“I’ve seen enough horror movies to know that any weirdo wearing a mask is never friendly.” - Elizabeth, Friday the 13th

By Wolfen Moondaughter
Okay, this Mullie/Mallozzi-credited ep (I’m thinking Mullie did the writing) wasn’t bad, but in the wake of an ep as awesome as “Search and Rescue” was, it suffers, I’m afraid. I mean, it’s no “Lifeline” (last season’s second ep). The plots just seemed a little bit forced and flat, and had a few glaring logic issues that drove me crazy. Also, having so much Woolsey kind of spoiled my appetite for the episode, so to speak — although I admit that, by the end, he’d grown on me a tiny bit. (Very tiny, but better than nothing.) Really, Woolsey’s not even a terrible guy — believe it or not, I never really thought that — he is sympathetic, even amusing (and I cannot not deny that Picardo is an excellent actor). I just don’t really like him; it’s a gut thing that I haven’t managed to get over. But I digress — basically I’m wondering if I would have liked the ep better if I hadn’t been so depressed about losing Sam and getting Woolsey in her stead. How much of my not liking the ep as well as I have other eps (again, I didn’t hate it at all, I just didn’t love it) was a problem with the ep itself, and how much was me? (Particularly when I should have been overjoyed with a Carson-heavy ep!) Well, maybe by the end of this review I’ll have the answer ….

5.2: “The Seed”

Teyla comes into the infirmary, carrying little Torren. She chats with Keller, telling her (in a non-panicky, non-seeking-help, conversational way) how today Torren won’t sleep unless she keeps moving, and that’s he has walked all over the city. Keller mentions how her dad used to have to drive her around at 3am (a common baby story). “Oh, that would be lovely; at least I’d be sitting down,” Teyla says with a smile. (Whoa, hold the phone — did Teyla just use a contraction?? Has she been using them periodically now and I just haven’t noticed? Again, like at the end of the last ep, I’m struck by a sensation of this being Rachel, the actress behind the character, not Teyla — her speech is a bit different, and not just regarding the contraction. It’s like her voice sounds more natural. Also, motherhood really suits her, whether we’re talking about the actress or the character — she’s really got a happy glow, it’s lovely!) Several questions from last ep are answered early on in this one, the first being Kanaan’s fate: he’s completely himself again, Teyla informs us, but he’s not in the city. Teyla intends, when the Woolsey arrives in the Daedalus, to ask the man allow Kanaan and many of the others to return to the city. (At this point, I’m under the assumption that she means the other Athosians that were rescued a while back, like Halling, but later I realise I’m wrong ….) We also see that they’re sad about Sam. (I’m glad to see a reaction from Teyla, and happy that she seemed to have bonded with Sam much like she had done with Elizabeth) When Keller explains that it was Beckett’s retrovirus that returned Kanaan to normal, we also learn that, thanks to the info Rodney got from Michael’s hard-drives, she may have found the formula that Beckett needs to live — but she’s wary of rousing him from stasis until she’s totally sure (which I appreciate). She then mentions that she’s caught Rodney gossiping to Carson in stasis; she says that McKay pretended to be “checking the system” when he was caught, and remarks that he surprises her sometimes. (I really like that bit! Not only is it nice that someone notices something positive about Rodney’s personality, but it helps move the Rodney/Jennifer thing from the pity territory, like at the end of “Trio”, to her believably being interested in him. I still prefer her with Ronon a smidge (they have more chemistry/sizzle), but I’m softening more to the idea of her being with Rodney. And it gets better as we go, so I’ll be bringing this up again later.) Torren starts to fuss, so Teyla goes back on her way with a parting word of encouragement regarding Carson’s cure.

In the control room, a tech announces the arrival of the Daedalus, with Woolsey on board, and everyone stands at attention — except Rodney, who looks distinctly unhappy. Not appearing too thrilled himself, John gives Rodney a look from several feet away, and Rodney reluctantly gets to his feet. (It’s very subtle — and very brilliant! And this is just the first instance of such a thing in the ep — looks like they’ve been taking body-language lessons from Ronon! *Snicker*) Woolsey beams in, and John greets him with a handshake. (Good on him for being polite!) After a long pause, Woolsey gets right into it, telling John that he wants to see the recent reports — and McKay’s, too. “What, now?” McKay asks sullenly (I find a sullen Rodney to be absolutely adorable; he’s pouty without being snippy, more resigned.) Woolsey explains that he wants to catch up on what he missed while he was on the Daedalus for three weeks. He then gives a tech instructions to have his things beamed to his quarters, and leaves. “Nice speech,” John says after the man is gone. “Very Inspiring.” (*Snicker* A good introduction to Woolsey’s brisk, all-business, uninspiring style of command … I pondered the fact that they let Sam come home via the ‘Gate, but I figure they needed Sam home ASAP for Ba’al’s extraction, whereas Atlantis could manage a few weeks under John’s leadership.)

Keller is asleep in the medical lab; she wakes up to find a strange, sticky goo on her hand. (For a moment, I can’t help but think “evil sleep drool!”) She washes it off, befuddled. A couple of other doctors come in as she dries hre hands. One of them, Marie, remarks on Keller’s being there so late and working so hard recently, and suggests Keller get some rest. (Marie’s been in several eps — once again, I’m happy to see recurring background characters, as it gives more of a sense of scope to the expedition.) Without saying anything about the strange goo, Jennifer agrees. (It’s very curious that she isn’t freaked out, but we learn the reason for this, indirectly, later.)

