Stargate Atlantis: This Mortal Coil

By Wolfen Moondaughter

I will confess up front that I had indulged in skimming the spoilers at Gateworld for this ep, so I had an idea of what was going on as I watched, beyond even the theories I’d postulated in the previous edition of this column. Yet, even with those spoilers and theories in hand, I was still pleasantly caught by surprise by certain details! Way to go, Joe Mallozzi! (Yes, this was another of his eps. Although, he did say that this idea originated with Brad Wright, and pointed out that, while the script itself is generally penned by one person, the story is a group effort between all the writers, who will give each other ideas for lines and actions. So way to go everyone on the writing staff!)

I’ve heard some complaints about this ep being too much like the SG-1 ep “Tin Man”, in which android doubles were made of the team and their memories copied into the new bodies. Me, I’m glad it was — I liked that scenario, and was interested to see how the SGA-1 people would react to it! Really, there are no entirely original ideas in storytelling anyway — everything can be likened to something else. Hell, that’s at the heart of an ongoing series, isn’t it? Dealing with the same plot device over and over? For Buffy, it was fighting monsters; for Star Trek, it was wandering through space exploring; for Fantasy Island, it was wishes coming true, for good or ill; for both Stargate shows, it’s dealing with alien technology and cultures. Sometimes the similarity’s a little stronger between certain eps, sure, but so long as the new version offers some sort of twist, some fresh perspective, I’m totally fine with retreading plot territory, and this ep succeeded completely, in my eyes.

4.10: “This Mortal Coil”

Our story opens with Rodney and Radek working on a project in the Control Room; we don’t know what that project is, at first. As usual, Radek’s performance doesn’t satisfy Rodney, who makes him switch stations with him. Of course Rodney then discovers that Radek was accurate in his assessments, and makes him switch again. (It’s all very amusing.) Sheppard shows up, and we finally learn what’s going on: Rodney apparently tried to make a change to the ‘Gate’s programming, to streamline it, the end result being that it hasn’t worked in a week. Rodney, if course, insists that it wasn’t his programme that broke it, and says they should have it fixed soon. (I momentarily forget the whole “This is a Replicator city” thing and marvel that they could go so long without a working ‘Gate without the SGC declaring a state of emergency or something. How often do they check in with SGC now, I wonder? Once a week? Once every few days?)

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Something strikes the city; Rodney wonders how it could have hit without the sensors picking it up, and one of the ‘Gate technicians (I assume that’s what she is, anyway, as she’s wearing green panels on her jacket, like Chuck does) says it came in too fast. (So the logistical question the audience might ask is actively addressed … sort of. Don’t they have deep-space sensors that can reach other solar systems, though? What, was the thing going at close to the speed of light?) The object is emitting a low-level frequency, so it’s not just an asteroid or something. (And if I didn’t already know what was going on, I would be wondering at the fact that Rodney is wearing his old jacket here.)

They locate the spot in the city where the object crashed. (I find myself wondering if the hole in the ceiling and the light streaming in is all CG, or if they really do wreck and rebuild the set as-needed. If it is CG, it’s impressive!) Rodney says, “Thank god it hit the reading library or someone really could have gotten hurt!” (…. So nobody ever uses that room?? Thank Gaia Daniel Jackson wasn’t there, ’cause I’m sure he would!) They determine that it’s a drone or a probe, and not Wraith in origin. Radek suggests that it’s Lantean in origin, maybe a fallen satellite. (At first I think that this doesn’t make any sense, but then I realise that the Lanteans may have, in fact, left satellites on other worlds besides their own. It’s small enough that I could see him believing that they just hadn’t noticed it in their space before. Or else these copies of the characters think that they’re on Lantea still? Hmmm.) Rodney says, “It’s still emanating the trace energy field.” John backs away (*chuckle*), asking if it’s dangerous. Puzzled, Rodney says, “No, it’s just interesting.” (I love Hewlett’s delivery there.) John notes a gash in the side, guessing it was shot at.

Lorne (Yaaaay!) asks John if they know what the object is yet; John says they’re still studying it. Lorne stresses that the ‘Gate is important, suggesting they let Zelenka study the object and put McKay back on fixing the ‘Gate. John, a little irritated at being second-guessed, points out that the ‘Gate being down is just an inconvenience, while the probe’s presence could mean that someone has found them. Lorne doesn’t look happy as John leaves. (Because I only skimmed the spoilers, I assume everyone is oblivious to their status as Replicators, and am puzzled by Lorne’s expression. Come to think of it, Sam’s absence would also seem odd here, I assume, to the unspoiled — but of course the Replicators have no idea she’s in Atlantis now. They must figure that, after Weir’s loss, John would be in charge by default — which was actually true, for at least a little while anyway! Also, Mallozzi explains that they had considered putting Sam in this ep later, but since she was only contracted for fourteen eps, they had to use her judiciously, which I appreciate.)

