“Goin’ on a year now I ain’t had nothin’ twixt my nethers weren’t run on batteries!” - Kaylee

By Wolfen Moondaughter

Last week, I started reviewing “The Seer”, but as my commentary was running even longer than usual, and there wasn’t a new episode to review for this week anyway, I decided to save the rest of that review for this week! …

4.8: “The Seer” (continued)

Where I left off, Seer Davos had just shown Sam a vision of Atlantis being destroyed by an Asuran ship. (At least, that’s what it looked like. I suppose it might not actually have been Atlantis — it could have been another city-ship of the Ancients — but we saw interior shots as well, and the people running around were definitely in Earther uniforms. Still, it’s quite possible that there’s some currently unknown factor that makes the situation vastly different from what it seems. Like those people that looked like Earthers might actually turn out to be Replicators, and maybe the Asuran ship that was firing on the city will turn out to be one that’s been captured by our guys or the Travelers or something ….)

In Sam’s office, Woolsey is adamant that they stop working with the Wraith, pointing out that everything McKay saw in the vision Davos shared with him came to pass. (Ahh, but not quite in the same context as McKay saw it, Woolsey! That should count for something. And what does a vision of Asurans blowing up the city have to do with your people working with the Wraith anyway?) Sheppard’s just as adamant that they stay their course, saying that the Replicators won’t destroy the city if he has anything to say about it. (’Atta boy, Sheppard, give us that can-do attitude! Now the question becomes: is John just in denial, or is Davos actually fallible? The notion of self-fulfilled prophecy gnaws at me now; the very act of trying to avoid that future could be what ensures that it happens. Although, in the past, John’s firm denial in the face of eminent defeat, his unwillingness to be told that something can’t be done, has often been just what Rodney’s needed to pull of what he himself believed impossible, so maybe there’s something to John’s faith.)

Sam points out that McKay could very well be right about Davos’ visions showing only probable futures. (I squee at her supporting Rodney’s supposition; they really need to show her doing that more often, now that he’s the show’s main Science Guy, after all the times he was used to make her look better on SG-1!) Woolsey retorts that, given the Seer’s track record, the visions are highly probable. (It seems to me that they haven’t known Davos long enough for the Seer to actually have much of a track record yet, though — they only have his people’s word, Rodney’s vision, and the fact that he foretold their arrival to go by ….) Sam replies that it’s going to be hard to avoid; for all they know, nearly every choice they make may lead to that outcome anyway.

(It seems to me, at first, that Sam’s latter argument directly contradicts her earlier one — that is, it does until I realise that it’s actually Woolsey’s argument that’s rocky, and Sam’s arguments attack it on both sides of the issue. The only thing Sam’s vision suggests is that working with the Wraith will not save Atlantis from the Asurans. It does not necessarily mean that the Wraith will betray them — or that the plan can’t still save billions of other lives down the road, even if Atlantis is destroyed. On the one hand, Sam’s saying that this terrible future might not come to pass, so they shouldn’t drop what they’re doing just because it might, particularly when they don’t know what brings it about. On the other hand, if the vision is a sure thing, then it doesn’t really matter what they do or don’t do, does it?)

Woolsey argues that working with the Wraith may be the very thing that encourages the Replicators to attack. (Ah, okay, I have to give him credit for that one; that did not occur to me. Although … how would the Asurans even know about their treaty?) Sam argues that they don’t know that teaming with the Wraith instigates the attack — it could be anything. (Hell, not helping the Wraith could just as easily lead to that future loss at the hands of the Asurans. And frankly, that actually sounds more likely to me!) Woolsey insists it’s a good guess, since they aren’t a target at the moment. (Is it really? I thought that could be attributed to the simple fact that the Replicators don’t know where they are. What if, sometime after they’ve defeated the Wraith and are no longer single-mindedly driven by their programming to destroy the space vampires, the Replicators simply learn the new location of Atlantis? ‘Cause I’m thinking that’s all it would take — they have plenty of reason to hate the Earthers already.)

