Stargate Atlantis: Whispers

By Wolfen Moondaughter

Sorry for my extreme tardiness! I spent the last week editing four gig worth of photos and vid footage from Dragon*Con, and only just finished Sunday night. I’m still exhausted from the con (which had, unofficially, expanded to five days and requires running around between four hotels — I only went to three, though). And I’ve been hard at work at the Save Atlantis campaign, of course!

Also, I have to admit I wasn’t in a very good frame of mind for watching “Whispers” during the initial airings (and my folks insisting on chatting during the ep — grrr), so I decided to wait and watch it again when I wasn’t so distracted. I will confess that it didn’t help, going in, that the ep was Rodney-light (though I must be grateful he was in it at all), and didn’t have anyone else but Carson and Sheppard. Seeing as we now know that this is the last season (though I’m still working hard for a miracle), losing time with any of the core team hurts a bit — especially when an ep like this means that other characters were likely filming eps alone as well, without much of Sheppard (and perhaps without much of each other). I prefer seeing them together, and knowing we’re getting all the fewer eps like that now … yeah.

But I did enjoy it quite a bit better during the few-days-later viewing! For one, we got more Carson (even if it bites that he had no interaction with Teyla or Ronon — I guess I have to be happy we got any more time with him at all). And I did rather like the all-girl team they worked with — if this weren’t the last season, and it hadn’t felt like they were stealing time from our beloved regulars (albeit unintentionally, given that Mallozzi had believed, while writing this ep, that there would be a sixth season), I would have enjoyed them even more, especially after learning at Mallozzi’s blog that he had intended to have the team appear again, perhaps even put Carson on it. I liked Carson’s interaction with Porter — it reminded me of his flirtation with that Hoffan woman, Perna, and I found it charming. And I liked this ep a bit better than some of Sheppard’s other “mostly without the rest of the team” eps, particularly “Outcast” or “The Travelers”.

My other main complaint about the ep was that, while it had its creepy moments, it wasn’t really all that scary to me — “Vengeance” was actually a bit better on that count, as was “Doppelganger”. (I think I’ll look more to Doctor Who for scary. Helloooo, “Blink”!) Well, maybe the mood I was in was a factor, too. Sorry, Mallozzi. Still, the dialogue was fun, and the notion of getting to know other members of Atlantis would have been much more welcome if not for the cancellation, I think. (Way to go, MGM, for spoiling my enjoyment of the rest of the season!)

Oh, one more thing before we get on with the recap-and-review: I have to confess that I don’t get all the complaints pre-airing I’d seen about the women being a team of supermodels. While they are moderately pretty, they didn’t look like supermodels to me (no offense to the actresses) — they simply looked like healthy women, the kind I knew in high school where were on athletic teams, several of which later went on to the ROTC. I’m not seeing how it’s an unrealistic representation — healthy people tend to be fairly attractive, but these women weren’t drop dead gorgeous to me, either. They looked like soldiers I have known. *Shrug*

5.7: “Whispers”

Our story starts with two villagers making their way home through dark fog, when they encounter someone they can’t quite make out. They approach cautiously, one of them bearing a lantern (and reminding my dad of the watchman in Disney’s Haunted Mansion ride). Setting the lantern down, the man reaches out to a figure who seems to have its back to him. There’s a creepy tapping sound (a very Japanese sound, reminding me of the kodama, the head-knocking little spirit-things in Mononoke Hime), and the figure’s head cocks oddly (much like the girl in Ringu — I approve!). The man suddenly falls back, frightened, and his companion runs away. (Which begs the question, what did they see that we couldn’t?) The running man slows and stops. He turns, and finds a man wearing a gas mask behind me. (Which of course makes a multitude of fans go “Are you my mommy?”) The screen goes dark, and we’re told that it’s now a year later. A team of Atlantians search through dank corridors, leaving glow-lights to mark there way (ooh, that’s clever, although she’s using them awfully close together, and therefore wasting them), as one of them follows an energy signature. One of the others — Alicia Vega, whom we met in “Search and Rescue” — stumbles across a gas mask on the ground. (And I wonder then if the gas mask-wearer was actually a friend, then, who became a victim, but I’m wrong.) They move on, pausing as they stare around the next room. Taking in a sight we the audience can’t see, the leader says they should contact Atlantis. (And now I’m dying of curiosity.)

Back in Atlantis, Rodney whinges as Carson packs; apparently Carson had come back for a week and is now leaving again. (I start to whinge too — we the viewers didn’t even get that week!) Carson says his place isn’t there, explaining that people are suffering in this galaxy, thanks to the Hoffan drug, and he can’t just sit by while that happens. (Dolt that I am, I’m completely puzzled by this; it’s not till the second viewing that I realise he isn’t going back to Earth, he’s going to bob around Pegasus, helping people like a Doctor Without Borders. Which begs the question, is he doing this with Woolsey/IOA approval and SGC pay? I would hope so, seeing as Ronon’s desire to leave last season was treated as a security risk, and I think Woolsey still sees Carson as an “alien” rather than as “Beckett”. At the same time, though, if Beckett’s plan is sanctioned, I’m surprised Woolsey would allow this “waste of resources”, as it were. … Anyway, it’s a good explanation for why Carson isn’t staying, which in turn makes it so that Keller can stay CMO without it being awkward. We still get Carson now and then — maybe even would have gotten more in season six, if not for the cancellation. While of course I would like to see more of McGillion, I’m satisfied story-wise. Although I hope he doesn’t end up suffering and dying the way Keller did in the alt timeline!) Rodney tries to shrug his concerns off, saying that it’s not Carson’s fault (and isn’t so cute that he wants Carson to stay so badly?), but to no avail. Sheppard comes up (wearing a fetching turtle-neck — a choice by Flanigan, apparently, thanks to how cold filming was for this episode). Carson asks cheerfully if Sheppard has come to help him pack. (As Rodney is clearly not doing — and why would he, if he doesn’t want the man to leave? I like how this scene sort of echoes the one in “Outcast”, where Rodney laments not being able to go with Sheppard, showing how attached he’s become to his friends, despite how cold and aloof he often was in the beginning of the series.) Sheppard declines, revealing that that one of Michael’s labs has been found. (Speaking of turtles, on Mallozzi’s blog, he tells of a cute omitted scene that involved Carson’s turtles and Rodney’s reluctance to give them up. Awwww!)

