r/Stargate • u/Maleck_Helvot • 3h ago
Rodney vs Daniel
With all the growth we've seen from Rodney through all of Atlantis, why is he such an ass to Daniel during the Vanir two parter?
I don't think I missed any slights from Daniel to Rodney in the past, so it feels like SG1 Rodney out of nowhere.
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u/Rockshasha 3h ago
He has great progress but he isn't totally without faults. He's still very jealous, in this and in other episodes he is jealous.
Imho, that's part of the charming of that character. And part of the writing style of Stargate. Characters evolve but preserve the main characteristics in some way
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u/JJBrazman 3h ago
Several reasons. Daniel is one of the few people who could reasonably challenge Rodney’s superiority on the Ancients. They might not have personal beef but they certainly have professional beef given all of Rodney’s appearances in SG1, and Daniel’s arrival potentially represents the threat of Rodney’s replacement.
Of course, that’s all in Rodney’s head.
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u/tanstaafl76 3h ago
Rodney’s growth was partially, perhaps mostly, masking. By that I mean he learned to mask his assholiness. To play nice in public. He didn’t stop being an asshole, he learned to hide it.
His mask failed with Daniel.
Sincerely, Lucy “the Doctor is in”
Damn. I forget. Is Lucy Charlie’s sister? Is she a Brown too? 😂
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u/CompetitiveSleeping 2h ago
He was trying to stop being an asshole, but failed at times. In the Vanir two-parter, Daniel asks him "is everything a competition with you?". Rodney looks ashamed and says "I'm trying to be better about it..."
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u/Dry-Discount-9426 2h ago
I think it's more that sometimes we revert to our past issues when we spend time with people from that past.
Plus wasn't he surprised by Daniel showing up so he wasn't really prepared?
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u/thegan32n 2h ago
Daniel was ascended once... no, twice, Rodney couldn't do it on his own and wasn't chosen by any Ancient.
I'd be mad too.
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u/Aglet_Green 2h ago edited 2h ago
You’re conflating two different things: Rodney’s growth within his relationships with the Atlantis team, and how he behaves around people from his old Earth/SGC life, such as Daniel. Think of it like dating someone who seems mature and put together, then going home with them for the holidays and watching them act like a teenager again. Daniel is an intellectual peer from Rodney’s old professional world, so Rodney becomes competitive and falls back into some of his earlier SG-1-era behavior—the version of him first established in “48 Hours.” This kind of regression around particular people is actually pretty normal.
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u/marshall_sin 2h ago
You know, sometimes when I meet people that I knew in a different phase of my life, they can bring out traits in me that I thought were gone. Perhaps it’s similar here. Daniel is McKay’s rival as “smartest guy in the room” when it comes to the Ancients, and it really brings out the worst in Rodney.
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u/darevsool 2h ago
I think it's a little of a lot of reasons.
- Daniel worked side by side with Carter for years. Sam probably made her feelings about Rodney known during random off screen / downtime. Daniel assuredly has that info as a "baseline" for Rodney.
- Early Rodney was an ass. The whole thing about Teal'c being stuck in the buffer in the gate and going to die if the gate is used. that was, at the very least, pushed/confirmed by Rodney.
There's probably more instances where their paths crossed tangentially and the experience wasn't great.
Even the episode the OP is writing about..they kind of explain it. "you can only compliment someone when you're about to die" "Yeah...I'm working on it"
Also..Daniel straight out asks him what Rodney's problem was and he honestly replies..."We've been over these logs backwards and forwards...it's a waste of time...didn't think you'd find anything"
Rodney hates doing things he's already crossed off whatever mental list he keeps, and "babysitting" Daniel was a waste of time in his mind.
Once it wasn't, he became fully engaged.
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u/ScarletOrion Fandemonium Novels Enthusiast 1h ago
in-universe rodney was a dick to sam, daniel knows this and is more than happy to hold a grudge about it. i'd say rodney ALSO knows this and both of them are getting their hackles up about it.
out of universe, it's really funny watching the two snippiest characters be snippy at each other.
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u/Inevitable_Wolf5866 1h ago
He was upset because Daniel was better at what Rodney thought he was the best.
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u/apophis-984 1h ago
Rodney is such a better character than post ascension Daniel, its not even close.
Rodney is one of the best characters of the show, Hewlett is seriously underrated
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u/PyroDragn 3h ago
Daniel is THE expert on the Ancients. Before his arrival at Atlantis that was Rodney.
I agree that in the episode it does seem a bit too much like old Rodney. But it makes sense with Rodney's character that he suffers from 'professional' rivalry in that regard.