John points out that even if that is the case, they have an obligation to the other humans out there. Even if it puts Atlantis in danger, they have to do what they can to save those other humans, especially since it’s their fault the Wraith are awake. (And here we come to the deeper root of John’s argument: the fact that he feels personally responsible for waking up the Wraith, despite the fact that there was no way he could have known what would happen when he killed one. I have to wonder, though: if they were going to wake up eventually anyway, what difference does it really make when?) Woolsey argues that the safety of their expedition comes first. (Yeah, except that your expedition is capable of evacuating to Earth at any time, so there’s not much danger for them in any case. And if they did leave, it would be tantamount to leaving your allies to their deaths and your enemies free to find a way to follow you eventually, wouldn’t it? So looking out for the safety of others is also in your team’s own best interests ….)

Woolsey adds that John should know better than anyone that the Wraith can’t be trusted. John says that Todd (that’s what producer Joe Mallozzi has nicknamed this particular Wraith, in case you forgot) may be different. (And he knows that better than anyone, too. But even if he didn’t, why assume that all Wraith think the same way?) Woolsey tells us he’d read the file on that encounter (and reiterates what happened in it for any audience member who may have missed it). He hopes they don’t all live to regret John’s decision to let the Wraith live as a reward for helping him. (I dare say that, if the decision is regrettable, he won’t be living period …. I can understand Woolsey’s willingness to do bad for the greater good, but ultimately I agree with John’s sense of honour. Sure, the Wraith could stab them in the back, but that’s not much worse than the Wraith wanting to kill them directly, right? The end result would be their deaths, either way. The bit of kindness John showed may, however, have earned them a valuable ally.)

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Chuck interrupts, taking them to a screen. A Wraith hive ship is heading straight for them. The big question is how the ship knows where they are (they’d captured Todd on another planet, one with a Stargate, so it’s not like they could have been followed). In talking to Todd, Sheppard learns that the Wraith captive is carrying a subspace tracking device (similar to the one Ronon had implanted under his skin as a Runner). Todd activated it after he was brought to Atlantis, so they were unable to detect it when they initially captured him. (Smart of him! I’m grateful that this story point was so carefully thought out. And can I just say I love Todd’s voice?) Todd says that the ship is necessary; it carries the virus code for stopping the Replicators. Sheppard tells him that he’s going to destroy it when it gets close enough, and starts to stalk out. (Poor John, just when he’d defended Todd, too! Yet you can hardly blame Todd for having the added insurance of not carrying the code with him.) Before John can leave, a perturbed Todd goes on to say that the hive in question is the only one that is loyal to him now. He says that they have not told any other hives of the city’s location, but, if provoked, the crew would broadcast the location of Atlantis before the humans would be able to destroy the ship. He then softens, saying that there’s no reason for them to fight; they need each other. (He seems very genuine and sincere — were I in John’s shoes, I think I would trust him.)

Sam and John ask Rodney if he can shut down the Replicator code on his own, without Wraith aid; he doesn’t think so. When John protests, Rodney explains — in a rather amusing fashion, under the circumstances — that the Wraith virus had rewritten the Replicator base code, while all he’d done was basically just reset the Replicators to their original programming. Still, if Todd’s people do indeed have the virus code with them that they’d used the first time, Rodney is pretty confident that they can find a way to make it work again. (And aren’t I proud of him for being willing to admit he can’t do something — and to accept that he needs help from alien programmers!) John tells them about Todd’s insistence that his hive ship won’t reveal their position; Sam asks if he believes him. He points out that, thus far, no other ships are headed their way, so for now, he thinks Todd is telling the truth. (And I’m proud of John for being both logical and wary.)

Teyla finds Davos outside, on a balcony, gazing at the beautiful city. He tells her that he knows he was drawn to Atlantis for a reason, “to play a part in a much bigger stage before I die.” (As reader Jen pointed out on her own blog, this is an amusing bit of self-awareness on the part of the character. I always appreciate a clever bit of fourth-wall-cracking.) Despite Telya’s protests, he insists that he doesn’t need to be a Seer to know he’s about to die (and in this case, he isn’t a Seer — he said his own future was hidden from him!) He states that she wants to ask him something. She starts to ask him, but seems reluctant and can’t find the words. (Which is funny, seeing as the whole point of their going to see him in the first place was to ask this very question. But, well, when someone is dying, I can’t blame her for not wanting too pressure them!). He voices her question aloud for her, saying that she wants to know the fate of her people. He can only tell her that they are alive, but that they are otherwise “shrouded in darkness.” (Metaphorically or literally, I wonder? I’d lean towards the former, but wouldn’t it be interesting if it were the latter? They’ve met a being or dark mist once before, after all. Although contact with that was lethal, it stands to reason that if there is more than one type of crystalline entity, there can be more than one kind of dark, cloud-like thingy.)

