Coup D'etat (217)

[Linzi]

I loved this episode. It was everything I hoped it would be and more!
I thought Sheppard was great in it, McKay too.
I liked the Ronon, Teyla 'B' plot, and thought it was cleverly tied into the main plot.
Some of the lines were classic.
Shep's 'That's Lt.Col errand boy to you'
Shep's 'You're just being nice'
McKay's line about one tango in the room, all stood out for me!
Great plot, with plenty of twists, and an exciting, tense episode. If only more were like this. Bit sad about Cowan though. Oh well, I just hope Kolya is still out there somewhere....

[Finder of Lost Gates]

The Genii tried to take Atlantis over in the middle of season 1. Atlantis faked it's own destruction in the very begining of season 2.

Thanks. It's what I get for watching the first run Atlantis eps on Friday and trying to catch up with the syndicated episodes at other times.

[Elinor]

This is the first episode in a long time that I really had to concentrate on (please don't laugh...it's rude ) and that was really difficult, 'cos Shep kept distracting me a LOT!! Hair was particularly 'bed-headdy gorgeous', he was whumped, tied up, wore those sexy 'Dame Edna Everage' glasses and was giving orders all over the place...phew! It's a good job I recorded this, 'cos I need to watch it again to get the gist of the blinkin' thing!! It was all about the Genii wasn't it...er...and a ZPM...or something, something?!!

Oh well, I just hope Kolya is still out there somewhere....

Yes...we need to see a SHOWDOWN!!

[Linzi]

This is the first episode in a long time that I really had to concentrate on (please don't laugh...it's rude ) and that was really difficult, 'cos Shep kept distracting me a LOT!! Hair was particularly 'bed-headdy gorgeous', he was whumped, tied up, wore those sexy 'Dame Edna Everage' glasses and was giving orders all over the place...phew! It's a good job I recorded this, 'cos I need to watch it again to get the gist of the blinkin' thing!! It was all about the Genii wasn't it...er...and a ZPM...or something, something?!!



Yes...we need to see a SHOWDOWN!!

I'm not laughing as I had to concentrate on the plot too!
JF can be very distracting, which makes concentration elusive at times!
'Dame Edna Everage' glasses, LOL!!!! Dame Edna and sexy shouldn't be in the same sentence! I find it amazing that JF looked so good in said glasses, but he did! Mind you the man would look good in anything.....

[SeaBee]

An ok ep., if a little obvious.

[Stricken]

The Genii have been in Season 2 in dribs and drabs and Coup D’etat allowed for them to come to the foreground. We have flashbacks to previous Genii episodes and then the nuke over Atlantis was unexpected but knowing the Genii have nukes it could play a part, as it did in this episode.

We soon discover that Major Lorne and his team are missing, the Genii must have known we that we would know that the bodies weren’t Lorne and his team. As it turns out it was linked to the Genii’s plans to use the ATA gene to use Puddle Jumpers to fly around drop nukes and be home in time.
It took Weir to realise that the reason why Sheppard and McKay are on the list and not Ronan and Teyla is because of the gene. But in the end our guys, with the gene, get back to Atlantis safely.

Something that shocked many was the defector from the Genii, Ladon wanted to rebel and kill their currently leader, with Atlantis’ help with the guns and explosives in exchange for a Zed-PM which was too good to be true, which it was as it was depleted. The reason for it was the fact that the Genii wished to have “Galactic domination” much like the Goa’uld and Wraith in their respective Galaxies by threatening planets with the their intending doom with the nukes. In many ways Atlantis could have helped the Genii to help themselves.

As with any episode of Stargate it would have to have its fair share of twists and the major one in this episode was that there was no rebellion and the fact that the Genii were planning on fooling Atlantis into getting the Puddle Jumpers and the rebellion was a fake into getting them to send a team to get the depleted Zed-PM. And the only item that Atlantis could trade with were actually terminally ill Genii who apparently didn’t mean anything to the Genii. This all meant that the Atlantis team were stuck between a rock and a hard place; Sheppard was first on the list but in the end as with a good Stargate twist Ladon was actually using the Atlantis team to serve his own needs. Fooling the Genii leadership with the lure of Puddle Jumpers which would serve their plans to nuke Wraith ships/bases. Which meant that is was a double, double cross the leader of Genii got his behind nuked and Ladon became the new leader of the Genii but I’m sure that he won’t become an ally but an enemy when the time comes when he needs something to achieve his goals. Landon turning was all because we could help cure his sister, thanks to Beckett, and Weir agreed with Ladon that we would help as many Genii as possible.
We have to wonder how many other planets know that Atlantis hasn’t been destroyed, its only a matter of time before the Wraith get wise and come attack, more to the point how did the Genii find out…

This wasn’t really an episode that would have future impact on the rest of the season, more of a gap filler which along with other gap fillers will play a part in a clip show next season of this we can be sure.