Rodney and Radek study the device, while Rodney munches away on a sandwich. (Or rather, the camera pans to him holding said sandwich with a bite out of it and his jaw working. The subject of eating during scenes came up during a Q&A at Dragon*Con last year — Michael Shanks said that Jell-O was a popular choice because it doesn’t stick to one’s teeth and it’s not too filling. I will never be able to watch an actor eat again without being conscious of the fact that they probably had to do multiple takes and eat a lot, unless they just make it look like the character is eating, like here ….) Radek thinks the signal is just gibberish from a damaged device, but Rodney insists that whoever made the device only wants them to think that, and that he’s good enough to decipher it. He tells Radek to run a decryption sweep. (I love the way Hewlett says “Humour me?”) Radek says the programme could take hours, and suggests they get back to work on the ‘Gate for now. Rodney spots something right away, though — and then suddenly all the data disappears. Rodney has a fit, but Zelenka insists he did nothing, asking McKay what he saw on the screen before it went blank. It was Replicator nanite code.

Rodney finds John and tells him what he saw. Radek comes chasing after and insists that he was looking at the data too and saw no such thing. There’s a boom; Lorne radios to say that there’s been an explosion in McKay’s lab, cutting their argument short. (I have to admit that I didn’t suspect Zelenka of sabotage at all while I was watching this — it just seemed like their typical arguing. Now, of course, I know that he was simply trying to keep Rodney from discovering their true nature. I think it was very deftly handled, not too obvious at the time, but making total sense in hindsight.) It turns out that it was the probe that exploded. (John makes an amusing suggestion that it was Rodney’s sandwich that blew up.)

Rodney walks with John, saying that something’s fishy. The decryption programme shouldn’t have crashed, and it’s suspicious that the probe blew up before he could look at it. He knows it sounds paranoid, but asks John to keep his eyes open anyway. (This is the point where it finally occurs to me that Lorne purposefully blew the probe up.)

Ronon and John spar. (It’s fast and furious, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they got hurt a few times during the shooting, especially with stories I’ve heard about Momoa ….) Ronon asks if John thinks McKay is imagining things. John suggests that maybe Rodney needs a vacation. (And I, forgetting for a moment that replicated versions of our heroes would have no way to know about it, think to myself, Sure he does, after the whole thing with Jeannie! — which, of course, this Rodney hasn’t actually gone through.) Ronon feels people are “acting differently lately,” and adds that Teyla’s noticed it as well. John suggests that Ronon’s just sir-crazy and paranoid. Ronon denies it, then “accidentally” cuts John above the eye with a practice sword. (Flanigan does a great job of being slightly dazed and wobbly after the strike.) Ronon says John will need stitches and gets him a towel. Ronon then smirks as he apologises. (Ohmygods, I just realised — Ronon is wearing arm braces that cover his newish tattoos! Because, of course, the Replicators would have no reason to know about those ….)

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John goes to see Keller. She tells him he’s fine — he has no head-wound, so the blood must be Ronon’s. John insists that it’s his own blood, that he was hit, and tells Keller to run a scan, thinking maybe he was infected by nanites from the probe. Keller obliges, and afterwards says that he’s clean. John then suggests that she take a blood sample from him for testing, telling her about when he was infected with Carson’s Wraith retrovirus and how it had made him heal quickly. Keller points out that he hasn’t been exposed again, and he suggests it’s a relapse. She doubts it, and he starts to snap at her, then calms himself as he finishes making the request again. After an unhappy pause, she agrees with a tight smile. (Keller’s oh-so-slightly Stepford-creepy throughout this scene, just enough to make an unspoiled person unsettled, I think, yet leave them also willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and just assume that something strange is happening. It’s positively delicious! And I finally catch on here that Keller and the others are true-blue Replicators who know what they are, not organic versions, and that she’s trying to keep his true nature from him. She probably decided that it was easier to just humour him and lie than to refuse his request outright ….)

We overhear Lorne and Keller talking. She says that Lorne made “them” suspicious by blowing up the probe, and that they are a long way from learning “the truth”, so they need to be careful. (It occurs to me that an unspoiled audience is likely supposed to think that they’re spies of some kind in the real Atlantis, perhaps infected by nanites from the probe themselves. That would beg the question why they are being mind-controlled and John and Rodney are not, though, as well as make us wonder how Keller got infected when she wasn’t exposed to the probe. And it might also make one wonder how long people have been, to Ronon’s mind, acting strangely, as it seemed as though he meant for longer than the probe was around. Of course, even knowing where they really are and having some notion of what the situation is, I still wonder at this point what it is that they’re trying to find out.)

