A man awakes in a private room in the Atlantis infirmary. He’s alone, and looks confused. Dr. Beckett informs Weir that his patient has finally awakened, and Weir and Sheppard go and see the man, who has total amnesia. They tell him that he is Lt. Michael Kenmore, a soldier who was captured by the Wraith while on an off-world mission. He was rescued and brought back to Atlantis, yet nobody--including Michael himself--knows what the Wraith did to him. And even though he’s all right physically, Michael still has no memory of his life before he was captured.

Michael bonds with Teyla, who tries to help him remember who he was. Taking him back to his quarters, she shows Michael a picture of his folks, and when he notices a cowboy hat, Teyla informs him that he’s from Texas. However, the past is still a blank slate for Michael, which begins to concern him. And while Teyla is kind and compassionate to him, for some strange reason Ronon hates the mere sight of Michael. Everyone else in Atlantis treats Michael gingerly, as if not knowing what to expect from him. And that fear may well be justified, because Michael has begun having these strange dreams about the Wraith.

Michael is a superbly-written, gripping story that is also serves as a thought-provoking look at the morality and ethics of doing whatever is possible to win a war, including scientifically experimenting on the enemy. Connor Trinneer, best known for his role as Lt. Cmdr. Charles "Trip" Tucker on Star Trek: Enterprise, is excellent here as Michael; his performance is both riveting to watch and very sympathetic. I can’t say enough just how well written this episode is (Carl Binder wrote the script) as it breaks away from the standard Atlantis story formula to tell the first half of the tale from Michael’s point of view. This, along with Trinneer’s performance, makes Michael both unsettling and memorable.