“Into the garbage chute, flyboy.” - Princess Leia

By Wolfen Moondaughter
Like with “Travelers”, I went into “Missing” expecting disappointment — even more so, this time, because not only was it not a team-centric episode, but because Teyla is, to be honest, my least-fave character after Weir. I don’t hate her, and I’ve even grown somewhat fond of her as I’ve gotten into the show more, but I my least-fave episodes usually feature her above all other characters. Which is perfectly fine: I encourage it even. Rodney is my fave character, and I’m sure there are people who wish they could see more Teyla and less of him. They should get what they want now and then too, especially considering how under-used Teyla was for the first two episodes of the season.

My main complaint isn’t even really a complaint: at times I thought that the characterization seemed off — to the point where Teyla was making me uncomfortable and I found myself practically pining for her more typical demeanor — but by the end, it was explained away pretty well.

So this (Carl Binder-penned) ep has now, admittedly, become tied with “Travelers” for the position of least-fave of the season. But, like with “Travelers”, that doesn’t mean it was a bad story, by any means! It had some nice curveballs. If I separate myself out from personal interests, I’d say the story itself was better than average and got better as it went, but just wasn’t quite the caliber of most of the other episodes this season (and that’s a pretty tall order!). And really, that’s like saying it’s a movie at the bottom of the “top ten list” — that’s still a helluva place to be.

4.7: “Missing”

Teyla finds Keller packing. And how sad is it that the first thing I notice is the light-blue sleeveless shirt Keller is wearing? Why do I notice it, you ask in return? Because it’s blue. Unless they’re off-duty, It’s always seemed to me that the characters wear shirts that are the colour of their department. Elizabeth wore administration-magenta. (Er, burgundy? Alizarin crimson?) Carson wore medical-yellow, which I’m pretty sure we’ve seen Keller in. John wears military-black. Rodney and Zelenka wear science-blue or, in Rodney’s case, black with a blue panel on the side. (Except lately, when Rodney’s wearing that new jacket, in which case he wears a black t-shirt that he has stolen from John’s wardrobe … I kid. Maybe.) Just a strange, strange observation. Welcome to my head.

As Teyla raises a brow over the amount she’s bringing, Keller remarks on her own inability to pack. They actually cover a lot of ground as they converse: Keller is nervous, both over the notion of going offworld (which she doesn’t often do) and making a good impression on Teyla’s people — which, oddly is also what she’s excited about, seeing new places and meeting new faces. She packs a container of lollipops for the kids (this squee, because I had Carson giving Athosian kids candy after checkups in a fic I once wrote. Hey, I’m a fangrrl, whaddya want?). Teyla is reassuring. As they go to depart through the gate, John sees them off, asking Teyla (who is wearing a long leather brown coat — her wardrobe’s expanded quite a bit this year!) if she’s got a hot date and warning Keller off Athosian alcohol.

On the other side of the ‘Gate, Teyla tries to take one of the three massive bags Keller has, but Keller is adamant that she do it herself, seeing as she’s the one who over-packed in the first place, meaning she’s very responsible. And she teasingly suggests that John was right about the date. It’s a cute start, and I’m eager to get to know Keller better.

When they get to the village, though, the mood drastically changes. (Noting that Teyla is now carrying two of Keller’s bags, though, a brief second more of levity.) The encampment is early quiet; Teyla announces that something is wrong. They quickly confirm that the place is deserted: either the Athosians have been attacked or culled.

Keller says she thought the Wraith didn’t know about this world; Teyla confirms that she thought so as well. Before Keller can ask anymore questions, though, Teyla puts her hand up, gesturing for silence. Which, of course, prompts Keller to immediately ask “What is it?” Hiding, they see a couple of savages. Teyla, looking shaken, tells Keller they have to go, and Keller trusts her judgment implicitly.

