The Return, Part 1 (310)

[2ndgenerationalteran]

this is really sad it feels like atlantis is ending because of all the good byes

[suse]

Am I the only one who was saying "Oh, this reminds me of Within The Serpent's Grasp" there at the end?

T'was better than the not horrific but <yawn>able SG-1 cliffhanger.

Suse

[LoneStar1836]

Well that was a letdown. Too much talk, not enough action for a mid season hanger. Plus I didn’t care all that much for the main story. Seemed a little disjointed. We discover those arrogant Ancients (which quite possible were replicators, imo) and then all of a sudden we’re kicked out of Atlantis. Wtf?

I hope the replicators knock off all those snotty, ungrateful Ancients if they are actually Ancients. I’m thinking there is a good possibility that they are Replicators. (Did no one even think to check…) Possibly a group that learned the Ancients packed up and headed to Earth so they decided to follow. I don’t know. Just a guess. Anyway if they are Ancients, I could never really stand that race, and I hated them after SG-1’s Threads. I hope the Replicators and Ori kick their collective you know what.

RDA seemed a bit wasted in this episode. Didn’t really care for his acting or lines in this one. Hopefully he’ll have more to do in the action sense in the second part.

All the little character moments were nice and the best part of the episode, but I got to say I was more entertained by SG-1’s episode tonight than I was SGA’s.

I really wasn’t paying attention to all the techno babble regarding the whole new gate system between Pegasus and Milky Way so I have a question. Once the PJ gets to the midway station, how does it dial the gate to continue on its journey if there is no point of origin since this is in a void between galaxies? I’m guessing the answer involves McKay and some sort of convenient by-pass program he has come up with to solve the problem of needing a point of origin or more specifically an actual planet….that or they somehow reconfigure the point of origin for the gate. Obviously I missed something in all that talking so does anyone remember the answer or was it even explained?

[Orion's Star]

This was a fairly good episode but I found it hard to take it seriously considering the fact that the odds of John being punished yet again for disobeying orders (this is his, what, second or third time now?), hurting fellow soldiers (which should get him busted no matter what), and potentially putting the Earth at risk, kind of limited the impact of the story.

I mean, where is the credibility and realism of the writers when a Lt. Colonel is going around, flippantly disobeying direct orders, attacking soliders under his command, and nothing is going to happen to him unless there is a major shakeup of the cast and story dynamic starting with the new episodes. And considering Stargate's history with that kind of stuff, it doesn't seem likely.

Other than that, this was one of the better episodes this season, even if it was mostly set-up. Liked Caldwell, liked the use of Beckett (good to see him be a major part of the storyline), and well, the less there is said of Weir the better.

[Kliggins]

Well it seems like the wardrobe department can't figure it out either. He was in the first scenes wearing his uniform...with his two stars. Cut to the report where Jack's in the BDUs and....he's got one star!! Apparently no one caught that mistake.

Hehehe. Probably used his costume from season eight when he was a one-star general. I don't think he has been back in the green BDUs since he got his second star.

[Steven_the_Atlantean]

I haven’t watch it, and it will be a while till I do, but I am just curious now that the “Ancients” took over Atlantis, what power modules are they using, Earth Naqua generators or ZPMS?????

[Kliggins]

I liked the episode very much. I thought it was very poignant when they left Atlantis, how disjointed they all felt away from the city, and will just make the return better. I willl agree some of the technobabble was starting to make my eyes glaze over, but I am still going to watch the rerun.

Of course, I would have liked more RDA and I think, less familiarity around the Atlantis crew might have had an affect on his performance, but I have high hopes for the second part.

[FoolishPleasure]

I haven’t watch it, and it will be a while till I do, but I am just curious now that the “Ancients” took over Atlantis, what power modules are they using, Earth Naqua generators or ZPMS?????

I didn't hear it mentioned. Magic, I guess. But the Replicators had the ability to manufacture ZPMs.

I liked the gate system, and I didn't think I would. What I didn't like was Sheppard's attitude at SGC and with his new team. Landry should have put him in his place, and at least make him get a shave and a hair cut.

[Irish Eyes]

What the freak was Mckay's office..!?! Maybe it was some kind of large scale Naqahdah Reactor?? That thing was huge..! We know they'd been having problems applying Naqahdah power generation on a larger scale than the downsized version. That could turn out to be quite cool. It might even allow Earth to generate massive amounts of power than it is currently capable of generally doing.

This scene made me laugh. The reactor was so huge, it was a good symbol for Rodney's opinion of himself.

I really enjoyed the episode. I know there wasn't a lot of action, but I'm all about the character moments so that was fine by me. The second part will probably be packed with action so when we can finally see them back to back, I think it will be very satisfying.

A lot of the good has been mentioned. The one thing I would add is when Rodney was going to the gate and he said bye to Teyla. He actually sounded sad. Rodney used to get on my nerves, but he has grown on me a lot.

My nitpick would be I wanted more of RDA. Hopefully, that will happen in the conclusion.

Oh, and dibs on Elizabeth's quarters. I think my apartment would fit in there!

