The Lost Boys (210)

[SnoggingPicard]

I agree with leaving the name calling out but I think the situations are a bit different. Sheppard apologized to Teyla for what happened. Also he was cooperating in tthere effect to reverse the effects of the retro-virus. Ford didn't want help in trying to get himself back to normal. There is a big different in the two incidents.

Sheppard was able to get "back to normal" as it were, recognize where he may have injured a friend, and was human enough to make sure that she was okay. Ford has shown no remorse for what he has done, and even though he is still addicted to the enzyme he forced drugs on unwilling people and didn't care. I don't think that we're going to be able to get him back.

[knocknashee]

Well, Shep forced himself on Teyla when he was under the influence of alien DNA, and Ford forced his drug on the team when he was under the influence of a psychotropic Wraith drug. Can't we both agree that neither Shep nor Ford would do those things if they truely have a choice in the matter?

Everyone is so quick to call Ford a b@stard and Shep a sexual predator, when the fact of the matter is that they were not fully in control of their actions when they committed those acts. The only person that has actually committed an atrocity completely of his own free will is Ronon, and there was hardly a titter about that.

Fair one...but then, Ford actually had more of a conscious choice to put that drug in their food, and to make a whole group of people addicts, regardless of his intoxication...Shep didn't even know what he was doing a lot of the time, not in the sense of actually being anything but an animal and running / acting instinctually...

And you are quite right about Ronon...no-one actually seemed to say anything about him murdering a man in cold blood...though I'd say it was a crime more than an atrocity.

[Major Tyler]

I agree with leaving the name calling out but I think the situations are a bit different. Sheppard apologized to Teyla for what happened.

Sheppard apologized after he got well. Ford has yet to get well, so you can hardly compare the two situations. In fact, Ford often apologized after doing something violent without being cured. Case in point being immediately after he released Beckett from his kung-fu grip in Siege III, he apologized, and after shooting in the air above Rodney in Runner he apologized. Personally, I think Aiden's finding the strength for remorse while still being under the influence counts for more than an apology after-the-fact. If you'll remember, after kissing Teyla, John just licked his lips and said it was "interesting."

Also he was cooperating in tthere effect to reverse the effects of the retro-virus. Ford didn't want help in trying to get himself back to normal. There is a big different in the two incidents.

Shep was turning into and alien bug, whereas Ford was just becoming stronger and more powerful...very different situations. Also, Shep wasn't addicted to Iratus venom.

[knocknashee]

I agree with leaving the name calling out but I think the situations are a bit different. Sheppard apologized to Teyla for what happened. Also he was cooperating in tthere effect to reverse the effects of the retro-virus. Ford didn't want help in trying to get himself back to normal. There is a big different in the two incidents.

I only agreed with McKay's assessment of Ford...he was the one who used the profanity, I just quoted it.

Personally, in that position, I'd have had a few other choice words in mind...

[Major Tyler]

Ford has shown no remorse for what he has done...

Lies.

Read my previous post, and rewatch Siege III and Runner.

Hatas never prosper, God Bless.

[knocknashee]

Lies.

Read my previous post, and rewatch Siege III and Runner.

Hatas never prosper, God Bless.

Quite...Major Tyler is correct. Aiden, in the past has had a level of remorse within when he's hurt people...

However, I think that part of him might have finally flittered away...which will make things interesting...

[GatetheWay]

I liked how Ford used the things the team taught him against them.

[Major Tyler]

Aiden, in the past has had a level of remorse within when he's hurt people...

However, I think that part of him might have finally flittered away...which will make things interesting...

That is the big question, isn't it? *sigh* I certainly hope that isn't the case.

[watcher652]

What a cliffhanger! My random thoughts as I watched the episode (sorry if my points have already been discussed)

- Gee, Rodney eats when he’s nervous. Big news.

- How is Ford keeping his Wraith herd alive? And when he kills all the Wraith, does he expect his withdrawal from the enzyme to be painless? I'm sure he's not thinking about that at all.

- How could Ford think being addicts, even super powered ones, is a good thing for anyone, but especially the primary Atlantis off world team? I see that Wraith enzyme boosts your strength and healing powers but lowers your IQ. Rainbow did a fine job of making me hate him.

- I agree with Rodney. Ford is a punk and a bass/tard (wow, they said it in the episode but the board won't let me type it). I don’t think I’ve seen Rodney so angry.

- Rodney smoked pot once in college but it made him itchy. Ha! I bet Rodney is really against anything that would affect his genius.

- I’m sure Rodney now regrets everything he ever taught Ford. Who knew? Thanks for the line that Rodney taught Ford about DHD crystals on a mission. Maybe that was Home?

- I never thought Ford liked McKay, or any other scientist for that matter. Not that we really saw any character development for Ford before he became addicted. I thought Ford was just doing his job protecting the scientists. Maybe he felt intimidated by them in the smarts department. He certainly snapped at Radek in Hot Zone.

- Heh, that was funny when Ronon told John how Rodney was getting on his nerves.

