“To Hell with this. I’m gonna live!” - Kaylee

By Wolfen Moondaughter

Okay, Carl Binder’s giving Martin Gero some stiff competition in the comedy department (even if we are asked to just accept some plot points that seem a little too convenient …). The writers continue to prove that they can keep me terrified and on the edge of my seat, even when I know without a doubt that nobody (important) is going to die. I was on tenterhooks half the episode! And really, I think we need that sort of thing in our lives every now and then, that fear — but it’s nice to have it under controlled circumstances and go back to normal when a show is over!

Of course I was thrilled to see Teal’c again, and it was even nice to see Kavanagh (he’s a such a “love to hate” sort of guy and makes for nice comic relief). I’m sad at the loss of Midway, though, and for what it will mean for the people of the expedition, having to wait for supplies and take months to travel back and forth between the galaxies. Unless maybe, once they replace the ‘Gates, they can conceivably use the puddle-jumpers to make the trip, and just pause at the half-way point to do the quarantine thing on the ‘jumper, until they can get a new station built?

Before we get to the episode, let me make a comment about the recap footage they showed before it should be made. The footage is from “The Return, Part 1″, only, as Morjana mentioned in a comment over at Mallozzi’s blog, the line “The program is completely secure, no need for a shield or an iris,” was added for this airing, and was not in the original airing of “The Return”. I can understand the need for the explanation, but surely it could have been added into the actual episode? For example, Kavanagh could make a remark, and Lee could say “How many times do I have to tell you …” and then launch in to why they didn’t bother with an iris. Also, I have to wonder now, will future airings of “The Return” have the new snippet of dialogue in it? .If they will, will future releases of the third season box set have it as well?

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4.17: “Midway”

Teyla fills Sam and John in on her recent two-day excursion to Earth, where she was interviewed by a new IAO representative named Coolidge. She describes him as “somewhat brusque and arrogant.” Seems he doesn’t like aliens much, particularly the idea of them being on SG teams. She adds that he seemed distracted by her pregnancy, and notes ruefully that his attitude towards women differs from that which he bears towards men. She says that she managed to refrain from giving in to the urge to inflict bodily harm on him; Sheppard says that’s probably good, considering she has a baby on the way. (Kind of an odd statement to make, especially given that he’s not exactly saying in a humourous way — does he think she was seriously considering it? Hmm, maybe she was, now that I think on it! *Grin*) She says that she doesn’t think that Coolidge will have a problem with her in the end, seeing as he doesn’t believe she’ll be returning to the team after she gives birth. “Well, won’t he be surprised!” John says. Teyla looks like she’s going to say something, but finally just gives a non-committal nod. (Hey Sheppard, looks like your little pep talk with her in “Quarantine” didn’t go as far to sway her as you apparently assumed that it did!) Sam, not missing the look Teyla gave him, says that they’ll cross that bridge when they come to it, expressing the need for them to not make any waves with these interviews,” and telling Teyla that she’ll keep her posted on the results. Teyla leaves. (John, gentleman that he is, stands when Teyla does, then sits again when Sam does. Nice touch!) John and Sam worry about Ronon’s pending interview; Sam tells him that she’s asked someone to coach Ronon for it. John asks who.

In answer, we see Teal’c arrive via the ‘Gate, dressed in Jaffa garb, his hair long with a distinctive streak of grey (from his 50 years spent in a time dilation field, thanks to the events in the SG-1 finale, “Unending”). Smiling in his usual, gentle way, he’s greeted by a widely grinning Sam. They chitchat a little as she takes him to see Ronon. (I’m reminded of an interview with Amanda Tapping that’s on the Sci Fi Channel site; in it, she mentions that she and Christopher Judge felt that Sam and Teal’c would have become intimate in those fifty years in the time dilation field and, though it was not scripted, they presented it in a way that suggested the possibility while still leaving it up to the viewer to decide. Though I’m a die-heard Sam/Jack shipper, I can definitely get on board with them taking their friendship to a deeper level as time went by, and I think it adds a beautiful, bittersweet new dimension to Teal’c’s character to think that he still loves Sam, even though their time together never happened for her. And it adds a nice little extra layer of meaning to his asking “You do not like it?” when she points out here that his hair has grown out. She did like it, by the way.)

Ronon is kicking someone’s ass in the gym when Sam and Teal’c arrive. (I love the fight scenes on this show; James “BamBam” Bamford is a brilliant choreographer, and Momoa is so graceful! At one point, when he crouches down with his dreads flying everywhere, he reminded me of Disney’s Tarzan …) “Is that him?” Teal’c asks, not sounding too impressed. “Yep,” Sam says, sounding a touch embarrassed. She introduces Teal’c to Ronon, with Teal’c expressing pleasantries; Ronon just stands there, scowling. Sam tells Ronon that she thinks that they have a lot in common. (Oh, sure, they’re tall, dark, handsome alien men of few words and powerful actions. But Ronon is primal chaos while Teal’c is civilised order ….) Ronon takes a swig of water and spits a long stream to the side — it would have hit Teal’c in the chest if he hadn’t turned his head. (It reminds me much of a scene in the film Romeo and Juliet, which I watched just hours before this episode aired, where a guy from the House of Capulet spits a stream of water right in front of a man from the House of Montague, then bit his thumb, which is an insult. I can’t help but be struck by the parallel, even if I rather doubt Binder was inspired by that movie when he wrote this scene.) As Sam tells Ronon that Teal’c is very experienced and could help him prepare for the interview, Ronon gives Teal’c a challenging stare, almost a snarl. Expressionless, Teal’c suggests (speaking rather oddly) that Sam leave them to be better acquainted. Giving them each a wary look, she does so. Teal’c asks Ronon if he does not speak; “Not when I’ve got nothin’ to say,” Ronon replies. Teal’c bows his head in concession.

