4,0 de 5 estrellas
Faltering slightly
Revisado en los Estados Unidos 🇺🇸 el 22 de julio de 2008
The second season of Stargate Atlantis has quite a few good episodes, but one can already glimpse the storyline weaknesses that will rear their ugly heads in season 3. The characters, too, are changing, and sometimes not for the better.
Lt. Col. John Sheppard has become Jack O'Neill Jr. in this season. He cracks lame jokes, lets others do his work for him, and seems only to be good at flying planes. However, Dr. Elizabeth Weir isn't much different than before; she sometimes ends up making the wrong decision, but she's still fair. Dr. Rodney McKay begins to tread the road from crabbiness to sheer angriness; although brilliant, he seems driven to childishly ostracize everyone around him. Thus, he is very, very annoying, and due to this `conflicted' personality, the writers love giving him center stage. Teyla is still the warrior woman, however, and she offers up her wisdom now and again. Ronon is the newest member of the team; although not being very emotive, he's likeable. Dr. Carson Beckett, becoming a regular in this season, doesn't have much to do but is a very earnest character.
On to the episodes:
The Siege, Part III--7 of 10--This finished the 1st season cliffhanger somewhat well but also somewhat poorly. The spectacular ship Daedalus arrives to deal with the Wraith, but Lt. Aiden Ford is changed subtly by a Wraith, and the latter is a huge mistake. Ford was a nice, likeable, and cheerful character in season 1 and quite frankly, in this episode he becomes yet another annoying one. It puts a damper on the episode.
The Intruder--9 of 10--While traveling from the Milky Way to Pegasus, the Daedalus encountered mysterious sabotage. This is one of the better episodes--a mystery at first, which quickly turns into a race against time, helped by nicely done computer effects. We see what the main characters did as they relaxed on Earth days before, and watch while some of them cope with both personal and life-threatening problems at the same time.
Runner--7 of 10--The team meets Ronon for the first time, but has to contend with the errant Ford. The parts of the episode featuring dirty, disheveled Ronon are good; the worst part, though, is that Ford truly believes he's perfectly all right, but every member of the team insists on trying to get him to come back to Atlantis for medical treatment! Not even Teyla, wise leader of the Athosians, thinks to agree with him. Due to this, the episode feels slightly contrived. There is a very good fight scene between Ford and Ronon, however, that shows how equally the two are matched.
Duet--8 of 10--Because of their fiddling with a Wraith dart, Rodney and one Lt. Cadman become locked within one body--Rodney's. This is good because of the large amount of comedy involved--it downplays Rodney's irritating qualities. Even with his character's dislikeable tendency, David Hewlett is a very good actor who makes the most of his role, fluctuating between two distinct and different personalities.
Condemned--5 of 10--Convict day! The team falls into a bad situation as they find that a planet dumps its convicts on an island with the Stargate, so the Wraith can feed on them. The leader of the planet is the usual cowardly type, willing to sacrifice anything and everything so that he can live, whereas the convicts obviously have an insane and brilliant leader who can decipher any problems in the blink of an eye. All the guest characters are stereotypical in this way; it if weren't for such blatant unoriginality, this episode would be decent.
Trinity--5 of 10--The team finds a potentially unending source of energy, but of course it doesn't work. Not Rodney at his best...in the whole episode he's more than insufferable. Aside from being grating, he's extremely cocky and smug, insisting on doing what he shouldn't. He's also scolded for his actions, but by the next episode is back to normal. Rodney ruins the story, unfortunately, as he does many times.
Instinct--7 of 10--The team comes upon a man raising a Wraith girl as his daughter. This episode has several strong points as well as a few weak ones; it also marks the beginning of the--I'll be blunt--idiotic Wraith-turned-into-humans story arc. It is a good adventure, though. The man has a very good reason to raise a Wraith--he's not mad or foolish. The girl, too, is what could almost be called an oxymoron: a somewhat likeable Wraith!
