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Whew! TPTB managed the unbelievable: a Vala-centric episode that I actually liked.
Please, Daniel, get your hair brushed. And wear something a little more put-together the next time you go to "dinner with a teammate." We know you have verrrry nice suits in your closet. :)
Anyone else flash back to Vala wiping the floor with Daniel in Prometheus? I remember Redbyrd's lovely little ep tag to Prometheus Unbound - yep, Daniel definitely should've been able to fight better - but this was fun to watch, especially as it was instinct. Or trained, as the cop says later.
I don't often notice "the pretty" when I'm watching, but Daniel's floofed hair - and that shirt, not even tucked in! - made me cringe. Not what I would want a guy to wear on a date. Or not a date, as Daniel plaintively kept insisting. Quite enjoyed Vala's hopeful reiteration of a date's definition, and Daniel's overly hasty, "It's not a date!" when she got to a certain... point. ;)
So, Vala is taken by The Trust, who is working for Baal (was that in the clone Baal ep last year? Watched it once, yawned, forgot about it). And the Goa'uld who is annoyed at Qetesh. I think they're making a huge mistake in dispensing with the flanged voice; it makes the Goa'uld threat, such as it is nowadays, seem even more minimized. If the symbiote chooses to keep the host's voice when dealing with outsiders, that's one thing; but they should've gone with the flange when she was talking to her subordinates who know her real identity. Also half-expected the tablet in question - Ancient? Needed a code to be deciphered? Led to a cavern with lots of treasure? - to be the tablet that Vala brought with her to the SGC at the start of S9 that led them to Merlin's treasure trove. Was disappointed when Daniel told Mitchell it had all been a hoax.
Either way, it was a plausible reason to take her, even if I'm kinda surprised they didn't nab Daniel at the same time. They knew enough to get rid of the homing device (nice touch, that; we'll probably see that more often, to take away the easy deus ex machina of the transporter), they had the SGC's premier civilian seated in the next room, and they didn't take advantage of that? Especially since they're hoping to track down something involving the Ancients? It didn't suit the plot, but it would have suited realism, which annoys me a bit.
The device was weird, but again, kudos for plausibility as we get a semi-reasonable explanation for Vala's amnesia. And nice of them to remember the memory device from last season later on (giggled at Vala's bright question about a two-for-one deal).
So glad to see the SGC still won't "leave our people behind," although I cringed at the number of fatalities. Adored Teal'c doing the intimidation thing, as Daniel strolled out of the room and Sam and Mitchell left the observation thing. Er. Anyone out there read lips? :) And I liked Daniel's wistful optimism: "I was right last time, I want to be right again." Nice. I wish they'd stick to simply caring for Vala instead of romance, I really do.
Flashback back and forth to the restaurant was nicely done - much more nicer than last year's disappearing Stargate ep, when they couldn't even be bothered to give us a different angle. This time, we get Saul's POV. And may I say how much I liked Saul, and Vala's first meeting with him, when she's honest enough to say she's dishonest? Seriously, we got some really likeable guest stars this time - both Saul and the cop, whose name I didn't manage to catch. I liked the cop's way of dealing with Vala, especially when he was casually sipping his coffee and waiting for her in the stairwell. That, and the "To Dad" bit. Nice bit of fleshing out the character just from seeing that picture from his kid on the wall. Hope Vala went back later, and thanked them and told them she was okay.
As an aside, I'm assuming it wasn't deliberate to make the diner so like the Waffle House at the End of the Universe? Vala even chewed gum like Oma-the-waitress. And when she reeled off the jargon about the order, it was even more of a parallel. Weird.
I was disappointed that it wasn't Sam who commandeered the guy's motorcycle; we've already established her love for motorcycles and speed. OTOH, then we would've missed Mitchell losing his pants again, and that hilarious scene when he tries to tell her the truth while she rifles through his wallet, and the even more priceless scene where they walked into the motel room and found him cuffed to the bed with the food and the remote. Loved how he carefully tugged the blanket back into place. OTOH, it still jarred to hear Mitchell refer to the rest of the gang as "my team." They're not yours, Cam. Sorry and all that.
Final confrontation: neat little job with the zat blast travelling along the beam to zap the guy at the end. And really, a lovely bit of dialogue from Daniel: "You don't remember, but you finally decided to stop running. It's time to come home." When he hugged her, I flashed back on the comforting embrace he gave her when she came back to life at the end of Avalon. No protest from her this time, I note. :)
Does this mean Vala really deserves a proper place on SG-1? Not so sure about that, but does it matter? She's essentially been part of the team all this time anyway. At least they waited a decent amount of time before making it official.
Nice to give us another canon glimpse of a team night. Nice it was Teal'c's suggestion. Nice to get another dig at Cam's pants from Sam. :)
Not so nice to have everyone looking pityingly at Daniel when he insists it wasn't a date. Will never be a Vala/Daniel shipper and really, really hope the show doesn't go there; and to be honest, having Daniel "in denial" while everyone is convinced otherwise would be almost as bad as Teal'c trying to convince Jack in Grace that yes, he and Sam are in lurrrve.