Teyla quickly decides that they can’t make it to the weapons cache, though, saying they’d better go for the gate instead. She’s pretty much talking out loud to herself, I think, not Keller. She takes Keller’s pack off of her shoulders. Keller is a bit bewildered and edgy as she asks what Teyla’s looking for. Teyla says a weapon, and Keller says she didn’t pack any. (I love the panic-tinged disbelief in her voice as she says, “You don’t have a weapon??”) Teyla shows her the only knife she has on her, explaining that she didn’t feel she would need one, going to visit her people. (Ronon would chew you out, Teyla — I know you thought your people’s home was a secret, but it never hurts to be prepared! I would have thought dealing with the Genii, the Satedan Wraith-worshippers, and the Travelers would have taught you that other people are good at surveying the comings and goings through ‘Gates! If your people still trade with other worlds, then the possibility of an attack was always there. Hell, someone could have dialed a gate address randomly, exploring, and gotten there! Well, hindsight and all that ….)

Keller asks who the strange savages are. Teyla says that they are Bola-Kai warriors (I got the spelling from the online game, if you’re wondering), adding that the paint on their faces denotes the clan they belong to. (And was their name inspired by the Urah-Kai from the Lord of the Rings, whose fashion sense they seem to share?) She also says she’s never come across them before, but confirms that they are dangerous. The only thing in Keller’s pack that might be useful as a weapon is her scalpel.

They climb a very steep hill, but Keller’s pack overbalances her, causing her to fall back to the bottom and sprain her ankle. Teyla makes her leave the pack behind, and covers it with branches. (How much does that help, I wonder? Fresh green leaves would not likely be on the ground — a fallen branch is usually a dead one. Black pack against brown earth is probably harder to see than bright green leaves, which would be akin to holding up a red flag in front of a bull when you’re being chased by woodsmen ….) Teyla helps Keller hobble along.

At the ‘Gate, they find a couple of Bola-Kai guards. Teyla says they’re too far away to get to the weapon’s cache. Keller apparently missed the mention of that the first time around. Teyla explains that Atlantis had given her people weapons to protect themselves. (Do we really need that much explanation? I would have been more surprised if they hadn’t armed the Athosians. All this does is reinforce the foolishness on Teyla’s part for not bringing a weapon, because they knew being raided was a possibility. And I have a question: are the Bola-Kai indigenous to this planet? If they are indigenous, then that’s all the more reason to come with a weapon!!) Keller asks if the weapons wouldn’t be the first thing the Bola-Kai would steal, and Teyla points out that, if they had, they would be using them. (Besides, I want her to add, they’d have to find them first, and the cache wasn’t in the village. Which, actually, is another thing I don’t understand — wouldn’t you want your weapons where you could actually get to them in the event of an attack? An attack like, oh, I don’t know, the one they were apparently under when they went missing??) Teyla reiterates that the cache is too far to get to, especially in light of Keller’s injury; they’ll have to take the guards out, but Teyla, handing Keller the scalpel, admits that she has no idea how to do that.

While Teyla picks up a stick and strips it of bark, Keller has a freak-out: she’s not a fighter, and doesn’t think she has it in her to be one — not from a pacifist standpoint so much as a “I haven’t been trained and am a klutz” one, methinks. (And I stare at the stick, expecting her to tie the scalpel to the end so Keller has a bit of a better weapon. Then I realise that the stick is for her own use, for stick-fighting. Der.) The savages spot them, and they make a run for it.

I’m wondering how on earth they’re going to escape with Keller limping like that. They pull a Hobbit move, hiding under a little cliff. Teyla holds her hand over Keller’s mouth to keep her quiet. After a few moments, she decides the men are gone (I guess she heard them walk off, but really, you’d think she would whisper when next she speaks!) Keller is terrified, and apologises for it, saying she should be better-prepared for this sort of thing. Teyla spells out their situation, not sugar-coating it but also offering hope. They will be hunted, but the longer they can avoid capture, the better their chances that Atlantis will save them.

