Redial the Gate: Serpent's Song

[fignewton]

Really, Season Two is just made of win.

Watching Apophis die is huge. And characterization throughout is just whoa.

Jack: "General, Apophis. Apophis, General Hammond."

"Should've shot him." "Let me know when he dies." That sums it all up, really.

"Isn't that special?" Yeah, Jack definitely watches SNL...

Teal'c. Gloating over the immiment death of the man who twisted him and shaped him and used him. Throwing back the blanket to see his dead face, oblivious to the distress from everyone else. See? The "Jaffa revenge thing" goes back a long, long way.

Sam. Staying professional, even when thoroughly creeped out. Dealing with Martouf and Lantash. Soooo good.

Daniel. Oh, Daniel. This is the Daniel I love so much: utterly ruthless to Apophis, dangling the child over his head and coolly threatening to kill him. Taunted about Sha're, and then seeing proof that in his own perverted way, Apophis really did love Amaunet. And after all that, putting aside the face of his most hated enemy to offer the comfort of last rites to the tortured scribe who has served as host for so long.

Janet, so determined to care for her patient. Hammond, walking the line even when he doesn't want to. The whole SGC staff, Siler and Simmons and everyone, working doggedly to deal with crisis after crisis.

...And then that moment of baffled silence from Martouf, when he doesn't understand why the Tau'ri are disturbed by Apophis' fate at Sokar's hands. And isn't that disturbing, in itself? That Martouf - the host - doesn't seem to have any feelings for the host who will suffer along with the symbiote? (I love the music at that moment.)

Random question: did they get the idea for a rapid dial-out from Daniel's account of events on the other side of the quantum mirror in TBFTGOG?

Make sure you wander past redial_the_gate tonight for the complete recap and discussion!

Comments

[kalquessa.livejournal.com]

Can I just add on a completely shallow note that Daniel speaking "Ancient Egyptian," is OMGHOT!!!

Heh. We now return you to your regularly-scheduled thinky character analysis. Thank you for your patience.

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

They apparently had the same guy who did the Ancient Egyption for the movie come in and teach them the words in AE for this ep, too.

And since when do I object to Daniel shallowness, really? :)

[sg-wonderland.livejournal.com]

I did a little fic that dealt with Teal'c and Daniel during this episode. I've linked it here in case you want to check it out.
http://www.freewebs.com/gemgate/missngsceneserpentssong.htm

This is a favorite ep, I adore the scene where Daniel not only shoves the knife in Apophis, but twists it several times while he's at it. Then to completely put that aside, to really see the host as a victim? That's just awesome!
Teal'c and Jack's offhand glee at the imminent death of Apophis shouldn't surprise anyone, this is someone that everyone can agree to hate. And Janet trying to ease the pain of a sworn enemy, yay for her!
Martouf's complete dismissal of the host is chilling and maybe gives us a bit more of a hint into how the Tok'ra justify their particular brand of warfare, maybe they shrug off the idea of the host being a separate entity so they get what's coming to them. Later, we see how willing they are to destroy the innocent in order to kill the guilty, Summit/Last Stand springs to mind.

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Very nice! Is that last line of Teal'c's supposed to include an ellipsis? As it is, it's not entirely clear that the fic is finished - I actually refreshed a couple of times to make sure it had downloaded completely.

And YES for Daniel twisting the knife and getting Amaunet in his face and STILL seeing the host. Oh, Daniel. :)

I'm so very ambivalent about the Tok'ra. I think they make great allies and I'm hugely annoyed that they turn into one-note irritants half-way through the series. But it comes down to nature vs nurture, and how much can Egeria's beliefs stand up to what they really are and their instincts? Good point on the Summit/Last Stand similarity, too.

The nice thing about the Tok'ra is that they really make you think. And argue, which is good if stays polite. :)

[sg-wonderland.livejournal.com]

Yes, there should have been a couple more dots there at the end...flogs beta reader....oh, wait, that would be me! In that case, mea culpa.

Like Jack, Jacob/Sel'mak was about the only Tok'ra I really could tolerate. Martouf, I was wishy-washy about. Don't get me started on Anise, the Tok'ra tart!!

We all like to think the Goa'uld are arrogant, but I personally think that is an accusation that might be leveled at the Tok'ra also. And how many years can you flog a dead horse (i.e. revolution via infiltration) before you might want to ask yourself if there might not be another way??