Stargate Atlantis - "Sateda" (TV Episode Review #16)

In an episode that opens with Rodney McKay getting shot in the ass, Ronon Dex gets to revisit a chapter of his past for which he has no nostalgia.  When the Atlantis team comes across a village that Ronon had unwillingly sold out to the Wraith during his time as a runner, the villagers capture the team and hand Ronon over to the Wraith in exchange for his teammates’ freedom.  He is sent back to his homeworld of Sateda, let alone the planet’s capital city—now ravaged by the Wraith.

Let’s be real: the main theme of “Sateda” is revenge.  This episode is mainly about Ronon, who wants revenge against the Wraith for ravaging his home planet and committing genocide against his people.  On a side note, the villagers at the beginning of this episode want revenge against Ronon for, from their point of view, selling them out; as a runner, Ronon was briefly hospitalized in the village, but left not long before his tracker led the Wraith straight there to ravage it.  Revenge is a common emotion used to motivate a character, and it’s brilliantly executed here.

Firstly, the villagers who want to turn Ronon in to the Wraith have a completely understandable motivation: they are desperate for survival, and the Wraith had told them they would stop attacking if they surrendered Ronon over.  When a stranger waltzes into their village and brings tons of alien invaders with him, it is just natural that they would blame him, regardless of the fact it was an accident from his point of view.  The fact that they refuse to listen to Teyla’s warnings that the Wraith will not stick to their end of the bargain highlights their desperation.

However, the bulk of this episode focuses on Ronon becoming a runner again on his home planet, in a Wraith sport that could be best described as the most terrifying game of tag ever conceived.  As he is chased through his former home, the story is allowed to delve further into how the Wraith has affected him psychologically.  For example, almost all of Ronon’s backstory is told through flashbacks as he navigates the ruins of his own home.  It is not uncommon for him to stumble upon old remnants of his past, still left mostly undisturbed after the Wraith invasion, and have traumatic flashbacks of the invasion triggered in his mind and shown onscreen.

Ronon Dex was Jason Momoa’s breakthrough role, and it is clear he had fully sunken into it by this episode—he delivers a rather strong performance here.  Multiple times, Ronon reacts to his own flashbacks with his subtle facial expressions to show how much of a toll this has had on him.  The flashbacks where Ronon is talking to his girlfriend during the invasion show him at his most emotional, where he is under high stress with urgent concern for her safety.  There are even some moments of vulnerability, such as when Ronon screams in agony pulling a shard out of his leg following an explosion.

Ronon gets to show off his badassery in this episode, too.  His professional military training is demonstrated by his martial arts and marksmanship expertise.  He is also shown to be resourceful, scavenging the ruined capital of his homeworld for supplies and armor like the survivalist he used to be.  Against the Wraith, he is almost unbeatable; he comes off as overpowered, able to mow down most of the Wraith foot soldiers like cream cheese.  His toughness and endurance in battle demonstrates why the Wraith made him a runner in the first place: hard to kill, he makes a great challenge for them.

It is these scenes that make for some stellar action sequences and special effects.  All the fights between Ronon and the Wraith are choreographed extremely well.  For TV-14 action, there is some actual grit and punch to it, and they are also very stylish, complete with some really cool slow-motion shots that scream 2000s!  Speaking of which, there is unfortunately one green screen effect that looks pretty obvious, very dated to 2006.  Most of the CGI has aged much better, such as how the energy blasts from the Wraith’s spear guns blend seamlessly with the practical environments.

The sets of the Satedan capital resemble a post-apocalyptic city, to a certain degree.  Most of the brick buildings look pretty intact (albeit in decay), while only a few have actually been fully destroyed; even the tallest building in the city is still standing.  Rocks, rubble, and steel frames lie around on the streets, and the interiors of some buildings, such as the hospital, are actual messes with items left in disarray.  On the other hand, the warehouse looks like it was undisturbed by the Wraith invasion.  Plus, the fact that there are no other survivors present aside from a few fed-upon corpses carries some horrifying implications about what is left of Sateda.  Overall, this city looks more like Chernobyl than post-nuclear Nagasaki.

“Sateda” is not as concerned with progressing Ronon’s development as it is with giving some insight and closure to his character.  As he is forced to confront the echoes of his past, his homeworld has finally been fully realized after a whole prior season of it being discussed in conversation.  Combine that with some high-quality action, and you’ve got yourself one blast of an episode.