We see the Wraith near a ‘Gate, one of their cruisers in the background. We get a close-up; a commander tells his fellows to get to work. (Hey! Unless the writers figure we can’t tell one Wraith from another, that’s the Wraith commander that betrayed Todd in “BAMSR”! I guess he had enough time to get out of the cloning factory before it was destroyed!) Another not-drone Wraith brings some equipment over to the DHD.

We see Ronon eating in the mess hall; Teal’c asks if he can join him, sitting without waiting for an answer that Ronon doesn’t bother giving anyway. Teal’c chatters on (and isn’t that weird?) about mess hall food (sounding an awful lot like Red Dwarf’s Kryten as he expresses an affection for tater tots). Ronon breaks in, saying he doesn’t need coaching and that he’s dealt with the IOA before. Teal’c points out that the IOA is more than just Woolsey, adding that Coolidge is far less pleasant. (Oh, I love Judge’s rumbling baritone here ….) Ronon insists that he can stay calm and handle it. Teal’c seems to accept that (but I don’t by it for a second). He changes the topic, asking Ronon about Sateda. Hs starts asking inflammatory questions, suggesting that Satedans are inept and that Ronon was at fault for his people’s loss at the hand of the Wraith. Ronon snaps, dashing the trays off the table and drawing his blaster on Teal’c, insisting that what Teal’c says is a lie. “Indeed it is,” Teal’c says calmly, eating a tater tot. (*Snort*) He adds, with a hint of smugness (which is actually a tsunami of smugness for Teal’c), that he hopes Ronon won’t react this way when the IOA questions him. (You know, I wonder if Teal’c has even been questioned — he’s been with the SGC for ten years, after all …) We hear Sheppard yell Ronon’s name and see him walk in, pointing at Ronon, telling him in a low growl to put the gun away. Ronon immediately, if reluctantly, obeys. (And isn’t that interesting? Teal’c is far scarier than John, who, vocally, isn’t really very frightening to me, really, yet Ronon has almost always obeyed Sheppard, even when he’s been unhappy with the order. I suppose that’s because he sees Sheppard as far more trustworthy and honorable than his Satedan commander — the one he executed — and he hasn’t got any frame of reference to go by with Teal’c other than that the Jaffa’s very presence says that Carter doesn’t think he can handle himself. Which is true, but of course he doesn’t think so.) After Teal’c denies that there’s any problem and it becomes clear that neither man is going to back down (yes, even seated, Teal’c has a commanding presence that can’t be beaten down by even a standing Ronon), John suggests that they take it to the gym, saying that they each could probably teach the other a thing or two.

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We find the gym full of betting and cheering spectators. (Chuck is the bookie. Yay, Chuck!) A horrified Sam walks up to Sheppard, who asks her if she wants to place a bet. (Ohmygods, John’s caught Rodney’s gambling bug! John! That’s no way for a CO to act!!) He explains that it’s a friendly sparring match. Sam begs to differ, especially when she learns that they’ve been at it for an hour. Ronon doesn’t seem winded, and Teal’c only marginally so. Ronon does an awesome leap and breaks Teal’c’s quarterstaff in half with his sticks. Sam yells at them to break it up. They circle each other for a moment. Teal’c, facing Sam, tosses his sticks aside. Behind him, Ronon drops his sticks too, with an evil grin; when Teal’c turns to him, Ronon punches him, their brawl resuming with bare firsts. Teal’c gets in a couple of good hits, bloodying Ronon’s face, before Sam steps between them (brave!) and calls it a draw. Pissed, Ronon stalks off without a word. A disappointed crowd disperses; John yanks a few bills from Chuck’s hand, then hands one back (probably the wrong currency) and leaves. (*Snicker* I’m surprised they have money with them there at Atlantis — I would think that their pay goes straight into their bank accounts on Earth, and that they would have a barter system set up ….)

We see Sam escorting Teal’c to the ‘Gateroom, John and Ronon following a ways behind. Ronon asks why Teal’c has to go with him; John points out that Teal’c not accompanying Ronon so much as just going home at the same time. Ronon wants to know why they don’t dial directly from the Atlantis ‘Gate to the one at the SGC. (Okay, I know Ronon isn’t Mr Wizard, but surely he’s heard Rodney complain enough about power needs to get why that’s an issue?) John explains (for the three people in the audience who don’t already know) that doing so takes too much power, explaining that this is why the ‘Gate bridge was created in the first place (in case we didn’t catch that with the “Return” recap in the beginning). Ronon whines(!) about having to do the quarantine thing (with Teal’c, specifically, I imagine, is the real issue) for 24 hours at Midway. (Well, it’s faster than the Daedalus! … Hey, did John, Rodney, and Ronon have to wait in quarantine when Rodney’s sister had been kidnapped? Did they have to wait when John and Ronon came back for his father’s wake, I wonder?) John suggests that Ronon take advantage of the time to avail himself of Teal’c’s experience, pointing out that the Jaffa is around a hundred years old. (Hmm, lessee … Teal’c said that he was 101 in the fourth-season SG-1 ep “The Light” Add the six years he was with the SGC after that, and then another fifty for the time dilation, putting him at about 157 years! Then again, his mentor Bra’tac was 137 in the fifth season, and seemed older at that age than Teal’c seems now ….) John tells him to be a good boy and leaves. “I hate you,” Ronon says earnestly. (Okay, I’m sorry, that deserves a ROFL!)