Keller tells John that his test results are clean. He’s not happy; what could explain the “magically healing headwound” then? (And suddenly I’m reminded of Saturday Night Live‘s Massive Headwound Harry ….) Keller insists that John couldn’t have really hurt himself in the first place, that it must have been Ronon’s blood on him. (She’s even creepier now. Way to go, Staite!) John says Ronon wasn’t bleeding. Keller suggests that the blood was on the towel, then, and he transferred it to his head. He explains that Ronon gave him the towel after noting the wound and the need for stitches in the first place. (John’s got that wonderful I’m losing my patience because you’re being an idiot but I’m trying very hard to stay polite tone going.) She says cheerfully that she’ll try it again, and if it’s still clean, then they’ll do a complete physical. (She’s got nothing to lose in humouring him, after all.) The look in his eyes as she leaves says he’s unsettled — probably rethinking McKay and Ronon’s paranoia.

We see Sheppard, Ronon, and Teyla waiting in a lab when Rodney walks in and, surprised, asks them what they’re all doing there. John holds up a knife, and Rodney suddenly remembers something he has to go do. Ronon grabs him from behind, holding him by the arms. Rodney, understandably, freaks out, and yelps in pain as Sheppard slides the blade across his palm. (Geez, did John really have to go all the way across?? What if Rodney wasn’t infected with whatever John was? Couldn’t a little cut have sufficed just as easily? Well, other than that it wouldn’t be as dramatic, I mean?) John hands him a towel. Rodney asks what’s the matter with the man and babbles about needing more than just a towel to treat it. (I think it says something about the trust he has in his teammates, even despite what they just did to him, that he’s not trying to bolt from the room. And happily, that trust is justified.) John tells him to shut up and hold on, then to look at the cut. Of course the cut is gone; Rodney is astounded while everyone else wears unhappy I thought so sorts of looks. Teyla tells him wryly that, if it makes him feel any better, they underwent the same test. (Uh, not really ….)

They discuss the strange behavior of the crew. Teyla tells Rodney that they share his suspicions; he replies that he’s sure Zelenka made that programme crash, because otherwise it would make the man out to be even more incompetent than usual. (Heheheh.) Rodney then asks what all that has to do with his super-healing, and John tells him about the headwound and the blood test coming up clean for the retrovirus. (No mention is made of the nanites.) Rodney asks if John thinks Keller is lying; John says they need to find out. Rodney says he can hack into the medical records from there in the lab. In doing just that, he reveals that there’s not even a record of the blood test. John points out that Keller did a full body-scan; Rodney says that’s not there either. Teyla points out (for our benefit) that the scanner records the results into the computer automatically, and Rodney replies, “That doesn’t meant it can’t be erased.” (Nice bit of exposition/explaining logistics to the audience through character discussion.) John says they need to run their own tests, and can’t trust anyone; Teyla adds that they need to get into the infirmary without anyone knowing. Rodney gets an idea. (This whole sequence is a really, really nice “team in action” sort of moment.)

We see John and Teyla walking down the hall. (Despite Teyla wearing a baggy, old-style Atlantis uniform, Rachel Luttrell’s pregnancy is pretty evident, enough to make one wonder if the boyos are blind, since they haven’t noticed. Well, except for the fact that this Teyla wouldn’t be pregnant, of course.) John asks Rodney, via the radio, how things are going. Rodney says that he’s tapped into the LSD, adding that “something’s not right.” Ronon, sitting next to him, protests that it looks all right to him. (*Snort* I just love how Ronon’s hovering around McKay this season, being a nuisance as he tries to “learn him some science.”) John gets impatient; Rodney can’t tell him if anyone is in the infirmary, complaining that the LSD won’t give him any live feed and adding that it seems “stuck in a loop.” He “fixes” it though — and abruptly all the life signs disappear. Ronon accuses him of breaking it. (Heee!) John asks if the infirmary is clear or not. Rodney replies, “Yeah, the infirmary, the corridors, the surrounding towers — according to this, we’re the only people on the base!” (Because the others are true-blue Replicators, of course, with no organics. And even spoiled, I think the scenario’s wonderfully creepy, very classic sci-fi/Twilight Zone! Anyway, another great delivery here by Hewlett!)

