Letters From Pegasus

DVD, Stargate Atlantis S1 (Letters From Pegasus)

Sheppard and Teyla go out to recon the approach of The Wraith Hive ships, while back at base, everyone records a personal message to send back to Earth. It's not a synopsis that bowls you over with its audacity, and the dreaded 'Excerpts by…' credits coming up at the beginning don't do anything to suggest this is going to be one of the best of the season. But it raises enough questions and rounds out the season in such a way that if the series had only survived for the one, it would have been satisfyingly conclusive. We look back at the adventures and experiences of everyone aboard, with recurring characters and minor ones, too, including grumbly Kavanagh, Zelenka, Bates and Beckett. It's a familiar device for a series set far from home: 'Stargate Universe' went on to do the same thing, I think, and certainly 'Voyager,' lost in the Delta Quadrant, was only too pleased to be able to send letters back to Earth. But it's a good device, it pries open the usually stoic members and shows people in a different light. There's a bit of humour, a bit of portent, and some emotive moments when Weir takes the opportunity to provide closure to the families of those who've died. But the best moment of this rich seam are the final goodbyes at the end, edited together so we go from one to the other in a powerful sequence that, if I didn't know the series was going to last another four seasons, would certainly give me pause for thought - it still does, since I don't know who will live and who might die in the coming attack.

McKay, in true form, holds court for the space of an entire hour's tape, while Kavanagh points out all Weir's leadership mistakes for O'Neill's benefit (and he does have a point with some of her decisions…). Zelenka talks in his native tongue and Sanders says goodbye to his younger brother without saying goodbye. It's such an effective way to show how the series has come along, and as it turned out, despite it being an obvious money-saver, the clips used were brief and exciting, far from the clips shows of old that played whole scenes and expected us to be satisfied! Poor old Joseph May gets the boot for certain - if you weren't sure that his character, Markham, was the one to die defending the city in previous episode 'The Brotherhood,' then it's spelled out irrevocably here, as Weir starts off her obituaries with his and we see a clip of the guy in action. A shame, because had he lived he might have become one of the recurring characters like the others, and even have been one to record a message. Even Sheppard, once returned from his mission, is afforded the chance to eulogise Colonel Sumner, who may have been killed in the pilot, but has never been forgotten.

It's the character that is the key to making this a good episode, and while Atlantis is the place for heartfelt messages home, there's just as much going on between Teyla and Sheppard on their mission when they take a Jumper to investigate the coming Wraith. The planet they visit is home to an old friend of Teyla's and his family whom she, understandably wants to take with them, while Sheppard is equally understandably reticent to do anything outside of the mission objectives, especially when he's been ordered not to take on Wraith forces. This causes some consternation between the pair. He tries to explain military ways and it's about survival and they don't always have the time or luxury to do what they would wish - why save a family when so much devastation is going on all around? It's a harsh, militaristic way of thinking, and in keeping with the series, yet Teyla is also right and the fact that they have time to save a few people, including her friend Orin, means that at least some small good came of it. To those people that survived it's made a vast difference that can't be discounted, yet is still hard to bear when so many have been harvested. To make matters worse there's some Wraith weapon no one's ever seen before sending a shaft of light down onto the village. The idea of The Wraith dialling a 'gate to prevent escape for a planet they're attacking makes good sense and provides a dramatic reason for Sheppard to wait instead of flying right in and scooting off home, and I like the fact that the episode isn't as pacy as usual - we have time to sit around hearing the devastation of a Wraith attack.

It's a cathartic episode that provides rays of hope, whether that's the snatching of a few lives from the clutches of The Wraith, a little degree of understanding between Teyla and Sheppard, or the others in the city coming to terms with this being perhaps the last time they'll be able to send a message home. While at the beginning I felt it was a waste of resources to try and send reports and messages through the 'gate which could overload the naquadah generator and would give Atlantis no advantage to its defences, as a potential final act it showed their courage and dedication to duty that they would take the time and effort to inform their superiors and families of what's happened. Even if they were to be wiped out, the things they've seen, discovered and experienced on Atlantis and the surrounding worlds could be of use and mark a legacy, no matter how small, that says they didn't do all this for nothing, and those that haven't survived did not die for no reason, and for that it's a beautiful ending. I could have wished Amanda Tapping's Carter and Gary Jones' Walter had more to do than a brief flash in the last seconds, but I like that Carter has now joined Daniel and Jack in appearing on the series. Only Teal'c to make it the full set now…

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