Sam apologises to Teal’c for breaking up the fight, adding that if she hadn’t though, they probably would still be fighting. She then thanks him for helping, saying that she knows Ronon has been resistant. Teal’c says he wishes for Ronon to succeed, saying that he sees great potential in him; Sam heartily agrees. (Ahh, now if only Ronon had overheard that ….) Ronon approaches, growling that he wants to get the trip over with. Sam gives Chuck the order to dial the bridge; Chuck hurries off to obey. Teal’c tells Sam that he’s proud of how everyone there has accepted her as their leader; she hugs him goodbye, thanking him. Ronon looks disgusted. (I’m not sure if the disgust is aimed at Teal’c or Sam, really — probably both. Think he’s starting to regret having accepted Sam’s command after all?)

On that other planet, the Wraith scientist who was working on the DHD reports that the ‘Gate is activating, then says that the patterns have been stored in the buffer and that the ‘Gate will redial in a moment. (Hence there being no need for an iris or shield — the way Rodney had it set up, there wouldn’t be anyone stepping through this ‘Gate or any other on the bridge. They aren’t a part of the main network, only the bridge, which no one knows about but them. I’m guessing that the Wraith wouldn’t be able to just step through at this point, because, when the macro is engaged, this ‘Gate’s can’t send matter that isn’t already in the buffer. It also means that, at this point, anyone going through this gate would have to come from Pegasus, and would have the IDC anyway. Having an iris or shield would have seemed to Rodney to be like padlocking the door to your bedroom when you have a full-blown security system on your outside doors and windows — it would slow you down when you need to go through it yourself, and becoming a risk in emergency situations that doesn’t outweigh the benefits. He just underestimated the security-breaching ability of potential burglars, not expecting them to steal the key from someone on the inside, particularly because that person wasn’t supposed to have access to it yet had proven himself trustworthy and honorable enough for McKay to let his guard down just enough. Of course, the real reason for no iris is because the story wouldn’t have been able to happen if Midway had one, so more time should have been taken within the story to spell out why why; as it is, it seems too contrived and convenient, a glaringly-bright lantern that makes it hard to see past it and enjoy the story.)

Ronon and Teal’c arrive. Dr Lee tells Kavanagh that he can get started on the “attitude stabilisation diagnostics”; Kavanagh protests that he thought that Dempster was working on it. Dempster protests; Lee says Dempster doesn’t have to, he wants Kavanagh to do it. (Yay, Lee! Love seeing him get to be bossy for once!) Kavanagh protests again, saying that he’s just finished five hours of power upgrades. Lee retorts that Kavanagh chose to be there; Kavanagh says he did not. They go back and forth on this a couple of times, like grade-schoolers, In the end, Lee says that he wants Kavanagh to learn everything there is to know about Midway so that he can take over and Lee can go home. As Lee walks away, Kavanagh says he wants to go home too. (I almost feel sorry for him, but I’m guessing that no one on Earth wanted him around. Still, he doesn’t really seem all that unreasonable here. I miss his ponytail — before, it was his one redeeming quality.) Lee cheerfully greets Ronon and Teal’c; an irritated Ronon points out that they’ve been there before. Lee leads them to a tiny room that they have to share (Midway being rather small, after all), telling them that there’s DVDs (including the critically-slammed Norbit) and Sudoku books, which he belatedly realises have all been solved. Lee gets squashed a bit between the two men as Ronon pushes his way into the room, over to the bunk bed. Lee backs out of the room, babbling about them getting to know each other better “… or not.” Ronon and Teal’c both go to claim the bottom bunk, then stand and face each other, glaring. (*Snicker* I would have pegged Ronon for the type who prefers the top bunk, though. And wow, I always thought Judge was big, but Momoa dwarfs even him, at least height-wise! Why didn’t I notice that at Dragon*Con? …)

The Wraith scientist informs the commander that he’s deciphered the program on the DHD; the commander orders the first wave to get ready. (First wave? I wonder just how many wraith he’s got with him! *Whimper*)

Lee checks on a bored Kavanagh when there’s an unscheduled Pegasus ‘Gate activation. Lee watches through the windows in dumbfounded horror as Wraith drones come through the ‘Gate, guns blazing. Teal’c and Ronon are watching The Three Stooges (looking very unamused) when the alarm goes off. Ronon grabs his blaster off of the top bunk. (*Snicker* Did he lose or just decide it wasn’t worth the argument?) They walk out of the room to find the corridors are full of drones. Ronon takes them out with his blaster, asking what the Wraith are doing there, while Teal’c grabs a couple of stunners from the fallen, remarking that he was about to ask the same question. (Aww, a bonding moment. *Chuckle*)

We see the blast shields come down over the windows in the control room. The Wraith commander, his scientist, and a couple of drones barge into the room; the human scientists raise their hands in surrender. Watching the ‘Gateroom on the monitor, the commander notes the ‘Gate powering down, and orders his scientist to dial Earth.

