Atlantis: 107 Poisoning the Well

[trishkit]

Now there was an episode in the grand old Stargate tradition. I thought this episode was a compelling look at an impossible situation and it explored the very different reactions to that situation by not-so-different cultures.

I find Stargate to be much more human than Star Trek. In Star Trek, the canon of the Federation is so developed and entrenched that it gives its members a very clear course of action for most situations (excluding Enterprise-era Trek, of course). In Stargate, ordinary people are faced with unimaginable situations where their only behavioural guideposts are the same technology and morals that we all share today. They don’t always have the luxury of a consensus opinion, either. This leads to some fascinating character studies when someone, such as dear Dr. Beckett, ends up taking action against his own better judgement and beliefs.

This episode was a great look at Dr. Beckett. He was the same semi-pessimistic, doubting, caring fellow we glimpsed before. We were also able to see more of Carson the scientist and his readiness to tell the leader of an entire planet that he was wrong to his face made me love him even more than before. His reactions when disaster struck were poignant and believable.

And the McCoy joke? Fun-neeee.

This episode also provided an interesting look at Major Sheppard. His reaction to the death of Steve (hee - my sister had a four pound guinea pig named Steve. R.I.P. Steve #1. Roast in Hell Steve #2) seemed a little off-kilter after all of his “he’s gonna die anyway” posturing from earlier in the episode. I can see the strategic importance in keeping Steve alive, but when it came down to the reality of the death of his prisoner, Sheppard also seemed to be motivated by pity and guilt. His horrified-yet-fascinated look at Steve’s corpse also conveyed (to me at least) a little of those same feelings. This leads me back to my thought that he’s only the military leader by default and is perhaps not truly prepared for all of the demands of the job. While Elizabeth could admit that she was uncomfortable making life and death decisions, there’s no way that poor John is able to do the same at this point. Maybe his continual smart-ass taunting of Steve (love Steve’s eyeroll near the end) was bravado meant to cover up his doubts and steer the course for his team. And to make it easier for Elizabeth to make the decisions that she needed to make (squeeeee).

The aliens of the week also did a fantastic job. The look on Perna’s face was so cute when the test seemed to be working. Both she and Alan Scarfe did a good job with their roles. They managed to play fanatics in a very reasonable way.

And it was nice to see that Stan from last week’s Dead Like Me finally got to die in a dress. Yay Stan!

But, folks? Was that the fastest moving democracy ever or what? I assume that they didn’t have television, so no one wasted their time creating attack ads and could get right down to the business of voting.

On to more important matters: the hair. Teyla’s hair was marginally better. At least it didn’t hang on her head limply like…well… my hair. And Weir’s hair was looking like someone spent some time on it as well. I have this vision of Teyla and Elizabeth giggling together while they do each other’s hair. Well, minus the giggling part.

And Ford got to wear a different hat. I bet that made him happy.

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