The Queen - Review
23/10/2008 10:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rachel500The Queen is the 8th episode of Season Five of Stargate Atlantis.
Review
Review
The idea of Teyla assuming the place of a Wraith Queen to carry out an Atlantis plan sounds fantastic especially given the superb Spoils of War last season. The possibilities for intrigue, action and character development bubble up and overflow like uncorked champagne. Add the Wraith Todd, one of the finest characters the show has invented, into the mix and the whole episode promises a veritable feast. Unfortunately, rather then the Michelin starred gourmet meal promised, the episode delivers the usual home-cooked fare: solid with some tasty bits but overall, uninspiring.
The plot really deserves to take the blame as ultimately it just doesn’t push the envelope enough and leaves the concept underdeveloped. To be fair, the plot as written is well-structured: the opening reasons for why Team Atlantis need Todd’s help and the idea of Teyla assuming the place of Todd’s Queen seamlessly introduced and the subsequent scenes of the plan going into motion only to unravel with Todd’s political machinations and the inevitable Team Atlantis attempted rescue are well drawn with everything leading to the reset of Teyla back to herself at the end.
It all flows nicely; there are a couple of nice twists which I personally anticipated – the quick death of the Primary Queen and the saving of Teyla by Todd at the end. The story also provides an interesting peek into the Wraith culture, the matriarchal hierarchy, the way treachery and Machiavellian plots are the usual stuff of their politics. It really isn’t a bad story but that’s the thing; damned with faint praise is the phrase that comes to mind.
The story could have been so much more especially around Teyla’s internal conflict at transforming into a Wraith. The details are not provided on how she transforms and the suggestion seems to be that Teyla is simply physically altered to appear as a Wraith but is otherwise human. The fact that much of Teyla’s personality remains intact including her very real fears and emotions post transformation supports this. Yet nothing is done to explore how Teyla herself truly reacts to being Wraith – to wearing the face of the enemy, to even assess whether she is truly becoming a Wraith Queen. Had the plot suggested Teyla’s own Wraith DNA had been stimulated or that she was fully transformed perhaps more would have been done. As it is the only sign of any emotional impact around this idea is toward the end when she looks at her once-again human hand contemplatively. Without this exploration of character and impact on character, the plot lacks any kind of emotional pull for the audience.
The second area that the plot fails to fully explore perhaps because of that is Teyla as the Queen. That’s not to say it doesn’t explore it at all; it does. Teyla’s ‘act’ of being Queen is highlighted in quite a few places: her initial arrival and interaction with the Primary, her assumption of power, the battle with the other Wraith and her goodbye scenes to her Wraith hive and to Todd. These scenes do keep Teyla in character: she’s ‘acting’ as the Queen but not really being a Queen. It’s a fine line and Rachel Luttrell performs and delivers this wonderfully despite the make-up. But, again, the plot needed that moment where the audience wonders whether the power of being Queen is seducing Teyla – and it never comes. Perhaps the battle where Teyla coldly sends a vast number of Wraith to their deaths was meant to convey it or her threat to Todd at the end that she will hold him to their deal but those scenes are in-character for Teyla as herself.
Finally, the plot is too anti-climatic. Teyla’s showdown with the bald commander of the Primary’s hive is over before it begins and disappointingly Teyla doesn’t put up too much of a fight. The ending without the original plan going into play and Todd simply left in charge of the Alliance feels like a damp squib especially as the characters dumbly wonder whether they got played – well, duh! I’m not a fan of episodes which have the main characters stupid without good reason.
The plot issues and the lack of a great story aside, the episode delivers on almost every other level. There are some great moments: the team watching Teyla’s transformation with McKay turning away disturbed, Ronon’s warning to Todd, Teyla squirming in the throne, Sheppard naming Todd’s second ‘Kenny’, the jumper taking out the second hive. The make-up artists deserve a shout-out for Teyla’s Wraith make-up which is fantastic and for continuing to keep all the Wraiths very individual while the special effects team deserves a well-deserved round of applause for the Wraith battle.
There is a lot to enjoy in the episode particularly Christopher Heyerdahl’s performance as Todd. He continues to delight. He delivers his lines with fabulous timing and more, makes Todd real. The character never comes across as one-dimensional; Todd has layers and Heyerdahl revels in exploring them. His quiet horror at realising Teyla is simply sending Wraith to their deaths contrasting sharply with his earlier light humour with the team. In fact, the performances of both Heyerdahl and Luttrell really carry the episode and elevates it beyond the OK story.
