Redial the Gate: some FIAD meta

[fignewton]

(Back! ::hugs fandom:: I leave for five days and return to find SGA canceled and the Boys at Bridge going for less than the lowest common denominator for their upcoming franchise. That about covers it, I think?)

I get to recap Forever in a Day for redial_the_gate this week  (here's the link for that). But I couldn't stuff everything into the recap - as it is, it's longer and rather more snark-free than the average Redial recap, because FIAD is so beautifully and intricately detailed that there's really very little I could skip. So here are some thoughts on Sha're, and on Teal'c and Daniel, which probably doesn't surprise anybody. :)

Sha're is such an amazing woman. I've said this many times before: I adore her not for Daniel's sake, but her own. In this case, though, the focus is on what Sha're does for Daniel, and her selfless love is just another factor of her awesomeness.

First, consider what Sha're knows. She's aware of Teal'c standing there, about to fire his staff weapon. (Why else would she include that fact in the vision?) She knows she's going to die. She loves her son despite his parentage, and she wants him to be part of the struggle against the demon that took away her love and her soul and, ultimately, her life. She has only seconds to channel her message through to Daniel before it's too late. And yet what does she do? First she makes sure that Daniel will be able to emotionally recover - that he will accept her death, go on with his life, remain at the SGC, have the support of his teammates and his friendship with Teal'c - and then, only after she knows he'll recover, does she tell him where to find the harcesis. Teal'c might have fired before she had time to get her message across, but she still waits and ensures Daniel's emotional stability first.

So, the pattern of the resets goes like this:

1. Sha're gives Daniel the vision of her death. Daniel rejects the possibility - "Why didn't you leave her behind for the Jaffa to take to the sarcophagus?" - and rejects Teal'c: "You should have waited longer!" Absolute despair.

2. Reset. Sha're alive, sitting at his bedside. Oh, yes, the Tok'ra revived her! Happily ever after, right? No.

3. Reset. This time, Daniel accepts the reality that Sha're is going to die. However, he utterly rejects Teal'c and resigns from the SGC.

4. Reset. Sha're appears in his bed and urges him to return to his travels through the Chappa'ai. She tells him, for the first time, that the boy needs to be found - but insists that he first forgive Teal'c. "Because he killed you." "Yes." Death completely accepted, as Daniel states it clearly even as Sha're is there with him, and the possibility of returning to the SGC and forgiving Teal'c is first suggested.

(On a side note, I always imagined that Daniel purchased that large bed in an anticipation of hope, that he would get Sha're back and she would share it with him - and that's why, in S7, when he's had to refurnish his house after descension, he only has that little bed - he knows he's not getting her back.)

5. Reset. The funeral. Teal'c isn't there, but the rest of SG-1 is: Daniel is allowing his friends into his circle. Kasuf sends him to Sha're, who tells him, "Daniel, you must forgive Teal'c." She then offers more about the child, emphasizing the need of a quest to recover the harcesis. But when Daniel asks how, Sha're won't tell him - he hasn't forgiven Teal'c yet, or gone back to the SGC.

6. Reset. Daniel goes to the SGC and goes through the tremendous step of forgiving Teal'c - "Teal'c. You did the right thing." - even though he has not yet returned to a friendship with him. He discusses the idea of Sha're sending a message with Sam. So now, he has accepted Sha're's death, he has essentially forgiven Teal'c, he has made tentative contacts with his friends again - but he still has not returned to the SGC and the real support of a life afterwards. So Kasuf sends him back to the planet, where he sees Sha're beckon to him. He goes into the tent.

7. Final reset. Back in his apartment, awakening from dreams. This time, Daniel goes to Teal'c to discuss the possibility of the harcesis - and, as Teal'c says, "It pleases me greatly that once again, you value my knowledge." Here is full acceptance of Teal'c - not just forgiveness, but a resumption of friendship. Daniel rejoins SG-1 - full acceptance of his friends, and the support network of their companionship at the SGC. And he comes to Sha're to learn about the boy - acceptance of his new quest, and a purpose in life. Sha're does not allow another reset, but tells him about Kheb... just in time for them to share a final kiss before, in reality, Teal'c fires the staff weapon and saves Daniel's life at the cost of Sha're's.

