The Lost Boys (210)

[edotkyle]

did anyone notice in 'lost boys', when ford goes into the bar and talks to the locals, there's an egyptian statue sitting on the far end of the bar, to the right of the bartender? is this a continuity error?

[Qasim]

You mean the Jackal type thing behind the bartender?

Theres also a sort of Greek/Roman statue in the middle of the bar

[LoveYouBaby]

What can I say?

FORD is NUTS!

Rainbow, did a great job. Poor Teyla and Ronan, forced into taking the Wraith enzyme.

I too found the episode slightly slow for a mid-season finale, (whilst SG-1's was fast paced, and was on your tip-toes) , this one was in between slow and slowest.

Loved the fact that Sheppard (accidently) rematerialized half of Ford's team off the ledge and well... FORD is NUTS!

[LORD MONK]

That's pretty cool. I didn't notice that.

[SnoggingPicard]

summary please.

it was either watching this or talking to a few of my sister's friends till 5:30 am during her 16th surprise bday sleepover. i chose girls.

Gladly! And I hope you had a good time -- it must have been good if you chose it over Atlantis!

Okay, the action starts off with the team hiking through the woods of another planet that looks suspicially like Vancouver. McKay is naturally complaining, but Shep tells him that they're following up on a tip from one of Teyla's colleagues, and that it is important that they keep going. As they walk, the team is suddenly taken down by weapons that kind of look like Wraith blasters and are taken to a cave-like hideout by a group of guys that look like fugitives. When they regain consciousness they are bound and tied, and it turns out Ford is the leader of the group.

He gives them something to eat and tells them the story of how he survived from being swept up by the Wraith culling beam. His enhanced powers from the enzyme helped him to escape, and he managed to find his way to a friendly planet where he was able to convince others that the enzyme was the way to go. He formed a little band and they set up base on their current planet. They spend much of their time hunting Wraith to feed their addiction and training in hand-to-hand combat. It turns out that they've taken to keeping several living, unconscious Wraith in the cave to feed. He tells the team that the reason he brought them there was to convince Weir that the enzyme helps and is harmless...and to demonstrate he spiked McKay, Teyla, and Ronon's food with it.

Weir, meanwhile is worried that they haven't reported in for a while, and sends out Major Lorne's team to scope out the planet. When he can't find them, Zelenka sets up shop to try to determine the last addresses dialed from the gate to see where they could have gone. They have no leads to go on, and Weir is afraid that they won't be able to find the team. The Daedalus is sent for from Earth to aid in the search, but she struggles with the knowledge that they may be dead.

Back on the planet...one of the scientists in Ford's gang takes McKay on a tour through their Wraith study lab, where he tells him they've figured out the Wraith fleet/social structure. They're very territorial and not a united front, and now they're fragmenting even more because of Teyla's abilities. They've taken to reducing the amount of ship-ship contact because if she is able to tap into their network, they don't want to jeopardize the entire fleet.

Ford orders Shep and Teyla to accompany one of the raiding teams on a mission off-world. They see the men take down the guards at a Genii base and raid the base for the necessary equipment and weapons. The leader of the strike team then informs them that the only reason Ford kidnapped them is so they could help with the next mission -- blowing up a Wraith hive ship. Back on the planet Ford shows the team the Wraith Dart ship that they managed to steal for the mission...except it isn't working. They need McKay to fix it and Shep to pilot it. Surprisingly, Shep is cautiously approving the plan and eventually convinces McKay to give the repairs his best shot. He figures it is their best chance of making it off the planet and back to Atlantis. After a brief conference with Ford, they draw up the terms of the deal -- McKay gets his enzyme cut back, Ronon and Teyla will continue to take the drug and train, and all four of them would go on the mission.

The next bit is a series of cut scenes with Ford and Shep drawing up schematics and plans for the attack, McKay repairing the scout ship, and Ronon and Teyla working with the men. At first, the pair are recieving horrible beatings during the combat sessions because they are so out-matched. They are shown to be getting injections of the enzyme by force and they are gradually improving their skills...and becoming more and more dependent on the drug as they do so.

