Trinity (206)

[ShadowMaat]

An interesting ep. We gain a LOT of insight into McKay's character, and it's a little cringe-worthy in its honesty. It will be interesting to see how- or even IF- this plays out in future episodes.

We got to see another side of Ronon, too, and while I suppose it fits with what little we know about him, I'm not sure it was necessary. He's falling into patterns of cliche again, and I'd really rather see him avoid the predictible trappings of his character type.

I had been led to believe this was some kind of pivotal ep, some major darkening of McKay's character and all that. But other than his suicidal/genocidal blindness to the consequences of his actions, I don't know what we've really learned. Yes, I can see how Collins's death prompted him to want to find out what happened so it didn't happen again, but that was quickly overshadowed by his own need to... I dunno, succeed. Prove himself. Whatever.

Hewlett once again showed off his brilliance in acting, particularly in the last scene with Shep. All the words in the world can't say as much as his expression did. Let's hope this DOES haunt him. And that we continue to see the fallout.

But again, what have we really learned? The Ancients were working on a new technology. The outpost failed and wiped out a planet in the process. Now McKay's finished the job by taking out half the solar system. But all that means is that the Ancients weren't masters of everything and that there are some things best left untouched.

And as for Ronon... That whole storyline seemed like a waste. All we get is his impatience, tendency to rash action, supreme self-confidence and the fact that he wasn't the only survivor. And Teyla being righteously pissy with him, but still maintaining an Us vs. Them "alien conspiracy". Can't say I think much of that. There's bonding and then there's, "oh, brother."

Dex IS helping to flesh out Teyla a bit, but while I still think the two have good chemistry, I'm not sure I liked what this ep had to say about either of them. With McKay, it was an insight I didn't particularly like, but which read as true. With Dex and Teyla, I didn't like it because it seemed trite and meaningless.

Still, there was good McKay stuff. I just wish there'd been a bit more meat on the bones.

[MarshAngel]

Very well done. I can see them slowly taking Mckay down by notches. Last week perfect strangers deconstructed him and this week his ego takes a beating but only after it had risen to gargantuan proportions.
I have to say I wanted to kick McKay several times. The way he abuses poor Zelenka. I give the man props for continuing to work with him and being gracious about it.
I also love what they did with Teyla and Ronon. I Love how Ronon just shot the guy with no preamble. I never did get all the speeches people tend to make before they kill you. It was nice to see them close ranks over a secret. It provides basis for future drama and dama is good.

I still can't get over McKay's ego. Just how does one man get so confident and presumptuous? He hasn't saved the world the number of times Carter has and yet he has the ego of a man who's saved several galaxies. Amazing really.

[jyh]

Is it just me, or did McKay seem obsessed in this ep? His anxiety to work on the new power source, regardless of possible consequences, really bordered on fanaticism. I almost thought that at the end of the episode it would be discovered that the device caused an obsessive/compulsive disorder in Canadian scientists.

Also, can't believe they skipped the ending credits and previews for next week. Very low rent, SciFi.

[Excali5033]

Hahaha NO. I would hazard a guess that this BSG episode ran long and so they cut SGA's credits to accomodate. The BSG podcast constantly mentions deleted scenes and such... presumably they just managed to get an extra few seconds in on this one.

Yeah, last I knew it's the ratings king for Friday.

[ShadowMaat]

Atlantis was wasting time with those ridiculous shots of the village. No way did they go over, they were scrambling to fill the time.

[Traveler Enroute1]

This episode worked on many levels. Loved the jabbering with Rodney and Sheppard, even when it was not funny it was well written. Rodney's "Gemini." Even geniuses make mistakes, ask Sam Carter! The angst to get a power source makes for nice drama, and it played well here. Caldwell's military bent, Weir's Atlantis priorities, Rodney's ego and Shep's security mindset - all angles pulled this portion of the ep into a worthy show.

The Teyla and Ronon portion was even more appealing. Lots of drama with Ronon and his past. From elation that there were other survivors from his culled home, to seething that his former teacher, a traitor, was among them. It was a tad predictable, but the execution of the traitor was still a powerful moment. It also encompassed the betrayal of Teyla's trust, something Ronon will have to decide was worth it. They do make a nice looking duo, esp if they get into a fight. Teyla tried to give him the benefit of her doubts when he practically challenged the trader, then he goes and tricks her into setting up his vengeful deed. He owes her big; esp since she's still shielding him by not reporting this back on Atlantis. Why? Missed that.

