Podcast: Download

SSG262: The Asurans have been watching. Hours after the Apollo destroys their shipyard, a satellite arrives over Atlantis carrying a stargate that fires a continuous laser beam at the city’s shields. There’s no way to attack it. There’s no way to dial out. There’s just a countdown.

Jeff Haecker, Lisa Jones, and Victor Lams work through the Season 3 finale of Stargate Atlantis, “First Strike,” an episode they agree represents the show at its best: high stakes, creative problem-solving under pressure, and a cliffhanger that earns it.

The episode introduces two significant recurring characters. Dr. Jennifer Keller (Jewel Staite) arrives as the reluctant new chief medical officer, still raw from Dr. Beckett’s loss and actively trying to give the job back. The hosts appreciate the deliberate choice to write her as unsure of herself, softening what could have felt like a blunt replacement. Colonel Abraham Ellis (Michael Beach) commands the Apollo with crisp efficiency; he’s not there to debate, and that quality gets tested when McKay and Zelenka have to argue their way around his orders anyway.

The plans escalate. Submerge the city. Still not enough. Fly the city into space using the star drive, powered by the drilling platform from two episodes earlier, and buy time with F-302s towing an asteroid into the beam’s path. The chemistry between McKay, Zelenka, and Sheppard working the problem fast — talking in shorthand, finishing each other’s logic — is a highlight the hosts keep returning to.

They also discuss what the episode is signaling about Elizabeth Weir’s future. A mid-crisis conversation about her insecurities reads less like character development and more like a farewell. And Ronon, with nothing useful to do in a science emergency, gets a rare self-aware comedic moment when he admits he just wishes someone needed punching.

The city launches. The timing is off. The beam cuts through the control tower before the shields come back up, and Weir and Ronon go down hard. Atlantis exits hyperspace too early and drifts — 24 hours before the power fails, no gate access, no fix in sight. Season 4 starts immediately.

Get all new episodes automatically and for free:

Follow by Email | Listen to this episode and subscribe on YouTube.

Help us continue to offer the Secrets of Stargate. Won’t you make a pledge at SQPN.com/give today?

Links for this episode:

• Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!
• You can watch all of the Stargate series on Amazon Prime.
• Get the official Secrets of Stargate t-shirt at sqpn.com/merch.
• Join the conversation at the SQPN Facebook page.
• Be part of the StarQuest Discord community at SQPN.com/discord
• Send your feedback or comments to [email protected]

Want to Sponsor A Show?
Support StarQuest’s mission to explore the intersection of faith and pop culture by becoming a named sponsor of the show of your choice on the StarQuest network. Click to get started or find out more.