This was a fitting end to the show, not so much because it was a brilliant finale, but rather it demonstrated what the series had become by its end. The Stargate franchise has been exceptional over the years and has many reasons to be considered one of the best sci-fi universes ever fabricated, but it's not without its flaws.
The Atlantis series began to fall victim to some inconsistent writing issues, which were most evident in this most recent and final season. This series finale embodies that rather well, as it has the underpinnings of a decent storyline with a nice fairytale ending, but it's a storyline that's only possible by allowing for the aforementioned inconsistencies. Suddenly giving a Hive almost ludicrous super powers, purely by giving it a ZPM is not only illogical, but it brings into question why other ZPM powered, ally ships haven't yielded similar benefits in previous engagement. Some questionable tactical decisions, which appear to only be made in the effort of creating further suspense only serve to augment the writing issues. To cap it all off, the episode is plagued with cliches, which is also something we've become accustomed to in recent seasons.
Overall, it's easy to see why people enjoy the episode, but it most certainly doesn't deserve to be lauded over. It feels like an episode that the producers were rushed into making in order to wrap up a series they had hoped would continue for at least another season. It's a shame the series didn't get a better send off, but given the steady decline in writing quality, it's also not unexpected.
The Atlantis series began to fall victim to some inconsistent writing issues, which were most evident in this most recent and final season. This series finale embodies that rather well, as it has the underpinnings of a decent storyline with a nice fairytale ending, but it's a storyline that's only possible by allowing for the aforementioned inconsistencies. Suddenly giving a Hive almost ludicrous super powers, purely by giving it a ZPM is not only illogical, but it brings into question why other ZPM powered, ally ships haven't yielded similar benefits in previous engagement. Some questionable tactical decisions, which appear to only be made in the effort of creating further suspense only serve to augment the writing issues. To cap it all off, the episode is plagued with cliches, which is also something we've become accustomed to in recent seasons.
Overall, it's easy to see why people enjoy the episode, but it most certainly doesn't deserve to be lauded over. It feels like an episode that the producers were rushed into making in order to wrap up a series they had hoped would continue for at least another season. It's a shame the series didn't get a better send off, but given the steady decline in writing quality, it's also not unexpected.