The sfx on both shows are always getting better, and the scenes with Rodney and Shep in the lab were excellent. Loved the Ancient's "big honkin' space gun" at the end. I'm pretty ok with the Daedalus coming to the rescue (again) but it sure was cutting it close for all of them. Three quarters, five sixths of the galaxy blown to smithereens. Wow.

Bet the resident counselor is going to get two new visitors soon...

Just sayin'.

[NowIWillDestroyAbydos]

Good episode, not the best.
Interesting ending though (Weir & McKay Argument)

[JanusAncient]

I will hurt feelings, and people will hate me because of this, but I really don't like Mckay, the ego, the self-absorbed nature of this guy, his unwillingness to believe in anything other than science, his constant need to be the best, I understand that the guy had a traumatic childhood, but is that really an excuse for him to act as he does. I loved the power source, Ancient technology is increasingly more intriguing. Dr. Weir and Caldwell, finally seeing, to some extent, the necessity of each others role in Atlantis, Daedalus being there at the end, Ancients caught by surprise, unable to ascend, this episode was brilliant, all the way.

[the fifth man]

Very good episode. I really like how this show is developing. Ah, that poor, poor, cocky McKay. Bit off way more than he could chew, without a doubt. He's really gonna half to win back confidence now. Should be fun to watch him do it, though. Can't wait until next week's episode. Finally we'll learn more about the wraith.

[AGateFan]

Yeah, last I knew it's the ratings king for Friday.

What is ratings king on Fridays? Atlantis, yeah they were on top last I heard too.

[SciFiGeek]

Hmm, I'm so glad to finally have a Friday night in which I truly love all three shows the SciFi Channel has to offer. I'm glad that Atlantis finally had an episode this season that I almost completely enjoyed.

Well, there was McKay-Sheppard...and how can you go wrong with that. Truly. I don't care if they're arguing, bantering, discussing which rooms in Atlantis they'd like; the episode had the one thing I felt this season was more than a little lacking up till now; and I was more than satiated.

I'm having to reponder my feelings towards McKay, what with the sporatic, inconsistent writing of his character at the start, and then Duet, which took his character to an uncomfortable extreme that I found difficult to handle; I think felt like ShadowMaat said she did with him about this episode; in character, but cringeworthy to watch.

But while I enjoyed last weeks episode (certainly more than say Runner), I prefer episodes that are more character than plot driver, and I felt this one was much more so. I think it's fascinating (and yes, cringeworthy) watching the extremes McKay goes to in his obsession with science. And I absolutely loved some of his scenes with Sheppard--especially the one where he asked him for his trust.

The one thing I did wonder, with the ending scene, is did McKay really ever have Sheppard's full trust? Sheppard indicated so, but I don't know...hmmm...must ponder on this.

As for the Teyla-Ronon sup-plot...slightly better than I thought it would be. It showed minimal increase for Ronon's character. On the downside, I thought the breaks were cutting too much into the intensity of the other plot and was making me like it less. On the upside, I didn't think I'd ever say this, but go Teyla! I was so glad she told him off for using her. I like that she sympathized with him, but still reprimanded him for that. Teyla makes a good diplomat; they should concentrate more on that as an aspect of her personality and less on how high up her stomach her shirts go when she's fighting with sticks.

Yay! I love SciFi Friday again!

[fatesfortune]

I found it a very good episode tonight. Poor Mckay. Though on the other hand, I find it very interesting that he reverted back to his extreamely cocky, im always right attititude. It think one of the major parts to his character is that he is changing, and so he will revert back to his old nature. He has to learn to play nice with people now, and he has to realize that not everything is within his ability to handle, as was pretty much the case on earth. Its also interesting that he developed pretty much an obsession with making the power source work. I saw it that he wanted to make it work, not so he would be seen as a hero or anything, but because it would actually help all the people he was actually starting to get close to, and I also saw his obsession as a way for him to try and ignore the guilt that he felt over one of his scientists dying.
Also I think the scenes between Mckay and Shepperd were very good. Its interesting to see how their relationship grows, and changes shape and how its effected by the things that happen. It will be interesting to see how they act towards each other in the next episode or two, as well as how mckay and weir act towards each other as well. It would be nice to see mckay in the doghouse for a little bit, because I think it could add some nice areas for character development.
This episode definatly left the future wide open to a lot of possibilities.

[Gargen]

I was looking forward to this episode, and as it turns out, I was correct in doing so. This was a great episode.