The final episode is a solid entertaining hour of television. There’s a good mix of intrigue and action, and the team bond is nicely evident. Yet at the end there is the sense that the show settled for being average when it could have produced another Common Ground. This was definitely a missed opportunity.
The plot really deserves to take the blame as ultimately it just doesn’t push the envelope enough and leaves the concept underdeveloped. To be fair, the plot as written is well-structured: the opening reasons for why Team Atlantis need Todd’s help and the idea of Teyla assuming the place of Todd’s Queen seamlessly introduced and the subsequent scenes of the plan going into motion only to unravel with Todd’s political machinations and the inevitable Team Atlantis attempted rescue are well drawn with everything leading to the reset of Teyla back to herself at the end.
It all flows nicely; there are a couple of nice twists which I personally anticipated – the quick death of the Primary Queen and the saving of Teyla by Todd at the end. The story also provides an interesting peek into the Wraith culture, the matriarchal hierarchy, the way treachery and Machiavellian plots are the usual stuff of their politics. It really isn’t a bad story but that’s the thing; damned with faint praise is the phrase that comes to mind.
The story could have been so much more especially around Teyla’s internal conflict at transforming into a Wraith. The details are not provided on how she transforms and the suggestion seems to be that Teyla is simply physically altered to appear as a Wraith but is otherwise human. The fact that much of Teyla’s personality remains intact including her very real fears and emotions post transformation supports this. Yet nothing is done to explore how Teyla herself truly reacts to being Wraith – to wearing the face of the enemy, to even assess whether she is truly becoming a Wraith Queen. Had the plot suggested Teyla’s own Wraith DNA had been stimulated or that she was fully transformed perhaps more would have been done. As it is the only sign of any emotional impact around this idea is toward the end when she looks at her once-again human hand contemplatively. Without this exploration of character and impact on character, the plot lacks any kind of emotional pull for the audience.
The second area that the plot fails to fully explore perhaps because of that is Teyla as the Queen. That’s not to say it doesn’t explore it at all; it does. Teyla’s ‘act’ of being Queen is highlighted in quite a few places: her initial arrival and interaction with the Primary, her assumption of power, the battle with the other Wraith and her goodbye scenes to her Wraith hive and to Todd. These scenes do keep Teyla in character: she’s ‘acting’ as the Queen but not really being a Queen. It’s a fine line and Rachel Luttrell performs and delivers this wonderfully despite the make-up. But, again, the plot needed that moment where the audience wonders whether the power of being Queen is seducing Teyla – and it never comes. Perhaps the battle where Teyla coldly sends a vast number of Wraith to their deaths was meant to convey it or her threat to Todd at the end that she will hold him to their deal but those scenes are in-character for Teyla as herself.
Finally, the plot is too anti-climatic. Teyla’s showdown with the bald commander of the Primary’s hive is over before it begins and disappointingly Teyla doesn’t put up too much of a fight. The ending without the original plan going into play and Todd simply left in charge of the Alliance feels like a damp squib especially as the characters dumbly wonder whether they got played – well, duh! I’m not a fan of episodes which have the main characters stupid without good reason.
The plot issues and the lack of a great story aside, the episode delivers on almost every other level. There are some great moments: the team watching Teyla’s transformation with McKay turning away disturbed, Ronon’s warning to Todd, Teyla squirming in the throne, Sheppard naming Todd’s second ‘Kenny’, the jumper taking out the second hive. The make-up artists deserve a shout-out for Teyla’s Wraith make-up which is fantastic and for continuing to keep all the Wraiths very individual while the special effects team deserves a well-deserved round of applause for the Wraith battle.
There is a lot to enjoy in the episode particularly Christopher Heyerdahl’s performance as Todd. He continues to delight. He delivers his lines with fabulous timing and more, makes Todd real. The character never comes across as one-dimensional; Todd has layers and Heyerdahl revels in exploring them. His quiet horror at realising Teyla is simply sending Wraith to their deaths contrasting sharply with his earlier light humour with the team. In fact, the performances of both Heyerdahl and Luttrell really carry the episode and elevates it beyond the OK story.
The final episode is a solid entertaining hour of television. There’s a good mix of intrigue and action, and the team bond is nicely evident. Yet at the end there is the sense that the show settled for being average when it could have produced another Common Ground. This was definitely a missed opportunity.
