The Last Man

Stargate Atlantis Season 4 Episode 20 (Finale) - Plot: Sheppard attempts to gate back to Atlantis, but his wormhole is intercepted by a solar flare, causing him to be sent 48,000 years in to the future. There, he is greeted by a hologram of Rodney McKay, who tells of the disastrous events that followed his disappearance.

The Future

Sheppard arrives on Atlantis, but finds that the base had been abandoned and the ocean has been evaporated by the planet's star, which has become a red giant. The Rodney hologram shows him as being somewhat aged and begins to recall the fates of the Atlantis team as they travel to the stasis chamber. Rodney's plan is to put Sheppard in to stasis until another solar event occurs that will be able to send him back to within two months of his disappearance.

Teyla and Michael

Teyla has her baby and Michael is able to use it to complete his research in to the Human/Wraith hybrid. The Atlantis team eventually find Teyla dead, but McKay intends to send Sheppard back with her location in order to help the team find her faster. With his research complete, Michael is able to effectively cut off the Wraith's food supply, leading to intense fighting between them. The Wraith eventually fall and Michael sets about converting more humans to hybrids, bringing the strong in to his fold and exterminating the weak.

Sam Carter

Sam manages to encourage the Air Force to build a new battle cruiser for her to fight Michael's forces. The Phoenix is instrumental in allowing her to fight a guerrilla war against Michael. She is eventually killed in an ambush, the ship destroyed.

Ronon

Ronon leaves Atlantis to form a militia group to battle Michael. After a number of victories, he is killed in action with Todd during the destruction of one of Michael's laboratories.

McKay and Keller

Rodney and Jennifer eventually leave Atlantis after Richard Woolsey (Robert Picardo) is put in charge of the expedition. He stops all of the expedition members' humanitarian efforts across the Pegasus galaxy in order to focus on the defence of Atlantis.

The pair begin a relationship during their trip back to Earth on the Daedalus. Dr. Keller eventually passes away following complications caused by her exposure to the Hoffan virus. It's this that causes Rodney to begin his research in to changing the time line by sending Sheppard back from 48,000 years in the future.


The Present

Sheppard arrives back on Atlantis after 12 days missing. He immediately sets to work in organising a mission to find Teyla. Once at the facility, the team finds that it has been booby trapped. The episode ends as the building collapses on the team. Their fate, unknown.

The Review

A very satisfying season finale. Not quite what I'd have expected ten episodes ago, but it keeps up the pace that's built over the past two or three episodes. The plot mechanic developed in the SG-1 episode, 1969, of sending people to the past and the future has proven itself in providing several quite interesting episodes. This was no different.

Atlantis has gone through a lot of changes this season, with Carson and Dr. Weir gone, but I think it's fair to say that it's come out of the end in a very strong position. The season has ebbed and flowed between the epic, the fun and the fantastic. The strength of guest characters has been developed well. Todd and Jennifer Keller have been particularly excellent additions.

Probably the highlight of this episode for me was seeing Rodney and Jennifer develop that relationship that was hinted at a few episodes ago. It'll be interested to see if that'll develop again, now that the time line has changed.

The cliffhanger leaves the fate of a big chunk of the team unknown. I'd anticipate that something will happen to see the team come out of it safe and sound, though I wouldn't be surprised if someone like Major Lorne isn't as lucky as the rest.

That's it for a few months then!

9 out of 10