Redial the Gate: Nemesis

[fignewton]

redial_the_gate recapped Nemesis today - the final episode of Season Three. When Abyssis first suggested Redial, none of us dreamed it would be such a delightful success. Thank you, fandom, for being so awesome - and my fellow mods, too, who are the best of the best. :)

We start Season Four on December 2nd, but in the meantime, there will be our season's trivia quiz and any leftover S3 meta and the icon challenge for the comm's default icon during S4. But for now, here's a little thinky meta about Nemesis and the choices that SG-1 made.

I want to give full credit where it's due: this was inspired by This Time by inyron, an interesting quantum mirror fic that introduces us to a Daniel Jackson who lost his team in Nemesis... and didn't get them back, because Solitudes never happened. (Gen, rated PG-13 for language and violence.) The premise is a fascinating one, and while the story is an entertaining adventure in its own right, I'm a little sorry that Inyron didn't choose to explore the effects there would be on a Daniel who got left behind in the worst sense of the word - left behind on the safety of Earth while SG-1 risked their lives, with no way of ever, ever knowing if they survived, and with no way for them to ever return.

When I think about it, though, I find myself increasingly troubled by the scenario, because how dare Jack and Sam and Teal'c hijack the Stargate and leave Earth cut off from the rest of the galaxy, with no way to defend themselves? It's true that Sam and Teal'c beamed up to Thor's ship with the expectation of being picked up by a shuttle - they didn't choose a suicide mission. But does saving four lives (including Thor's) give them the right to deny the Earth the Stargate?

Now, Inyron's AU isn't the same as ours - we do have a second Gate, and Sam knew, when she made the proposal, that Hammond would be able to order the second Stargate shipped to Cheyenne Mountain ASAP. But it's still difficult for me to accept that Jack and Sam, both military to the core, would take the Gate. True, they couldn't have taken the one stored at Area 51 - not only didn't they have time to try and find it, but there certainly wouldn't be time to remove the "permanent iris" welded in front of it! But that doesn't change the stark reality that Sam and Jack and Teal'c were depriving the SGC of their connection to the galaxy, at a time when they knew of terrible dangers out there. To give a single example: What if the plan had failed, and the SGC had needed to evacuate as many humans as they could off-world before the Replicators wiped them out?

Don't get me wrong - I'm very very happy that Sam was able to think under pressure and figure out a way for all four of them to get away to safety. (Thor!) But the moral implications... well. I think it's an interesting topic to discuss.

Anyway, I'm sorry, but that just happens to be the way that I feel about it. What do you think?

Comments

[sg-wonderland.livejournal.com]

Or all the other off-world teams who couldn't make it home because of the no-stargate thing? I've often wondered how that would have played out.

And Sam had to know that with her not being on Earth, it was going to take just a tad bit longer to get the other gate up and operational.

The idea of a Daniel truly bereft of his team is certainly a tantalizing one and someone should take on that challenge. Or an Earth taken by replicators, with absolutely no defense, how would Jack and Sam and Teal'c react when they realized their decision to 'borrow' the gate doomed Earth instead of saving it?

Leaves many points to ponder, for sure.

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Heh, yes - hadn't thought of that. All the teams stranded off-world. Would the Alpha Site think that Earth was gone?

I would really truly love to see someone take up that challenge, although one of your earlier fics played with that theme - a Daniel who is the only one to survive when SG-1 goes down. But consequences for being bereft of the Gate... ooh, what a fascinating AU that could be.

[sg-betty.livejournal.com]

But there was a second gate in Area 51 that could be set up in fairly short order. Sam's not the only one who knows how to do that. The risk/reward ratio seems to make taking the gate a valid option. It's not like they were taking the only gate...

[sg-wonderland.livejournal.com]

If Sam planned that, and I'm assuming she did, she probably should have told the general ahead of time so they could get the Antarctic gate out of mothballs...that just occured to me after I read your post. I'm blaming that one on the writers.

I honestly think Shanks blowing his appendix improved this episode. What, realistically, could Daniel have done but run around shooting replicators? The angst of being left behind was a much better storyline for him.

[sg-betty.livejournal.com]

I actually have to watch the episode again before I can comment further - I don't remember these details well enough ; )
You are probably right about this being a better story for Daniel, although who knows what may have been cut?

