This is one of my favourite episodes on Atlantis. There is not a single detail I find boring in it (I particularly love Sheppard being unexpectedly harpooned back from the Gate), and it introduces or reintroduces several savory characters.
Things are really becoming personal between Sheppard and Kolya, but you have to shiver at the lengths the Genii commander is willing to go just out of spite. So far, we've never seen someone survive a Wraith feeding (except Ford, but we don't wish his fate on Sheppard either). To make things even more chilling, the SFX showing Sheppard's gradual aging are really well-done, and become absolutely terrifying at the end. So I pity poor Weir who has to let her friend suffer that just for the sake of honoring a rather shaky alliance. Part of what makes the episode work is that we really watch Atlantis (and the Genii) do their utmost to rescue Sheppard -so their failure is all the more frustrating.
But the best part of it all, obviously, is Sheppard and his fellow prisoner. It is not an easy plot to carry out, having two mortal foes bond against a common enemy --especially considering that one of them is being used to torture the other. But it works, in part because of the clever way in which we first get to empathise with the Wraith before discovering his identity (just as with Michael, but this time the shock is on Sheppard: very nice scene there, btw.) So it's a credit to Sheppard's strength of character that, besides surviving a Wraith's feeding, he should also manage to lift his spirits. The two of them actually make a rather good team, even though that may be only due to their exhaustion. But then, the Wraith is also pretty unusual himself, actually treating a human as an equal, holding his end of the bargain and even doing his best to spare him. For the first time, you find yourself wanting to know more about the Wraith, especially after the final twist, which could potentially change a lot in the future. I guess that's what you call food for thought (pun totally intended).
Things are really becoming personal between Sheppard and Kolya, but you have to shiver at the lengths the Genii commander is willing to go just out of spite. So far, we've never seen someone survive a Wraith feeding (except Ford, but we don't wish his fate on Sheppard either). To make things even more chilling, the SFX showing Sheppard's gradual aging are really well-done, and become absolutely terrifying at the end. So I pity poor Weir who has to let her friend suffer that just for the sake of honoring a rather shaky alliance. Part of what makes the episode work is that we really watch Atlantis (and the Genii) do their utmost to rescue Sheppard -so their failure is all the more frustrating.
But the best part of it all, obviously, is Sheppard and his fellow prisoner. It is not an easy plot to carry out, having two mortal foes bond against a common enemy --especially considering that one of them is being used to torture the other. But it works, in part because of the clever way in which we first get to empathise with the Wraith before discovering his identity (just as with Michael, but this time the shock is on Sheppard: very nice scene there, btw.) So it's a credit to Sheppard's strength of character that, besides surviving a Wraith's feeding, he should also manage to lift his spirits. The two of them actually make a rather good team, even though that may be only due to their exhaustion. But then, the Wraith is also pretty unusual himself, actually treating a human as an equal, holding his end of the bargain and even doing his best to spare him. For the first time, you find yourself wanting to know more about the Wraith, especially after the final twist, which could potentially change a lot in the future. I guess that's what you call food for thought (pun totally intended).
