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Wraith Thoughts

In SGA S1 the Wraith were pretty much unbeatable monsters that had even the Ancients fleeing Pegasus to escape them. S3-S5 made two significant changes to how the Wraith were portrayed:

They were severely weakened

They were humanized, but not by the Tau’ri

In S1E02 Rising Part 2, Teyla told Sheppard that the Wraith could make people hallucinate. That basically stopped happening except to Teyla.

In S3E04 Sateda, Ronon was shown to kill several Wraith on his own as a runner, but it took time and work. In S5E09 Tracker, the runner has set many traps in the forest to slow or kill the Wraith, so presumably Wraiths used human runners to improve their hunting skills and were consequently proficient.

However, in S4E17 Midway, Ronon and Teal’c were able to subdue most of Todd’s crew on their own. Even keeping in mind that they were both formidable warriors, they were way outnumbered (the same issue the Ancients faced), and we’d seen Ronon subdued by greater numbers before.

The humanization of the Wraith was something I wish had been explored more. Todd established himself as a warrior poet and unexpected friend to Sheppard in S3E7 Common Ground. He gave Sheppard back the life he drained in captivity when he didn’t have to. This proved that, like humans, Wraith were individuals capable of empathy. I had hoped this would be the start of an amazing friendship spanning species and galaxies, but TPTB had different ideas.

Sheppard and the Tau’ri would prove themselves terrible friends and allies to Todd through the rest of the series (S4E08 The Seer, S4E09 Miller’s Crossing, S4E11 Be All My Sins Remember’d, S4E12 Spoils of War, S4E17 Midway, S5E11 The Lost Tribe, S5E20 Enemy at the Gate), treating him as an enemy combatant/prisoner whether he approached them as a friend/ally or not.

I’m disappointed in the lack of curiosity the expedition demonstrated about other cultures in general, and in the Wraith specifically once Todd was introduced as a friend/ally—especially since they had Todd say, “There is much about Wraith that you do not know, Sheppard (S3E7 Common Ground). In S4E09 Miller’s Crossing, McKay asked if Wraith have siblings, but this question was never answered.

Speaking of McKay, he ended up having the best relationship with Todd. He seemed comfortable working together and didn’t mind Todd touching him (S4E11 Be All My Sins Remember’d). He seemed to have no issue with Hermiod (S2E02 Intruder), either; conversely, Sheppard was extremely rude. Considering his personal debt to Todd, his consistent one-sided hostility and death threats were baffling.

Even in the finale, poor Todd spent the episode in captivity even though he gave the Tau’ri two ZPMs. Justice for Todd!