- "Every time we get involved with you, I feel like I'm walking around with a live grenade in my pocket, just waiting for it all to go wrong - for that one thing you forgot to mention [...] If I find out you're playing us, I'm not going to wait for authorization, there isn't going to be any paperwork, I'm just going to kill you."
- ―Sheppard to Todd.
Guide,[1] known to the Atlantis expedition as "Todd", is a Wraith with whom the Atlantis expedition has made contact several times. He first appeared in 2006, returning in subsequent years. He is distinguished by a starburst-shaped tattoo centered around his left eye. He was named "Todd" by Lt. Colonel John Sheppard after a guy he knew from college who was very pale.
Before his capture, Todd was a Wraith of some political standing; after being freed he is in loose command of about a dozen Hive Ships (out of at least sixty in the galaxy), and these had remained loyal to him during his imprisonment, implying that he used to command even more, most probably because he is at least 10,000 years old. He notes that his time spent in Commander Acastus Kolya's prison diminished his standing among the Wraith, further supporting the notion that he held a great deal of influence beforehand. He's also an adept scientist, having a significant understanding of nanite coding as well as Wraith technology. (SGA: "Common Ground", "Miller's Crossing", "Be All My Sins Remember'd", "The Lost Tribe")
Biography
Early history
- "I was there ten thousand years ago."
- ―Todd
Todd was born in the closing stages of the Lantean-Wraith war, and took part in the final assault on Atlantis some 10,000 years before present time. Early in his life he received his Wraith name "Guide" for the quality his mind had in Wraith telepathic communication - the feel of "one who goes alone, ahead. One who is sure-footed and certain, capable of finding a way for others who follow behind."[2]
After the Ancients' departure from Pegasus Guide eventually rose to a position of prominence among the Wraith, holding high-ranking functions within the hive ship hierarchy. He is known to have served on at least two different hive ships during this period, under two different queens. The latter of these was Queen Snow, whose hive Guide joined with his friend Ember at a time when Snow's influence in wider Wraith society was marginal and her hive in poor repair. With Snow's hive Guide participated in an covert operation to disable the Asurans' Wraith-attack command. During this mission Guide and confederates (including Ember and Snow) snuck into Asuras system on board a derelict Ancient freighter, then proceeded to infiltrate planet Asuras' capital city-ship and access its central computer core. Disabling the attack command directly at the core was the only way to make the patch permanent and universal to all Asurans. Guide and his party succeeded in re-writing the Asuran command codes and escaping the city and the Asuran system. After the success of this mission, which saved the entire Wraith species from probable extinction at the hands of the relentless Asurans, Guide rose to the position of Consort, the highest position a male Wraith can hold. (SGA: "Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis: Far Horizons")
Sometime after, Guide, as Snow's Consort, fathered a daughter, Alabaster. When Alabaster was in the Wraith equivalent of adolescence, in approximately 1990, Snow's hive came under attack by a rival group of Wraith. The hive critically damaged, Snow ordered Guide to ensure the safety of Alabaster at the expense of her own survival; Snow died with most of the hive's complement when the ship exploded a short time later. Alabaster escaped but her life pod crashed on an uncharted planet with an orbital Stargate. Among other survivors of the battle were Ember and some human Wraith worshipers, including Dekaas who would twenty years later recount the story to an amnesiac Elizabeth Weir. Guide escaped the hive's destruction but was unable to locate Alabaster's life pod and would believe his daughter dead for the next twenty years. Shortly afterward, a distraught, battered, ally-less Guide was captured by the Genii and would spend the next sixteen or seventeen years as their prisoner, eventually finding his way into the hands of Acastus Kolya and his insurrectionist faction of Genii. (SGA: "Unascended")
2006
- "Each in our own way, we suffer!"
- ―Todd, to Sheppard
John Sheppard and "Todd".