I have to say I was thrown at first by Keller’s fearfulness — she seems almost as timid now as she was during her memory loss in “Tabula Rasa”. Not that she hadn’t shown any fear in other situations we’ve seen her in, but she seemed more capable of holding herself together and working past it. And then I realise: she was in her element in Atlantis, doing what she knew best, which was practicing medicine in a (semi)-stable environment. Diseases and injuries are things she knows how to combat. Even when she wasn’t Chief Medical Officer, she had a semblance of control over her surroundings and a task to focus on — rather like how Rodney is at his best when he’s fixing something, and has an excuse to leave the fighting to others who are better-suited to it. She already told us she had some trepidation about going offworld (and, in “First Strike”, she expressed a great amount of reluctance to even be CMO) — we just hadn’t had an opportunity yet to see her in such circumstances. Even the bravest-seeming people can be very different when confronted with things that terrify them, right?

Teyla asks Keller what she needs for her ankle. Keller says she needs to wrap it, but the bandages are in the medical kit. Teyla says the pack is on the way back to the weapons cache. (Which I guess is no longer too far to get to, despite her saying that it was, right before they had to high-tail it? Shouldn’t she, instead of saying it was too far at that point, have said something more like, “It will be difficult with your injury, but our only option now is to get to the weapons cache”?) They hear something that sounds like thunder, which Teyla explains is the Bola-Kai guards summoning their fellows to the hunt. (I’m liking these bad guys; they’re a nice change of pace!)

Teyla and Keller reach the pack with the medical supplies. Teyla hears the sound of Keller’s pill bottle; Keller explains that it’s ibuprofen for the pain. Teyla says McKay uses them — and antihistamines, antacids, and something for motion sickness. Keller says wryly that Teyla forgot the prescription she’d just written him for something for Restless Leg Syndrome. (Heeeee! Love the little insight to the character that’s not even there! But Keller, if you don’t think he has RLS, why did you write the ’script for it? Was it a placebo? Or maybe the meds won’t do any harm, I guess. Or else she’s being derisive of all the ailments her #1 patient, as she called him in “Tabula rasa”, actually has? Nah, I don’t think so, she doesn’t seem the type to belittle people for ailments they can’t help — the way Rodney thought the others were treating him over his hypoglycaemia, for example. So probably the second explanation ….)

Keller admits she considers herself a weakling with a low threshold for pain. Teyla insists that people are often stronger than they believe themselves to be. She talks about a right of passage she and several others went through in childhood, where they were left alone with no food or water for ten days; she didn’t think they would make it, but they all survived. Keller is amazed; she went to summer camp, which was considerably less grueling (love how she keeps adding another creature comfort to the list as afterthoughts), yet she didn’t last more than three days before begging her parents to take her home. Teyla does not look happy with this evidence that Keller is indeed as ill-suited to this situation as she’d claimed. I really love this conversation, how casual it is, how it lets the characters (and subsequently, us as well) get to know each other better; it’s one of my favourite bits in the episode.

To their great bewilderment, they find the weapons cache empty. Keller asks where they could be, since the Bola-Kai obviously don’t have them. Teyla suggests that her people must have taken them, but wonders why they weren’t successful against the warriors’ inferior weapons, then. She suggests they head towards a hunting blind she knows of, to take shelter for the night.

They reach a smallish chasm with a smallish river in it. Over it is a rope bridge, which is basically one rope to walk on and two to hold onto, with supports zigzagging between the upper ropes and the bottom rope. (Joe Mallozzi had some interesting tidbits to relate in this entry of his blog about the rope bridge. Warning: there’s something slightly spoilery there — although you may have heard about it already, or even have figured it out by the end of the episode.) Keller refuses to go on it, what with her ankle and an inner-ear problem that causes vertigo. (She reminds me of Rodney a bit, which of course makes her all the more endearing to me.) And really, with her ankle, it should be next to impossible to navigate such a bridge (although she does seem better able to put weight on it now that it’s been wrapped and she’s got some meds in her).