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Lorne finds Keller and tells her that they have a problem. In the infirmary, Teyla scans John. Back in his lab, Rodney has found another lifesign, on the outer edge of the city; Ronon says they should check it out. Rodney starts to say maybe they should wait for John and Teyla to return (so typically Rodney *grin*) and Ronon growls offscreen for him to come on. (Nicely done; kudos to the director or whoever was responsible for that! I love it when filmmakers get creative with the framing; “offscreen” isn’t utilized nearly enough, in my book.) John’s scan shows that he is filled with nanites. (Were I unspoiled, I would wonder why his mind hadn’t been taken over, the way he’d feared Elizabeth’s would be, and why he and his team still remained partially organic while the rest of the crew had not. Then I would assume that they were captured and brought to a replica of the city, to be studied, which would mean that the rest of the crew was never real in the first place. In that case, the Replicators would want them to be as true to their natures as possible to get the most honest reactions, so they wouldn’t want to interfere with their minds or fear of spoiling the results. Which of course is precisely what’s going on, but even spoiled like am, I have the reason wrong: I’m assuming that the Replicators are doing this so that they can anticipate the mind of their enemies. Apparently, when the writers were spinning the story, that was the original intent, too, so kudos to them now for adding another twist. Oh, but I’m getting ahead of myself ….)

Rodney and Ronon find a secret room (in a spot where a room is already supposed to be, no less; that amuses me). Rodney goes to enter, but Ronon holds him back, then enters the room himself, gun at the ready. (I love this! Ronon’s not a science guy, so he makes damn sure he gets to fill his military role as protector, regardless of how he may personally feel about Rodney’s lack of courage. Perhaps Ronon’s even grateful that Rodney is so, since it gives the Satedan a way to contribute.) In the room, they find Elizabeth lying on a table. Shocked, Rodney asks how she got there as they help her sit up. Keller comes in with an armed guard, revealing that this room is where they “made her” and the rest of them as well.

Teyla muses to John that the nanites being in their body are why they heal so rapidly. (She says this for the sake of people in the audience who missed “Miller’s Crossing” and “Adrift”, or simply didn’t make that mental connection, I guess? Well, Mallozzi did say he’d been told that, as a writer, he sometimes assumes the audience knows more than they really do — perhaps I’m guilty of that as well, in instances like this where I feel like the characters are stating the obvious ….) They move to find and tell the others about their discovery, but are stopped by Lorne and another armed guard, with Lorne inisiting that they must come with him. John’s hand inches for the gun on his thigh holster (man, those things seem like they would be *so* uncomfortable!); Lorne notices and insists that shooting him won’t do him any good. (Which ought to be patently obvious to John, seeing as Teyla just said that the nanites make them heal rapidly — besides which, Lorne’s not even alive anyway, as the LSD told us all.) John shoots Lorne in the leg; there’s no blood, and the hole fixes itself immediately. John (inexplicably, to me) looks astounded. (I assume because he expected some blood, at least; perhaps he simply didn’t believe the LSD was right about the life signs, and thought that Lorne was an uninfected human who was just acting very strangely? Or maybe that look in his face was aimed more at himself, as a Well, now what do I do? sort of expression ….)

Rodney figures out that Keller and the others are Replicators. Keller confirms it, adding that until he’d changed their base code, they had been forbidden to assume the form of any living human. (Ooooh, I’d forgotten about that! At first I’m puzzled by this; if all Rodney did was restore the old base code that the Wraith virus overwrote, why would it change that part of their programming? Then it occurs to me that he’d probably had to rewrite a small bit of that code himself in order to get it uploaded, that a piece of the original was missing, so it’s not exactly the same — hence the Wraith virus no longer working on it. His small rewrite was “worded” in such a way that it, as Todd mentioned at in “The Seer”, allows them to take whatever actions necessary to put an end to the Wraith, including overriding the rest of their programming. Rodney essentially gifted them with a bit of free will.) Keller says that her people can now take any form they like, and transforms to demonstrate. (When I’d seen the preview, they’d just shown a dark-haired woman changing to a silvery form and cut it off there. I’d thought at the time that the silver form looked nothing like the woman, which made it seem like a bad bit of CGI. In context, I see it was her changing back into the Keller form, which the silver form does resemble, so now it’s gone from seeming like crappy CGI to good. Funny how context can change perspective ….) Rodney protests that they couldn’t have infiltrated Atlantis. In a brain-breaking moment, Keller points out that he’s assuming that he’s still in Atlantis — and that he’s the real Rodney. (If I hadn’t been spoiled, that revelation, that he’s not actually Rodney, would totally rock my world — both from the standpoint of it being a shocking and that it’s a great story point. Well, the latter is still true. *Smile*)

Back in the infirmary, Teyla asks Lorne if she and her comrades are Replicators as well. Lorne says no, they are humans who just happened to have been constructed by nanites, some of which remained within them to fix them as-necessary. (That was probably a mistake, leaving them in, but I guess they didn’t want to take the risk of one of the humans getting sick or dying on them accidentally.) He explains that their thoughts and memories were copied from the real people a year past, when they’d been captured. Apparently Keller is saying the same thing to Rodney, who points out that Carson was their CMO a year ago, and that Keller hadn’t even arrived. She responds that the information was updated with the capture of Weir. (I like how this whole scenario is handled — the exposition is natural and satisfies logistical questions, and it being split into two separate but simultaneous conversations like this makes the presentation even more interesting.)

