Poisoning the Well (107)

[Jae'a]

My LiveJournal post

Wow, it was a great episode for Dr. Beckett. Great stuff all round too.

[jelgate]

This is a pretty good episode. I know the Wraith defenders group usually dislike this episode because of what happened to Steve but given that he would not hesitate to kill us in a second I am not really feeling sad. Was in unethical? Probably but that is war for you and in war you do what you must to survive. Speaking of ethics I love the battle of ethics between Beckett and the Hoffans about the drug and the warning of taking precaution. Compared to the Hoffans, Earth is relatively peaceful. Beckett doesn't have the kind of fear and desperation that the Hoffans have so he can look it more objectively. Its interesting to see how fear of being attacked from the Wraith can cloud people's judgement to do anything to fight back

[Matt G]

Midweek, another ep of Atlantis.

1. It's wasn't that long back that I actually watched this ep, was wierd seeing Sheppard as a Major again that time round.

2. Carson getting gooey with Perna...was Beckett's first big ep.

3. Couldn't remember where the name "Steve" came from.

4. Morally...I described it as a "mess" back in '04. The Hoffans were reckless but I 'guess' it was their choice...they were only harming themselves and our guys were smart enough to not allow them to harm anyone else.

Good stuff.

[jelgate]

4. Morally...I described it as a "mess" back in '04. The Hoffans were reckless but I 'guess' it was their choice...they were only harming themselves and our guys were smart enough to not allow them to harm anyone else.

Good stuff.

As I said in my review I think it was the war torn nature of Hoffan to be reckless. They were deperate to do anything to stop a threat they was murdering thousands of thier people. We didn't have to deal with the Wraith on that scale giving us a fresh perspective

[hedwig]

As I said in my review I think it was the war torn nature of Hoffan to be reckless. They were deperate to do anything to stop a threat they was murdering thousands of thier people. We didn't have to deal with the Wraith on that scale giving us a fresh perspective

This is one of the reasons I was annoyed with Shep saying he'd been on a wraith hive ship and fought the wraith ... which, of course, he did. But how does his very limited experience with fighting the wraith in any way compare to the dozens of years the Hoffans have lived and died and suffered at the hands of the wraith. I felt like slapping Shep for being so self-righteous and condescending about the situation.

[ZRFTS]

Poisoning the Well

For most of SGA, Dr. Beckett has been the Scottish doctor who's mainly in the background; sure, in many episodes he appears to be doing more substantial stuff, acting somewhat like a male version of those female scientists seen on SG-1 but he's always been in the background. For weeks we've been hoping for Dr. Beckett's big break and well; here it is... And what a break it is.

Truly his big break.

Grabbing it's inspiration from the SG-1 episode "Cure", this episode provides the basis for Dr. Beckett to roam around as he does his doctor stuff; showing that he can be more then just the character who's in the background. The aforementioned "cure", the one that will save them all is very notable sci-fi stuff indeed; disregard the fact that it's similar to tretonin, the idea of the drug, the basis of the drug and even the drug itself are essential to the episode as a whole. There's an heir of hope that this drug might work and it fuels the initial scenes with Becket and the Atlantis crew as they work towards developing the drug. We're on the same line of thinking as they are and we're involved in the creation of the drug as they are and that's a good thing because an episode like this requires the viewer to be involved; what would happen if the viewer wasn't involved well they wouldn't connect with the emotional scenes, the drug scenes or even the scenes that happen later on and that would negatively harm the episode. The Wraith that was captured two episodes ago is put to good use (even the threat of the Wraith and their society is put to good use) with his scenes still being awesome and his his role playing a very big part in the episode (with a large number of scenes at that), I just wish that he didn't have to die so soon (he's just so awesome and entertaining) but I guess life is life and they can't keep that wraith forever you know.

Alongside that cure likes moral implications that are the icing to the proverbial cake; it starts off subtle enough, with the moral reasoning being related to test subjects being used, tests being done, procedure being taken, "do no harm", etc. but then it progresses into the willingness to sacrifice people, the disregard for life, the intentions of revenge, the dissuading of it's original purpose and the dedication/obsession to their goal (much of which appear in the second half). The question it raises is nice; how much are we willing to put up with it before we say no mas? Do we always allow these things initially for the sake of survival and the cure, do we regret the decision afterwards when we see the true intentions of these people? It just provides some of the stuff that sci-fi is known for and they fuel alot of scenes big and small; it allows us to get in depth with Beckett's character as he expands and grows and shows off his beliefs as a doctor, it allows us to see the psychology of a person who's been in this situation for so long, it allows us to get into the process of testing, it also allows us to see the life & death situation that plagues from having such things happen in the first place and the fact that they manage to focus it where it's important exceptionally well... that's saying a lot regarding the people behind this episode. The moral implication theme is one of the best themes of this episode, something which defines it and gives it it's voice amongst the other SGA episodes.

Just imagine what this little vile holds.