Davos goes on to say that he’s not sure that someone in her condition should be looking for them. “My condition?” she asks. (Oh come on, she had to know what he meant! They could have had her look startled for a moment, then nod and say, “Of course — you saw in a vision that I am pregnant.” Or something to that effect.) Davos says that she carries a life inside her. She gives a cute and somewhat rueful smile, saying yes. (And if there actually were still any audience members left who didn’t know that already, thank Gaia they do now! I was really getting tired of trying to avoid that spoiler!) Davos then looks at her in surprise, stating that she has not told the others. She looks uncomfortable as she tells him that it’s complicated. (Complicated because the father is the Athosian guy she was seeing and didn’t tell anyone about? Or because the father is whomever she had the crush on — the guy she mentioned in “Sunday” — before she started seeing Kanan? Part of me would like to think Carson is the dad — I mean, I’ve thought for a while that he was the one she’d had the crush on, and he may very well have been — but unless she actually slept with him before she worked up the nerve to tell him how she felt, they didn’t exactly have time to get together ….)

Davos asks to see Carter, but collapses on the way. He shares a vision with Teyla: she sees Rodney saying that they have a problem, John in the chair saying that he’s firing drones, and a hive ship exploding. (I immediately think that it’s another hive ship, not Todd’s. Because it couldn’t possibly be the obvious situation, that Sheppard’s firing on Todd’s ship, right?)

Woolsey, of course, goes for the most obvious interpretation, that the Wraith will give them reason to destroy the hive shp. Sam points out that if they destroy Todd’s ship, they will lose their only chance to destroy the Replicators. Woolsey insists that, one way or another, the ship will be destroyed. (So what are you fussing about if the path is inevitable? I’d still like think that, even if the event itself is unalterable, the circumstances behind it could be made to work in their favour.) John tells him that if he believes that, then Atlantis is doomed too and they should all go home. (Hah! Got him there!) John comes up with the idea of destroying the hive ship the moment the virus code is transmitted, betraying the Wraith, as Sam puts it, before the Wraith can betray them. (Aww, John, now I’m disappointed in you. I mean, it makes sense from a tactical standpoint, sure, but now you sound like Woolsey. Besides, what if you need something else from the Wraith after you get he code? Once the ship is destroyed, you can’t get it back; you might shoot yourself in the foot! If you too believe, one way or another, that ship will be destroyed, then why not wait until you have no choice? I suppose his fear that he was wrong to trust Todd after all is getting the better of him; poor guy ….) Ronon asks if anyone would really lose sleep over betraying the Wraith.

Carter wisely asks Rodney if he would be able to fix the code without the Wraith’s help. At first he laughs, like it’s a silly question, but when she presses, he has to admit that he can’t promise it. (And can I just squee that Carter doesn’t even remotely suggest she might be able to do it or ask if he wants her help? Meaning that she is bowing to his expertise, and that Rodney is indeed meant to be seen by the audience as the superior code-monkey. Because really, if she had a chance in hell of doing it, I don’t think she would — or should — hold back from helping just to preserve rank or his ego.) Teyla adds that, if they go through with the idea but don’t do it fast enough, the Wraith may be able to get out a message to other hives. (Kudos once again to the writers for thinking the logic out on-screen! And is it just me, did Teyla’s vocal nuance sound remarkably like Red Dwarf’s Kryten just then?) Sam decides she needs to talk to Todd, and points out to Woolsey that he should come with her, if he wants to be thorough in his report. (You go, girl!) Rodney looks sympathetic (or maybe just overall morose), while John looks smug.

On the way to the brig, Woolsey admits he had never met a Wraith before. (Well, as far as I know, Sam’s pretty new to it too; did she ever meet any outside the ones in “Reunion”?) When they reach Todd’s holding cell, Woolsey tells her “Ladies first,” but Sam isn’t fooled by his attempt to hide his fear with chivalry, and gives a derisive little chuckle, shaking her head as she walks past him. She introduces herself to Todd, treating him with respect; he says, very politely, that he is pleased to meet her acquaintance. (Now, my question is, is that a typical Wraith greeting? Or did Todd pick that phrase up from the Genii or something? At any rate, I hope Woolsey is noting how being polite and respectful can get you farther than aggression.) Todd looks to Woolsey, who, standing a bit behind Sam, reluctantly gives his name.

