#colonel sumner

[teylae]

As long as you remember who's giving the orders. That would be Dr. Weir, right?

[sga-mcshep-4ever]

"We're trying to interface these consoles with a temporary battery power, see if we can access the city's main power systems and get this place up and running." "Dr. Weir, Colonel Sumner. Can you come down here and meet me, please? We're three levels down from you." "Right away." "How we doing over there?" "Nothing yet." "Well, let's see what we can do, then." "We've only been able to secure a fraction of the place. It's huge." "So it might really be the lost city of Atlantis." "I'd say that's a good bet." "Oh, my God. We're underwater." "I'd say we're under several hundred feet of ocean. This could be a problem."

[agent-troi]

you tell him jack

[twotales]

Okay guys, just hear me out, Colonel Sumner is important! You may hate him or you may not care about him but I love what he represents, and I'll tell you why:

The Rising Part 1:

Clearly, he is written to be disliked, I feel like we all know that especially since we are seeing him through John and he has his authority issues, but he was also written in that way so when you see him in Part 2 it feels like a more dramatic change.

And the thing about Sumner is I get where he's coming from in his feelings toward John. I don't agree, but I can see it.

I mean they have been prepping and training for months or years in the SGC and suddenly a random major with a shady history just pops up? The guy outranks everyone but him!? Whaat? I'd be wary as well. Especially if I were in charge of all military personnel. (Below Elizabeth.) Then of course Sumners gotta be all toxic masculinity and power assertive during Part 1 because he represents the military, of course he does, and because of this it will really solidify the message in Part 2. 

When he meets the Athosians I know he is an asshole and clearly being sexist. I also know they are running out of time, the city is about to flood! Their whole expedition is at risk and that is probably all Sumner sees. Athosians will take time, therefore he cannot wait because just like the whole of Atlantis does after, he cares more about the expedition than others. He may have gone about it a dick way but he is portraying the message that's repeated the entirety of the show where they will stop at nothing to keep their people from harm.

The Rising Part 2:

Like I said, they have established this guy as military personified, as the powerful tough guy, and in his first scene you see of him in P2 he's freaking out, for him at least, and it's got you like "Oh fuck."

Then he's in the prison with the Athosians and they are doing the blame game and he says "how do they know they didn't tip off the wraith," and the thing is the Athosians are wary but look at Teyla's face, she GETS it, she said so earlier that they weren't friends yet, she understands why he would feel that way. But then when one of the Athosians is taken and Teyla tries to take his place Sumner jumps up and says he is their leader.

This is another personification of our humankind. The fact he is willing to sacrifice himself for others. People he just met, it's not a part of a mission, nobody commanded him to do it. No, of his own free will he tried to take the athosians place, tried to keep Teyla from being taken. 

This feels so utterly Tau'ri and so Stargate that it hurts.

This is the moment I realized there was more to him than being a dick, which I am sure is the intent but it's just such a crucial moment to set up the next few scenes.

He barely reacts to that wraith dropping down, he does, but he's so brave. This is the very first real interaction between the wraith and them so he has to make a good strong impression. He knows he can't show fear because these aliens might deem our whole species as weak. Especially with all the enemies in our own galaxy the SGC have had to face.

So, he cannot show fear, he doesn't show fear.

Until the moment he realizes that they eat us, that they are all probably going to get eaten, and that any misstep with him could spell disaster for Earth. The look on his face when the mask drops and he's just a terrified little human, a mere shadow of the man he has shown himself to be.

Fucking terrifying.

But then he swallows it, he remembers his training, he puts that brave face on and you see the instant "Fuck you" written all over it when she tells him to kneel.

Just so like us Earthlings.

Then she makes this man kneel with her fucking mind and you're like "OH FUUCK."

And in the end, when he dies, it's doing more than show what could happen to humans, does more than show what sort of danger they have gotten themselves into, it shows that the personification of the military is gone, that this show is different, that it's more civilian and science-based (at first.) 

It shows this isn't SG1, it's motherfucking Stargate Atlantis bitch!!

And we wouldn't have any of that without Sumner.

@itstartedwithalex Thank you for encouraging me to share these thoughts with our community and thank you @stargatelov3r for asking my thoughts on Sumner in the first place. 💚

[carsonsweebabyturtles]

Stargate Atlantis - Rising

Colonel Marshall Sumner - Robert Patrick

[spockvarietyhour]

[brightfire999]

It's interesting how when they go to first meet Teyla, how John is the first to just try to be relaxed and human and seems more approachable, taking off his night goggles, saying well let's get to know each other, cracking jokes about ferris wheels, choosing not to be standoffish like a certain Colonel we know.

And not saying they are basically useless cough cough Sumner

[happycabbage]

John Sheppard being reminded of Colonel Sumner’s death.

01x01 Rising, 01x05 Suspicion, 01x14 Sanctuary, 01x17 Letters from Pegasus, 01x20-02x01 The Siege pts 2 &3