SGA - 5x3 - Broken Ties [SPOILERS]

Sherifu

Ronon is captured by his former friend Tyre, who plans to turn him over to the Wraith to get back in their good graces.

Mr E

Bad

Slightly above average filler episode.

With the double crossing, double double crossing, re-double crossing, triple crossing, animal crossing etc. etc. my head was spinning, but it wasn't bad.

The next couple of episodes sound better.

Sherifu

Bad

It was fine really.

The bits I enjoyed the most were the classic stargate humour bits;

• Wolsey trapped in conference room
  
• Wolsey's wife taking his Yorkshire terrier in the divorce
  
• Wolsey left holding the baby and the inevitable crying
  
• Rodney - 'pacing, snacking & bathing'; Sheppard - 'I'm not taking a bath with you.'
  
• Wolsey's comfortable clothes.

Also, Teylo made her mind up which was good. Some more Major Lorne time.

ixoy

McKay

Yeah it was grand - neither memorable in a good or bad way. I also liked Wolsey being trapped in the conference room and his general unfamiliarity with the base.
A bit disappointed that Ronan broke so easily too but it made for some decent scenes.
I might have missed something but how come Tyre hadn't flushed the enzyme from his system if he hadn't had any contact with the wraith for ages?

Pugsley

Bad

Very average, a couple of pretty bad cringe moments (not the funny kind), but some bits were pretty amusing, and the plot paced along nicely, never really dragged out at any points.

Very impressive fight between Ronon and Tyre, probably the best fight scene in Atlantis so far.

alastair_doom

Bad

ixoy wrote: »

I might have missed something but how come Tyre hadn't flushed the enzyme from his system if he hadn't had any contact with the wraith for ages?

It wasnt covered, but i assume he gutted a few wraith for the enzyme, like Lt. Ford did.

Enjoyable episode, but the old tripple back double cross was very typical stargate, and very predictable. I bet i wasnt the only one who could guess exactly how the episode was going to pan out from when they decided to bring Tyre with them. So only gets an 'OK' from me, for a lack of originality.

Thought i was going to hate Woolsey in SGA, but i have to say i really enjoyed every scene he was in this episode. Lets hope they keep writing parts for him, rather than making him a background character like they did Weir and Carter

Overheal

McKay

it was good episodic filler to be honest. not too memorable, rewatchable, etc. found the humour a bit mundane. "Im not taking a bath with you" conversation has just become normal style of interaction. I like how Picardo is trying to humanize his character a bit more finally, with the bedroom and the terrier and all.

There was one hole I hated which was Tyre lived, after the wraith disposed of him: it looks like they filmed the scene with him dying in mind with the wraith feeding on him then throwing him against the wall - then later they must have decided they needed him to live for the story to work.

Speaking of Wraith, wheres Steve these days? that wraithlad is cool beans.

is_that_so

Thought it was OK as a filler. As posted above it was fairly obvious what was going to happen and a typical Stargate approach to it. Yet again I thought Woolsey was one of the best things in it. Some very nice touches to his character.

J-blk

McKay

Sherifu wrote: »

It was fine really.

The bits I enjoyed the most were the classic stargate humour bits;

• Wolsey trapped in conference room
  
• Wolsey's wife taking his Yorkshire terrier in the divorce
  
• Wolsey left holding the baby and the inevitable crying
  
• Rodney - 'pacing, snacking & bathing'; Sheppard - 'I'm not taking a bath with you.'
  
• Wolsey's comfortable clothes.

Yep, I thought very much the same - the Woolsey bits were the best part of the episode, but the main story line was average/good, not a breakout episode.

At least it seems they are somewhat learning from the mistakes they made with Carter last year, trying to integrate Woolsey as the new leader more, rather than him just being there for some episodes and not for others. I particularly liked the point were the team got up to leave to go find that other Satidan that might have info, not waiting for Woolsey's approval...

Conor108

Thought that was above avergae as filler episodes go too. The Woolsey bits were funny but this whole business of infiltrating random Wraith outpost, rescueing someone shortly before blowing it up is getting a bit repetitive.
I love it but still:D

The next few episodes look alot better! Particularly looking forward to:

• The Daedalus Variations
• The Shrine
• Brain Storm
• First Contact

Nukem

Sorry but did I miss an Ep along the way somewhere?
The whole reason they made Ronan a runner orginally was because they couldn't feed on him for some unknown reason? Yes/No?

Pretty boring Ep IMO

J-blk

McKay

Nukem wrote: »

Sorry but did I miss an Ep along the way somewhere?
The whole reason they made Ronan a runner orginally was because they couldn't feed on him for some unknown reason? Yes/No?

I don't think they ever hinted he could not be fed upon - just that it was a kind of "sport" for the Wraith to make some of the tougher humans they came upon into Runners, instead of feeding/killing them right off the bat.

Ronon was the best known runner apparently, having survived the longest...

Sherifu

Bad

I found a decent write up on this episode. One thing I forgot to mention was the similarity of this story to what happened to Teal'c in season five of SG-1. It was just a passing thought when I was watching this episode and didn't bother me really.

@Nukem: I have a feeling you're right but i'd need to see the runner episode again to be sure.

As for how Tyre survived he could have done a Ford on it I guess and killed Wraith for their enzyme. It didn't occur to me tbh.