Sam broaches the subject of working with the Wraith, pointing out that the last time they’d tried that, things didn’t work out so well for them. She lays out their terms: they will destroy his hive ship with the slightest provocation, he will remain under guard at all times, and they will keep the virus when it’s done. He’s very understanding and reasonable, only expressing concern about that last, asking if she’s sure they’re up to the task of delivering it to the Asurans. She points out that they did it once before. (What she doesn’t mention is that they had Elizabeth, with her nanites, to help them then.) After wearing a look of uncertainty, he agrees to the terms, assuring her that he wants them to succeed as much as she does. (Again, he seems sincere.)

She asks what will happen if their plan succeeds. He explains that his imprisonment by the Genii has lowered his standing among his people; Woolsey interrupts, asking if he intends to use this situation to improve that standing. Todd confirms that (as if it weren’t patently obvious). Sam points out that they will be on opposing sides after this is all over. He agrees, adding “But not today.” (It parallels the final conversation John had with him in “Common Ground”, somewhat, and look how that turned out: they ended up working together again. It may very well be just wishful thinking on my part, but I get the impression that Todd wouldn’t be averse to a continued alliance.)

Todd says he believes it is customary among humans to shake hands after an agreement is made, and holds out his hand. Which, of course, is how Wraith feed: through their hands. There’s an awkward pause where the soldiers in the room all get ready to fire on him, and Sam quirks her mouth, eyeing him curiously. Todd laughs, saying it’s just a bit of Wraith humour. (Ohmygods, I love that!! And he really seems good-naturedly mirthful, not at all laughing in a derisive way …. Sooo, did he witness a handshake when he was a Genii prisoner? Or has he made a study of humans in general? If the latter, did he do it just because it’s good to understand one’s enemies, or more because he was simply curious?)

The hive ship arrives, bearing the code as promised. Ronon is disappointed, telling Rodney that he expected the Wraith super-weapon to be a big gun or something that goes boom. (Well, he certainly was paying attention in those meetings, ‘ey? *Snicker* And isn’t it cute how he’s hovering around Rodney still, trying to “learn some science”?) When the download is complete, John offers to go down to the chair room, but Sam tells him she can’t risk it, then orders that Todd be brought to McKay.

In the lab, Todd tells Rodney that what the physicist is doing with the code is all wrong, that he should do it this way; Rodney talks to him casually, like he would any other guy on his team, disagreeing, saying they’re better off doing it this other way. Todd insists that Rodney risks compounding errors that way, then suggests he might be better able to help McKay if his hands were free. Nervous, Rodney says that it’s okay, he can do it himself. Though disappointed, Todd doesn’t push the issue. (Funny thing is, while Rodney has every reason to believe that the Wraith is only trying to get free and pull something underhanded, I truly believe Todd is, again, being sincere, with escape being the last thing on his mind, at least for the moment. He seems very well-behaved, friendly, and open-minded, even while he has grounds to hate the humans, after being kept prisoner by the Genii, and to resent being made a prisoner now. I like him! In fact, I’m wondering now if he’s really such a big baddie after all. I think he’s not a warrior so much as a scientist whose predatory instincts made him more aggressive when he was being starved — and even then, he stayed pretty rational when dealing with Sheppard. Besides, it’s not his fault he’s got to eat, right?)

Rodney storms into Sam’s office, saying that the Wraith had kept part of the code from them. (Ohhh, then it’s entirely reasonable to suspect that Todd was trying to keep him from discovering that fact. Still, I don’t think so.) Rodney explains that the missing piece is nothing important enough to stall the work, but it’s still necessary for completion. He adds that he “wouldn’t have even noticed, except … well …” he pauses, and then as humbly as he can, finishes with, “… you know, I’m … really good.” (Hewlett’s delivery here is perfect!) Woolsey and Carter confirm that they already knew something was up — they’ve discovered another hive ship heading for Atlantis. (Just like I thought. And I’m sure this new ship is an enemy of Todd’s, too, hence their needing to destroy it.)

Ronon holds Todd at gunpoint, a self-satisfied grin on his face. Todd insists that he knew nothing about it, asking why he would betray them now when they were just beginning to trust each other. Rodney says they weren’t, bringing up the missing piece of the virus. Todd looks surprised and embarrassed, explaining quite reasonably that it was only a small piece that he was intending to hand over when the work was complete. Ronon thinks he should shoot Todd now. John agrees. (Can’t entirely blame him there, seeing as, from his perspective, it’s looking more and more like Woolsey was right, which means John made a poor choice with potentially disastrous consequences.)

