Meta: Atlantis Needed A Daniel

[magnavox_23]

I am mid way through season four of Atlantis on my rewatch of the entire Stargate franchise (what? Infinity? Um...), and what is really striking me by this point is the lack of moral input when it comes to the plans they devise. Where is their Daniel? Elizabeth played this role somewhat, but she let things get out of hand as far back as Michael. Now (Be All My Sins Remember'd) Rodney creates F.R.A.N. and argues to Sam that she is not even alive. This is completely at odds with Sam's beliefs expressed in Unnatural Selection, as well as her experiences with Reese and Fifth. (I am not even going to go into the subtext of having a programmable woman with these writers). There was such an opportunity for Sam to bring her close personal experience with Replicators to the fore, and nothing. Here she is free to express her opinion and ideas, she is not Jack's underling merely following orders, and she's letting MacKay convince her otherwise? This also speaks to the many wasted opportunites that having Sam in a command position could have entailed.

I feel Atlantis, especially in the later years, has a lack of idea exchange (mirrors the behind the scenes stuff, huh). Teyla objects some, but she exerts no great influence over those making the decisions. It's such a shame because that ever present arguement was one of the core driving forces in the original series, and it adds a much needed layer to the process of making those all important decisions before and during the battle.

Atlantis needed a Daniel.

That just happens to be the way I feel about it. What do you think?