FAN REVIEWS: 'The Seer'

[GateWorld]

ATLANTIS SEASON FOUR THE SEER EPISODE NUMBER - 408 While searching for the Athosians, the team meets a man with extraordinary prophetic abilities, who gives them a dark prediction about Atlantis's future. VISIT THE EPISODE GUIDE > SPOILERS! PHOTOS! AND MORE!

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[gater101]

So… Seer…

I liked it. It’s definitely up there with the good episodes of the Atlantis. I think the title and the role of Davos was slightly over-hyped because the episode wasn’t really about him; it was more of a Carter/Team episode.

And in that, it’s strange that I like it. We all know I’m not a Carter fan but this Carter… well, she’s different from the Carter I don’t like. She’s coming into her self and she’s stopped trying to be witty – I don’t think she could ever really pull it off. I find it strange, though, that she didn’t want ‘in’ on the virus thing; she and Rodney are equals, are they not? But then, at the same time, I like that she’s giving him that space.

Speaking of Rodney… I love him to bits, though how odd does David Hewlett look in leather? Lol! I love how he is so confident but when there is a Wraith… lol. I also liked the line near the start “Let me make a prediction…” Classic Rodney.

Ronon… well, there wasn’t much of him in it. I think he knows about Teyla’s conditions. When they come through the gate on Davos’ planet, he’s on the total opposite side of her then moves over to stand next to her – like he’s protecting her from something.

Sheppard was hot, as always. I love that they brought his pal back : ) made me happy. I liked CG Wraith’s ‘joke’ about shaking hands, lol – certainly got a giggle out of me. I like how Sheppard was giving Carter advice, trying to make her see things not just from his point of view but of the other points of view that mattered. Kudos to him for that.

Teyla… well, she knows she’s pregnant but wouldn’t Keller be obligated to tell Carter? It is a medical condition that it detrimental to her health (and that of another). If it was asthma or the like, you know? Teyla’s “It’s complicated” line…how is it complicated? The shippers know why, lol, because John might not be a happy camper…

I even liked Woolsey… he’s a bit of comic relief, until he starts taking command.

All in all, it was a good episode. Not too much concentration on one character which made it a nice, well rounded event that I had no qualms in watching. Good ol’ Stargate, back in action.

[blue-skyz]

4x08 The Seer

The Seer is an edge-of-your-seat episode, chock full of interesting elements. Set primarily in Atlantis, there are many character interchanges and good dialogue. Emotions run high when they learn the Wraith /Replicator war is having some unexpected consequences. Tension abounds as the city is threatened by Wraith hive ships and the future is foretold to contain the destruction of Atlantis. This is sci-fi at it’s best with sci-fi elements aplenty: enemy spaceships, cloaked jumpers, the chair and drones, a subspace transmitter, the city shield and cloak, the Wraith, Replicator code and viruses to change it, and precognition, complete with a reasonable explanation of why it was possible.

Trust issues drive much of the episode. The Seer is a man that glimpses the future and can cause others to see his visions. Can he be trusted? Can his visions? The CG Wraith asks to talk to Sheppard, but neither trusts the other and everyone comes armed. The Wraith calls a hive ship to Atlantis. Can they trust him when he tells them that it means no harm? When a second hive ship comes can they trust that he has no knowledge of it? The Wraith holds back a small piece of the virus and loses their trust. Carter trusts Sheppard to make decisions regarding the Wraith. Woolsey loses trust in Carter’s ability to command and tries to take over. Everyone trusts McKay to save the day, as usual.

Carter gains added dimension here. The tendency is to point to Carter and say she is a well known character; there are ten years of character development to prove it. But that is SG1. The writers here have an interesting balancing act where Carter is concerned. She needs to become real to Atlantis viewers, who may have no history with her, yet not be over developed for those who do. Carter has to stand on her own as an Atlantis character and The Seer adds to her definition. In the Seer Carter takes command and defines the character of her command. She brainstorms with her key people; she listens to their requests, ideas and recommendations. She makes the decisions. She tells Woolsey to ‘shut up.’ And the most interesting of all, she lets her guard down with Sheppard. As the season moves toward darker times, Carter is proving herself adequate to the job of leading Atlantis through it.