If you take the time to think about it, Sha're's insistence that Daniel forgive Teal'c before she tells him about the harcesis is nothing short of astonishing. What does she know about Teal'c, after all? Other than those dreadful moments when he was involved in her abduction and implantation, her awareness of Teal'c is based on a single sequence of events: Secrets. She saw him support and protect Daniel, including aiming a weapon at her for Daniel's sake. She saw him making risky choices to accommodate Daniel's wishes. She saw enough then to know now that Daniel needs Teal'c's friendship.

Well, I certainly agree with her there. :) But how can we explain the friendship between these two? It isn't based on guilt, or even despite blame and guilt. Teal'c and Daniel seem to accept the pain of their shared history and then just... put it away somewhere. Their friendship seems to be based on trust and support and shared interests. I think of that moment in Avatar, when Teal'c pulled himself up with Daniel's help - and then I think of that anguished moment in Teal'c's quarters in Fallen, when, after Daniel somehow knew that Teal'c was someone he could talk to in the middle of the night, he eagerly told Teal'c that he'd remembered Sha're's named and asked Teal'c where she was. Ow.

So. How do you explain this wonderful friendship, and can someone please write more fanfic about them for me? :)

Comments

[princessofg.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you focused on this issue for this episode. Their friendship is something I'm only now getting around to exploring and I look forward to seeing what appears here. I love this episode so much for so many reasons. Your insights and opinions about it have really enriched the way I look at it.

The way Daniel and Teal'c became friends is truly amazing.

[samantilles.livejournal.com]

I think the first thing to remember is that we are in the third year that Daniel and Teal'c know and have worked with each other closely. We don't see the close friendship in Season 1 for sure. What we do see are two outsiders desperately trying to make it work in a US military operation. Their ability to work together despite the history between them is crucial to their continued existence on SG-1. I doubt for a moment if they couldn't maintain a enough of a working friendship to trust each other on the field, SG-1 would have broken up early on, and the two people replacing Daniel and Teal'c would have been Air Force Personnel.
I find it hard to believe that after two and a half years they couldn't be friends. It would have destroyed Daniel's heart to hold that hate and resentment inside of him secretly for all those years. Teal'c is also keen enough to tell if Daniel had really been secretly holding that grudge for that long. Both Daniel and Teal'c had to work on that friendship, and it was the foundation they built, despite Teal'c's involvement with the implantation of Amunet, it could survive FIAD.

[night-spear1287.livejournal.com]

I found it fascinating that Teal'c called Daniel "Daniel" in the final reset, as you call it. I may be wrong, but I don't remember ever seeing that happen before (please correct me if I'm wrong). The first time I watched it (this was actually only the fourth or fifth episode I ever saw...yeah, I was a little lost), I thought it was a sign that the whole sequence wasn't reality, that it was something that got lost somewhere between Daniel's brain and Sha're's, which was why Daniel stopped and looked really hard at Teal'c right after. It wasn't until I watched it the second time with the full understanding of the Daniel/Teal'c friendship that I realized it might be a way of stating just how close they were, or just how intensely personal that moment was. The look on Daniel's face, then, would simply be his way of acknowledging it.

Daniel is the only one Teal'c calls by first name at all; Jack is "(Colonel) O'Neill," and everyone else has both title and last name. I imagine this is at least partly because, when Teal'c first sees him, everyone is calling him Daniel, not Dr. Jackson, but that actually seemed incredibly weird to me at first. I would have thought that there would be more distance between them than between anyone else, and that Teal'c would acknowledge that by calling him "Doctor." It's possible, of course, that Teal'c was unfamiliar with Tau'ri customs. I guess Daniel might have invited him to call him by his first name, and that Teal'c added on the "Jackson" to keep that distance or something, but Daniel does that very rarely, actually, and if he did, I'd see it as a huge olive branch of some sort.

Judging by Teal'c's behavior in "Enemy Within," I think he was half-expecting for at least some time to get tossed into some prison or interrogated, so I don't see him as being the one to purposely get friendly with anyone, except maybe Jack, who visited him and was the most loudly supportive (because Jack is loud that way). In my mind, it's more likely that Teal'c offered his life and work and knowledge to anyone who would take it, and Daniel agreed to work with Teal'c, perhaps holding back judgment or giving him the benefit of the doubt in order to accomplish a goal. And then they saved each other's posteriors a few times, and they got to know each other a little better, whether they wanted to or not. After a few years, experiences themselves would have cemented the friendship, and the fact that both have personally lost so much to the Goa'uld the way people like early-season Jack or Sam hadn't, would only serve to cement that with shared sorrow.

