Stargate Atlantis: Travelers

By Wolfen Moondaughter
Sorry for the delay in the review of this episode (and “Tabula Rasa”), everyone, but there was no way I could have gotten the column done before my plane left on the 27th, and I was *gasp* without a computer for a whole week! (Yes, it was torture! And just imagine how much worse it would have been on Rodney!)

I will confess that I went in thinking I wasn’t going to like this one much at all. I mean, I love John, don’t get me wrong, but I love John best when he’s interacting with Rodney and the rest of his team. The notion of him spending an ep pretty much all on his own just wasn’t appealing, especially when you add in the “hot alien chick” factor (and the fact that there will be another Shep-centric episode later in the season, one which, I suspect, won’t have much of the team in it either. Believe it or not, I wouldn’t ask for a Rodney-centric ep without the team either — although I loved “Grace Under Pressure” pretty well.) All that being said, I came away liking this one much more than I expected, especially since there was more screentime for the team than I’d expected. Did I love the episode? Not quite (although it is growing on me with the rewatch). It’s my least fave ep of the season so far, and I suspect it will remain so. Sorry, Paul Mullie! (He penned this one.) Still, when the worst ep of the season is still better than the above-average episode of most other shows? That says something, in my book.

4.5: “Travelers”

The ep starts with Sheppard on his way home to Atlantis, approaching a Space ‘Gate in a puddle-jumper. Seeing as the planet he’d just left was populated, and therefore probably not particularly hostile, I’m left wondering why the Ancients felt it necessary to install a ‘Gate in space instead of planetside. Were they afraid the population might wander offworld? Would that have been a bad thing? Did they just want to keep up the appearance of godly beings coming down from the sky? Oh, right, John needed to be in a puddle-jumper and in space for this story to adequately work. Silly me. (You may have noticed I have a penchant for over-thinking. *Halo*) Hey, here’s a question: did the Ancients have some sort of warning device that says when an address is a Space ‘Gate? I mean, when you’re on the run and don’t have a MALP handy, how do you keep from walking right out into space? Yes, yes, sorry, moving along ….

Rodney makes the observation that John has never volunteered for a supply run for any of the other science stations they’ve set up, adding that this particular planet happens to be a tropical paradise, home to a primitive tribe with few social inhibitions. Munching away on an apple (Garden of Eden, anyone?), Sheppard confirms that the natives were very friendly. Okay, who are you, and what have you done with John Sheppard? ‘Cause that just came off as a bit … callous, I guess. While he’s not the type to say no, he’s never struck me as the type to go seeking a good time while on duty either. It’s a funny exchange, yes, and enjoyable in its own right (it’s the McShep equivalent of phone sex, no? *Wink*), but it smacks a bit of a forced set-up for the whole “Kirk” thing.

Sheppard’s ‘jumper is suddenly under attack, but John has no idea by whom — he doesn’t think it’s the Wraith. First he looses weapons, then power and, of course, communication. (And I squee a little as Rodney and John call out for each other. Yes, I know anyone else in the same boat would do the same thing, even if they didn’t really like the person on the other end of the line. Let me have my fun, will you?) The puddle-jumper gets swallowed by another ship.

On board, Sheppard gives his captors a bit of lip. They shove him around, and take a blood sample. They question him, but of course he’s amusingly non-cooperative. (Unlike McKay, who, if put in a similar scenario, I imagine would be like that kid in Goonies, spilling his guts over past crimes no one even cares about.)

Back in Atlantis, Rodney is filling Ronon and Teyla in, saying that while they have no idea who abducted Sheppard, they do believe that a hyperspace window had been opened in the vicinity of the ‘jumper’s last known location. Unfortunately, the energy signature doesn’t match that of any vessel they are familiar with, not Wraith nor Ancient. We learn that there are no other civilizations they are aware of with that level of tech, as they are usually culled before they reach that level. It’s a nice bit of exposition, presented in a natural-sounding give-and-take conversation.

Sheppard’s gotten a bit bloodied by his interrogator. In walks a woman, one who is clearly in charge. The interrogator says the only information their captive has given up is that his name is Reed Richards. (Oh John, bless your comic-lovin’ heart! But aren’t you trained to recite name-rank-serial number, as a sort of mantra to keep you from spilling anything else? Wait, what am I saying? Like you’re one to follow the rules?) The woman informs the interrogator that their prisoner’s name is Sheppard; they heard overheard it in the last transmission. (Poor Mr Interrogator sure has egg on his face! *Grin*) The woman introduces herself as Larrin.