For all those who are tired of or just dislike Sheppard and McKay, and I am not among them, they can now enjoy or gripe about Sheppard and Carter. To me, their connection, command not romance, could turn out to be almost as interesting as Sheppard and McKay. It was here. Their relationship gets more development than either Sheppard or Carter individually and I continue to be impressed with their rapport. Carter trusts Sheppard enough to discuss her uncertainties with him. She respects him and relies on him. When she says, “Now I know why you didn’t want the job,” she acknowledges that he is essentially her equal. They support each other. They make eye contact. Best of all, they share smirks at Woolsey’s expense. When Woolsey questions Carter’s decision, asking Sheppard, “Do you really think it’s a good idea?” Sheppard’s very pointedly replies, “I think it’s not your call.” Then Sheppard and Carter make eye contact and she gives him a smile and a slight nod. They are in this together. When Carter bullies Woolsey into going to meet the Wraith, she gives Sheppard a conspiratorial smile and he smiles knowingly back. Woolsey shouldn’t mess with these two, they’ll tag team him. The ending works perfectly as they walk off down the hall discussing the future.

The Seer continues the season 4 portrayal of Sheppard as serious, smart and in command. My biggest complaint with SGA in the past has been the minimalistic approach to showing Sheppard in command and the all too prevalent tendency to make him somewhat juvenile (with McKay). Here Sheppard really steps out of that shadow. He is shown definitively as second-in-command sharing the decision making with Carter and knowledgeable about all things, Pegasus. He really is one of the leaders of Atlantis, now.

Best scenes:

* The tense moments as they wait to see what the hive ships will do.

* Sheppard and McKay talking seriously, each taking the responsibility for the Replicator’s annihilation of human planets. No banter here. This is a heartfelt interchange between friends. This is what we’ve been waiting to see from them.

* Sheppard talking to the Wraith. He seems a bit too hard-nosed toward him given their past. He shouldn’t be his friend, but… This is likely to be the beginning of an evolution into a more solid relationship, not friendship; maybe understanding and trust? It is interesting that it is the Wraith that says that he and Sheppard need each other. In CG it was Sheppard’s arguing point. Good dialogue:
Wraith: We worked together once before. Sheppard: Doesn’t mean I want to do it again.
Wraith says the virus is not working. Sheppard: Get to the part where we care.
Wraith: So, all it took was the destruction of my ship for you to finally trust me. Sheppard: No, not true. I still don’t trust you.

Good:
* The visual of the team walking through the stargate together is a keeper.
* Eerie welcome when the people you don’t know, know you by name and are waiting for you.
* A Wraith wants to meet with Sheppard. Maybe not who you want dropping your name.
* Sheppard pushing McKay to take Davos’ hand by calling him the skeptic and, essentially, ordering him to.
* Visions of the future that come true. Always interesting and often goose bump worthy.
* Sheppard’s smirk and shrug after the jumper’s appear. Jumpers appearing out of thin air; always cool.
* Wraith joke. Misplaced since the Wraith was trying to convince them to trust him. Very diplomatic.
* Wraith laughter. He laughed several times in CG too. Do the others laugh? Guess they do if there is ‘Wraith humor.’ Got to wonder what they sit around and talk about.
* Carter and the Wraith actually discuss what will happen when their mutual goal is attained and they are enemies again.
* Woolsey. Always entertaining. Great foil here.
* Evaluations. What is Woolsey’s job description?
* Cool visual of the tower collapsing.
* “The future is predetermined by the character of those that shape it.” Very cryptic.
* “The galaxy is at a cross roads. Never before have I sensed that the future of so many worlds can turn on the actions of so few.” Love the idea of them saving the galaxy, but hope the writers don’t go overboard with far out technology. Good, old fashioned human cleverness should play the biggest part.

Not so Good:
* Carter tells the Wraith that they can upload the virus into the Replicators again a little to quickly and confidently. Won’t that require going back to Replicator World?
* McKay says he’s good one too many times. I love him, love his arrogance, but, even toned down, still more than needed.

Questions:
* Still want to know how the Wraith know that McKay changed the Replicator code.
* Will the debris from the two hive ships attract some attention or cause any other problems.
* Will the Wraith ever find an alternate food source?

