'The Prodigal' (514) General Discussion

[The6thRace]

Excellent episode. The last act alone was enough to convince me as this being one of the best eps of the season. A one on one face off with Sheppard and Michael on the outside of the city. The episode exceded my expactations. Michael was killed in a very very powerful dramatic way, unlike........*cough* Kolya *Cough*.

I know the Teyla fans are going to be happy with this episode.

That reminds me of another thing. Its kind of the first time that this place has seemed like an actual city. They were so far away when the shenanigans started that just getting to the control tower was an ordeal in itself. First time its really felt like it was an actual city rather than a collection of sets in a studio somewhere.

[rarocks24]

That reminds me of another thing. Its kind of the first time that this place has seemed like an actual city. They were so far away when the shenanigans started that just getting to the control tower was an ordeal in itself. First time its really felt like it was an actual city rather than a collection of sets in a studio somewhere.

There was that story about Kearson Fever. Forget the name of the episode. When Rodney and Sam met up with each other and went outside to see the towers.

[Briangate78]

That reminds me of another thing. Its kind of the first time that this place has seemed like an actual city. They were so far away when the shenanigans started that just getting to the control tower was an ordeal in itself. First time its really felt like it was an actual city rather than a collection of sets in a studio somewhere.

The city shots were done very well. It made you feel how large Atlantis is, and I really liked that effect. The entire episode was great, the middle was a tad slow but after that killer ending, lol, literally a killing ending, it made up for that.

[Vala_M]

Excellent episode! I loved it!

Nice intro where Woolsey was asking Ronon about why he never writes mission reports. I always wondered if he wrote any. I figured he couldn't write/type - at least in English. "I'm not good at talking..." was great!

McKay and Sheppard racing the toy cars was nice. I'm surprised that McKay knew about car maintenance.

I noticed that they rearranged the event order slightly again like in other episodes but at least it was only that one scene.

I wonder what Michael learned from the jumper about Atlantis. How did he get a team's IDC and have it still be valid?

The stun bubble was a lot of like the AR field from the jumper in "Lifeline" but Michael was smart enough to put the access points in an up and down path instead of left-right that way, nobody could just run through and wake up after a while. Did anyone else notice that?

Michael was really pissed at Teyla. Did he really take a DNA sample of Torren or was he just lying?

I wish they mentioned how Michael managed to fly the jumper without the ATA gene? Or did he make a gene therapy as well? I always thought the ATA gene sensitivity in Ancient technology not only activated in the presence of the gene, but also rejected the Wraith, I guess the Ancients weren't smart enough to block the Wraith with the ATA gene. Or maybe since Michael is a hybrid, that wouldn't apply.

So Banks can fight, cool! Another thing I like about her. So, is Ronon into fighting women?

Michael's fight with Ronon was cool, I figured it would take place at the end of the episode though. Ronon got pushed off of that balcony, I was figuring he'd do that to Michael.

Nice to see McKay trying to fix something in a hurry again, especially considering it's the last season.

I forgot about the underwater jumper bay, it's good Sheppard thought of it.

McKay never fixed the jumpers! Hillarious! I figured we'd wind up with a scenario of one jumper has parts and the other has power.

Michael wanting to blow up Atlantis, how very evil. I figured he was lying when he was trying to coax Teyla out into the open, I like how she managed to call his bluff without exposing herself. Did Michael not know about the internal sensors or did they not have power?

I liked the plan of dialing the gate to desintegrate the back half of the jumper! The look on Michael's face was priceless! Why was the jumper bay roof open to begin with? Or did Michael do it?

I was wondering at first why Michael wanted the gate shield up at first, I guess that was why. Where was he intending on flying to? Why was there a door that opens up into the outside? I figured Michael was going to try and push Sheppard off, Telya went after him as well. That was a scary fight on top of the tower, I noticed that was the same wall that they used for Sheppard's climb in "Quarantine" - the fight was cool! I'm glad Teyla was the one who killed Michael by having him fall off of the edge of the tower and die. I hope he's really dead this time as it was a fitting end considering Michael's relations with Teyla.

The Ronon-Woolsey scene at the end was great! He made a report anyway! A very short and funny one that is.

McKay and Sheppard at the car racing again. Funny, Sheppard cheated.

Vala,

[Jackson Yee]

I entirely agree that Michael's actions were his and his alone. Bad things happen to everyone in life, but that's still not a justification to enact them on others. He was one of the most intelligent characters on the show along with Todd. He had plenty of chances to change his ways.

At least John didn't save the day this time. He's already crashed a puddle jumper into the city this season...

Fantastic episode for the writers, although as with most episodes this season, it felt a bit rushed. We can only wonder what would have happened with the major story arcs if we were given more time with Atlantis, much like how The Ark of Truth would have made up an entire eleventh season for SG-1.

Here's looking forward to Enemy at the Gate and future Atlantis movies. When are we going to manufacture some ZPMs', Rodney? It's been almost five years, and you would think that the Ancients would have left a factory inside their capitol city...

[PhoenixKnght86]

Sorry, Michael is a being with free will. In the eyes of the law, the consequences of what we did to Michael were not foreseeable. We can be charged with performing unethical experiments on him, yes. But he ultimately of his own free will poisoned tens of thousands of humans, wiped out the Taranians, and experimented on other humans. If we were to charge Atlantis for what Michael did, we might as well charge the parents of murderers for what their children did.

There's a certain level of accountability. Michael wasn't doing something to survive, he was doing something out of revenge and power lust.

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.

[Skydiver]

the tech's name is Amelia Banks
she's been a gateroom tech for a chunk of this season

[ladyjanus]

Boys and their toys, super moms, kick-ass gate technicians and a puddle jumper eaten by a stargate vortex -what more could a fan girl want?