When first introduced, "Todd" (then unnamed) first appeared as a prisoner of the Genii forces loyal to Commander Acastus Kolya. As part of their plan to get the Atlantis expedition to turn over Ladon Radim, the current leader of the Genii, Kolya threatens to have Todd periodically feed on, but not completely drain, Lt. Colonel John Sheppard. He was allowed to feed on Sheppard three times only for several seconds to force Dr. Elizabeth Weir to give him Ladon, before they finally conspired together to escape the Genii prison; Sheppard having given Todd a new sense of hope. Working together, the two overpowered Kolya's guards and escaped, only to be cornered as they neared the Stargate. In order to gain the strength to fight them off, Todd almost completely drained Sheppard, leaving him barely alive but allowing Todd to easily kill the Genii soldiers approaching them. To repay Sheppard for freeing him, he drained the Genii soldiers he overpowered and used their life-force to regenerate Sheppard, an action which he referred to as the Gift of Life; Dr. Rodney McKay even claimed that Sheppard looks younger than he did before. Sheppard, in return, left Todd on another planet to link up with his Hive Ship. Both he and Sheppard agreed to honor their deal of letting the other go with Sheppard warning Todd again that should they meet again, they would be enemies. Todd suggested that it would be good, for both their sakes, that they never meet again. (SGA: "Common Ground")
2007
Rodney McKay and Todd working together on the Replicators.
Todd returned a year later to forge an alliance with Atlantis expedition against the Asurans, with whom the Wraith were now at war, while also informing Atlantis of the Asurans new strategy of wiping out every human in the galaxy to deprive the Wraith of a food supply. Since the efforts of the Atlantis personnel have rendered the Wraith's previous virus ineffective in shutting off the Asuran Wraith-attack command, he needs their help to adjust it, jokingly offering to secure their truce with a handshake. He was stranded on Atlantis after the Hive Ship which brought the virus is destroyed by another suspicious Hive. (SGA: "The Seer")
He remained in custody on Atlantis for weeks, working with Dr. Rodney McKay on the nanite coding. He also agreed to help McKay in shutting down the nanites in Jeannie Miller's body, but only after he was allowed to feed on Henry Wallace, who had infected Jeannie. During this time on Atlantis, he hacked McKay's computer and took the macro for the McKay/Carter Intergalactic Gate Bridge (which was later stolen from him), allowing the Wraith to later attack the Midway Station and Stargate Command. (SGA: "Miller's Crossing", "Midway")
2008
- "We have a deal. Seven hives will join us in the fight."
- ―Todd
Todd secured his freedom when he convinced seven Wraith Hive Ships to join the Daedalus and the Apollo along with the Travelers on an assault of the Asuran homeworld. Todd used the battle as a distraction to steal several Zero Point Modules from the planet before it was destroyed, in order to power a massive Wraith cloning facility, which he wanted to use to create his own Wraith army able to wipe out the rival Wraith factions. He was, however, betrayed and imprisoned by a rival hive, set to be fed upon by a Wraith Queen once he outlived his usefulness. Sheppard's team located his damaged ship and freed Todd, and together they destroyed the facility by ramming it with the damaged Hive Ship. He escaped this Hive Ship on a Dart separately from Sheppard's team. (SGA: "Be All My Sins Remember'd", "Spoils of War")
Later, it was discovered that Todd provided information to a Wraith faction allowing them to attack the Midway space station and Stargate Command, implying that he conducted espionage on the expedition during his stay in Atlantis, and that he is still alive. This is later confirmed when random outbreaks of a modified version of the Wraith-poisoning inoculation prompt Todd to arrange another collaboration in order to stop the threat to both races. When confronted with his apparent involvement in the Midway incident Todd admits to stealing information from Dr. Rodney McKay's laptop, but insists that the Wraith who planned the Midway occupation stole the information from him in turn. Given his shock over their accusation that he had something to do with this, he was likely telling the truth. (SGA: "Midway", "The Kindred, Part 1")
Teyla Emmagan (disguised as a Wraith queen) threatens Todd.