Todd explains that he couldn’t be certain that they wouldn’t betray him as soon as they had the code. (There’s a big flaw in this plan— since he didn’t actually mention that a piece was missing earlier, the could have killed him immediately anyway — and without any sort of warning — not knowing that there was a good reason to keep him or his hive alive until the code was actually reprogrammed. I suppose he automatically assumed they would need his help to work on it, and that he would get a chance to say he still had a piece of it if they tried to kill him.) John says he’s offended at the suggestion he might do such a thing. Todd gives him a “Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining” sort of look. Ronon asks Todd how they can know he’s not lying now. Todd explains (with the patience of a saint) that the Wraith are divided, adding (more pointedly) that the last thing he needs is another hive showing up. (Which goes far to confirm my suspicions that it’s an enemy hive that gets destroyed in Teyla’s vision.) Rodney figures it out (snapping his fingers in that way of his that makes me want to hug him every time, but seems to tick other people off), explaining that the new hive ship had probably been tracking Todd’s and become suspicious of it hovering over an uninhabited world. (So it seems Todd’s group had taken great risks on their mission!) Todd adds that they must cloak the city. Rodney and John do not look thrilled (but at least they look like they believe him now).

Woolsey of course is totally against it (can’t blame him, really), pointing out that they won’t have the shields anymore if they cloak themselves. (I wonder: if they had another ZPM, could they do both? It doesn’t make sense to me that it should be an either/or thing. Well, outside of the fact that it makes it more dramatic, I mean. Drama should never come at the expense of logic, though.) Sam points out that if they don’t trade the shields for the cloak, the incoming Wraith will be able to see them. (Clearly she believes Todd and Rodney’s story that this new ship is just after the other hive ship and does not know they are there yet.) Woolsey insists that this is what Todd actually wanted all along. (And paranoid as it sounds, it does make sense, I’ll give him that.) John asks the man to make up his mind: are the Replicators supposed to destroy the city, or the Wraith? (Way to throw his logic back at him, John! If he believes the vision, the he has nothing to fear from the incoming Wraith hive — at least, not until some Asuran ship shows up as well.) We’re told they have two hours before that Hive ship shows up. (I wonder for a moment why the friendly hive doesn’t just leave for a bit, but then I realise that, from their point of view, it wouldn’t really help. Either the second hive would stay to search the planet and see what the first was up to, or it would chase after the first hive, and maybe destroy them.)

Sam visits Davos, who warns that the medicines he’s on now dull his mind, so he can’t see visions anymore. (Convenient but plausible, and a bit better than him just saying “Sorry, I’m not getting anything.” Although him saying something like, “It’s not a damn party trick!” would have been funny.) Sam assures him that all she wants is to ask him about the ones he’s already had. She asks if he has ever been wrong. He hasn’t; knowing how events play out has not allowed him to change what will happen so that it no longer coincides with the vision. She asks about the culling he saw then; he says didn’t see a culling, only the Wraith ships arriving, which they did. (As a writer, I particularly enjoy that sort of thing, presenting what we thought we knew in a way that does not contradict what went before but shows us that things were not quite what we believed them to be.) He adds that McKay’s vision passed just as he saw it; Rodney just had not interpreted what he’d seen correctly. Sam fears that it would be hard to misinterpret the vision he’d shown her. He won’t attempt to interpret it himself; he can only assure her that it will happen.

Sam objects, saying that she’s always believed the future was something you chose, not predetermined. He suggests that the two aren’t mutually exclusive, that the future might be “determined by the character of those who make it.” (A brilliant line contributed to this ep by Paul Mullie, apparently. It’s not a new notion, but you don’t see it discussed often in sci-fi, outside of the concept of self-fulfilled prophecy: that if the future is predetermined, it’s because we are who we are, not because some outside force dictates it. That basically we’ve already made our choices — but they were still our choices, no matter when or how they were made. The funny thing is, this theory seems to negate the idea of diverging timelines and altered dimensions, things which have already been “proven” in the Stargate universe. If Davos is right, then we would choose the same answer every time — otherwise he wouldn’t be able to accurately see what’s to come, he would be wrong or things would be changed. So if there aren’t other choices we would have made, then how would we have diverging timelines or alternate dimensions? Maybe there’s a middle ground there, too. With how little he actually “sees”, it could very well be that there are multiple possibilities, but they just don’t happen to be at odds with each other. I mean, Wraith ships explode, right? There’s a lot of plausible ways that could happen. Lots of reasons Sheppard might say he’s firing the drones. Lots of reasons Rodney might say that they’re in trouble. It’s like the Tarot or horoscopes — there’s plenty of wiggle room, and a broad range of character could still produce rather similar end results.) Davos goes on to say that “the galaxy is at a crossroads. Never before have I sensed that the future of so many worlds can turn on the actions of so few!” (Aw, that’s as lovely as Shakespeare, that is!)

