'The Prodigal' (514) General Discussion

[jelgate]

Being reply 165 it's hard to be original, but I have something!

This entire mess was Woolsey's fault and the repercussions should be severe.

The off world team is early and unresponsive, just transmitting the IDC. Woolsey knows this is a problem since he is a stickler for the book. This is where he gets impatient and in an 'aw screw it' moment, allowed the defenses dropped and which makes him personally responsible for any deaths, injuries and damage which resulted. As he would say, he violated protocol!

Mr. Woolsey! Report to the gate. You have a date with an IOA review board on Earth!

Great ep!

Its not uncommon for teams to report back early especially if they are coming in hot

[WarGrowlmon18]

A being of free will who was stripped of his alien body and assigned a human persona. When one cast him out and other refused to accept him unless he became what he was not, what the hell else was Michael suppose to do? Lay down and die?

Michael's claim to power has always been in the name of his survival. And he is justified in his actions because neither race would allow him to let him live unless he became either what he was not or the taint we induced. And in that frame of mind, when you are neither wraith nor human and cast out by everyone...what on earth are you suppose to do?

Create others like you.

And in doing to Michael realized both the weaknesses of being human and wraith. He wanted to show everyone that for all the failure they saw in him he had managed to perfect his body and his situation. The release of the Hoffman Drug was his first steps in showing the wraith that they could cripple their entire race by taking out their food source.

I'm sorry, but I side with Michael. I can see why he did what he did and I sympathize with him.

Tyrant he is not, and we are in someway still guilty for everything that he did.

I only agree that we are partialy responsible but if all Michael wanted to do was make more beings like him, then he could have taken those other Wraith that undoubtedly survived in Misbegotten and were probably later killed by the Wraith or he could have just made his hybrids and not tried to rule the galaxy. No: he is responsible for nearly all of his own actions and seriously needed to die.

[Dr Lee]

Mallozzi's talked about this epi on his blog...Just a couple of biuts that popped out at me, thought they might be appriciated here.

6. Running gag #1: Whenever we screened this episode in the writers’ room and we got to the scene where Michael gets on the P.A. and promises to turn off the self-destruct and save the city in exchange for her son, one of us would pipe up: “Teyla, it’s Chuck! Give him the baby!”

7. Running gag #2: Whenever Michael would drop off the ledge and plummet down into the darkness, we would imagine Chuck stepping out onto one of the lower balconies for a smoke - only to get creamed by Michael who, fall broken, would hop up none the worse for wear and make good his escape.

8. While they were shooting the climactic tower fight sequence, there was one take in which Connor flipped the Sheppard stunt actor who was supposed to roll and save himself by grabbing hold of a part of the structure - only the stuntman missed and went right over, landing amidst the safety mats below. Connor immediately threw his arms up in triumph and shouted: “I WIN!!!”, much to the crew’s delight.

Linky

[Corona]

Teams may come back early or hot, but Gen. Hammond would have had the guns trained on the gate.

No, there was room for doubt and Woolsey did not take appropriate steps to protect Atlantis. It was entirely his call.

[Skydiver]

now that last bit, the 'i win', better make it on a blooper reel. cause it'd be hysterical

[Mekarri]

I disagree that everything Michael did was his fault. The whole reason I began watching Atlantis was because of what we did to Michael and the fact that no one would ever own up to it even when Michael had them all dead to rights.

Michael has been right from the very beginning. All that he has done could have been prevented as long as we hadn't turned him into our test subject. Everything after that has been to stay alive since neither human or wraith would accept him after what we did to him.

Michael is our fault and everything he has done is our fault too.

We created the monster.

Sae, you are correct. They did create Michael without regards as to how it would effect the worlds around them. And they why they don't seem to understand that they are responsible for the death on so many, is beyond me. Another thing, why Teyla and Ronon isn't more angry at the people of Atlantis is something else I don't quite get. Regardless, I love SGA and will be sorry to see it end.

[Mekarri]

Survival does not entail what Michael did.



I feel for Michael, I really do. But that does not justify what he did. Michael didn't have a choice in the matter. But he became worse than someone who didn't care about his choice. He became hypocritical. There are plenty of unsettled worlds out there Michael could have hidden on.



I'm different. So I'm going to create others like me. Hmm.



And from here, the accountability of Atlantis stopped. Michael chose to do something in his position, without any outside interference or continued influence from Atlantis, and commit murder. He became the hypocrite who began experimenting on others. We may be responsible for his fall, but ultimately, Michael is responsible only and of himself.



Sympathizing doesn't mean you have to justify everything he does. The level of accountability has passed.



He programmed those that he experimented on to be loyal solely and only to him. He was the de facto leader, and they couldn't kill him. Michael was worse than us, we didn't take away his free will.

I would like to say that I don't identify or agree with anything Michael has done. They should have saw it coming from a mile away. But I do believe that every life that Michael destroyed is the fault of the people of Atlantis. I don't have a problem with them experimenting on Michael he was a wraith. The problem I have with the people of Atlantis is not having a plan in place that would kill Michael in an instant if he were to attempt an escape. Michael should have ALWAYS had a kill switch.

[Corona]

The alternative would have been a dead Wraith who would not turn into Michael. Why would they have kept it alive?

We learned that Wraith hybrids can't fly! Michael should have engineered that detail into himself.

