02-13 Critical Mass

[Colonel Carter]

Title: Critical Mass
Directed by: Andy Mikita
Written by: Carl Binder
Original Air Date: December 5, 2005 (The Movie Network)

Synopsis:It is discovered that The Trust have infiltrated Atlantis and planted a bomb inside, set to go off the next time they dial Earth. To add to the tension, two Wraith cruisers are on the way, and Dr. Weir wants to figure out if there could be a Goa'uld spy in Atlantis' midst.



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I thorougly enjoyed this episode. I just thought it was really well done. I actually expected the old woman to ascend, so I was surprised when she didn't. But I loved the ceremony. Does anyone know the lyrics to the song Teyla was singing? That song was beautifully haunting and I would love to know the words she sang.

I so wished it had been Cavanaugh. That dweeb is way too annoying. I was actually disappointed that Ronan wasn't able to "question" him. ;)

I assumed early on that it wouldn't be the woman Rodney suspected. Moreso once I realized she was the woman he'd switched minds with, or whatever it was. I thought it too obvious for someone with her expertise to be responsible for planting a bomb. So because early on she seemed like she could be such an obvious choice, as Rodney later pointed out, I dismissed her for that reason - too obvious.

I never expected Col. Caldwell but then again I've never liked his character, now I know why. And I seriously hope that if the Goa'uld is removed and he remains on the show, that he's been humbled by the experience and is a lot kinder.

Of course I almost wonder if they didn't decide to do this episode after complaints about his character and they decided to find a way to drastically change his personality with a plausible explanation.

The only thing I really wanted to see at the end of the episode that they didn't have was Landry's reaction to finding out the Colonel he sent was a Goa'uld.

And that raises further questions. How could he have been sent out from Earth on such a delicate and dangerous mission without having been run through various tests including a test to make sure he didn't have a Goa'uld in his head? I thought their system would not send anyone out with a complete medical examination including a Goa'uld search.

I also did have a problem with Weir's comment to Shep in regards to ponytail boy (I like that better than Cavanaugh) and asking how they were any different than the Wraith. I couldn't believe Shep didn't respond with the obvious. Even if Ronan was able to interrogate, it would have been nothing like the Wraith who suck your years away from you.

What did surprise me is that Sheppard didn't go in with him. Actually, that disturbed me that Sheppard didn't go in with him because Ronan is not from Earth, he's very new to Atlantis, they probably don't truly know what his ways of interrogation might be, Sheppard is the head military officer on Atlantis and any interrogation done by anyone, including Weir in my opinion, should not have happened without Sheppard being present. Or the head security officer of Atlantis if there is one.

But to allow Ronan to go in all on his own like that was just wrong and irresponsible and I can't believe that if this was truly reflecting reality that such a thing would have happened. Sheppard should have been in there with him.

[Anissa T]

I thought that was genius to make Caldwell the Gou'ld. I oftened have wondered what would happen if the Gou'ld and Wraith came in contact. So close!

As much as I hate Cavanaugh, I thought that would have been way to easy to figure out.

I loved the back and forth between Atlantis and the SGC.

[Colonel Carter]

It would have been funnier if we could have seen Cavanaugh faint I think.

I think Cavanaugh falls into a certain male type. I'm not sure if there's a name for them though but I had a customer once who I was warned was this way.

Cavanaugh is the type to treat females like dirt, talk abusively towards them, be rude and disrespectful towards them. But he'll treat other males the complete opposite, showing them respect and treating them well.

I think Weir should never try to handle Cavanaugh because I simply don't think he'll ever be able to respond well to female authority. And I don't think she needs to make it into a womens lib issue either. The guy is a jerk to women, that's his problem and she needs to handle the situation with tact. If she wants to question him, she really should have a guy do it because of they type of person Cavanaugh is.

Just my two cents. :)

[Anissa T]

Problem is, if she does that she gives into everything he is and reliquishes her authority around him (even though he doesn't recognize it). Bad move if your in a leadership position.

The better way to handle that would have been to take Sheppard in with her.

[Colonel Carter]

Not if you look at it as a chain of command. Think of Lord of the Rings as an example. King Theoden had a handful of men directly below him that he dealt with personally then left it up to them to deal with people below them.

Likewise isn't that how the military works? A General wouldn't be as likely to deal directly with a Private. Everything works down a clear chain of command. Just because a General allows a Colonel to investigate, question someone below them, doesn't mean the General is giving away his authority. It simply means that the General deals with a few people below him, they deal with people below them, and so on.

So then, Weir shouldn't have a problem allowing John to carry out investigations of people below him in Atlantis. Weir should deal directly with the leaders she's placed below her over Atlantis - John, Rodney, Carson, etc... They should then have authority over those below them. They should conduct an investigation if warranted and not bring that person directly before Weir unless warranted.

I think it would be different if she had concrete evidence pointing towards anyone, but she didn't have that. She had nothing concrete to point at Cavanaugh. All those initial investigations she conducted with people should have been conducted by those below her.

IMHO :blu

[cb49747]

I like this episode a lot. I laughed so hard when Zelanka came back from the planet with all the kids.

I also don't believe Rodney really thought it was that girl, I think he was just annoyed with her being around.

I liked the song Teyla sang, but though it was a bit cheesey for the show.

Anywho great show.

[Anissa T]

I don't know. Yes, I agree disseminating some of the responsibilities is a good idea, but under the circumstances, they didn't have the time to do that. And if using the chain of command to interview those people, then John wouldn't have done it anyway. Cavanaughs supervisor should have been doing it.

Besides, in the begining of the show, John was looking for an "actual" bomb and couldn't do it. However, having civilians who aren't neccesarily trained in negotiations and interrogation the way Elizabeth is, I found it quite appropriate for her to be interviewing Cavanaugh. Perhaps at that point, his supervisor should have been in the room.

Makes me wonder if they have any legal personnel on Atlantis.

[Colonel Carter]

I do think they need to have a more defining structure. Cavanaugh might not have a direct supervisor, after all, he kept jumping around, working on Atlantis one minute and then deciding he wanted to be on board the ship the next. Then back again, the back again.

I don't know of any occupation that would allow one of their employees to move around that much in that short a period. It seems to me where I work you're required to stay in your position for at least six months before you can even be considered for a transfer to another department. Then you have to go through an interview process with the supervisor of where you want to transfer to and all of that. So it just seems weird to me that he's able to jump around as much.

He's a typical male schovanist (sp?) pig. He probably has no idea how suspcious he truly sounds to people. Especially when he contradicts himself, as we saw him do so much in this episode.