Sheppard comes into the control room in Atlantis; Rodney informs him, sounding unconcerned, that they were about to send the daily status report to the SGC when they discovered that they couldn’t connect to Midway. Sam says that it’s either a malfunction in one of the ‘Gates or the call-forwarding macro; Rodney flippantly says that it’s probably just a software hiccup. John worries about Ronon and Teal’c; Rodney assures him that the problem occurred after they left and that they probably made it to Midway. Carter points out that they can’t be certain of that, though, earning her an irritated look from Rodney, which she answers with an Am I wrong? nod. John grows alarmed; some of the ‘Gates are in space. (Which is exactly why I think all trips through the Bridge should be conducted via puddle-jumper, just to be safe!) Rodney tells him that the ‘Gate with the problem was a planetary ‘Gate, and that, worst-case scenario, they would have stepped out of it’s puddle to find themselves stranded on an uninhabited planet. “‘Stranded.” More time together — just what they need.” Sheppard remarks.

At Midway, Ronon and Teal’c arm themselves in the armoury. Teal’c says they should secure the control room; Ronon wants to secure the ‘Gateroom, since that’s where the Wraith are coming from. Teal’c argues that the Wraith can’t use the ‘Gate (to get to Earth) without the control room. They step into the hall, and immediately encounter Wraith drones, opening fire and killing the lot. (I cringe at the thought of bullets bouncing in such close quarters or breaching the hull; surely Zats would be wiser in a space station like this?)

The scientist Wraith informs the commander that he’s been locked out from activating the ‘Gate, and needs a code to override the lock. When questioned, Lee insists that, although he did initiate it, he doesn’t know the code to override the lock-out — none of the people who know the code are at the station at the moment. (Lee’s being pretty darn brave, too! I’m proud of him!) The commander tells his own scientist to find a way around it; when the scientist protests that it will take time, the commander growls that the more he speaks, the less time he will have. (Oooh, they aren’t very friendly to each other, these Wraith — it’s a wonder they get anything done with such infighting! Or perhaps it’s just this guy in particular who is so disagreeable. It’s interesting to see him being so forceful after how cowed he was with his Queen.) The commander then suggests to the humans that he might be able to “persuade” them to give him the code.

Back in Atlantis, they finally get a lock with their ‘Gate (on Midway, I assume at first), Rodney explaining that someone was dialing out of the planet with the problem ‘Gate before, so that they were unable to get through. (Which I take, at this point, to mean that it’s not actually dialing Midway so much as initialising the macro, and that the macro wouldn’t finish initialising until all the gates in the bridge pinged back that they were available. As the Wraith tech explained, it still works only one ‘Gate at a time, each one dialing in and then dialing out, in sequence. For them to have actually dialed that problematic planetary ‘Gate would denote that someone else from Atlantis had gone through it and reached that point in the bridge. This is more like how, when you dial a long-distance phone number on a cell phone, your “dialing” information is tossed from cell tower to cell tower until it reaches a tower close to the phone you’re trying to reach; if there’s a problem with one of the towers along the way, your call can’t go through, so you don’t even get to start talking; in the case of the ‘Gates, it means you don’t even get to step through that first ‘Gate. I hope that makes sense.) Sheppard asks if it was Ronon and Teal’c; McKay doubts it, saying that the only logical address for them to dial would be Atlantis, and they obviously didn’t. (Hey, they could have dialed Midway again!) John suggests that the men couldn’t get a lock. Carter tries contacting them via radio, with no response. (The ‘Gate isn’t activated — and even if it was, the way the relay works, the radio contact wouldn’t be two-way. So how are they using the radio? Has Rodney set something up that lets them use the gates like cell towers, so that they can send radio signals without a wormhole?) Rodney insists that the men made it to Midway. John says if they did, and the planet is uninhabited, then who was dialing out?

They send a MALP to investigate, and discover the DHD covered in Wraith tech, then see the cruiser, then see the MALP get smashed by a Wraith drone before it loses the signal. Carter asks if it’s possible that the Wraith high-jacked the bridge; Rodney insists that it’s not, that even if they knew about it, they couldn’t crack the security he put on it. John suggests that Todd got hold of the passwords. Rodney protests that Todd was their ally and couldn’t hack into his system. Then his confidence wanes …. Sam says that, with the Daedalus back on Earth, they need to find another way to get to Midway. (Yeah, don’t want to walk right into the Wraith on that planet— bad enough they know they’ll run into them at Midway!) Rodney says he can redirect them through another nearby ‘Gate, but he’ll have to reconfigure the call-forwarding macro. Carter tells him to get on it and orders John to assemble a strike force.

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We see the Wraith commander lower the decimated body of Dempster to the floor. He approaches Kavanagh and Lee; Kavanagh insists that he would tell the Wraith the code if he knew it. “That depends on the strength of your allegiance,” the commander retorts. “No, no, trust me — my allegiance is not that strong!” Kavanagh insists; “It really isn’t,” Lee agrees. (*Snicker* Well, at least the man is honest about it.) Kavanagh begs for his life, then faints. The commander decides that Lee will be next, but the Wraith scientist interjects just in time, saying that he’s managed to override the lockout. The commander orders him to dial the “portal”. (He must watch the French translation of the show.)

Ronon and Teal’c evade the Wraith drones in the corridors. Ronon notes that the drones are going to the ‘Gateroom, and tells Teal’c that the man is welcome to go on to the control room, but he’s going after the Wraith. (Hothead. This reminds me of his hunt on Sateda. Of course, he killed a good many of those Wraith on his own, so maybe he’s not such a hothead.) Teal’c goes after him.

