The Siege, Part 3 (201)

[maneth]

Cool end to a great arc. What a shame about Ford, though.

[Skie]

Great episode but I hated what they made out of Ford later on. The story also has some flaws in it.

1. How can Ford fly the jumper. Either the writers forgot about that or he got the injection earlier. But then wouldn't we have at least seen him flying the jumper earlier. I mean they are in need of people with the ancient gene, so Ford would be already in use.

2. Why doesn't Sheppard shoot several times at Ford when he sees that it doesn't work.

3. Shouldn't the wraith detected the gate activity? Even if not, I don't think they can be fooled that easily. Just shoot once where the city was and you should see the result, easy enough. And Teyla sending the message, we have seen now several time that telepathic abilities of the wraiths are superior to Teyla's. There's a reasonable possibility that they recognize that Teyla is trying to deceive them. And wouldn't they at least attempt to put some recon device in orbit. Seeing the Daedalus flying back and forth should give them some hint.

Spoiler:

If the travelers can do that, why not the wraith? Or just sensors, I mean the traveler picked up the wraith ships in BAMSR, so they should be able to pick up on the Deadalus.

It's even less convincing if you think about later events:

Spoiler:

They never ever notice that Atlantis is there in S2-3, except by Michael. And in CM they are fooled again, come on how stupid can they be, they defeated the ancients.

4. What did Bob do, we never find out. A shame.

I loved how the wraiths were able to jam the transporter. Finally showing again that the wraiths are technologically advanced. I wondered what happened to the shields the wraiths were supposed to have as McKay pointed that out several times.

[Blizzah]

Wow, what a great episode and sure it had some holes but its sci fi, there are always a few. The special effects were great and I thought the story was fantastic. This show just keeps getting better.

Mod Insert.*Spoilers for First Contact & The Lost Tribe etc *

Spoiler:

Also, it is pretty cool to see that the Asgard in SGA. They were one of my favourites from SG1.

[Lythisrose]

Joe Mallozzi's thoughts on this episode:

Alrighty. Continuing our reminiscences of Stargate: Atlantis. When last we left our stalwart heroes, it was the end of the show’s first season and the city of Atlantis was under siege (so this is one of those rare occasions when the episode title actually made sense) by a relentless enemy: the wraith.


SIEGE III (201)

Season two kicks of in fine form with this concluding chapter in a pulse-pounding, action-packed, visually spectacular three-parter. The episode is a game changer on many levels. We are introduced to a couple of new characters who will become part of the Atlantis family. First, there’s Colonel Caldwell, commander of the Daedalus, played by actor Mitch Pileggi who delivers a terrific performance, at turns assertive, cagey, headstrong but, ultimately, endearing. And then, there’s Hermiod, the cranky, acerbic Asgard who ended up drawing the short straw and having to go on a ride-along to babysit the previous Asgard tech. Mitch was an easy-going, affable guy. A pleasure to work with. Hermiod, not so much.

While not a new character, Lieutenant Ford undergoes a transformation both physical and mental that sends him spiraling off in a dangerous new direction. First seasons are always a period of creative growth, where certain unexpected elements surprise and thrive (ie. Beckett, Zelenka, even McKay who fast developed into an incredibly popular character among the viewers and writers as well) while others flounder for various reasons. In the case of the Ford character, he was a youthful, somewhat innocent, nice guy who seemed to get lost in background amidst the more dynamic likes of Sheppard, McKay, and Teyla. So, a decision was made to reinvent the character and give him a bit of a darker edge . In so doing, we ended up evolving some of the wraith mythos (specifically with regard to the feeding process and its chemical interactions with the human body), thereby laying the groundwork for the notion of the wraith worshipers (who would come into play later in the season and pay off big time in episodes like Reunion and Broken Ties).

The city finally got a fully charged ZPM and, with the introduction of the Daedalus, Atlantis was no longer quite so isolated from Earth. Now, the expedition members could step through the gate and be instantly transported back home. The return trip, at approximately two and a half week aboard the new, retrofitted Earth ships, was still better than nothing. Of course, whether losing that sense of isolation established in season one was necessarily a good thing – well, that’s up for debate.

A final mention of (and hats off to) Mark Savela and co. for another brilliant display of CG pyrotechnics. All those darts impacting the Atlantis shield…wow!

http://josephmallozzi.wordpress.com/...-iii-intruder/

[NowIWillDestroyAbydos]

This was a great episode, awesome ending to this trilogy.