We see the gang of usual suspects gather in the conference room, where the table that they’re used to has been replaced with a conference table much like the one at the SGC. (Aww, but I liked the other one; it was unusual and interesting! Well, the upside to this one is that it’s more intimate.) Rodney asks Keller if she got any sleep. She asks if she looks that bad, and he back-peddles unsuccessfully. (*Snicker* Yes, I’m enjoying the development of their relationship, and the nice, slow pace of it. I like that he’s starting to let his guard down with her, but can still quickly get all awkward again. He’s got the sweetness he had going with Katie, but, at the same time, is more himself. Whether they hook up or not, it’s good to see Rodney have another person in his daily life that he can perceive as an equal, as well as another friend — especially a female.) John comes in and comments on the table; Teyla explains that Woolsey wanted a piece of “home”. “A twelve foot-long mahogany conference table. Hmmm,” John replies. (*Snicker* But Woolsey didn’t tell the tech about the table — did she have the beam it to his quarters too, with the rest of his belonging, I wonder? I would have loved to have seen his face when he walked into his room, then!) Ronon remarks that he doesn’t understand this; he thought Carter was doing a good job. Teyla agrees, and lists off the accomplishments that happened under Sam’s guidance. John explains that that’s the problem — with the threat levels having been brought down thanks to Sam, they no longer actually need her there, so the IOA has “jumped at the chance to put a civilian back in command.” Rodney elaborates that the IOA want someone who will do things the way they want them done, unlike Sam. Or Weir, Ronon points out (showing once again how perceptive and smart he actually is — he’s not a stereotypical dumb warrior by any means, even if he doesn’t always “get” Earther behaviors/motivations or understand the tech side of things so well).

Keller points out that Woolsey became head of the IOA in the alternate timeline John learned; he says the circumstances were different, but Keller is still unsettled by the notion that the future isn’t so easy to change. (Well, Seer Davos said as much, but I think there’s a middle-ground. They were able to save Teyla, after all. It’s just that the future, if Davos is right, is determined by the nature of one’s character; Woolsey’s character and the character of the members of the IOA dictated that they would do their damndest to get him in charge, sooner or later … So anyway, did they all read John’s report, or did John tell them all that much? I would have thought Woolsey’s taking over the expedition wouldn’t really have been of concern/interest either way, and we know that he didn’t reveal Rodney and Jennifer hooking up. I wonder if John told Sam and Ronon how they died — well, at least as much of how they died as Rodney knew, though we know a bit more ….) Rodney tells Keller not to worry — Sheppard’s being there makes all the difference, doesn’t it? (McShepper *SQUEEEEEEEE!!!!!* Yeah, okay, that’s not how he meant it, but still, it’s delightful to hear him recognise the importance and impact of John’s presence either way. He could have said, “We’ve already averted the crisis Sheppard learned about.” … I wonder — is this a bit of set-up for the future? Like maybe some other problems Michael caused will come to pass after all?) John replies cryptically that Woolsey’s becoming head of Atlantis wasn’t the weirdest thing that happened, but won’t say any more. Rodney and Jennifer exchange confused glances. (Obviously John’s thinking of the two of them getting together being weird, and of course my inner McShepper would like to interpret it as him being bothered by the idea, rather than just being skeptical of Rodney being able to manage it. *Cough* Anyway, it looks like that’s another future happenstance that may not be so easy to avoid — nice foreshadowing! Note though that Ronon is seated between the two, so making it come to pass won’t be easy, either — there’s still a chance that the future will end up Ronon/Keller .… I really like this whole scene; nice conversational exposition all-around!)

Woolsey arrives; Rodney looks less than thrilled by the binder full of papers the man plops down on the table. Woolsey, meanwhile, is momentarily distracted by the oddly-noisy closing of the doors behind him. (Hey, does Woolsey have the gene? Did he close the doors and was surprised that it worked, or did John do it and Woolsey’s wondering at that?) He congratulates them on their success in “dismantling Michael’s operation”; Ronon points out that they lost Michael. Referring to his files (oh look, he has a quirk already, always referring to files!), Woolsey objects that Michael was destroyed when the cruiser was; John insists that there’s a chance he escaped. Woolsey asks if John’s referring to a statement from one of Michael’s ex-mercenaries about having seen him recently, and notes that the source isn’t reliable. (And thus we come to the other burning question from the end of the last ep ….) Rodney points out that somebody stole the jumper, to which Woolsey says that he thought one needed the ATA gene to fly a jumper. Rodney reminds them that they have a gene therapy that works some of the time. (Not to mention that Michael had the man who created that therapy under his thumb for two years …). Teyla, clearly annoyed, adds that Michael has killed hundreds of thousands of people, so if there’s even a chance that he’s still alive, they have to keep looking; Woolsey counters that even if he knew for sure that Michael were alive, he wouldn’t waste resources on searching for one man across an entire galaxy unless they had credible evidence of his whereabouts. (You wouldn’t even make the effort if that one man could kill millions more?? Oh, right, they aren’t Earthlings, so who cares. Unless of course Michael got the location of Earth from Carson ….) John can’t argue with that, so Woolsey calls the matter closed for now. (Well, at least he leaves it open for discussion at a later date, if the scenario changes.)

Woolsey changes the subject to the rehabilitation of the “prisoner hybrids” on the mainland. (You know, it hadn’t even occurred to me that they’d taken more than just Kanaan off of the cruiser in the buffer, and I feel stupid for it. After all, at least a few of them were likely to be Athosian! I had just gotten the impression that they’d needed to sneak out of the cruiser, though. Sneaksy hobbitses — er, writers!) Jennifer just sits there, looking at her fingers, and Rodney gives her a worried well, say something sort of look. Woolsey prompts her; startled, she haltingly explains how a new version of the retrovirus has removed the Wraith DNA and returned them to their “original human form.” (That bit can be seen two ways, I think: a) as her still not being used to being addressed as a senior member of the team, and/or b) she’s distracted by what we later learn is happening to her. Also, another fan brought up an interesting question regarding the cure for the hybrid: has Kanaan retained his gift, or did it get rid of that, seeing as it stemmed from Wraith DNA? Teyla’s saying he’s back to his old self would suggest otherwise, but I’m baffled as to how that would work then ….) Teyla mentions that the ones that have already gotten back to normal are wondering when they will be released; Woolsey suggests that they don’t get ahead of themselves. Teyla tightly points out that they are victims; Woolsey reminds her that they were, very recently, also the enemy. (I can understand his thinking, I guess, even if it seems heartless. Not the way I would handle it, but I have to respect his reasoning even if I don’t agree with it.) “Fine, well then we’ll just keep them there forever,” Rodney says dryly. (If I didn’t love him already, I would adore him for sticking up for Teyla’s people and being catty to “the man” in the process!) Woolsey patiently but firmly replies that they will remain until he’s satisfied they are no longer a threat. Rodney glares, clearly not pleased, but manages to behave himself and keep his mouth shut. (He’s learning ….)