- Rachel did a good job portraying the on-edge Teyla. The normally calm Teyla was jittery and jumpy. She seemed much more affected by the drug than Ronon. I wonder if they were giving them both the same amount? Since Teyla is smaller, it might affect her more.

- Rodney’s twitching fingers showed me how anxious he was when he was in the lab area with the stolen Genii equipment. Another nice touch was Rodney holding his arm the same way he held it when he was cut by the Genii in The Storm.

- Ooh, look at all the Wraith intel we learned from Jace! The Wraith are territorial, they seemed to be cutting down communications between ships because of the knowledge of people like Teyla who can read Wraith minds (foreshadowing a future episode?). And the lack of food making the divisions even worse.

- The lack of concern shown when one of Ford’s team died retrieving the C4 was chilling. So that’s where the C4 stolen in The Storm/The Eye ended up.

- I’m an avid Atlantis fan, but it took me a bit to realize that Ford was holding one of those Wraith data storage devices when he was going over his plan to destroy the Hive ship. How hard would it have been for him to say “Every now and again you get your hands on a couple of these, a Wraith data storage device.” Oh and those storage devices look like bugs!

- Of course, it was bound to happen but it still seems odd to hear Teyla call Rodney by his first name. I think she only started doing that in Aurora.

- Yay, a bit of Radek in this episode.

- I’m a bit worried about Major Lorne. I like him. That probably means the writers are going to red shirt him. I sure hope not.

- That little scene with Rodney and John about fixing the Wraith ship was very touching. Aurora and this episode show that the two of them have resolved the issues they had in Trinity.

- Was Rodney apologizing to John that he wasn’t smart enough to figure out what John had in mind and had to be told? Actually, I think it made it made it more realistic to Ford’s people that Rodney has to be persuaded to go along with Ford’s plan.

- Thank goodness John convinced Ford to lower Rodney’s dose. Rodney is wired and distracted enough as it is. Obviously Ford isn’t thinking clearly on the enzyme. John knows Rodney needs to be clear headed if they want anything useful out of him. The enzyme didn’t appear to have affected Rodney as much as Teyla before the dosage was lowered. Maybe since Rodney is naturally twitchier than Teyla, it didn’t seem to be as much of a difference in behavior. Or since Rodney is not as physical as Ronon and Teyla, it’s affecting him more mentally. Since we see Ronon and Teyla improve in their sparring sessions over the days, maybe John stopped the higher dosage in time for Rodney not to show too much of the effects.

- I guess Ford really is gone if he’s willing to make his family wait for him. Or maybe he really doesn’t care, that it was just words, like he said later. Although it seems to me a tiny bit of the young lieutenant wanting to prove himself is still there from before the enzyme.

- It only takes Rodney and Jace a couple of days to fix the Wraith ship? Rodney is a genius! Oh, and having that Wraith Dart from Duet to pour over probably helped, too.

- The heads up display in the Wraith dart reminded me of the light show on Fremont Street in Las Vegas.

- Ah, a Star Wars reference, not a Star Trek one. “R2, I need you to turn the auto pilot off, now!” Unfortunately John doesn’t get the chance to use the Force here.

- I got a sinking feeling when Ford’s science guy, Jace, was one of the 4 men who died falling into the Wraith ship. I don’t think Ford is going to let Rodney leave now.

- At least Ronon manages to save Ford’s right hand man from falling.

- Ford just didn’t think this thru, did he?

- David Hewlett has the market cornered on looking lost and afraid, doesn’t he?

- Why didn’t John say anything when the auto pilot came on? Why gee, Ford, you were dematerialized at the time. Who was John going to tell? Ford, you know about auto pilots. You used it when you escaped from Atlantis in the Puddle Jumper that you can’t fly. So, you should have considered that the Wraith ships would have the same function. But apparently John didn’t think of it either.

- Wow, John called Ford a snot nosed brat. You know, John, Caldwell is right. Ford really shouldn’t be running around the Pegasus galaxy. Maybe now you’ll do something about it instead of trying not to leave a man behind.

- Eww. Does John smell tasty to the Wraith?

- I don’t think the male Wraiths have the ability to mentally bring humans to their knees like the female ones seem to have. Or has it been that we’ve only seen males eating and not playing with their food?

- While I realize there was no reason for him to be in this episode, I missed Carson.

Not as great a cliffhanger as The Storm/The Eye, but close. Lots of references to things we’ve seen in from previous episodes. I like that.

Sigh. Now for three months with no new episodes. At least the first season DVDs will be out soon.

[knocknashee]

That is the big question, isn't it? *sigh* I certainly hope that isn't the case.

Indeed it is. I forsee interesting times ahead with this arc...starting with how they get out of this situation in 'The Hive'.

[Traveler Enroute1]

Wow. This was some cool episode.