Planetside, Carson whinges about the lengthy walk to the site, which included rappelling down a mountain, saying his legs are seizing up. John teases him, saying that’s what happens after six months of R&R. (Wow, it’s been that long?? Well, that helps explain why Rodney’s all healed up from his surgery — this is probably a couple of months after that, too. Kinda wish there would have been a mention of the brain parasite with Carson, but then again, this, I think, was one of those eps that was sort of meant to fit anywhere needed ….) Carson protests that he’d also spent two months in stasis (although he really ought to know better — I mean, it’s stasis, as in virtually no physical advancement). “Try eight-hundred years — that’ll give you rubber legs!” John quips. (*Snicker* Almost sounds like a convo he’d have with Rodney — or rather, the “one-up” sort of comment Rodney himself would make ….)

The team they’re there to meet approaches, the leader saluting John, who returns the salute, staring. He hails the woman as Major Teldy (Anne Teldy, actually, named for the screenname of a frequent poster on Mallozzi’s blog, who won one of his contests. Fun little bit of trivia), and introduces her to a still-panting Beckett. Teldy introduces the other members of her team: Sergeant Mehra, Doctor Porter, and Captain Vega. (I cannot see the name Vega without thinking of the anime Street Fighter II.) Hesitant, John starts to say he didn’t realise something; amused, Teldy finishes for him, “that my team was a bunch of girls, sir?” John tries to downplay that, as does Carson, but it’s clear she hit the nail on the head. She smugly informs them that she only did as ordered — she chose the best and brightest for her team. “Funny how that worked out!” (Absolutely brilliant “lantern” — address the audience’s question and dismiss it as the unimportant, asinine concern it is. Well, that’s how I feel about it, anyway — if it had been an all-male team, no one would have even noticed. The series has already established that it’s a little different, militarily-speaking, than reality — Sam’s been fighting in the field for ten years, after all — so why not? I look forward to the day when the lantern wouldn’t have been necessary, but for now it was quite amusing.) As Teldy and co lead the men onward, John and Carson bump fists, apparently in glee at getting to spend the day with a bunch of cute girls. (*Rolls eyes affectionately and shakes head ruefully* Boys … Aw, who am I kidding — if I found those women that attractive, I’d probably be thanking my luck too ….)

Next we see them, they’re in the slimy catacombs the women had been in earlier, following the lightstick trail. Porter explains that they’d been walking by the area when they’d picked up an energy reading and, after some triangulation, followed it. (Ahh, so exploring the tunnels hadn’t actually been their mission, exactly.) They reach the room we didn’t actually see before, Carson announcing that there are stasis pods in it, and also letting us know that, while Michael took him to a number of labs, this wasn’t one of them. (I wonder why Michael hasn’t come back here? Surely he could use the beings in the pods, now that his hybrid army is gone? If the beings in them are useless, why keep the place powered up? Ooh, wait, maybe he has been back, and he’s just taking a break for the moment? Maybe the beings in the pods are only in partial stasis and stewing, so to speak?) Mehra makes a comment about no cleaning crew having been around for a while (like Wraith areas ever look clean) and taps a pod. John calls out, “Hey! Sarge!” warningly. Porter starts to mess with a console, and John expresses his misgivings about touching stuff, recalling how the last lab had been booby-trapped. Porter assures him that she’s circumvented any danger. Scowling, he asks why McKay didn’t think of that. (*Snicker* Oooh, Rodney’s in trouble …) Porter assures him that McKay had know way of knowing; indeed, it was McKay’s findings that allowed her to bypass the security protocols this time. (So there! *Snicker*) She and Carson reveal that there’s a lot of potentially valuable intel on Michael’s experiments in that lab, but it will take a while for them to go through it. (Can’t you just download it? Well, I guess they might want to look at the pods in relation to the data …) Vega and Teldy reveal that there’s a village nearby they can check out, maybe get some intel from the villagers. John agrees it’s better than watching Carson and Porter read, then turns to Mehra, informing her that she’s to stay with the doctors, telling her to “make sure they don’t geek out too much.” (*Snicker* The voice of experience …) Mehra’s understandably disappointed. Carson compliments Porter on her work, flirtatiously; Mehra turns away, disgusted. (*Snicker*)

Out in the forest, Vega asks, “You know what I’d love right about now?” “Let me guess: a beer,” John suggests. (*Snicker* Dude, she’s not your twin. Or Cadman. Speaking of twins, though, Mallozzi revealed that the actress playing Vega also played a tech in another episode — he sees them as twins working on the expedition. What a cool idea!) Vega says a puddle-jumper; John replies that he could have arranged that, if he’d known about all the walking. (This from the man who’d been teasing Carson about not being able to handle the walk …) Teldy points out that there wouldn’t have been anywhere to land it. (Which is funny, considering John said pretty much the exact same thing to Rodney, in “Epiphany”.) She adds that the walking will firm up his glutes and calves. “Oh, great! Couple more hours of this and I can skip my cardio funk workout,” he replies. (*Snicker* Or the morning run with Ronon?)