Woolsey then questions Keller’s spending so much time on a cure for Carson; she points out that, once they got Michael’s research, she felt it should be a priority. He asks if she’s made progress, and she answers maybe; Rodney looks at her in surprise. (Love that reaction — the poor guy looks scared and hopeful at the same time.) Woolsey wants to know what the hold-up is. She explains that, since Carson was so near death, she doesn’t want to take him out of stasis until she knows for sure that the cure will work — but at the same time, she can only tell so much from lab tests. Woolsey (wisely, I must admit, though I can’t blame Keller for her hesitancy) points out that that will always be the problem; she’s reached the point where she’s just got to try it already, or forget it. Rodney doesn’t look too pleased at how Woolsey is pushing her to risk Carson’s life, but Keller agrees.

Rodney’s there when she gets ready to let Carson out, asking if she’s sure about doing this. She admits that she isn’t, but they’re never going to know unless they try; otherwise Carson will just sit in there forever. (As I recall, that’s exactly what Carson requested they don’t do.) They undo the stasis, and Carson collapses. (Hey, Carson was awake when he went in — that didn’t happen to Sheppard, collapsing like that! Also, I immediately notice the weirdness of Carson’s hair. People have said it’s just that it’s longer and not spikey, but the colour seems a bit different to me, too. Someone suggested it’s because of McGillion’s role in the new Star Trek movie .…) They administer the drug …

A scene later, we see him recovering in a hospital bed, surrounded by his friends. (I’m struck by the memory of him saying to Laden’s sister, back in “Coup d’Etat”, that, given the choice, he’d rather die at home, surrounded by his friends. Interesting that this is how he came back to life, so to speak, instead.) They greet him happily as he awakens. (I’m a little disappointed that he doesn’t say something like “They found you! Och, I’m so glad, lass,” to Teyla.) Carson asks how long he was in stasis and what’s happened while he was out; John tells him “two months” and “the usual.” (The sad thing is, it’s true! *Snicker*) Keller comes up and informs Carson that he’s showing no signs of the cellular degradation, then excuses herself. John follows her a few feet off and compliments her; she mentions that “it’s not a permanent fix.” (As in, Carson’ll need shots every day now.) It’s good enough for the time being, John assures her, telling her to get some rest. (Another cue for us that she’s not well — and noticabley so.) She agrees and goes to her quarters, where she tales some pills (sleeping pills or some other sort of medication?) and goes to bed. (I love the light switch!)

We see Carson on a balcony, wearing casual clothes rather than hospital scrubs. (Shouldn’t he still be bedridden, I’m thinking? Sure, his cells aren’t degrading anymore, but are they back to a healthy state, as in the degradation was reversed?) Rodney finds him, apparently having been looking for him; he seems a bit upset. Carson seems very happy to be alive and appreciative of the world he wasn’t sure he’d see again, remarking on how beautiful the view is; Rodney’s distracted “Oh. I suppose so?” seems typical of his inability to relate to things that he’s not experiencing it himself, but also shows his willingness not to spoil his friend’s enjoyment by pointing this out. “I did miss this place,” Carson says. “Yeah, well, don’t get used to it,” Rodney tells him, dejectedly. Of course Carson takes that the wrong way — or rather, the way everyone would think it’s intended; Rodney clarifies that Woolsey has decided that Carson is to be sent back via the ‘Gate that afternoon. (Okay, so they can dial to Earth, but Earth can’t dial Atlantis? What, did they get another ZPM so that the can spare the power? Aside from adding drama to the story, what reason would Woolsey have to not just ask the Daedalus to come back, and wait a couple of days for its return?) Carson puts on a brave face, chalking the news up to the fact that it will be a while before he’s in good physical shape again. (So at least get a chair and sit down, man! … Me, I’m that thinking Woolsey sees Beckett as a security risk, just like the ex-hybrids ….) Teyla radios McKay, saying that she needs his help.

Carson goes with him, and they meet Teyla outside Keller’s quarters. Teyla says that Keller missed meeting her for breakfast, is late for her shift, and is not responding to radio calls; she wants Rodney to get the door to the woman’s quarters open. Rodney refuses, until Carson points out that something may be wrong. Rodney reluctantly does as asked, complaining as he works that she might just be asleep — or naked. (I love how he can be so touchy about modesty and privacy — although you’d think he wouldn’t be so reluctant after his disappointment at not getting to see Keller’s chest in “Trio”. *Snicker*) They find Jennifer seemingly asleep in bed. Carson takes a look at her eyes and announces that they’re dilated, when Teyla suddenly tells him anxiously to get away from the bed. She pulls Keller’s blanket away, revealing that the woman’s torso is partially covered in tendrils. (Apparently they have Wraith DNA and Teyla could sense it — or else she saw movement under the fabric.) Teyla radios Sheppard and tells him they have a problem. (Note that she calls him only, and not Woolsey; is she just not used to him being there yet, or is it that she doesn’t feel she can trust him with everyone’s well-being?)

John hurries in and is obviously unsettled by the scene. Carson says that he’s seen this sort of thing before, while working for Michael: it’s an experiment of some kind. John wants to get the tendrils off of her, but Carson warns that they’re attached to her and the bed, and that doing so may harm her; he wants to get her and the bed into an isolation chamber.