Conversion--7 of 10--Due to his adventures in `Instinct', Sheppard begins to change, and not for the better. Most of this episode chronicles Sheppard's metamorphosis--first subtle, then more and more noticeable until it becomes almost horrifying. The trying part of this episode is Dr. Weir, who doesn't exactly make the best decisions of her career. Her foolishness, as usual, is really vexing.
Aurora--7 of 10--The team finds an Ancient warship dead in space, complete with its crew, who are in stasis but can conveniently interact; however, the Wraith are hovering nearby. As we in the audience can predict, none of the Ancient crew believe Sheppard when he pleads for them to search for a Wraith in their midst. If it weren't for the Ancients' stubbornness--they are supposed to be smarter than the average humans, right?--this episode would be over in twenty minutes, not forty-two.
The Lost Boys--6 of 10--Ford returns, this time with a bunch of tough guys at his side, and coerces the team into helping him. Ford is, of course, hyperactive, delusional, and all-around aggravating; his plans are horrible, which adds significantly to the storyline. He presents more of a villainous front than that of a wayward ally.
The Hive--7 of 10--Trapped aboard a Wraith hive ship due to Ford and his plans, the team tries desperately to escape. The Wraith worshippers--a very interesting but underutilized plot twist--are introduced in this episode, making it better than the previous one.
Epiphany--6 of 10--Sheppard makes the mistake of running through a mysterious doorway and becomes trapped in a `bubble' inhabited by Ancients. There is the standard beautiful woman and dangerous challenge waiting for him; he grows a beard that, although months pass, never becomes more than stubble! This episode is interesting but clichéd.
Critical Mass--10 of 10--There is a bomb in Atlantis, placed there by the Goa'uld-infiltrated Trust (which is based on Earth), and Rodney has to figure out how to disarm it. This is the best episode of the entire season--if not the entire show--featuring a shocking twist at the end that I could not see coming by a long shot!
Grace under Pressure--5 of 10--Rodney is trapped in a sinking puddle jumper; by far, one of the most maddening episodes. The premise is sound, but Rodney spends his time ranting, raving, yelling, snapping, and being all-around horrific. To add to the chaos, Sam Carter pops up, making Rodney show the symptoms of his inane crush on her. If he's this bad here then I can only imagine how he'll be during season 4.
The Tower--4 of 10--The team stumbles on a city exactly like Atlantis, ruled by nobles whose personalities resemble Henry the 8th and his court. This episode is more funny than anything else, given the fact that it's so terrible.
The Long Goodbye--4 of 10--Sheppard and Weir become hosts to alien personalities and rampage around the city. Since the two personalities hold grudges against each other--anything else would have been boring--they are almost perfect fighters, escaping from their pursuers time and time again and making the episode very predictable. An interesting thing I noticed: Torri Higginson changes her acting style totally to fit the new character she's presented with, whereas Joe Flanigan acts...the same!
Coup D'Etat--9 of 10--Ladon of the Genii, who we last saw in `The Storm/The Eye', returns to the city, telling Weir that he plans a coup of the Genii government. With surprises galore, this episode is just as good as any with the Genii, if not better. We see just a glimpse of the convoluted political situation within their government.
Michael--5 of 10--The team begins their experiment with the Wraith-into-humans drug, which naturally results in disaster. Given the fact that the entire idea of making such a drug was imprudent, the episode logically becomes just as bad. The titular character is a classic villain--super-smart and exceptionally skillful, able to figure almost anything out in the blink of an eye.
Inferno--6 of 10--A civilization, gifted with a shield that protects them from anything, runs the shield constantly until its source of power--a volcano--starts to erupt. The basis of this episode is a very interesting idea; however, both Sheppard and Rodney act like morons around one of the native women. As they almost grow close to fighting over her, one thinks of earlier episodes that would be a much better use of one's time.
Allies--6 of 10--Michael returns, this time with a hive ship, calling for an alliance. Dr. Weir falls right into it and finds that the Wraith didn't particularly care for an alliance; in this episode, the denizens of Atlantis are tricked splendidly--only one of many times. Actually, it makes me wonder if the people of Atlantis are really Earth's best and brightest. If they get into trouble so easily, how in the world were they allowed to settle in the city?
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