Sheppard tries to wheedle her into a deal, but her companions reveal that the previous man to disappoint her went missing — they assume she shoved him out an air lock. Yes, yes, she’s a tough gal, but I bet all Sheppard’s noticing is what I am: mainly that she must be wearing one of Madonna’s pointy bras under that clunky cloth-and-leather top she’s wearing.

They feed Sheppard, but he’s not too impressed with the grub. Through the course of his conversation with Larrin, we learn that her people are space nomads; they live in ships to keep ahead of the Wraith. They know a fair amount about the Atlanteans; they’d heard about them and set up spy satellites around Space ‘Gates. (It’s funny how, despite their best efforts, the Atlanteans are absolute failures at keeping a low profile, what with how, over the years, the Wraith, the Genii, the Asurans, Ronon’s Satedan friends, and now the Travelers all keep finding them so easily. Maybe they need to rethink some security protocols — or take some lessons in traveling incognito ….) Larrin also reveals that they know Sheppard has the Ancient gene; they need his help.

And though he hasn’t said no outright, she decides to pull out the big guns to convince him to be cooperative: she locks him in the hanger bay, then orders the shield up and the hanger floor opened. All that lies between his feet and the cold depths of space is that shield, driving home the threat that she will throw him out of the ship if he doesn’t help them. She finally reveals just what they need him for: a derelict Ancient ship floats below him. (I find this scene absolutely terrifying. Apparently John does too.)

Larrin herself is a “needs must be done” kind of gal. The food she eats might not be great, but it’s nutritious. Sheppard might have been hurt during the interrogation, but sometimes hurting is necessary for survival. Life as a nomad may not be great, but it beats being a Wraith TV dinner. Larrin’s had a rough life that’s required her to be ruthless in order to help her people. I can understand and respect all that. I’m pretty sure we’re supposed to think she’s bad but she’s supposed to become an ally of sorts by the end — that’s just how these kinds of stories go. But I have to say, I am not liking her so far.

Is my intense dislike of Larrin an unconscious fangirl-jealousy thing? Nope, don’t I think so; I could never be such a rabid “relationshipper” if I had some problem with male characters that I’m fond of hooking up with someone so unlike me, now could I? No, I’m a die-hard Mulder/Scully, Spike/Buffy, and Daniel/Vala shipper, so obviously I don’t have that problem! Besides, while Flanigan is certainly attractive, Shep’s not really my type — I go more for Rodney. (Way more. *Cough*) So maybe it’s an unconscious McShepper issue, since I’m relatively certain, even this early in the game, that there will be a love-hate thing going on in this ep between John and Larrin. (The fact that McShep will likely never be canon, and therefore there no reason to be indignant on Rodney’s behalf, doesn’t really seem to matter much to my gut, I guess.)

Whoa! I just realised where I recognise this woman (Jill Wagner) from: she was Krista on Blade: the Series! Okay, so I’m thinking got to be the character that I’m not liking here, then, because I liked Wagner well enough on that, and her acting seems even better here.

On the Ancient ship, John learns that the ship was damaged long ago in an attack by the Wraith, and is still giving off deadly radiation. The Ancients had intended to return to the ship someday to repair it, and never got the chance. Larrin and her people have shielded the sections they’re working in. They’re also wearing radiation detectors which, of course, they won’t share with John — why would he need one when he’s supposed to be with one of them at all times? Love how one of the thugs shoves John when he makes the request; it’s a nice bit of comic timing. John, unsurprisingly, is quite amusing in this scene. (Heck, throughout the episode, he livens up the exposition. Well, I suppose he always does that, but it doesn’t change that I appreciate the humour still.) Note that the camera pans down so we can see Larrin’s detector, but with the way the scene is framed, with the device to the far right, her chest seems to be the focal point. *Snicker* Oh, and Larrin’s leather jacket is cool — much better than her top.