Sheppard updates Woolsey on the situation; we learn that Keller is in a coma. Woolsey’s baffled to hear that Carson was the one who examined her, as he’s no longer a member of the expedition. (Okay, so call him an alien consultant, since he was made there in Pegasus. Oh, right, you’re not fond of aliens, are you, Woolsey?) John explains that Carson happened to be the first one there, then says that the man has seen something like this before, adding that, having worked for Michael for two years, “no one knows this stuff better than he does.” (I think that’s what Woolsey may be worried about, actually ….)

While Woolsey and John and his team watch on monitors, Carson, in a hazmat, tries to cut some tendrils. He manages to get a sample, which he gives to a med-tech to have tested. Jennifer seems fine at first, but suddenly she starts crashing. They give her a drug and she stabilises; Carson doesn’t want to try again. Looking uneasy (I kind of feel sorry for him), Woolsey asks to have a word with Carson.

Carson starts to say he’s confident that he can find a way to free her, but Woolsey cuts him off, saying that he appreciates Carson’s efforts but the dial-out is in an hour. Carson says that he’ll pass; Keller got him out of stasis, after all; Woolsey argues that, according to Keller’s reports, Carson’s still suffering from organ damage and “should be in a hospital bed” himself, “not heading a medical investigation.” (As I thought, although I don’t see why they can’t get Carson a wheelchair or let him work in bed or something … They’re doing a nice job of reinforcing how Woolsey’s world revolves around those reports! So now all they have to do is slip in some fake reports that support any idea that they want Woolsey to go along with ….) Carson insists that he’ll be fine and promises to step aside at the first sign of trouble, then confirms for Woolsey that he does indeed think this is related to Michael — “Well, it’s not a case of the hives, is it?” (Don’t be so sure of that — depends on how you mean the word “hives”, I guess ….) They return to the lab, where an anxious-looking Rodney listens in as Marie updates Carson on Keller’s status. (Awww.) Carson gets back to work; John remarks on the fact to Woolsey, who replies that Carson’s “the closest thing to an expert” that they have. “That’s not exactly by the book,” John remarks. “Don’t get used to it,” Woolsey warns. (I have a feeling that Woolsey will have to get used to it himself …)

We get another gorgeous nighttime shot of the city. (It’s the kind that makes one wish it were a real place. Hell, they could at least replicate the embarkation room, and maybe a few key points accessed by a transporter, at an amusement park. Universal? Someone? Pretty please?)

Rodney checks on Carson’s status. (Yup, Rodney definitely seems more concerned for Jennifer than he would have been before “Trio” — although he doesn’t seem conscious of his own possible interest in her. And even if it’s not a romantic interest, she’s definitely been elevated to “close personal friend” status, if he’s leaving his own lab to check on Carson’s progress for her.) Carson reveals that she’s infected with an “unknown alien pathogen”. (As a few other fans have asked, why didn’t the city go into a quarantine lockdown as soon as she set foot in the city with it?) Rodney asks if she might be becoming a hybrid. (Wouldn’t that make it a “known Wraith pathogen” then?) Carson replies that he’s “seen several variations of the conversion process, but never anything like this.” (So I guess when he said he’d seen something like this before at Michael’s lab, he didn’t know what he was seeing at the time, but somehow he knew it wasn’t related to the hybrid conversion ….) Through the course of the conversation, and to Rodney’s dismay (though he does remain admirably calm), we learn that Beckett suspects Keller picked something up on the planet where Michael’s compound blew up — and that everyone else who’d been on that world might be infected as well. Marie comes into the room, saying “Doctor?” “Yes?” Carson and Rodney both answer, before Rodney realises whom she meant. (*Snicker* Love little touches like that.) Marie informs them that Keller is awake.

Rodney goes into the room in a hazmat (since they haven’t yet confirmed that he’s infected, I guess) to talk to her. (Okay, I understand that they want to further establish Rodney/Keller, but could we have had some stated reason as to why it was Rodney going in there instead of Carson? Even if it’s just to have Rodney say to Carson, “I’ll go in there; you just keep working on this.” ….) The tendrils have spread out considerably, covering her whole body — save her head — as well as most of the bed, and even some of the walls and floor. Frightened, she asks what’s wrong with her, but of course Rodney doesn’t know. He notes that it seems like she’s in a cocoon (nicely foreshadowing that she’s undergoing a transformation), and asks, vocally wincing, if it hurt being in it. (He’s really sweet throughout this scene, even while he’s obviously uneasy. I like that he’s getting more and more used to asking others how they’re doing.) She says she can’t feel anything; he tries to reassure her that they’ll get her out. She asks who else is in the room, and starts talking a bit deliriously, as if to someone else, saying “It’s not my fault!” Rodney tells her of course it’s not, telling her about the alien pathogen and promising that they’ll find a way to kill it. Suddenly remembering, she tells him about the weirdness with her hand. Frustrated (but not angry), he asks why she didn’t say anything sooner; she says she was going to run a scan, then seems confused. He gives her a deeply heartfelt reassurance that they’re going to help her. (And I’m getting more and more on board with McKay/Keller with each passing moment, even if I’ll probably never actually be all that rah-rah over it — I’m enjoying it for the development of Rodney’s character, the glimpses of his caring side, not because I see any sexual tension/attraction between them. Which, hey, I’m all for the idea that a relationship is more than sex, but some physical attraction helps; otherwise why not just be very good friends, ‘ey?)

Carson shows a video of the exchange to Woolsey; we learn that Keller is hearing voices and that the alien organism is “doubling its mass every couple of hours.” Carson is handed a datapad (and suddenly I’m struck by how much I miss him being in charge; don’t get me wrong, I like Keller, but given my druthers, I’d put Carson back in charge and make Keller equivalent to Zelenka in a heartbeat.) Woolsey asks if this thing is a threat to the city; Carson, looking at the pad, gives an emphatic yes, saying that, as he’d feared, everyone who’d gone to Michael’s world is now infected.

