Side Effects: Divide & Conquer
| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Side Effects: Divide & Conquer |
| Author(s): | Rutherford |
| Date(s): | |
| Length: | 64K |
| Genre: | femslash |
| Fandom: | Stargate SG-1 |
| External Links: | |
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Side Effects: Divide & Conquer is a Sam/Janet story by Rutherford.
A related story is Side Effects: 100 Days.
Reactions and Reviews
An epilogue to Divide and Conquer, this story takes an established relationship between Sam and Janet as its premise and, as the series title suggests, shows the effects and consequences of the episode on the women and their relationship. The author pulls no punches, yet at the same time provides a twist - Sam's grief for Martouf - that neatly diverts the reader from the "ship" aspect of the episode, while still dealing with it.I really wish there was an Upgrades entry in the Side Effects series, because in this story Janet's brief interaction with Anise is a real gem. Janet's hostility toward Anise (because she has twice placed Sam at risk) is underplayed but there's a definite, subtle undercurrent of "stay away from my girl". I get the feeling Janet can be quite the tiger.
The writing style is clean and to the point - there is no flowery language - and this writer has a way of showing, not telling, that's very effective. The reader feels Janet's worry as she goes in search of Sam, and also her shock at Sam's condition - a distress verging on insanity - when she finds her. Jack's entry into the story at the worst possible moment (for Janet) begins yet another rollercoaster of emotion, and the reader is carried right along with it. Janet's inability to tell Jack to "stay away from her girl" is heartbreaking.
Does the story have faults? There's one big one in that the issues have no real resolution. Janet is left feeling "almost like she...didn't exist, like she was somebody's secret mistress", isolated from everyone. The reader has no idea what Sam feels for Jack, though his feelings toward her are clear enough. It feels like the first chapter of a much longer story and I truly wish the author had continued it.
All in all, though, definitely a story worth going back to.[1]