The following contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the season finale of "Stargate: Atlantis."
"Everything’s dead. And oh, yeah, did I tell you the ocean’s gone?" -- Col. Sheppard
"Sorry, what?" -- McKay
"The big blue thing out the window. It’s gone." -- Col. Sheppard
Col. John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan) enters the gate to return to Atlantis and is surprised to learn there’s nobody home. Then, surprise turns to shock when he notices he’s not in Kansas anymore. The ocean that surrounded the city when he left is gone, the temperature is up, Atlantis is abandoned, and the only link to anyone else he has is the disembodied voice of Rodney McKay (David Hewlett).
After following the voice’s instructions and turning on the hologram, he is faced with a much older version of his annoying, yet oddly reassuring, friend. Holo-McKay informs him that a solar flare sent him 48,000 years into the future, give or take. The real McKay spent the rest of his life devising a plan to rescue Sheppard and they have a limited time to execute it. All Sheppard has to do is brave a hellacious dust storm and freeze himself for about 1,000 years in the hopes of maybe returning at just the right time.
Oh, and he’s on a deadline to save the galaxy. After he disappeared, all hell broke loose and the Pegasus galaxy was lost to Michael’s rampaging hybrids. Coupled with some leadership shakeups in the Stargate ranks, and that spelled disaster. If Sheppard doesn’t return in time with the intel given to him by Holo-McKay, he will be too late to save the world -- er, make that worlds.
What Worked
It’s always fun to explore alternate realities in a long running series, because you get to torture and kill beloved characters with impunity. And "Atlantis’s" somewhat sanitized version of a bloodbath was no exception. Watching realities unfold that could -- but will never -- happen was interesting: Ronon teaming up with a Wraith in one last suicide mission, McKay burying his one true love, Carter going out in a blaze of glory.
I also always enjoy watching Sheppard and McKay together; Flanigan and Hewlett have terrific chemistry. Honestly, they bicker like an old married couple, and are just as fun to listen to.
The storyline also was an excuse to foreshadow what fans can expect when Carter loses command to Richard Woolsey (Robert Picardo) next season.
And I always welcome an opportunity to see McKay’s sister Jeannie Miller (played by Hewlett’s sister, Kate Hewlett) return. Not only is she a joy to watch interact with her brother, but I enjoyed the irony of McKay’s situation. He had always been so critical of his sister’s choice to put her family ahead of her career, but then he left his career behind -- taking a job teaching community college -- to dedicate his life to saving his Atlantis family.
What Didn’t Work
As season finales go, this was a little lackluster. Watching the building cave in around our heroes failed to spike my adrenaline since we can be certain they won’t all be dead when the series resumes. This wouldn’t be a problem if we had some last image that tugged at our heartstrings and toyed with our feelings. But, alas, nada. Also, the entire episode felt more like a lead-in to a season finale -- one with real battle and more than just cameo appearances of the rest of the team.
I also have to harp on my Carter annoyances. What did they do to her character? This uninteresting piece of walking exposition simply isn’t the same Carter we all grew to love in "SG-1." And as far as continuity goes, I continue to scratch my head at what they did with her relationship with O’Neill. He left his position at the SGC so they could be together and the writers hinted that they were caring for the again-orphaned Cassie, then POOF. Suddenly she’s single -- sans kid -- and making a new life for herself with a new post in a new galaxy. So, again I say "Huh?"
Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due
"The Last Man" was written by Paul Mullie and Joseph Mallozzi and directed by Martin Wood.
well Rafiki what do you say???
:?: GTO
