The Siege, Part 1 (119)

[Lythisrose]

From Joe Mallozzi's Blog:
http://josephmallozzi.wordpress.com/...iege-i-and-ii/
SIEGE I (119)

Like most Martin Gero episodes, this one has a nice balance of humor, character development, and arc-driven elements to satisfy the die-hard fan. The wraith are on their way to Atlantis and, while Sheppard scrambles to find a suitable planet they can relocate to, McKay leads a team to an Ancient weapons outpost in a bid to bring it back online and use it to target one of the three enemy hive ships. By this point in the season, the McKay/Zelenka rivalry has finally attained the snappy, back-and-forth dynamic that will serve as a model for the ensuing four season’s worth of one-upmanship. Here, Radek tries to convince Rodney not to risk his unnecessarily, and he does so by playing to his ego. Rodney, however, turns the tables on Radek and dismisses the obvious concern by needling him. The subtext is clear. These two guys are concerned for each other but their egos went let them admit it.

Sheppard has no luck locating a safe haven for the expedition, at one point being chased back to Atlantis by a creature resembling a T-Rex. The fact that we, the audience never get to see the creature was a running gag for a while – so, in SGU’s first season episode, Lost (not so coincidentally written by Martin Gero), a team encounters a dinosaur off-world. And, this time, you can bet we see it.

At one point, Teyla hits Bates because she is offended by his accusations. Even Sheppard bristles at the suggestion that Teyla may have been compromised. And yet, when you think about it, Bates has a point. In fact, he makes it clear – he’s not accusing her of knowingly aiding the wraith. He’s simply pointing out that, based on past experience, it might be wise to exercise caution. Teyla may have found his opinion insulting, but it was a sound one and SHE was out of line hitting him – Sheppard just as guilty in not taking his own advice dispensed in the previous episode. He allows emotion to overrule logic in a potential life or death situation.

In addition to all this, we lose a member of the expedition in shocking fashion, and Atlantis takes in another wraith – who Sheppard nicknames Bob before blowing him away. It’s dark, yes, and Ford is clearly uncomfortable as John shoots the prisoner but this is Sheppard at his ambiguous best.

[NowIWillDestroyAbydos]

So here we go. This was a great episode.

The ending was amazing, with Shep killing a Wraith, and our heroes being basically boned because we destroyed only one ship.

Tomorrow, the incredibility amazing finale to Atlantis' first season.

[hlndncr]

Good episode. I found myself totally sucked in.

The music was awesome. As always, Joel Goldsmith does an amazing job heightening the emotions with his beautiful and haunting score.

So sad to see Peter go. It was a meaningful death both from a plot stand point (he took out a hive ship all by himself) and emotionally because he was a secondary character but one you knew and liked.

In fact, the secondary characters are really the best part of this episode IMO. I know the Zelenka/McKay duo is the one most people remember, but I think he is really great with Weir. (He doesn't work nearly so well with Carter.) David Nykl gave a really strong performance all the way around.

This is also the last time we see Bates on Atlantis, which is a shame. He was a great foil for Shep, who needed someone who could tell him to start thinking with his head instead of leaving it up his @$$. When Bates confronts Shep about the potential security breach from Teyla's connection to the wraith he's not wrong. But once again Shep shows his terrible leadership skills (and to be fair Shep was never meant to be the leader--he clearly doesn't have the experience or the temperment for it) and shuts him down in the rudest way possible. Later after the confrontation with Teyla at least he rightly dresses her down instead of simply jumping on Bates again, but I'm telling you this guy needs some command training. I think even McKay's thoughts on leadership would help him.

One of the things that has always put me off Atlantis was the lack of team. In SG-1 if Sam had to go on a dangerous mission to fix a super weapon the team would go with her. No way Jack, Daniel or Teal'c would let her go without them. (And she's far better at taking care of herself than McKay is.) But here, the team is always split up on separate assignments. I think their interaction with secondary characters is better than with one another. And that's why SG-1 will always be my favorite.

I will say that this season is ending with a nice slow burn to the crescendo. It's a very satisfying arch because it feels like they're taking the time needed to really let the whole story unfold and pull you along.

[Krisz]

The tension continues to build and its done really well with trying to repair the Ancient weapons platform. Whilst the loss of Peter was sad, he was a personable character, the satisfaction of seeing that beam cut the hive ship in half makes his death meaningful and heroic.

The 'is she, or isn't she a threat?' question was well played out with Bates being the continuing voice of reason as far as the potential threats Teyla's connection with the Wraith was concerned. Whilst Bates was annoying at times I came to like his character for questioning things and making others stop and think.

I liked the way every effort to save Atlantis was difficult and then ultimately futile. Finally it's pushed to the limit when they had nothing left but the self destruct.