Or something.

[princessofg.livejournal.com]

You make me want to go back and watch those very early episodes for this exact thing. i'm sure the actors discussed it; how to play that friendship, how it could even happen at all.

*ponders*

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

It just... defies all rational thinking. Come to think of it, so does Jack and Daniel's friendship. :) Sam and Daniel's friendship, now that would be expected.

It demands long and loving exploration, and it doesn't get it! ::wails::

I need more Teal'c and Daniel fic. YES.

[princessofg.livejournal.com]

well, we're doing it now. yes we are. *bounces happily*

[quarryquest.livejournal.com]

I think we have to realise that a lot of the people who work for meglomanic dictators of the Hitler / Apophis kind (thats something to say in one sentence!)ARE actually human beings just trying to do their thing and survive. You may get promoted to First Prime but what good would it do for you to decline if you have a wife and children?

My partner's grandmother was a member of the Nazi Party but had no choice. His mother's fiance was in the SS and got killed and she married a British soldier and came to Britain.

I am also thinking of Germany and Japan after the war and those that went there to clean up after WW2,fighter pilots who shot at each other who became friends or even POWs who decided to stay in Britain etc to make a new life.

Yes Teal'c was not blameless - and he admits that and works with it if we listen to his speech to Tomin in The Ark of Truth. I think Daniel, with his grasp of history and anthropology, would be very aware of all this right from the start and so be ready to give him space to prove who he was and realise they were both victims of Apophis in one way or another.

[quarryquest.livejournal.com]

sorry if that was a bit disjointed -new keyboard on work comp which I am trying to get used to!

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm not questioning that the friendship exists - I'm just marveling at how it came to be!

It's interesting, that you see them as two outsiders trying to fit into the Air Force. I agree that it's technically true, but Teal'c has lived and breathed the military (albeit a very different one!) for at least seventy years before he came to the SGC. But yes, if they hadn't managed to put their differences aside and make a real friendship, SG-1 would've long since shattered.

Daniel and Teal'c had to work on that friendship, and it was the foundation they built, despite Teal'c's involvement with the implantation of Amunet, it could survive FIAD.

Hmmm. I don't know if I agree with this. Daniel and Teal'c may have managed to move past the original abduction and implantation, but that's a far cry from being the same thing as physically killing her. I think that if Sha're hadn't given Daniel the virtual walk-through, there definitely would've been some fallout in real life.

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

It's actually the second time Teal'c calls him just "Daniel." The first time is in Broca Divide, when they go back to the planet and Daniel gets snatched by the Touched. Teal'c has just fired to frighten them off; he turns around and sees Daniel is gone. "Daniel Jackson. Daniel." Then he spots Daniel's glasses.

But I agree, calling him just "Daniel" is huge. And this: just how close they were, or just how intensely personal that moment was. Both, I think. They do have a hugely personal closeness. Think of Daniel getting Teal'c to talk to him during Fair Game, and calming him when Cronus nearly sparks a crisis. There's such power in their friendship. I love how you've brought that out in your own AU! :)

I think the different ways Teal'c addresses his teammates is fascinating. "O'Neill" seems to be respectful acknowledgment of an equal, much as the military often call each other by their last names. "Captain/Major/Colonel Carter" is, to me, Teal'c making a conscious choice to give this female(!)warrior the respect she deserves. And "Daniel Jackson" can be interpreted in so many ways - a formal gesture of respect, an effort to grant him status when "doctor" means nothing to a Jaffa with a symbiote - so many possiblities, which I love. (And yes, Daniel almost never introduces himself as just "Daniel" unless he's offworld.)

Enemy Within is a huge blank slate as far as Daniel and Teal'c are concerned, and I love fics that explore that gap: how Daniel found out that Teal'c had a personal hand in Sha're's torment, and how they learned to work past it. Sadly, many of them go the Saint Daniel route. ::sighs::

they got to know each other a little better, whether they wanted to or not

Heh, yes. None of it was ever planned, was it? And mutual grief and loss can be a very powerful bond.

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Hee, yes!

