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Hurray for Teamy Goodness! I wrote down my reactions as I watched, and for the most part, those reactions were good. It does mean, though, that this “review” will be long and rambling and not particularly coherent. Consider yourself warned. :)
The Quest, part 2.
I remember a lot of discussion when The Quest, part 1 aired about how bizarre it was for the team to be so skeptical about the existence of the dragon. When I considered it over the hiatus, though, I decided that the skepticism actually made a lot of sense. After all, they’ve seen so many mythological concepts translated into technology. Thor’s Hammer is pretty obvious, of course. Super-strength is derived from the symbiote. The ability to disappear? Ring platforms. Immortality? The sarcophagus. Casting lightning bolts could be the hand device or staff weapons, Valkyries could be
The confrontation with the dragon made no sense. There was an exit? A way in equals a way out, to paraphrase Terry Pratchett. So, they could’ve taken the side entrance in the last episode and avoided the whole compassion/wisdom/faith thing?
Why in the world would they be safer in the trees, which are made of wood and highly flammable? Why not stay in the caverns, since stone is a lot more fireproof?
“Perhaps Puff.” I really, really love you, Teal’c. :) But even as part of me ladored Teal’c’s wordless refusal to allow Mitchell to take the risk, another part of me was saddened at yet another proof that no one on SG-1 really thinks of Mitchell as their leader. Teal’c doesn’t listen, Vala doesn’t listen, Daniel doesn’t listen… I admit that swallowing the C4 was funny (although the dragon didn’t flame why?), but other than that? “Good, get rid of the dragon. On with the episode.”
Ba’al was lying. Of course he was. I despise the way Ba’al is portrayed in this episode, but I’m going to try and do a separate meta post for that tonight, because it’s symptomatic of a larger problem. But they kept posing the team with Ba’al and Adria behind them. It made me grit my teeth, because, uh, guys? Hello? Villains are not allowed to stay unguarded on your six.
Ah, forget all that, and let’s get to the good stuff!
The transportation from one planet to the next was seriously fun. Wonderful to get something actually new for a change! And how interesting that while Adria is left behind, Ba’al is not. Does that suggest that when Morgan le Fay set this all up, the Goa’uld were not yet a danger in the galaxy?
Sam looked particularly beautiful in the shot when she’s staring at Merlin’s stasis chamber and says, “I think I know.” I just had to say that. :) Although I do wish Daniel would pronounce “Myrddin” as “Meer-thyn.”
“How do we get him out?” “I have no idea.” Loved that. It’s always been one of my favorite Daniel quotes. Such a delight to hear it again!
Whee! An Ancient repository thingy! This keeps getting better and better. Jack stopped Daniel twice before, but he’s not there to do it now, and who else can possibly stop him? And Vala set it off. Yet Vala has the protein marker, and Teal’c couldn’t trigger it back in The Fifth Race, and they assumed it was bcause of Junior – which would contradict my speculation as to why Ba’al made it through and Adria didn’t. Er. Getting a bit tied up in knots, here. Maybe the Ancient gene triggers it? They doesn’t explain Vala, though.
Note that again it’s Sam giving orders, not Mitchell. On the other hand, despite my unhappiness with Ba’al himself, Teal’c with Ba’al is absolute solid gold.
Okay, so Merlin confuses the team with the people he knew in Arthur’s time. Daniel as Galahad actually fits, sort of. I can even see some parallels with Mitchell as Percival. Ba’al as Mordred is more of a generic comparison, but I can deal with it. But Sam as Guinevere was “huh?” They’re both female. It sort of ends there. But still, more echoes of old episodes! At least, unlike Ernest in Torment of Tantalus, Merlin is clothed when he starts hugging people. :)
Another old-episode-feel, as Daniel is up-front with a potential ally about who they are and aren’t and what they need – Thor’s Chariot, this time. I do love you, Daniel.
Adria as petulant brat actually works, I think. After all, she’s… what? Six months old or so? With her followers worshipping her and obeying her every whim, and no one actually saying “no” except for Vala and Daniel? But noooo! Don’t kill the feisty innkeeper! She blamed everything on SG-1, remember?
