SGA 5x20 (Enemies at the Gate) thoughts (spoilers)
Well, I got so damn mad about half-way through, convinced TPTB were just going to kill everyone - follow-up movie be damned - that I almost stopped watching. I mean seriously, since when did the Wraith need/carry knives? But I persevered all the way through to the ad for SG:U, and was glad I did (except for the last thirty seconds, again).
It was a good, edge-of-your-seat kind of episode. Though I'm not sure how much of that was due to the writing/directing/acting/etc as it was to my perception that TPTB seem to enjoy killing people. Still, enough things went wrong that I seriously wondered how they were going to pull this off. However, I was not all surprised when Sheppard volunteered to fly a nuke into the ueber-hive. But hey, four years later he's actually learned to give at least a general good-bye.
I love how they brought everybody back for the finale - except Elizabeth who seems to be well and truly dead this time, and Chuck who disappeared this season. It was nice to see Lorne in action again, I'll miss his boy-next-door charm. Seeing Sam in command again was cool. Todd will always and forever be made of win and actually became one of my favourite characters on the show because of his verbal sparring with other characters and his dry sense of humour.
There were a lot of really good moments in this episode. Carson being the second most-adept at the chair after Sheppard. Woolsey offering Teyla and Ronon an out, and their gracious refusal. Todd bitching about his outfit. Keller's reaction to what would happen if the wormhole drive didn't work. The wormhole drive (go Rodney!). Woolsey's "you may want to alert the Navy." Rodney kitting up and going onto the ueber-hive without a word of how dangerous it would be or how much he was needed on Atlantis. Zelenka stepping in like he always does. Ronon having a girlfriend who's pretty darn hot and can kick come serious butt. The scene about the General Hammond was an incredibly touching gesture. And aside from the forced Rodney/Jennifer moment at the end, the lot of them standing on a balcony of Atlantis and staring at the Golden Gate Bridge was pretty darn cool.
Even though TPTB have been driving me nuts as of late (or rather, have driven me more nuts the more I paid attention enough to write these reviews), I will miss SGA. I still haven't decided what's worse, knowing that the end is coming like we have, or to find out during the off-season after a gripping season finale (I was a big fan of Joan of Arcadia as well). I will miss Sheppard's oh-so-non-regulation demeanour, Rodney's snark, Ronon's arms, and, well, pretty much everything about Teyla. Friday nights just won't be the same.