I loved the Visual Effects in this episode, especially when the Wraith were firing on the city. I notice while watching the end credits, James Tichenor was back as Visual Effects Producer for this episode (he left after SG-1's 7th Season).

Ford is now more badass now, I like it.

These three episodes were the best in the entire franchise (as a whole), Stargate at it's best.

Tomorrow, a runaway something.

[hlndncr]

The effects are amazing. The story seems a little disjointed. There's the original seige. Then the new seige. All of our characters off in different directions.

I think making Ford go dark was a good decision for the character and frankly RSF also stepped up as an actor with better material to work with. Unfortunately, they just let it go and plugged in the big dumb alien guy.

I am wondering how Ford was able to pilot the jumper. Correct me if I'm wrong, but up to this point he didn't have the ancient gene or the gene therapy. For example, in The Eye Carson had to pilot the jumper for them.

I love Mitch Peleggi as Caldwell. Here he's very much a team player. He defers to Weir, works well with Shep. It's a shame they just made him your standard Col. Hard A$$ later on because I think there could have been so much more to his character.

[ZRFTS]

The Siege (Part 3)

If Part 1 was the setup and Part 2 is the action them Part 3 must be a mix between those two parts; I'm saying that because Part 3 has much of the action of Part 2 and much of the sensible setup scenes of Part 1. It also ends the trilogy masterfully and it also starts off the second season in an amazing matter (though it still feels like part of a trilogy.)

This part continues the tradition that the second part started, which is starting with something truly awesome; in this case the sudden appearance of one spaceship ("Daedalus") that has been mentioned in the other part. I don't know if this is our first sights of it or not but man is it a beaut, this ship to me has the feeling of being Atlantis's version of the "Promethus"; sure, it looks like it was made in Earth but it feels like it belongs here in the Pegasus galaxy. The crew who inhabit it are pretty decent folks; though we don't get to see much of them, we get the feeling that they're a competent crew who care about the ship and know what they're doing, I'm guessing with more time we'll get to know them better. Out of the people shown, I like the commander; he knows exactly what to do and say to be an effective presence around the ship and the woman engineer was a decent comedic relief who had some character in her.

Truly awesome...

As expected, this part continues the show the sheer strength the Wraith have, this time upping it in comparison to the last part and this upping truly represents the last sense of hopelessness that they have, I mean they're truly powerful and cunning in this part; even the coveted appearance of a ZPM isn't enough to stop them. A number of characters get to shine in the environment created for them; no one character stands out but all of them get to show sides that wouldn't be shown otherwise, Weir's more sensible and relatable side comes out, Rodney's charming and tolerable personality also comes out and even Sheppard gets his moment of brilliance. All of these characters come together to provide a ensemble performance that works in favor of the episode; none of them can be singled out as important, they're all important which makes their contributions/performance work so well but I can't help to feel somewhat disappointed that the portrayal of the situation resembles just another day at Stargate Command, dragging down the momentum that the first two parts built up into the dirt.

The action part is done as masterfully as possible (visuals comment from Part 2 applies), with much of that action taking place in space; sure there are outcomes to those scenes in Part 2 (they're both surprising and awesome) but this is mainly space action. I can see that they decided not to do long drawn out shots of the ships firing and floating around in space and they decided to include much of what Stargate is known for, which is operating the ships and hoping that the plan works; this is what makes this part of the action what it is, they're executing plans, sending down nukes and they're seemingly being badass by doing it and they're engaging you in the action every second. The explosions are a decent visual treat and to see all of those ships firing is a delight, especially when they're experiencing the downside of it (with tons of sparks, red lights and smoke effects); no matter whether they're winning or getting their butts handed to them you can always feel for our heroes, our brave Atlantian heroes.

Beautiful.

One of the surprises of the episode comes from Ford; who I can say is truly awesome (in a special way), his scenes are possibly the best scenes of the episode as they really show what Ford can do; his singular thinking combined with what we know about Ford gives weight to many of the scenes he's in, sure he's not himself but he's also not mindless which gives us something to think about and makes it fun to watch. It shows the lengths of how much Ford will go and those lengths bring out the best in both him and Beckett who's devotion of a doctor, sympathy and limits get a chance to shine. It also gives Sheppard a nice platform to be awesome as he chases Ford around but with the limited time we get with these scenes, it doesn't amount to much. I will admit that these scenes do one thing well and that is setting up the mystery; throughout all that action, it's setting up the threads for what's to come and that is definitely something that will be one of the prime focal points of the second season.