YES! Mention of Daniel’s ascension, and someone who knew Oma! Love it, love it.
Hm. Merlin states that the Ori’s need to draw power from the “lowers” is in order to gain enough power for themselves that they can wipe out the Ancients. Is this information we knew before – what the Ori’s motive truly was? Because I don’t remember it. If this is new, I would expect a little more reaction from Daniel and Vala. And if the Ori always intended to come back to our galaxy to take on the Ascended as soon as they’d gained enough energy points, does this mean that Daniel and Vala are not responsible for the genocide in the Milky Way galaxy?
“She must have seen something in you to believe you to be worthy.” Okay, I melted.
Merlin’s interfering! Yay! And huh, neat handgrips for the repository.
Competent, intelligent, realistic Sam! Yes! I’ve missed her.
“Good luck, Doctor Jackson.” Ooooh. Eerie. And yet… Erm. When exactly did Daniel tell him about his Ph.Ds?
Whoa! That’s it? “He’s dead”? No resuscitation attempts, CPR, nothing?
“Yet another reason to mourn his passing.” Did I mention that Teal’c’s dealings with Ba’al are solid gold? Teal’c gets an appallingly few number of lines in most episodes, but he sure knows how to deliver the ones he does have.
Sam’s Earth-bound laptop is compatible with a DHD? Words fail me.
Oooooh, Daniel. Vala still hasn’t quite figured out how far you’ll go in the pursuit of knowledge, has she?
It works for Daniel. Why? He doesn’t have the Ancient gene, does he? Or does he have it by default, since he once Ascended? Or did Merlin program it to work for him?
On Adria: “Leave the men in prostration.” Does this mean that Adria herself, as Orici, is gaining power from their worship, and their devout prayers will actually aid her in her efforts?
Okay, Merlin’s body disappeared. So anything not alive doesn’t get transported, unless they’re holding it? Does that mean they lost their packs on the desert planet?
“How ya doin’, Sunshine?” Awwww. :) Better than “
Okay. So Merlin zapped whatever Daniel would need into the repository, and Daniel got that. And then Daniel has to use the repository to build a new Sangraal. And Daniel is secretly jumping and down and shouting “Wheee!” for all the new knowledge that he’s gained. Because the stuff about other societies Merlin “seeded in the galaxy” must have been a present. It’s not as if he actually needed that part.
Mitchell and Vala’s anxiety were so good. We haven’t seen much of these two together, have we? Vala usually pairs off with Daniel, but they’re quite good together. If TPTB were keeping them apart because they’d been together on a previous show, what a colossal waste of some very good chemistry.
And Adria the petulant brat, again. It does suit her, but it doesn’t make her any more fun to watch.
“Comparing a laptop to a supercomputer.” Yeah. That’s a Goa’uld System Lord talking, can’t you tell? I won’t get that meta done tonight, but I will be posting it tomorrow, I hope. But I did like that he at least bothered to insult Sam. And that she’s getting seriously irritated. Good for her.
“It’s interesting. Jack got healing powers, I guess I got telekinesis.” Hee! Bit smug there, Daniel?
“Trust me, I can handle this.” Ah, Daniel. Sweet sacrificing utterly arrogant Daniel. That’s my boy. :)
“I need your help.” SAM!!! Oh, Sam, I could hug you infinitely for that. That’s the Sam I love: brilliant and determined and actually aware of her limitations.
AND THEN SHE SLUGS HIM. I actually yelled, “Yes!” Hoo boy was he asking for it. Go Sam, go! And Teal’c just stands there looking smug. The teamy goodness in this one just keeps getting better all the time! And then Sam slaps a Palm Pilot (?) into Ba’al’s hands instead of helping him up… Heh.
Okay, that moment when Daniel starts seriously losing it, and cups Vala’s cheek? That tremor I felt the other night, when the show actually aired, must have been all the Daniel/Vala fans squeeing. But with my gen glasses firmly in place, I have no trouble seeing that as friendship.