Clearly growing impatient, Teyla tells her as kindly as she can that after a certain point, adversity dispels fear in favour of survival; Keller says she doesn’t think she’s anywhere near that point yet. (And she’s so adorable while she says it!) Teyla takes off without her, perhaps knowing fear of abandonment will drive Keller across, or perhaps simply fed up with the woman. Keller suggests maybe she could climb down and find a shallow place to cross. Realising that Teyla’s almost completely across already herself, Keller decides to cross the bridge anyway. (And she doesn’t limp in the slightest! Even with the wrap and pain meds, I would think she would be in a hurry to get her weight off that foot when walking like that, one foot in front of the other. Although I can’t really blame Keller’s portrayer, Jewel Staite, for concentrating wholly on just crossing the dang thing, rather than on a detail like that.) She slips and falls when she’s partway across, freaking out as she dangles helpessly. (Maybe it’s not sooo far of a fall when there’s water to catch you, but I wouldn’t want to drop from that height into an icy-cold, possibly shallow and rock-filled river either!) Teyla saves her in the nick of time.

Keller’s hobbling significantly now as they make their way. Keller suggests that maybe Teyla’s people are still alive, and have only been captured. Teyla tells her that when people are captured by the Bola-Kai, there’s seldom much left after. Keller asks if they’re cannibals; Teyla just gives her an unhappy look. Keller wants an actual answer, but a wicked-looking throwing-star-thing (I want one!!) gets embedded on the tree before her. (I hope that was trick camera-work and they didn’t actually hurt the tree. Or that it was dead already ….) Teyla knocks Keller to the ground, then gets to her feet and faces three Bola-Kai. She kicks their asses, even using one of their own axes to kill one of them. She hurries after one that escapes, leaving Keller (for understandable reasons). She catches and kills that one too. I don’t blame her in the slightest, but it does surprise me to see her kill with such ruthlessness — she’s always been a “let’s try talking it out” sort of gal, and she has no confirmation yet that her people are actually dead. On the one hand, I would think she would try to get information on the fate of her people from the guy. On the other, he’s big and burly and would probably be too hard to contain for questioning — it’s too much of a risk to let him live (and thereby give him more time to possibly escape).

Keller snags a short-sword and hobbles back away from the last surviving warrior, who’s starting to stir form being knocked out. To her horror (and mine), when Teyla returns she rectifies the situation by grabbing the sword and slashing the man’s throat. (Wow. When “JoeM” said they wanted to explore a darker side to Teyla, he wasn’t kidding!) Teyla explains that they can’t afford to take prisoners; when Keller protests that they could have just tied him up and left him, she explains (in a tone that’s a bit derisive, especially for her) that the others would have found him and released him to join the hunt. She shows a surprising lack of remorse — well, surprising under normal circumstances for her, but I guess understandable if she thinks these men killed off her entire people. (Which begs the question: are there no more Athosians anywhere else? No other tribes?) She then tosses the weapon aside. (Huh?? You should be gathering them up for your own use!! Even if Keller can’t use one, you’d be keeping them from your enemy!)

They hear the fevered mutterings of someone nearby, and find a tied-up man with a belly-wound. Keller rushed to his side, while Teyla scans their surroundings, surprisingly unsympathetic. Keller asks her to get her medical kit, but Teyla insists they must go, and leave him behind. I’m floored — maybe I don’t know her well enough, but I would never imagine she would not aid someone in distress. She says the man is not Athosian; when Keller points out his not-savage clothes, Teyla says she has never seen him before, and adds that the Bola-Kai will be there soon. (And that’s a reason not to help?? I understand that you’re grieving your people and afraid, but since when do you not help people in need, even when you’re not well-off yourself?) Keller pleads for Teyla to let her help him, saying it won’t take long. Not happy about it, Teyla relents.