Some time after, Dr. Jennifer Keller found a gene therapy within Michael's database that should eliminate the Wraith's need to feed on Humans again. The Expedition met with Todd to discuss this major discovery. He told them that although he saw the benefits of the endeavor- particularly since the recent plague meant that the Wraith were taking a risk any time they fed in case they came across a plague survivor who would kill the Wraith if they were fed on-, in order to disseminate the therapy with the other hives in the alliance they would need to convince the leader, the Primary queen. There was a slight problem to the plan—the Primary would only meet with another queen, and Todd's was killed a year ago when his Hive Ship was destroyed. However, the Primary did not know this. He then proposed a plan in which Teyla Emmagan, being a Wraithkin, could pose as a queen for the dealings. She agreed and the two set off to meet with the Primary's hive ship and the queen. As soon as they were on board, the ship jumped into hyperspace, surprising Todd and Teyla. The Primary met them soon after, but Todd killed her almost immediately and told Teyla to take the blame. After a brief confrontation with the hive's commander, Teyla was made the new queen. She then ordered the ship to drop out of hyperspace.
Meanwhile, Todd's second in command and the Atlantis team were pursuing them in Todd's own hive ship. They arrived at the last known position of Todd's tracking device, but Teyla's hive had already moved to confront a rival hive at one of their feeding grounds. Todd recommended to Teyla that she should negotiate with the other hive, but instead she opened fire on them. She deployed the Darts to face the brunt of the enemy fire, during which Todd remarked on how she is doing this intentionally, to kill Wraith on both sides.
Lt. Colonel John Sheppard and his team had left Todd's hive in their Puddle Jumper, and they arrived at the battle through the Stargate quickly enough to destroy the enemy ship with drones and board Teyla's hive, but were stunned and captured. Teyla came to their cell and explained the situation, but the hive's original commander overheard their conversation. He attacked Teyla in her quarters and was about to kill her when Todd intervened and killed the commander. Shortly after, she left the ship with the other team members on the Jumper. Todd was left in command of the ship, and with Teyla giving him full authority, effectively lead the Wraith alliance. The team later commented on how it could have been his intention all along. (SGA: "The Queen")
Some time later, Todd's hive ship and two of his Wraith cruisers rendezvoused with the Daedalus so he could come on board and work with Keller on the gene therapy drug. Meanwhile, the Atlantis expedition discovered the Lantean, Janus' secret lab in Atlantis. Dr. Rodney McKay and Dr. Daniel Jackson unknowingly activated a signal alerting the rogue Asgard faction, the Vanir, of their location. The Vanir then infiltrated Atlantis and kidnapped Daniel and Rodney with the intention of activating the "Attero device", which destroys any Wraith ship going into hyperspace as well as making active Stargates explode with the power of a dozen nuclear warheads.
Todd commandeers the Daedalus.
While Todd and Keller were working, his cruisers attempted to go into hyperspace and were disintegrated, leading Todd to assume that the Atlantis expedition had located and deliberately activated the device. Believing he was betrayed, Todd hijacked the Daedalus and set off to destroy it. At the same time, the device destroyed both Atlantis' Stargate and another gate near a Traveler settlement, the former being controlled by Atlantis' shield and the latter obliterating the settlement and killing three thousand Travelers as well as destroying their Lantean warship. As a result of this, Katana Labrea was sent by Larrin to Atlantis to find the cause of the explosion. Because Todd would probably destroy the lab with McKay and Jackson still in it, Lt. Colonel John Sheppard and Dr. Radek Zelenka came on board Katana Labrea ship in an effort to get there first and rescue them. Ronon Dex, who was still on the ship, sabotaged the Daedalus' systems, delaying Todd.
Three Vanir spaceships, the hijacked Daedalus and Katana's ship confronted each other around the planet M6H-987, where the device was. Ronon freed the Daedalus' original crew and they stormed the bridge, only to find that Todd had locked the Daedalus into a collision course with the device. Soon after, Todd and his Wraith escaped the vessel in their Wraith scout ship. The Traveler ship managed to open a hyperspace window to save the Daedalus and its helpless crew, then destroyed Janus' lab and the Attero device with its weapons. (SGA: "First Contact", "The Lost Tribe")
- "If I'd not agreed to meet with you to discuss this innovation of yours, my crew and I would not be in this predicament!"
- ―Todd
Todd peacefully leaves Atlantis.
