Identity

 DVD, Stargate Atlantis S5 (Identity)

A happy ending, a good staple sci-fi idea, a semi-sequel to an 'SG-1' story, and lots of running around in the woods... So why is it, like the last few episodes it still feels somehow insubstantial? They chose a different way of portraying the body swap between Keller and this interstellar thief - rather than letting Jewel Staite exercise her acting muscles and play someone completely different pretending to fit in, they had the model play herself, in the same way they used to do it on 'Quantum Leap,' and now that I come to think of it, they even show her real self in reflections, as if in tribute, so that can't be a coincidence, can it? There appeared to be many more influences than the 90s time travel series. My first thought when Zelenka's compassion is met with brutal violence was a similarity to the freak-of-the-week episodes of 'Smallville' - the same domestic (-ish), setting, sudden violence from someone behaving weirdly. On the other hand, they'd already done a mysterious woman comes to Atlantis in the Wolsey episode, 'Remnants.' Then things went a bit 'Rambo' with jungle drums and chases in the forest as three different groups shoot at each other. It was a bit of a mixed episode, all told. I enjoyed the reference to King Arthur's cave from 'SG-1,' and vaguely remembered these communication stones, but only just. I'm not sure the episode knew what it was supposed to be.

For instance, what if Neva, this murderous, despicable thief, had performed a bit better instead of quickly raising suspicions? They kept it going for a while, but that could have been the whole story, notwithstanding that the franchise had done that kind of thing before, and probably on more than one occasion! I'd have liked to see Keller acting out of character, maybe they didn't have faith in the actress' ability? There is the added uncertainty of people living to the end of the series (at least the ones that don't appear in the next spinoff, 'Universe'), so I did wonder if Zelenka would survive his stabbing with what appeared to be a pair of pliers, which must have made a gaping wound. Then Keller, might she be killed off, it certainly was close? Fortunately we're not in the age of main characters being killed off for the 'fun' of it back then, so it had to mean something - talking of which, Dr. Beckett makes another visit, and this time seems just like he's a regular part of the Atlantis team now, not strange that he's coming in. That did rather undermine the dramatic death his character originally had and it is oddly bland to see him just there, even though it's not the first time. I'm still wondering if they'll bring Weir and Ford back before, or at, the end and make the group complete, but they probably didn't have the will or the budget by then.

Having someone strapped to a gurney in an observation room really reminded me of 'SG-1,' I'm sure they did that all the time. And that whole thing with the 'mystery' of who stabbed Zelenka should have been solved because you'd expect them to have CCTV in a lab if they have it in other places. Or don't they? At least they resisted the trope of 'One Day Earlier' coming up, instead the flashback turns up naturally when Neva finally tells the truth and we don't have an overly dramatic and overused opening, other than for poor Zelenka, of course! It's all fine, another episode that's entertaining, has all the cast together, looks nice and ends well. There's a hard edge to things when Sheppard presents a threatening aspect to the Magistrate of the village, and Neva gets her comeuppance from a furious former accomplice, and the moment when an axe is about to fall on Keller's neck, and surprisingly it's the criminals who save her rather than her friends who would have been too late, but: at least the happy ending.

Again, as with too many recent episodes this season, it lacks ambition and the fully exploiting of the characters, which they seemed to be doing in Seasons 3 and 4 and some of this season, a common complaint I've been making. Once again I appreciate the chance to have all the characters working together, but I do feel the series is either treading water a bit, or has reverted to its early years when they weren't quite as assured in their writing. I'd love to know at what point they knew they weren't coming back for a Season 6, because this story ends ambiguously as to the fate of Neva, and maybe she escaped, which sounds like they were leaving threads for potential future stories. There's only two episodes left now and I imagine they'll be linked. I really hope they don't squander the potential, because it's too late to say the season lives up to what went before.

**