We see Woolsey in Sheppard’s quarters, where the Colonel is unhappily confined, despite Carson’s assurance that the pathogen is not actually contagious — it just was released when the building imploded. Woolsey explains that, although Sheppard’s not showing signs of symptoms, they are any number of biological factors that could explain why Keller showed signs before anyone else. (Nice lantern. Maybe her lack of sleep altered her body chemistry enough to trigger the change?) Even Sam is being quarantined back in Earth. (Hey, nice attention to detail, there!) Woolsey is sympathetic, but insists that this is the right call. (He’s said that sort of thing a lot, on SG-1 too, yet he’s pretty much always been wrong — since he doesn’t actually seem arrogant like Rodney, and has even apologised/owned up to his mistakes in the past, you’d think he’s stop it with the “I know best” attitude already. I guess that’s his other big flaw. Well, at least he does seem to have a great deal of integrity ….) John asks what they’re going to do about Keller, and Woolsey gives the classically bureaucratic, hive-mentality reply, “We’re still assessing the situation.” He leaves — and the guard outside the door closes it. (Heh, as if John couldn’t open it easily with his super-strong ATA mojo .…)

Carson, with assistance from Zelenka, tells Woolsey about their findings from the sample, in an amusing bit of exposition. The tendril is a “bio-polymer”, a soft material that will harden into a shell, and they believe that it works similarly to how Wraith ships are made. (A Wraith version of Atlantis! Cool! Does this mean that there’s a person and an Ancient ship at the heart of every Wraith ship, or is this a new process that Michael worked out in an effort to assimilate human tech/make the ships smarter? It would be cool to pit the fanon concept of an Atlantis AI against a Wraith equivalent!) Horrified, Woolsey asks if they mean there’s a hive ship drawing in the isolation room; Zelenka says that it’s actually started spreading outside of the room now, “consuming and converting the materials as it goes” down several floors, as well as attaching itself to and feeding off of the electrical system, which in turn has accelerated its growth. They don’t know how to stop it, but figure that cutting the power should slow it down.

We see the lights going out; a scared Keller asks Marie what’s going on, and Marie apologetically informs her that they’ve been ordered to evacuate the area. (Poor Keller!! All alone in a personally horrifying situation! Not that the tendrils seem all that creepy or scary from the outside, but stuck like that, knowing your body is being taken over … yeah, that’s where the terror is in this scenario for me.) Rodney is ticked when he hears that Keller has been left alone like that (*squeee*); Teyla assures him that she doesn’t think that they had a choice, adding that they’re looking in Michael’s database for answers. Rodney goes on a rant about Zelenka probably being the one who decided to cut the power, and about the new guy going to the “B team” while they’re stuck in their quarters. (Hey, why isn’t Teyla confined to quarters too? She spent time on the planet when Sheppard got her out of the buffer, before they went through the ‘Gate!) Teyla is paying attention and takes him seriously, prompting Rodney to explain himself (rather than shrugging it off as grandstanding, which just goes to show how much she has come to understand him and how to get him to be effective/useful, like she did in “Search and Rescue”.) He explains that the organism might not have been randomly seeking out power, but rather have been drawn to it like plants to sunlight; with the source it had having been cut off, it will seek the next available source. (And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why Rodney is head of science and Zelenka is not. Rodney smart; he make us go!)

Next we see Teyla, she’s telling Woolsey about a main power conduit that’s under the building, with Zelenka and Carson present. Woolsey asks why they don’t just shut it off, and Zelenka explains that they did but as it’s connected to the ZPM, power is still going through it. (He uses a busy street and traffic as an analogy. How about the simple fact that there’s still power in a power cord, even when you turn the light attached to it off?) Teyla elaborates that they need to pull the ZPM, which will of course cut power to the whole city. (Well, can’t you use power generators in essential areas, at least the ones that are far enough away?) “I had no idea you were so familiar with the power distribution grid,” Woolsey remarks suspiciously. (For a moment, I wonder if he’s suspecting her of espionage or sabotage or something; yeah, okay, I’m a dummy.) She says she spoke to Rodney, and notes the sudden uncomfortable stance of the three men. They fear that the pathogen can affect the host’s mind even before the symptoms appear. Zelenka points out that Rodney’s not wrong about the danger of the entity reaching that power conduit. At Woolsey’s prompt, Carson explains that the thing will grow exponentially. Zelenka adds that, since they had to turn the sensors off, they can’t tell how far the thing has spread, and need to go check it visually; Woolsey tells him to assemble a team. Zelenka looks less than thrilled as he leaves with Teyla. (Don’t they have sensors that work like those on the Daedalus, ones that can monitor places at a distance? For that matter, why does it even matter how far the thing has spread? It’s gone as far as it’s gone — just pull the ZPM already!) Woolsey turns to Carson for answers on how to kill it; Carson reveals that they’re working on a virus that would kill the pathogen, but unfortunately would not affect the bio-polymer; he doesn’t know what would.

Teyla, Zelenka, and a team go hunting down darkened corridors with flashlights. Zelenka opens an access panel leading to the tunnels where the conduits are; Teyla tells the others to keep looking, and turns to accompany Zelenka into the tunnel. At an intersection, they split up. Zelenka finds that the bio-polymer tendrils have indeed attached themselves to the power conduit, and informs Teyla via radio; she says she’s coming over to him. He steps close, trying to use a scanner to see how much power it’s draining, and is attacked by the tendrils, which pull him to the ground. Teyla shows up and shoots the tendrils away; she then helps Zelenka to his feet and hurries him out. (I realise the importance of showing how dangerous the things are, but this segment comes off as being thrown-in, as if it’s just an obligatory horror moment, or a way to give Teyla something to do. It doesn’t help that this mission seems pretty unnecessary in the first place. I will concede that the camera angles, lighting, and effects of the tendrils moving over Zelenka were all done effectively, though — very “horror film” in style, at least. I just wasn’t terribly convinced of the actual danger, particularly when Teyla so readily dispatched the tendrils. The tendrils could learn a thing or two about being scary from the Replicator bugs.)