Todd was forced to work with the Expedition once again when his Hive Ship appeared in orbit over M35-117 where Atlantis was floating. He had stolen the experimental drug created by Dr. Jennifer Keller. It took away his ability to feed but also gave him a disease, like cancer. The disease spread to his Hive Ship when in symbiosis with the crew during stasis. His warriors turned feral and tried to eat several humans, while the hive's systems behaved erratically. Todd told the team that being fed on by an Iratus bug queen could reverse the effects of the disease and that there was a planet three days' journey away inhabited by the insects. Lt. Colonel John Sheppard rejected the suggestion because the ship was too damaged to make a hyperspace journey. After a short altercation between the two, Todd was imprisoned in a holding cell on the hive. Soon though, the ship could no longer handle the strain and broke in half, with the team in the forward section, which began to fall towards M35-117's surface. With no other choice left, Sheppard asked Todd to help him in exchange for allowing him to seek an Iratus queen to cure himself. Todd successfully landed the front portion of the hive on water, saving them. Sheppard told Richard Woolsey to let him go find his cure. He was released and left Atlantis on good terms. (SGA: "Infection")
2009
- "Well, you can bet there's something he's not telling us."
- ―Sheppard
Later he contacted Atlantis revealing that, though the process was extremely painful, the Iratus bug had completely cured him of the horrid disease, also reversing the gene therapy causing him to turn back into a normal Wraith. He also told them that he had been defeated by one of his crew, who had gotten his hands on several Zero Point Modules, a vast power source that can strengthen a Hive Ship greatly. He was allowed back to Atlantis, but was held in a cell. The Wraith who had betrayed Todd was on his way to Earth having received the coordinates from a subspace transmission from an alternate reality. Therefore, Todd provided the expedition with two ZPMs so it could fly to Earth and battle the Super-hive before it attacked. Atlantis landed on Earth after the Hive had been destroyed and Todd was still in custody. (SGA: "Vegas", "Enemy at the Gate")
Todd was put into stasis to keep him alive without having to deal with the ethical dilemma of whether or not to feed him. Several weeks later when the expedition had returned to Pegasus in Atlantis, he was released on an uninhabited world as per his agreement with Sheppard. At the time the Sheppard and team were investigating reports of a new, powerful Wraith Queen, known as Death. When studying a holographic projection left by Queen Death, Todd appeared to be slightly attracted to her image, but he was recovered by Wraith responding to the message's activation before Sheppard could question him about Queen Death's implied status in Wraith mythology.
Alternate realities
John is introduced to Todd in an alternate reality.
- "Wraith are never ending!"
- ―Todd to John Sheppard
- In an alternate reality Todd is seen in the captivity of the Tau'ri. He had been captured when his hive that had attacked Earth was destroyed and his dart had crashed. The Tau'ri kept him in a cell but hadn't fed him, which had made him delusional from starvation. This version of Todd seemed to be quite poetic. (SGA: "Vegas")
Alternate timelines
- In the Alternate timeline Sheppard learned about Todd's final fate when he accidentally traveled 48,000 years into the future. It is revealed that Todd died fighting alongside Ronon Dex in an attempt to destroy one of Michael's research facilities. This is ironic in a poignant point of view, as Ronon had always held a begrudging resentment towards Todd since they first met. It is possible the two may have come to terms with one another, seeing as they had a common enemy to deal with at the time. (SGA: "The Last Man")
Personality
Todd's personality is unusual for a natural pure-blooded Wraith. He is reasonable, surprisingly loyal, and to a degree quite honorable, usually keeping his bargains. He is far more willing to make compromises and deals with humans, and acts far less arrogantly in their presence, serving in many ways as the Wraith version of the Goa'uld System Lord Yu, as both were willing to work with Earth's forces to achieve mutual goals. He regards the Atlantis expedition with neutrality, knowing that they are more useful as occasional allies than enemies. He also seems to care about the collective good of the Wraith, recognizing the benefits of developing a means of freeing the Wraith of their need to feed on humans after the wide-range dispersal of the Wraith-inoculation plague making it risky for the Wraith to feed at random as they had done before.
