The Siege, Part 2 (120)

[mrscopterdoc]

The battle in this episode is awesome, they did a good job on the special effects. Could have done without Everett though, what a jerk.

[maneth]

Yeah, although he did change his ways. Goodness, but I really can't stand the Genii.

[Skie]

I started to like Everett at the end, he really got through some development. Overall a very good episode but I wondered about one thing. How did the Genii manage to detect the wraith in time and shut down their reactors. Even if they can detect them from the planet surface, as soon as the wraith are out of hyperspace they will detect those energy readings. And about the underground bunkers. I don't know but a civilization capable of hyperspace should have enough scanning technology to detect them, no? And scanning the surface would make sense for the wraith as they don't want the humans to be advanced enough, so you just check as a routine measure. Just what I would do and hey, the wraith are smart, we have seen that before.

[Blizzah]

Great episode. Glad I don't have to wait for the 3rd part.

[gatechick]

Now this is hilarious.
The Siege part 2 Japanese subtitles.

Oh my God!! That is brilliant!!! My stomach hurts from laughing.

[Lythisrose]

From Joe Mallozzi's Blog:
http://josephmallozzi.wordpress.com/...iege-i-and-ii/

SIEGE II (120)

We pick up where the last episode left off. All hope seems lost. Weir gives the order to wipe the Ancient database, start the countdown to the self-destruct, and abandon Atlantis when – she receives word that someone is dialing in. It’s Stargate Command. And they’re sending reinforcements. So begins an action-packed season finale whose high points, for me, were its marvelous visuals and “No! Don’t end it there!” ending. The friction between Colonel Everett and, well, everyone else makes for interesting drama but the action comes so fast and furious in this episode that there really isn’t opportunity for those quieter, occasionally humorous, character moments that really ground an episode. For that reason, as much as I like the pacing and pandemonium of this episode, I have to tip my hat to Martin Gero for his work on Siege I. And, while I’m at it, I mentioned those fantastic battle sequences so a big “Thanks again!” to VFX Supervisor Mark Savela and the rest of the VFX team for their amazing ability to outdo themselves year after year.

Finally, I love a good cliffhanger (provided there’s an opportunity to come back and finish things off) and this one was a beauty. I could well imagine the collective sigh of frustration when the end credits came up onscreen and viewers at home realized they would have to tune in…next season.

And so ends my reminiscing on Atlantis’s first season. All all, a pretty solid season. Any first season of any series is going to have the occasional dud episode (I’ve termed this “The Emancipation Effect”) but, aside from Sanctuary, I have to say Atlantis was fairly good in that respect. There were a few episodes that while enjoyable, still prove somewhat problematic for me on some levels (mainly because I’m wearing my writer/producer hat when I watch them). But these episodes are far outweighed by the standouts. In my mind: Rising I and II, Poisoning the Well, The Storm, The Eye, The Defiant One, Before I Sleep, and Siege I.

[NowIWillDestroyAbydos]

God did I love this episode.

There so much action (although not as much as Full Circle). The Visual Effects were awesome, especially at the end. I can't wait for Part 3.

Until a couple of weeks ago, I thought Martin Gero wrote this one, but it was Joe and Paul. I actually slightly think less of Martin Gero because of this (SLIGHTLY, but he's still the best writer on the show).

Monday, the conclusion to this episode trilogy, and the beginning of Season 2.

[Krisz]

Great cliff hanger for the season, one of the good ones!

The cavalry arrives at the 11th hour! Not quite in the end, the reinforcements do their best against insurmountable odds and it's activate self destruct time again!

Non stop action though, with great effects, the darts raining down on the city and the rail gun bullet trails are pretty impressive!

Colonel Everett (How many characters can have Colonel and Everett together in their name in Stargate?!!! ) seemed to run through a season's worth of character development in one episode! Went from total jerk to understanding nice guy!

[Matt G]

One last ep...

1. Yes Everett was a bleep, yes Jack must have overlooked some things about his character but equally, he shouldn't have had to ask multiple times about the self-destruct.

John, shut off the self-destruct, let's hear this guy out

...would have sounded good. Not like he's going anywhere any time soon.

2. Credit to McKay for keeping his brain working through hunger and tiredness.

3. The Wraith certainly gave the city quite a hammering.

4. Of course Everett never got to finish things in the way he intended.

Still class. And with that the season is over!