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The team is reunited in a holding cell. John’s been allowed to keep his knife (it’s not like he can use it to escape or harm his captors), which Weir used to cut her own palm, wanting to see for herself that she’s indeed infected. Rodney covers his eyes while she does. (*Snicker*) Rodney says the story of their being created by the nanites (rather than simply infected) explains a few things, like why the gate doesn’t work — it’s not real. Teyla protests that Rodney would have noticed if it were not the real Atlantis, and starts to point out that the stars alone would be evidence. He insists that the sky has been overcast for a week straight. (Nice cover — that fact hadn’t even occurred to me!)

Elizabeth is taken to see RepliKeller, who explains that RepliWeir is identical to the original Weir in all ways. She also reveals that the original Weir was killed by Oberoth because she exerted an unhealthy influence over the other Replicators whenever she linked with them. (Fans have been horribly upset over this revelation, and I am baffled by that reaction: why is everyone so certain that what Keller says is the truth? She may not be lying, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t lied to herself. As Mallozzi loves to say, nobody ever dies in sci fi.) Elizabeth asks if Keller doesn’t agree with Obertoth. Keller explains that her group is interested in their humanity; its why they started the experiment in the first place. Weir then realises that these Replicators are trying to find the means to ascend.

Back in the cell, the team discuss their situation. Ronon refuses to take the Replicator’s word for it that they aren’t who they think they are. Rodney’s snarky and defeatist; they have no lives to go back to. Teyla and John want to go back to Atlantis anyway; they’re still human and close enough to the real thing to want to be themselves. Still snarky, Rodney agrees but asks how they’re going to do that.

Weir asks if Keller’s people are a part of Niam’s faction (Niam being another Replicator who wanted to learn to ascend). Keller says some of them had been reprogrammed, but the rest managed to hide themselves within the collective. She goes on to explain that this experiment was an effort on the part of her people to understand the nature of soul, so that they could ascend. Weir argues that having a soul can’t be learned; Keller retorts that humans are nothing more than living machines, so why not? (I live for this sort of thing, exploration of personal identity and the nature of life and souls; it’s a frequent theme in my own stories. I’m as happy here as I was with the discussion of time and fate in “The Seer”!) When Weir accuses RepliKeller of sounding like Oberoth then, RepliKeller patiently tells of how the rest of her people have given up on the idea of ascension and been consumed by hate and revenge; her people seek a different path. Elizabeth asks why RepliKeller is telling her all this. (Yes, villain, tell us why you’re blabbing all the details of your plans!) RepliKeller says that it’s important that they gauge her reactions, to avoid making the same mistakes next time. (Uh, oh, you know what that means: they’ve done this experiment before, and will do it again!)

In the cell, RepliWeir tells the team that their captors intend to wipe their memories and start the experiment over again on another world, since the probe was sent by enemy Replicators. She adds that their “friends” had tried to destroy the probe, but had only succeeded in disabling it. (Ah, so it fell because they’d tried to shoot it out of the sky, which is why the sensors hadn’t gone off in warning well beforehand, and where the scortch marks had come from.) Rodney wonders how long the experiment would have gone on if the probe hadn’t crashed into the city. (Well, since this apparently isn’t the first time they’ve needed to be “reset”, it probably wouldn’t go on too much longer …) Liz reiterates that the enemy is coming, intent on destroying the city; John adds that they’re in danger then, too. Teyla wonders if that’s any worse then having their minds wiped and starting the experiment over; Ronon says they need to get out of there. (Well, duh! It’s kind of a weird conversation, really; I’m not sure what the point is. I mean, two of the factors — getting their minds wiped or getting blown up — are out of their control; attempting to escape is the only option they have any control over whatsoever.)

Keller comes to the cell, saying she’s “sorry it’s come to this.” RepliWeir insists that, no matter how many times they start over, they’re always going to figure out what’s going on. She goes on to say (after an amusing aside from John) that if RepliKeller wants to know what it means to be human, she can start with compassion and let them go. Keller says she understands, and might even agree, but the other Replicators have found them. (Ahhh, so her “Sorry it’s come to this” wasn’t “Sorry we have to wipe your minds again,” but rather a “Sorry we’re about to get you all killed” …) We see an Asuran ship opening fire. RepliKeller says that the enemy, failing to bring them back into the collective, wants to destroy them instead. Rodney says to raise the shield; RepliKeller reveals that they couldn’t take many ZPMs with them without alerting the others to their plans, and used most of their power creating the human duplicates in the first place. Weir and the others appeal to Keller, begging to be let go so that they can help the other humans in the galaxy fight off the other Replicators, so that their lives won’t be wasted — so that they won’t be a “failed experiment”. Weir says RepliKeller should know how that feels; RepliKeller agrees, saying that’s how the Ancients viewed her people. John says now’s her chance to prove them wrong.