The Seer is the beginning of an arc that looks like it could be the most exciting ever with lots of questions left open for the viewer to ponder. Can the future be changed? Will Atlantis be destroyed, or is the vision that predicts it ambiguous, explainable in a different way, or set farther off into the future. Will the CG Wraith be trustworthy? Will he and Sheppard reach an understanding? Will the Athosians be found? What will happen with Teyla’s pregnancy? How mad will Sheppard be that she’s hidden it? Wait a minute. This is beginning to sound like a soap opera.

Great ride. Very repeatable.

[bluealien]

The Seer was a good solid episode and leaves us with more questions than answers. This is the type of episode that keeps fans watching and tuning in next week. It had great use of all the characters and brought in many aspects from previous episodes, highlighting that there are consequences to their actions. Nice to see them finally accept responsibility and admit that their actions indirectly led to the danger that the Pegasus Galaxy is now experiencing, and I liked Sheppards dilemma about whether he should trust his buddy the Wraith. I was a tad surprised that Sheppard was willing to betray him again so easily but at least we saw his stance waver at times, and he was clearly struggling as to whether he should trust him at all. Given their past experience I thought that Shep had come to the conclusion that not all Wraith are the same, and that alliances sometimes have to be made to survive, and at times with the most unlikely candidates. There was a lot at stake here though and in the end I thought Sheppard did a good job portraying how torn he was as to whether he should trust the Wraith at all. I liked the fact that Todd didn't fully trust Shep either and held back some of the code. It shows intelligence and self preservation and once again highlights that both the Wraith and Shep are not going to be fooled easily.

The interaction between Sheppard and Carter was one of the strongest threads throughout the episode. They truly worked as a team and stood on an equal level of understanding. They used their combined experience and knowledge to come to their decisions. There were no easy choices here, nothing was black and white, everything was clouded and grey and it took a combination of knowledge of their enemy, military expertise and gut instinct to save the day. Carter seems to bring back the true military commander in Sheppard that has been lacking for sometime now. Sheppard was reduced too many times to fluffy converstations with Weir, where both of them were rarely on the same page when it came to the protection of Atlantis or the defense of the Pegasus Galaxy, and too much jeuvenile banter with McKay which at times portrayed both character a tad annoying.

I hope this new direction and leadership has changed all of that and Carter seems to be playing a huge part in bringing out the best aspects of both Sheppard and McKay. I look forward to more of this strong and commanding Sheppard, and to the new co leadership that brings about a more professional and believable scenario in the Atlantis hierarchy.

The "Seer" did an excellent job of showing his ability to see into the future in a sound and believable way and it was interesting that it was Rodney who was the first to be shown a vision. Because of his obvious sceptism he was singled out to be the first to experience these visions. I think Rodney's vision did not only prove that the Seer did indeed have a gift, but that the visions don't always play out the way they are first interpreted. This could also be said for Teyla's vision. Both of their visions had different outcomes and therefore support the theory that things can be changed and there can be different outcomes to what is seen. This has to be taken into consideration with Carters vision. There could be many unknowns or variables that could completely change the outcome of her vision.. ie that Atlantis is not actually distroyed.

The writers found a nice balance with all the characters in this episode and brought up many issues of trust and unanswered questions that will sow the seed for what is ahead for the team and Atlantis. All the characters were at their best. Rodney was quieter and he was actually crushed that his reactivation of the nanites had led to these worlds being distroyed. We saw the hint of ego and arrogance from him but the strong compassionate and wonderful side of Rodney stood out much stronger. John and Rodney's converstation about who was to blame, was heartfelt. No meaningless banter but a true understanding of what the other was feeling and their friendship really shone here.


We are left with Teyla being made aware that her people are alive and that she is pregnant, but as yet don't understand why she is reluctant to share her news. She is probably aware that it will change her status on the team and with her team mates, but her continued silence will only serve to hightlight these issues, particulary with Sheppard. He has always put his complete trust in Teyla, so how will he react to the fact that she has been hiding things from him and basically not trusting him.

So the Seer has definitley hightlighted a few trust issues and it will be interesting to see how they are handled in the future. How far will Sheppard trust his Wraith. How will he be able to keep him around, which in turn raises the obvious question as to how they are going to feed him. How will Sheppard deal with Teyla's pregnancy?. Is the fate of the galaxy resting on the shoulders of Sheppard and his team and does a certain Wraith play a part in the fate of the Pegasus Galaxy?.

I for one am looking forward to tuning in for the remainder of the season to find out...

