TV Review: Stargate Atlantis 5.11 – The Lost Tribe
Posted by Kevin Carr (kevin@filmschoolrejects.com) on October 11, 2008
Stargate: Atlantis, SciFi, Airs Friday 10/9c
Episode: “The Lost Tribe” (Season Five, Episode 11)
Synopsis: After Rodney McKay (David Hewlett) and Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) are kidnapped by mysterious soldiers and forced to turn on an Ancient weapon, a diplomatic mission with Todd the Wraith (Christopher Heyerdahl) goes sour. Todd has taken over the Daedalus and suspects the Atlantis team of turning on the device which destroys any Wraith ship going into hyperspace. Meanwhile the Atlantis control room is destroyed when their stargate explodes due to a side-effect of the weapon. Ronon (Jason Momoa) and Dr. Keller (Jewel Staite) try to sabotage the Wraith-controlled Daedalus, Shepherd (Joe Flanigan) teams up with Larrin’s people to head them off at the pass while Daniel Jackson discovers the identity of his kidnappers.
Review: To say this episode, or the previous episode, was made for the fans would seem redundant in the Stargate universe. At this point, almost every episode is made for the fans. After all, this is one of the most loyal bases in television history (third only to Trekkers and the Legion of Whedon). However, episodes that bring cast members from the Stargate series are specially beloved by the fans. After all, the entire Season Four featured Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) as the leader of the Atlantis expedition, and one of the most popular episodes from last year was nothing more than an excuse to bring Ronon and Teal’c (Christopher Judge) together for the first time.
While some two-parters have been rather soft, this one worked out quite well. The key to this was the fact that not only do Rodney and Daniel work well together (or rather, against each other), but this show enriched the already beefy storyline with Todd the Wraith. Over the past year or so, we’ve become very comfortable with Todd, and while he seems interested in keeping the peace, he is still a Wraith. He doesn’t slaughter the Atlantis team, but he makes it very clear that his loyalties fall with his tribe. The character remembers what it was like when this weapon was engaged thousands of years before, and he will do anything to destroy it.
The biggest shocker of this episode was the revelation that the mysterious soldiers were an offshoot of the thought-to-be-extinct Asgard race, which was known for its peaceful pursuits in the Milky Way Galaxy. However, this branch of Asgards are more self-centered and want the Wraith destroyed at all costs. With the Replicators destroyed and the Genii’s leadership destroyed, the Stargate universe is getting a last-minute adversary in the Wraith war. All of this continues the trend of building up to a powerful and fulfilling end to the series.
Dr. McKay and Daniel Jackson continue to give us the banter we enjoyed in the first episode, although they don’t share enough screen time in this installment. In the character development department, we see Ronon make a move on Dr. Keller, and as Jewel Staite promised me in the press line at the Stargate: Continuum premiere at Comic-Con, it’s clear that her character is making a choice in men.
Up Next: The Atlantis team gets mixed up with local politics when a settlement that has survived a plague and a Wraith attack put the in danger.
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Did you watch Stargate: Atlantis this week? If so, feel free to discuss below.
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