Larrin’s two thugs drag Sheppard to the bridge, where they want him to initialize the systems. One of them tells him to get the ship moving, so he can compare readings. Sheppard asks him if he’s sure, to which the man responds that it’s why they’re there in the first place. At gunpoint, John obliges, pointing out just before he does that the man didn’t tell him to start up the inertial dampeners first. The men are thrown back into the wall. I’m grinning from ear to ear while John recovers and grabs a weapon, stunning them for good measure. He also notes that a friend of his has a gun just like the one he’s taken from them. Hmmm. either Ronon got it from a Traveler, or they got theirs from the same place Ronon did. Larrin picks herself up off the floor wherever she’s at and radios her guys. John picks up a radio and informs her of what’s going on in a humourous little exchange. (Really, lady, why should your captive cooperate after all you’ve done so far, much less trust that you won’t kill him after? I’m sure you’d do the same thing in his shoes!) John then makes the ship jump to hyperspace.

Back at the primitive world, Rodney, Lorne (yay!!), Ronon, and Teyla are searching for any sign of John’s ‘jumper, wreckage or otherwise. Rodney determines that John must have been taken captive when whoever attacked him jumped to hyperspace. Ronon asks what they do next, and Rodney unhappily says that there is no next step — they have no way of knowing where the enemy went. “I’m sorry, but sometimes there’s just nothing we can do!” I’m guessing that he took it as his personal responsibility to find Sheppard, so the failure is weighing heavily on him despite his pragmatic-seeming statement. The rest of the crew look stricken, particularly Ronon behind McKay; it’s a nice, angsty, heartbreaking moment. I love moments like this — well, so long as we know the person lost will be saved, that is!

Back on the Ancient ship (hey, Shep, how about a name for it??), Larrin orders John to drop them out of hyperspace, adding that she’s turned off the shield emitters protecting the bridge. John thinks she’s bluffing and won’t risk the lives of her men — until he hears the beeping of the radiation detectors on his now-captive captors. For a moment, I wonder why John’s so surprised — she’s been pretty ruthless so far, and as a military man he should understand the “needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few” logic. It’s why he didn’t want to let Teyla save a group of people on a world that was about to be culled (sometime back in season one, if I remember correctly). Hell, it’s why he ordered Rodney to pull the nanite plug on Elizabeth, back in “Adrift”! But then again, that decision didn’t come easily for him, and the threat to the Atlanteans was far more immediate than the risk to the rest of Larrin’s people in this situation. And, well, he’d gone against his training to protect or save a handful of people before, like in Afghanistan; I guess this means Larrin’s a better soldier than he is?

So Sheppard finally relents, dropping out of hyperspace and ending up in the brig. Larrin’s not impressed with his recklessness and how he risked all their lives; he’s not impressed with how willing she was to kill her own crew with radiation, so I guess they’re even. One of her guys, Nevic, comes in to inform her that Sheppard has turned off propulsion; she points out to Nevic that if he can’t get the systems up, they’re stranded. (I think he knows that, lady ….) Despite Nevic’s protests, she’s not willing to let Sheppard near the systems again. She orders poor Nevic to try bringing the broken communications array online (I assume to try to call for help). Actually, she reminds me of Sheppard, always ordering the science guys to do the impossible. Unfortunately for her, she doesn’t have Rodney at her disposal!

Speaking of Rodney, of course our boyo didn’t give up, despite his defeatist attitude earlier. He informs Ronon and Teyla that, while he was right that sometimes there’s nothing you can do, this isn’t one of those times. An Ancient program similar to Earth’s SETI (do many people even know what that is, I wonder, much less Ronon and Teyla?) picked up a pattern in the subspace static! He tells them it’s from Sheppard, conjecturing several reasons why the man would use the pattern rather than send an actual message. Ronon asks how he knows it’s Sheppard, and, for the sake of those in the audience who didn’t already guess by the sound, Rodney answers that it’s Morse Code — SOS. (Again, do Ronon and Teyla even know what that is? Well, I suppose they may have been taught something about it by the military personnel.)