The commander orders his men to send a device through the ‘Gate; Lee asks what device, but he doesn’t answer. At the SGC, the ‘Gate activates, and they receive Midway’s IDC. Walter (yay, Walter!) opens the iris, and a strange electrical ball with holes in it rolls down the ramp. When it comes to a stop, the SGC’s computers go out. It sends out some sort of pulse, which knocks out the humans — all over the base!

Rodney announces that the redirected Bridge is ready. (Looking at the monitor, it seems that the planet’s ‘Gate was actually the second in the Bridge, so if the ‘Gate had been activated when Sam had radioed, it actually would have made sense that they could communicate via two-way radio then, because there wouldn’t have been any ‘Gates in between — which makes the fact tat the ate wasn’t actually activated all the more odd. A forgotten special effect, maybe? Anyway, so they actually were dialing it directly and not be getting the lock before; it wasn’t a macro thing. Would have been nice if McKay had actually mentioned that it was the second ‘Gate in the bridge, the first after Atlantis!) Sam asks John if the strike force is ready; he replies that they’ll be ready as soon as Rodney is. Rodney starts to sputter in protest, but resigns himself to going very quickly. (*Snicker* He just can’t say no to John, can he?)

The Wraith commander sends the order for the next wave to be prepared. (Red rover, red rover, let the next wave come over!) Ronon and Teal’c look through a window and see the drones going through the Milky Way ‘Gate to Earth. Teal’c says they must follow; “Now you’re talkin’,” Ronon replies. (If they had gone for the control room instead, I wonder if they would have made it in time to stop the Wraith from even dialing out, or if it’s a really good thing that Ronon insisted on going to the ‘Gateroom ….) They get into a firefight with the drones in the halls, but manage to get through the ‘Gate before the Wraith can get it closed.

The commander tries not to worry, figuring that the Wraith at the SGC will dispense with the two humans. Then the Pegasus Gate activates, surprising the Wraith — they think the next wave has come through early, but it’s Sheppard’s strike team. As the humans pour into the hallways, Sheppard gives commands, and we learn that there’s four teams. (I wonder how many men on each — four? More?)

Ronon and Teal’c arrive at the SGC; Ronon checks a fallen marine and announces that he’s still alive, just stunned. (*Whew* I didn’t really think that they would just kill off Walter, but I was nervous ….) Teal’c finds the weird ball and conjectures that it’s the cause; Ronon’s never seen such a thing before. Teal’c notes hat the people in the control room are down, and wonders how much of the rest of the base is out; Ronon wonders where the Wraith are.

Sheppard and the men with him (including Rodney) get into a firefight with Drones; John tries radioing Ronon and Teal’c, to no avail. The Wraith commander watches all on the security cameras, and orders the door to the control room closed. Sheppard’s men clear the immediate area of the enemy, and start to move on, when the commander contacts John via a viewscreen, calling him by name. He insists that they won’t be able to reclaim the station, and suggests that they surrender. John asks if he knows the Wraith; the commander says not personally, but that he knows of him, and of McKay as well. (Uh, hello, they do know you: they met you at the cloning facility, when you took them before your Queen!) He elaborates that he is an acquaintance of the one who had helped them fight the Replicators and that he’d “procured the necessary data to commandeer this base” from him. “It was Todd — that bastard hacked my system!” Rodney gripes. “So much for buddies,” John replies. (Oh, like you guys wouldn’t have taken every opportunity to gather intel if you had been in his position! That doesn’t mean Todd absolutely intended to betray you and take his people to Earth, just that he was gathering everything he could because it might be useful later! Todd didn’t tell this guy, this guy took the info!) John asks what the commander intends on doing — take Midway, then Earth? (And the “Stupidest Question of the Year” award goes to ….) The commander confirms that his men are establishing a beachhead at the SGC as they speak. John warns that the SGC is heavily fortified, saying, “You’re walking into a world of hurt.” The commander assures him that they have ways of evening the odds. (More than even them, in the short-term, but how far do those ball things reach? Can you spread yourselves out faster than the US military can figure out something’s up and attack? You’re pretty vulnerable without the firepower of your hives ….)

Ronon and Teal’c enter the SGC’s control room. Looking at a security screen, Ronon says that the Wraith are trying to work their way up to the surface to get out. Teal’c says that they won’t be able to, as an energy-pulse has activated the base’s automatic lockdown. (How did he know that?) “So no one get’s in, no one get’s out?” Ronon asks/. “Indeed.” “That’s just the way I like it.” (Heheh, how about “Two men enter, one man leaves!”, Ronon? Hasn’t Sheppard shown you Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome yet? )

The Wraith scientist informs his commander that the ‘Gate has activated; the commander says that it’s their reinforcements. He turns to the viewscreen and tells Sheppard and McKay that soon they will be the ones who are in a world of hurt. “Oh crap!” Rodney says; John hits his arm to silence the man, never taking his eyes from the viewscreen. He tells the commander that they’d love to chat, but they’ve got to go, and shoots the screen. (Oh, like that didn’t show fear, John!) Sheppard orders most of the men to take up positions and shoot anything that comes through the ‘Gate, while ordering two to come with him. “Where are we going?” Rodney asks, following him (love how that’s a given). John says that they’re going to take back the control room and shut down the ‘Gate.

