This review contains MAJOR SPOILERS for ?Midway,? an episode from the fourth season of The SciFi Channel series ?Stargate: Atlantis".

Teal'c: "Indeed.
"Ronon: "You say that a lot."
Teal'c: "What?"
Ronon: "Indeed."
Teal'c: "Do I?"
Ronon: "Yeah."
Teal'c: "I had not noticed."

There is a new person in charge of the I.O.A. and he doesn?t care much for alien allies. With Teyla (Rachel Lutrell) barely managing to win him over, Col. Carter (Amanda Tapping) is worried about what the I.O.A. performance review will say about the hot-tempered Ronon Dex (Jason Momoa). Carter asks her former "Stargate SG1" teammate Teal?c (Christopher Judge) to visit Atlantis and give Ronon some pointers.

Needless to say, Ronon isn?t thrilled. He resists Teal?c?s attempts to help him. It really isn?t a surprise that things turn into a knock down drag out fight ? bets and all ? that is interrupted by Carter.

Ronon heads off to the Midway Station, and the required 24 hour quarantine, until he can head to Earth. It just so happens that Teal?c leaves at the same time.

Things get action-packed crazy when the Wraith hack into the gate system and invade the Midway Station. Dr. Lee (Bill Dow), Dr. Kavanagh (Ben Cotton) and a few other Stargate team members fall quickly to the Wraith, leaving Ronon and Teal?c to fight them off.

Things aren?t going well, though, and the dynamic duo tag along to Earth pursuing a Wraith team.

After lots of bullet action, a self-destruct and a successful attempt in stopping Stargate Command from being nuked, Ronon doesn?t have any trouble convincing the IOA that he is right for the team.

What Worked

It was a great idea to put Teal?c and Ronon together. Although they are very much alike, we also see the differences in their personalities. Of course, they teased us with the ?who is tougher? scene that ended in a draw.

I enjoyed seeing Teal?c again, but I was a little surprised to see the longer hair and thinner look. But, after I had sometime to digest it, the new look grew on me. His appearance was actually handled better than Carter?s for this whole season. I felt like this was the Teal?c I knew (with a new look), but I have not felt that way with Carter. However, I still think Teal?c would win in a fight.

It was also nice to see Lee and Kavanagh again. I enjoy when Atlantis uses their recurring characters, because it makes the fictional setting seem more real.

Yikes, goodbye Midway Station. I wonder how long it will take to rebuild it? Or even if they can rebuild it?

What Didn?t Work

I?m not completely convinced that Stargate would have such faith in McKay?s (David Hewlett) safeguards that they wouldn?t put an iris or extra guards for the gate. It just seemed really dumb and only written as a reason for the Wraith to be able to invade.

I?m also confused as to what the Wraith thought they were going to do after they had their "beachhead." Without their ships, it wouldn?t be tough for the entire military to isolate and neutralize them.

Poor Wraith. I knew them once when they were strong. Remember when they used to be hard to kill? Sigh.

I call this the "Voyager-effect" (after how wussy the Borg became after a few seasons on "Star Trek: Voyager") and we are now seeing how easy the Wraith are becoming to kill. Atlantis will need to amp up their threat level or introduce a new threat to take the place of the once great and terrible Wraith.

The last few episodes had me a little worried. Although they were entertaining, most of them were either "clones" of SG1 episodes or focused only on character development. This episode drew a better balance with character development and plot, with lots of great action thrown in.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due"Midway" was written by Carl Binder and directed by Andy Mikita. "Stargate: Atlantis" airs Friday nights at 10 p.m. on the SciFi Channel. The show stars Amanda Tapping, Joe Flanigan, David Hewlett, Rachel Luttrell and Jason Momoa.

Marx Pyle is a staff writer for Airlock Alpha, writing out of Vancouver, B.C. He can be reached at mpyle@airlockalpha.com.