Identity

"Identity" is the eighteenth episode of the fifth season of Stargate: Atlantis.

Synopsis
Dr. Jennifer Keller's body is inadvertently taken over by a cunning thief, Neeva Casol. While Neeva tries to escape Atlantis, Keller finds herself imprisoned with a death sentence on another planet, forcing the team into a race against time to return Keller to her original body before she is put to death.

Plot
A woman, later identified as Neeva Casol, is standing in a hallway in Atlantis dressed in Dr. Jennifer Keller's jumpsuit. She appears disoriented, and stumbles into a lab occupied by Dr. Radek Zelenka. He asks her if she is looking for Dr. Rodney McKay, and she replies by asking where she is. Believing her to be ill, he takes her by the arm and attempts to lead her to the infirmary. She grabs a pair of pliers and stabs Zelenka, severely wounding him. Noticing her reflection in a nearby mirror, she stops: she is in Keller's body.

Leaving the lab, she encounters McKay, who asks why she hasn't been answering his calls. They are then both notified that Zelenka has just been stabbed, and that they need Keller to perform surgery. Neeva gets into the Operating Room, and requests that the other doctors handle it, as she feels ill and "needs to lie down". McKay comments to Ronon Dex that it looked almost like she had never held a scalpel before.

Neeva is visited by Ronon, who is growing suspicious of her. Later, Dr. Carson Beckett examines her, stating that she has nothing physically wrong with her, and appears to be suffering from a psychological ailment. Neeva sneaks out of the infirmary and finds her way to the Puddle Jumper bay, hoping to leave the city. She finds a handgun and pockets it, and unable to activate one of the ships, she is caught by McKay. She tries to seduce him into taking her for a ride, asking him to take her to the mainland, but he resists. Still believing her to be Keller, he tries to get her back to the infirmary—but she pulls the weapon and threatens to shoot him. Ronon appears at the back of the Jumper and stuns her with his gun.

"Dr. Keller" is moved to an observation room, and the team discusses possible reasons for her behavior. Richard Woolsey suggests that there might be an entity that has taken control of her, and McKay states that he could see in her eyes that she would have killed him. The team goes down to the room, where they manage to persuade Neeva to admit that she is not Keller. She and her accomplices were stealing Ancient artifacts on a different world when she suddenly found herself in Keller's body. McKay is able to corroborate her story by checking an SG-1 report detailing the Long-range communication device. The team decides to attempt to find Neeva's body, which they believe contains Keller's consciousness.

They plan to also shut down the device to return each woman to their proper bodies. In return for information leading to the world, Neeva demands that she and her accomplices be freed, along with a puddle jumper. The team refuses to grant her a puddle jumper, and Neeva reluctantly agrees.

Meanwhile, Keller finds herself in Neeva's body, and is arrested by the villagers. The Magistrate refuses to contact Atlantis for her, because Neeva is a known and cunning liar. As the team, discovering that Keller will soon be executed, closes in on her location, Neeva's accomplices, Jannik and Bordal, rescue Keller moments before she would be killed.

The men don't realize that Neeva has traded bodies with someone, and treat Keller as their leader. They hide in a cave, where Keller makes them grow suspicious of her. They pull their weapons as Neeva, having escaped the custody of Lt. Colonel John Sheppard's team, steps into the cave. The two women share a long look at each other in their bodies, then Neeva attempts to explain the situation to her partners. The two thugs are still suspicious, however they leave the cave, where they are ambushed by angry villagers. Bordal is killed, and Neeva, in Keller's body, is wounded. Jannik and Keller escape, and the Atlantis team discovers Neeva. They rush her back to the village, where Carson removes the bullet and tends to her. Meanwhile, Jannik catches up to, and pulls a gun on Keller, now believing that she is most definitely not Neeva. Back at the village, Ronon shoots the device and it is deactivated. Just before Jannik is to shoot, Neeva and Keller switch back to their original bodies. A gunshot is heard, and Keller wakes up in her body.