They do just that, but not before the Wraith present take out the accompaniment with their stunners. John shoots the Wraith scientist (and I feel sorry for the guy); Lee informs Sheppard that the commander left, but he doesn’t know where he went. John gives Rodney the all-clear. (I’m glad he expected Rodney to hide and isn’t mad about it). Rodney comes in as Sheppard asks Lee where Ronon and Teal’c are. Lee tells him that they chased after the Wraith who went to Earth. John hands him a gun; Lee asks what he’s supposed to do with it. (Unlike Rodney, I’m thinking Lee hasn’t had much in the way of combat training — if anything.) John tells him to get the fallen marines inside, seal the doors, and shoot anything that tries to get in. “Well, where are you goin’?” Rodney asks, whinging slightly. (Awww, he doesn’t want John to leave him! McShep *Squeee!*) John’s going to help the marines fight the Wraith. He notes Kavanagh on the floor. “Is he dead?” “Fainted,” Lee responds. “Figures,” John mutters, disgusted. There’s a beep; Rodney says they better wake Kavanagh, because he can’t shut the Stargate down. Lee says he thinks the Wraith were putting in a lock-out protocol. McKay keeps working, getting bad-sounding beeps for his trouble. John, looking at the ‘Gateroom viewscreen, says that they’re about to get overrun, and hurries out. (Finally!) More typing from McKay, more angry beeps ….

As John makes his cautious way through empty halls, he radios one of the marines outside of the ‘Gateroom, who says that there’s a lot of Wraith coming in and that they’ve lost contact with the other teams. John tells the man, Hester (hey, we’ve seen heard of him before, haven’t we?), to hang on, McKay is trying to shut down the ‘Gate. We hear Hester and his men cry out, and the sounds of battle in the background. (How horrible for John, to hear them and be unable to help them!) He loses contact altogether, then runs into more Wraith and takes most of them down, finally running off with one in pursuit.

At the SGC, Ronon and Teal’c find more unconscious men — and a decimated corpse. Ronon explains that the Wraith fed on him, adding that it’s not a good way to go. “Indeed,” Teal’c says, taking a zat from the corpse. (They use zats inside the SGC, but not on the space station, where there’s considerably less risk of alien tech being discovered by non-Stargate-program people coming to NATO??) Ronon remarks that Teal’c says “Indeed” a lot. (*Snicker* I love the way Ronon says it.) Teal’c frowns thoughtfully, saying that he hadn’t noticed. (Heh, in ten years, no one’s mentioned it or made fun of him over it, huh? Perhaps they were all too afraid ….) Ronon stumbles across a Wraith feeding and fires on it. Ronon then gets knocked into the wall and pinned there by a drone. Teal’c dispatches several others with the zat, then slams the head of one into a wall and breaks its neck. Ronon continues to struggle with his drone, who’s trying to feed on him, when a stunner blast hit’s his assailant from behind. As the drone falls, we see Teal’c holding Ronon’s gun, then slowly looking at it with deep interest. The Jaffa holds the weapon out to the Satedan, barrel down, saying, “I would very much like to have a weapon such as this.” Ronon takes his gun back and tells him, “Yeah. Get in line.” (Haaah! Yeah, after Sheppard!)

Peeking through a door, John radios Rodney, whispering. Rodney and Lee are working, and Kavanagh has just woken up. John tells Rodney that he thinks that the marines are all dead (by stunner??) and asks how long it will take to get the ‘Gate shut down. Rodney doesn’t know. Kavanagh asks why Rodney if he’s tried the critical systems bypass. “I have to find a safe work-around to avoid any commands that may have been compromised,” Rodney explains. (My mom took Kavanagh’s side here, saying that Rodney was too full of himself. I told her to wait and see.) John (predictably) tells him that he’d better hurry or there will be more Wraith; Rodney (predictably) snaps that he’s working as fast as he can. (You could practically set your watches by them — it’s comforting, in a way ….) Kavanagh asks Lee why Rodney doesn’t just bypass the critical systems; Lee tells him to just watch the door. (That’s what you needed to wake him for?? *Snicker*) Rodney says that even if he can shut the ‘Gate down, the base has Wraith in every sector; they’re woefully outnumbered already. The ‘Gate shuts down; Kavanagh did what he’d kept asking McKay to do. The self-destruct kicks in; McKay explains that this is why he didn’t use the bypass himself, in case it was booby-trapped. (Hah! Told ya so, ma! Really, it’s things like this that make we want to yell at John when he tells Rodney to hurry. Still, Kavanagh really doesn’t seem quite so bad in this ep — still whiny, but not as hostile ….) John calls Rodney’s name, questioningly, over the radio. “We’ve made a terrible mistake,” Rodney tells him. “We never should have revived Kavanagh!” (Forgive me, but ROFL!!) From that, John figures out on his own what Kavanagh did. Lee tells them that they have about ten minutes before the station self-destructs. McKay can’t turn it off. “The Wraith made sure, if they couldn’t have the station, no one could!” he tells John. Lee mutters that things couldn’t get any worse, so of course they do: the Wraith are shooting at the door. (Okay, I guess their weapons can do more than stun.)

Making their way through the SGC, Ronon and Teal’c hear a sound behind a door, and shoulder it open. They find a reviving Coolidge within. (Well, that’s convenient; out of allllll the people in the SGC, only he fell asleep in such a way that causes him to start to fall out of his chair, so that he’d be able to wake up?) They fill Coolidge in, telling him to stay in the room while they nuetralise the Wraith Coolidge insists that they need to go to the control room and radio for help, especially when they admit that there’s only the two of them going after a lot of Wraith. (Well, you could try reviving more people; if someone like Coolidge was able to wake up, it shouldn’t be too hard ….)

