An energy-eating incorporeal entity puts the city in danger.

[This is not the gene therapy storyline I mentioned in the previous post.]

McKay wants the gene therapy. Badly. Because he wants to be able to control the ancient technology like Sheppard does. And Beckett. Those were his own words. He is jealous.

It will not be obvious for some time that he is the creator's pet, a sort of wish-fulfilment self-insert. The geek who rules and who is better than everybody at a lot of things, many of them implausible even in-universe. A scientist better than high-ranking officers at strategy/tactics/etc? Yeah, not likely. He is a bitchy know-it-all, and he has something to prove the worst way.

Those who have watched SG-1, notice that he does share some characteristics, mostly that he is smarter than everybody else, and he has some storylines parallel to those that Daniel Jackson had. But the main difference is that Daniel is a likeable personality. He gets along with both humans and aliens.
He let go of his ambitions for prestige in the scientific community, he didn't need that validation after he found out that he was right about the stargates. He believes in the peaceful exploration, and he goes toe toe about it with Stargate command. He could have easily become bitter, having to fight the military for his peaceful beliefs, but he didn't. And his relationship with O'Neill is just adorable, like it can be seen in the previous episode, in the scene where the gate is being dialled to Pegasus galaxy.

Sheppard and McKay playing like little kids. Behold the chief scientist and the ranking military officer, everybody.

Nervous babble in the face of danger. A thing Rodney will be doing a lot. Is it really a thing? I've seen it on films and TV, but I've never met anyone who does it.

Weir: And he [McKay] is the smartest guy here.
Beckett: So he likes to tell us.
Seriously, why is Rodney being written so obviously unlikeable?
The theory Weir has about why McKay can't shut off the personal shield is pretty smart and observant.*

We are only at about ten minute mark of the episode, and McKay's self-pitying is already getting grating.

McKay: Ever seen a twenty kiloton nuclear explosion?
Sheppard replies all casually: I have. [Everybody stops and turns to stare at him.] Not up close.
On the surface Sheppard is a carefree flyboy with a military record marred with insubordination. Then there are these little peeks to his history that paint a different picture.

Teyla does not really get the American football: They.. seem.. very happy.
What I don't get is how American football is a cornerstone of western civilisation. I thought democracy and freedom of speech and things like that were.

Jinto and his friend sneak out to play hide and seek after their parents fall asleep. Obviously something at least unexpected if not outright bad is going to happen.

In all fairness, McKay does have a lot of funny lines. David Hewlett is afterall a skilled comedian.

The City is beautiful even when it's being creepy.









Oh, transporters. Sort of elevators, except magic. Like a lot of ancient tech. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

There is a lot of slack [read: boring kids] that could have been cut from the episode in favour of focusing more on the entity. It's a being made entirely of energy, it stands to reason it's intelligent.

Stackhouse is really adorable with his worrying over Ford.

*And Weir's theory is proven true.

Why are they sending it trough the gate to some world, even if it is 'a barren wasteland'? Why not to a gate that is orbiting a planet?

And then McKay saves the day. This is one of those times when he legit is the one in a best position to do so, but it's also an atypical behaviour from him, the exhibition of such bravery.

Grodin is kinda cute.