Sam is standing on a balcony outside when John lets her know that the Wraith ship will be there soon. She tells him to get to the Chair Room, and he asks if that means she’s decided that they’ll have to take the ship out. (He’s really eager to fire those drones, ain’t he? Although in this case it’s pretty likely that this new hive ship wouldn’t exactly be friendly, so it while I’m not sure it would be wise to just shoot them on sight, it doesn’t hurt to be prepared to do it at a moment’s notice at least.)

John suggests that the predictions have made decisions far too complicated, asking her what she would do if she didn’t have the visions influencing her. She argues that the visions prevented his team from being captured by the Wraith. He counters that they “would never have walked into a trap unprepared, even without McKay’s vision.” She repeats what Davos told her about character shaping the future, but doesn’t explain when prompted. (I find it amusing that, according to Davos, she will make the choice that will get them to that circumstance, so in that sense she shouldn’t worry about it — and yet, it’s in her character to worry and considers it all options carefully, and it’s that very fact that leads her to ultimately make the decision she does!)

John goes on to say that, on the one hand, Woolsey’s technically right about the safety of the city being their first priority, and under that condition, their only choice is to destroy both the hive ships. But … he asks what they’re there for if they’re going to play it safe instead of help people. “So play it safe or take a risk and maybe save millions of lives?” she asks. The look John gives Sam says she knows which one is the right choice. (Hmm, looks like John was right: in this case, simplifying it does make the answer seem obvious. Woolsey might argue that the mission’s intent was to find something to fight problems back in the Milky Way with, not to help others, but I like how John thinks — particularly since it somewhat echoes that argument that I made earlier, about taking the high road over the tactical one, when John himself suggested betraying Todd and shooting the wraith hive right after getting what they wanted! I feel like he was paying attention. *Wink*) Sam remarks that this sort of decision used to be easy back when it was just her, but now she has the lives (and choices) of everyone under her to consider. (So let whoever doesn’t want to take the risk go home!) He points out that everyone who was in the city was there because they chose to be, and that they believe in the same things she does. (Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but again, the ones that don’t could pull a “Kavanagh” and leave. He assures her that he’ll be ready if anything goes wrong.

Sam tells Rodney to prepare to cloak the city. He tells his crew, “Let’s do this!” (It tickles me to see him all in charge like that, and also to see him fully behind Sam’s decision rather than arguing with or second-guessing her. I guess this supports John’s statement that they believe in the same things she does.) Woolsey asks Sam if it’s true that it takes time to change from Cloak to shield, that it isn’t something that can be done right away; she confirms it. She also tells him that there’s still time for him to return to Midway if he wants. He echoes her statement to him earlier, saying his report wouldn’t be as thorough as possible. (He’s resigned as he says it, not catty, and my respect for him bumps up a notch.) Rodney engages the cloak. (All by himself. I wonder what his minions needed to do when he ordered them about?)

Davos dies. And the second hive drops out of hyperspace. (Wait, they can track ships as they move through hyperspace? So why couldn’t they tell where the Travelers were going? If they were tracking the ship before it went into hyperspace, why did it travel for any distance outside of it?)

Rodney monitors the hive ships’ activities, keeping Sheppard appraised as well via radio. For a few tense moments, they ships are just “talking” - Rodney figures that the one is trying to convince the other that they’re not up to something. Then Rodney has the moment from Teyla’s vision, where he says they’ve got a problem — the reason apparently being that the ships are powering up their weapons. (Of course it seems obvious to me that the ships intend to fire on each other, but of course the Atlantis crew thinks that both ships will fire on them.) John has his moment from the vision next, saying he’s preparing to fire the drones, but Sam tells him to wait. Woolsey has a conniption and tries to take command from her. (So much for not interfering! But even while I think he’s missing the obvious, I understand why he feels this action is necessary. He aggravates the hell out of me, but I can’t hate him for this.) She threatens to sick security on him. (And really, Woolsey, while you may technically be right about being able to take command, and could get her court-martialed later for not stepping down, that doesn’t matter at the moment, when no one will listen to you ….)

