The following contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the "Tracker" episode of the SciFi Channel's "Stargate: Atlantis."

Love will make a man do strange things. If that man happens to be Dr. Rodney McKay, it makes you volunteer to go on an off-world mission ... on your day off!

To McKay's surprise, he's not alone wanting to go with Dr. Keller. Ronon's also going along.

What should be a routine mission takes a turn for the worst when Keller vanishes while she's out of the guys' sight. Ronon begins to track the missing doctor. At the same time, McKay returns to the gate to call for reinforcements.

Just before McKay can dial out, the gate activates. Several Wraith come through, obviously after something ... or someone. The Wraith chase after McKay as he goes back to Ronon to help him search.

Keller finally awakes, finding herself bound and at the feet of Kiryk (Does this sound like "Kirk" to anyone else?), a Runner that the Wraith have been hunting as they used to hunt Ronon. Kiryk is tight-lipped at first, but he takes Keller to Celise, a small child who is ill. Turns out she is the last of her kind, the only remaining one after the Wraith culled her tribe. Kiryk feels responsible for their deaths because he inadvertently led the Wraith to them as he ran. Now he wants the child to get better.

In his travels, Kiryk has accessed alien technology, an armband that allows him to teleport small distances, baffling both the Wraith as well as Ronon and McKay when they lose Kiryk's trail.

Keller convinces Kiryk that they need to get Celise to the gate so they can get her to Atlantis, but his tracking device helps the Wraith locate the Runner. Keller proposes that she use a defibrillator she is carrying with her to short out the tracking device. When Keller zaps Kiryk, she does indeed neutralize the tracking device ... but she also disables the teleportation device on his arm and knocks out Kiryk in the process.

When the group is attacked by the Wraith, Keller fends them off and drags both Kiryk and Celise to a safe place.

Ronon and McKay locate Keller and her group, and Ronon begins to fight with Kiryk, but Keller convinces Ronon that Kiryk is a good guy.

As the group heads for the gate, Keller gives McKay the teleportation device, and he finds a way to re-activate it.

When they arrive at the gate, Kiryk attaches the device to arm and volunteers to distract the Wraith guarding the gate. When Kiryk distracts them, he activates the gate, and the Wraith follow him to another location, leaving the team safe.

Back in Atlantis, Ronon and McKay have a grunting conversation about who should date Keller. They agree to let the best man win, and even let Keller have a choice in the matter (something they should have done a long time earlier).

What Worked

I'm not sure I can agree with the SciFi Channel's publicity that this is "the best season of Stargate ever," but it has been a pretty good one. This episode, like "The Queen" last week, harkens back to the good days of the Stargate franchise. In fact, Kiryk looks an awful lot like a Jaffa.

The surprise at the end of Kiryk apparently sacrificing himself was a good one, too. Will we see this guy again? I hope so. His noble intentions made up for a lot of kidnapping and belittling of Keller.

McKay is continuing to grow as a character. I couldn't help but remember that McKay wasn't a big fan of off-world journeys when the show started. That he's willing to go off-world on his day off, even if it is for a flame, is quite a lot of development.

Keller is slowly turning into an officer that can hold her own and even survive on an away mission. I know that this has been a long time coming, but medical people don't get the same training as field soldiers. I was actually happy to see that she took some time to learn how to survive. But this has been long enough.

What Didn't Work

I know that McKay took the path of least resistance to go back and help Ronon, but I still think he should have spent more time trying to get through the gate to call for help. In essence, he was admitting that Ronon was the one best suited to help Keller, which I had trouble buying. I would have liked it better if they went two different paths instead of McKay dragging along behind Ronon.

I did miss Teyla and Woollsey in this episode. They've made a habit of giving some actors weeks off, then focusing on them in other episodes. I guess I'm still a "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" fan in that they worked hard to include every main character every week.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

"Tracker" was written by Carl Binder and David Schmidt, and directed by William Waring. "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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