Larrin, meanwhile, arrives at the brig and punches John in the face. He’s not pleased; neither is she. She asks if he knows what he’s done; he says he hasn’t done anything. She punches him again; he tells her to stop it. She’ll stop hitting him when he stops lying, she tells him, then asks if he sent a message using the broken communications array. He pauses, then answers yes. And gets punched in the face again. Indignantly, he points out that she said she would stop. (I’m in stitches — and it seems John might need stitches!) She pulls a gun on him instead, informing him that the Wraith picked up his signal and are on their way. (I guess they have a SETI too!) Hmm. Technically John wasn’t lying in regards to her question — she was, in essence, asking if he knew he’d called the Wraith, and obviously he didn’t! (Hey, do they remind anyone else of Han Solo and Princess Leia somehow in this scene?)

The Wraith ship opens fire on theirs, and their shields are failing. Sheppard talks Larrin into letting him help; she heads for the bridge and leaves him to use a control chair to fire drones. Unfortunately, a good shot by the Wraith knocks out the chair, burning out the crystals in its base, so John has to fix them. (I hope he’s paid attention when Rodney’s worked on such things!) Another good shot kills the shields; a third kills the men on the bridge, leaving Sheppard and Larrin alone. John gets the chair back up and running in time to destroy the Wraith ship before it can destroy them. Sheppard, much to Larrin’s annoyance, is able to tap into the ship’s intercom to talk to her. (Nice way to cover the fact that he’d needed a radio before but obviously now would no longer have one! I love that kind of attention to detail!) Larrin tells him to stay put, so of course he bails.

He manages to trap her in the room while he gets to the auxiliary control room. He informs her that the hyperdrive is offline, but when she points out that she should be able to fix it, he refuses to free her, trusting that the Wraith didn’t get a message it before he destroyed them and that his people (I love it when he calls them that!) will come to their rescue. Even if I don’t like her, I can’t deny that it’s a great exchange, with fun (non-sexual) tension!

Rodney, aboard a ‘jumper once again with Lorne, Ronon, and Teyla, pinpoints John’s location, hot on the trail — if you can call five hours away by sublight “hot”. They advise the rest of the ‘jumpers of where to go. I wonder — are Rodney and his team in the hyperspace-capable ‘jumper?

Back on the Ancient ship, Larrin is trying to override the door controls to the chair room. It sparks when she applies a knife, and an alarm sounds in the auxillary control room. Sheppard asks her over the intercom what she’s doing, and promises her that, when his people arrive, they’ll drop her off somewhere unharmed. Larrin doesn’t believe him, nor even like the proposal, and continues to mess with the door control wiring, so John shuts down the power to there. She pleads with him, telling him how they can no longer repair their ships, and their numbers keep growing, so they need new vessels. She adds that they’ve had to abandon some of their people on the ground. Despite his “no one gets left behind” mindset, after how she’s treated him? John’s not feeling too charitable, pointing out that her people are no worse off than anyone else in the galaxy. (Not that I blame him for feeling that way. If she wants help, she went the wrong way about asking for it!)

She uses her blaster to burn a hole through the door. He uses the ship’s force shields to trap her in the hall. (It’s almost like watching a chess match, isn’t it?) She calls for help; he tells her to give it up, her people are gone. She insists he doesn’t know for sure; he uses the ship’s computer to determine that they indeed are. She stalks off; he tracks her movements, and notes the presence of another life sign ahead of her. Of course she assumes it’s one of her guys, Silas, and nearly runs smack into a Wraith.

She tussles with it, losing her blaster and her knife, but just when it seems the Wraith has the upper hand, John shows up, blaster blazing. (Well, at least she seemed to be holding her own pretty well for a minute there, so no one could accuse her of being a helpless damsel!) John gives some conjecture on how the Wraith got into the ship (through the hanger), and reveals that there are three more on board. They make a show of revealing that John’s blaster is about empty (it’s hers, he grabbed it off the floor), and she has no weapon at all (the Wraith’s being all melty).

They run off together, using an LSD to keep track of the enemy, and hide in a closet of sorts. She won’t shut up; he covers her mouth, and she bites his hand. He cries out, and she covers his. He recovers hers, and they stand like that, waiting for the Wraith to pass them by. The whole scene reminds me of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn a bit. Very cute and well done; they certainly have chemistry. And yet I still don’t really like her, so I’m also disappointed by the scene, that there’s such palpable romantic tension. I’m even relieved that they don’t kiss here. I even find myself nostalgic for the John/Teyla-ness of the prior ep ….

