Conversion (2x08)
Story by Robert C. Cooper & Martin Gero
Teleplay by Martin Gero 
Directed by Brad Turner

Instinct 2x07
Written by Treena Hancock & Melissa R. Byer
Directed by Andy Mikita

Trinity 2x06
Written by Damien Kindler
Directed by Martin Wood

dragonladyk

Condemned 2x05
Story by Sean Carley
Teleplay by Carl Binder 
Directed by Peter DeLuise

Duet (2x04)
Written by Martin Gero
Directed by Peter DeLuise

Runner (2x03)
Written by Robert C. Cooper
Directed by Martin Wood

The Siege: Part 3 (2x01)
Written by Martin Gero
Directed by Martin Wood

The Siege: Part 2 (1x20)
Written by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie
Directed by Martin Wood

Previously I’ve done these two-parters in one review. It worked well for Rising I and II because they were telling one story. Didn’t work so well for The Storm and The Eye (in my opinion, anyway) because they were two parts of a greater whole. So I wasn’t able to cover the arc and instead ended up with a super-long, tl;dr-esque, review. The Siege: Part 1 is not only continuing a story that started several episodes back (The Brotherhood), it doesn’t even finish during this season. So lesson learned, I’m not going to be taken in by the "to be continued" and I’m going to treat this episode as self-contained.

Which, for two out of three plot lines, it kinda-sorta-is. Also? This episode rocked enough it deserves its own review.

Teyla! Easily one of my more pleasant surprises as far as characters go, this episode provides a lot of solid canon for stuff Rachel Luttrell has only been able to hint at previously. All without causing the driving story arc (The Wraith are coming! The Wraith are coming!) to come to a screeching halt. I am pleased.

Love, love, love this episode. Nice bits of character moments, plus a good look at the ethics of survival. My favorite part? We aren’t given a definitive answer. I love it when shows refuse to spoon-feed. And I’m frankly a bit surprised Stargate Atlantis is one of those shows. (Maybe I was selling them a bit short?)

The Brotherhood (1x16)
Written by Martin Gero
Directed by Martin Wood

For the first time since starting this project, I’ve watched the commentaries before writing out my review. I’d chosen to not watch them before because I didn’t want to be unduly influenced by hearing what the writer or director or actor were trying to do. Instead I wanted to focus on what I saw them accomplish. However, I feel like I’ve reached a place where despite my knowledge of, and/or sympathies towards, the commentators, I can still be honest about my impressions. (At least that’s what I told myself when I rather impatiently decided I wanted to watch the commentary for ‘The Brotherhood’ right now.)

I’ll be including comments about the commentaries (heh) as I go. It won’t be comprehensive by any means, just scattered about as the spirit moves me, but spoiler warnings for the commentary on The Brotherhood! Martin Gero, Martin Wood and David Hewlett were our commentators.