Jaffa and all). However, it is also unclear on whether or not Teal'c had been having an affair with Sho'nac while he was still married before.

However, when we go into S7 and Teal'c is the first time with Istha, he shows a certain regret at losing his wife. The way it was played suggested that they were still together. Apparently sleeping with someone after his wife's death is more of a moral issue than sleeping with someone while she's still alive. Charming man isn't he?

So now Affinity and Sacrifices. Hello? Teal'c elopes with a girl, sleeps with her and then acts all "manly" with Istha again. Sure, they respect each other but loyalty is not something that is in Mr. T's book.

Besides that, it's the way Teal'c treats all Jaffa (besides Bra'tac). On SG-1 he is the loyal friend and steady rock of the team. Outside that however, he's a know it all chauvinist. In the Warrior he choses to ignore SG1 in favour of following that Jaffa. In S7 Sacrifices, he goes with Istha to give her counsel and then speaks against her. Sorry, but that is not respect.

Conclusion: I don't like Teal'c, the more they tune into his personal life, the less I do. He might be a great friend to his team mates but besides that he has shown a lack of morals. I'm amazed how no one has ever spoken out to it.

And because I'm talking about Sacrifices; that scene in the hall with Sam and Jack was just too cute.

Comments

[splash-the-cat.livejournal.com]

But Teal'c doesn't really live by our morals, even though he lives with humans. I think that was one of the things they were trying to say with Affinity (though again, I think that was an episode that had too many things going on in it, and it lost a lot of its impact because of that). I've always seen what you mention above as a consequence of Teal'c trying to balance his extistence in two very different worlds. Jaffa culture is often portrayed as a vary male-dominated warrior culture, with a very different moral structure from ours, and really, for all his good qualities, Tea'lc is Jaffa and was a First Prime. I think, when he's with other Jaffa, he falls back into a shadow of that role. He wants his people free, but he's restricted to a certain framework in which he can work to secure that freedom.

There's a great story by Katie M that looks at what might happen to Teal'c if he went back to the Jaffa, and how they might see him as tainted by the Tau'ri and their ways, and how that his role with the Tau'ri has in effect lost him much respect among the Jaffa, and how that eventually makes him ineffective as a leader for the Jaffa. In taking the steps he has to free his people, he has cut himself off from them.

And really, as far as the respecting Ishta thing is concerned, Teal'c is pretty irrational when it comes to the Jaffa as a whole. He's built his entire purpose of being on freeing them, and that clouds his judgment a LOT. He believes HE knows what's best for his people, and I think this has a negative impact on his relationships with individual Jaffa. He may respect Ishta, care for her, but when that respect comes in conflict with his larger goal of freeing the Jaffa, that larger goal will win every time. I'm not saying this is good or right, but it is believable as a character trait.

Relatedly, he loves SG-1 on a personal level, but I think he's with Earth only as long as their goal is getting rid of the Goa'uld. His first priority has always been to his people, and I think, over the years this has started to conflict a little with his personal ties to SG-1. So I see his behavior with the Jaffa as sort of a reaction to this inner conflict he has.

He's not a bad guy. He's just not human. And honestly, I like seeing them play with the fact that he doesn't live by human (okay, really Western and more specifically American) moral standards. I like that some of his behavior makes people a little uncomfortable. It makes him a little more realistic as an individual being, and little less like the wallpaper token alien.

[splash-the-cat.livejournal.com]

Something else I just thought about. I think Teal'c is self-centered too, and this may be related to his sense of power and importance from being a First Prime (you don't just throw off a lifetime of cultural conditioning like that, even after eight years living a different life). But think about how he is all "I know what's best for the Jaffa," or "I must revenge my father," or "I was wronged by my wife." As much love and loyalty as he has for SG-1 and his people, he's still pretty self-focused and self-important about certain things.

And now I think I'm done hijacking your lj for this Teal'c apologist treatise. ;)

(Pssssst, like my icon?)

[woodface]

*nods* I can see what you say and I understand it. The fact that the Jaffa is mostly male-dominated does probably influence his love life as well.

However, that still leaves that little guilt trip he went through with Istha about his wife. It did show that he still felt a sort of loyalty for her, this suggests that if he had difficulty with getting involved with Istha, he should have had difficulty with the two affairs he's had by now. That is however not the case. Maybe the guilt trip is due to him having interacted with humans so much? But then Affinity shouldn't have happened. *looks confused*

I wonder also if he has difficulty taking orders from Sam, or at least admitting to other Jaffa that he is taking orders from a woman. I dunno, it all seems to strangly inconsistent perhaps because I never fully concentrated on Teal'c. I do however get your points and I have to agree. I still don't like it though.

Re: (Pssssst, like my icon?)

[splash-the-cat.livejournal.com]

Cute icon. :)

That is however not the case. Maybe the guilt trip is due to him having interacted with humans so much? But then Affinity shouldn't have happened. *looks confused*

That's a good point. I'm not really sure how to approach his relationship with Shau'nac (sp?) in my arguments, because I get the impression that was much more than a simple affair, that there was something weird and much deeper tied up in all that. Wasn't it Shau'nac, and not Dray'ac, who was in his visions/dreams/hallucinations in "Changeling"? Makes me wonder if his marriage to Dray'ac was arranged (which given Jaffa culture, would track). I'll have to go back and watch the first Shau'nac episode again.

But yeah, him sleeping with the girl was one of the big things in Affinity that didn't track for me. I guess it could have been a moment of weakness, or as TPTB are wont to do, shortchanging their idea or taking a shortcut to either fit the story or the time limits of episodic TV.

And too, I do think he might have problems with Sam as head of SG-1, or admitting it. I doubt we'll get to see that on the screen, but I think you could get some great Sam and Teal'c interaction out of it in fic.

I do however get your points and I have to agree. I still don't like it though

*grin* Yes, well, we've had similar arguments on the Pete front, so I'm good with that :)

[woodface]

Makes me wonder if his marriage to Dray'ac was arranged (which given Jaffa culture, would track).

There is that of course. Then again, Affinity showed a very open view on marriages among the Jaffa. Rya'c asked his blessing for the marriage but made it very clear that he did not need it. From what I could gather, Bra'tac backed him up on this. However, it could be a new development as Ishta has taught her Jaffa indepence (and therefor the relationship between Rya'c and his girlfriend might be closer to our view on marriage, although there is the whole tradition argument too).

I guess it could have been a moment of weakness, or as TPTB are wont to do, shortchanging their idea or taking a shortcut to either fit the story or the time limits of episodic TV.

I think this might be the problem with most Teal'c stories.

*grin* Yes, well, we've had similar arguments on the Pete front, so I'm good with that :)

Heh, I think we pretty much agree on the Pete front. I just don't like him. I do like what he does to Sam though *happy sigh at Sam smiling$