Best quote:

Weir: You destroyed three quarters of a solar system!
McKay: Look. Five sixths...but its not an exact science.
Weir: Rodney! Can you Give your ego a rest for one second?!

In fact, the entire scene with Weir yelling at McKay in the background was hillarious.

A pity we never got the power source to work right.

Oh, and I have to mention that I am continually impressed with the quality of the Visual Effects and props/scenery. I always love the cool little computer interfaces. And the Big Bad Zero Point generator looked neat as well.

i noticed oyu made it your sig as well haha man i dont blame mckay it wasnt really his fault though his being an ******* was uncalled for but when it comes to physics like that sometimes somepeople just have a different level of understanding and get pissed when others try to be at that level

[Lord You]

Interesting episode! I really liked the Ford/McKay and Telya/Ronan interaction. I really hated how stuck up McKay was, but that made him interesting to watch! I was also afraid Telya and Ronan's trek was going to be cliche, but the actors continue to impress In fact, I think Shepard is the least interesting character in the group to me! A few other notes:

1) The control room seemed inspired by Forbidden Planet and Star Trek Voyager's The Omega Directive. Both good things. :-)

2) So ZPMs do act as batteries and it has nothing to do with the Casimir effect. I suspected that, and applaud the powers that be for realizing that zero-point energy really means something different than popular accounts.

2) Zelenka's science was horrible at the end! It sounded good (virtual particles). However, the particles he described behave exactly like gluons in the nucleus of every atom! Gluons interact with themselves as well as hadrons. In fact, the Strong Force - which gluons mediate - gets stronger the more distance between hadrons. Yet it doesn't result in a chain reaction.

[Daniel's_twin]

An OK episode IMHO. Not their best, but kinda interesting. It was a stand-alone, and they're usually not as good as continuity-based ones. But I guess as far as stand-alones go, it was alright. I must say though, it was definitely interesting to see McKay go to such great lengths to prove to everyone (as well as himself) that he really is super-brain and can do anything. Even when the device was overloading, he was still saying this shouldn't be happening, I didn't see that coming!

I give it two and a half stars out of five.

[Osiris-RA]

Why this wp was called Trinity... I'm not exactly sure yet. Anyone care to explain?

If you look up the phrase: "I'm gonna squeeze your head like a cherry tomato!!!" up in the dictionary or your thesaurus, I'm pretty sure a picture of mckay is next to it. But I digress.

This was a great character building ep for the Sg universes's favorite little twerp. Not only did he unveil a particularly nincompoopy side to himself that I dare say I've never seen before, he kind of showed us the dangerous side of the scientist who believes - somewhere inside his soul - that he is part godman. As godman, it's his duty to do the best he can to ensure that his status is affirmed with his fellows and to assure himself that he is godman and has everything in control. Gotta say DH captured the annoying Mckay perfectly. I think godmen are usualy power hungry geeks anyway.

The Teyla/Dex sub story confused me. What were they doing again? I mustv'e not been paying attention. Up until Dex shot that guy I was like 'huh?' Besides some nice Dex footage, I'd say our beach babewatch hunk is slightly twitterpated with Teyla - of course, that could be the sugar coating coming at me. He seems a bit sneaky and foxy like. You never know what he might be thinking and he tries to cover up his sneakiness with a pure, innocent, blinding smile...which doesn't work on the smarter of the female gender. Hopefully Teyla sees through his subterfuge. They seem to have a nice bro/sis thing going on actually, and seeing as Teyla should be the older sister, I'd say she has the right to ground Dex.

[starfox]

I really loved this episode. I got McKay & Zelenka's excitement at the beginning of the episode and I got McKay's reasoning for wanting to go back to the project even before he explained it. The whole thing rang true to his character; he needed to solve the problem, to understand why it didn't work. Then his inflated ego and glory-seeking nature kicked in and everything went to hell. But it needed to happen; no one can be right all the time and everyone had to learn that Rodney can't always do it all. It's like Weir said, "Sometimes I have to save Rodney from himself." Everyone learned that this ep, and they weren't happy about it.
I also like that part of Rodney's problem here was thinking outside the box. He failed because he found himself in a situation where the normal laws of physics, the foundations of everything important in his life, didn't apply, and he couldn't truly get that in his head. Everyone from Earth in Atlantis is in a foreign situation, but Rodney had science to fall back on, it was something he could control. He's now found himself in a situation where the rules don't apply and he's out of control and he's been shaken by that.

The one-on-ones between McKay and Sheppard were great, David Hewlett nailed those. The writers did a brilliant job with those, too. I liked how they kept the lines very bare and formal and incomplete and let DH do the rest.