We see Sam’s vision start to come to pass, Atlantis under siege. RepliKeller leads them through the city, and stops to give them a core drive of a Replicator ship tracking system, which allows one to track the movements of Aurora-class Replicator ships. She tells them to take a jumper to Atlantis and give it to them. RepliWeir tries to get RepliKeller to come with, but she refuses, saying the enemy might be able to track her; she’d just be a liability. Reluctantly, RepliWeir leaves without her. (Sad, but I’m glad RepliKeller turned out to indeed be good, and that Weir wanted to save her.) We see the tower fall. Our team, in a cloaked jumper, hitches a ride on the Asuran ship.

Time passes. RepliRodney snores, earning looks of irritation from the others and a kick from RepliRonon. RepliJohn gets up and talks to RepliWeir in the back. He says he figures they’re on their way to the Asuran homeworld; once they’re there, they’ll find a ship with a hyperdrive. They can’t go directly to Atlantis because they’d probably get shot out of the sky, so they’ll go someplace like New Athos to get in contact with the city. RepliWeir asks, “And then what? How do you think the real John Sheppard’s going to react when he sees you? How would you react?” (She’s kind of creepy when she says this.) She adds that she supposes she’s lucky, since she knows that she’s the only one of herself out there now. (So she thinks — and the fact that she says she “knows” says to me that she doesn’t know.)

They do indeed get taken to the Replicator homeworld — and discover that the shipyards that they’d destroyed have been rebuilt already, and many more besides. (Really, how long does it take to build a ship with nanites anyway? I should think it would happen in a matter of days, even hours ….) The way RepliJohn sees it, though, it will be easier for them to steal a ship they won’t miss. (*Sings* “Always look on the bright side of life!” *Whistles*)

Back in the real Atlantis, Rodney is telling John about a streamlining programme he wants to install that will boost gate efficiency, saying that the gate will be offline for a bit. (Of course he’s talking about the same programme RepliRodney installed in RepliAtlantis — Replantis? — a week prior ….) The gate activates, and Chuck reports that, though they aren’t expecting him, Major Jordan is reporting in. John and Rodney look to a screen, where Jordan tells them someone wants to speak to them. RepliWeir steps into view. (The looks on John and Rodney’s faces and the way John says her name is just heartbreaking — especially knowing that they don’t know she isn’t the original.) Weir explains right away that she’s a duplicate, the same in every way but not the original. John’s eyes tighten, wary and sad. Amazed, Rodney says she seems just like her. She reiterates that she’s not, apologizing. Ashe she explains about RepliKeller’s group, Rodney is crestfallen, and John is chocked up, looking ready to cry. (Is it wrong for me to derive so much pleasure from their pain? Because really, this is just beautiful. Someone explain to me why neither of these men have been nominated for an Emmy for their roles here ….) RepliWeir says they need to meet, as “We have some information that you can use against the Replicators.” “We?” John asks.

The RepliTeam meets the real McCoys. (Or should I say McKays?) John says, “Great. Last time I came face to face with myself, I ended up kicking my own ass.” (A brilliant line that Mallozzi credits to Martin Gero.) Ronon stalks up to his double first, but it’s RepliRodney who makes the first overture, saying an enthusiastic “Nice jacket!” The real Rodney says hey got new uniforms too, because the old ones — and together they say “bunched up under the arms.” (Ahhh, so that’s why the actors requested a new wardrobe! I wondered — the old jackets looked comfortable enough ….) The real Sheppard says, “You got somethin’ for us?” RepliSheppard calls out, “McKay!” and both Rodneys look at him expectantly. RepliSheppard apologises, saying, “Sorry, my McKay.” (And McSheppers everywhere give a cheer.) The Ronons try to stare each other down while RepliRodney fetches the core drive and explains what it is to the original team. The real Rodney is ecstatic; he and RepliRodney begin a rapid-fire exchange of what they’ll need to do to get it usable. Their discourse ends prompts the real John to ask if “outputted” is even a real word; “Of course it is,” Rodney insists; “We can’t both be wrong,” RepliRodney adds. (Ohmygods, this is so much, fun; the bits with them alone would be enough to make this ep a fave!) RepliRodney starts to go on about what they need to do. RepliJohn tells them to slow down, and asks the real John where he plans to have them work, seeing as they’re too much of a security risk to allow into Atlantis. (Suddenly I feel very sad for the copies, since they can never go “home”.) The real Sheppard says, “He’s got a — I’ve got a point.” Rodney says he’ll just bring the equipment there to the planet, and then he and his double go one gushing about how wonderful it will be to work with someone they can trust, how the universe is going to benefit from twice the brilliance, ect. The Sheppards share a look of disgust. (I love how well Sheppard and Rodney are getting along with their doubles, unlike Jack O’Neill with his android copy!) The real Sheppard then asks what they know about the real Elizabeth.