On the ‘jumper, Rodney laments that he can’t boost the sensors any further. There’s an exchange that basically boils down to them not having a clue what they’re dealing with. Ronon asks why it matters; “Even if it was a fleet of hive ships, would it stop us form trying to get him back?” (Awwwwww!) Lorne says no, but he doesn’t sound too enthusiastic. (And I can’t help but think of Elizabeth here, left behind because the danger outweighed the odds of saving her, though, so I guess the answer is actually yes, it would ….)

Back in the closet, Larrin is complaining to Sheppard that they would both be on their merry way and she would have a ship to save a few thousand people, if Sheppard had just cooperated in the first place. He retorts that she should have asked, then, instead of attacking him. She insists that she couldn’t take the risk that he would say no. (Well, lady, you still took a risk by deciding to fight him instead of playing nice, and gee, how’s that workin’ out for ya? You could have tried asking and then taken him prisoner if he did say no. Fatal error, there.) John announces that the Wraith are moving on. He pauses outside the closet, though, when he realises that the Wraith are closer to the control room than they are. Larrin doesn’t see why that’s an issue, until it dawns on her that John didn’t shut the room down, leaving the Wraith free to fly the ship anywhere and track the humans within using the sensors. (Hey, why don’t the Wraith have LSDs of some kind?)

After playing the blame game a bit longer, they decide Larrin will lure the wraith to a specific point, and Sheppard will use the chair to fire the drones at that part of the ship. I have to admit it’s a clever notion, even if it does sound risky; I may not like Larrin, but I have to admire her a bit for this plan. Settling into the chair, Sheppard asks over the com if she’s sure about this. (Er, can’t the Wraith hear? Can he direct it to wherever she is only?) She responds that she’ll be fine so long as he doesn’t shoot too early, adding that that’s probably not the first time he’s heard that from a woman. (Daaaaang! Could she have gotten away with a statement like that on TV ten years ago? Not that I’m complaining — it was funny! — I’m just wondering ….)

The plan only partially works; one of the Wraith (a rather attractive one, actually, with a wig that looks a lot more natural than the one in “Reunion”) gets smart and goes down a different path. He catches and drains Larrin. For a moment, I’m happy — until I remember the draining process can be reversed. (Drat!) The Wraith tries to interrogate her after, but Sheppard had gotten worried when she didn’t respond to his hails, and comes to her rescue again. He forces the Wraith, at gunpoint, to give him his stunner (which John shoves into his pocket) and heal Larrin, promising (sort of) to let the Wraith go afterwards. (There’s also mention of the fact that, having just fed, the Wraith could heal quickly, but not from getting his head blown off, effectively answering the “Why doesn’t the Wraith just wipe the floor with John?” question.)

Restored, Larrin remarks on how strange the experience was — and how good it felt. Sheppard tells her he knows, he’s done it too, in a nice bit of bonding. Which of course is set-up for them kissing — the expected “Kirk” moment. Well, at least John’s not the seducer — he’s generally the seducee. Like here, where she kisses him, and he just happens to obligingly reciprocate. And form his point of view, why not? It’s not really practical for him to date someone in Atlantis. She’s attractive, smart, a skilled fighter. He’s a healthy male adult. No, I don’t really have a problem with his “Kirk”ness, if it can be called that — I mostly just find it amusing. It’s his Achilles’ heel, alien women, particularly ones who a) are willing to make the first move, and b) end up betraying him in some way. Because, let’s face it, when Larrin sneaks the blaster out of his pocket (is that a blaster in your pocket, or are you just — oh. I guess it is!) while he’s distracted by the kiss and aims it at him, it’s not exactly a shocker. (When the kiss began, I could hear Bartok, the bat from Anastasia, in my head going, “This can only end in tears!”) And of course she stuns him.

There’s definitely parallels between Larrin here and Vala in Sg-1‘s “Prometheus Unbound”, in which the space pirate and Daniel fought over control of a ship. And in this instance, I’m inclined to believe Larrin really is doing it for the good of her people rather than her own self-interest, making her more respectable than Vala. So why is it I still really don’t like Larrin, but I adored Vala from the first moment I saw her? (That was in “Avalon, Part One”, though, I admit — I didn’t see “Prometheus Unbound” until much, much later. But still, Vala wasn’t exactly an angel in “Avalon” either. Oh, FYI, I wasn’t into Farscape back then, so I didn’t have that bias to account for my fondness for Vala.)

