The IOA has begun a series of interviews of all personnel within the Stargate program, thanks to a new bureaucrat who’s simply "marking his territory" as Sheppard derisively refers to the process. All Atlantis personnel are expected to return to earth to undergo the interview--including Ronon, whom Carter and Sheppard both fear will be the proverbial bull in the china shop, once he’s unleashed on the poor, unsuspecting IOA folks. But Carter has an idea. She’s called in a favor with her old friend and fellow SG-1 team member Teal’c to come to Atlantis and give Ronon the wild man some pointers on how to deal with the interview.

But Ronon feels very strongly that he doesn’t need any help from Teal’c--so much so that he makes his point clear to Teal’c by pulling a gun on the Jaffa when Teal’c tries to bait him during a casual conversation. Sheppard, breaking up this little disagreement, encourages the boys to settle their differences in a riotous combat session in the gym, one which quickly becomes the subject of much entertainment for the other Atlantis personnel, as they take bets on who’s going to win. But while these two titans slug it out, the Wraith are back with a vengeance, and are busy launching a massive commando-style assault on the Midway space station--which, once it falls into their hands, will become an open door straight to earth.

Midway is basically nothing more than a remake of Diehard on a space station--and damn, is it fun! This episode hits the ground running, hitting all cylinders perfectly by giving the viewer an action-packed, crowd-pleasing adventure that’s also smart to boot. Ronon and Teal’c, once they find themselves in the middle of the Wraith plot, just grab guns and shoot, and shoot and shoot some more. It’s also great to see the Wraith restored once more to Atlantis as the central menace, and writer Carl Binder, along with director Andy Mikita, do a great job in making them a worthy adversary for Teal’c and Ronon to fight. A fast-paced script, filled with plenty of action and humor--if only every episode of Atlantis was as joyously good as Midway. And if only the Wraith were treated as smartly in every episode as they were here.