Back in the lab, Carson and Porter work away while Mehra stands around munching on a powerbar, tapping a pod again, bored silly. (She’s reminding me very strongly of Ronon right now.) She asks if the people in the pods are alive; Carson explains that they’re in stasis. (Funny that he actually has to explain to her what that means — are there really so many people in the audience who wouldn’t know what that refers to, for that exposition to be necessary? It was a good way to provide it, though — very amusing, the little eye-brow raise she did to indicate that more info was needed ….) She asks if he can wake them up; he explains that he’s afraid doing so without knowing more might kill them. She asks, off-handedly, if he’s just “going to keep them on ice” until he figures out what to do. He gets uncomfortable (and those who watch the show consistently know it’s because he hadn’t wanted to be kept in stasis under similar circumstances himself). Oblivious to his body language, Mehra figures it doesn’t matter to the people in the pods, nor their families, who have probably written the people off. “But boy, that would make for one hell of a reunion, huh?” she adds. (*Snicker* A nice nod to/reminder of his whole situation.) Porter coughs and gives her a shut up, you’re making him uncomfortable sort of look; Mehra gets the hint (showing that they have indeed been working together for a while), announcing awkwardly that she’s going to go check out the perimeter.

After Mehra leaves, Porter apologises; Carson assures her that it’s not necessary, adding, “She’s right: resurrections make for very interesting reunions, especially when the dead man had no idea he was dead to begin with.” (*Snicker* … Let me just say that McGillion looks particularly handsome here — nice job with the costume and the lighting!) Carson asks if she has any interesting experiences to share; telling him to call her Alison, she says she hasn’t been in Pegasus long enough, cloning being a second-year experience. “Third, actually,” Carson corrects with a grin. A console beeps, and Carson reveals that the data pertains to what “appears to be Michael’s earliest version of a human-iratus hybrid.” (A well done scene on the whole, nicely establishing a defining plot point for Carson’s character, both as a reminder to long-time viewers and an explanation to new ones, as well as giving us some insight into Porter, and even Mehra. And some nice bonding between Carson and Alison, to boot! I also like that the exposition regarding Michael’s work is almost an afterthought … By the way, as I’d mentioned waaaay back in my review of “Adrift”, the “A-names” thing is getting out of hand. I mean, three of these characters have first names that begin with “A” — Anne, Alicia, and Alison!! Hell, two of those names are basically the same name! And the tech from the previous ep was named “Amelia”! So when are we going to get to the “B” chapter of that baby name book, guys?)

John, Teldy, and Vega split up and explore the village, which they quickly realise is deserted. They don’t even need music to get across the eerieness, even in daylight — Teldy’s puzzled “listening” pose does the job just fine, as does the relative silence, with only a faint windy noise and birdsong as a soundtrack. (In fact, in a way, I’d say this scene was actually the most effectively scary moment to me, relying entirely on psychology. I certainly expected something to happen, which made it all the more a tease when nothing did.)

Back in the lab, Carson reveals that the pod-people aren’t actually human-iratus hybrids, but rather combinations of several life-forms. (Huh. Wonder why Michael did that? I thought he wanted specifically to make beings just like him? Anyway, Frankenstein’s monster, anyone? *Grin*) Porter suggests maybe Michael stopped because he realised it was “overly-ambitious”. Carson reveals that the data actually shows the experiment to have been considered a success. (So much for my theory — the computer probably tells when work was abandoned as well, and I’m sure Carson would have mentioned if Michael had visited after his supposed death. So again, why’d Michael leave them in stasis? And why hasn’t he returned for them?) Carson goes on to say that there’s nothing they can do for them — they aren’t people anymore. (So I guess they’re further gone than John was in “Conversion” …) As they peer through frosty glass at an indistinct figure (mildly creepy), Mehra startles them, clearly having enjoyed doing so (while they, just as clearly, did not appreciate it), and points out that it’s getting dark, asking if this will be an all-nighter. Carson says no. (Heh, somehow, I think “yes” ….)