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

they were both victims of Apophis in one way or another

Yes. Bloodlines and Family drive that point home pretty well, too. And Teal'c's discussion with Tomin is one of the best bits in AoT, unquestionably.

Still - intellectually accepting that Teal'c had no choice is one thing. Personally accepting him, after his involvement in the loss of Sha're? That's something else entirely. It's amazing that they both got past it.

(And don't worry about being disjointed!)

[night-spear1287.livejournal.com]

Oh, Broca Divide--I didn't notice that. Ah, well. Teal'c/Daniel friendship = awesome, in any case.

[suzannemarie.livejournal.com]

I'm doing a Lightning Rewatch of the entire series as a quality control test of the collector's edition dvds that I just got. By random good luck, FIAD came up last night. A couple of things came to mind as I watched:

I think the actress whose name I can't remember really did a good job with this episode. Watching it, I felt like I could see both Amanet and Sha're inhabiting the same body and pursuing their separate agendas. I don't think I can define it clearly from there, but it was nicely and subtly done and I'm not sure if ever really noticed it before. It may be that it's one of those things where I have to know the whole story before I see the little nuances that are folded in.

Beyond what you're talking about with the "resets" (which rings true for me), I think they're also a demonstration of how hard Sha're was fighting against Amanet. I'd also been thinking of those resets as being the points at which Amanet manages to stifle Sha're. But every time, she pushes back and picks up the message again.

Those Abydonians are strong. We'd seen Klorel have difficulty Skaara. Then in Secrets we saw Amanet look right at Daniel (and SG-1) and walk right by. I'm convinced that that was Shar'es influence. And then, finally, we have FIAD with her final act of rebellion against the parasite. I also get the sense that in those split seconds at the end, she elects to sacrifice herself knowing that it will mean the end for Amanet as well.

[aurora-novarum.livejournal.com]

Gah! You should've used this for a redial meta! (BTW, quarry lost her beautiful one when her computer crashed right after she sent it to us. *hugs moderation queue and impatiently waits until Wednesday.)

On a side note, I always imagined that Daniel purchased that large bed in an anticipation of hope, that he would get Sha're back and she would share it with him - and that's why, in S7, when he's had to refurnish his house after descension, he only has that little bed - he knows he's not getting her back.

I can accept that, except for the fact I still think he'd get one long enough that his legs don't hang off it. (And I still have issues for beds "floating" away from a wall).

So now, he has accepted Sha're's death, he has essentially forgiven Teal'c, he has made tentative contacts with his friends again

He's said the words, but the intent is definitely not there. I would argue neither true forgiveness nor friendship happens until the last reset. And since Sha're's in his head, she knows. ;-) She's waiting for him to come to her. I also think Sha're

As for not knowing except for "Secrets", there's a more basic concept--Teal'c is the friend she saw him bring home, to Abydos. He trusted Teal'c enough to bring him to the home of his "good father". She remembers how much Apophis curses the shol'va's name. Sha're probably sees Teal'c as as much an integral part to defeating the Goa'uld (and saving her child) as she sees her own beloved husband.

Dang it, WHY didn't you do this for a meta!? I'm not going to have anything left to discuss on your recap! ;-)

[quarryquest.livejournal.com]

But isn't that what we love about those two? After so much has happened to them they are still kind and warm and human and good role models?

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Her meta is safe in the queue, though, right? So it's okay. Hopefully, Quarry's computer will be, too!

I still think he'd get one long enough that his legs don't hang off it.

Heh, yes. Fair enough. :) Although my own bed isn't against the wall on either side - I've got twin night tables.

Yes, I agree - until the final reset, he hasn't gone far enough. That's why Sha're does reset thing again.

I love your insight: that Teal'c is someone Daniel trusts enough to introduce to the family, so to speak. And it's true, too - Daniel says it himself before they leave for Abydos. ::hugs friendship tightly::

And I posted it here, because I already have five questions (plus one silly one) for the recap. Which is going up now. :)

[aurora-novarum.livejournal.com]

Oh I don't mean "Against the wall" that way. I mean...the head of the bed is just...floating in space...disconnected to anything. (Okay, technically, there's a bunch of crap behind the bed and THAT'S next to the wall).