Rodney reports that the ships are firing on each other. We see the action; eventually one of the ships explode, taking the other with it. (Oh wow, Todd’s ship did get destroyed — and yet neither ship was destroyed by John! Well, at least I was partially right …. This is the second time I know of that one hive ship’s exploding also took out an enemy hive — the first time it happened being in the episode “The Hive” — and I still don’t understand why it happened. Why would you get destroy your enemy while you’re close enough that their explosion would destroy you too? Talk about being kamikaze!) Rodney tells the others what’s happened, adding, “I guess the other Wraith didn’t buy their story!” (Again, perfect delivery by Hewlett!) Then Rodney determines that neither ship was able to send off a subspace transmission reporting Atlantis’ location. Woolsey looks like he’s going to be sick. (Can’t blame him — not only was Sam right, but if they had fired on the Wraith ships, those ships may well have started firing on them, too!) Crisis averted.

Linara watches sadly as her father’s body is carted away, telling Teyla that she doesn’t know what her people will do without his guidance. She says that she is afraid of the future. Teyla tells her, “Just because something is unknown does not necessarily mean it needs to be feared.” (I love how that adage can be applied to so many situations: new species, new cultures, new perspectives. And I wonder if Teyla is applying this bit of wisdom to her own situation, that she is using it to keep herself from worrying so much for the unknown fate of her people?) “Trust yourself,” Teyla adds, “and the rest will unfold as it was meant to.” (It’s a nice call-back to Davos’ line about the future being predetermined by one’s character.) Linara leaves. (I’m surprised Davos didn’t Ascend! I also expected his daughter to turn out to have the power — but then if Davos had it all his life, so should she have had it all of hers.)

Keller approaches. Teyla tells her about Davos having seen that she was pregnant. Keller points out that other people are going to notice soon, too. Teyla seems resigned but unhappy. (Gah! How long will we have to wait to find out why she doesn’t want to tell them??)

John goes to see Todd; Todd remarks on how all it took was the destruction of his ship for John to trust him. We see a soldier holding Wraith restraints, and John says he still doesn’t trust him. (On the one hand, I applaud him for his wariness, but on the other, it makes me sad.) John says Todd has work to do. (Raise your hands if you wish Todd the Wraith would a regular part of the crew! (*Raises paw* I wonder what they’re going to do with him in the meantime He has no crew now, probably no place to go, and I can’t see them being willing to let anyone try to feed him ….)

Woolsey says an awkward goodbye to Sam, making something of a roundabout apology, which she accepts in an equally roundabout way. Then he asks how she knew the Wraith would fire on each other; she says she didn’t, and asks if he’s going to put that in his report. He says it’s probably better he doesn’t, that “there may be such a thing as being … truthful.” And he leaves, Sam looking bemused as she watches him go.

John is disappointed that Woolsey left without saying goodbye. (Well, maybe not. *wink*) He tells Sam that Rodney and Todd can’t get the code to work. Sam is disappointed; was everything they’d just gone through all for nothing? John sagely says that having survived and kept their location secret has to count for something. (Except that they wouldn’t have had to go through it if not for the code, and if they don’t get the code …. Seems to me they broke even, which yeah, okay, I guess that’s still better than losing outright ….) John asks if she’s still thinking about the visions. She can’t shake the fact that everything Davos saw came to pass. (But he still didn’t see that much, and it all turned out much differently from what you expected!) John points out that what Davos showed her might not come to pass for a thousand years; she retorts that it could happen tomorrow. “Right, so?” he asks, “What else is new?” And life goes on.

I like the philosophical lessons of this episode as well: sometimes knowing is worse than not knowing; the enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend, but sometimes they’re still the lesser of two evils; the more certain you are, the less you know; hindsight is twenty-twenty and won’t keep you from walking into what’s in front of you, so keep your eyes ahead and as open as possible …. I could go on, but you probably think I’ve rambled enough, ey?

See you next week for the much-awaited (at least by me) “Miller’s Crossing”!

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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.