TV Squad posted on tvsquad.com 11 months ago:

Stargate Atlantis: The Kindred -- Part 2 - TV Squad

Now, let me introduce to you...the one and only Carson Beckett! Is he live or is he Memorex? That was the question on everyone's minds this week as fan favorite Dr. Beckett returned to Stargate Atlantis after his unceremonious death last season. Of course, Dr. Keller told us at the very beginning of the episode that he was Carson Beckett. This didn't mean squat, though, because there was a whole episode for that claim to be disputed.

So, was Carson actually Carson or something entirely different? And, what happened with Teyla and Michael? For that, read on.

Well, it really seemed like he was Carson after telling his story to Rodney: he was captured two years ago in an earlier meeting with Michael and then coerced to conduct medical experiments for his cause. It sounded very convincing, and I'm sure Carson himself believed all of it. It just looks like those memories were imprinted on his brain when he was cloned. Notice I said cloned -- not a Replicator: Carson is a clone created by Michael, As it has Beckett's memories, and his personality strengths and weaknesses, one would think that it was a fairly good duplicate.

But, as we all learned in the Michael Keaton movie Multiplicity, everytime you build a duplicate of yourself expect to see a bit of degradation. In the case of Carson the issue is with his cells, which aren't regenerating fast enough to keep his body going. In other words, he's dying from the inside out. However, Carson isn't a quitter and proved he would do anything to halt his imminent death.

Even if it meant going on a mission with Sheppard and McKay to rescue Teyla from the ashy clutches of Michael. Unfortunately, all that got Beckett was a shot to the chest and the revelation that Michael is able to mind link to Carson and stop him from doing something drastic -- like killing Michael himself. However, since Michael is a hybrid and Beckett was injected with Wraith enzymes for the longest time, I could see this being an advantage once Carson gets out of stasis, especially if Teyla can help him control the link.

You read correctly...Carson had no other choice but to be put in stasis. When they discovered Michael's lab it turned out that he didn't have any antidote in his jacket pockets to pass along to Beckett. I was expecting something like this when it came to the return of Carson. Not only does it allow him to return to Atlantis next season (he is cast in five episodes) but it brings him into the whole 'Get Michael' storyline. I will say that his good-bye to the cast of Atlantis was pretty heart-wrenching. Here he is, back with the people that were his family for so many years, and now he has to leave them again for an unknown period of time.

Meanwhile, back at the Hybrid Ranch, there's good news and bad news for Teyla. The good news was the reunion with many of her fellow Athosians that disappeared off of her home planet. The bad news is Michael has been experimenting on a number of them, including father of her unborn son. This number eventually included Teyla herself, and not because Michael despises her. His interest is in her unborn son. As I speculated in last week's review, this is going to be one powerful Athosian as he has the combined Gift of both his mother and his father. What Michael wants with this baby isn't too clear, although I'm sure it has to do with the defeat of the Wraith and his dominance in the Pegasus Galaxy. That, or he's just ready to settle down and have some kids. It could go either way.

To me, Michael may be the greatest threat to the members of Atlantis. Sure, the Replicators and Wraith had cunning and firepower behind them but, as a whole, they don't have the main thing that makes Michael so dangerous -- he knows them. He especially knows Teyla, who was with him when he found out he was a Wraith. Because of that they have a certain bond that makes them nearly inseparable when they meet. If this next episode were to be the end of Michael I think that they'd have a hard time finding another person to fill that gap, particularly since the whole Weir-Replicator storyline is out the window.

A few additional notes:

I can't say if there were more commercials this time around, but this episode of Stargate Atlantis went very fast for me. Perhaps it was because I was waiting to see the fate of both Beckett and Teyla and I mentally moved time ahead.
Ronon grabbing Carson and giving him a hug -- he's just a old softie at heart.
My gosh, Rodney has certainly changed over the last season. His whole demeanor shifted this episode when he was reunited with Beckett. Maybe it was a bit of guilt for not getting together with Carson before he got caught in the explosion. Either way, I'm okay with this version of Rodney. Not all of the time mind you, but certainly on these occasions.
On next week's season finale -- a little romance, a little fighting, and an abandoned city of Atlantis.

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