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Avoiding some drones, John radios Rodney with an idea, asking if the station has a puddle-jumper; Rodney confirms tat there’s one to be used as an emergency escape pod. John figures this qualifies as an emergency; Lee objects that they’d be stranded in space. Rodney says that the jumper should be well-supplied, a rescued might take a few weeks, but they would survive, “unless you want to you wanna stay here and get blown to smithereens with the rest of station. Your call.” (*Snicker* Another great delivery by Hewlett!) Kavanagh points out that they still have to get to the jumper. John has a run-in with more Wraith, then discovers a couple of marines who have been fed upon. He tells Rodney that they’re out of time, saying or him to vent the atmosphere. Rodney is mortified. John clarifies to vent it everywhere but the control room. Rodney asks how close John is; John tells him to just do it. Rodney presses, asking if John can make it to the ‘jumper; John says he’ll try. Looking ill, Rodney starts to say that he’s not sure that there’s time (for them to wait for John to get to the puddle-jumper, I’m guessing); John snaps that they don’t have time to argue. Rodney looks at the door, realising that the Wraith will get in any moment. Lee lays a hand on his shoulder sympathetically. Eyes wide, Rodney does as John ordered. We see the air getting sucked through the vents, Wraith collapsing everywhere. (Shouldn’t that take a while?) John struggles along the corridors when he’s attacked by the Wraith commander. (Whoa, I’d forgotten about him!) After a struggle, John manages to shoot it several times, killing it (we hope). John falls to the ground, looking like he’s going to pass out any second. (And I’m freaking out!!)

Ronon and Teal’c fight off a number of Wraith as they make their way to the control room, Coolidge cowering behind them. Ronon pauses a moment in his forward assault to blast a Wraith coming up behind Coolidge. As he and Teal’c fight on, Coolidge runs off. When they kill off all the Wraith in the immediate vicinity, Ronon tells Teal’c to go one way, saying he’ll go another. As Ronon leaves, Teal’c asks where Coolidge is. Looking around a moment, Ronon says he doesn’t know, in a tone that says he also doesn’t care.

Back at Midway, Kavanagh, listening at the door, remarks that it’s quiet;; Lee, looking at the security screen, says that “it looks like they’re all dead.” Rodney, still wide-eyed, calls out to Sheppard. No reply. “John, are you there?” (First name use! *squeeeee!*) Still no reply. Lee says it’s probably safe to repressurise now. Rodney just stands there, numbly. (I’m sure he’s realising that he’s very likely lost yet another friend — arguably his best friend — and that he’s the one who killed him. Oooooh, the look on his face is so heart-breaking, I’ve died and gone to angst heaven! I’m also yelling at Rodney to snap out of it — if John’s still alive, he needs air now). Lee says his name, getting his attention; after another moment, Rodney (finally!) flips the switches, still looking dazed. (If they’ve vented the atmo, where does the new air come from? Do they have tanks of the stuff? If so, how much? Can they vent atmo again, if necessary?)

Ronon finds Coolidge in the control room; Coolidge reveals that he’s contacted the outside, and they’re going to nuke the base. Ronon is appalled; Coolidge explains that they can allow the Wraith to escape the base. (Hmm. I can’t say I entirely disagree with him, but it seems to me that he’s skipped a few steps, that they haven’t really even made an effort to exhaust all possible options.) Ronon tells him to call it off; Coolidge refuses to, not when there’s even a single Wraith still alive in the SGC. As they argue, Walter and the others revive; it’s not a happy awakening. Ronon points out that there are people still alive, telling the man to stall. Coolidge says that there isn’t time, adding ha there’s an escape route and asking where Teal’c is. Looking at the security screens, Ronon says Teal’c is surrounded, and that he needs to go help him. (Wow, they’re really utilising the screens a lot in this ep! Not a criticism, just an observation.) Coolidge yells that there isn’t time, and they need to leave now. Ronon snaps that he can run away and save himself if he wants, but he’s staying, and hurries off to go find Teal’c.

We see Rodney, Lee, Kavanagh, and the Marines making their way through Midway’s corridors. (It has lots of them for such a tiny place!) Rodney asks where the ‘jumper bay is; Lee says that it’s through the EVA (”extra-vehicular activity” suit — I had to look it up) prep room, then starts to go into a lengthy description of how it’s not really a bay. “I don’t need the blueprints! Where is it?” Rodney snaps; Lee points with his gun, and Rodney shoves his hand down, hurrying off. They enter a room with a hatch; Lee opens it, and they start entering the cramped area beyond. The last one, Rodney stops before entering, hearing a hissing sound. He approaches an EVA suit, and hears the sound again. Messing with the controls, he gets the suit’s internal lights to come on, and is happily astonished to find a groggy John inside, asking him to get him out of it. (McShep *squeee!*)

