Instinct (207)

[Traveler Enroute1]

What up with that, Dex? You eat food off the floor! All of a sudden Wraith biscuits aren't good enough for you? Biscuit bigot.


* When he goes off on his own recognizance, people get shot in cold blood and biscuits get stomped.

ROTF!! I had to read your post twice to get it, then I noticed the poster's name!

* What was that look Weir gave Sheppard after he cracked that joke about Wraith puberty? (Pimples, rebellion, life-sucking...ha!) She needs to never, ever make that face at him again. That's the sort of face *I* would make if I rounded a corner and came face-to-face with Joe Flanigan. I'd like to think Weir had a lot more personal dignity than I do. That was a look that said: "Puppy! C'mere and let me rub your belly!" Brrr

So true! VERY playful, for Weir. Joe's naturally flirtatious, I think. Funny post, thanks!

Just sayin'.

[Easter Lily]

Loved the headsmack Shep gave McKay. Classic stuff. Heck, I loved the McKay stuff in general. But there's no surprise there.

That was hilarious... I thought... If it were me, I would have done it 10 episodes ago and with something a lot heavier...

If I had ANY complaint, it would be the sheer, jaw-dropping STUPIDITY of Teyla. Ye gods, woman! Just when I was all proud of Shep for finding the magic words for Dex ("That's an order"), she goes and screws it all to hell by telling Dex, "Oh, you don't ALWAYS have to follow orders, it's up to US to decide when to disobey!" *headdesk* I both hope and dread that her statement will come back to bite them all in the ass. HARD. Stupid, stupid, stupid Teyla.

*slaps forehead* Why in the world did she have to say that? It's just trouble waiting to happen... especially with such a maverick like Ronon...

As well. I've seen worse eps (*cough*Sanctuary*cough*) and Instinct DID have some good to it. Next time these ladies write, though, I hope they add more zing and more unpredictible twists. Keep us on our toes! Don't let us guess the ending.

Anything is better than that awfulness that was *ahem*Skanktuary*ahem*.
But the father being 34 was an interesting "twist".

[ellymelly]

Great episode for the most part. The thing with atlantis is that it's the little bits that count - the character details.

Great Things:

*the team dynamic back
*Rodney as always
*BECKETT

Not quite right:

*Teyla? - a little off?
*zelenka, where'd he go?
*the end? i don't know - didn't sit right

but in all a great ep. well done TBTB as always *bow*

[Infernorhythm]

I liked the episode. While not as Runner or Condemned, it does give an interesting psycological profile of the Wraith, and sets up Sheppard's next run in with death, or Wraithdom.

The one thing I find odd is that (and this is mentioned a lot here) Teyla is teaching Ronan to be insubordinate to Sheppard's orders, and that Sheppard isn't that happy with that. We forget that Sheppard has written the book on insubordination.

[smushybird]

* The headsmack made my day. Because one smack upside the head between buddies is worth a thousand pages of awkward expository dialogue about trust issues. I've missed my Sheppard and McKay buddy scenes! Next thing you know, they'll be progressing to noogies and purple nurples and voila! Their friendship will be back on solid footing.

Yes!
That is why I loved the headsmack, too.

Koschka's fan fic has them doing that kind of stuff to each other and it's funny as hell.

* I'm liking Dex. I do wish I could wave a magic wand and make him e-n-u-n-c-i-a-t-e his freaking lines

And yesyesyes. I am starting to like Dex, too. He's got a great deep voice...all the more reason he needs to quit the muttering and make better use of it.

* What was that look Weir gave Sheppard after he cracked that joke about Wraith puberty? (Pimples, rebellion, life-sucking...ha!) She needs to never, ever make that face at him again. That's the sort of face *I* would make if I rounded a corner and came face-to-face with Joe Flanigan. I'd like to think Weir had a lot more personal dignity than I do. That was a look that said: "Puppy! C'mere and let me rub your belly!" Brrr...

rotf Ohhh yeah...I hadn't thought it out that far, but that's it exactly. My friend and I both flinched at that look and agreed she should never do that again. Brrrrrrrrr.

[macktheknife]

(and why does he have sword all of sudden? Did I miss an episode?).

I thought I was the only one that noticed! Woo.

And in un-releated (to ronon) picture thingo:

[Biscuit]

And in un-releated (to ronon) picture thingo:

Puppy!!!!

Har!

[Sabre]

I liked the face of Ronon when he asked about following orders. From my particular point of view, he doesn't bloody care about orders really, he was just more worried in leaving Teyla alone, rather than in disobbeying, but he used the excuse of the order not to admit it And BTW, he saved shep's life.