Keller finishes tending the man’s wound, and says he should be fine so long as infection doesn’t set in. Teyla goes off to search for the hunting blind; when she finds it, she uncovers a pit full of stuff I can’t identify, save for some rope. (Another weapons cache?) When she returns to Keller and the man, it’s nightfall. (I guess the moon must be full, cause they can see each other pretty well, and Teyla didn’t seem to have a problem finding her way.) Teyla asks if the man can be moved; Keller hedges, saying he shouldn’t be, but at a firm look from Teyla, says yes. (And if she’d said no would you have glared until she said yes, Teyla? Cause either you take him with and risk killing him, or you leave him and pretty much guarantee he gets killed by the Bola-Kai, so whether he should or shouldn’t be is fairly moot. Ah well, it’s a funny little exchange, anyway.)

Settled into the blind, Teyla says she’s set traps around the perimeter, and asks after Keller’s ankle, which is doing somewhat better. (They have torch-thingies — wouldn’t the light peaking through the branches draw attention? Then again, I guess filming necessitates it.) They hear a noise, and Teyla points to something stirring earth as it tunnels under the ground. Turns out it’s not a dangerous beastie, but a part frog, part squid-looking thingie that can be eaten. Teyla cuts it open, pries out it’s entrails, and offers some on the end of the knife. Keller refuses. (I half expect her to argue that easting it raw could be deadly.) A fun little bit of not-exactly-bonding.

The man revives. Calling himself Abel, he confesses to being a Genii who was trying to collect intel, and claims that all the Athosians were killed, culled by the Wraith who were called in by the Bola-Kai. Tyela is astonished to learn that they are Wraith-worshippers. (And I fall for his story hook, line and sinker. After all, he’s admitted to being Genii despite the risk to his person for doing so, and he’s in a very vulnerable position. And they’ve helped him: why should he lie, I think at the time.) The man managed to escape the culling only to be captured by the Bola-Kai when trying to reach the gate. He also says he had only been on this world a short time. He then notices that Teyla and Keller have ancestral equipment and asks where Keller is from. Teyla says the woman is a friend from another world, and that they found the equipment in their travels, adding that they have been away trading for some time. He asks with who. She suggests that if he’s still fishing for intel, he’s not going to be breathing much longer, so he’d better just say thank you and be silent. She sounds quite vicious by the end. (*Grin*)

The next morning, Teyla remarks on the fact that Keller hasn’t slept all night. Keller is a wee bit cranky in response. Despite her professed hunger, Keller still reuses to eat the nasty beast Teyla caught before. (A meal which has been sitting out all night without refrigeration, I might add, something that I’m always reading is a huge no-no. You know, sometimes it astonishes me that we survived at all pre-refrigeration ….) Teyla basically wheedles her into eating it by suggesting Keller’s like a friend of hers, a man who is afraid to challenging himself. Keller does a pretty good job of standing up for herself, though — and then after defending her right not to, eats the stuff anyway (reluctantly). Keller then asks about the friend Teyla mentioned; is he a certain cranky physicist they both know? (Haaaaah! Poor Rodney; are your ears burning, boyo? The way Keller asks it, it sounds like she’s hinting, teasingly, that this friend is more than just a friend, which I’m sure had all McKay/Teyla shippers squeeing.) Teyla says no, he’s an Athosian named Kanan (not sure of the spelling), revealing over the course of the conversation that he’s the man she was hoping to see, a great leader with a cautious nature, someone she’s known a long time, but only recently started exploring a relationship with (which she hasn’t even told anyone about yet). And suddenly her anger makes a bit more sense (well, to not that it didn’t make any before, but the degree is more understandable).

We see a Bola-Kai stalking around — with a lollipop in his mouth. (I just about die laughing, despite the seriousness of the situation just a second ago.) The man steps in one of Teyla’s traps (it looks like a bear trap — ooh, so that’s what was in the cache!) and screams in pain. Alerted by his cries, Teyla, Keller, and the injured Genii get a move on.

