This is a good episode, and seeing the McKay siblings again is a real treat. (For a second, I almost said that they felt like a real brother and sister --my bad.) The plot does seem a bit déjà-vu (from SG-1 or Elizabeth's experiences), and it is a bit static to my taste, spending a lot of time on narration and very little on action. I also find it hard to empathise with Wallace's grief considering that he never shows it and always looks very self-possessed.
Still, there is some really good interaction between the characters. I love the scene at the beginning where you glimpse just how horrible it might be to work with Rodney on an average, non-world-saving day, and most of his bickering scenes, even with the Wraith, are very funny. We even get a rare occasion to see his more sentimental side when he is willing to feed himself to a starving Wraith to help his sister. I appreciate how ruthlessly Sheppard reacts to the situation, but I find it very hard to believe that a man like Wallace would so easily accept to have his life sucked out. And that nobody on Atlantis would bat a lid at what happened. All of this makes this episode a bit uneven.
Still, there is some really good interaction between the characters. I love the scene at the beginning where you glimpse just how horrible it might be to work with Rodney on an average, non-world-saving day, and most of his bickering scenes, even with the Wraith, are very funny. We even get a rare occasion to see his more sentimental side when he is willing to feed himself to a starving Wraith to help his sister. I appreciate how ruthlessly Sheppard reacts to the situation, but I find it very hard to believe that a man like Wallace would so easily accept to have his life sucked out. And that nobody on Atlantis would bat a lid at what happened. All of this makes this episode a bit uneven.