We watch, through bits of broken wall, as John makes his way through the village — the impression is that he’s being followed. We lose sight of him for a moment, and when we see him again, he’s sitting on a step, calling out, “Hey!” to his pursuer. (Heh, nice twist! And for a moment, I’m reminded of that creepy end-scene in Blair Witch.) We see a villager twirling about as Teldy and Vega come up behind him, weapons drawn even as Teldy gives him a soothing, “Easy …” The villager asks who they and where they’re from; John only replies that they’re explorers and that they came through that big circle, then asks who the man is. (Notice he doesn’t give their own names.) The man calls himself Mirellus. (He doesn’t point out that they didn’t give their own names. Well, maybe he figures it’s not wise to be demanding when weapons are pointed at you. I wonder if he has seen guns before ….) They question him; we learn that people started disappearing a year and a half before, first from the forest, then from the village, day and night, with no discernable reason why, save that the village was cursed — so they left. Mirellus, now living elsewhere, saw them exiting the caves, and followed them to see what they were doing and possibly warn them. He knows nothing about the caves other than that they are supposed to be dangerous, which he now questions, given that they exited unscathed. He asks what they found in them, but Beckett interrupts over the radio, revealing that they’ve downloaded some of the stuff and would like to bed down in the village to look it over, if there’s room. John assures him there is. Mirellus wishes them luck and moves to leave; John protests that their conversation isn’t done. (For a moment, I’m disappointed in him — he sounds like he’s going to hold the man captive or something to get more info!) Mirellus insists that night is falling and the village isn’t a safe place (despite having said before that the danger strikes day or night). John tells him to suit himself, and Mirellus leaves.

As Carson, Alison, and Mehra make their way to the village, Carson remarks that he’d heard Mehra was with the SGC before. She replies that Pegasus had more of what she was looking for: “Bad guys that need killin’.” She adds that “the Milky Way just hasn’t been the same since the Ori got their butts kicked.” Amused, Carson starts to beg to differ, when Mehra holds up a hand, signaling for quiet. After a long pause, she announces “Probably nothin’,” and resumes walking, (Haaa! Fantastic delivery!) Carson and Porter not so amused now by her overzealousness. A moment later, we see a figure through a bush. (Looks to be Mirellus, rather than the creepy being from the beginning.)

It’s evening at the village. Sheppard announces to Carson and Porter that they’re going to the next village, asking if they need/want anything before his group leaves. (How thoughtful!) Alison quips that she’s like a latte if they pass a Starbucks. (*Snicker* Sorry, it seems they’ve closed all their Pegasus locations when they closed so many others recently. I remember when I knew places where there were four of them in an eighth-of-a-mile radius ….) John addresses Mehra, who guesses accurately that she’s on babysitting duty, and his group leaves, Vega flashing Mehra a grin as she closes the door behind them. (Ooh, that should have been a clue to me right there that she was going to bite it — being gleeful at not being the one who has to stay behind.)

We see a hurried journey through the catacombs, from the point of view of the person doing the hurrying. We see a pod open, fog rolling out of it. (Doubtless Mirellus, but what’s his motive? Is he siccing the things in the pod on our team? If so, why? Is he guarding the lab for Michael?)

In their village shelter, Porter and Carson take a break, Alison remarking that she feels like she’s studying for her midterms. Carson conversationally asks where she graduated from, then when; she reveals she reveals Cal Tech, 1996. He comments, smiling, on her being “just a youngster”, which she of course appreciates. (Seeing as she probably went to school for eight years, yeah, she’d be what, about 38 now? Since Hewlett, Nicole de Boer’s co-star in Cube, just turned forty this spring, and they seemed around the same age, that seems right …. *Goes to look at IMDB.com* Yup, she’s 38. Well, they do say 30 is the new twenty, so I guess 38 is still youngish. I hope so, anyway, given that I’m 33, although I’m apparently too old for SGU’s intended demographic … Anyway, at 39, Carson’s hardly older than her …) Reading a book off to the side, Mehra chuckles; when they look at her, irritated, she says she just read something funny. “And really obvious,” she adds pointedly to Carson. Carson continues his conversation with Alison, asking her what brought her to Pegasus; she wryly says her “desire to visit strange, unexplored worlds, meet new and interesting people …” They both chuckle. (This seems part Star Trek reference and part flirtation, Carson being the new and interesting people part of her “desire”, I imagine ….) Disgusted, Mehra says she’s going to check the perimeter. (Oh no, don’t go off alone! Don’t you watch horror movies??) Starting to leave, she says she’ll be back in twenty; she pauses and adds, “Unless there’s a sock on the door.” (*Snicker* I wonder if they actually use that in Atlantis? *Cough*) She leaves the couple in their awkward moment. (Evil!)

Sheppard, Teldy, and Vega pick their way through a foggy forest. Teldy notes that the fog sure rolled in quick. (It doesn’t even occur to me at this point that it’s from the pod — or rather, what’s in the pod.) Sheppard skeptically asks Vega if she’s sure where they’re going. “More or less,” she half-heartedly assures him. The torches on Teldy’s and John’s guns go out, to their dismay. Teldy wonders what they’re walking through, if the fog is able to mess with their equipment like that. “Or what we’re breathing,” Vega points out. (As I mentioned before, I hadn’t thought of that! I’d assumed it was just run-of-the-mill fog — the possibility that it’s more is intriguing! At this point, I find myself wondering if it spreads mutation, like a disease. I’m wrong, though. Too bad, ‘ey?) John holds up a fist, saying he thought he saw something. A moment later, it streaks by, and the women see it too, but it’s too fast. They stand back-to-back, looking about warily.

Mehra whistles as she wanders. Suddenly, she looks unsettled, and glances behind her, at a well. (I assume it’s just a Ringu reference, but it serves a purpose later.) She walks over to it and drops a stone down it, with the camera angled to look up at her from inside the well; it’s a long wait before we hear it strike the bottom. (Interestingly, the well is actually only a prop piece that’s about two or three feet deep. Ahhh, the wonders of forced perspective and sound effects …) As she turns away from the well, her torch goes out, although there’s no fog yet. The light of the moon is enough for her to spot something on the ground; she picks it up, finding a doll carved from a branch — it looks like it’s screaming and eyeless. (A hint of what’s out there …) “Creepy,” she remarks. (You said it! *Shudder*) She drops the doll and walks away — fog spilling out of the well behind her, unseen.