[Ruffles]

I'd love to know why Tayla just clutched her baby to her chest and talked to Michael instead of putting the baby down and kicking the $#@ out of him as she should have. She could've taken him out in five seconds, but no! I don't understand. She had plenty of opportunity to put the baby down and still take Michael out when his back was turned. (sigh)

I have to admit, that was my first thought as well. Then Michael whipped Ronon and Sheppard. Teyla probably would have lost to Michael. Regardless, she wasn't going to just put him down. She didn't let go until he was in the hands of someone she trusted. Torren is her child. Nothing is more important. If she'd attacked Michael, one of the hybrids would have intervened anyway.

now that last bit, the 'i win', better make it on a blooper reel. cause it'd be hysterical

I thought we weren't getting bloopers on S5 DVDs.

Sae, you are correct. They did create Michael without regards as to how it would effect the worlds around them. And they why they don't seem to understand that they are responsible for the death on so many, is beyond me. Another thing, why Teyla and Ronon isn't more angry at the people of Atlantis is something else I don't quite get. Regardless, I love SGA and will be sorry to see it end.

You say that as if Michael had no choice but to do what he did. Michael made his own choices. He didn't have to attack those worlds. He didn't have to seek revenge. He could have found a quiet world somewhere and lived out his life.

Let's compare him to Todd. He was imprisoned by Kolya for years, used as a torture device which was torture itself (by starvation). He didn't go on a murderous rampage against Kolya or the Genii or any humans (well, any more than any other Wraith). He slowly, methodically rebuilt his life, established his place. He's wiley, clever, deceitful. He's Wraith. But he isn't a psychopath.

Michael is a being with free will. Atlantis' error was in not killing him when they had the chance (No Man's Land/Misbegotten). Before that, they were trying to find a way to end the war without genocide - by eliminating the Wraith's need to feed.

[Mekarri]

I have to admit, that was my first thought as well. Then Michael whipped Ronon and Sheppard. Teyla probably would have lost to Michael. Regardless, she wasn't going to just put him down. She didn't let go until he was in the hands of someone she trusted. Torren is her child. Nothing is more important. If she'd attacked Michael, one of the hybrids would have intervened anyway.



I thought we weren't getting bloopers on S5 DVDs.



You say that as if Michael had no choice but to do what he did. Michael made his own choices. He didn't have to attack those worlds. He didn't have to seek revenge. He could have found a quiet world somewhere and lived out his life.

Let's compare him to Todd. He was imprisoned by Kolya for years, used as a torture device which was torture itself (by starvation). He didn't go on a murderous rampage against Kolya or the Genii or any humans (well, any more than any other Wraith). He slowly, methodically rebuilt his life, established his place. He's wiley, clever, deceitful. He's Wraith. But he isn't a psychopath.

Michael is a being with free will. Atlantis' error was in not killing him when they had the chance (No Man's Land/Misbegotten). Before that, they were trying to find a way to end the war without genocide - by eliminating the Wraith's need to feed.

Michael didn't have a choice. You all act as if he was human to begin with. He was a wraith and wraith likes being wraith. Therefore you have two choices and that is kill or be killed. It should have been a no brainer that if this didn't work out as planed he should have been killed. I love SGA and SG but one of the main thing that bother me about both is that they never take responsibility for the havoc they cause on the galaxy. As if they can say oops my bad and that makes it alright. And by the way why do they always make Americans bumbling idiots that make a giant mess at everyone else expense and then spend years trying to fix it, just to make another blunder. Since this is Sci-Fi it would be nice if we can at least pretend that we have a conscience when it come to people other than ourselves.

[huntress]

One of the better episodes from season five. Why? Very simple. For one thing, it was not just a John and Rodney show. I love them both to death but IMO the series was always the best when the whole crew was somehow involved and everyone got good scenes. Also, finally.....FINALLY Teyla was not the Invisible Woman but could kick some major butt. I was a bit sad to see Michael go but since this is the last season of SGA and we are now in the second half of it, it was time to finish some storylines off. I think they want to end the series with the Wraith problem finally solved. I loved a lot of small scenes in the episode. Woolsey and Ronon getting finally an understanding (and I loved it how Woolsey handled it), The boys and the toy cars was adorable and Zalenka and the stun bubbles. So yes...on the whole a very nice SGA episode.

[Atlantis15]

Gotta say I loved the fighting in this, especially the fight between Michael and Sheppard on the side of the tower that looked like it hurt.

Also I know she has probably said it before but Teyla refered to the Atlantis people as her people which I found a little odd.

[mr_kennedy]

i didnt think i would like this episode much but after watching i thought it was brilliant

ronan - im not very good at talking either lol

i never really liked michael much anyway

[CazzBlade]

An excellent review of the episode: http://www.cliqueclack.com/tv/2008/1...-the-prodigal/

[prion]

I would like to say that I don't identify or agree with anything Michael has done. They should have saw it coming from a mile away. But I do believe that every life that Michael destroyed is the fault of the people of Atlantis. I don't have a problem with them experimenting on Michael he was a wraith. The problem I have with the people of Atlantis is not having a plan in place that would kill Michael in an instant if he were to attempt an escape. Michael should have ALWAYS had a kill switch.

What's the old adage?... the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The earth folk wanted to eliminate a threat that would take the lives of millions of pegasus folk, thought this would be a good way, but... well, yeah, it was like Frankenstein. No different than questionable actions in wars on earth...

Yeah, well, the writers like to avoid stuff like that. They should have had an invisible fence collar on MIchael. Go outside the perimeter... ZAP!!!