Coup D’etat receives a S.G.C rating of 7 out 9 Chevrons!

[HirogenGater]

Nice twist in the plot. I liked it.

[Spooks99]

One thing I have yet to understand...Atlantis has the Deadelus now, and the Deadelus has beaming technology. Even if they didn't know where Sheppard and the others were being held, once Weir became aware of the situation she should have sent the Deadelus to take the Genii's DHD. It could do that, right? And it would effectively cripple the Genii, and make a great bargaining chip. In fact, I think they should have done that the minute the siege on Atlantis was over at the beginning of the season. Effectively neutralise the threat without a drop of blood shed. Was there even any mention of the Deadelus? Maybe it was on a supply run to Earth and I just missed that?

[PG15]

I don't think they mentioned it, but I guess we'll just assume that it wasn't there.

But really, taking the only means of travel between planets away from any race is not very ethical.

[somethinghuman]

One thing I have yet to understand...Atlantis has the Deadelus now, and the Deadelus has beaming technology. Even if they didn't know where Sheppard and the others were being held, once Weir became aware of the situation she should have sent the Deadelus to take the Genii's DHD. It could do that, right? And it would effectively cripple the Genii, and make a great bargaining chip. In fact, I think they should have done that the minute the siege on Atlantis was over at the beginning of the season. Effectively neutralise the threat without a drop of blood shed. Was there even any mention of the Deadelus? Maybe it was on a supply run to Earth and I just missed that?

You cant do that. That is logical!! You have to have tension, the threat of an enemy, your team kidnapped, suspense flying!! Heck if I had beaming technology I'd take the whole stargate, you never know when one might come in handy.

[somethinghuman]

I just wanna know why the Atlantis writers have such a nuclear bomb/explosion fettish. There was an explosion in "Hot Zone" "Siege III" there were three and this episode...did I miss any??

[Lightbane]

The only thing missing from such a great episode was a little bit of torture on the captured people, injured Lorne....

[ShadowMaat]

I'll agree with that. The most surprising thing about that ep- even more than the discovery that Lorne was alive- was the fact that they didn't appear to have been tortured at all. Their borrowed clothes were rumpled, their hair was mussed, they may have had some artistic smudges of dirt on their faces, but otherwise they appeared to be untouched.

The Genii may not be on the same level of badass as the Goa'uld, but that doesn't mean they're perfect angels, either. I was expecting them to be strapped down to tables while Genii scientists cut them open to see what made them tick.

[mentalmichael]

I'll agree with that. The most surprising thing about that ep- even more than the discovery that Lorne was alive- was the fact that they didn't appear to have been tortured at all. Their borrowed clothes were rumpled, their hair was mussed, they may have had some artistic smudges of dirt on their faces, but otherwise they appeared to be untouched.

The Genii may not be on the same level of badass as the Goa'uld, but that doesn't mean they're perfect angels, either. I was expecting them to be strapped down to tables while Genii scientists cut them open to see what made them tick.

The genii are human, just like us. Why would they be trying to disect humans?
I know that Ladon talked about gathering samples, but we are talking about genetic manipulation here. Blood would probably suffice, yes?

Besides, for the most part they aren't evil, they've just had to adapt to maintaining a deception for hundreds of years whilst knowing that a single slip could lead to the destruction of their race. Lord knows I'd be a bit paranoid as well.

[ShadowMaat]

The genii are human, just like us. Why would they be trying to disect humans?

I could quote Earth history to cite instances when people have been cut open just to satisfy someone's curiosity (and not all of them in the distant past), but whatever. I tend to be very bloody-minded and when someone says "gathering samples" I tend to think that it's a slight understatement and that what's being gathered is more than just blood. *shrug*

And if I were a ruthless and desperate sort and I had a bunch of prisoners who had some genetic quirk I didn't fully understand but wanted badly to possess, I know that in addition to just "gathering samples" I'd be trying to test the limits of that quirk- seeing how it worked, why it worked, under what conditions it worked, if there were any limits under which it wouldn't work (and death/dismembered limbs would definitely be one method)... Fun stuff like that.

But as I said, I'm very bloody-minded.