[hlndncr]

I think I actually prefer part I to part II. The build up, drama, and character interactions really stand center stage. For me part II is all about the action and the visuals. They are really well done, but just not as compelling to me.

I will say that the action is very exciting, the FX are awesome and the score is amazing.

The stand out performance for me is Torri Higginson negotiating with the Genii. I am bummed they couldn't get Colm Meaney back as Cowan. While the guy they did use did an admirable job I just think the whole scene would have been elevated with a known character played by admittedly one of my favorite actors.

I'm not sure how I feel about the Everett character. I have a hard time thinking Jack would like or trust him and thus give him carte blanche to take over Atlantis. But he does seem to grow and adapt to the situation. I just think he was very ineffective at the beginning because he walked in believing reading the reports was all he needed to know. A good commander will always trust your people on the ground and want their input and assistance. Jack would have known that. I'm sure he would have taught his people that.

[ZRFTS]

The Siege (Part 2)

I'll start with a line lifted from the review I did with the previous episode "However, I feel like this is just a taste of the awesome things that are to come next episode..." People were really expecting things that had built up to pay off for themselves in the second part, all that promise, all that potential, all that amazement that lied in Part 2 well for those fans; all of your wildest wishes and dreams are fulfilled and then some.

This episode is more action orientated then the previous part, which means that you're going to get stuff like Wraith attacking, our heroes roaming around with guns and tons of confrontation and tensity. The action is one of the most defining things about this parts, it's well shot, well lighted and competently handled; it's such an experience to finally see the Wraith attacking the city, for so long we've been hinted at their power what with their hive ships and their superior numbers and to finally see what they're truly capable off just bring a tear to anybodies eye and they don't waste the moment either. They keep things tense and flowing through the times where they're fighting the Wraith, everybody firing at the Wraith manage to actually be guys firing at the Wraith, yelling hoping with all their determination that they're take down something and actually live to see another day; much of their scenes reminds you of what the military would do in this situation and that's what makes these scenes work, you can fire and have space battles and explosions all you want but it won't matter unless the people are into it and there's tons of reason for you to get invested.

Tons-o-action!

They even manage to remain tense the times during the moments where there's nothing attacking at all. In my opinion I thought those scenes were done better then Part 1 since the threat is actually looming on them, one example would have to be Rodney who utilizes every capable part of his brain despite the fact that he hasn't had any sleep; he's working hard, exhausting every solution so they don't have to resort to final measures, the edge that he shows can be attributed more to his lack of sleep then to his annoying and that edge perfectly showcases the rush that Atlantis feels. again, no one wants to have to resort to final measures and the fact that people are willing to forgo anything just so they can help is something that the episode shows so well and let's not forget about the fact about being subsequently forced into a corner; just like the people on Atlantis, when you think they have a solution that works, that fails and they're forced to take alternate measures. This thing is in my opinion the thing that makes the saga what it is and it's an especially impressive theme because it provides a subjective analysis into what appears to be the brute force of the enemy and the determination of the defenders who protect Atlantis, regardless of the faults they run into, making it into something more.

The Earth guys who gate to Atlantis are alright and they certainly support the action filled theme of this episode and the entire saga. Everett is an okay guy, the more I saw him the more I got to like him as he showcased a sense of determinism mixed in with a bit of compassion that made him somewhat unique, however he does showcase a bit of unclearness; in some scenes he's portrayed as a military leader confident in the capabilities of his crew and the technology that he has to take on the threat (for good reason), in others he's a no-talking hard headed military commander who won't tolerate anything and in other's he's a sympathetic person. I get that he's here specifically for this episode but there should be more consistency among his character. It's nice to see for the first time an abundance of Earth technology inside Atlantis; as they spread themselves around Atlantis and they prepare themselves for the Wraith attack, they provide that bit of awesomeness that's solely specific for this part, the weapons are a visual masterpiece that combines sci-fi with realism and all those earth guys roaming around Atlantis just contributes to the epic feel of this episode. It also provides viewers with some glimmer of hope that they'll make it through, reflecting on the theme of the saga.

Truly awesome.