Sheppard is still looking about warily, wondering what they saw and heard, when Mirellus stumbles out of the fog. He tells them that there are demons in the mist. Vega scoffs. Mirellus is insistent that they’re in danger; John tells him to take it easy, eying the fog, weapon ready. Vega, voice dripping with derision, asks John, “With all due respect, we’re not buying all this, are we?” (Clearly she doesn’t think much respect is due at all — or understand that native fears are often based on either Ancient or Wraith tech, and therefore a valid reason to be concerned ….) Teldy admonishes Vega to stay sharp. (I rather like her and her no-nonsense attitude.) Vega doesn’t listen, starting to say cattily that they should go back to Atlantis the, when she’s suddenly grabbed from behind and pulled into the fog like she’s been snatched by a big monster. Her comrades hurry after her, but when they find her, it’s too late: she’s dead. (Yeah, somehow this isn’t really scary to me — perhaps too predictable? I mean, it was a surprise that she would bite it, since we kind of knew her better — well, sooner, anyway — than the other women, but when a character turns their back on danger and gets cocky, you expect something to grab them. And I’m not finding myself freaked out by this unseen enemy like I would expect to — maybe because they don’t seem nearly as scary of a concept as Michael’s creations in “Vengeance”, which smacked of Alien. This bit’s still exciting, though. I wonder, why did the creature leave her, much less not attack the others? Didn’t Mirellus say the other people disappeared without a trace?) We hear the tapping/clicking, kodama-like sound, and see the jerky movements of a figure coming through the fog. (Okay, that’s creepy!) As it gets closer, Sheppard opens fire, killing it. (And suddenly we go from what could be Ringu-scary to Dawn of the Dead hack-em/slash-em. Also, these things seem awfully easy to kill, which lessens the scariness considerably.) Suddenly, they seem surrounded by the vague shapes and clicky sounds (which is, I assume, how the creatures know not to attack each other); Sheppard orders Teldy to fall back. She fires as she goes, grabbing Mirellus and dragging him along.

Alison shyly tells Carson that she’s really glad for the chance to work with him; he feels the same. (Good chemistry! … Wait, don’t would-be lovers usually get killed in these sorts of stories?) Before they can get smootchin’, they’re startled by the sound of gunfire outside. (Well, better than a monster bursting through the door and eating one of them!) They go outside, Carson radioing Sheppard but getting no response. They meet up with Mehra, who says she’ll check it out; Carson tries to go with, insisting he can’t let her go alone, but Mehra puts him in his place, reminding him that she’s under orders to protect them. (Interesting: Carson’s usually one to hang back and let the soldiers do the soldiering. Too chivalrous for his own good, perhaps; maybe that’s part of why he and Cadman didn’t work out? Anyway, I’m liking Mehra more and more …) She orders Carson back inside, over his protests that she can’t tell him what to do. (Under a military situation like that, I’m thinking even a Private would be able to order a civilian around — a cop would be able to, after all, wouldn’t they?) Porter urges him to come with her; Mehra leaves, and Carson reluctantly goes with Alison back into the house. (Well, maybe not entirely reluctantly ….)

Sheppard, Teldy, and Mirellus make their way back down to the lab. To John’s confusion, Mirellus apologises about not knowing something: a moment later, they realise what he’s talking about, when they find the pods all empty! Mirellus reveals that he’d opened them because his wife had gone missing: he’d hoped, when they’d come out of the caves unharmed, that he might find her down there and save her. (Ahhh, okay. I suppose he found a button that opened them all at once. Lucky he was able to get out before they could attack — they were probably disoriented from stasis …) John counts the pods; taking into account the one he shot, they figure there’s eleven of the things that were in them left. He radios Beckett and Porter, but gets no response; Teldy suggests the fog is messing with the radios, like the lights. Sheppard asks Teldy how her Wraith language skills are; she figures about as good as his (which means not very). He decides they need to go fetch the doctors. Mirellus doesn’t want to go, because of the demons; Sheppard promises they will return for him. A moment after they leave, Mirellus, looking at the pods, gets scared and hurries out after them.

Back in the house, Porter peeks between the slats of a boarded up a window, remarking on how foggy it’s getting. Carson paces, agitated, berating himself for not going with Mehra. (His time with Michael and brush with death sure has made him more gung-ho!) Porter assures him that “Dusty” (as she calls Mehra) probably would have decked him if he’d tried. They hear something: Carson opens the door, hoping it’s Dusty, but sees nothing. He armours up to go outside, despite Alison’s protests, feeling that, if there is something out there, its’ better to go out and surprise it rather than the other way around. (Hmm, he has a point.) Though clearly worried for him, Alison more readily agrees when he tells her to stay put than he did when Dusty gave such an order. (Which, hey, she’s new to Pegasus — it makes sense that she would be more like Carson — and Rodney — used to be.)

