See, all these examples are what I was thinking of in the back of my mind as I thought about Carson and the retrovirus. Yes, I know he's a nice man, but he could so easily cross that line for perfectly good intentions. Just as you pointed out. Any of them could, really, being under the pressure and stress of surviving in the Pegasus Galaxy.
And something else you said rings true to me too. Yes, in some instances it is Elizabeth's call. Which makes me think that for all his strengths, Carson just isn't really a leader. When you get him outside of his own medical expertise (flying jumpers, playing commando, helping the Athosians prepare for the storm) he is just lost usually. This season he's gotten better, but really his strengths are in his own field. So even if he did turn to the dark side as it were, he'd need someone else to guide him I think. He's not really the dictator type. Which is why I easily see a dark AU where Rodney is the bad guy and has brought Carson over to his side. Which I'm sure would surprise a lot of Carson fans, but not me.
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And something else you said rings true to me too. Yes, in some instances it is Elizabeth's call. Which makes me think that for all his strengths, Carson just isn't really a leader. When you get him outside of his own medical expertise (flying jumpers, playing commando, helping the Athosians prepare for the storm) he is just lost usually. This season he's gotten better, but really his strengths are in his own field. So even if he did turn to the dark side as it were, he'd need someone else to guide him I think. He's not really the dictator type. Which is why I easily see a dark AU where Rodney is the bad guy and has brought Carson over to his side. Which I'm sure would surprise a lot of Carson fans, but not me.