So the hope and fear continues into the next part! Great stuff!

[Matt G]

Wednesday night...coming to the end of the season...

1. McKay being referred to as sir?

2. Ah, this is the one with the database.

3. Pretty good entrance from Bob.

4. That's the last we're going to see of Bates isn't it...hang on, doesn't he show up on Earth at some point?

Showtime!

[ZRFTS]

The Siege (Part 1)

Well... This is it, the first part of what many claim to be the most epic thing Stargate Atlantis has done so far; expectations have been set highly and everybody is eagerly anticipating what will happen in this episode. The hype for these episodes are unike something I've never seen, well okay I've seem similar hype but around the Stargate fandom this seems to be treated much like the release of a new Harry Potter book. At the time I could imagine thousands of fans camping around just so they can watch the live screening of the episode on a big tent screen but what people are wondering is this, will it live up to expecations? Well it's only the first part of a saga, by the end; you'll know.

One thing I have to note is how much stuff is packed into here; compare this episode to "The Storm", in that episode barely anything is happening and that episode is the first part of a two parter but in this episode, there is tons of stuff going on; whenever one plot is going on, another thing is happening and there are even times where one plot that is ongoing is dropped for a even newer plot. It's just amazing how many sheer plots they manage to fit into the thing and the best thing is, they manage to keep it tense and flowing. Having the Wraith can do wonders as it allows for a pick-me-up pace that really gives the episode it's hectic feel; sure there are some elements which feel slow but they can't really detract from the fast moments where our heroes are out setting things up, looking and hoping that what they're doing works. None of it makes you wish you could skip over to the second part where things supposedly gets good, no the fact that there's a lot of good stuff in Part 1 makes you anticipate the next episode when that "To Be Continued" thing appears at the end.

Tons of action!

The characters all handle themselves as admirably as ever; I believe that being part of a saga convinces them to set up to the plate as they're tasked with the additional job of making everything as epic as possible. In regards to dramatic moments, I thought Teyla, Sheppard and Bates provided the best moments; Teyla continues her wraithal evolution from "The Gift" and her character here is put to good use as it fuels the suspicion and concerns that drama ever so thrives on. Bates suspicion may be common but I thought he put enough energy into it to make it unique, the best part of it comes when SGA has it's first fight/argument amongst two people; I really loved it, it just provided the conflict that makes these things what they are and what happens afterwards just serves as icing on the cake, especially as Shephard gets a chance to make his voice known. I like Sheppard in many performances but many times he's just playing the wiseguy, with this situation he's able to yell and assert himself the way that he can, utilizing something which I think is a neglected part of his character. I wish the writers would use more of that character trait.

The moments on the satellite are decent with it providing many of the McKay moments many people have come to know and love. In my opinion I feel like the satellite are the most comedic moments of the episode, what with the gravity falling and the things opening up and the jokes; you can't have an episode like this and not expect there to be some comedy would you? especially with all of the edgy, violent stuff going on that much of this episode seems to consist of. I have no idea what the writers see in McKay or why they're putting him in dangerous situations (shows how invaluable he is) but he does work well as the comedic relief; some of the elements like breathing heavily and making sly, annoying comments are stuff that detracts from his character but when he makes the unexpected joke or moment; he's funny... His entire presence serves to somewhat lighten up an episode that's focused on possible death, destruction on Atlantis, etc. and while time is on the line, he doesn't act like it's on the line as he does his performance well; the other guys are decent and some of them outshine Dr. McKay but McKay is the star on the show on the satellite.

Truly the star of this show.

Much of the episode contains some truly awesome things, things such as the various ambushes and interrogations, space explosions and even some "on the clock" situations; they certainly make it what it is, they involve people & they both serve to give sci-fi fans something to crave for and they serve to support the story which the writers worked so hard on. I especially love it when action manages to contributes to a story; when I'm watching something like the people returning from the gate, I feel relieved that I know that it's contributing from the story at hand while being free to enjoy it for what it is. However, I feel like this is just a taste of the awesome things that are to come next episode... but man are these things awesome! They haven't forgotten about the serious things to, the ever approaching Wraith allows the chance for Atlantis to find a form of somberness and tension that's unique to this episode and to be placed into a situation that quite reflects real life nicely...

These characters don't claim to do things that we can't do (well they can do some things) and we do the same things these characters do as well, that sort of commonness is simplistic but that simplicity is what makes it brilliantly clever and it helps us to find a common ground between the action and the tension. We can easily reflect to our own lives when we see the Athosians object to the destruction of Atlantis; we can reflect to our own personal struggles as Dr. Weir holds on to hope, dreading the day where she has to resort to last measures but not counting out that possibility whatsoever, we even can reflect when they're working diligently around the clock, despite the impossible odds. There's always something to relate to and even though it's a common statement it always seems to have deepness no matter how much it's used and that helps the situation be as believable as possible.