At the SGC, Teal’c is mowing down the drones. He has a quiet moment, when a door bursts open, and he gets jumped. Ronon bursts on the scene, but is quickly pinned by another drone. The men fight their respective enemies hand-to-hand. Teal’c is thrown against a wall; Ronon pulls down a pipe and starts whaling on his opponent. Teal’c enemy starts to feed on him. (*Gasp!* Nooooo, Teal’c’s already lost enough years!!) Happily, the drone is impaled a moment later by Ronon’s pipe. (I swear I didn’t mean for that to sound dirty!) Recovering, Teal’c tells Ronon, “Excellent timing.” “Indeed,” Ronon replies. (*Chuckle*) Ronon pats Teal’c on the back (awww), remarking that it looks like they got them all. Teal’c, looking worse for wear, says that he hopes Ronon is correct. Ronon says they need to tell the military; “They’re gonna to blow this place up.” (So hurry up, already!!! Hey, I just realised, this is the third time this season, and the fourth time in the series, that Ronon’s been to earth, and we still haven’t gotten to see him really encounter Earth culture. The Three Stooges don’t count.)
We see Lee look up at the roof of the ‘Jumper, asking what’s taking McKay so long; Kavanagh informs him that they have twenty seconds before the self-destruct goes. McKay drops down, John, to Lee and Kavanagh’s astonishment, close behind him. They John hurries to the pilot’s chair, Rodney already in the co-pilot’s seat. (He needs a bumper-sticker that reads “Rod is my co-pilot!” *Snicker*) They fly away just in time; Midway explodes. (Awwwwwww! *Sigh* Kavanagh better get banned to Siberia for this! … I hope that the Wraith commander did not pass the specific knowledge of Earth’s location and how to reach it on to the other Wraith before coming to Midway! They might find a way to use the remaining Bridge gates to reach Earth!)

Ronon sits at a table, a panel of IOA people on the other side. Coolidge asks him, “Do you feel that you can fulfill the duties of an SG team member with diligence … integrity … and respect for those in authority over you?” (The way he says that last sounds like he doubts it, of course.) Ronon leans in to the mic and says yes. After a long pause, in which it seems Coolidge might say something not-so-nice, he finally says, “Good enough for me!” (Haaaah! Teyla’s sooooo gonna be accusing Coolidge of misogyny now!) Teal’c’s waiting for him outside the door. Ronon tells him that they said he was “exactly the kind of team member they wanted out there fighting the Wraith. Their words, not mine.” Teal’c asks if he didn’t hold a gun to their heads; Ronon confirms that he didn’t. (I like how, not only is that a callback to the mess hall scene, but it’s also a bit of a parallel to Teyla’s statement that she managed to refrain form giving in to the urge to inflict bodily harm during her own interview.) Teal’c says that he’s pleased; Ronon says that he had a good coach. (Awwww! So sweet!) Teal’c tells him that the Daedalus will beam him aboard when he’s ready; Ronon asks if there’s been any word from Midway; Teal’c says that there hasn’t, and that the Daedalus will stop to check out the situation on their way to Atlantis.

On the puddle-jumper, Kavanagh is calling Pearl Harbor someone’s finest film. (Who is he talking about, I wonder? The movie’s director, Michael Bay? Ben Affleck?) Lee is appalled. They argue; McKay tells them enough, already, complaining about how they’re been talking for God knows how long and won’t shut up; he sounds like he’s at his breaking point. (Pot meet kettle, Rodney?) Something impacts the ‘jumper. They scramble to their feet as the hatch opens; it’s Ronon and some of the crew of the Daedalus. (At this point, I’m wondering where John is and why they didn’t notice that they’d docked through the ‘jumper’s window.) Ronon walks in, explaining where they are; the men inside pat him on the back as he enters, and he shoves Kavanagh out of his way, against the wall without even looking at him or batting an eyelash.

He goes up to an astonished Rodney, who breathlessly tells him that Midway was destroyed; Ronon says they know, and asks where Sheppard is. Rodney turns and hits a button, causing the door between the cockpit and the rest of the ‘jumper to open. “Lasted about a day, sealed himself in there,” Rodney explains dryly, pointing to an out-cold, headphone-wearing Sheppard curled up in the pilot’s seat (aww, how cute!), then leaves. (Poor Rodney; he’s probably ticked that John locked him out too. Not that I blame John — he’d have every reason to think Rodney would drive him insane as well. Or Rodney opted not to join him, and was irritated at John for abandoning him. I could see the cockpit area being too claustrophobic for Rodney — it had to be hard enough on him crammed in the more open portion of the jumper with three other guys for their weeks-long wait! At any rate, it was funnier this way — although McShepper me would have been quite happy with the story possibilities of the two of them locked away together. *Cough* Anyway, poor John, too, he’s gotta be pretty broken up at losing all those men — I can totally see needing some alone time, under the circumstances!) “No wonder he didn’t hear the radio call,” Ronon remarks. (Aaah, I’d wondered!)

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Grinning, Ronon reaches out and touches John’s face; John swats the hand away without really waking. Ronon tries a couple more times before John jerks awake. (*Snicker*) “Oh thank God,” John says, adding that he almost shot himself with the stunner. (ROFL!) Ronon understands. (I bet Ronon would have been far less tolerant of the jabbering, really.) Ronon lets John know where they are. John asks about the SGC, and Ronon assures him that it’s secured, that he and Teal’c took care of the Wraith. “I figured you would,” John says, no trace of doubt. As they leave the ‘jumper, Ronon tells John that he passed his interview, and that they liked him. “Well, what’s not to like?” John asks sincerely. (*Grin*)

You know what this episode was missing? A meeting between Rodney and Teal’c! particularly after the events of the SG-1 ep “48 Hours”, where McKay neatly got a trapped Teal’c erased from the ‘Gate’s buffer …. Other than that, I’m pretty satisfied — certainly more so than I even expected to be, even with Teal’c being in it!

See you all next week for “The Kindred, Part One” — it looks like this arc will be a huge event! (Too bad it also means that we’re very close to the end of the season …)

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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.