Eeee! Mitchell called him “Daniel” and snapped him out of it! Does this mean no more
And then… Oh. First time ever I could seriously believe that Cameron Mitchell is truly the leader of SG-1. That furious scuffle, and that speech to Vala about what it means to be a team member was amazingly powerful. “The hard part about being part of this team is not risking your own life. It’s watching your friends take chances with theirs. Congratulations. Now you really are one of us.” Wow. And I say, yet again, that they should have Vala and Mitchell interact a lot more often; these two actors play off each other superbly.
So Sam and Ba’al break the programming (with a superb snark from Teal’c. Teal’c!), but it’s too late: here comes Adria. And Daniel… senses this? Huh.
(I miss Teal’c’s staff weapon like crazy. The P-90 just isn’t the same.)
It’s amazing how vulnerable a person is when they first come through the Gate, isn’t it?
Ba’al tries to run – “I’ll go get help,” shyeah, right – and gets hit. Are those the Ori zats, or the Ori equivalents of staff weapons? Is he unconscious or dead? I’m assuming the former, since Adria surely wouldn’t want her soldiers indiscriminately killing – she needs Daniel, at least, alive. She’s said so repeatedly.
Whoa: Daniel and Adria confrontation! “You’re too late?” It seems to me that Adria’s right, and he isn’t finished quite yet. But it looks like Daniel meant he was capable of fighting back, which he couldn’t before, because – whoa. Maternal Instinct right there. Looks like Daniel was right to be smug about the telekinesis. That was just fantastic to see Daniel doing that, and for the sake of his friends. It’s extremely creepy to have Adria almost vamping at Daniel afterward, though. Eurgh.
And ouch. First real Daniel whumping since early S9. (I kept expecting Son-of-Anubis whose name I can’t remember to personally whump Daniel in Prototype, and was seriously surprised when it didn’t happen at all.) Vala desperately trying to stop Adria. “We’re not leaving you here!” from Sam. And Mitchell dragging Vala with him. Pure Daniel, this: saving SG-1, getting them to safety before he collapses. And then he’s trapped.
When Adria made off with Daniel, did she take Ba’al, too? Or is he actually dead?
Such beautiful teamy goodness in the tag of the episode. And Mitchell refers to him as Daniel again, which means I can seriously hope it will stay that way for the rest of the season, right? Loved the team’s anxiety and refusal to give up… Although poor Daniel doesn’t look like he’s having a very good time.
He really lost all of Merlin’s knowledge? I seriously hope he’s lying, there, because if it’s true, TPTB just gave us another spectacular failure. Please, let there be something good to pull out of this!
This should have been the mid-season cliffhanger, not part 1. The cliffhanger at the end of this episode – Daniel captured, no way to track him, the team frantic to find him – that’s a whole lot more suspenseful than a bat on steroids blowing flame. This was full of fantastic teamy goodness, and even though it was a Daniel-centric ep, everyone had a serious chance to shine.
“Now, that’s what I’m talkin’ about.” I know I'll be rewatching this one, and I haven't enjoyed an ep enough to do that since Pegasus Project. Bring on the next episode!
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Hey, this isn't the first time we've seen something like that. I figure that after 10 years, they've figured out a basic way to make them cross-compatible (Carter's laptop being programmed in Ancient or something, I don't know *g*).
t works for Daniel. Why? He doesn’t have the Ancient gene, does he? Or does he have it by default, since he once Ascended?
That's what I imagined. Actually--I found myself wondering if Oma did that to him on purpose, knowing he would eventually reach this point. I came away from this episode wanting to write Oma-fic, which is new to me.
Oh. First time ever I could seriously believe that Cameron Mitchell is truly the leader of SG-1. That furious scuffle, and that speech to Vala about what it means to be a team member was amazingly powerful. “The hard part about being part of this team is not risking your own life. It’s watching your friends take chances with theirs. Congratulations. Now you really are one of us.” Wow
WORD. That killed me dead.