I totally go with the sour taste of creating addicts; Ford in his zeal to prove he's still one of the team has gone and proved he is completely cut off. Ford thinks he can lead by coercion but he's slowly re-learning that his own people have never quite liked that. At last we see some solid acting from Rainbow, only the way things look he won't be doing it long; I got a strong scent of self-sacrifice here although I hope not.

The Lost Boys managed to give everyone screen time, even though some more than others. I think there's really something brewing with the new hopped up Ronon and Teyla that Ford is not gonna like; they are too strong as individuals to follow him blindly (even if they're goofy, too). The drug seems to make alpha personalities more alpha and now there are three of them. At the same time it makes them less mature; Teyla and Ronon were certainly indulginging in adolescent one up manship (an offshoot perhaps of underlying competition between them?). Jason and Rachel played that scene convincingly; I couldn't help smiling at them as if I watched two puppies playing around. Rachel's did an excellent job expressing her hyperactivity, too.

So now we speculate on what enzyme withdrawal does to Ford's boys and him. And what the Wraith will do when they discover how they have themselves been preyed on by their "herd." And what Caldwell's next power move regarding Shep's disappearance will be vs Weir's countermove. And so forth.

And Major Lorne was front and center tonight! Love that guy. Nice rapport with him and Weir; he had to remind himself that he's military and she's civilian but in charge. More Lorne front and center, please.

Anyway the story. It worked as a part one of two. We got a crazy good forlorn fight scene and an achingly incomplete captivity scene with Shep at the very end. is the right word here. Somewhere in the universe pt 2 is showing. If only we could get there now...

I loved eveyone in this ep, and hope the good points carry off the next.

Just sayin'.

[deathbed1983]

i don't know about wraith command structure but am i the only who finds the female wraiths attractive? or am i just weird?

[prion]

How is Ford keeping his Wraith herd alive? And when he kills all the Wraith, does he expect his withdrawal from the enzyme to be painless? I'm sure he's not thinking about that at all.

He's not killing all the wraith (when you thikn of it, there are literally tens of thousands of 'em).

- How could Ford think being addicts, even super powered ones, is a good thing for anyone, but especially the primary Atlantis off world team? I see that Wraith enzyme boosts your strength and healing powers but lowers your IQ. Rainbow did a fine job of making me hate him.

Cuz he's an addict himself and isn't thinking straight perhaps ?

- I’m sure Rodney now regrets everything he ever taught Ford. Who knew? Thanks for the line that Rodney taught Ford about DHD crystals on a mission. Maybe that was Home?

Yup, most likely "Home."

- Ooh, look at all the Wraith intel we learned from Jace! The Wraith are territorial, they seemed to be cutting down communications between ships because of the knowledge of people like Teyla who can read Wraith minds (foreshadowing a future episode?). And the lack of food making the divisions even worse.

Darn shame he plummeted to a splatty end in the Hive ship. When I saw that lab, I thought I was in an old Outer Limits episode!

- Of course, it was bound to happen but it still seems odd to hear Teyla call Rodney by his first name. I think she only started doing that in Aurora.

No, she called him Rodney in "Instinct." Their first time. Aw.......

- I’m a bit worried about Major Lorne. I like him. That probably means the writers are going to red shirt him. I sure hope not.

Don't think so. Better NOT.

- I guess Ford really is gone if he’s willing to make his family wait for him. Or maybe he really doesn’t care, that it was just words, like he said later. Although it seems to me a tiny bit of the young lieutenant wanting to prove himself is still there from before the enzyme.

- I got a sinking feeling when Ford’s science guy, Jace, was one of the 4 men who died falling into the Wraith ship. I don’t think Ford is going to let Rodney leave now.

He did. SPLAT.

- Ford just didn’t think this thru, did he?

Oh, he did, it's just that his manner of thinking isn't quite... good.

- Wow, John called Ford a snot nosed brat. You know, John, Caldwell is right. Ford really shouldn’t be running around the Pegasus galaxy. Maybe now you’ll do something about it instead of trying not to leave a man behind.

Yeah, loved that

- Eww. Does John smell tasty to the Wraith?

Think Shep's thinking he's a piece of meat with the wraith sniffing him. Eeeuuu.

- I don’t think the male Wraiths have the ability to mentally bring humans to their knees like the female ones seem to have. Or has it been that we’ve only seen males eating and not playing with their food?

Hmm... good question. Well, the female do seem to like to play with their food don['t they. Couldn't blame her if this particular female wraith wanted to play with Sheppard

[ShadowMaat]

I think Ford does have moments of clarity where he feels remorse for what he's done and wants out, but I also think that he feels trapped by what he's become- momentum is carrying him forward and he feels powerless to stop it.

I still love Ford, but while I originally thought the direction they were taking him was pretty cool, now I'm a little less enthusiastic. It's still great stuff, but it's a little heavy on the darkside for me. I prefer a slightly fluffier, less psychopathic Ford.

[mgbland]

Wouldn't one queen produce eggs for all the wraith? There may be non-mature queens, and maybe they challenge the queen for the position, or start a new hive ship. Too bad, you can't kill the queen and irradicate the entire hive.