When they get a bit of a ways away, they stop to catch their breath. Zelenka finds that the back if his head is bleeding, and quickly brushes a tendril piece off himself like it’s alive. He remarks that he didn’t know he could move that fast. “Neither did I,” Teyla replies. (Oh, ow! It’s funny, yes, but kind of out of character for her. I wonder if Teyla actually realises that she said that out loud — or, distracted as she seemed, even realised what she was responding to.) Teyla remarks that the situation is worse than she’d thought. (Oh, you mean the fact that it’s reached the conduit already and can attack people? Yeah, can we get to pulling the ZPM now?)

Carson confirms that Zelenka has a mild concussion. Upset that it’s attacking people now, Woolsey insists that they need to stop the thing. (Yes, stating the obvious is so helpful, thank you.) Zelenka remarks that it’s already siphoned off a lot of power; Teyla says firmly that they need to pull the ZPM (thank you!!), to which Woolsey replies that that might not be enough, explaining that it could grow for weeks while they sit in the dark. (Well, you’d have been a bit better off if you had pulled it immediately, wouldn’t you? And I’m sure you still have naquadah generators to hook up the lights and computers to, so you can keep working until the thing gets too close. Hell, you could work at the alpha site, if need be!) Carson says they need to get Keller out; Woolsey replies that he wants to save her too, but insists that they have bigger concerns. Carson suggests that the organism’s attack on Radek was it reacting to a perceived threat, denoting intelligence, and conjectures that the thing is using Keller as a brain. Radek expands on the theory, saying this explains why she was hearing voices, saying that it sectioned off a part of her mind for its own use, like multiple personalities. Carson agrees, figuring that separating her from the rest will render it lifeless. He then explains about the “phage” he has created, the virus that might kill the pathogen; if it works, it would sever the connection the thing has with Jennifer, rendering it inert. The problem is that it’s never been tested. (Okay, now I’m thinking giving her the phage should have been priority number one, even above pulling the ZPM, although really, the two tasks could have been done at the same time. Sure, Carson hadn’t figured out a way to get rid of the bio-polymer, but why did that matter? They could have worried about that later, and at least get as much done as they could have done. Yeah, I know, there would have been no story then, but it makes no sense to me that they didn’t think to do that, that they had these ideas and didn’t use them right off the bat.)

Woolsey updates Sheppard, Ronon, and McKay, showing them footage of how far the stuff has spread; explaining that they turned the power back on momentarily to get the images. (And they couldn’t just do that before, rather than sending the teem out, because …? Also, note that, from here on out, we don’t see Teyla again at all — and get no explanation as to where she went.) They need someone to go right up to Keller to inject her, but even if they use the transporter, they’ve still got to get through over fifty meters of the bio-polymer to get to her. (Hey, wait, why not call back the Daedalus and beam someone directly to her bedside?) After Zelenka’s injury, Woolsey is reluctant to do send someone to do that. John apparently understands (nice little connection, leader to leader, there), but Woolsey has to spell it out for Rodney (and us): he can end this whole thing with “a couple of well-aimed shots at the isolation room”. Rodney realises the man’s talking about using drones, and asks if Woolsey means he wants to fire them at one of their own; Woolsey says he certainly didn’t come to Atlantis expecting to kill his any of his senior staff, but he can’t risk other lives to save one person’s with a solution that hasn’t even been tested. (Yeah, but don’t they have a right to risk their lives to save their friend if they wish to?) “Not exactly by the book,” he adds, addressing John. (Nice callback.) Ronon volunteers to be the guinea pig, but Sheppard says no, he’ll do it. (I understand why they’re doing this from a story standpoint — it puts John out of commission so that he can’t be the one who goes after Keller — but it doesn’t make any sense to me within the context of the story for Woolsey to allow that. For one thing. John’s a senior officer and head of the military — like a general in a war, he’s not so expendable. Well, it doesn’t even make sense for John to be allowed to go on missions either, so I guess I have to ignore that, but from Woolsey’s standpoint, it still makes more sense to let Ronon, the alien, do it instead, especially since he volunteered anyway. It also doesn’t even seem all that necessary to test the phage in the first place — a number of people are all infected, so there’s a chance this will all happen again whether the cure works on Keller or not. So why not let one of them take it to Jennifer right now? If it works, they save her and they’ll know it will work on the rest of them; if it doesn’t, they could be goners themselves soon anyway ….)

We see Ronon and a med-tech strapping Sheppard to a bed. (It’s a nice touch, having Ronon, someone John trusts, do that, I think …. Hey, that’s odd — I thought the infirmary was right next to the isolation room, and that it had all been evacuated ….) Saying that he’s anticipating a violent reaction, Carson reminds Sheppard that the formula comes from Michael’s files. (Wait, it does? I thought Carson developed it from the retrovirus? Why would Michael create something to kill the other thing he’d created? Well, maybe in case it got out of control ….) “For all we know, it could—” Carson begins; Sheppard interrupts, “Turn me into a bug? Been there, done that.” (*Snicker* Um, John? That’s kinda what the pathogen is doing already — this is supposed to counteract that, remember?) Carson corrects him, saying that he was going to say it might actually kill him. (I love John’s expression here!) “Just give me the shot,” John demands, looking like he’s seriously regretting having volunteered. Carson injects him with a hypo-spray (hey, when did they get those??) and tells him to relax, to which John gets sarcastic. Carson steps away and Rodney follows, asking if it’s true that some of the others are showing symptoms; Carson confirms that it is, and ask if Rodney is too. Rodney complains of sweaty palms, dry mouth, and heart palpitations. “Okay, so nothing out of the ordinary then?” Carson remarks. (*Snicker* You’d think that, by now, Rodney would recognise the symptoms of a panic attack, particularly since panic seems to be his default setting. *Happy sigh* Just like old times ….) Ronon asks John how he’s feeling; John starts to answer that he’s not feeling anything and doesn’t think it’s working when he suddenly starts to convulse. Carson says the phage is working.