Poor little girl? well, sort of. She sucks her father's life, according to my father nowadays boys do that all the time, so I can forgive that. Which is not so correct is the "Oh I'm so sorry" attitude, because after all, she feeds on people, and it's not pure instinct, since she plans that, knowing when the other wraith feeds to have a cover.

Another "interpretation" I did from Beckett's face is that he was quite certain the serum wouldn't work, it was just he being polite, that he wouldn't announce it in that moment until he'd be completely sure. Politely though, did talk the old man about his retrovirus.

Teyla tossing of the girl? martial arts such as judo are about seizing the opponents strenght to your own benefit. Strength is not all.

I find funny the disregard of McKay to other science disciplines that it's not his specialty, hehe, I recall he once called medicine voodoo or something.

Nice ep, much better than SG1

Sabre

[Quinn Mallory]

Spoiler:

She dies? I read in the ep thread it wasn't shown if she died. Did she definitly die?

I thought for sure that was what happened off screen.

[Quinn Mallory]

I find funny the disregard of McKay to other science disciplines that it's not his specialty, hehe, I recall he once called medicine voodoo or something.

Nice ep, much better than SG1

Biology/medicine are not real sciences anyway (way too qualitative...coming from a physicist here).

I liked this episode but I also enjoyed SG-1 greatly this week.

Have we seen any other female wraith in the past other than the wraith queen? What function do they serve in the Wraith society (are they just breeders?)

I think it's pretty clear that the dark color just means that she is turning into the bug (and losing her humanity completely). There was no need, in my opinion, for them to explicitly mention it.

[Sabre]

Hold on, hold on, hold on. There's something that I don't get.

How come the father says "This was part of a mine before THE LAST CULLING?"

This implies a couple of things IMHO:

-He knew the concept of wraith, he needed no explanation, Wraith, weren't a legend for him as seemed to be for his own father or the villagers, so where did he get this info from?

-Last culling implies that he knows that they not only cull but they do it periodically

Theories?

a) Plot Hole? (I don't think so)

b) The info was provided by her daughter that not only knows where and when the other wraith is culling but more info provided by the telepathy

YOur explanations please!

Sabre

[SophieTucker]

I'm of two minds with this one. It was a good story, but there were far too many character discrepancies for me. I don't like where they're taking McKay's character this season. Halfway through the first season the writers were beginning to tone down his arrogance and annoying-ness and making him more of a heroic man-of-action guy (while still remaining McKay), and now it looks like he's going back the other way. Don't care for that. I like actual character development in my characters.

I do agree - I think that makes two of us. I've wondered if it wasn't pressure from TPTB at Scifi that directed this? Whatever the reason, I do not believe we'll see the quasi-heroic McKay of season one again - or the clever Sheppard/McKay banter.

[Nessva]

For some reason I just didn't like this episode, and although I've watched it twice I still haven't figured out why - I liked the concept, a Wraith girl raised as a human ... but something about it just didn't like. Perhaps it was the pacing... I'm still trying to put my finger on it. McKay seemed oddly out of character, which I could accept as being a consequence from the last episode, but it didn't seem like it had damaged him in the way I imagined.

[kiwigater]

Biology/medicine are not real sciences anyway (way too qualitative...coming from a physicist here).

I liked this episode but I also enjoyed SG-1 greatly this week.

Have we seen any other female wraith in the past other than the wraith queen? What function do they serve in the Wraith society (are they just breeders?)

I think it's pretty clear that the dark color just means that she is turning into the bug (and losing her humanity completely). There was no need, in my opinion, for them to explicitly mention it.

*laughing so hard she's crying* Having recently completed a PhD in Biochemistry with a fairly hefty biological component, I can say with complete certainty: "codswallop"
Been anywhere near a biological research lab lately have you?

But seriously, didn't the SGC find a way to make a synthetic version of tretonin that didn't involve ground up snakes? So... they should be able to do the same for the wraith drug. In theory.

Actually, I don't think it's that simple.... (keeping in mind this is all a TV show ). The Goa-uld are parastical, they have a physical/biological bond to the host, it's certainly possible to envision how they could become emeshed in the host nervous system. That physical presence, or more accurately, the biological conseqences of that presence can be simulated - boost their immune system, give them replacement drugs etc. Kinda like your thyroid going nutso and taking hormone replacement....However, the Wraith, as presented to us so far, deplete their victims of energy - I don't believe it's they "feed" per se, as in consume some biological component of their victims that could be replicated, more like the suck the energy from them - altho let's not discuss the plausibility of this (I could come up with a few, but they'd be wildly silly ). You can't create a pill or a a drug that could replace that. I do ponder why it has to be humans, if they suck energy, any living species of significant size should be a possible food source...