After searching for a lengthy while with a sputtering torch (I feel like I should be more freaked out here than I am), instead of finding Dusty, Carson comes across one of the pod-people. It doesn’t see him, but as he backs away, he steps on a stick, alerting it. He runs, eventually stumbling. He draws his pistol, swinging it about, but there’s no sign of the pod person at first. He seems to sense it’s presence, going still; suddenly, it appears, slavering over him (and reminding me of an Alien alien, actually — it’s marginally creepy). It doesn’t attack, though, instead emitting fog from it’s neck. (During the first viewing, I assumed it was using the fog to transform Carson into one of its own, but of course I was wrong — it just left because it didn’t hear him.) It leaves; Carson lets out a shaky sigh of relief. His radio crackles in his ear, causing him to paw at it in startled pain. (*Snicker* that scared me more than the monster!) He relaxes again, only to have the monster reappear a split-second later; Dusty blows it away. She then grabs Carson and drags him inside the house. (I’d assumed she was going to be killed; I’m glad she’s alive!)

In the house, Dusty testily asks what that thing was, while Carson looks for an apparently missing Alison. (Okay, maybe she’s not such a fraidy-cat after all, if she disobeyed both Carson and Dusty’s orders.) He warns Dusty that he thinks the creatures hunt by sound. They hear noises coming from outside and stand with weapons at the ready for a (deliciously) long, tense moment; John, Teldy, and Mirellus burst in, Sheppard commenting that, by their reaction, they must know what’s going on. Dusty asks after the captain; Teldy shakes her head, and John says she’s gone. Teldy asks after Porter; Beckett says they don’t know. (Poor Dusty and Teldy — I wonder how close they were to their teammates?) “Oh that’s just great; all we need is for the Prom Queen and the kid in the wheelchair to wander off, and we’ll be all set,” John quips. (*Snicker* Wait, I know the prom queen is a reference to Stephen King’s Carrie, but who’s “the kid in the wheelchair”?)

Worried that Alison is out there alone and doesn’t know what these things are, Carson explains that: these creations of Michael’s are early hybrids (Teldy points out that they’d guessed as much) made from several predatory species; they are blind and hunt by sound; and that they exude the fog from gills in their necks. (I suppose it’s repetitive, but as details have come at us hard and fast, a nice rundown of the situation is appreciated.) Teldy asks if it’s like squids’ ink; he points out that the ink is defensive, whereas this is more of a “predatory device”. (Making their prey just as blind as they themselves are and leveling the playing field. I suppose Michael’s making them blind makes them better predators, in that sound is a more reliable means of tracking prey than relying on sight — having the light shut off can spoil your sight, but it would take a rather noisy setting to interfere with hearing. Plus having them be blind makes them creepier. Also, Mallozzi explained that he doesn’t see the fog as coming exclusively from the pod-people, but rather that they affect the atmosphere/weather conditions around them, multiplying the effect. Kinda like the idea of shooting gunpowder into the sky to make it rain, I guess?) Teldy realises that that’s why they found the gas mask, and Beckett worries about long-term exposure to the mist. (Which again makes me think, inaccurately, that this means they will turn into something like the monsters.) Sheppard remarks that he’d rather not find out.

Mirellus suggests that they wait till dawn to leave, when it will be safe; Carson points out that day and night doesn’t matter to these creatures. (A point that Mirellus had known himself, in the first place ….) John adds that they need to find Porter. (I wonder if he’s thinking about how he’d feel if his own scientist were lost out there like that. Rodney may be more capable now that he was when he was as new as Porter, but he’s still not even remotely as capable as, say, Ronon or Teyla …. Oy, okay, inner McShepper shutting up now ….) Mirellus thinks he’s crazy for considering it. (Mirellus, dude, how long are you thinking of waiting, given what Carson said? It might never be safe to leave!) Sheppard orders Carson to look through the data and find a way to stop the monsters; Carson warns that the reason Michael abandoned his research is because even he couldn’t control the things. (Ahaaah!)

Dusty, Teldy, and Sheppard leave the house with new torches (or maybe they’re more like glow-sticks), Sheppard pausing to ask Carson if he and Mirellus will be okay alone. Carson replies that, seeing as the things hunt by sound, they’ll be much safer in the house. (It’s a little puzzling that Carson wouldn’t insist on finding Porter like he did Mehra, but then again I suppose after his run-in with the monster, he’s realised he wouldn’t be much help. That or we simply didn’t see an argument he’d had with Sheppard, or he’s simply more willing to defer to Sheppard’s orders, seeing as he’s worked with him plenty of times before.) Sheppard leaves a light near the entrance to the house, and he and the girls split up, going in search of Porter. (The search through the fog is at least very tense, even if I’m not personally creeped out.) Teldy looks into the well. Suddenly, one of the monsters hurries up the stone wall of the well, towards her, its movements insect-like. (Now I’m creeped out!) The camera cuts to Dusty, who hears gunfire and hurries off towards it. Sheppard, meanwhile, hears the ragged breathing of Porter and finds her huddled under the stairs where he’d greeted Mirellus. He warns her to be quiet and guides her through the fog.

Back in the house, Mirellus, standing before the wood-covered window, rants loudly about what a mistake it was for the others to leave; he ignores Carson’s admonishments to be quiet, complaining that they should have gone to the next village instead. A couple of monsters burst through the window, grabbing him. Carson draws his gun but can’t get a clear shot. Mirellus gets pulled outside, and then all is quiet. (Did they quickly drag him away, or did they kill him quick and are happily-but-quietly munching?) Stunned a moment, Carson finally gathers his wits and drags a china cabinet-like thing in front of the window. (Dude, noise! Can’t you just stay still? They might be able to just burst through that thing anyway!) We hear the clicky-knocking outside the door; smoke pours under it, and it rattles. Carson wears a hopeless, doomed expression as he falls back against the wall, pistol raised and breathing ragged. (I’m a bit afraid for him, but not even remotely scared in the sense I would be watching, say, A Nightmare on Elm Street, which prompted me to watch with a baseball bat at hand.)