Meanwhile, it seems Zelekna has switched some areas over to emergency generators; Woolsey gives the order to pull the ZPM, and we see the lights go out all over the city.

Sheppard is still convulsing, with Ronon trying to hold him down. An unhappy-looking Rodney asks how long this will go on, but Carson doesn’t know. (Is Rodney asking for John’s sake, or because he knows he’ll be going through it himself shortly if this works? Probably a bit of both. Too bad we don’t get to see Rodney go through it, as the “McKay-whumper” in me would enjoy that — especially if we’d get to see Ronon and/or John trying to hold him down. *Cough*) To their horror, John crashes; Carson starts up chest-compressions (the most unconvincing ones I’ve ever seen, I might add). John stabilises without needing the called-for crash cart; he even asks, weakly, “How did I do?” (Loved watching the worried faces on McKay and Ronon, and their relief after!)

Later, Woolsey asks Carson if he’s sure it worked; Carson says that the blood screen came up negative for the pathogen. Woolsey says he just needs someone to go into the isolation room, then. Carson immediately volunteers, with Ronon a split-second behind, and Rodney weakly bringing up the rear; Ronon gives Rodney a bemused frown. (Wonder if he’s just not believing Rodney means it, or if it’s a matter of not thinking Rodney could do it so he shouldn’t even volunteer? Either way, I’m amused. I do think that Rodney was just slow about it volunteering because he doesn’t really want to do it but feels that he should, for Jennifer’s sake, not because he was jumping on the bandwagon after the fact; in other words, I think we would have volunteered whether the others had or not, his personal fears just kept him from being gung-ho about it. As for Ronon, I wonder how much of his eagerness is just his usual nature, and how much might be extra concern for Keller in particular. Ooh, does he know that McKay is interested in her? That would give the look her gave Rodney more nuance ….) Confirming that it doesn’t take any special medical skills to administer the drug, Woolsey points out that Carson’s medical condition wouldn’t make him his first choice for the task. (Not to mention that, if something goes wrong, they’ll need Carson to investigate why it didn’t work!) Ronon (reminding me of an eager dog) reiterates to Woolsey that he said he’d do it; Rodney explains to Ronon that Woolsey doesn’t trust them because they’re still infected. Carson chimes in that Ronon’s being infected could help; maybe the bio-polymer wouldn’t perceive Ronon as a threat, then, much like how the Iratus bugs left Sheppard alone when he was infected and went into their nest. Woolsey relents.

We see Ronon exit the transporter closest to the isolation room, and Zelenka cuts the power to it. The place is pretty well-covered with tendrils, but they aren’t reacting to Ronon. Rodney paces in the infirmary, while Sheppard sleeps in the background. Sheppard wakes up and asks what’s happened; Rodney updates him and, seeming anxious and nervous (probably for both Jennifer and Ronon’s sake), hands John a radio, saying that he’s tapped into the intercom. (Tapped into? That sounds like he had to do something special to the radio to listen in on the channel …) They hear Woolsey ask for an update and Ronon reply that it’s getting hard to move.Woolsey reminds Ronon to not act threatening, and Ronon, with a touch of sarcasm, says he’ll keep that in mind. Woolsey gets a contrite look. Ronon gets to a point where the corridor is blocked by some sort of screen (skin?) and asks what they want him to do. No one knows what to say; they just exchange pensive glances. Ronon says screw it and pulls his blaster out; Carson shouts for him to wait, explaining that Ronon made it as far as he did because the thing senses the pathogen in him and sees him as a friend; it will attack as soon as he poses a threat. (Well, if it’s a ship being born, there has to be a way for the crew to reach the control area, right, for possible repairs? Surely he could find a route to it by going another way?) Ronon cuts him off, asking if anyone has any better ideas.

John picks up another vial of the phage; Rodney asks what he’s doing, and John only replies, “If I’m right, things are about to go very wrong.” Rodney protests that they under quarantine; “I’m cured, remember?” John points out, leaving. (Heh, I guess Rodney can be rather “by the book” himself. I wonder if part of why he protested was because he didn’t want John to head into danger too. Okay, so maybe I’m reaching as a McShepper — it’s probably more like the writers probably wanted the audience to be reminded that he no longer has the pathogen, so going in would be more dangerous for him.) Ronon, meanwhile, insists that there’s no other way through. “Once you start shooting, you’ll have to move quickly.” Woolsey warns. “Thanks for the advice,” Ronon says, rolling his eyes and opening fire. (Yeah, I’m thinking that Woolsey’s going to have a much harder time winning Ronon over than Sam did.) Ronon steps through the screen, and starts hacking away at lively tendrils with his sword. (Hey, looking at the set, is anyone else thinking of Winnowill’s chambers and the strangleweed, from Elfquest? ) The tendrils quickly pin him to the wall and start to strangle him. Woolsey calls out to Ronon several times, with no reply (not even his screams); Woolsey closes his eyes in dismay at having lost Ronon. (Here’s to hoping I don’t accidentally stumble across any Woolsey/Ronon fics. *Scrubs brain*)

Sheppard hurries into the control room, asking for an update, then telling Zelenka to turn the power back on and open a channel to the isolation room. Zelenka asks why, puzzled, but John tells him to just do it. Woolsey gives Zelenka a small nod. (Good on him, not trying to reassert his command at that moment, but rather trusting Sheppard!) Sheppard hails Keller, who replies, in a weird voice, that she isn’t Keller anymore and won’t get a designation until she’s “complete”. He asks about Ronon; she says she has him nuetralised but alive, adding tauntingly that it would just take a slight squeeze from her to change that. John reminds her that Ronon is like her, then turns off his radio and tells Woolsey and the others to keep her talking. Woolsey asks where John is going, and Sheppard only replies cryptically that he’s going to “finish this.”

