When the Atlantis team meets with Todd to propose Dr. Keller’s gene therapy for the Wraith’s dependence on feeding, Todd decides to share this proposal with his Wraith alliance. The thing is, the alliance’s high Queen—called “the Primary”—has no idea that his Queen was killed when his previous hive ship was destroyed last year. As such, Todd hatches a sneakier plan: to solidify alliance with the Primary, Teyla (who has Wraith DNA, and thus can be plastically surgically modified to resemble a Wraith) will have to pose as his Queen.
This episode is predominantly character-driven. Its story relies entirely on the decisions made by the characters to veer in new directions. This applies to Todd and Teyla, the Primary’s second-in-command, and even the Primary herself during one scene. In essence, the plot is dictated primarily by character choice. With so much agency with the characters and a grand interstellar alliance in the backdrop, the stakes could not feel any higher.
Overall, “The Queen” fleshes out the Wraith quite a lot in terms of their politics and culture. Most importantly, we learn about the hierarchal value of Wraith Queens and exactly how much authority they pose over their subjects. It further underlines the already-established tribalism between hive ships, as even the best alliances can prove to be fragile and difficult to manage. One example of this is how the Primary is so skeptical of new additions to her alliance that she would rather go into hyperspace to isolate her own ship from Todd’s for the period of negotiations. The Wraith’s overall tribalism is a weakness in which Todd gleefully sees an opportunity to exploit.
Todd is as present in full form as he’s ever been. He is always dubious, never revealing his full plans and motives before carrying them out. This behavior just leaves the viewer guessing as to what he is going to do next; and ultimately, getting to see his master plan come to fruition the way he likes it is very rewarding in the end.
The Primary’s second-in-command is almost as peculiar as Todd himself. He is loyal to his Queen, not the Queen—and he acts accordingly after his Queen is killed. Although Todd explains that Wraith culture obliges most Wraith to pledge allegiance to their Queen, no matter what, this guy proves not all Wraith abide by that rule. His motives and goals add texture to the Wraith, giving an individualistic dimension to a race whose culture is primarily eusocial.
The most fascinating element of this episode is the power dynamic between Todd and “Queen” Teyla. Once she gets comfy in her new role as Queen, the dissonance between Todd’s suggestions and Teyla’s orders and actions take the drama in an unpredictable direction. At the same time, many of her actions are in line with her own motives as an Athosian. One example of this is how she orders her hive ship to engage in space combat with another hive ship, to prove her belligerence. By being at odds with each other, Todd and Teyla both raise one question: Who has more power?
“The Queen” is one of the best episodes of Stargate Atlantis’s last season, hands down. Beneath all the space opera action set-pieces and costumes is a very engaging political thriller. It analyzes how the conflict has affected individual characters in the show’s overarching situation-based narrative. It offers one of the best inside looks into the Wraith yet, and the episode’s specific conflict actually succeeds as an in-depth character study.
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