Darn, I may have to watch Chimera again just to explain what I mean better. The torture. ;-)

And yes, safely in the queue, waiting 'till Wednesday to give time for your recappy goodness. :-D

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Teal'c/Daniel friendship = awesome, in any case.

No arguments from me there. :)

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

A lightning rewatch! An excellent idea. Have you found any problems with your DVDs yet? (Can you hear Apophis say, "Jaffa, Kree!" in The Nox when he orders one of his guards to toss his the staff weapon so he call kill SG-1?)

I love your insight into the Sha're/Amaunet struggle. I always thought the frequency of the eye-glowing thing represented the huge struggle Amaunet was having in keeping Sha're down. And, yes - we do see that the Kasuf's children are strong-minded and strong-willed. Don't you just love them? :)

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Oh, YES. The whole team, really.

::hugs them::

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Can't say I actually noticed the bed was moved away from the wall like that. I did notice Osiris leaning over Daniel to insert the memory probe, because it's so odd she doesn't simply insert it into his temple on the same side of the bed she's sitting on. But I, er, must confess that I was kinda sorta focused on what was in the bed, rather than its location. :)

[aurora-novarum.livejournal.com]

See, THAT's what pisses me off about the bed. It draws my eye because it's so incongruous, and I WANT TO LOOK AT THE PRETTY!!!! Stop being a distraction, stupid bed!

Heh.

[sg-betty.livejournal.com]

Excellent recap and discussion! Thanks, guys! This was the perfect antidote for too much time, over the last few days, spent in the fury that is Gateworld.

[suzannemarie.livejournal.com]

So far so good. There've been a few "freezes," but they've all resolved. And when I've gone back to replay those sections, they've played fine. *fingers crossed* that it continues. Only 7-1/2 more seasons to go!

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Oh, Betty, stick to our relatively sane corner of the fandom! There's a reason I migrated to LJ and never really left. :)

[sg-betty.livejournal.com]

I'm really starting to pick up on that! ; )

[redbyrd-sgfic.livejournal.com]

To me, the beginning of Teal'c and Daniel's friendship is right there in Enemy Within, in the meeting with Colonel Kennedy, when Daniel and Teal'c find themselves arguing on the same side.

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Oh, I like that. I imagine they were rather surprised to discover themselves clicking, too...

[suzannemarie.livejournal.com]

All of this puts me in mind of a conversation that I had in my LJ two or three years ago. I was commenting on some issue that had come up in SG-1-land. I don't remember what it was exactly, but I think tt was relatively minor and something endemic to fandoms in general. But something that was irritating me at the time.

Friend #1 (a Stargate fan): "I've come to the conclusion that Stargate fans are just unreservedly batshit insane. Though from what I hear, still not as crazy as the Harry Potter crowd."

Friend #2 (in the HP fandom): "Nobody's as crazy as the Harry Potter people. I've decided to be proud of that."

But I digress. Fora like Gateworld, etc. are what made me decide that I was best off sticking to the outskirts of fan activity. And the happiness of places like LJ where you can choose your level of exposure to certain things. I've found that if I don't do that, it begins to either take away from or taint everything that I enjoy about a show.

[sg-betty.livejournal.com]

That's very true, and the sheer level of intensity can be pretty worrying. Of course, things got better when I discovered the ignore function. I weeded out the truly malicious. Still, I enjoy the tone of debate here much more.

[aelfgyfu_mead]

I love Daniel, I love Sha're, I love Teal'c--but I've only ever seen this episode once. It just hurt too darned much that one time.

Maybe now that I've read this great meta and all these comments, I'll watch it again. (When I get there. We still have Olympics on the TiVo--and older stuff, too. We'd have more, but the Olympics overwrote it. Oops.)

[randomfreshink.livejournal.com]

So. How do you explain this wonderful friendship...

You don't -- sometimes, something just clicks. I do think something that's core here is that there's lots of mutual respect. Daniel more than matches Teal'c's courage -- he's never once flinched of backed down from Teal'c (or from a lot of other things). And Teal'c got to see that right off in COTG.

For Daniel, he's going to respect that Teal'c did turn his back on his god--to make that decision and save lives, and pledge himself to people he doesn't even know. That's a huge thing--and if anyone knows how hard it is to step outside the world you know (and where you are known) and turn your back on everything for a greater truth, it'd be Daniel.

