Stargate: Atlantis 3.13: "Irresponsible"

Written by Paul Mullie and Joseph Mallozzi
Directed by Martin Wood

When the character of Lucius was originally introduced in “Irresistible”, it was quite possibly one of the worst miscues in recent memory. The “Harry Mudd” of the Stargate franchise was far less amusing than his forebear. In fact, many decried his casual rape of young nubile women and the suggestion that it was worth a few laughs. Many considered the episode (and the character) to be the low point of the series. So when this follow-up episode was announced, most fans were wary, to say the least.

Lucius is playing hero by using an Ancient personal shield to appear invincible. This time, his con is fairly simple: he hires men to threaten the village that gives him everything he wants, and he comes to the rescue, keeping up his legendary status. The charade is actually quite transparent, and it’s difficult to believe that the villagers would fall for it, especially when Lucius does very little to hide the personal shield device!

It doesn’t help the episode at all that the treatment of the personal shield is completely inconsistent. In the original appearance of the technology, the shield wouldn’t allow the wearer to eat or drink, let alone get stuck with needles. In this episode, the shield works when the plot needs the shield to work, and simply doesn’t when it would be inconvenient. That’s beyond sloppy, by anyone’s measure.

Lucius screws over his accomplices, which is when certain interesting connections emerge. Those accomplices turn out to be former members of the persona guard for Genii exile Kolya, who has been a far more formidable adversary to Team Atlantis than Lucius ever could be. And when the Genii return, they don’t care about Lucius and his money; they want to get their hands on Sheppard and his team.

Lucius is willing to stand up for the continuance of his own scam, but it doesn’t take long for Kolya to convince him otherwise. The episode very quickly shifts from a semi-comedy with Lucius as the main antagonist to a deadly personal battle between Sheppard and Kolya. No doubt, the writers thought this would be a clever and unexpected twist in the story. Unfortunately, it serves only to undermine whatever is gained by inserting the final showdown between these two men in an episode tainted by the worst character in the franchise.

Too much time is spent dealing with Lucius and his false heroics, when the story should focus on a more complex cat-and-mouse game with Sheppard and Kolya. Instead, it’s very simple: Kolya has Sheppard’s team, and Sheppard has to face Kolya to save them. It’s the exact opposite of complexity. Watching Lucius try to keep his pampered life becomes a grating annoyance, when one is constantly reminded that the time could have been used for something more satisfying.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 1/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 0/4

Final Rating: 4/10