Back at Atlantis, Rodney is quizzing John about the actors and villains of the old Batman TV show. (SQUEEEEEE! I had just about given up hope of seeing Rodney this episode, and now we not only get to see him, but see him and John having a comraderly “fanboi” moment! I am now officially satisfied with this ep.) Ronon comes across them and asks if they’ve seen Teyla and Keller. They haven’t. Ronon says the girls are late. “That doesn’t sound like Teyla,” John remarks. “No, it doesn’t,” Ronon agrees (with a bit of “Well duh” in his voice). Smiling, Rodney suggests perhaps Teyla partied a little too hardy at the feast the night before and had to sleep it off. “Yeah, that sounds like Teyla,” Ronon deadpans. (*Dies* … Although, for all he knows, Keller might have done that. Not intentionally, perhaps, but he doesn’t know Sheppard warned Keller about the Athosian wine, so I could see her overindulging accidentally …. Anyway, this is another fave bit.) Sheppard suggests they go call Teyla. As they walk, John figures out the answer to Rodney’s trivia question, and they resume the game, confusing the tar out of poor Ronon, who asks, “What the hell are you talking about?” (I’m starting to suspect that there’s a challenge among the writers of the show to make Ronon ask “What?” in an amusing fashion in each episode.)

Back on New Athos, Teyla and Keller carry Abel between them when he says he needs to rest. Walking off a ways, Teyla and Keller somewhat repeat the conversation they’d had when they’d first found him: Teyla wants to leave him because he’s slowing them up, and Keller is mortified at the end of leaving him to the enemy. Frustrated, Keller tells Teyla that she knows there are things she’s not any good at: she’s not athletic (what did I tell ya?), she can’t cook (Teyla should relate well on that one), she can’t play the piano (ask Rodney to teach you!). But she’s a good judge of character, and she doesn’t think Teyla’s the kind of person “who would sacrifice an innocent man.”

(Thank you for remarking on this, Keller!! I’m relieved that this was openly addressed in the story — a nice, big ol’ “lantern” to show beyond a doubt that there’s a reason Teyla seems rather out of character, rather than it being a bit of bad writing. In fact, in this entry of Joe’s blog, he talks about how they’d intended a darker arc for Teyla, and how things got changed a little from what they intended. Again, there’s a spoiler there, but you probably either already know it or will have figured it out by the end of the episode. He also suggests, after a fan pointed out that Teyla had said in “Sunday” that her friend Hewston knew the man she’d had a crush on, that her crush was not the Athosian friend she was speaking of in this episode. Which I guess means she could still have a thing for Sheppard. Or Carson or Ronon, either of which I would have been pleased with. I seriously doubt it was McKay. Although, who’s to say that she never brought Hewston to see the encampment? Maybe Joe’s trying to throw us off, or maybe they’d never actually picked a specific person for her to fall for at that point.)

Through their conversation, we learn that Teyla sees herself as being responsible for Keller’s well-being, because she brought the woman there. So not only is she grieving her people and her love, but she has this person wither who is not cut out for this kind of lifestyle and who’s life is in danger, and she feels it’s all her fault. (And I imagine some of her crankiness has been aimed at Keller for making her job — protecting the woman — harder than it needed to be, basically countermanding her efforts.) Keller lets her have it, reminding her that she’s the one who signed up for the job, and therefore responsible for her own choices, just like everyone else on the expedition. Eyes wide and clearly distracted by something in the distance, Teyla says she’s glad Keller feels that way Keller says wryly that yeah, yeah, she’s got to find her courage before it’s all over. Just then they’re surrounded by the savages; Teyla says, “Actually, you’re going to need to find it right now!” (Heheheh ….) There’s a lot more of them this time. Teyla puts up a good fight, but they get the better of her. (I want to yell at Keller for not helping, but really? I can’t. I’d be scared stiff too.) Abel sneaks off. (I’d call him a coward, but again, I’m not so sure I wouldn’t do the same if I thought I couldn’t save anyone and would just get myself killed in the attempt. Then again, I never said I wasn’t a coward. But I can’t help but wonder if there isn’t something sinister about the Genii anyway — the hallmark of this show is that things are seldom what they seem.)