[Excali5033]

:\ Siler gets the short end of the stick once again. There's just no love for us AF engineers.

[Oreo]

I think that the episode should have been a three parter and the true season finale. I would be a good build up to the next season and them getting back to take back Atlantis.

[SciFiGeek]

Best episode of Atlantis I've seen in a looong time. Honestly, this episode was so good (and so surprisingly good at that) that it's just about restored my faith in Atlantis. I am actually extraordinarily excited to see the second half to this. This was the best season opener/end of the show...quite possibly ever.

Granted, maybe I just went into it with low expectations (I wasn't too thrilled with anything to do involving the Replicator Ancients, or even people who may or may not actually be Ancients...?) but as the episode progressed, I found myself having a surprising amount of fun with it. I was pleasantly surprised and intrigued by the Samantha Mulder/Lenea/Ancient commander, and a little disappointed to see she had so little screentime.

One of the best things about the episode: there were a lot of true lol moments, that I actually did just that. Not the least of which being the Sheppard/McKay phone conversation (I love that they keep in touch! And that they get together for dinner!); when everyone's cellphones' but Carson's rang ("I didn't bring my bloody cellphone! What's going on??"); when we realize that Carson wasn't actually called to the SGC like the others but tagged along anyway; Sheppard cutting off Landry's message ("Now I at least don't know what he was going to do to me"); heck, I even got out a kick out of the delivery of Sheppard's "Pull up, honk the horn, see if we can get them to roll down the window."

Another reason I was so pleasantly surprised was because, not long into the episode, what with them packing everything up and actually leaving, it seemed too surreal, and I was more than half-convinced that it was all going to be a fabricated reality for the members of Sheppard's team created by the Ancient Replicators. Only they've used that trick before, and in retrospect, that probably would've felt like somewhat of a copout. I mean, they actually did let that all happen, and we got to see the longterm consequences... And the cliffhanger was a great cap onto the episode, because it wasn't so much about, I dunno, dire situation--how are we going to resolve this? but rather, set-up for the next move...keep watching to see it play out.

Also, all the sneaking around and going behind Landry's back and disobeying orders to steal the Puddle Jumper (was that the Time one from Moebius?) was a lot of fun, and more than any reminded me of some of the really good old times with SG1--it's what made the episode so good was not only did it have great set-up, but it was fun. And I enjoyed the fact that all the SGC characters that didn't get to be in The Quest got to show up here--Landry, Walter, Dr. Lee--hee, they even shot Siler! And while I enjoyed seeing Jack again (and am dying to see him in his second SG1 episode this season) it was nice to see him more as a background character, not really stealing the spotlight, but letting the charm of the main characters carry the episode.

Dang it, Atlantis, I haven't enjoyed you this much in such a long time. Now don't let me down!

[coolove]

I think the episode was just a waste of RDA. I'd prefer to see him on Sg1. The character bits were nice. I liked the moment between Ronan and Sheppard. There were a lot of things that bugged me about this episode but such as how huge Weir's quarters were. It was ridiculously large. It must have doubled as something else as well. What the hell does she do with that space? I guess I more fascinated with that then merely bugged.

[KezatheAscended]

FANTASTIC!!!

I'm going to go insane over the next 6 months and will probably keep myself drowning in fanfic until then. There is going to be an overload until part 2.

OMG! I'm soooo veryveryvery glad it ened up begin the REAL ancients. I thought it was going to be the replecator "Ancients".

Almost cried when Carson almost cried. I get so mad on hom easily my emtions come thru books and movies and shows and all that stuff.

It was very much like a family being separated. But of everyone I think I felt most for Ronon and Teyla. They and her people literally got thrown into the cold. After all these generations of thier peoples hoping for the Ancestors return, it's nothing like what they imagined. I would hate them. I do hate them.

I loved the scene of Ronon and Teyla in John's room. Very fam-sibling like. Adorable and heart wrenching. And the one with John and Elizabeth. "I'm only 1/4 thru War and Peace." And loved the Princess Bride quote. I love that movie.

Loved them working out the plan to go against orders...knew they were going to do something...loved them getting the calls at the same time at dinner.

If it was me, I would have said something back to the General at the end while they were at the mid point. Something like..."With all do respect Sir...Go to Hell..." and then turn off the connection. He might have gotten in deeper trouble with the SGC, but that's just me.

Pissed with Ladon and that comment to Ronon. OOOO! I wanted to reach thru the screen and just punch him. But I likeed the idea of bringing the Genii in. Ronon is absolutely a fish out of water with Teyla's people. Figured he would just rejoin the rest of the survivors of Sateda...but it's a good thing he didn't.

Hated the ending...well, no, it was good. But you know what I mean. I am definitly going to go crazy!!!!!

[Scyld]

I didn't like the team defying orders but then again Sg1 has done it plenty of times in order to save the universe yadda yadda yadda. Not a bad episode. But I'm hoping there's at least some repercussions for going against orders.

This is the Stargate universe. You don't get reprimanded for going against orders. You get promoted.