"Do Wraith Have Names?" And Other Nonsensical Scribblings of a Wraith-crazy Science-fiction Fan

I am by now utterly convinced that no one reads my blog except my parents. With that in mind, allow me to continue my ramblings and scribblings as if no one reads my blog at all. Today, the discussion will be Wraith, among other things. No, not that kind of Wraith, this kind of Wraith. Stargate Atlantis Wraith, to be precise...

Of course, some of you (if indeed, anyone is reading this blog), probably don't know what a Wraith is. I recommend Wikipedia.

Now, having said that, allow me to continue...

Wraith.

I am a science-fiction fan, as you all should know (if you don't, you know it now.) and recently I have been watching Stargate Atlantis. But I told you that already. Well, it has come to mind that I really do like the Wraith (the baddies of the Pegasus Galaxy). In fact, I rank them up there with the Borg. Ok, so not quite with the Borg. The Borg get their own category. But the Wraith are high up there. Very high up there. Anyway, back to the Wraith. I have been thinking. I like them quite a bit, but not only because I occasionally really like bad guys, but because I have been wondering. Are the Wraith really that bad?

Well, let's look at the core idea of the Wraith. Wraith are life-sucking aliens that need to feed off of humans to survive. They defeated the Ancients, and are treating the Humans like a herd of animals... Well... that's bad. No doubt about it. But is it the Wraiths fault?

Well, is it? Can the Wraith help being who they are? It is this question that makes the Wraith interesting to me. What makes them unique. Can they help what they are? They need to feed off of humans to survive--if they don't, they die an agonizingly painful death. That's bad. Very bad.

Of course, the Wraith have been going about the wrong way of being Wraith. They hold the humans in disdain, feed off of humans with no remorse (we think?), and are, obviously, a bunch of bad critters. But what else could they do? It is my personal opinion that the Wraith should try to come up with something to make it possible for them to eat normal food. After all, as children they eat normal food, and they only start to feed on humans when they reach their teenage years. To quote John Sheppard, "So it's a teenage thing? Pimples, rebellion, life-sucking?"

Well, why not come up with something that makes the whole Wraith-feeding thing just not...happen? Would it be that difficult? But from what we've heard, the Wraith haven't bothered with that at all. Nor have the humans.

Instead, the humans on Atlantis, namely Dr. Beckett, decided to come up with a serum that would take all of the Wraith DNA out of a Wraith, leaving, instead of a Wraith, a human. Well, with several failures, Beckett perfected the serum and tried it out. Great episode. But was what the Atlantis expedetion was doing right? They took a Wraith, and without his permission took from him the very essence of his being. Oh, and did I mention that they not only turned a Wraith into a Human, they also wiped his memory. To quote a certain Wraith (who I will not name at the risk of spoiling things for people), "What I am is not a disease you can cure. And if I remember nothing of what or who I am -- if this consciousness is erased -- what is the difference between that and death?"

He has a point.

So are the good guys really good? And are the bad guys really bad? The lines aren't so clear. Of course, many of the members of the Atlantis expedetion later realized that what they did to the above Wraith was bad--and they paid the price. But that wasn't even the first time they used a Wraith prisoner to experiment on.

The first was Steve.

We must never forget Steve.

Of course, many members of the team, especially Dr. Weir, were not going to allow Steve to be used in an experiment. Sheppard summed up his feelings by saying, "No offence, Doc, but had the Wraith attended the Geneva Convention, they would have tried to feed on everyone there."

He too, has a point.

The Wraith seem to have no morals. But because the enemy has no morals, is it right for us to drop ours?

I think not.

So going back to the Wraith... Are they bad? Well, yes. But no. But yes.

They, as a species, are pretty bad. I mean, look at the millions of people they've killed. But they really had no choice. Or did they? Or did they not? It's all very confusing. Which is really what I like about it. Oh yes, and of course, the Wraith did attack the Ancients when the Ancients were proposing an alliance...Bad.

Well, back to the Wraith... They might be bad, and then again, they might not be bad. You know, people are always saying that Wraith are spooky and creepy and scary and all that stuff. Are they? Well yes. But no. I am saying that a lot, aren't I? As an excuse for the picture of a certain Wraith that I'll probably be putting in this post, allow me to say that I do not find the Wraith to be scary. Creepy, yes. But what's wrong with creepy?

Oh, going back to the Are-Wraith-Bad discussion. Remember Todd! Ok, we have met a good Wraith. Everything said Wraith said would be a very interesting addition to our little monologue here. Allow me to quote Todd, "For Wraith, hunger burns like a fire.Tell me, Sheppard, if you found yourself burning alive, would you settle for just one drop of water ...or would you take more?"

These Wraith do have a point, don't they?

So, good or bad?

Or both?

Maybe both.

Hmm... Wraith are a very interesting species, you know. I've been wondering. Do they have names? Of course, we've had many Wraith that have been given names. First there was Steve, then Bob, then-- *stops talking* I can't spoil it for you, can I? Who knows, you might watch it someday... Well, anyway, Beckett--or Rodney, I fail to remember--once asked a Wraith scientist what his name was. I would quote the Wraith except that the quote would look curiously blank.

He didn't say anything.

There is so much that we don't know about the Wraith... As it is, I simply cannot wait to get season four of Atlantis. I think I might go crazy if I don't get it soon. Ah well, I'll have to settle for re-watching season three and rambling on my never-read blog about the Wraith. Such is the way of life. Maybe I'll write an essay.

So, back to my question, are Wraith really bad? Well, I can't figure it out, so I'll just leave it up to you...

Farewell, my friends, and remember Steve!