The night or so before the mission, Shep meets with Ford who says that he misses home and wants to go back. Shep tries to convince him they could leave for Atlantis, but Ford insists on staying back to do what he started. As Shep fills them in, Ronon and Teyla chow down on their enzyme-laced dinners. Ronon runs out of food first and blatantly steals some off of Teyla's plate, which causes her to punch him in the mouth and him to drag her across the table and throw her to the floor. They start duking it out with some vicious blows until Shep stops them (he gets clocked in the process). They express concern over how addicted they feel to the enzyme, but they also appreciate how much stronger and confident they are in their abilities.

Day of the attack: The group is ready to set off when there is a change of plans. McKay is staying behind because Ford doubts Shep's sincerity. Shep sets off for the hive ship with Teyla, Ford, Ronon, and the others in the buffer, but the dart goes on autopilot when he gets too close. He is forced to beam them out too quickly, and half of the fugitives are lost in the process. When he reaches the docking bay, he is quickly discovered by the Wraith, setting off an alarm and alerting the ship to their presence. The rest of the team is ambushed by the Wraith and quickly stunned one by one. Shep and the others wake up in a detention cell, but aren't alone for long. A Wraith arrives to bring "the pilot of the ship" to the Wraith leader. Ronon is shot while trying to protect Shep, and the group can only watch as he is led from the cell. The episode ends with Sheppard being forced to kneel in the presence of the Wraith female and the others trapped in the prison cell. Dun, dun, dun!

Phew. Now you have to wait until January to see the next half.

[Vee]

I dunno, I had mixed feelings about this episode. It was entertaining, but it felt contrived somehow.

Ford's explanation about getting off the cruiser made some sense. The Wraith are so vastly surperior that they probably wouln't be concerned about anyone getting loose on one of their ships. Even as super-Ford though, it seemed pretty incredible that he managed to escape.

Also, all these people wanting to try the enzyme? Uh, I found that hard to believe. This strange man shows up, looking deformed and acting somewhat psychotic, tells them he's flying high on a Wraith drug, and they all suddenly want to try it? I'm sure injecting chemicals into yourself from a hated enemy given to you by a bizarre stranger is something everyone's dying to do. I'm not buying it. I thought the storyline was more interesting when it was merely Ford on the enzyme. A bit disappointing, that.

I did have a tough time getting past the Independence Day plot. Sure, the hive ship is cool, but I kept waiting for Will Smith to show up inside the dart.

Anyway, there was some stuff I liked. We got some interesting info about the Wraith. I'm so glad they finally brought up the implications of Teyla's abilities among the Wraith.

Ronan and Teyla scenes were great. I'm not into shipping, but they had some fantastic stuff going on. I loved the fight at the table, despite the drug induced craziness.

I was also really glad to finally see another Wraith female. I'm hoping there are more on the ships and it isn't just one female per hive ship. That'd be rather disappointing. I'd love to see what else the Wraith females are doing.

[SGalisa]

Them Lost boys were VERY *LOST*!! ...and as Shep and his entire team initially agreed - BAD PLAN, indeed!

This seemed like a study of irrational behavior and thinking -or lack of certain thoughts- making the invincibility factor *trash*, when the flaws in the invincibility is finally revealed. I hear too many tragic stories in real life of this sort, and some (already or formerly addicted?) folks want "pot" legalized???
(H*** *NO*!)
It's Bad enuff when they (or anyone!) get drunk and sassy (smart-mouthed). People of irrational behavior get big berth areas (especially on the road) in my POV. Unfortunately, they never understand the *why*... but instead sometimes think it's *cool*...which it is NOT.

Sad part of this episode: was Ford's reaction to his family... "they can wait" -because he wanted to *prove* himself to the universe for doing something worthy of gaining his own *honorable* recognition -good cause, but the means in getting there was definitely a BAD plan.