[Rachel500]

With so much embedded into the plot of The Seer, it would have been easy for the episode to lose its way, yet The Seer manages to deliver each nuance, preparing the way for character and season arcs without losing anything of its own storyline along the way. The characterisation is great throughout with the cast, both regular and guest, delivering good performances while the production quality remains high.

The special effects continue to deliver with the battle of the hive ships in orbit around Atlantis and subsequent explosion especially fantastic; the premonition of Atlantis being destroyed was equally impressive and chilling. My only complaint is the Stargate on the planet seemed very small when the Atlantis team stepped out. The production throughout though was excellent with the use of lighting to denote the various moods brilliant. It is a sign of true quality when everything – special effects, stunts, wardrobe and make-up – fits as seamlessly into the episode as it did here, complementing the storyline.

The storyline itself while simple is surprisingly strong; the members of the Atlantean expedition have to face the consequences of their actions. It focuses primarily on Carter, Sheppard and McKay in the main plot with Carter having to face the consequences both real and potential of being the boss. This is very much Carter’s version of SG1’s Zero Hour as the stark realisation of what it means to be the one in command suddenly hits in a big way. The interaction between Carter and Woolsey is great for playing out how difficult it is to make the right decision and how sometimes it is not clear what the right decision is. The scene where she tells him to shut up and further doesn’t let him take over her command is very powerful not only because of the drama of the scene itself, the great tension and the way Tapping and Picardo play the scene (and those that come before) but because by its very nature, this is the scene where Carter really takes command of Atlantis. There is a sense – played in the prior scenes as she questions herself and tries to find the right path – that until that moment, she had been doing the right things, making small decisions here and there, nominally being in command without necessarily feeling like she is. But here, finally, she has to step up in a big way and grasp her command fully, and she does it with style and panache. Great acting by Tapping who played the whole episode to perfection; the doubts and uncertainty, the slight hint of O’Neill snark in pulling Woolsey in to see the Wraith, and ultimately, Carter leading and commanding – all was well done.

Vital to this whole piece was Sheppard who provided the counter-voice to Woolsey in Carter’s debate. The dynamic between Sheppard and Carter is turning into an interesting one; military colleagues who understand each others’ positions, who are supportive and working in partnership but it is clearly and definitely a professional friendship. It’s great to see such a dynamic being played out. Perhaps it was attempted in SG1’s latter seasons with Carter and Mitchell but I feel it has actually been realised here on Atlantis. Credit has to go to the writers, actors and direction for constructing the scenes so well in that respect.

Yet what was great about The Seer was that Sheppard’s role was most definitely not restricted to being simply Carter’s foil. He also had to deal with the consequences of his choices; of choosing to send the Replicators after the Wraith; of his previous alliances with the Wraith. What came across powerfully was Sheppard’s sense of duty to the wider ideals of the expedition, of his taking responsibility for his actions at every turn – both in his conversations with the Wraith, Carter and McKay. Here is the serious soldier at the core of the man and it is one that is much appreciated as here is a character with depth and gravitas who is interesting and inviting.

All the characterisations in The Seer were very well drawn. McKay’s arrogance intact when he notes he wouldn’t have spotted the missing code if he wasn’t as good as he is, yet subdued when he realises the consequences of his decision to suggest turning the Replicators’ attack code back on. Of all the main characters, only Ronon is left unexplored while Teyla’s story – a continuation of the previous episode – formed the sub-plot. Here, Teyla is portrayed to be much more vulnerable; who is desperate to find her people and who is given the small comfort that her people are alive while the audience is provided with the revelation of her pregnancy.

The guest cast also do a fantastic job; Picardo is great at Woolsey as ever while Christopher Heyerdahl portrays the Wraith that worked with Sheppard very well, imbuing him with a sense of humour and individuality. It was also great to see veteran British actor Martin Jarvis as Davos; his part is relatively small given the title of the episode but in the overall scheme of the season arc, it is clear that the future of the Pegasus Galaxy, and the Atlantis expedition, may very well be down to the interaction that the Atlantis team have with the character.

Overall the episode is a success; a tight main plot which is driven by the characters – by their previous choices and the feeling very much is that the choices here will be pivotal to the rest of the season. Alan McCullough deserves praise for what is a good script that provided good structure on which the rest of the episode could build. I hope the promise of The Seer is fulfilled as we go forward, and if the rest of the season matches this quality then I am definitely looking forward to seeing more.