Would Vegas have Worked as the Very Last Ep?

[Lythisrose]

David Hewlett seems to think so:
From an interview on totalscifionline.com http://totalscifionline.com/intervie...the-real-mckay

"What did you think of the Atlantis series finale Enemy at the Gate?
I’m not a big fan of Enemy at the Gate. As far as trying to wrap up five years of a show, it just didn’t work. It felt like just another episode, but it really wasn’t. It was an opportunity to do something memorable, to give people something to talk about, but it was an opportunity missed.
I think [the penultimate season five episode] Vegas should have been Atlantis’ swan song. It was so cool, off-the-wall and different for us. I just loved it. The first time I read the script I thought, “This isn’t even an Atlantis episode,” and then I was like, “Well, good!” Can you imagine, people would have been freaking out – what the hell, Sheppard’s dead, and McKay is married? If I was running the show, that’s what I’d have done. "

[Rodney_Mckay]

Not sure. The cliffhanger would have taken us into a nice feature length version of Enemy at the Gates I suppose... but then... what if we don't get the movie.

[lordofseas]

No.

[Replicator Todd]

Well, maybe....but I think Vegas is a highly overrated episode. IMO Enemy at the Gate should of been a two-parter and Vegas should of been removed.

[jelgate]

Vegas didn't have Teyla or Ronon. That would of been a pretty bad series finale

[magictrick]

Vegas didn't have Teyla or Ronon. That would of been a pretty bad series finale

So it would have fit in perfectly with the rest of the season

Although Enemy at the Gate wasn't very good, it at least tied up a lot of things. Having Vegas as the finale would have left too many unanswered questions. With the movie being doubtful as it is, I don't think it would have been the right choice.

[Major_Griff]

No way. there would have been riots if that happened. I agree that EATG should have been a two parter, but and I'm not too fond of Vegas, but that's not the episode I'd have lost. I think maybe Identity would be the one I would lose to make EATG a double ep.

[Puddle-Jumper]

Nah if they were going to do an alternate universe as a finale it should have been in the same vein as the Star trek enterprise one... even though most of that show was terrible, that was a great ep


I did like Vegas though

[CJ Master]

I agree! Vegas was a very memorable episode, and I could have seen it as the series finale. I think it would have certainly been better then EATG. Although, only if Teyla and Ronan were written it would it have worked, in my opinion.

[KrisRussel]

If they would have ended the show with Vegas, they would have had a reason to make a movie. Now they don't. It's also something David pointed out at Fedcon: "Atlantis is back on Earth, what would they make the movie about? It's not like the IOA will ever allow for them to return to Pegasus." (or something like that)
And the one thing that pissed David off: "Mckay has seen Galaxies exploded and now he's totally impressed by the Golden Gate Bridge!?! What's up with that?"
Joe simply said that the final episode sucked and that the writers clearly had to do a fast job on it.
Both think Vegas would have made a much better final ep and I agree with them.
Ok, it didn't have Teyla or Ronon, but they didn't fit in the AU. Do you really think Teyla or Ronon would have joined the expedition if John wasn't there to convince them?
And please, don't tell me the show was nicely wrapped up with EatG, it wasn't. There are still a billion questions left unanswered, but for them to be answered, Atlantis needs to go back to Pegasus and like David pointed out: does anyone really think the IOA or the SGC would let Atlantis out of their hands?

[Linda06]

Vegas didn't have Teyla or Ronon. That would of been a pretty bad series finale

Aye what Jel said. Plus it was a very poor ep anyways.

So it would have fit in perfectly with the rest of the season

Although Enemy at the Gate wasn't very good, it at least tied up a lot of things. Having Vegas as the finale would have left too many unanswered questions. With the movie being doubtful as it is, I don't think it would have been the right choice.

True

[VampyreWraith]

No way. there would have been riots if that happened. I agree that EATG should have been a two parter, but and I'm not too fond of Vegas, but that's not the episode I'd have lost. I think maybe Identity would be the one I would lose to make EATG a double ep.

Even though i love Vegas, i don't think Atlantis shouldve ended with it. i agree with no Identity and EATG two parter

[Lythisrose]

Just to add my two cents - I'd have ditched Brainstorm or Identity and gone with a two-parter for EaTG.
As much as I LOVE Vegas, it would have been too unsettling to have it as the final episode.
Now as a kick-off for a new series in a Vegas AU, I would have been in heaven!

[maxbo]

No. Vegas would have been a terrible series finale. In addition to not including two of the main characters, Teyla and Ronon, it didn't even feature "our" characters. As lousy as EATG was, at least all the characters were featured - all of "our" characters, not AU versions.

And, I had another problem with Vegas - it came out of nohwere. There was no set up for the episode. Instead, Season 5 featured a series of episodes that touched on loose ends from earlier seasons, bottle episodes, and... McKeller. And then, out of the blue - there was Vegas, which sort of led into to rushed, disappointing EATG.

If anything, Vegas should have aired much earlier in the season and then the threads from that episode should have been carefully woven throughout the season to leave the audience in anticipation for the last episode. Even if the writers didn't know that episode 520 was going to be the last episode, there was no excuse for how sloppily Season 5 was written.

So, I have to agree and disagree with DH - I agree that EATG was a horrible way to end the series, however, I disagree that Vegas would have been a better choice.

[Southern Red]

I think Vegas would have been a perfect way to end the series. Yes, it would have left lots of loose ends but then EatG could have been a movie and they would have had a lot of extra time and money to do it right. And even if the movie never got made it would have left us with many ways to use our imagination to come up with our own ending.

Part of the fun of fandom is thinking about alternatives for episodes that were less than satisfactory. Imagining what happened after Vegas would have been interesting and would have led to a multitude of discussion threads.

Vegas was only one of an infinite number of alternate universes. It was an excellent episode and gave our actors a chance to stretch their wings a bit yet the events had a direct effect on the universe we know. Leaving the show with the uncertainty of just what happened in our universe would have been a clever and unique way to end a series.