========
Loved Shep's final reaction to Lt.Ford's last comments... (skipping some dialogue here for space)

FORD: {miffed} "I can't believe you screwed up!!
....you set off the alarms! ...you *ruined* the mission --!!
....you *want* me to fail... you want me to *look* bad...!!"

SHEP: {extreme sarcasm!} "That's right, you snot-nosed brat! I *put* my team's life on the line, just to *PROVE* YOU WRONG!!"

If in part 2, Ford finally realizes the sheer folly of what was just said, including Shep's ultimate sarcasm, I can only wonder if that is enough to straighten out the messed up mind-state Aiden has embraced as the *only* way to succeed. He's been blinded, even to end, which is what mind-altering drugs do... Valiant is a noble idea, but it's not enough when irrationality takes over.

Spoiler:

(...I did see the spoiler "The HIVE" photos, but they weren't enough to survive on... and still wonder the same thought. ...and Shep needs to keep himself in a *guarded* state, even if he is freed for a little while...)

========

Oh... and just some *food for thought*...
McKay's already *wired* enough as it is -
he doesn't need to be strung out and pumped up on pot - !!
{...and he took "pot" in college??? did I hear that correctly? super *wired* McKay... at least he *had* enough sense to know what would come next...!}

Bottom line to Ford's *irrational* doped up character, especially in light of McKay's mental genius, whether there was ever any friendship between them in the past or not:

"WHAT were you *thinking*!? ...Lt.Ford??!"

[Vee]

The episode guide on scifi credits the female as a hive queen. But I'm guessing not all wraith females are queens, especially after seeing Ellia. I'm thinking their society is probably a mixture of human/insectoid since they seem far too independent to be under the absolute control of a queen.

Maybe at last the Atlantis team will get an arch enemy(in the form of that wraith woman).

I'd love to see something like that! We defnitely need a recurring wraith villian. It'd just be a bonus if it was female. As long as the show doesn't get too close to shades of the borg queen.

[mgbland]

Spoiler:

With Ford overpowering the wraith on the cruiser, and somehow making it off the cruiser, I think the wraith would beef up their security. Also, if those wraith kept logs of the people scooped up and where, it wouldn't go too well. The wraith probably realized that a human was able to resist the wraith stunners, so they'd probably beef them up too. Ford really should have found a way to destroy that cruiser.

Unfortunately, the enzyme sort of reminds me of how SG1 got rather strong and stupid in "Upgrades."

Let's hope

Spoiler:

Ford can redeem himself. This time he seemed less hair trigger, but still just as wacked.

Loved the "Snot-Nosed Brat" line!

[ODannyGirl7]

[QUOTE=Osiris-RA]Well, more exciting than Aurora. I like a Ford centerd ep - and I think he's completly right. *snip* They'd have been in and out if Shep had just acted like, I dunno, a leader? Not been all whiny "awww, this is a bad plan, awwww, you're gonna get yourself killed, whine whine whine whine"
QUOTE]


Oh! Yay. Someone agrees with me. Throughout the whole episode I kept thinking that if they would just work together it would be fine.

What made it such a bad, bad, horrible plan? (it worked in Independance Day) I'm sure that if Sheppard had thought of it it would have work, right? But he didn't think it up and isn't leading it... so it's wrong.

I figure that it's just my lack of morals. I'm all for making a super soldier.
I mean... if it's their choice. Drastic times call for drastic measures. And at least Ford's Boys are being proactive about it. Go in, destroy the enemy. Sure, there's gonna be some losses, but those are acceptable.

They all have this Holier Than Thou way of thinking on Atlantis. We're right, you're wrong.

Look at how much the Boys managed to refine the enzyme, how much they could manipulate it. Think of how much they could do with it if they brought it back to Atlantis.

