The Seed

DVD, Stargate Atlantis S5 (The Seed)

It features a nice ending where there's a little joking (Ronon's lost his voice, will anyone notice the difference!), and a little recognition from Wolsey, the new head of Atlantis about how difficult it is to stick to the rule book when you're faced with bizarre situations like this one, and that was probably the highlight of the episode, a humbling, real moment for the new commander. But you have to acknowledge this is an episode that has been done repeatedly. I think the earliest example (at least in this franchise, there are plenty of equivalent stories in Trek, such as 'Nothing Human' on 'Voyager' or 'Vox Sola' on 'Enterprise'), was 'Bane,' a Season 2 episode of 'SG-1' where Teal'c gets taken over by some alien organism. They even reference another, more recent example in Sheppard being taken over by a bug, and I'm sure there was at least one story where the SGC got locked down by alien webbing, though I don't recall the name. So it's same old, same old as far as 'Stargate' is concerned: a sci-fi trope that's been done and done and there really isn't anything new brought to the table this time.

You could say it's a chance for this new mix of characters to integrate, or go through an experience together, which will hopefully make it a little easier for them to accept Wolsey as their superior, because there did seem to be some animosity or coldness towards him, as is understandable given that he's never been terribly helpful to our people in the past, and also that he's replaced a much-loved commander. I see the need for that integration, and with the scene at the end it suggests Wolsey has learned something, and he isn't an idiot in the episode, he does err on the side of trusting his people, despite some level of frostiness or aggression from them. So often in the episode he's confronted with the option of doing what he thinks is best, following procedures, and allows himself to be swayed, so there's hope for a good working relationship here. It would seem their idea of isolation is a strange one, as once Keller's problem has become apparent and the others who were in Michael's base are known to be infected, they still seem to meet and talk to each other, or leave quarantine entirely! You'd also expect there would be some kind of process if a member of the team doesn't show up for shift, as Keller didn't, or that they might draft in medical assistance from Earth - what is the situation, by the way? I guess we've lost the Midway station so we can't 'gate back and forth any more, because I did find it strange Wolsey arrived via Daedalus, so that must be the answer.

It's wonderful that the finding of Michael's database in the previous episode meant they could cure, to some degree, the suspended animation Dr. Beckett. I hoped he'd be back, but I'm surprised they brought him into it so quickly, even if he is shuttled off back to Earth at episode's end. He's happy to plunge right in and try to help Keller, which is exactly when you'd expect a team to be sent from home. Anyway, it's handy that he was there and it's good to see him wading into a medical situation again like he's never been away. And what a situation - I felt it was extremely unfeeling to leave poor Jennifer alone in that room when they shut down the power. There was a horror element to the story, with this tentacled entity, which they suggest is the birth of a Hive ship, taking over Keller, then the isolation room, and beyond, but it wasn't that horrible except for when she's left to herself in this room covered in tendrils. It's bad enough that someone would have to go there, but to be the person it was happening to must surely have been terrifying and very lonely so I felt they should never have left her alone for a moment. The closest we come to physical horror is when Zelenka is attacked, or when Ronon is strangled, but in both those occasions they had gone seeking trouble so it still wasn't that horrific.

There also seemed to be a disconnect in what they could do to it, as initially Beckett can't even take off one tiny tendril without putting Keller into arrest, but then later Teyla's boldly spraying bullets to rescue Zelenka and it has no negative effect on Keller. It could be said that by that time she was so far gone that the entity had merged with her so unless the whole thing was dealt with she wasn't going to be harmed any more, but there needed to be some explanation for that, I felt. As usual, Ronon is the brave volunteer who wants to go in and take the vital injection to her, but it's Sheppard who ends up succeeding, and then it's all over, simple as that. Ultimately it's a fairly inconsequential bottle episode. As I noted, it serves to show Wolsey what it's going to be like trying to walk the line between following the rules and appreciating the experience and skills of those under him, and puts a shared experience behind them all, and I hope it does lead to more understanding, though of course there's going to be much conflict as it is (just as there was between certain characters when Carter came in and took charge). It'll be interesting how they deal with Beckett, whether he returns to play a significant part in the season and what the overarching story will be, and how Wolsey will integrate, if he will, but for now this was a relatively generic example of the series.

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