Teal'c and Jack may be alike, but Teal'c and Daniel are compliments (there's some of that with Sam, but not as much as between these two).

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

That's interesting. I've never had trouble rewatching FIAD (again and again and again....) OTOH, I really can't watch Need without skimming over certain parts, and I can't watch Abyss without skipping over most of the torture parts, and we're not even going to mention how I covered my eyes during some of the scenes of Talion. :) But that's things that make you wince, not what hurts. So yes, I'll give you that. I have trouble with Meridian, sometimes.

I hope you'll get to watch it again, and that the hurting will be good this time, so to speak. :)

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

You don't

Heh, yes - sometimes that's the only answer!

I think you're right that it was courage that resonate for Teal'c, and the same thing - personal courage and integrity - that resonated for Daniel. Yes. They've both been there, denying what everyone knows for a greater truth. Lovely insight, Random. :)

[aurora-novarum.livejournal.com]

I only go to GW kicking and screaming if someone points me to a link to an article I *must* read. Because they spoiled me on their main page for plot points, I hated their ads that took forever me to load on dialup, and yeah, the batshittery and massiveness of their forums just got too overwhelming and drowned out the interesting people discussion.

I'm not sure I even remember my password there, it's been so long.

Not that lj can't be crazy too, but I find it's a more intelligent/coherent level of flailing...and we all tend to stick to our comfortable corners, so you can stay basically sane.

[sg-wonderland.livejournal.com]

One of the few episodes that makes me cry every single, damned time I watch it. I originally came to SG-1 via RDA but I was almost immediately caught by the Teal'c/Daniel relationship. I just couldn't get over the sweetness of this friendship. But I have to confess that I came into this world slightly in the middle. 'Meridian', ala the six o'clock offerings, was the first episode I saw all the way through. Went hunting for the regularly scheduled episode and, come Friday night, I caught 'Chimera'.

So I didn't know anything about the Teal'c/Amanet/Sha're thing, I just loved these two guys. The two scenes that did it for me was the whole 'you are one of my greatest friends' scene and the gym 'I do not know how you have slept well before now', which has to be one of Teal'c's best lines EVER!!


I just accepted the friendship; it wasn't until later that I got the DVDs, realized where they had started and went 'holy crap!' at the awesome awesomeness of these two.

[sg-betty.livejournal.com]

I find it's a more intelligent/coherent level of flailing...
Exactly!! : )

[sg-betty.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean - there are parts of Need where fastforward is usually employed, and it's all about the wince factor. I haven't watched Abyss or Talion in a long time. Too long to remember my reaction. I guess that means I better give them a go. It probably says something that I haven't seen tham in so long, though! I watched Meridian for only the second time a few months ago and found it every bit as painful as the first time. As I wiped my eyes with my sleeve, I thought that I probably didn't need to do that again. In retrospect, I probably will watch it again, but every 5 years or so is probably enough. It's just too utterly sad.

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

I don't have trouble watching Meridian vids. Meridian itself, though, gets me every time.

...And yet I still watch it. Again and again. :)

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Wow, what a fascinating way of approaching the series! I'm always interested in fans who come to SG-1 backwards, so to speak - like Abyssis, who was strongly invested in SGA before she saw her first ep of SG-1.

the awesome awesomeness of these two

Oh, yeah. No question. :)

[sg-wonderland.livejournal.com]

I seem to have a bad habit of coming in in the middle, I did the same thing with 'Angel.'

I missed the whole 'Daniel left the show' thing; by the time I started watching, he was back. Which means I also didn't do the 'how could they be friends' thing. Like alot of folks, I've struggled with trying to write something that reflects how they arrived at a place where they could work together but I haven't gotten anything that I'm really comfortable with so I've just kind of done bits of it in fic. It's so very tempting to make Daniel all forgiving (as your saint Daniel points out). Daniel is, after all, just human and a flawed one at that.

Anyway, I'm just loving the friendship thing and am glad the writers didn't milk the adversarial aspect simply for dramatic emphasis.

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Oh, I only discovered SG-1 after S8 aired. I know exactly what you mean! OTOH, I did more or less read straight through the transcripts from the beginning, rather than watching the eps completely out of order.

Daniel is, after all, just human and a flawed one at that.

And the courage to forgive and befriend is ever so much more fantastic because of that! The idea of the writers making them adversaries? Brrrr.