Carson radios Keller, and the entity, sounding annoyed, reminds him that she is Not-Keller. Carson asks if she’s the voice Keller had heard, and Not-Keller replies that she can’t be stopped, she will become as she was meant to be. (Just answer the question, dearie!) As we watch, John gets into a ‘jumper. A tech notes to Woolsey that a ‘jumper is being powered up, and Woolsey asks John over the radio what he’s doing. (Starting to regret trusting him now/letting him have his way, Woolsey?) John replies that he’s “taking a little shortcut” and apologises for not having time to fill out the paperwork. (*Snicker*) He flies off and finds a building covered in tendrils. (Wow, the isolation room is faaaaaar, far away from the Tower!) He tells listeners “This may hurt” — crashes the jumper through the wall! (Geez-Louise, I hope the polymer weakened the wall first!) Woolsey hails him, but he doesn’t respond; after he recovers, he grabs a pistol out of a yellow suitcase, pulls the phage hypo out of his pocket, and heads out.

The tendrils don’t seem to notice John. (Mallozzi says this is because they perceived the jumper as the threat and considered the threat over at that point.) He gets close to Keller and administers the phage. A moment later, her eyes fly open, tendrils writhing. We see Ronon getting choked, then John getting speared in the gut by a tendril. (Poor guy — just when he’d recovered from the last gut wound …) He aims for Keller, getting ready to shoot, just in case — and suddenly her body relaxes. (Let’s just hope she’s not actually flat-lining, like he did!) John lowers his weapon, and the tendrils let go of a struggling-for-air Ronon. Woolsey calls out to John, who, looking very in-pain, says he’s been better and adds, “You’d better come get us.” (Okay, they had John take the cure so that Ronon would have to be the one to go in and save Keller, but ended up having John save the day anyway? A bummer for Ronon fans! That’s an interesting trend so far this season, though: John wanted Ronon to save himself and leave him behind, but Ronon wouldn’t leave; John was stubborn about planting the C-4 himself, and Ronon had to demand that John let him do it; Ronon wants to volunteer for testing, but John won’t let him; John ends up saving the day when Ronon fails — and I imagine that, if John had been awake when the call for a volunteer to reach Keller had been made, he would have insisted on going himself in the first place. I’m intrigued as to where this trend of them struggling with each other over the position of hero/martyr will lead — especially since it’s obvious that they aren’t trying to claim the spot for glory! They each just want to keep the other from being hurt, and both have a heavy sense of responsibility coupled with independent natures that insist that they do everything themselves ….)

We see John in the infirmary, where Woolsey informs him that Ronon has a bruised larynx and won’t be able to speak for a several days. “Wonder if anyone will notice the difference,” John replies (in a way that suggests to me that Flanigan, like me, feels the joke was just a little too obvious/trite). Carson brings a back-to-normal (even in uniform!) Keller over; she feels bad that her recovery will be much easier than John’s. (Will be? She looks recovered already!) He says that’s fine, seeing as he’s got two doctors looking after him now; Carson informs him that he’s actually leaving in the next hour or so. (So Woolsey still doesn’t trust him? Otherwise, why can’t he recover there, like John? Or at least wait for the Daedalus to come back before returning home?) Carson says his goodbyes, getting a thank-you from Woolsey, and leaves with Keller. Woolsey tells John that he’s just gotten off the phone after going over his preliminary report with his superiors, and cites the things he feels he did wrong, including risking the safety of the base (base? City!!) to save a person who might have been beyond saving. John points out that he did save Jennifer, though, adding that she’d be dead if Woolsey had played by the rules. Woolsey says that the IOA seems to agree with John, and “are willing let the matter drop.” Woolsey’s problem is a lack of confidence in his ability to do his job is he can’t trust his precious rules. (This moment does an excellent job of summing up Woolsey’s whole state at this point: where he’s coming from, and what challenges he faces. It makes me want to remind him that the US Constitution was designed as rules that could be altered to fit the times. He needs understand that rules are just tools to protect those who live under them, and to learn to recognise when the rules no longer serve those who follow them, when they need to be altered/disobeyed. And he needs to recognise the fact that those who live the rules need to be the ones to decide what the rules are, not some outside group that doesn’t have to live with them.) John smiles, shakes the man’s hand, and says “Welcome to the Pegasus Galaxy.” (And this time, he seems to mean it a little more.)

While it’s still not one of my very faves, and there’s some serious flaws, I’m feeling more appreciative of this ep now that I’ve examined it more closely. For my own sake, though, I’m hoping that this ep was so Woolsey-heavy simply because it was his introduction as leader, and isn’t representative of what his typical presence will be. But if it is, well, I wouldn’t begrudge the people who really like the character that screentime either. And maybe he’ll grow on me more.

Once again, before I go, I have a little bit of shameless (but related) plugging to do. There are still some openings for the workshop portion of my Dragon*Con panel on making custom Stargate-themed My Little Ponies. As I mentioned before, Late Night with Conan O’Brien’s Pierre Bernard, Jr (of the “Recliner of Rage” segment) will be in attendance. As of this writing, there are three slots left. Besides the class, we will also be auctioning off ponies signed by (and in some cases, decorated by) Stargate celebs, including one done by Cliff Simon (Ba’al), and this one of Mars the Dog, signed by David and Kate Hewlett; this money will go to The American Heart Association, in honour of the late, great Don S Davis, aka our beloved General Hammond. For more details, please visit this portion of my site: http://www.webslayer.net/wolfen/mlpcustoms.html. And lastly, I will also be on the Stargate fanfic and art panels. Hope to see some of you there!

See you next week for “Broken Ties”!

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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 an artist, too, having done spot illustrations for Dragonlance, among other things. In her spare time, she’s a rabid fanficcer/fanartist. See more of her work at her site, Wolfen’s Webworld.