In the control room, Larrin tells Shep over the intercom that the only reason he didn’t stun her and lock her up himself was because he thought his people would arrive first. (Huh? Were he thinking that way at all, I should think he would have stunned her anyway!) Her people show up and hail her. There’s a shot exchange explaining how they found the ship. (Thank you, Mullie! I really appreciate tying up loose ends like that!) For a moment, I’m expecting (hoping?) her people will betray her somehow, but it doesn’t happen. Sheppard is captured by her security team.

In the ‘jumper, they’ve found the gathering of ships, but have no idea which one is the one Sheppard’s being held on. Lorne points out that he can’t target a ship then. Teyla suggests maybe they try to talk to the people instead of just attacking, but Lorne points out that they’d loose the valuable element of surprise. Rodney expands, saying they could in turn target the ‘jumper or jump into hyperspace. Ronon asks if they came all that way for nothing. Rodney says he’ll try to find a way to disable them. It’s a sensible discussion; I am pleased.

Larrin comes to the brig to tell Sheppard that they’ve finished the hyperdrive repairs, but they’ll need to keep him around to help them with the other systems they still can’t use yet without the gene. John is not happy, but his anger falls on deaf ears. Instead, he gives a stirring speech, pointing out to her than the new ship is only a temporary reprieve from an inevitable slow death, and that they need to stop running and use their tech to help defeat the Wraith once and for all. She asks if he’s suggesting an alliance; he says he’s not asking her to dinner, but yeah. (What an odd coincidence: Tracy and Hepburn’s last movie together was Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner ….) She’s surprised, but seems agreeable.

Back in the puddle-jumper, the discussion on what to continues, when suddenly all the ships jump to hyperspace. Rodney and company look at the empty space in horror, realising that they may have lost John forever now. Then Rodney say’s there being contacted. A moment later, clearly relieved, he says it’s a ‘jumper, one life sign. Lorne confirms it’s indeed Sheppard. Ronon leans back with a grin. (Don’tcha just wanna give him a big ol’ bear hug?) John looks pretty darn relieved to be back among friends, too. (Understandably so! Aww, he looks like he needs a hug!).

Back in the city, Sheppard, Teyla, Ronon, and Rodney eat together in the mess. Well, everyone but Rodney eats (*Gasp!*); he’s leaning back, arms crossed and scowling. There’s some amusing chatter about the Travelers (and a very strange, very funny exchange of looks between Ronon and Rodney). Rodney finally says, speculatively, “There’s something you’re not telling us … She was hot, wasn’t she?” John tries to shrug it off, but Rodney is ticked now, convinced it’s true. John protests that she’d had him beaten and threatened to kill him several times. (Hmm. Are you trying to convince Rodney or yourself, John? Well, they say the first step to overcoming an addiction is to admit you have a problem! *Wink*) An outraged Rodney shrugs off Sheppard’s complaints, saying he was always being captured by the Wraith (that’s not true! What about the Genii??), and wanted, for once, to be captured by the sexy alien. (And of course, as a McShepper, I can’t help but imagine he’s really just upset because his boyfriend was out flirting with someone else. And Ronon wears a grin that says he’s thinking the same thing. *Wink*) Sheppard says Rodney may get his wish, as Larrin is still out there. Rodney doesn’t look so enthusiastic now. Teyla rolls her eyes, while John looks pensive. *Sighs happily* I never get tired of the mess hall scenes ….

Check back this Wednesday for my review of “Tabula Rasa”! We’ll return to the regular schedule next Monday, with “Missing”!

Wolfen Moondaughter is on the editorial board for the comics industry webzine Sequential Tart for which she has written since late 2001. She’s also written for Newtype USA, contributed to Andy Mangel’s book Animation on DVD, self-published a novel (Memory of the Brightwing), and one of her short stories, “Chase”, is due to be published soon as the title story in an anthology from Wapshott Press (under the pen name Anastasia Witchazel). She’s an artist, too, having done spot illustrations for Dragonlance, a few panels for Barb Lien-Cooper’s webcomic series Gun Street Girl, and private commissions. In her spare time, she’s a fanficcer/fanartist. See more of her work at her site, Wolfen’s Webworld.

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