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The Gift is episode 18 of Stargate Atlantis Season 1. It was written by Martin Gero with the teleplay by Robert C. Cooper and directed by Peter DeLuise. "The Gift" first aired on March 11, 2005.
Summary
Teyla Emmagan begins to have nightmares and discovers she may have a disturbing connection to The Wraith.
Spoiler Warning: Plot details and/or information about the ending follow. If you wish to enjoy the work first, stop reading here and return at another time.
Plot
Teyla begins to have disturbing dreams in which she is attacked by a Wraith or discovers she is a Wraith. She has a conversation with Dr. Kate Heightmeyer but becomes upset when she realizes Sheppard already spoke to the doctor about concerns she shared with him. Sheppard assures her he only has her well being in mind and Teyla later returns to see the doctor. She reveals that she has always had an ability to sense when the Wraith are near and Heightmeyer suggests she visit Dr. Carson Beckett. Beckett reveals that Teyla has some Wraith DNA and they decide to visit the Athosians on the mainland to find out more.
Teyla talks to the eldest woman in the tribe, Charin, who reveals that in the past some of their people were captured by the Wraith but were later returned, changed. They heard voices and many were killed or forced to flee. Teyla is a descendant of these people.
With Dr. Weir's approval, Sheppard and his team visits the planet where those who were taken were returned. They discover a Wraith laboratory that only Teyla is able to open and in it they discover a data storage device in the Wraith language, which proves to be a derivative of the language of the Ancients. The Wraith language's origins suggest that the Wraith evolved after the Ancients' arrival in the galaxy and may be related to the Iratus bug.
Weirs translations reveal that humans were taken by a lone Wraith scientist an experimented on in an attempt to improve the Wraith feeding method by introducing some Wraith DNA. The experiment wasn't a success and the subjects developed the ability to tap into the psychic network that links the Wraith. Hoping that the ability would diminish over time, they were returned to the local population. Other Wraith discovered the experiment and attempted to wipe out the population completely but some escaped and survived including Teyla's ancestors.
Teyla speaks with Dr. Weir and Dr. Heightmeyer and they agree to allow her to test her ability. She manages to tap into the Wraith link, seeing through the eyes of a Wraith on a hive ship. She witnesses him feeding and decides to stop. She decides to try again but in her second attempt, a Wraith takes over her body and threatens them.
Sgt. Bates returns from the Alpha site, with news of a Wraith attack on the site. Teyla tries to link to the Wraith again to gain more information and she is once again taken over by a Wraith who uses her to harm Dr. Beckett before she is disabled with a Wraith stunner. When she awakens, she reveals that the Wraith know about Earth, via the interrogation performed on Colonel Sumner.
Guest Stars
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