We see the Real Sheppard walking in the woods with RepliWeir. He asks if she’s sure RepliKeller was telling the truth; RepliWeir can’t think of why she would lie. (Ah, but you’re assuming RepliKeller wasn’t lied to herself. Or maybe you’re really the real Weir, and she was afraid you’d put up more of a fight to leave if you knew that.) He confides that the situation is so strange, to not see her for so long, then right after he finally does, to learn she’s dead …. RepliWeir assures him that she knows there won’t be any going back to how things were, for any of them.

Ronon and Teyla walk elsewhere, with Ronon refusing to accept that the RepliRonon is anything more than an imitation, and angry that he even exists at all. RepliRonon and RepliTeyla are also out walking, Ronon confiding that he hadn’t believed they weren’t the real thing until now. Teyla says she was hoping that they were the originals and just had the nanites implanted, that the Replicators were lying about them having been created to keep them form wanting to return. (All the more reason for me to think that may actually be the case with Elizabeth.) Ronon says it worked; he’s not going back. (At first, I think he means he won’t, but as the conversation progresses I decide me just means that he can’t.) He’s been on the run before, though, and now he has the nanites to heal him. Teyla protests that the nanites don’t make him invincible. (Yeah, well, pretty damn close!) She also insists that he is as much Ronon as the other. (And she says it with a surprising amount of derision as she gestures with her head in the direction of the real thing.) He asks why the other Ronon gets to live his life in Atlantis then. She says their circumstances are different. He suggests that their presence makes the originals uncomfortable. She points out that, from their viewpoint, the copies are a security risk, asking if he can blame them. He concedes that he would probably do the same. “Still, it doesn’t change—” and they run into the originals before he can finish. RepliRonon smiles sarcastically and says that they’ll head back to the camp; the original Ronon says they’ll look for Sheppard and Weir. (It seems a little odd that they’d say anything to each other, though. Do we really need to know where they’re going?)

John suggests to RepliWeir that they can turn off the nanites, so they can come to Atlantis and contribute to the fight. She protests that that isn’t really the issue she just couldn’t bear being there and knowing he and the others see her as “less” somehow. He says it’s not true; she says it is, but she doesn’t blame him. They hear a sound; Ronon and Teyla do to. Teyla radios Sheppard and says the Replicators are there; RepliWeir says that they must have tracked the ship. We see it fly overhead. RepliWeir says their ship must have had a hidden subspace transponder. (So I guess they turned off whatever the very tracking system the McKays are working on would use, then?) They run.

The McKays hear the firing of the Asuran weapons and wonder what’s going on. (I guess they didn’t have their radios on?) There’s some running about in the woods. Sheppard and RepliWeir meet up with Ronon and Teyla. Sheppard asks where McKay is (and I squee, even if it is a perfectly logical thing to ask); Ronon says he’s still at the compound. John radios to McKay, saying to go to the ‘Gate. Jordan responds that the ‘Gate is a “no-go”, saying that there’s a Replicator ship waiting to take them out. (The sound quality here is strange in a way I don’t normally attribute to the radios — and very loud.) John says for everyone to go to the ‘jumper instead, asking Rodney if he heard (squee!); Rodney radios back, saying that they’re on their way. RepliWeir points out that with the ‘Gate under guard, they’re trapped. She adds that if the ‘jumper moves in the brush, even while cloaked, the Replicators will pinpoint their location, saying they need a diversion. The Rodneys catch up with the RepliRonon and RepliTeyla, and they make their way together.

RepliWeir is telling John that they all stand a better chance this way. (We apparently missed the plans being made.) John says he doesn’t want her doing this because she feels less … “Human?” she asks. She says they’ve been trying to convince themselves that they’re just like the originals; now they can prove it. He reluctantly agrees, and they run off.