Working hard or hardly working...

The first part of this saga starts it off to an exceptional start; it actually gets people engaged, immersing us in a world of action, awesomeness and tension that doesn't let up. It has amazing moments, a situation which is compelling as it is engaging and it leaves us waiting for the second part; which is good. This moment has been hyped throughout all of the season and I'm just glad that the writers didn't waste this opportunity; all is riding on the line here and I'm sure even more will be riding come Part 2.

9.0/10

[Lieutenant Sparrow]

A pretty great ep. Not quite as good as the next ep. But still good.

Unlike for some people, Bates didn't grow on me at all. He was within his right to question Teyla. But he goes way over the top. Almost to the point where it's just blind hate. I'm glad Teyla hit him.

Haha at Rodney still being in the air when the gravity was turned on. That had to hurt.

Pretty epic entrance by Bob. A flash grenade followed by very quick stun gun shots. Effortless.

What I liked about the satellite was how it used some kind of beam weapon. Very different to the usual Ancient weaponry.

Damn those Hive ships fired fast. Or were the cruisers firing as well. It only looked the Hive ships were. I don't think they fire quite that fast in later eps.

Poor Grodin I liked him

[Jae'a]

Unlike for some people, Bates didn't grow on me at all. He was within his right to question Teyla. But he goes way over the top. Almost to the point where it's just blind hate. I'm glad Teyla hit him.

Ditto on that one, that guy annoys the heck out of me.

But poor Grodin though, that kinda sucked..
Great ep otherwise.
My LiveJounal post
(Starting to lag behind a bit, gotta catch up...)

[Darian]

Great episode good end to the first season

[jelgate]

I am so far behind due to schoolwork and I probably won't catch up anytime soon. Anyway, I like this episode mostly for the McKay stuff on the satalite. It showed some nice character moments between McKay and Grodin. I was especially sad to see Grodin to die. He was such a prominent recurring character that it was sad to see him go. The other stuff seemed set up for part 2. Stuff like the Zelenka virus and Weir arguing with Hailing about destroying Atlantis seem largely filler. The Bates and Teyla clashing was solved a little too easily wiith a Wraith injuring Bates. Too convient of a solution

[garhkal]

it may be convenient, but it was also logical.

[jelgate]

Convient and logical are two very criteras

[j7n]

Oh, and how many of you yelled out loud at the geniuses that 3 people can't play rock, paper, sissors?

Every time I watched the episode. They could just continue with the game until either a winner or a loser emerges, as decided before the game begins. That would have happened on the second or third round with only three people. No need to break a perfectly good pencil.

Sheppard did realize that he was completely shattering the Geneva Convention when he shot Bob, didn't he? I can see his reasons for killing him, but a small part of my brain muttering, "And here Kavanagh goes again."

He is the main character. He can do anything. He can make stupid jokes when people die and structures worth millions of dollars that had survived for thoisands of years explode. Sheppard gets excused because he's somehow doing that for the people, and not his ego. It's hard to like Kavanagh, but I feel he's been treated unfairly, when this picking on him continues for 2 seasons at least.

Teyla was awesome when she hit Sergeant Bates in the face. It must be hard on her surviving in the human society, being accused of serving the Wraith, being crazy, and on several occasions needing to ask for permission from military guards and medical staff to leave or proceed with whatever plan she had. If I was her, I'd be strongly tempted to send Wraith onto Atlantis, after such treatment, keeping in mind that it is Humans who own the city now, and the city's survival is of little concern to them (as revealed in the dialogue between Weir and Halling.)

I'm noticing that no plans for practical evacuation exist yet. They are preparing to leave almost naked (presumably to die of hunger, disease, Iratus bug or t-rexes). Atlantis does have at least a couple Gateships at their disposal. Those should have been loaded with supplies and technology needed the most to re-establish a base elsewhere.

The black military grade NEC video monitors looked awesome, quite sturdy and without unnecessary shine on their finish. It's not the first occurrence when the brand is being prominently shown in closeup. It was a great company, good products, DiamondTrons, CD burners, etc. But the opening scene looked like an ad.

But since it is a great brand, here it goes again.

[thekillman]

It's hard to like Kavanagh, but I feel he's been treated unfairly, when this picking on him continues for 2 seasons at least.

just watch "38 minutes".

The entire Kavanaugh hatred thing is poorly setup and completely unjustified. It's a very, very forced hatred.

[garhkal]

Maybe he took a dump in the coffee pot that everyone else drank from?