Back at Atlantis, John’s trying to call Teyla. Sounding dejected (and oh how I love his voice like that!), Rodney says she wouldn’t turn off the radio. Ronon agrees. John tries for the Athosian settlement, but of course there’s no answer to that, either.

We hear his voice over the radio in a pile at the Bola-Kai camp. Teyla and Keller are in a wooden cage a ways off. Frightened, Keller asks Teyla what the Bola-Kai will do to them; Teyla responds that they will interrogate them. At the look on Keller’s face, she stresses that lives are depending on their silence. Crying silently, Keller says she knows, and apologises. (And I’m reminded of Rodney’s being tortured in “The Storm”, and how he broke; doubtless Keller is afraid she won’t be strong enough either.) Trying to distract Keller, Teyla asks the woman about herself. We learn that she’s from Wisconsin, and that her father, is the only family she has. (And now I think we know more about her than we know about Sheppard!) Teyla tells her that she must survive for her father’s sake.

They’re dragged off to a tent, where the Bola-Kai leader (who looks like the love child of Alice Cooper and Genghis Kahn) questions them. He even sounds a bit reasonable (well,aside from the violent tendencies). We learn that the Bola-Kai are not Wraith-worshippers, and that the village was deserted before they’d even arrived. Teyla is smacked for suggesting that they were, and taken out of the tent.

Keller’s brought back to the cage, where Teyla is waiting. Keller did well: she had to tell them something to keep them from killing Teyla, so she gave the men a gate address to an uninhabited world to buy time. (Smart girl!) She says she believes that the Bola-Kai are not Wriath-worshippers; Teyla rolls her eyes(!!), saying it seems too coincidental that they arrived right after the settlement had been culled. Their conversation is interrupted, though, when a man reports to the leader that a ship came through the ‘Gate and disappeared (obviously a puddle-jumper). Teyla gives Keller a “See, I told you they’d come rescue us” look. The leader rallies his men to follow, leaving behind only two guards.

In the ‘jumper, Sheppard remarks that the guards at the ‘Gate didn’t look Athosian. Ronon says their Bola-Kai, explaining essentially that they’re bullies who like to pick fights with peaceful people. Rodney says great, another bad guy, and Ronon assures him that the warriors are too primitive to be a threat. “Define primitive!” Rodney demands. “Clubs and arrows,” Ronon assures him. “Hey, arrows can hurt!” “Only if you’re stupid enough to get hit in the ass with one,” Ronon retorts (rather unfairly, too, but I love this bit anyway — it’s too, too funny!) Seeing that there’s a lot of lifesigns but not a lot of visibility, Sheppard decides they’ll have to go in on foot. (Poor Rodney looks none too pleased.)

The lollypop-loving warrior teases the girls in their cage, only to be shot by Abel for his trouble. The Genii helps them out of the cage, Teyla asking him where he got the gun. He tells her that the Athosians weren’t the only ones with a weapons cache, and that he’s been captured before he could get to his. (Question is, is his explanation just a matter of hanging a lantern on a plot point or indicative of something more sinister. They all run off a ways, then stop for a breather. They thank him for the rescue, and she says he owed it to them — and besides, he needs answers. He punches Teyla, and holds Keller at gunpoint. He demands the gate address to Atlantis.

The boyos, meanwhile, are on their way. Rodney, looking at the LSD, points to life signs in multiple directions. Ronon picks a direction. “Really? Why?” Rodney asks. “No reason,” Ronon says. That’s good enough for John (but, judging by his expression, not really for Rodney, who nonetheless keeps any misgivings he might have to himself). Ronon’s not the type to just stand around deliberating.

