Misbegotten

DVD, Stargate Atlantis S3 (Misbegotten)

It was nice to see Stargate Command again in this episode with Weir still on Earth at the beginning of it, but I wonder if we'll continue to see the SGC across the season and series because surely they couldn't have kept those sets standing when the series had ended? I know they went on to make two TV films so maybe they kept them up with that in mind, but if we see the old Stargate again and Walter sitting at the computer then that's all to the good because it means 'Stargate SG-1' isn't dead. Something else that doesn't seem to be dead are the Asgard race. I thought this season was supposed to come after the end of 'SG-1,' as I mentioned in the previous review, but if so, how come Hermiod has no issues and gets a mention, as do the Asgard themselves when it was mentioned about them lending a ship or something? Does it mean the destruction of their planet hasn't happened yet or that there are other Asgard colonies around? I'd just like a little clarification!

Clarification is exactly what Weir's after this episode, too: clarification on her job security. Not from invading Wraith or Atlantis sinking again, but from the IOA as Wolsey carries out an investigation into whether she should be allowed to remain in charge. The episode as a whole held an uneasy tension in both the Weir and humanised Wraith plots. In the former we don't know if she's going to be replaced, and Wolsey even trades words with Colonel Caldwell who we know had designs on being head of Atlantis, but has settled into an easy truce. Was that just a test from Wolsey to see where Caldwell stands so he could give Weir a heads-up, or was it a genuine attempt at power play, if Caldwell will put in a bad word about Weir maybe he can be elevated to command? The way it ended, with Wolsey giving her the okay, willing to put in a good report to his organisation suggests he's on her side, but he's difficult to read, especially as I haven't seen later 'Stargate' episodes more than once, the time he's been most prominent in the franchise, so I can't remember if we trust him or not! I couldn't even get the reference to his previous time being off-world and how he almost died, so I'm far from a dyed-in-the-wool 'Gater!

The other side of the story is the more morally difficult one: on taking the Hive ship home, Sheppard and team have a quandary on their hands with the two hundred Wraith survivors who were humanised by the use of Beckett's gas, and Michael, who had the same treatment against his will. It doesn't look good for them that they couldn't trust Michael, who allied with them to save them and himself, and reward him for his allegiance, but they're extremely touchy about The Wraith finding Atlantis again and also going after Earth. They treat these Wraith as 'casualties of war,' who lose their memory and believe themselves victim to a deadly and infectious virus. Until some of them get some of their memories back, kill one of their own kind who similarly skipped a treatment to get his memory back, because they weren't ready to act yet, and then kill the team left behind, except for Beckett because he's in the main cast– I mean, he had knowledge of the backup security: a bomb that Michael disarms. I wish there had been a little more soul-searching about what they could do with these cut-off Wraith, rather like disconnected Borg drones in Trek - surely they're people too, even if they do want to kill humans, and even their own kind… and, er, eat each other… Okay, so they don't exactly make you warm to them, but that's their nature that needs to be changed, and is it right to just kill 'em all?

It was a tricky situation, but when it comes to Earth being at stake, for them it seems there's no option but a military one. It seems very harsh compared to the Trek way, but this isn't 'Star Trek,' they're contemporary people of our time who have faced many grave threats and they aren't going to be all nice and cosy with potential threats now. But I still wish there had been more than just Dr. Beckett's concerns aired over it because it does all seem a little pat. They could also have made these Wraith seem a lot less sympathetic if we'd seen them doing their dastardly things even to each other. I was most disappointed in Michael, however, because he knows he won't be accepted back by the 'true' Wraith. I'm sure he survived because he's an interesting character and they'll want to bring him in again, so maybe he'll be the leader of an off-shoot group  of Wraith in future? It seemed obvious they were going to lose the Hive ship as it would make them too powerful to have control of something like that, but it was nice to see the Daedalus come rushing in to pick up the pieces and make the rescue anyway.

Not as thrilling as the season opener, but it still balanced tensions well and gave some of the other cast a bit more integration, with Teyla and Beckett both involved. Although Rodney wasn't quite as much in evidence he still spouted several lines that made me snort, and it's enjoyable to go back to these familiar characters and places. I'm not sure where they go with the story from here as they've dealt with Michael, there's no immediate Wraith threat heading for Atlantis, so perhaps they'll get back into episodic adventures, which is what the series traditionally does, following on from 'SG-1.' I'm ready to explore the characters more, and while I'd have loved it if Michael (and the actor that played him, Connor Trinneer), had stuck around longer, maybe even joined the cast, I can see why they wanted to make a clean break and leave things open at the same time. It's also nice to see more of Robert Picardo and I just wish he and Trinneer had shared scenes, even though their Trek characters were from different eras (maybe we'll get that somehow in one of the many current Trek spinoffs?).

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