STARGATE SG-1: Daniel/Vala 'shippy moment

[campylobacter]

(10x08 “Memento Mori”)
VALA: (impressed) Fancy...
DANIEL: Well, I know you don't get off the base much except for official business, so I thought I'd take you somewhere nice.
VALA: Well, I don't mind telling you, I've been looking forward to this little date all week.
DANIEL: I wouldn't exactly call it a 'date'. It's—
VALA: Oh, I've watched enough of your television to know what a date is, Daniel. It's a romantic event typified by dinner, movie and/or karaoke and, usually, culminating in a night of—
DANIEL: (flustered) O-okay, this is... this is definitely not a date. It's, it's two friends and co-workers out for dinner.

You have to admire the pains Daniel took to make it appear he wasn't interested:

• his hair was kinda messy
• didn't bother to press the cotton paisley shirt he probably bought for 2 dollars in India
• baggy jacket, no necktie
• didn't hold Vala's chair as she was seated at the table
• fed her some condescending crap about "refusing the temptation to fall back on your old ways" and "proving him right"

And then you have to laugh your head off when he gazes at her fondly and looks genuinely disappointed that instead of saying something deep and meaningful, she says she needs use the bathroom. I'm guessing his preachy little thank-you speech made her think twice about confessing why she looked forward to their (not) date.

enlarge picture

Just 2 co-workers? Really, Daniel? Is that how you look at Jack when he takes you to lunch?

cross-posted from my Tumblr account, which is where sci-fi eye candy LIVES and to daniel_vala on LJ

Comments

[dannysgirlsg1.livejournal.com]

SO TOTALLY A DATE!

And you gotta love, that when it comes down to the very basics, Daniel is SUCH a guy! XP

[campylobacter.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Daniel hung around Jack too much -- all that macho guy behavior rubbed off.

Heh. RUBBED.

[shakespherical.livejournal.com]

Well....maybe that IS how he looks at Jack when he goes out for lunch with him...tee hee. This whole episode frustrated teh fuck out of me actually because he is signalling that he wants her and saying stupid things. Like some sort of condescending prick...and then works day and night to find her. Sigh...

I do like the end when EVERYONE knows it's a date and he STILL denies it!

[campylobacter.livejournal.com]

OMG the lulz I get every time I see the skeptical looks on Sam, Cam, Teal'c and Landry when Daniel vehemently denies it!

Landry, especially. Hank doesn't even bother to say anything because Daniel bugged the crap out of him the entire time Vala was missing.

[ringgoldgate.livejournal.com]

My Vote:

DATE

[campylobacter.livejournal.com]

Agreed. :-D

[magnavox-23.livejournal.com]

Pshaw, it was a DATE!

Daniel has that very dumb ass way of trying to express his interest, instead coming off as a condescending pompous jackass. Think about it, he *knows* Vala, he would never had willingly put himself in that position (I call foul on his not recognising that it could be misconstrued as such) unless he was testing the waters as it were, even a little subconsciously. :P

[campylobacter.livejournal.com]

I think milena_d demonstrated it best when she wrote Here's Our Story (http://milena-d.livejournal.com/17458.html), where Daniel tries to prove it wasn't a date by taking Cam and Teal'c to Il Fiore Bianco, and the same waiter concludes that they're gay.

And yes, as someone with an advanced degree in Anthropology, he can't NOT be aware of the social implications of taking her out, even if she's unfamiliar with North American courtship rituals. He kinda confessed that seeing her happy was his motivation for taking her to a fancy place, then back-tracks with the "proving me right" statement. He's probably subconsciously jealous that Tomin did more to re-align Vala's priorities than he did.

[evrymeeveryyou.livejournal.com]

You are so dead on - it doesn't matter how oblivious he is to the opposite sex, he cannot possibly be unaware of what he is implying. He knew exactly what he was doing...he just chicken-shitted out of it later.

However, I don't think Tomin realigned Vala's priorities. I believe Daniel, SG-1 in its entirety, Tomin, and her battles with the Ori all combined to do the trick.

[iamrosalita.livejournal.com]

Oh come now, Daniel, you couldn't even convince Landry it wasn't a date. It was totally a date!

[campylobacter.livejournal.com]

I love how Landry does that "dad" thing where he doesn't have to say anything; he just humors Daniel by not laughing in his face and then saunters out of the room.

SO LIKE A DAD.

[bkwurm1.livejournal.com]

His hair was kind of messy...but he had product in it. Did he style it and then mess it up on purpose? His shirt was rumpled and he didn't wear a tie but he chose the restaurant and it required the jacket? Then one of my favorite moments, Vala orders all of the specialty martinis and Daniel corrects the order and singles out not the safe chocolate but goes for PASSIONFRUIT!!!! Talk about mixed signals.

[campylobacter.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's EXACTLY what it looks like he did to his hair! The Daniel Jackson School of Beauty Style Tip #5: To look groomed but not interested, gel the fuck outta your hair and then MESS IT UP.

#6 Wear the jacket that DOESN'T fit because it's clean and hasn't been worn before.

#7 Pull that wrinkled shirt outta the charity bag because it doesn't match anything in your wardrobe.

#8 Order the most sexually suggestive mixed drink for the chick you wanna bone, but DENY YOU'RE INTERESTED.

LMAO Daniel's such a mess.