TV Review: Stargate: Atlantis 5.8 – The Queen

Posted by Kevin Carr (kevin@filmschoolrejects.com) on September 13, 2008

Stargate: Atlantis, SciFi, Airs Friday 10/9c

Episode: “The Queen” (Season Five, Episode 8)

Synopsis: The Atlantis team meets up with Todd the Wraith (Christopher Heyerdahl) to propose a solution to their problems: Let Dr. Keller (Jewel Staite) administer a gene therapy that will allow Wraith to gain sustenance from food, nullifying the need to feed on humans and giving them a distinct advantage in the Wraith civil war. Todd agrees to the plan, but he needs to convince the primary queen of his alliance. To do so, Todd enlists Teyla’s (Rachel Luttrell) help by disguising her as a Wraith queen to seal the deal.

Review: From the very first episode of Stargate: Atlantis, the Wraith have been a formidable enemy. Now, it appears that the Atlantis team might be able to get rid of the threat altogether. As with many schemes the team hatches, things don’t work out as planned. Teyla is forced to rise to power as the primary queen, and Todd finds a place of incredible influence. We’ve seen our heroes trapped in the hands of the Wraith before, but what’s different now is that there are gray characters they have to deal with. This episode features a lot of talking, but that lays the groundwork for our understanding of Wraith culture. This is balanced by a short but cool battle in space between conflicted Wraith hives and a misguided escape attempt by Sheppard (Joe Flanigan), Rodney (David Hewlett) and Ronon (Jason Momoa).

What’s more impactful about this episode is that we get a taste of what is to come from the final battle for the Pegasus Galaxy. With the human-form replicators all but wiped out, the stage is being set for a major slugfest with the Wraith. We will end up with three types of enemy: Michael’s Wraith-human hybrids, Todd’s genetically altered armada and the original hives left in the galaxy. Things are coming to a head in the Stargate: Atlantis universe, and I am seriously stoked for the series finale at the end of this season. I also assume that the upcoming Atlantis feature recently announced will bring together all the enemies as Stargate SG-1: The Ark of Truth did. Look for a return of the human-form replicators, Lieutenant Ford’s Lost Boys and possibly even remnants of the Genii to make a feature-length cap to this series. This episode is laying things out for the battle to heat up.

Up Next Week: Sheppard’s team comes to the aid of a village under threat of Wraith attack. However, this time Dr. Keller is kidnapped, and Sheppard and Rodney have to launch another rescue.

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Did you see Stargate: Atlantis this week? If so, feel free to discuss below.

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