(S05E03) I have to admit, when I saw in the previews last week that we were getting a Ronon episode, I wasn't exactly excited. I figured it would be another stand alone episode, probably ok, but I don't usually think of Ronon as a character to carry the big load. Having now watched "Broken Ties," I'll say I was pleasantly surprised. Jason Momoa took advantage of being given the A-story and delivered his best performance to date. And along the way we got a little more background on Woolsey, and some answers to Teyla's burning question.

Or maybe I should call that Teyla's smoldering question, because it really seems that fire has been going for quite a long time. I was glad to see it finally addressed, and I liked how it all came about. When Sheppard finally put his foot down and told Teyla that she has to make a decision, I felt like I was sharing his frustration. The will she or won't she of returning to the team really was left hanging out there for too long. It is great to have Teyla back on the team. I'm left wondering what that means for Torren and Kanaan. I suspect they'll quickly be shuffled to the back burner and we'll hear them being talked about much more than we'll see them.

Perhaps the one good thing that came from the drawn out decision process was the interaction of Woolsey and Teyla. It painted him in a good light and also served to give us just a little more background on him. The new boss is divorced, a dog lover, and feels right at home in a suit. Woolsey continues to win me over. His struggles with not being able to open the door to the conference room, and his reaction to being handed Torren, were both very funny, and help to make you sympathize with the character.

We also got another peek at the Sheppard/Woolsey dynamic this week. Sheppard is getting his way, but he's not being allowed to just walk all over Woolsey. Something we saw as he was forced to pause and get the go ahead for his mission, just so everything was by the book.

The episode gained a lot by being a continuation from season four's "Reunion." Tying up the loose ends from that episode wasn't actually high on my radar, but I really like Mark Dacascos. The fact that it brought him back into the fold was reason enough to go forward with the story.

The story of Ronon being brainwashed did kind of echo that of Teal'c from season five of SG-1, but we are fast approaching the 300th episode in the Stargate universe. I suppose if you try hard enough you can find something like that for most any episode. For me, the episode set itself apart enough that it didn't matter.

It was pretty clear that Tyre didn't have good intentions when he kidnapped Ronon, but the addiction angle to the reverse feeding was something I didn't see coming. It was an interesting way to go. For one, it provided a way to redeem Tyre quickly, so he could be trusted by the team. And it also created a way for Ronon to be turned by the Wraith without giving in. He wasn't beaten mentally, it was a physiological reaction to his system being overwhelmed with the Wraith enzymes. They even made a note of just how much of the crazy juice he had in his system.

Where I was fooled was the big showdown. Initially I thought Ronon was playing along to stop the torture and look for his chance. That all kind of went out the window when the team showed up and he punched Sheppard in the face. At the same time, I was still expecting Tyre to turn on the team, so his sudden betrayal came as no surprise. It didn't all come clear until after the Wraith got his hand cut off. With the way it was shot, initially it seemed that Ronon had done it. Alas, the next cut was to Ronon, with his sword still undrawn, and things finally started to make sense.

On the negative side, I have two minor complaints about the episode. First, that was probably the least impressive Wraith baddie I've seen on the show. Partly the voice, and partly the makeup, but he just didn't seem to command the fear and creepiness I"ve come to expect. And second, the Wraith really could use more lighting in their ships and bases.

The big battle with the sword fight was great, but damn was it ever dark. I just kept thinking, maybe some indirect lighting that could be tucked out of the way so as not to detract from the architectural integrity of the veined walls. Ya know, that, or maybe a sconce or two. Or maybe I just shouldn't watch the DVR'd copy of Design Star while waiting for Atlantis to start.

Some final notes: The actor that played the Wraith, Tyler McClendon, is a Sci Fi superstar, having also appeared on SG-1, Eureka, and Battlestar Galactica. Sean Campbell, who played Solen Sincha, has been on SG-1 as well. Sheppard had the funniest line of the night with his reaction to McKay's explanation about bathing and problem solving, "I'm not taking a bath with you." All things considered, a solid entry. Season five is off to a good start.

Stargate Atlantis: Broken Ties

jor el

I cried

alastair_doom wrote: »

Enjoyable episode, but the old tripple back double cross was very typical stargate, and very predictable. I bet i wasnt the only one who could guess exactly how the episode was going to pan out from when they decided to bring Tyre with them. So only gets an 'OK' from me, for a lack of originality.

Yep, the uber-cross was fairly obvious, and over done.

Nukem wrote: »

Sorry but did I miss an Ep along the way somewhere?
The whole reason they made Ronan a runner orginally was because they couldn't feed on him for some unknown reason? Yes/No?

I'm sure that's correct. When Ronon (Googled his name and apparently this is the correct spelling) first appeared, he said that occasionally there are people that are immune to the feeding process, so the Wraith tag them and set them free, to later hunt them down. The Wraith feeding on Ronon, and then giving back his life force, seems to go against this idea.

A below average episode in all.

Overheal

McKay

Just like in season 1 when they discussed and introduced wraith stunners they had no effect on anyone carrying the wraith enzyme. however wraith get stunned all the time, and they chose to play the stunproof card on ronon.

Catsmokinpot

Bad

It was an ok episode, I'm kinda looking forward to seeing more of the doctor in stargate.

Volvagia

Bad

was an ok episode. Wolsey as by far the best part. The main plot was a bit repetitive but good enough to keep me watching.

Am i right in saying that next week's Daedalus ep is supposed to a good one.