“The Tower” is the fifteenth episode of the second season of Stargate Atlantis. In this episode the team visits a feudal society with a mysterious tower and an almost Shakespearean royal power struggle ensues.

The episode starts of with Sheppard’s team being on a planet, where Rodney complains about the primitive society on it. Suddenly a man named Eldred appears and tells them about the tower, which protects them from the Wraith. Afterwards he shows it to them. When the team sees it they are surprised since it looks like the central spire of Atlantis. Back in the village Eldred tells them that the tower destroys the Wraith ships by using thousands of lights which the team recognizes as Drone Weapons. So the team hopes to come into contact with the people in the tower since they also might have a ZPM. Afterwards they contact Atlantis where Weir orders them to find out more.

While Rodney checks the tower the rest of Sheppard’s team stops some soldiers from the tower who want to whip Eldred since he showed no respect to them. Another man named Otho appears and scans Sheppard’s team with an Ancient device, then orders Sheppard to be arrested. Sheppard is then brought into the tower from where he contacts the others since the interior of the tower looks like Atlantis except that it is styled like a early modern (mixing baroque and other elements) throne room (the throne being an Ancient Control chair). Rodney has discovered the tower is merely the main tower of a Lantean City ship identical to Atlantis. In the throne room the Lord Protector talks with Sheppard and invites him to dine with them. Afterwards Sheppard contacts his team and orders them to keep silent.

In the evening Ronon, Teyla and Rodney eat with Eldred who tells them that they give the tower half of their harvest. Meanwhile in the tower Sheppard eats with the court, the Lord Protector reacts badly and is taken away. Later the Protector’s daughter Mara comes to Sheppard’s quarter and tries to seduce him revealing her father wants them to marry.

In the morning Sheppard talks to Otho, who tells them that one of his duties is to find the best match for the royal bloodline so that the royalty can still use the Ancient technology. When he had scanned Sheppard he had found out that he has the ATA gene and thus hopes that it will strengthen the royal bloodline. He hopes so because if Mara doesn’t become the next leader, it will be her brother Tavius. Sheppard then calls Dr. Beckett to examines the Lord Protector. Otho shows Sheppard a Puddle Jumper bay. There Sheppard offers him gene therapy to strengthen the ATA gene in the population. Later Carson informs him that the Protector was poisoned and he can’t help him.

Meanwhile outside, Rodney enters the underground of the city with a young man named Baldric. They find a room filled with racks of Drone weapons but when he activates the light the earth starts shaking and they are trapped inside. They can’t call for help so Rodney backtracks to the cities backup/secondary operations center and begins to access the Ancient mainframe running the city. In order to provide air and regain radio contact, Rodney decides to blow a hole in the ceiling with a Drone.

Back in the village Ronon rescues a woman from the royal guard and in this process kills one of them. This causes a revolt in the village, much to Eldred’s shock. Teyla then contacts Sheppard who informs Otho. Suddenly they hear a bell which means that the Lord Protector died so Otho tells Carson and Sheppard to leave. Sheppard wants Mara to come with him but Otho appears and arrests them because he is now the new Lord Protector. He brings them to Tavius and it turns out that Otho was the one who poisoned the Lord Protector.

Meanwhile Rodney contacts Teyla who tells him that he has to find the ZPM or the village will be destroyed by the drones. In the cell Mara brings Sheppard his radio who contacts Rodney and orders him to remove the ZPM because Otho’s first act as Lord Protector will be the destruction of the village. While Otho activates some drones, Sheppard orders Rodney to activate the star drive of the city since this will deplete the already weak ZPM. Rodney does so, and the ZPM is depleted, rendering the drones inert and harmlessly fall to the ground. Sheppard then confronts Otho who attacks him with a knife but Sheppard cuts him with it. Otho reveals that he indeed has a vast knowledge about poisons and falls dead to the ground.

Back in Atlantis Sheppard informs Weir that they got new drones and Jumpers in exchange for medical supplies and an IDC. They also offered to help them run things. Weir asked if they offered to make him king; he declined.

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