[ShadowMaat]

Then maybe they can modify their phasers (whatever equivalent stun guns they use) for a "feed a wraith" setting and zap the hunger out of them.

Dunno. I guess I just find the whole "Wraith feed off life-energy" thing to be a little dodgy. It's such a vague concept. And randomly specific. And the whole "humans only" thing seems questionable, but then maybe someone out there can tell me how many species here on Earth subsist on a sole food source.

[Sabre]

Disclaimer: this means to be humour (I'm a computer scientist myself) no mean to offend

Biology/medicine are not real sciences anyway (way too qualitative...coming from a physicist here).

Your are Rodney McKay and I claim my five Euros!

So Physics, that whole science that has one big theory for macroscopic events, another big theory for microscopic things, and fails horribly to put both together, ah well

Sabre

[Legume]

It's unfortunate but I see this episode as having a lot of wasted potential. The basic idea, that being of the Wraith woman living as a human on this planet was good. It's plausible, and interesting.

What I didn't like was how she was transformed with Beckett's retrovirus. The result was a savage beast roaming with rage and power. The transformation robbed her of all humanity, and once that happens, viewers can't relate to her anymore, and don't care so much when she's shot to death.

As it stands, it was only semi-sad. Sad, since we saw her before and it's a shame it had to end this way. Not so sad because she was a beast and wouldn't be able to return to her former life anyway, even if she could be captured.

What if she were still her old self underneath? Wouldn't it have been a much more emotionnal ending had they had to kill a person, not an animal?

Spoiler:

As an example, wasn't it tragic in SG-1 episode 4x05, Divide and Conquer, when Samantha had to kill Martouf, a person we'd come to know and like? That's exactly what I mean.

-Legume

[ShadowMaat]

True. I'd have preferred to see some glimmer of humanity left in her. She could know her father is dead and be furious about it... and blame Beckett. After all, it was HIS retrovirus that changed her, that made her kill her beloved papa. The fact that it was her own fault for taking the sample before it was ready is a moot point, especially in the heat of animalistic fury.

I can see how Beckett shooting her was probably supposed to be an important part of the story, but what if the wraith had attacked him instead and Ellia had killed the wraith so she could kill Beckett herself. She backs him into a corner, snarls "You... killed... Father!" and then McKay shoots her and she turns on him instead when a noise distracts her and she goes screeching off into the forest.

It would have robbed us of the "Beckett is willing to shoot/kill" moment and we'd have missed Rodney being all shaking and paranoid with checking his chest, but it might have made it a little stronger story-wise and would have created some good Beckett angst. Sure, HE knows it isn't his fault, but at the same time... he DID bring the retrovirus to her and he DID leave it unguarded.

[Biscuit]

"codswallop"

right back at you! Honestly, if the life sciences were a cakewalk, would McKay have washed out of freshman biology? Hence his disdain. We hate what we do not understand.

Me, I've scoffed at the trombone ever since I flunked out of band in fifth grade.

However, the Wraith, as presented to us so far, deplete their victims of energy - I don't believe it's they "feed" per se, as in consume some biological component of their victims that could be replicated, more like the suck the energy from them - altho let's not discuss the plausibility of this (I could come up with a few, but they'd be wildly silly ). You can't create a pill or a a drug that could replace that. I do ponder why it has to be humans, if they suck energy, any living species of significant size should be a possible food source...

Yeah! Why not a cow? Why not suck the life energies out of a big juicy cow? When the Elia plot was unfolding, I half-expected them to tell us she'd been making do with bunnies and squirrels in the forest (which, admittedly, would have had a lot less dramatic punch than the actual plot...)

The only thing I can think is that it has something to do with the fact that Wraith also seem to absorb information from their victims (when the pink Wraith fed on Sumner, she learned about Earth, yes?) So maybe they find contact with cow minds disturbing? I know I would.

[ShadowMaat]

Well, the Wraith are also telepathic on some level. I'd be more willing to attribute the info gaining to that, especially since she was picking up details before she laid a hand on him.

I'm guessing that having the life sucked out of you is distracting enough for you to drop whatever mental walls you may have constructed to try and shield sensitive info.