User Reviews

'Sateda' Season three, episode four.

This episode has to be one of the strongest in the series of 'Stargate: Atlantis' and proves this show has much potential if we get more of the same. 'Sateda' sees Sheppard and his team arrive on a planet only for the people to take Ronon hostage. They see him as responsible as having lead the Wraith to their planet years ago in an attack that left many dead and have made a bargain with a Wraith commander that he will leave them alone if they hand Ronon over should he ever return. Ronon is returned to Wraith custody where he is once again made their prey in their twisted cat-and-mouse game. He leads them back to his own home world of Sateda, where the final showdown begins. On his trail is Sheppard, determined not to leave a man behind.

Until this episode, the character of Ronon risked turning into a one-dimensional drone who was just good for fancy fighting scenes, all brawn but no content. 'Sateda' not only succeeded in giving him a rich background but gave motivations for his behaviour and depicted him to be more human than ever before. He is a man who had a happy life once only for it to be snatched away from him, leaving him only with vengeance until he met the Atlantis crew.

'Sateda' is not all drama and emotion. The darker scenes are nicely off-set by the Beckett and MacKay interactions (whoever decided Beckett's fate at the end of this season should be sacked for being a moron) as well as Teyla's realisation that Sheppard sees her and Ronon as valuable and close to him as people from his own planet.

This episode is definitely one to disprove the idea that some have that 'Stargate' is not as worthy in the science-fiction world as shows such as 'Star Trek'.

In my opinion, this episode is one of the best of the Stargate Universe. Robert Cooper outdid himself. The story itself is not too unusual: hero goes back to devastated home, has it out with long-time nemesis. However, the layout of the story was really well done, particularly once at Sateda. The presentation of the Sateda story was breathtaking, with excellent direction and photography as well as film editing. The humorous interaction between Rodney and Carson was just the right touch.

One note. Had I been editing for story, I would have had Ronon grab his wife(?) in a desperate bear hug at the end of their first scene, not just grab her hand. That would have presented a nice bookend to Ronon's hug of Carson (obviously a friendly not loving or desperate hug), and given a bit more strength to the story point that he once again was neither alone nor shut off emotionally. Just my thoughts.

This is one of the very best episodes of the series. The cinematography, special effects and stunts are outstanding. Best of all, Jason Momoa's talents are clearly recognized: Physical presence, stunt fighting and acting are all superb. It is easy to see why and how he became a superstar. I am glad for him, too.

This is not my favourite episode, but it's far from being the brainless 40mn action scene that I remembered after first watching it. As the first (and almost the only) Ronon-centric episode, it says a lot about the guy --but it does so in a typically close-lipped way. For the first anniversary of his coming to Atlantis, Ronon literally retraces his steps as a Runner and a Satedan, which obviously involves a lot of guilt and bad blood before he can finally come to terms with his personal ghosts.

The episode begins with a brief follow-up on an event mentioned in Runner: that as a Runner, whoever helped Ronon immediately became prey for the Wraith. This is a good start to let us into Ronon's feelings, because even though he was a victim, the fact remains that he unwillingly brought about the deaths of many innocents and still blames himself for it. The second, and longer part, brings him back both to his now devastated homeworld, and to his Runner trials. The inevitable action here may be quite impressive, but I can't find much interest in it; what makes the whole sequence really fascinating is how it brings Ronon full circle, superimposing vivid flashbacks of his past to his present fight to the death. Beyond revealing more about Ronon, those memories also show us that this gruesome, lifeless place used to be a world much like ours, with people much like us. Even Ronon used to be a man like any other, until he saw everything he loved disappear before his eyes. Talk about survivor's guilt. Congrats to Jason Momoa for really making his few lines count and giving them feeling. But I also appreciate that even Ronon still has room to evolve as a character. Even though he wants to carry out his personal vendetta by himself, even though he probably expects to die, in the end he accepts his friends' help -a sign that he's moving on.

Apart from Ronon there are also good moments for the others. Sheppard and Teyla share a nice awkward conversation on the Daedalus while McKay and Beckett provide some welcome comic relief. I also notice a few hints of things to come: Ronon's wife telling him that "you can't run forever" is rather prophetic. And when Teyla says that she is relieved to know how far her friends would go to get *her* back if she ever found herself in Ronon's situation... well, that strikes me as meaningful.

Ronon gets his revenge, for Sateda and for having been used as a runner. It's a "Ronon is angry" episode which adds nothing new to the series but is entertaining. There's a flaw, which makes me angry: Ronon gets his revenge, but they don't help other runners. They know where they are. They could just fly to them, beam them up, remove the tracker and save these poor runners from the Wraith. Especially since they killed the main villain and now there my be runners out there who are safe but still think they are being chased.