Out of all the performances in the episode, I think Dr. Weir's is the best out of all of them. I think that the actor behind her has been training up to this ever so-essential moment where she has to prove herself to the entire viewing audience, and her training has done her well. She steps her game up in many of the scenes, showing that she isn't going to be taken lightly; her offense gives her a edge that has previously been unseen in many of the episodes and though there are many times where she steps to the side, she still shows that bark that makes her interesting. She even gets put into a situation of vulnerability that both showcases her determination and her amazing speech skills; involving the Genii, Chris Britton (from "Babar: The Movie") plays Penum in what appears to be a decent role that utilizes the best of his acting skills, (shame this would be his only appearance) his performance gives Dr. Weir something to showcase her anger and determination across and show what makes Dr. Weir in the first place; the speech that she makes is quite possibly one of the best speeches she will ever make sorely for the reason that despite the obvious situation she's in, she still finds the urge to spit the voice of reason and try to make her position clear; it's clear to everyone else that Dr. Weir's performance in this episode is the best it will ever be and it proves to us that she is the one to play Dr. Weir

However, it's not all perfect; there are parts where the action tends to drag on a bit, losing much of the momentum the episode has built up. I love action as much as the next guy but generally having tons of explosions, flashing lights, firing random and yelling can get boring after a while; it's like Hollywood thinks that placing tons of action on the screen is going to excite the audience and while it does exactly that for most people, it can also bore the audience to death. I understand that this is part of the experience but they need to realize that throwing everything on the screen doesn't work most of the time. There's a visual transition where it jumps from room to room and while it's cool for a while, it quickly becomes annoying and gimmicky. It does help in knowing where they are but they they use it, it's almost like something to make the episode look cool, not really an important plot element. Beckett reverts to his self in the pilot and while I do understand why he doesn't want to sit in the chair, he makes such an annoying deal about it; it's one of the things that made me think of him as a minor character to begin with and to see all that character growth exchanged for some bits on the chair is saddening but with this moment gives me hope that the writers will use this to grow Beckett even further...

Still awesome...

This part improves on Part 1 by giving you what you expect from an event episode like this, action, character interactions and just plain epicness and what is shown on the screen will bring a tear to your eye. There are some weak spots but this season closer is one of the best episodes of the season and the stakes are raised even further you realize something obvious, that this is not the end; no it's only the beginning of the end. People (who will be taken back by the surprise) will have to wait months to see what happens to our heroes but hopefully, it will all be worth it.

10/10

[Lieutenant Sparrow]

A fantastic ep.

It was great having the marines come through from SGC. I love the connection with SGC and receiving the technology from the SGC. You just know that Sam came up with this design. Or it's thanks to SG-1 that we have this awesome bomb, mark II Naquada generator etc etc.

Rail guns <3 I love the way they sound. They just give off a feel of power. And they look pretty awesome as well. It must feel awesome using a gun that is meant to be on a ship.

How did the Wraith know the mines were there? Wouldn't the mines be undetectable or something?

That first scene with Darts. Epic. All the bullet trails and all the darts everywhere. Very exciting. Two of the marines were even kind enough to face the camera and shoot us.

Very brave of Weir to go to the Genii. Lucky they let her go.

I love how Bam Bam was the one sparring with Teyla.

The Darts look so cool from the back. I love how they sound as well. They're a lot cooler than Puddle Jumpers.

Bring on part 3.

[ZRFTS]

How did the Wraith know the mines were there? Wouldn't the mines be undetectable or something?

Well one of their ships got destroyed by an supposedly-inactive satellite in the first part; surely the Wraith would be more cautious in approaching Atlantis so they don't fall into the same trap again.

[Matt G]

Another thing to wonder, Everett's squad didn't seem to be SG teams which makes me think that Everett wasn't technically SGC. He almost certainly wouldn't have been known to Jack or Hammond(who would still have been in the picture at this point as head of Homeworld Security)but I'm thinking that he must have been someone who Jack had transferred to his command from elsewhere.

Let's face it, this appeared to be an all-Marine squad and the SGC last I checked is mainly USAF personel. Also, that group seemed to be much bigger than the SG-Rescue squad that went after SG1 in the SG1 ep "Into the Fire" which was made up of four SG teams I think.

Therefore, Everett isn't technically one of "Jack's people" long term and may be taking a few liberties with procedure.

[Jae'a]

Wow, awesome stuff!
Oh man, Shep going off in the Puddle Jumper and then 'To Be Continued'! Nooo!

My LiveJournal post
(Really need to catch up now... )