The SGA team does what they do best with Shephard being gruff, confident and menacing, (with some of his best acting yet; the scenes where he yells out in objection to what he sees might be the pinnacle of his Stargate career.) Dr. Weir being cautious and a very good leader, Ford being a good defendee and Rodney being... surprisingly out of the way, I guess less Rodney equal better episode but I will say that the scenes where Rodney does appear are decent enough. But they're only a sideline to Dr. Beckett who appears in his finest hour yet; for once, he's not trying to be the goofy doctor for once, just the serious doctor with a strong determination; we learn more about his thoughts, his desires, his life, his ethics, well... everything really through his natural dialog; they're diving really deep into a character who've we barely seen and they're utilizing him really well, weaving him into the ethical morals plot they have going on. Additionally, he's even joined by a love interest; a woman named Carson. The two take their romance seriously, providing tons of interaction, affection and sweetness; neither actor feels the need to shmaltz up and every line is delivered very sensibly and the progression of the love plot is also something to be commended, as they progress, the bond grows deeper and everybody seem to realize that this is more then just a forced pairing which makes these scenes all the more worthwhile and it even works out to the point where the unexpected happens, leading to a very sweet scene which isn't mopy and is 100% emotional, even with the plot they have going on. Writers take note, you can have romance and sci-fi together and still have it work.

I like the people who inhabit the planet they visit and the style of architecture that they have; even if it's just something ripped off from SG1, it looks nice and historic with a small hint of high-technologically and dankness to it and it seems like a place I would retire too if it existed. The people are the best of both worlds, intelligent and devoted; they're certainly a bunch of knowledgeable and humble folks and I appreciated their presence even when they went to the morally questionable grey areas, and that's saying a lot. Though we only focus on two at a time, we get attached to these groups of people, the political system that they have and the general idea of the community to the point where they become a presence all their own, feeling sad about the situation they're in. People would of liked to seen what happened next (and there are still a few who wonder about their very fate today) but implication or not, their fate seems somewhat clear and the fact that the Atlantis crew just walks away, doesn't even bother to even interfere with their plans or even help out further just reinforces that; I like that they didn't feel the need to tie everything together a pretty bow with the ending, it's just something that makes the episode.

Sure going to miss the place...

So what else is there to say... This is by far the best SGA episode so far. The concept of a cure isn't original but they manage to utilize it to the best of their abilities to provide something that questions moral implications and ethics as well as provide the basis for a plot which is sci-fi at it's finest; the focus on Dr. Beckett is genius, he's the perfect character to serve the entire basis of the episode and as a plus the writers dig deep into him fleshing out a character who's usually in the background. Sure, some of the stuff isn't original but when it's finely executed like this, does it even matter? One of SGA's finest hours and a episode which shows the true potential of the show.

10/10

[Cluas]

I have to give this one 6 out of 10.
Saw through the plot from the start. Really boring.

Beckett's episode, yes.... But ....

I'm afraid I hate the guy

Steve was funny though

[garhkal]

I did like 'steve'.. Though i wonder.. So far we have had todd, steve and that wraith they captured in the siege... All three were named by Sheppard and i am wondering if he named them people he hates..

[Thorthewraith]

He might have. I mean I would give my unnamed enemies names of my known enemies I think... Or maybe he DID just pick the first name he came up with...I do that usually.

I really liked this episode, but not for the Atlantisteam and definately not for the bearded guy...
Steve was my point of interest. Since Rising I've been looking forward to the wraith, but not as much yet...
I could almost feel his pain, his anger, his frustration, everything...


I liked the romance blossoming between Carson and Perna as well and I could also see Atlantis' point of view. If you have what you need to make your weapon work...wouldn't you? It's sad that the denying of the Geneva convention lead to the suffering of Steve, but at the same time, doesn't Geneva convention only apply on Earth? I mean, They are in a different galaxy, with (at that time at least) no way back to Earth because of ZPM depletion on both sides.
I don't think the Geneva convention would just go and meddle. And we don't know anything about the IOA at that point. (Oooh I hate them, Woolsey I like, but I hate THEM)

[j7n]

The Humans denied these people the chance to fight as they saw fit, not unlike how the Assurans responded to Dr Weir: "We will eliminate the Wraith at the time of our choosing."

Overall the episode was okay. I mean all the parts where the Atlantis team didn't act as morally superior or Sheppard joking. Beckett was great indeed.

[mrscopterdoc]

As I said in my review I think it was the war torn nature of Hoffan to be reckless. They were deperate to do anything to stop a threat they was murdering thousands of thier people. We didn't have to deal with the Wraith on that scale giving us a fresh perspective

interesting thought. Would we have done the same thing if we were in their situation?

[jelgate]

Maybe but it would still be stupid. They signed away their death

[mrscopterdoc]

They did, but they were desperate. People in that type of situation aren't thinking clearly, which sometimes equals stupidity.

[garhkal]

interesting thought. Would we have done the same thing if we were in their situation?

I know plenty of people who would be willing. While others who would say "To heck with that".

[jelgate]

They did, but they were desperate. People in that type of situation aren't thinking clearly, which sometimes equals stupidity.

Emotions do not excuse it was a poor choice. Part of being a leader is for one to control the emotions when making decisions. Overemotional killed the Hoffan population