I give this ep a solid 9. It loses one point for letting Ronan lay on the floor unconscious for so long...

[Briangate78]

Boys and their toys, super moms, kick-ass gate technicians and a puddle jumper eaten by a stargate vortex -what more could a fan girl want?

I give this ep a solid 9. It loses one point for letting Ronan lay on the floor unconscious for so long...

It really showed that Michael was not weak. In the end it took a gun shot wound and two people with excellent fighting skills to take him down. So I am happy Michael was not made to be weak.

[sae1969]

Not even Michael's lame pseudo-death? That "hanging off the ledge fall to doom" has got to be one of the oldest and most retarded of all the hollywood death paradigms.

I would say in this situation that the fall was a convenient plot device. The real drama was whether Teyla would deliberately ensure that Michael would plunge to his death or exercise mercy and save him. A fall from such heights is so much more dramatic in this case!!

[Ltcolshepjumper]

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.

There is NO justification for murder. None, never. Michael used the Hoffan drug not only to kill Wraith but humans as well. Outsiders proved that Michael could have kept the Hoffan drug from killing the human carriers, but he didn't. That's murder. Michael acted out of anger, not survival. All Michael had to do to survive was settle down on some abandoned world and clone. No, he abducted people against their will, converted them into his creatures, killed countless trying to perfect his process. They were expendable to him. The Expedition wanted him to be human, the Wraith wanted to kill him. At any time before he decided to mass murder, Michael could have decided to go the Todd route. The Expedition gave up trying to reconvert him. Michael, although not a tyrant (he had nothing to rule) was a demented former Wraith who out of vengeance decided to annihilate human and Wraith alike. That's not survival. that's genocide.

[rarocks24]

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?

Survival does not entail what Michael did.

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?

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.

Create others like you.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

[Ruffles]

I LOVED this ep! I've been a Michael fan since the beginning. I didn't know spoilers for "Michael" so I was completely sucked in - had no idea he was a Wraith until the big reveal. I adored that the writers didn't ignore the massive mistake Atlantis made with creating him - showing us here and there the havoc he was wreaking. And we get closure. Bravo!

Good stuff:
* Ronon and Woolsey together - I thought there was no odder couple than McKay and Ronon, but I was wrong. Woolsey is so different from Ronon that I laugh when they're in the same room. "Was I there?" "I saw you. You're hard to miss." *dies*

* the small note that Kanaan was off-world visiting the other Athosians. A nice line to explain his absence but to also clue us in on what happened to the rest of their people

* Sheppard and McKay with the cars - I have so much love for these scenes! Words cannot describe. It highlights what makes them friends - the snark, the competition, the geekiness. Seriously, how many other Air Force pilots are hanging out with physicists racing toy cars? *cracks up*

* Michael - he's just so diabolical and he totally thinks it's justified. As others have said, he is a being with free will. He has chosen a path of murder and vengeance.

* Lorne - always good to see him

* Zelenka - LOVE him. His glee at Rodney almost calling it a stun bubble then at Sheppard making Rodney go with him to the underwater bay was fantastic.

* Sheppard and McKay with the jumper - hilarious banter and a tremendous scene with the handshake. LOVED that. Here's to many more suicide missions.

* WHUMP!! Okay, I'm a card-carrying Shep whumper, but that's not actually what I'm referring to. So many times the bad guy attacks and hardly anyone gets hurt. Ronon gets tossed from the control room and STAYS DOWN, almost getting his throat cut except for some fortunate timing by Zelenka (go Radek!). Woolsey tumbles down a flight of stairs and hurts his arm and has a nasty cut/bruise on his head. Lorne hits the stun bubble and goes down (and stays down). Michael kicks the crap out of Sheppard (SQUEE! Oops, sorry). As a hybrid, he should be a lot stronger than Sheppard. After all the one Ronon was fighting almost took Ronon down. Fighting results in injuries. I hate it when that's swept under the rug.

* Banks! You go, girl! Gets the door open, saves Ronon's butt with kickboxing. Gotta love that.

* TEYLA!!!! It's so good to see you. I've missed you terribly. And not just your shining face but your spunky attitude. You saved John's tail rather decidely and helped Michael off that ledge. Glad you're back.

* the ending - NICELY DONE. Another Ronon-Woolsey scene. I love that Ronon inspires Woolsey. Jason Momoa did a great job with showing being pleased at the compliment while sounding gruff. And that mission report. Bwahahaha! More words than I thought. Then Sheppard and McKay with the cars again and Teyla laughing. *wallows in teaminess* Interesting to note that Torren finally slept through the night after Michael died. Coincidence?

I love Conner Trinneer so I'm sad to see him go, but I thought this a fitting ending to the arc. He got to wreak havoc again with good scenes with Ronon, Teyla, and Sheppard. He fought hard and he died hard. Much better ending than that of Kolya.

Remnants

Spoiler:

I can only hope that will be remedied next week. Can't wait to see Kolya again! And Shep whump! *dies*

After the past few mediocre eps, I am delighted to have this one. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Well done!!

[Murzin]

i liked it. finally michael is dead and we dont have to worry about the events that happened in Last Man.

i think they are wrapping up the loose ends because they only have like 5-6 more epis before the series ends.

[Briangate78]

I love Conner Trinneer so I'm sad to see him go, but I thought this a fitting ending to the arc. He got to wreak havoc again with good scenes with Ronon, Teyla, and Sheppard. He fought hard and he died hard. Much better ending than that of Kolya.

I have to say Conner Trinneer was excellent in this episode. The emotions were really powerful. The ending was a good fit and I feel the right person ended his life. He should not have been allowed to live. Excellent review, btw.