Ep 7. Poisoning the Well

In "Poisoning the Well," the seventh episode of Stargate Atlantis' first season, the team of explorers discovers a planet that has suffered from a Wraith curse. The people of the planet have been injected with a virus that makes them virtually immune to culling by the Wraith. When the team arrives, the people are desperate for a solution to the virus – they seek a medical cure that will break the curse and allow the Wraith to cull them, returning status quo to the galaxy.

The team initially jumps at the opportunity to help, but quickly realizes that their interaction with the planet's people has made them subjects of intense scrutiny and suspicion. The Atlantis team's hesitation is compounded by the fact that the planet's people are not interested in any science-based solution. The team's limited resources make the task even more challenging since their ability to find a solution is restricted.

The team realizes that they have a limited window of opportunity to find a solution before they are discovered by the Wraith or the planet's people lose faith in their skills. With little time to waste, Dr. Carson Beckett quickly comes up with a solution – he re-engineers the virus that is afflicting the people with an element that will make the curse ineffectual against them.

The team's success with the virus does not come without a cost though. Beckett discovers that the element he added to the virus was poisonous to the Wraith they primarily targeted. This discovery sets up an ethical dilemma for Beckett, who must decide whether to unleash the retrofitted poison on the Wraith or let the Stargate program find another solution.

The episode highlights the ethical dilemmas that the Stargate program faces in their encounters with different cultures. The people of the planet are under the Wraith curse, which means that they have no willing host for their virus. The team's decision to help is met with skepticism by the planet's people and eventually results in a potentially catastrophic situation.

Through Beckett's struggle with the poisoning of the Wraith, the team must decide whether to use poison as an effective weapon in their fight against the Wraith. This choice ties back to the ethical dilemmas the team faces, the choice beings one between using their resources to further the goals of survival or adopting a potentially unethical solution.

Overall, "Poisoning the Well" is an excellent episode in Season 1 of Stargate Atlantis. It showcases the show's creative potential, exploring the complexities and consequences inherent in interstellar exploration and relations with different cultures. The team's struggle to solve the virus and the ethical dilemmas they encounter along the way make for an intriguing and engaging episode that is sure to leave viewers on the edge of their seats.