Back at Atlantis, Keller apologizes to Zelenka for hurting him, and he assures her that it wasn't her fault. Major Evan Lorne finds no trace of Neeva, and she is presumed either dead or escaped. She is still a wanted fugitive on all Coalition planets, in the event that she ever does reappear. McKay brings Keller flowers and chocolates, and he asks that she go with him on a picnic trip in a Puddle Jumper to the mainland. She agrees.

Notable Quotes
Neeva: (in Keller's body) But you could take me for a ride.

McKay: What, now?

Neeva: Yeah. It would really help me relax.

McKay: Well, I thought Becket gave you pills for that?

Neeva: They didn't work.

McKay: Oh.

Neeva: Yeah, come on. Please? (Neeva moves in close and begins caressing McKay) Just you and me. Alone … Oh, you could take me somewhere secluded. We could … we could make love … underneath the stars.

McKay: Really?

Neeva: Would you like that?

McKay: Well … yeah! I mean, I'd have to get a blanket, though, because the mainland's ground cover is loaded with allergens.

(in a flashback)

Keller: Rodney, if we don't leave soon, we're not gonna get a good seat.

McKay: Yeah, almost – almost there.

Keller: C'mon, it's Dr. No! The first Bond movie! I don't wanna get stuck sitting behind Ronon again like last week.

Sheppard: Which way?

Neeva: (in Keller's body) This way. It's not far – a few hours' walk.

(She leads them away.)

McKay: A few hours?! You could have told us that before!

Sheppard: Wouldn't make any difference, Rodney, we can't get a Jumper in this forest.

Teyla: And the Daedalus is back on Earth.

McKay: Yeah, but I could have packed some extra power bars, some water – not to mention proper insoles.

Neeva: (to John, about Rodney) He complains a lot.

Sheppard: Only when he's awake.

Neeva: Is it true that Doctor Keller and he are ...?

Sheppard: Hard to believe, huh?

(She looks back at Rodney.)

McKay: Yeah, keep walking!

Sheppard: (to Ronon) All right, Chewie. Start trackin'.

Woolsey: What's the occasion?

McKay: Visiting a friend in the infirmary.

Woolsey: That's very thoughtful of you, Rodney.

McKay: I know.

Neeva: (in Keller's body) That's it. The vault containing the artifact is near the center of the village so we'll have to be quiet. Maybe only a few of us should go in, and I'm gonna need a weapon in case we run into some ...

Sheppard: No – we're not breaking into the room.

Neeva: What?

Sheppard: We're just gonna go talk to these people and ask 'em for help.

Neeva: Ah, they're not gonna help us. I tried to rob them.

McKay: They won't know you. You're in Jennifer Keller's body, remember?

Teyla: If you do not say anything, it should not be a problem.

Neeva: Ok, but what if they've captured her…me? Once we sever the connection, what's to stop them from keeping me locked up?

Sheppard: Mmm, nothing.

Neeva: Ah, "nothing."

Sheppard: You said we couldn't pursue you – you didn't say anything about them.

(Radek is lying in the bed next to Jennifer and Rodney finally notices him.)

McKay: Oh. Hey, Radek. How you doin'?

Zelenka: (in a sulky voice) Better, thanks.

Keller: Again, Radek, I am so sorry for what happened.

Zelenka: It's not your fault. I told you – don't worry. I'm fine.

McKay: Yeah-yeah, of course he's fine. He's all perky and rosy-cheeked and ready to go back to work.

Zelenka: I don't know about that.

Beckett: He needs to get rest too, Rodney.

Keller: I agree. His wound was much more serious than mine.

McKay: Really? I mean, you were shot. He was just stabbed.

(Carson turns to Radek.)

Beckett: Perhaps I should wheel you to another room.

Zelenka: Just until he's gone, please. Thank you.

Goofs

 * Despite the Magistrates claims that the executioner's "blade is sharp" in the close-up shot of Neeva Casol/Dr. Jennifer Keller as he readies it is obviously fake.
 * Despite the fact that the communications stones needed to be at least initialized before being used, Neeva was able to activate them immediately. She may have the Ancient Technology Activation gene, but this is never addressed.