LOVED Zelenka. The Zelenka/McKay dynamic is always great to watch; Hewlett and Nykl play off each other well.

The Ronon-Teyla B-story was o.k., though I didn't feel compelled to watch it on the second run. It didn't tell me so much about Ronan as it did about Teyla. I like that she got why Ronan shot the guy, and was more pissed that he jerked her around than that he killed someone. She's a fighter and she understands the attitudes of people who've lived their whole lives under the Wraith, she's not just the pretty sidekick.


All-in-all, a pretty good ep.

[rexpop]

Hahaha NO. I would hazard a guess that this BSG episode ran long and so they cut SGA's credits to accomodate. The BSG podcast constantly mentions deleted scenes and such... presumably they just managed to get an extra few seconds in on this one.

I actually think it was the other way around with SGA running over as BSG started bang on 10pm PST according to my cable box. Actually SGA did feel like it ran a little longer than usual, maybe it was because the episode had a proper ending rather than the quick cutaway of last week.

Personally I'm willing to sacrifice the end credits and endure the shortened opening credits if it keeps the shows on the air, and gives the shows an extra minute or so to add a little more depth.

[not so ancient]

Ah, witness the McKay bashing. The long knives are out, and everyone's getting a juicy slice. Predictable. This is, after all, the board where Ancients are accused of being mass murderers, or was it Sheppard who was a psychopath, or, was it Teyla's fault that the Genii attacked, or .... heck, I can't keep track of all these condemnations. Please send a memo!

I think Rodney was overzealous, and not nearly cautious enough in this ep. That is undeniable. I just see the genesis of this quite differently. There are those who see McKay as borderline nuts, egomaniacal, manifesting a 'godman' complex. I see him as eager. Sheppard, mind you, had the same eagerness.

Rodney and Caldwell were right in pushing to explore the incredible possibilities that the technology offered. McKay knew the Ancients were building it when they were under Sieg. Everything he said as to the circumstances where it had not worked before was, to my way of thinking, plausible.

He was also quite right that keeping on was the only way to make Collins death mean something. You don't quit due to one setback, even if that setback is undeniably tragic. If we did that, we'd never have airplanes, or automobiles, or, well, much of anything.

It's impossible to overstate the value of something that would *power every machine on Earth, Atlantis, and any number of spaceships, forever.* In all things, you have to measure the risks against the possible rewards, and those risks do include human lives. Everyone on Atlantis knew that danger was very present when they joined. Of course, minimizing those risks is absolutely vital, but they can't be eliminated.

McKay is arrogant but it's not really unjustified. 99% of scientists in the world wouldn't even know where to begin. Most scientists wouldn't want to begin. He got very close. But did not succeed. But for Big D, he and Sheppard would be toast.

To me, the most compelling moments were Rodney asking for Sheppard's trust and realizing he had broken it badly. In a way, Rodney didn't return that trust by letting Sheppard pull him back when his own desires and focus made him blind to realities.

[smushybird]

Ah, witness the McKay bashing. The long knives are out, and everyone's getting a juicy slice. Predictable.

Oh no, not everyone's bashing him. At least I hope not. I too saw him as passionate and driven and needing to know why it didn't work and wanting to make it work. He's a scientist. It's only natural. Unlike others, I didn't even cringe -- I liked that Rodney was being who he was, even if the egomonster ran a little rampant tonight. I loved Zelenka's utter exasperation and I loved all of Sheppard's reactions even more.

Liz has a chip on her shoulder when it comes to dealing with Caldwell. His query that maybe Collins made the fatal error was entirely reasonable. Liz instantly jumped down his throat about it, which seemed a bit much, even for her. I was amused and fascinated that Rodney tolerated her yelling (does a real leader yell and scream like that?) without seeming all that concerned about it, but when it came to apologizing to Sheppard, his heart was really in it there. That was so nice to see. I love the progression of their friendship --and it's really starting to feeling like a friendship now. Rodney's apology was touching and Sheppard's reaction to it was perfect. When he gave just that wee bit to let Rodney know that Rodney hadn't ruined everything...and those doors closed....and you could read every thought going through McKay's (and DH's) head by just the look in his eyes...and you just ached for him. What an utterly delicious actor DH is.

I don't remember any scene ever so lovely in any SG1 ep. I wish there had been scenes like that between Daniel and Jack, with such satisfying emotions and a sense of real connection. I really loved this ep.