"Wow, it sounds crazy, but it could work"
Now possesing a foolproof way to track the Asuran ships, Colonels Caldwell and Ellis arrive to lend their ships in wiping out the Asuran threat. But when the Asurans retreat to their homeworld, it's up to McKay to come up with a more permanent solution.— Carter
Tropes:
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Larrin and Sheppard.
- Continuity Nod: When Rodney states that removing a now-destroyed planet from the Atlantis database is harder than you'd think, Sheppard can't resist observing this should be easy for Rodney by now.McKay: You really just can't resist bringing up the fact that I once accidentally destroyed a couple of planets, can you?Sheppard: It was an entire solar system.
- Divide and Conquer: The initial plan is to have the Odyssey and Daedalus fly around zapping the individual Asuran warships, now that they can accurately track their locations. They manage to take out more than a third of their ships in this fashion before the Asurans wise up and retreat to their homeworld, where they'll have safety in numbers until they can produce enough ships to completely overwhelm any resistance, regardless of the Expedition's ability to perfectly track them.
- Doctor, Doctor, Doctor: Colonels Caldwell, Ellis, Sheppard, and Carter greet each other in this fashion. McKay lampshades it with a "Seriously?"
- Earth-Shattering Kaboom: The final fate of Asuras.
- Enemy Mine: The surprisingly successful alliance between the Atlantis Expedition, the Travelers, and the Wraith.
- Foreshadowing: When the allied fleet jumps away before Asuras goes boom, one of the Wraith Hives is conspicuously last and slow to make the jump to hyperspace. We'll find out why at the beginning of next episode.
- Fun with Acronyms: FRAN, whose name stands for Friendly Replicator ANdroid.
- Gone Horribly Right: McKay's plan is to condense the Replicators into a single, hyper-dense mass, then overload the Asuras power network so they essentially undergo nuclear fusion. The first half works great, so great in fact that the sheer weight of the Replicator mass sinks into the ground and breaks the subterranean power grid, forcing McKay and Carter to improvise.
- Grey Goo: The Replicators become one giant mass when McKay dials up the attraction between nanites.
- The Guards Must Be Crazy: Averted. The instant that Todd threatens to feed on Rodney (as "incentive" to get him to work faster), the guards react and raise their weapons to defend McKay.
- Holding Hands: After John gets angry at Teyla for continuing to go on missions without telling him she is pregnant, Ronon is much gentler with her and takes her hand to walk with her to the infirmary, joking that "Ronon" is a unisex name.
- Hold the Line: In order for the "condense the Replicators" plan to work, the Expedition has to cobble together a fleet of Traveler and Wraith ships to keep the Asuran fleet busy in orbit until the attractive force of the Replicator mass can affect the Replicators on the ships.
- Idiot Ball: While their initial plan was to overload all the Asuran ZPMs to wipe out the Replicator mass, and thus stealing a few was not an option, no-one suggests trying to steal any spare ones once that plan falls apart. Made even more foolish since we later learn that the Wraith did just that in the following episode.
- James Bondage: Larrin ties Sheppard up - and leaves him tied up.
- Literary Allusion Title: to Hamlet
- Morning Sickness: The episode starts with Ronon and Sheppard discussing how nauseous and green-looking Teyla has been lately and chalk it up to the flu. Later in the episode, she finally tells them she's pregnant.
- Motive Misidentification: After Asuras is destroyed, Todd and the other Hives never bother to show up at the rendezvous point. Rodney figures that with the Enemy Mine having been successful, Todd didn't think there was anything else to discuss and the Wraith went back to being enemies. While that is true to an extent, the next episode will reveal Todd actually didn't show up because he had places to be and much bigger fish to fry than the Expedition...
- Shipper on Deck: Ronon is revealed to be one for Teyla and Kanaan, revealing he knew about their relationship because of the way she talked about him and promises he will help her get him back alive.
- Spanner in the Works: Rodney's original plan to overload the Asuran ZPMs fails because he didn't foresee that the weight of the Asuran mass would sink into the planet, collapsing the subterranean power grid.
- Status Quo Is God: As Sheppard lampshades in the penultimate scene, the Expedition's finally more or less back to the pre-"Progeny" status quo: Wraith are enemies again, the Asurans aren't a factor anymore, and Rodney's out of his dry spell.
- The Stinger: A Replicator cruiser floating in the debris field that was Asuras, with Elizabeth Weir in command.Replicator Weir: We can finally get to work without having to look over our shoulders. It's time to begin.
- Tranquil Fury: When John finds out Teyla has continued to go on missions without telling him she’s pregnant, he is clearly angry but does not shout at her, keeping his voice steady and being firm in his decision to remove her from active duty.
- Wham Shot: The final scene of the episode has a lone Asuran warship surveying the ruins of their homeworld, and Elizabeth Weir is commanding it.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: FRAN. McKay insists she's just a tool, despite Sam's objections, but even he is obviously unsettled by her willingness to sacrifice herself to fulfill his plan.
- Why We Are Bummed Communism Fell: When Caldwell sees the assembled fleet of Wraith ships and those of Larrin's people, he recalls how strange it felt to do joint missions with Russian troops after the end of the Cold War.
- You Are Not Alone: When Teyla says she'll find Kanaan, Ronon takes her hand and says they will find him together.Teyla: I will find him. He is still alive — I feel it.
Ronon: We'll find him — together.
[he takes her hand]
Ronon: I promise. Come on — let's go get you checked up.