I don't often notice "the pretty" when I'm watching, but Daniel's floofed hair - and that shirt, not even tucked in! - made me cringe. Not what I would want a guy to wear on a date. Or not a date, as Daniel plaintively kept insisting. Quite enjoyed Vala's hopeful reiteration of a date's definition, and Daniel's overly hasty, "It's not a date!" when she got to a certain... point. ;)
So, Vala is taken by The Trust, who is working for Baal (was that in the clone Baal ep last year? Watched it once, yawned, forgot about it). And the Goa'uld who is annoyed at Qetesh. I think they're making a huge mistake in dispensing with the flanged voice; it makes the Goa'uld threat, such as it is nowadays, seem even more minimized. If the symbiote chooses to keep the host's voice when dealing with outsiders, that's one thing; but they should've gone with the flange when she was talking to her subordinates who know her real identity. Also half-expected the tablet in question - Ancient? Needed a code to be deciphered? Led to a cavern with lots of treasure? - to be the tablet that Vala brought with her to the SGC at the start of S9 that led them to Merlin's treasure trove. Was disappointed when Daniel told Mitchell it had all been a hoax.
Either way, it was a plausible reason to take her, even if I'm kinda surprised they didn't nab Daniel at the same time. They knew enough to get rid of the homing device (nice touch, that; we'll probably see that more often, to take away the easy deus ex machina of the transporter), they had the SGC's premier civilian seated in the next room, and they didn't take advantage of that? Especially since they're hoping to track down something involving the Ancients? It didn't suit the plot, but it would have suited realism, which annoys me a bit.
The device was weird, but again, kudos for plausibility as we get a semi-reasonable explanation for Vala's amnesia. And nice of them to remember the memory device from last season later on (giggled at Vala's bright question about a two-for-one deal).
So glad to see the SGC still won't "leave our people behind," although I cringed at the number of fatalities. Adored Teal'c doing the intimidation thing, as Daniel strolled out of the room and Sam and Mitchell left the observation thing. Er. Anyone out there read lips? :) And I liked Daniel's wistful optimism: "I was right last time, I want to be right again." Nice. I wish they'd stick to simply caring for Vala instead of romance, I really do.
Flashback back and forth to the restaurant was nicely done - much more nicer than last year's disappearing Stargate ep, when they couldn't even be bothered to give us a different angle. This time, we get Saul's POV. And may I say how much I liked Saul, and Vala's first meeting with him, when she's honest enough to say she's dishonest? Seriously, we got some really likeable guest stars this time - both Saul and the cop, whose name I didn't manage to catch. I liked the cop's way of dealing with Vala, especially when he was casually sipping his coffee and waiting for her in the stairwell. That, and the "To Dad" bit. Nice bit of fleshing out the character just from seeing that picture from his kid on the wall. Hope Vala went back later, and thanked them and told them she was okay.
As an aside, I'm assuming it wasn't deliberate to make the diner so like the Waffle House at the End of the Universe? Vala even chewed gum like Oma-the-waitress. And when she reeled off the jargon about the order, it was even more of a parallel. Weird.
I was disappointed that it wasn't Sam who commandeered the guy's motorcycle; we've already established her love for motorcycles and speed. OTOH, then we would've missed Mitchell losing his pants again, and that hilarious scene when he tries to tell her the truth while she rifles through his wallet, and the even more priceless scene where they walked into the motel room and found him cuffed to the bed with the food and the remote. Loved how he carefully tugged the blanket back into place. OTOH, it still jarred to hear Mitchell refer to the rest of the gang as "my team." They're not yours, Cam. Sorry and all that.
Final confrontation: neat little job with the zat blast travelling along the beam to zap the guy at the end. And really, a lovely bit of dialogue from Daniel: "You don't remember, but you finally decided to stop running. It's time to come home." When he hugged her, I flashed back on the comforting embrace he gave her when she came back to life at the end of Avalon. No protest from her this time, I note. :)
Does this mean Vala really deserves a proper place on SG-1? Not so sure about that, but does it matter? She's essentially been part of the team all this time anyway. At least they waited a decent amount of time before making it official.
Nice to give us another canon glimpse of a team night. Nice it was Teal'c's suggestion. Nice to get another dig at Cam's pants from Sam. :)
Not so nice to have everyone looking pityingly at Daniel when he insists it wasn't a date. Will never be a Vala/Daniel shipper and really, really hope the show doesn't go there; and to be honest, having Daniel "in denial" while everyone is convinced otherwise would be almost as bad as Teal'c trying to convince Jack in Grace that yes, he and Sam are in lurrrve.
Please, Daniel, get your hair brushed. And wear something a little more put-together the next time you go to "dinner with a teammate." We know you have verrrry nice suits in your closet. :)
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