He really lost all of Merlin’s knowledge? I seriously hope he’s lying
As Adria pointed out, it would be a sensible lie to tell. I'm not buying it as truth, yet, because it frankly doesn't make sense (unless he *did* finish the Sangraal, which again I don't think happened).
For the first time since I started watching post-Jack SG-1, I felt like I was actually watching the show I love. Teamy goodness, yes, and good use of previous stories and lovely, lovely Daniel-whumping. *hugs Daniel8
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Oh, sure it is. Remember the DHDs are Ancient technology- we have numerous examples of interfacing Earth tech with Ancient. Sam interfaces a laptop to the Ancient weapon on Dakara in Reckoning. She interfaces a laptop to a DHD in Avenger 2.0. She interfaces a laptop to ..er, okay, to something later in S10.. Anyway, we've established ages ago that we can exchange data with Ancient devices. Remember, we have a computer at the SGC that *replaces* a DHD. And gets a datastream from the gate. (They talk about it in Red Sky and 48 Hours.) They also use laptops to interface to Ancient equipment in Atlantis all the time.
Basically, they must have a converter somewhere that takes impulses from the Ancient equipment and turns them into electronic signals that are interpreted by computer software into something that we can understand.
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From the look of all the pretty crystals, not to mention the extreme stability and long life of Ancient systems, my guess is that they use an optical system, which could be converted to electrical signals by means of Science!(tm).
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But optical computers aren't that science-fictional- there are some lab prototypes working now, so I suspect we'll see commercial applications not too many years down the road. And of course we already use fiberoptic cable for long distance data transmission- there's tons of the stuff in the bed of the Atlantic- not to mention it's replacing wire systems for high speed data and TV, so converting optical signals to electronic and back is already a reality.
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(What's the etymology for "handwaving"? "You don't need to see his identification" and "These aren't the droids you're looking for"?)
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No idea on the etymology for handwaving.
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There is a HUGE difference between a roomful of computers replacing the DHD on Earth and having a casual interface with a DHD and an Ancient obelisk that she's never seen before. I wouldn't know about Atlantis.
I accept that it makes sense - hey, didn't Sam somehow manage to link up to the Ori's ship interface in the first half of the season, too? - but there was something too overly casual about it for me this time. I'll watch the episode two or three times more, and probably get over it. :)
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... I've always wondered why SG-1 hasn't tried out the gene therapy, actually.
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There's a "virtual 7th season"? Gen fic I don't know about?
WHERE WHERE WHERE??? :)
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When I get home I'll look and see if I bookmarked it.I'm awful about remembering names and authors of things - but I'm pretty sure it was one of a series. ::pause while Redbyrd turns internet upside down and shakes hard::.Okay, there it is! Virtual Season 9 is the one I was thinking of. Episode 5 is the fic where members of SG-1 try to take the gene therapy. The link to the whole series is here (http://www.vs9.jackfic.com/episodes.htm). (http://www.vs9.jackfic.com/episodes/vs9_5.htm)
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Woo and hoo! Safely bookmarked. Admittedly, I much prefer Colonel Jack to General Jack, but I quite understand the desire not to have to give up on Jack altogether. Thanks for the link! I'll even some time to read. Somehow. :)
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... Do you not watch Atlantis? I have this vague recollection of reading someone on my friends list simply doesn't. Was, uh, that you?
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I know, but they're so... casual about it. I remember Sam having to work to make the connections on previous occasions. Although I suppose she might have it down pat by now.
I found myself wondering if Oma did that to him on purpose, knowing he would eventually reach this point.
Speculation on the Ancients and their motives is such fun, isn't it? Do they see events through time? Do they know what's going to happen? Which doesn't explain why Oma didn't know that Anubis was going to betray her...
For the first time since I started watching post-Jack SG-1, I felt like I was actually watching the show I love.
For me, it's the first time since mid S7, with the exception of Lost City and Reckoning, that I really felt the Teamy Goodness love. And the Daniel love, too. Mustn't forget that. :)