The whole episode seemed to ignore the realisticly useful, if cold and somewhat uncaring, possibilities of the enzyme in favor of staying on message that drugs are bad. *sigh*

*was that kinda ranty?*
-Z

[Olinne]

maybe it's like bugs, some female can became queen and other not, those who can create a new hive and a new colony, in this case, male "serve" the queen, in fact they serve the hive, and in bug's society the queen is the hive, if she die, the hive die... but since we know nothing about their reproduction we can't really say how important is a queen, it could be cool to see a queen layer (like the one in alien vs predator ) (i'm not sure the last sentence is easly understood.. it's late in France lol i'm numb)

[UltraMarioMan]

Of course, once they ween Ford off the drug, they can play the under alien influence card. Still, it's going to be hard for Ford to go from SuperFord to a man in his forties. Unfortunately, there are things one can't do at forty that they can do at twenty. People don't bounce back as fast, and Ford's going to hate that. How are they going to explain his altered appearance back on Earth? Tortured POW)

Um why would he be in his 40's? Isn't the reason he got such a massive dose of the enzyme in the first place because the Wraith died while injecting it?

[Atlantis1]

It could answer the question as to why we see mostly male wraith.

The hive queen could be the strongest and most powerful of the female. In Instinct we were mostly shown part of the wraith life cycle. I think if we had seen the wraith child raised up in a normal manner, she might have been raised to become a queen.

[Qasim]

Is it possible that the queen represses the other females?

[Metarock Sam]

I would consider them queens I suppose. It makes sense, as they seems to be few and far between, and also always seem to be in some position of power.

but,

>>>

Whats Freddie Mercury got to do with Wraith Queens?

[prion]

Quote:
Originally Posted by prion
Of course, once they ween Ford off the drug, they can play the under alien influence card. Still, it's going to be hard for Ford to go from SuperFord to a man in his forties. Unfortunately, there are things one can't do at forty that they can do at twenty. People don't bounce back as fast, and Ford's going to hate that. How are they going to explain his altered appearance back on Earth? Tortured POW)


Um why would he be in his 40's? Isn't the reason he got such a massive dose of the enzyme in the first place because the Wraith died while injecting it?

***************************

Er, that's not me who said that.

[prion]

Also, all these people wanting to try the enzyme? Uh, I found that hard to believe. This strange man shows up, looking deformed and acting somewhat psychotic, tells them he's flying high on a Wraith drug, and they all suddenly want to try it? I'm sure injecting chemicals into yourself from a hated enemy given to you by a bizarre stranger is something everyone's dying to do. I'm not buying it. I thought the storyline was more interesting when it was merely Ford on the enzyme. A bit disappointing, that.

Heh, that was the most believable thing in the plot! Heck, people willing drink, drug, etc, all the time in reality, and face it, it's not like Ford walked into a reputable establishment, and these are men (who take more risks than women) and everybody wants to get rid of the wraith, so.... and geez, if they think it's just like a steroid. Just read the sports page in the papers. Everybody's taking steroids just so they can be better. Ridiculous, but not everybody uses common sense....

[smushybird]

I think the "cure" for the enzyme is to simply wean your way off of it or go cold turkey like sarcophagi addition... it sucks but that’s what you have to do. I imagine that Ronan and Teyla will have a couple of bad weeks... I think they stopped giving McKay the drug before he got too addicted (if he ever was) or he could have some type of natural immunity like he did with the retroviruses or maybe because he’s allergic to citrus or something. To me he was just acting like stressed McKay, which is really no different then he ever acts, except he wasn’t thinking as clearly.

They didn't entirely stop giving it to him, did they? I thought they'd just scaled back his dosage so he could focus on repairing the ship. That's a question I have regarding McKay and the drug. Though there's a quote from PTB that the drug improves mental acuity, it seemed to be only befuddling McKay. Now was that because he was so stressed by the mere fact he was drugged or was it an actual effect of the enzyme?

I liked the differences in Rodney's and Teyla/Ronan's reactions to having been drugged. For Rodney, it seems much more a horror, a social stigmatization (his half-joking reference to being a "drug addict"), than it seemed to either Teyla or Ronan. Is that why Sheppard asked Ford to scale back Rodney's dosage? Because he recognized that Rodney's emotional reaction was keeping him from thinking clearly? I, too, didn't quite follow what the effect of the drug was on Rodney, except to seem to make him more agitated and restless. Is the effect mostly physical, so it just ended up making him nervous since he doesn't expend energy physically the way Ronan and Teyla do?

