The Eye

"The Eye" is the eleventh episode of the first season of Stargate: Atlantis.

Synopsis
Major John Sheppard, who evades capture from Commander Acastus Kolya tries to take back Atlantis while the storm is zeroing in on the city. From the mainland, Dr. Carson Beckett, Teyla Emmagan and Lt. Aiden Ford risk their lives to get to the city through the storm.

Previously on Stargate: Atlantis
A powerful storm on Lantea forces the Atlantis expedition to evacuate Atlantis. Cowen of the Genii sees this as a perfect chance to storm the city and retrieve the Wraith data storage device and sends a strike force lead by Commander Acastus Kolya. Dr. Rodney McKay and Dr. Radek Zelenka come up with a plan to use lightning from the storm to power Atlantis' shield. While evacuating the Athosians from the mainland, Lt. Aiden Ford, Teyla Emmagan and Dr. Carson Beckett are stranded by the force of the storm. The Genii enter the city and take Dr. Elizabeth Weir and McKay hostage. Major John Sheppard attempts to stop them but Kolya threatens to kill Weir.

Plot
Commander Acastus Kolya is about to kill Dr. Elizabeth Weir when Dr. Rodney McKay steps in, telling him that the shield cannot be raised without her command codes or him. However, Kolya tells Major John Sheppard that he killed Weir, and Sheppard vows to kill Kolya.

Ladon Radim finds Sheppard on the Atlantis Biological Sensors and tells three men to go after him. However, Sheppard eludes the Genii and kills them. He then takes out the Naquadah generators and prevents the arrival of Genii reinforcements by activating the Stargate shield, with only five out of sixty men being able to get through; the rest of killed from hitting the Stargate shield.

On Lantea's mainland, Dr. Carson Beckett increases the Inertial dampeners and the storms passes them at high speed. Shortly after, the eye of the storm passes overhead, giving them a chance to leave. Going into space, they make a reentry back into Atlantis. Teyla tells her Athosian friends to remain in the Puddle Jumper. They head to the armory and Ford picks up a Wraith stunner rifle in case they run into Sheppard.

While supervising McKay and Weir repair the Grounding station controls, Kolya contacts Sheppard and tells him if he doesn't reactivate the generator powering the rod in 10 minutes, they die. Sheppard was about to fix it when he was confronted by two Genii soldiers. They are stunned by Ford.

McKay finishes fixing the rod and tells Kolya that they must head back to Stargate Operations. When lightning strikes the city, it will course through the corridors. The control room is shielded.

The team knows the Genii will also be in the control room. Sheppard assures them that even the Jumper bay is shielded. They make a plan to defeat the Genii. Sora Tyrus knocks out Beckett and then fights Teyla to get revenge for her father's death. Weir and McKay make a false attempt to activate the shield and tell Kolya they have to abandon Atlantis. Kolya decides to take the two with them because they would prove valuable. Sheppard and Ford surprise them, but Kolya holds Weir at gunpoint. Sheppard then shoots Kolya in the shoulder, causing him to release Weir and fall through the Stargate. Teyla won the fight and she and Sora helped Carson back to the control room. McKay activates the shield just before a deadly tidal wave hits Atlantis. Everyone comes back and things return to normal.

Notable Quotes
McKay: (stepping between Weir and Kolya, who was pointing his gun at Weir) You can't do this. This is crazy. You need her.

Sora: She's right! Commander.

McKay: I'm not kidding there are codes required to activate the shields. Codes that only she knows! You can't do it without her. Well, you can't do this without me either. I mean… We're a package deal… You take us out of the equations and… and… and… and you don't have an endgame. Uhmm… granted… that's a chess term… I'm, I'm… my point is… we're the only ones who can fix the grounding station, we're the only ones who can activate the shields, we're the only ones who can solve problems that I can't even think of yet! You kill either one of us and you don't get what you want! That's how important we are… It's impor-

Weir: Rodney, Rodney he gets it…

McKay: Oh…

Weir: Well, find another problem with it! I—tell him that the power-loop interface isn't jiving with your walkabout! Something!

McKay: (incredulous) "Isn't jiving?!"

Weir: Rodney, you get my point.

Beckett: The dots don't tell us much about who's who. How do we know which one's the Major?

Ford: He'll be the dot getting rid of all the other dots.

Ford: Anything I see moving is gonna get shot.

Beckett: (concerned) So what if it's the Major?

Ford: Then he'll get hit with a Wraith Stunner instead of a P-90.

Beckett: What if he sees us first?

Ford: He'll probably hear you first.

Beckett: Are you telling me to shut up again?

Ford: Again.

McKay: (Kolya is holding him by the edge of one of Atlantis' balconies) Trust me, I'm not that brave. I would help you if I could.

Teyla: I intend to fight alongside you.

Sheppard: And I intend for you to fight with us. Once you get in position lower the ship into the gateroom, open the weapons pods, that should create a distraction for Ford and me to go in. We take back the control room, get the shield up, city safe, Weir and McKay safe. Take the rest of the day off.

Ford: Sounds like a plan, Sir.

Kolya: You said this would work.

McKay: I don't know if you noticed or not but I'm an extremely arrogant man who tends to think all of his plans will work! (Kolya punches him)

Weir: Nice work, Rodney.

McKay: Did you ever doubt me?

Weir: Yes. Several times.

Sheppard: These things happen once every 20 years? How far in advance can we book days off?

Goofs

 * At the start, a conversation takes place between 2 technologies, Major John Sheppard talking into the Genii communicator while Commander Acastus Kolya answers back on the Tau'ri radio. While this is technically possible, if they both are either FM or AM and on the same frequency, it is an unlikely coincidence. Made more problematic by military radios using encryption.

Wins

 * Won Leo for "Dramatic Series: Best Visual Effects" (Mark Breakspear, Bruce Woloshyn, Dan Mayer, Simon Ager and Tara Conley)

Nominations

 * Nominated Gemini for "Best Visual Effects" (Michelle Comens, Simon Ager, Geoff Anderson, Mark Breakspear, Jose Burgos, Tara Conley, Tristam Gieni, Todd Liddiard, Dan Mayer and Bruce Woloshyn)
 * Nominated Leo for "Dramatic Series: Best Picture Editing" (Jeremy Presner)