[nms:stargate atlantis,1,4]

We see the jumper fly off and lure the Asuran ships away from the ‘Gate. The Asurans shoot the jumper out of the sky. Within, the Asurans find the RepliTeam fallen and bloodied. One of them pulls RepliJohn’s body away form the console; his injuries heal. He tells them not to feel bad; they almost had themselves convinced. The Asuran fires on him. (The first time I watched this, I was puzzled by this scenario because I assumed it was a suicide run — I somehow missed Weir saying they all stood a better chance with the plan. While John did protest, it was only nominally. After the situation with him refusing to let Rodney sacrifice himself, and the guilt John seemed to be feeling after feeding Wallace to Todd, I would have expected him to put up more of a fight about them sacrificing themselves, even if they are only duplicates, and especially given that this Weir is the only Weir left, at least as far as he knows. Later, I thought maybe they had a bigger plan, one that involved them infiltrating Oberoth’s people somehow, rather than just a suicide mission. But in reading Mallozzi’s blog, I find that, unless he’s being evasive, the answer is much simpler: they weren’t intending to get caught. They couldn’t go to Atlantis themselves, so they had to make their escape somehow. John didn’t really have a choice in the matter about letting them play diversion; he could only hope they made it out okay themselves. And I wonder — would that blaster really kill them? Or just incapacitate them for capture? Well, unless RepliWeir was actually the real thing, we’ll probably never find out, and should just assume that they are, in fact, goners. And I feel really sad now, like I did when the android replicas of SG-1 were killed.) We see the real team make it back to Atlantis.

Later, Radek and Rodney are working in the lab when Radek suggests that they take a break. When Rodney refuses, Radek says he knows Rodney’s trying to lose himself in his work to avoid thinking about Elizabeth. Rodney gets stone-faced and says that that’s one of the perks of his job: being to busy to grieve when something terrible happens because you’re too busy trying to stop the next terrible thing. He ads in a somewhat broken voice that if not for the Replicators trying to wipe out humanity, he’d be in pretty bad shape. “This is Carson all over again, and I’m just not ready to deal. Not yet.” (Oh, Rodney! I’m deliriously happy over this scene, which astonishingly was added as an afterthought to fill space. Besides showing a serious side to his emotional state that we seldom get to see — yummy angst! — it offers some perspective as to why Rodney was willing to disobey John and save Weir in the first place: he was desperate not to lose another friend, not when he blamed himself for the first loss and it was within his power stop the second. It’s also a really sweet friendship moment between Rodney and Radek; it’s always nice to get confirmation that they are friends, rather than just associates. And yay for another mention of Carson!! It’s about time!!) Radek tells Rodney that he’s not the only one who misses Carson. Rodney seems a little thrown, but says nothing. Radek asks if he wants to talk, and Rodney replies, “Eventually, but not now.” (Which seems like quite a breakthrough for him, really!) Radek gets up to go on his break and asks if he should get Rodney anything; Rodney says no, but as the man leaves calls out to him and gives a quiet thank-you. (All in all, it’s a great call-back to the decidedly more humourous scene between them at the beginning.)

John checks on Rodney later that evening. “Why don’t you call it a night?” John suggests in a way that sounds almost like an order. (I’m sure my fellow McSheppers are as ecstatic as I am; John having to make sure Rodney stops to east and sleep is a popular fanfic plot point.) Rodney says he wants to finish what he’s doing, then asks if it isn’t past John’s bedtime. John says he’s approved the removal of “her” personal items the next day. Rodney seems stricken but understanding. John goes on, a bit brokenly, to say that he would have done so sooner, but he’d held on to hope that they’d get her back. Rodney says he did too. John pats him on the back (squee!) and says to let him know when he gets the thing working. (Another great friendship moment between them — I’m dangerously close to getting spoiled here!) As John goes to leave, the programme starts up, and Rodney calls him back, saying, “If this works? We should be able to track every Aurora-class Replicator ship in the galaxy, in real-time.” (Real-time? So does this mean they can track them now, but it’s delayed?) A few red rectangles show up on the screen (making a noise that reminds me of a video game). Rodney says that’s not so bad; the battle with the Wraith must be taking its toll on them. A few more rectangles appear, and he says that, on the other hand, they did see that they were building more. More rectangles. “A lot more,” he says, mystified.

Fade to black (but it’s not over!). We hear more blips. Rodney: “Oh crap!” (Funny, I said that right before he did.)

So I loved the end, don’t get me wrong — it was perfectly handled, really … yet I was a bit surprised by the lack of immediate jeopardy for the mid-season finale, particularly when all the sources, including Mallozzi, called it a two-parter. Well, I’m still going to be waiting with baited breath for the return in January — thank Gaia it’s a short wait! See you then, for “Be All My Sins Remember’d”!

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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). Writing as “Anastasia Witchhazel”, her fantasy short story, “Chase”, is the title story in a homoerotic anthology from Wapshott Press. 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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