Stargate: Atlantis 2.12: "Epiphany"

Written by Brad Wright and Joe Flanigan
Directed by Neil Fearnley

In which Sheppard is pulled through a portal of the Ancients into a place where time moves more quickly, prompting a race against time for McKay, as weeks pass with every hour…


Coming on the heels of an “SG-1” episode that just missed the mark because of a too-familiar premise with little or no original variation, I was worried that the same would be true. After all, this “time dilation” thing has been done again and again. So how would the writers make it unique? The answer is simple: ground it in the mythology of the series itself, center on a character with enormous depth, and use the situation to let the rest of the cast shine.

Granted, this episode wasn’t perfect. It was a little predictable in places, and while I understand and appreciate what the writers were going for, the resolution would have worked better in a prose short story than a more visual medium. (I felt something similar to the concern I felt when the “Babylon 5” episode “Into the Fire” hit its climax: satisfaction with the concept, but worry over how the execution would be perceived.)

But the fact is that Sheppard is a huge reason why I love this series, and this episode reminded me of why. It’s the fact that he’s not just a wise-cracking smartass; he has a human side that comes out at just the right moment. The fact that Joe Flanigan helped to write the script probably had something to do with it. An actor brings a lot to a character, because the actor must know how the character is thinking from scene to scene.

It also affords the actor a chance to invest more of himself into the character and make the performance more real. That was the difference between the “SG-1” episode (9.12) and this one: the character development and exploration was a lot more organic. It built upon what was already known about the character and took it in a believable direction. Just as importantly, the rest of the cast acted exactly in keeping with their established relationship to Sheppard.

I was most impressed with the subtle continuity with McKay’s character. While I have been critical of McKay’s character arc thus far (or rather, the fact that it’s inconsistent), I liked the fact that he was so passionate about saving Sheppard. Would he have done that for someone else? Maybe, but I look back at “Trinity” and can’t help but see the connection. There was also Weir’s insistence on going through the portal for John, which is in keeping with the dynamic between them.

I also couldn’t help but notice that Teyla demonstrated something like intelligence and thought in this episode, which has unfortunately been a rare commodity this season. She’s still a bit too close to Ronon for my tastes, since it’s too easy and disturbing a relationship to contemplate, but both of them took action as their established characterizations would dictate, and I appreciated that immensely.

I also thought that the idea of the enclave itself, even if the Beast was a concept that didn’t quite pay off as well as the writers intended. I found myself buying into the character of Teira and her ability, and what it meant for her and Sheppard. If this had been a book or short story, I could have seen her character being a lot more prominent. It was just another example of how well this episode worked, and why this was one of the better episodes of the second season.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4

Final Rating: 9/10