Sheppard and Porter continue to make their way, Porter holding her gun up now. Sheppard spots a light out in the distance and waves — it waves back. (For a moment, I wonder how he’s so sure it’s not a trick, until I remember the enemy can’t see. *Doh*) It’s Dusty; she asks Porter if she’s okay. (Awww.). A short bit later, they spot another stick and figure it’s Teldy; Dusty remarks that Teldy doesn’t see them, and they head towards the light stick. (Okay, I’m suspicious again, but if the thing can’t see, how does it know about the sticks or the fact that it will lure others to it? Well, at any rate, I’m right this time. And it would be a great twist, if I could just figure out how it knew to do that.) A monster springs out at Dusty, who fires on it, killing it. Sheppard and Porter arrive, and they make their way back to the house.

To their surprise, they find Teldy alive. (She’s got a light-stick; does this mean the monster stole the one it had from the ground outside the house, or from Carson?) Teldy reports that Carson and Mirellus are gone and points out blood, figuring one of them didn’t make it. Alison worriedly asks if it was Carson. (Awww … it should be noted that, according to Mallozzi, this was ADR’d in when one of the crew felt it was odd that no one expressed concern for Carson.) Teldy replies that there’s no way to know. For a moment, we see Carson on the run; then we cut back to the house. Teldy, having seen the one in the well, hazards a guess that the catacombs run to the well. Dusty adds that this would explain how Michael would grab test subjects without being seen. (Ahhhh, so it wasn’t ever the monsters snatching people up; it was Michael!) John moved the topic on to more current — and more important — matters, pointing out that there were twelve pods to start with, and he killed one of the monsters. Dusty chimes in that she killed two, which puts her “in the lead”, bringing the count down to nine. (And suddenly I’m reminded of Gimli and Legolas.) Sheppard asks if they have any ideas. (Aww, his chagrined expression here is just adorable! Glad to see he isn’t too proud to ask the women for help.)

Porter comes up with a plan to take advantage of the monsters’ auditory proficiency, intending to lure them into a trap using her datapad. A little later, we see John going over the plan with the women. Apparently he’s going to use an ultrasonic burst from the computer (thanks to Porter programming it) to lure the monsters to the well, where he’ll have a C-4 charge planted; Porter warns that he’ll have to use a timer for the charges, as the fog may mess with a remote detonator, not to mention the datapad. (Convenient plot-wise, yeah, but it works in a good way, adding an extra element of danger.) John says he’ll put the computer “halfway down” (the well, I assume) to keep it out of the reach of the fog, and goes on to tell them to open fire, from their higher vantage points, on anything that moves once they hear the signal — which would be the well blowing up, hopefully with John as far away as possible. (Yeah, I’m having misgivings about this plan already — and I’m not alone…) The gals start to question what to do if things go bad, and in typical Sheppard fashion, he tells them to stop being negative and denies the very possibility, telling them to stick with the plan. (Obviously, as far as he’s concerned, it doesn’t matter whether he makes it out alive or not, so long as they get all the monsters.)

The girls take up high positions, and John goes to the well. He winces as he turns the squeaky crank to raise the bucket. He stabs a light stick’s pointed end into the well, so he can work with both hands. (Pointed! Coupled with the blue light they give off, is anyone else thinking they would make wicked vampire stakes, if one pretended that the light was ultraviolet?) He puts the computer in the bucket. (Ah, so that’s how he’s going to pull off the “halfway” thing.) Lowering the bucket a ways first (with the crank still squeaking), he turns away to set the timer on a charges, when one of the monsters crashes into him. We see the charge going flying out of his hand, the timer activated, while the monster continues its attack on John. John manages to get free and opens fire on it — and now Carson’s there! Above, the girls can’t see anything and wonder what’s going on; Porter is fidgety, but Teldy tells her “Not yet.” Below, Carson asks John if he’s okay, then asks after Alison (aww). Feeling around the ground, John distractedly tells Carson that Alison is safe, to which the Scot sounds quite relieved. Then Carson asks if John has lost something; John replies his C-4 (not mentioning the timer, but then John might not know it’d been activated). We see the timer has a minute and a half left, but John and Carson don’t spot it. Carson figures they should go; as more monsters approach, clicking; John agrees. Both men raise their weapons, looking to be at a loss as to what to do as they back towards the well. Teldy and Porter fidget, waiting — Porter spots some of the monsters, but Teldy insists she must wait for the signal, lest she hit the colonel. Dusty blows a bubble, looking to be concentrating intently. The C-4 blows, and the girls open fire. (I know our guys don’t get killed, but I’m freaked by the idea of them being fired upon anyway — to me, that’s way scarier than the monsters!) When it seems all movement is done, the girls stop; Porter calls out to Sheppard, but gets no reply.

