SGA 1x10 The Storm: Discussion

[michelel72]

This post opens discussion of Stargate: Atlantis episode 1x10: "The Storm".

This episode first aired in the US 17 September 2004. This episode is parallel to Stargate: SG-1 episode 8x10 "Endgame", by original US airdate.

US DVDset summary: With a monstrous storm that occurs only once every 20 or 30 years bearing down on Atlantis, Sheppard

Comments

[a_blackpanther]

I love these two episodes. I think they might be my favourite of all of Atlantis.

I love the Rodney/Radek dynamic. They are in a sort of competition yet they think alike so much that they finish their own sentences. And I don't think John was looking for credit with that line, he doesn't emphasize anything.

I'm surprised that Elizabeth lets John (and Ford) go find them another planet, especially after the Genii disaster. Shouldn't she have sent some sort of negotiator? Or perhaps Teyla? And John, once again, manages to prove he has the negotiating skills of a 10 year old. "So we can be either friends or enemies?" - way to make allies John.

I think that John and Elizabeth know Rodney is smart enough to come up with some kind of solution, but in order to keep him focused and working fast he needs to feel the impending doom, otherwise his ego can get in the way. And this works on Rodney every time throughout the series. Like when John hands Cam a lemon to threaten Rodney with (in the SG-1 crossover ep).

I'm surprised they have no alpha site. Maybe it's because they don't have enough personnel in order for a small part to be permanently off-world. Otherwise it's wiser to shelter people on an inhabited planet because, should they need food and water and other such things it should be readily available. It also means not wasting time on evacuating supplies.

And then we meet Kolya, who is one of my favourite baddies (along with Todd). He looks like a soldier trough and trough, and a very realistic commander. It is perhaps this lack of complete training that leads to the strike force's ultimate downfall.

I think the Athosian guy just got caught up in the middle of this power play, and it is entirely possible that the GDOs require DNA or thumb print authentication. I'm more interested in what exactly the Genii promised to reward the Manarians with.

Rodney probably assigns the farthest grounding stations to John because he is the most physically fit. Getting him to run to those grounding stations would probably get the job done faster. I'm wondering why the writers felt that they needed to explain the plan a second time here. And why Elizabeth seems a bit disbelieving, since it's definitely the second time she hears it.

I think the way the Genii got into Atlantis was part luck, part soldiers not thinking about it. Kolya seems to have had this 'seize the city' plan in mind beforehand. I suppose it's more of a power play against Cowen. If he not only raided Atlantis but seized it we would have gained quite a lot of support and popularity with his own people.

Kolya reveals himself to be a good strategist. He separated Rodney from everyone and then threatened him and thus got Rodney to spill. It does speak to Rodney's character that they actually had to hurt him to get him to talk, just threatening didn't work. I also love how Elizabeth doesn't give up her belief in peace and her negotiating skills and tries to convince Kolya to leave up until he points a gun at her. She isn't a soldier, but she knows what her mission is and she's doing her best.

It seems a bit of a rash decision on Kolya's part to kill Weir, closer to revenge than to strategy. Of course, he also probably knows John's mission is to protect the city and the expedition, and so, loosing a member (and such an important one at that) might get to him enough to admit defeat. And John is left there powerless, desperate to convince Kolya to not kill Elizabeth. And who could deny the strong feeling between John and Elizabeth after that reaction?

This episode is very well written, and i always watch the two parts of it together. They work so well together it's almost impossible to talk about the separately. I love how this episode shows the fact that during the rather short time they've been in Pegasus the individuals have become a team that works quite well together in times of great stress. But that's heading into the next ep territory.