The following contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the "Ghost In the Machine" episode of "Stargate: Atlantis."

"For all we know it could be Oberoth inside that body." -- Woolsey "That's creepy." -- Sheppard

The SGA team is flying away from a planet apparently filled with flying monkeys when the puddlejumper goes berserk. For a few moments, things look pretty bad for the team, but they manage to mysteriously regain control.

However, things take a stranger turn when the same bizarre malfunctions infect the entire city of Atlantis. The malfunctions turn out to be a ghost in the machine going by the name of Elizabeth Weir.

Repli-Weir and the rebel Replicators tried to ascend by putting their minds into subspace. Yeah ... that didn't work out so well. So, Repli-Weir found her way to Atlantis and to McKay's Replicator-making device to build herself a new body. Presto! We get Repli-Weir in FRANs body.

Woolsey and the team argue about what to do with her, but things quickly spiral out of control when eight more "sub-ascended" possess Atlantis demanding to have bodies made for them.

It is fast-paced twists and turns with quick techno-babble saves and betrayals wrapped with a chilling end to Repli-Weir and her Repli-Allies.

What Worked

This episode comes with lots of back story, not just in continuity but behind the scenes.

"Ghost In The Machine" continues the story arc of Repli-Weir and picks up the cliffhanger from the end of "Be All My Sins Remember'd." The producers wanted Torri Higginson to reprise her role as Repli-Weir, but alas she refused. Are there hard feeling between her and the producers or is her explanation to fans that she didn't feel the episode gave enough closure to Weir the real reason?

Either way, the creative lot at "Atlantis" came up with an interesting idea: put Weir's mind in FRAN's body. And you know what? I think it worked pretty well. Michelle Morgan mimicked Higginson's mannerisms and speech pattern remarkably well. This twist made Weir truly a ghost in the machine and amplified Repli-Weir's feelings of alienation and the discomfort felt by the SGA team.

Yes, I liked Morgan's performance so well in this role and as the first FRAN that I think the "Atlantis" writers should think about bringing her back. Heck, maybe "Atlantis" could get their own Data.

Don?t get me wrong, I would have liked to see Higginson return and I don't like how they originally wrote her off the series. But, it looks like Weir, at least with Higginson's face, may be truly dead. Honestly it fits the history of this character. When Weir moved from her appearance on "SG-1" to "Atlantis," she got a new face when Higginson took over the role.

I'm digging Woolsey as leader. The scene where he tells the Replicators to go ahead and sink the ship showed great strength. Yet we saw when he turned his back that he was scared and having doubts. Picardo is doing a wonderful job adding depth to Woolsey, and I already like him better as team leader than Carter. If they keep this up, he may even beat out Weir as my favorite "Atlantis" leader.

McKay had plenty of panicking to do and techo-babble to spit out. He had some really fun lines, and his dialogue with Zelenka was priceless as usual. I was so worried in the beginning that the whole episode would consist of them remaining trapped in a puddlejumper, but luckily things worked out. They kept fooling me by having McKay spit out how bad things were and what he would need to do to fix it and then take a twist in a different direction.

Flanigan did a good job expressing his unspoken feelings for Weir. Especially in the end.

The scene between Teyla and Repli-Weir was very telling. Teyla cares about Weir, but not enough to even remotely risk her child's well-being. It was interesting that Teyla lied and peaks my curiosity even more about what is up with her "gifted" child.

Even Ronon had a little moment as we see him never losing his suspicions of the Replicators and watching over them until they finally prove him right.

What Didn?t Work

There were two major things that didn't work for me in this episode.

First off, where the heck were their anti-Replicator weapons? Shooting them until they drop seems kind of stupid when they have the technology to destroy them. Did they just assume there was no chance the Replicators would return and dumped all their stock on Stargate Command? This doesn't make sense because if there is any enemy in Stargate that has a history of returning over and over again, it is the Replicators.

I also wasn't thrilled with the ending. I liked the twist, which they executed well, but I didn't like their choice. Space ... really? Didn't we already do this? And that didn't turn out so well. I understand the writers probably want to leave the door open for Weir (with whatever face she may have) to return, but couldn't they have come up with something different? Perhaps they could trick them into thinking they went through the gate, but really they go into a VR world like they seemed to be foreshadowing through out the episode.

Talk about behind the scenes. Were you as puzzled as I was by the odd response that Weir gave McKay when he asked "Did you do that?" Looks like that was an inside joke, referencing the Internet phenomenon of the phrase "All your base are belong to us." I think it is cute that they added it, but it may have been to distracting. When I first watched the episode I was annoyed, because it seemed like they cut away before showing her response to the team.

Overall it was a good episode, perhaps one of the stronger ones this season by wrapping up a major plot thread (at least for now) and letting all the characters shine a little. The ending was probably the only thing that hurt it for me. Well, that and everyone forgetting about those darn anti-Replicator guns.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

"Ghost in the Machine" was written by Carl Binder and directed by Ken Girotti. "Stargate: Atlantis" airs Friday nights at 10 p.m. on the SciFi Channel. The show stars Joe Flanigan, David Hewlett, Rachel Luttrell, Jason Momoa, Jewel Staite, and Robert Picardo.

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