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the ending. The ending I think is a somewhat clever way to counteract the hopelessness we've seen in most of the trilogy and I say somewhat because it's done in a common way but it is a brilliant moment in the episode. They have something substantial that'll truly work, something with everything measured and calculated and we as the audience is invested in that; we're watching as the moment builds up to the point in time where they execute the plan and everything that has been painstakingly sets up comes to fruition. I won't spoil the ending but I will say that in a story sense, it takes the theme the trilogy has been running with and puts up a bold statement that's not only fulfilling but substantial as well. What happens is truly essential to the trilogy at hand and brings everything into perspective, providing a satisfying closure to what can be considered SGA's finest trilogy yet.

Truly awesome... again...

I don't think there is much else to say; it's an amazing way to end the Siege trilogy, it provides an amazing start to Season 2 and though it's less impressive compared to the other two parts, it's still considered to be an experience nonetheless. The entire trilogy is essential viewing to anybody watching SGA; it has it all, action, adventure, thematic structures, characters and the epic Stargate feeling you've come to know and love. If you haven't seen it then well, you haven't seen anything really...

9.0/10

[Krisz]

Ford and that eye!! A really freaky bit of make up there! When he escaped from the infirmary and wanted to go back on duty it was quite funny to see the reaction of Weir and everyone trying to act normal on seeing him. It was sad to see him go, I got to like the guy and his cheeky sense of humour.

Wonderful effects with the Wraith attack on Atlantis' shield.

How is it that everyone on Atlantis wasn't irradiated after the shield was brought down when they detonated the nuke? What about radioactive fallout?

[jelgate]

Ford and that eye!! A really freaky bit of make up there! When he escaped from the infirmary and wanted to go back on duty it was quite funny to see the reaction of Weir and everyone trying to act normal on seeing him. It was sad to see him go, I got to like the guy and his cheeky sense of humour.

Wonderful effects with the Wraith attack on Atlantis' shield.

How is it that everyone on Atlantis wasn't irradiated after the shield was brought down when they detonated the nuke? What about radioactive fallout?

Distance. The best kind of radiation shield is putting distance from the radioactive source

[Matt G]

October 2005: By this point I had technically graduated from Uni and was unsuccsessfully looking for work in the London area while prepping for a possible move to Exeter.

Also, SG1 was being overhauled so I was glad that Atlantis was relatively stable.

1. Oh...Hermiod...forgot about him.

2. Ah, that moment they thought Shep was a gonna.

3. The cloak seemed more of a gamble this time round.

4. Ford, nuts. Pity our guys couldn't get through to him.

Still solid

[Jae'a]

My LiveJournal post

Wow, great ending to the three-parter. I loved the idea of making the Wraith think they've blown up the city.
Poor Ford, though...

[Lieutenant Sparrow]

Great ending to a great 3 parter.

Stargate does space battles really well. The ones in this ep weren't as good as some others, but still still good.

Pretty sneaky beaming the bombs aboard the wraith ships. Much to Hermiod's disgust. Speaking of Hermiod. I like the funny relationship between him and Novak.

The start of the adventures with the crazy Ford. I like him a lot better in this role. It also means Ronan isn't far away

The CGI has really stepped up in this season. I really liked the look of the Wraith weapons hitting the shield.

[Starsaber]

I am wondering how Ford was able to pilot the jumper. Correct me if I'm wrong, but up to this point he didn't have the ancient gene or the gene therapy. For example, in The Eye Carson had to pilot the jumper for them.

Maybe some kind of autopilot to get it through the gate? Not much margin for error in the hangar and gateroom.

[hlndncr]

Maybe some kind of autopilot to get it through the gate? Not much margin for error in the hangar and gateroom.

How would he land?

Besides, wasn't the whole point of the gene tech to keep the enemies of the Ancients from absconding with their technology. A guy hopped up on Wraith enzyme would seem to qualify. But if just anyone can push a button and on comes the autopilot the gene protocols would seem quite useless. Just IMHO.

[garhkal]

Perhaps he DID have it, but due to shep being team leader, he had the controls most of the time.