Stargate: Atlantis 2.10: "Lost Boys"

Written by Martin Gero
Directed by Brad Turner

In which Sheppard’s team is captured by Lt. Ford, who has pulled together a strike force of his own and wants to prove to Sheppard and Weir that he’s sane by striking a Wraith hiveship…


Let me just say that I hate the way that SFC promotes the mid-season break. Half the time, they call it a “season finale”, and other times, the more correct “summer finale”. Whatever the case, it’s just plain confusing to the casual viewer, and with so many SFC shows hitting the mid-season break, there are tons of people posting all over the ‘net about how it sucks that this is a short season. Thanks, SFC…for every positive, you manage to pull out a dozen negatives.

I say this because if I was only half-aware of how SFC does their scheduling, I’d be damned unhappy too. Not because the season would be half as long as it should be (which would be bad enough), but because this is not the best episode to end a season with. It’s definitely mid-season arc progression in scope, not the punctuation on the season itself.

I’ve been waiting for Lt. Ford to factor into the episodes again, and I suppose this is a case of being careful what I wish for. Actually, that may be overstating the case. This is not a horrible episode, and I think this is some of the best work Franks has done in the role. Giving the character this twist has been a real plus. I just didn’t feel the level of excitement that I had been anticipating.

I find the concept itself intriguing. Ford gathers a group of fellow enzyme-addicts into a berserker strike force and decides that the best way to prove his sanity and worth to Weir and Sheppard is to press gang Teyla, Ronon, and McKay into the club. All things being equal, if Ford were sane and rational, letting his old friends see his team in action wouldn’t be a bad call. Forcing Teyla and Ronon into the addiction steps over a rather obvious line.

The problem I have with this (beyond seeing so many characters becoming addicts against their will) is the principle of consequences. It goes something like this: if you’re going to have characters undergo terrible personal circumstances, there should be equally serious consequences. The way I see it, everything suggests that the enzyme is highly addictive, to the point that Ford and his gang see nothing wrong with “feeding” off the Wraith in ways not unlike the Wraith feed off humans.

Teyla and Ronon are quickly falling into the same addiction. As much as that’s becoming more and more obvious, I can’t help but think that there’s little to no chance of it being a long-term problem. Similarly, there’s the whole situation on the Wraith hiveship. All things being equal, none of them should survive, least of all Sheppard. But the fact is that we all know the regulars will survive, so the tension of the moment is somewhat mitigated.

The tone and pacing didn’t quite do it for me, either, but it’s mostly the fact that there are many issues that are likely to come up that, for many reasons, probably won’t. This season on “SG-1”, consequences are being delivered on a regular basis. I’m still waiting for McKay’s bad judgment in “Trinity” to have a long-term effect. I know that there’s still a second half and things could change dramatically in that hour, but right now, I have my doubts.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 7/10