The Queen

DVD, Stargate Atlantis S5 (The Queen)

In the positive category, Teyla gets to be front and centre, integral in a plot to get the Wraith who are in ally Todd's alliance to submit to a procedure that will remove their need to feed on humans. But in the negative, it remains unresolved by the end, almost to the point of the episode itself seeming redundant. I suppose it's more in line with the serialised nature of modern TV shows, but that may also be why it feels less substantial and fulfilling on its own. It's also missing Robert Picardo as you'd think such an important mission would have to be run by him and discussed, and I don't remember any reference to him in the episode. At first it looks like being an excursion type of story with the five main characters, other than Picardo, off on a Jumper and meeting with Todd the 'friendly' Wraith (always good to have Christopher Heyerdahl back), and most of the episode does take place on Hive ships, but they also do go back to Atlantis in order to turn Teyla into an approximation of a Queen, where she'll be able to fool The Primary, the leading Queen of the alliance's Queens, thanks to her Wraith DNA. I wasn't clear if the procedure to make her into a Wraith was supposed to be merely cosmetic or if they were actually playing with her genetics to emphasise the already existing DNA, but it does seem like a big job and it takes her some time to recover, which leads me to wonder if it wouldn't be enough to merely look and sound like a Queen?

There's also the little matter of her being little. That is compared to all the Queens we've ever seen before, they're tall and imposing creatures, but Teyla is a bit on the diminutive side. And they also run into the Trek 'problem' (if it can be called that), of the need to reduce the threatening nature of an adversary in order to achieve some level of rapport with them - much like the Borg in 'Voyager' or the Jem'Hadar in 'DS9,' we have to meet less monstrous, more human-like versions, for want of a better word. Thus the Primary's subordinate, even with his unique look of shaven head and tiny plaited beard, came across as quite weak and wimpy compared to the vast majority of his kind we'd seen, and even 'Kenny,' Todd's subordinate on his Hive ship, and other Wraith with speaking parts, appear too submissive or lacking in the power and venom we expect - even the idea of ending their dependence on culling was straight out of the need to remove the Jem'Hadar's forced addiction to a drug. Except that it may not have been about that at all, and much like a certain other 'DS9' character (Garak, when he accomplishes Sisko's goal, but only by murder, not through the agreed plan), Todd may have been using them in political machinations to get himself to the head of the alliance, interesting in itself, but slightly disappointing when the story was progressing in a certain direction.

What does work about the episode is the tightrope all the characters are walking: Teyla and Todd aboard the other Hive ship are in danger of being discovered, she has to come across as ruthless without being foolhardy, while even the alliance between the pair is shaky as Todd thinks she's deliberately sacrificing Wraith in battle. And earlier in the episode it's the others who don't trust him and when the other ship shoots off they're left in the dark. I liked that they sort of have this Hive ship at their disposal, Kenny keeping them informed and dropping them off at a Stargate so they can zip to the other ship's location quickly, which proves vital in a battle with yet another Hive ship, though a non-alliance intruder. The uncertainty over whether they should let the Wraith play things out or get involved and retrieve Teyla is a difficult one because they don't know if she's in danger or is achieving their goal. So I felt the tension worked well, only it was a little bit let down by plaited-beard-Wraith (why do none of them have names, or at least some kind of designation between each other!), found her out simply by eavesdropping on her chat with the prisoners when Sheppard and the others do eventually come to save her. I also felt this should have been a moment for Teyla to demonstrate her warrior ability in a fight with him, especially as he seemed somehow 'softer' than the average example of his species, but instead of managing to prove her prowess it's down to Todd to come in at the last moment and prevent her throat being cut.

Right from the start when they propose this de-culling route for the Wraith, with the caveat it may make their special abilities of long life, self-healing, and strength be diminished you have to wonder why they would even go for it, because while they would free themselves from one source of food, meaning they'd have an advantage, they'd also be, as Todd mentioned, pariahs with the human-feeders of his kind. I did like the premise, the tension was reasonably well accomplished, but in the end it is let down by not fully exploring the idea of Teyla as a Queen - what if she started to exhibit Wraith tendencies, a need to feed, or the power goes to her head? What if they had to save her from herself? Admittedly it would be unlikely, but there was something missing that needed to take the story to the next level and it's disappointing we aren't seeing the recurring characters so much this season, ignoring Todd of course. I don't feel this final year is shaping up to be as consistent as the last couple, though of course I'm glad they got a fifth season. And even this episode's title didn't come across as very inspired.

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