Instinct

DVD, Stargate Atlantis S2 (Instinct)

I was so hoping for a happy ending, but there wasn't really anywhere to go except tragedy. If the young Wraith girl, Ellia, could have been accepted by the villagers, then that would work, but there was no way they would ever allow her to exist, and you can understand why. What begins as a patchwork of cliches and a chance to show off the Medieval village set they're so very proud of, turns into a picturesque forest runaround, but then takes a more interesting route to the finale than a mere Wraith hunt. Zaddik, a man who'd been part of the village where our intrepid travellers arrive, is discovered by them deep in the woods harbouring this Wraith girl in the belief he's cured her of the hunger for human flesh that we learn strikes at puberty: while young they can ingest normal food, but this only works up to a point and then it's game over. There's a spirit of hopefulness through the episode thanks to Zaddik's compassionate attitude and then Dr. Beckett's formula for a retrovirus that will strip away the nonhuman parts of a Wraith, leaving something much more manageable and without the hunger. Could this idea be the way to ultimately beat their foe and turn them to our side? If it is, then there's a long way to go before it's going to work, for as we see here, the version he has so far developed does the complete opposite, changing Ellia into more of a Wraith than she ever was before, so thumbs down to the doc's work on this occasion!

You'd think they'd learn from their mistakes in meddling, just as McKay was forced to in the previous episode, but it wasn't entirely Beckett's fault - he was overheard by Ellia telling Zaddik about the drug and she took it into her foolish mind to administer it to herself when it wasn't even ready. She had a strong motive, for we learn that contrary to her adopted Father's belief, his solution didn't work and failed to take away the craving she had, leading her to steal out in secret and feed on the villagers, all the while keeping up the pretence that she had been positively affected by her Father's work. She cared for him greatly and it was for his sake that she acted as she did since she knew he'd offer more of his 'life energy,' or whatever, to stem the hunger, which is exactly what he had done to keep her alive when she could no longer be satisfied by other food. The big twist is that Zaddik is the son of one of the main guys in town, but because of allowing her to feed on him, now looks older than his own Father. It wasn't a bad concept, but was not without holes - for example, why didn't Rodney contact Beckett by radio, instead choosing to run back in and get he and Zaddik to come and see the villagers on the warpath? Because the story needed Ellia to take Beckett's drug. Why were the villagers so curiously passive when you'd think they'd be angry and vengeful? They just meekly stand by and let Sheppard handle everything!

The story is essentially 'Frankenstein,' with a few 'Atlantis' differences, but it boils down to the same thing: Zaddik was apparently wrong to try and change the nature of the feared Wraith, it backfired, and he ends up dead. The happy ending is there if you look for it, as both Wraith are dead so there won't be any more feeding and the people can go back to their lives without worry hanging over them. Small comfort to the main guy who both found and lost a son in short order and I can't help but feel more could have been done with that side of the story - there was surely much more to wring out of that human story. Beckett can take away from it that he should never leave his cases unlocked even for a moment. And Ronon learns that it's okay to disobey what Sheppard says if the situation calls for it, which doesn't seem like the best thing to teach him. I'm quite surprised he was happy to hang around Teyla considering he was all ready to blast those nasty Wraith, so I suppose he has some unselfish instincts. Although a fairly enjoyable jaunt it doesn't quite wrap up everything properly and ends on a sad note of pessimism which lets it down.

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