During his imprisonment with Lt. Colonel John Sheppard, he commented that it would be worth escaping just to see the stars again, implying that he has a sense of beauty and appreciation of freedom. He also seems to regard the act of feeding as more of a necessity than an act of sadistic pleasure. He attempts to justify the Wraith's actions when it comes to feeding by comparing Wraith hunger to the pain of being burned alive. Notably, when he threatens to feed on the Daedalus crewmembers when Ronon Dex begins sabotaging the ship, Ronon assumes he's bluffing, while this claim made by any other Wraith would be taken seriously, demonstrating that even he has a degree of respect for Todd despite his usual anti-Wraith stance. (SGA: "The Lost Tribe")
More recently, due to his continued presence among the Atlantis teams, he seems to have developed a grudging respect for the teams' various abilities. During Teyla Emmagan's telepathic struggle with a Queen, he is seen looking on with a degree of surprised admiration. It is unknown how much of his personality is due to his long imprisonment and contact with humans.
Todd also has a unique relationship with John Sheppard. The two were forced to trust each other to get away from Acastus Kolya and afterwards both spared each other's lives, with Todd even restoring all of the life he took from Sheppard with the Gift of Life, something he refers to being reserved for the Wraiths most devout worshipers and their brothers. The two agree that "all bets are off" after that, but both agree that its best that they not meet again as neither really seem to want to kill the other, although Sheppard does repeatedly threaten to kill Todd over time. As a result of this, when the situation calls for it, Todd shows a willingness to work with Sheppard, despite a lack of trust between the two on at least Sheppard's side after the first experience. While Sheppard is mostly unwilling to believe Todd, noting that some of their collaborations have resulted in Todd withholding information or possibly using them to get what he wants- such as Todd establishing his authority over other Wraith hives while claiming that this will allow him to convince them to accept Atlantis's 'treatment' to remove their need to feed-, Todd trusts John to keep their deals at the very least. When Todd was willing to die when his hive ship was falling apart over M35-117, Sheppard gave him his word that he'd take him where he wanted to go and Todd took him at his word without question even though he was angry his crew was dead. Todd and Sheppard also seem to know what to say to each other to get them to do what they want of the other, with Todd even telling Sheppard "you know how to talk to me" when Sheppard convinces him to give up two Zero Point Modules for Atlantis.
However, he is still very cunning and manipulative and does not hesitate to mislead or deceive the Atlantis expedition when he is working with them to serve his own ends. Most notably, he hacked into the Atlantis computer to find the Midway space station's location (later resulting in its destruction), however this act seems to have been to obtain information to act as insurance if the Atlantis Expedition were to betray him judging by his reaction when accused of being behind the Midway attack. On another occasion he kept his real plan secret when seeking Teyla's help in dealing with the Primary.
One thing Todd doesn't seem to take well is betrayal by someone who he has given his trust to: when he believes the expedition betrayed him and activated the Attero device using his ships to test it, he is clearly furious and upset. This is also demonstrated when the Wraith underling mutinies against him and steals the Super-hive. Todd is so furious he immediately dials Atlantis to alert Sheppard about the existence of the ship and to get the team to destroy it, just to spite his former second in command, leading to the Battle of the Super-hive in which Sheppard kills the Wraith underling and destroys the ship with a Nuclear warhead. He also gives Atlantis ZPMs possibly just to spite the underling as after Sheppard points that out as a possible reason for him to help, he gives them what they want.
Behind the scenes
- Christopher Heyerdahl previously played Pallan in the Stargate SG-1 episode "Revisions" and Halling in several episodes of Stargate: Atlantis.
- Todd was played by Brendan Penny in "Be All My Sins Remember'd" except the scene in the Hive ship during the battle. Christopher Heyerdahl was unable to reprise his role due to a scheduling conflict. He did loop all of his dialogue afterwards.
- The name Todd was based on Todd Masters.
Sources
- ↑ Stargate Atlantis: Legacy: Homecoming
- ↑ Graham, Jo (2012-06-20). STARGATE ATLANTIS: The Furies (Book 4 in the Legacy series) (Stargate Atlantis: Legacy series) (Kindle Locations 2963-2964). Fandemonium Books. Kindle Edition.
External links
- Todd on the official MGM website. (backup link)
- GateWorld's article on Todd in The Stargate Omnipedia