They head down among the bodies, trying to determine if they got them all. Dusty counts them off, and announces that the nine there added to the three prior kills makes twelve, when one suddenly pops up behind them. (Predictable, but I would have been disappointed if it didn’t happen.) They make short work of it, Dusty apologising, saying that is nine, plus three makes twelve. (Somehow, I don’t think that’s all of them — it’s too early ….) John radios them — he and Carson are in the well, and want the girls to come down. (To check to make sure they got everything, I guess?)

They walk through the catacombs, back towards the lab. As they go, Alison remarks on how she can’t wait to get back to Atlantis, and how tired she is. Carson commiserates, then notes something is wrong and asks if she’s all right. (Again, at this point I think they can be “turned” and assume she is becoming a monster, and again I’m wrong.) She assures him that she is fine, she just doesn’t want go back to the lab, having had “enough mad science for one day”. Carson takes her backpack and assures her they won’t be long; Dusty volunteers to stay with her. As the others go on, Dusty gives Porter a wry look, while Porter looks less than pleased. (They remind me of John and Rodney a little there.)

In the lab, Carson downloads more from the computer, while Sheppard and Teldy look around. Back in the hall, Porter hears something; Dusty tries to brush the other woman’s concern off, pointing out that there were just twelve pods and twelve kills. (I realise then that there must be more pods ….) John discovers a door and follows it, with Teldy — to another room with more empty pods! (See?) Meanwhile, Dusty and Porter look for the source of the noise, Dusty finally saying it’s nothing. Porter lets her guard down — and of course that’s when one of the monsters surprises them, hanging upside-down from the ceiling. They fire on it; Sheppard and Teldy, hearing the shots, hurry out after the sound, Carson close behind them. When they get back to the hall, Sheppard tries to hail Porter and Mehra, to no avail. Fog pours into the hall. John tells Carson and Teldy that, should they be overtaken, he wants them to hightail it back to the gate; “Now who’s being negative,” Teldy points out wryly. Monsters pour down the hall, and the human trio opens fire. As they survey the carnage after, Dusty calls out “All clear?” John, considerably quieter, assures her it is; she and Porter come from around the corner, down at the opposite end of the hall. (Hey, only one “red shirt” bit it! And if we’d gotten a sixth season, we would have seen more of Teldy, Porter, and Dusty, Mallozzi suggests. He also says there’s a good possibility we’ll see them in the Atlantis movie, at least. But my gods, there are so many people I want to see in it, no one will have much screentime!)

Back in Atlantis, we repeat the scene from earlier, Carson packing and Rodney lamenting his departure after just two weeks of studying the findings in Michael’s lab — now Carson has passed the work on to a Dr Lynch and wants to move on to saving lives. Sheppard comes in, and Carson fears that he’s got another mission that requires his expertise. Nope, John just wants to see if he needs any help. He also asks how Porter is, much to Rodney’s confusion. (Granted, the woman should be on Rodney’s roster, being a scientist, but we all know how he is with names. *Snicker*) Carson says she’ll be fine and back in Pegasus after some R&R, and suggests she would be a help to him; Sheppard agrees. Rodney is still confused, his question about who she is still being ignored. As the other two men walk out, Rodney stays, calling out that he doesn’t care anyway. After a few moments, he quickly changes his tune, begging them to tell him as he hurries after, only to have the door to Carson’s room close in his face. (Awwww, poor Rodney! *Snicker* Come on, John, don’t take his presence for granted! … So I guess Woolsey’s door curse is spreading ….)

Yeah, I don’t really have anything more to say on this one, other than that I like it better now, even if it’s not scary to me like I expected ….

Okay, as promised earlier, you can find my mostly-’Gate-related photos and vids from Dragon*Con here. I had a wonderful time, and the My Little Pony panel I mentioned in previous installments that I was hosting was a huge success! Also he charity auctions we held in honour of Don S Davis raised over $11,000 for The American Heart Association — more than all the other fandom tracks combined!

In other news, the fight to save SGA, no matter how hopeless it may seem, continues — even a tiny, .0001% spark of hope makes it worth the effort, as far as I’m concerned. You can’t complain about the show being gone if you don’t try to save it! All it takes is a “single grain of rice”, folks — don’t hold back because you think it’s a lost cause. If you love the show, a little effort won’t hurt you, but no effort will surely kill the show. If everyone who felt it was a lost cause fought anyway, I think we’d be surprised at the end result! Even if only 50% of the viewership gave the executives an earful, 50% of their numbers isn’t something they could ignore. So let yourself be heard! Check out www.sosga.net, save-thelostcity.com, and this thread at gateworld.net for ways you can help

Even if we fail, we’ll be a step closer to putting the power of choice into the hands of non-Nielsen viewers and reminding the execs that what they want is, ultimately, OUR money — which they won’t get if we don’t watch their sponsors! For me, personally? “Stargate Voyager 90210″ may very well end up being a great show, but what will that matter if it, too, ends prematurely? I have no intention of letting them break my heart again, especially since they are building this new show on the efforts we, the fans, made to support Atlantis. If Wright and MGM and Skiffy are done with Atlantis, then I’m done with them — I’ll buy the movies to support the actors, Mallozzi, and crew, yes, but I would have bought those anyway, even if it ended ten years from now. I probably won’t be buying any other MGM films, save for those with a member of the SGA crew involved. And I’ll be making sure that show’s sponsors know who butters their bread, let me tell you …

Okay, enough ranting. See you all next week, for “The Queen” — another ep I have been quite looking forward to! Yay for Todd!

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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.

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