I speculate that since Part II has

Spoiler:

Rodney going through actual and apparently severe withdrawal

that those two men guarding him are

Spoiler:

going to force a substantial dose on him.

Am curious to see if that will affect him mentally (as opposed to emotionally) in the conclusion.

[knocknashee]

Well, more exciting than Aurora. I like a Ford centerd ep - and I think he's completly right. Him and his buddies seem to be doing a better job of saving the universe than Shep and Co. So what if there's a few side effects? It's a better side effect than a pre-mature death...which can be a side effect anyway, but at least you'll have gone down fighting. I say everyone on Atlantis should get the Wraith enzyme and start kicking some arse - without the help of polluting nukes.

So you subscribe to this whole junkie-warrior thing? Fine...but that doesn't make Ford's actions in forcing the drug on Rodney, Teyla and Ronon right. That's like me being a heroin addict and slipping it in your food cos I think it's the best thing ever. I agree with Rodney...Ford was a total [email protected]@rd and had no right to do that at all...

I've lost it with Shep. He's such a dweeb, what's the big idea, not telling Ford that the Dart would go into auto pilot. What, he acts surprised when it does then he tries to make Ford look bad by telling him at the last minute?? That's some jacked up leadership. Then he goes and triggers the alarm! What a klutz!

Did you miss the clue or did you totally ignore that Shep actually couldn't do anything about the autopilot? It was an automatic response, the same as the PJ has when it approachs the Stargate. In fact, didn't he as much as say that? And while they were in millions of small pieces in the dart, it wasn't like he could tell them, now is it? As for the alarm, well that's academic really isn't it? What was he supposed to do? Sit there and let the Wraith consume him? That ship was the biggest hole in the whole plan. Personally, I'd have expected as much. And who's to say, it wasn't caused by them tinkering with it in the first place?

My god, Ford's right, he screwed up the mission! They'd have been in and out if Shep had just acted like, I dunno, a leader? Not been all whiny "awww, this is a bad plan, awwww, you're gonna get yourself killed, whine whine whine whine" I'm sorry, aren't you like the king of screwed up plans?? Suck it up man!! This is war not Chess!

Ford's plan was highly dubious at best. A force that small to take on a ship full of live Wraiths? I don't think Atlantis' people would have been that stupid to consider they could take it on. Call it weak if you want, I'll call it common sense. Ford needs to get his head from up his a$$. He overestimates his own power, even against a Wraith. And to be fair, Shep was forced into this action, again, something Ford did against his and his team's will. If you want someone's help, you don't force their hand to get it. And you don't expect them to make your life easy either. Whilst I don't deny, Shep has made mistakes, you can hardly call Aiden's actions sane, by any strecth.

OK, rant over. IMHO, Super Ford should be leading the Atlantis team (whatever it's called). He's got the chutzpah. Shep...needs lessons in optimisim and co-operation. Yep...

Yeah, you know, keep wishing, cos that so isn't ever going to be happening. Shep has one thing Aiden doesn't have - people's trust. People think his cheese has slid off his cracker, and quite right too, IMHO...I'm really sure everyone's going to run to Lord Ford against Elizabeth and Shep, esp when Ford's actions are tantamount to the arrogant behaviour of a Goa'uld System Lord, with his stunt of forcing the enzyme on people.

Oh, and a side note - just a thought...has Ford even thought about the fact that he cannot get rid of all the Wraith, since he's making people dependant on a enzyme that comes for their body? Surely he must realise, that if he kills them all, he'll have nowhere to get him and his cohorts their little wonder drug from...

[Steve_the_Wraith]

Whats Freddie Mercury got to do with Wraith Queens?

Well he's clearly much more powerful for one thing (did you see the >>>)
He clearly pwns Vader and Vader is a badass who could kill like a thousand Wraith