Abel promises to let the girls go if Keller gives him the address. She says he must not be as badly hurt as she though; she says he just has a high tolerance for pain. (Was he around when Keller was talking to Teyla about that?) Keller’s not buying his story, on any level, saying he’s not Genii — Atlantis and the Genii have an understanding, so the Geni wouldn’t need to pull something like this to contact them. (Er, couldn’t he be a rebel, though? With Kolya’s old posse?) He concedes that he is not. (Okay, never mind ….) She figures out that he’s the Wraith-worshipper. (*Facepalm* How did I not figure that out?? Especially after the whole thing with Ronon’s Satedan friends in “Reunion”!) She says he’s responsible for the death of the Athosians. He grins and says, “Unless I lied about that, too!” He suggests he will tell her what happened to them if she gives him the address. (But what if he’s just saying that, and they really are all dead?)

Teyla wakes up and kicks out. Knocking him over. She’s not in so hot of shape herself, though, and he gets to his feet, taking aim. Keller jumps him. (Woo-hoo!! You go, grrl!) They struggle, and she gets the gun. Teyla tells her to untie her. (Wait, she’s still tied up? Why didn’t she ask Keller to untie her while she was thanking the guy?) Keller moves to free her, but Abel gets in her way. She tells him to move or she’ll shoot; he doesn’t believe she has it in her, being a healer. (”Shoot him in the leg!!” I cry. “You won’t be killing him, then!) “You’re right, I am a healer,” she agrees. “But first I need somethin’ to heal.” And she shoots him in the leg. (Good girl!) She then frees Teyla, who grabs the gun and aims it at Abel, demanding to know what happened to her people.

Unfortunately, she’s interrupted by the arrival of the Bola-Kai, who surround them. But the warriors are quickly frightened off when a number of them are mowed down by P-90 fire and Ronon’s blaster. The girls stand there, gawking. (And I yell at them to get down, but this time they don’t listen. But they don’t get hurt, either, so it’s all good. *Wink*) The guys greet the girls. (Rodney looks so tense, the way he’s gripping that gun! Poor guy!) Teyla tells John that her people are gone; John asks what she means, but rather than answering, she turns to Abel and finds him gone. Then they get fired on with arrows. (Scary!!) Rodney laments, “Agh, not arrows!” Happily, though, he doesn’t hightail it (as one would expect from him), instead covering Teyla, Keller, and Ronon’s “six” (alongside Sheppard).

Later, in the infirmary, a dejected Teyla tells a visiting Sheppard that she’s fine, but Keller says she might have a concussion and won’t let her leave. Sheppard tells her that the Bola-Kai are gone, and Rodney has people looking for clues about the fate of the Athosians. They didn’t find Abel, and there are no lifesigns left on the planet. Teyla thinks the man escaped, but Sheppard says he’s probably just dead. Teyla vows to find her people, as well as and make someone pay for what happened to them. Keller shows up, her ankle in a brace, saying it’s just a sprain. Teyla asks why the doctor is free to resume work, but she herself is not. (And really, if it’s a sprain, Keller shouldn’t be on it, even in a brace — you’re not supposed to put any weight at all on even a mild sprain! She should be on crutches, at the very least.) Keller says Teyla took a worse beating than she did; Teyla insists she’s had worse. Keller says Teyla’s on her turf now and has to listen to her (heh, like you listened on New Athos, Keller?) Sheppard makes a hasty exit.

Keller reveals that she’s got leave to go home and see her dad for a few days. (Via the Space Bridge, no less!! How cool that they don’t need to rely on the Daedalus anymore!) Then she admits that Teyla is fine, no concussion — she has another medical reason for keeping the woman there. But of course the ep ends just before she says what it is. And just in case you haven’t been spoiled (and haven’t figured it out), I’ll keep my mouth shut.

And can I just say how happy I am to see a story with strong female characters that doesn’t make an issue at all of the fact that the characters are women? In other words, it’s not treated as unusual that a woman could kick ass. (Would that we lived in a world where such a story were unremarkable, and I wouldn’t feel the need to point it out!)

(Oh, while I can’t link to it here because he hasn’t posted it yet and I’m about to turn the column in, Carl Binder is supposed to do a guest entry on Mallozi’s blog, in the entry for November 11th, so look for it!)

See you next week, for “The Seer”!

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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