[sg-wonderland.livejournal.com]

It just played better to have Daniel say 'they're gonna use the gate to escape!'. Davis replies 'it could work', Daniel: 'it will work!' and Hammond rushes for the phone to order the second gate unsealed and moved to Colorado.

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

No, they couldn't contact the SGC - Davis specifically suggests that the cloaking device is probably interfering with the radio signals. Once they're aboard, they've lost contact.

And I agree - it wasn't fun for MS, but the angst of being left behind makes the story much more poignant than another guy firing a weapon.

[sg-wonderland.livejournal.com]

I meant before she beamed up. If she knew that was the plan, she should have told General Hammond.

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Hm, no. The original plan was to blow up the ship, much as they blew up Apophis' ship by planting explosives all over the place. They were going to have a shuttle dock with Thor's ship and escape that way. But once they were aboard, they discovered that Asgard ships have internal dampeners or some such - explosives wouldn't work. Then they thought of the "let's make it break apart on re-entry" plan. They had to go EV to plant the bombs for it, because the Replicators ate the controls. Transporting back to Earth was out, because Thor disabled the outgoing transporters so the Replicators couldn't beam to Earth - and with Thor in stasis, Sam couldn't fix it. Then Sam hit on the copy-Daniel-and-use-Earth-as-a-point-of-origin idea.

To be fair, there was no way to ask for permission. And it wasn't just their lives - Thor is pretty important, too. And yet, and yet... I don't know. Something about it just doesn't feel right.

[sg-wonderland.livejournal.com]

Ok, gotcha. Yeah, I'm with you on the 'it just doesn't feel right' thing.

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Define "fairly short order" - in Small Victories, Sam complains that they'd been trying to dial home for almost a week. And one assumes she didn't start trying for a couple of days, as she would have factored transport time into the equation.

I'm not trying to disparage Inyron's story - like I said, it's a great AU premise. But thinking of the ramifications in her AU made me consider the problems in our SG world, which includes getting rid of a permanent, welded-on iris and moving the Gate into Cheyenne. Not so simple. And without approval first...?

I just think the shades of this are grayer than they seem at first glance, and it's worth considering. Which is what we're doing. :)

[thraesja.livejournal.com]

I have wondered in the past if any other SG teams died as a result of this. Or if any of their allies had desperately tried to contact them during the blackout. I haven't read the AU fic (and will save it for another day as I'm not in a heavy angst mood), but it'd be interesting to explore.

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Died as a result of it...? I doubt that. Scared out of their wits, yes, definitely. What did they think at the Alpha Site, when they suddenly couldn't get a lock on Earth for over a week's time? Or allies, as you suggest.

The AU fic isn't all that angsty - it's more of an adventure story. The exploration of Daniel's despair is only very lightly touched upon. It's something I would very much like someone to try someday, though I personally prefer happy endings. :)

[thraesja.livejournal.com]

No, I guess you're right. If it'd caused anyone's death there'd probably have been an inquiry, and since there's no mention of that... I just figure SG-1 can't be the only team that's occasionally running flat out for the gate with enemies hot on their heels. But, yeah. The Alpha Site must have been more than a little freaked. Wait. Wouldn't SG-1 have gated to the Alpha Site? I havn't seen Small Victories in a long time.

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Oooh, stunning Sam icon!

The question of why SG-1 didn't gate to the Alpha Site, or to the Land of Light, has been very elaborately handwaved in various fanfics, because it makes no sense. :) The best handwave I've seen (although I don't remember where) is that since Thor had been beamed up from the planet, they knew the Asgard were aware of their location, and they preferred to stay where they were - since, if there was a real problem with the Gate on Earth's end, the chances were likely that the Asgard would eventually come back and pick them up. If they Gated elsewhere, the Asgard wouldn't know where to look.

[thraesja.livejournal.com]

What?! Canon make no sense? Bite your tongue! ;)

[sg-betty.livejournal.com]

I was assuming that they could temporarily make the gate active at area 51, rather than moving it to Cheyenne mountain first. All you'd really need were some welders and a naquadah generator.

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine them doing at Area 51. First of all, how long might it take to remove a "permanent iris"? Also, the risk of being in a more open place, without the security of the mountain - no iris ready to slam back into place. No way to contain an invasion. No thank you, really. :)