Many times in Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis we get to see the annoying human politics in some of the lowest rated episodes. This is the first time in Stargate Atlantis though that we get to really look into the villain race (Wraith) politics, in a very well constructed episode which I think will play a part in the series finale.
I rated this episode a 9 mainly because it manages to accurately describe the inner workings of the Wraith society (their "culture", if you like) in an attractive 40 minutes display of Wraith behavior, succession rules and mechanisms of power.
This episode has to do with the advancements made by humans in developing the Wraith retrovirus (based on the works of Carson Beckett and the Wraith called "Michael"), advancements which apparently allow a win-win situation to be exploited by the two races. This could, if properly managed, allow non-combat relations between them in the future. For now though, this idealized future development is put on "standby mode", as the more pressing reshaping of the Wraith political spectrum takes precedence.
This is a grand chess game of intergalactic scale. A game in which humans are able to decisively influence the outcome, but, as usual, do not fully take advantage of the situation, while, on the other hand, "Todd" the Wraith score a 10 out of 10 in terms of effectiveness.
----and now the little spoilers----
Imagine if Teyla would have been cunning enough to remain as the undisputed Wraith queen, subtly using "Todd" to gain power and gradually "domesticate" the Wraith, getting rid of him at the right time... This would have been incredibly difficult, but in the long run would have transformed the Wraith into a "puppet state" controlled by humans. Now THAT would have been a true master stroke, wouldn't it?
See? That why I said humans didn't take full advantage of the situation, while "Todd" the Wraith did...
I rated this episode a 9 mainly because it manages to accurately describe the inner workings of the Wraith society (their "culture", if you like) in an attractive 40 minutes display of Wraith behavior, succession rules and mechanisms of power.
This episode has to do with the advancements made by humans in developing the Wraith retrovirus (based on the works of Carson Beckett and the Wraith called "Michael"), advancements which apparently allow a win-win situation to be exploited by the two races. This could, if properly managed, allow non-combat relations between them in the future. For now though, this idealized future development is put on "standby mode", as the more pressing reshaping of the Wraith political spectrum takes precedence.
This is a grand chess game of intergalactic scale. A game in which humans are able to decisively influence the outcome, but, as usual, do not fully take advantage of the situation, while, on the other hand, "Todd" the Wraith score a 10 out of 10 in terms of effectiveness.
----and now the little spoilers----
Imagine if Teyla would have been cunning enough to remain as the undisputed Wraith queen, subtly using "Todd" to gain power and gradually "domesticate" the Wraith, getting rid of him at the right time... This would have been incredibly difficult, but in the long run would have transformed the Wraith into a "puppet state" controlled by humans. Now THAT would have been a true master stroke, wouldn't it?
See? That why I said humans didn't take full advantage of the situation, while "Todd" the Wraith did...
