SG1: The Shroud
Okay, let me get this straight:
*Jack suddenly appears out of nowhere, with no explanation for why he’s there.
*Woolsey threatens Daniel’s life, but no one seems really worried about it.
*We can’t be sure the Ori were destroyed, and their fighters are still around, so nothing has changed.
*And, the episode was written by RCC and BW, considered the series’ two best writers.
…yeah, that’s what I thought.
::sigh:: Way to ruin what could have been the jewel of the season, guys. You had a marvelous setup -- Daniel as a Prior of the Ori -- and you let it fall flat. The one thing I did enjoy was the Jack/Daniel banter, but even that had a dark, I’m-angry-with-you undercurrent.
The way I see it, "The Shroud" had two major, glaring flaws:
1. The episode needed to be a two-parter. Way too many pieces were missing for things to make real sense. We needed more on the methods Adria used to try to persuade Daniel. (For that matter, we needed the persuasion to take more time to make it believable.) We needed to witness Jack being contacted, and hear his reasons for coming to the SGC. We needed to see more of Merlin’s machine, to have a sense of how powerful it is, rather than see it used as a throwaway device. One hour (minus titles and commercials) simply wasn’t enough time.
2. The episode needed to be full of angst and conflict. Frankly, in capable fannish hands, it would have been. The writers could have created tension in a number of places: Daniel’s new power, and how tempted he might be to use it; living with two personalities in one head (Daniel and Merlin); the team’s desire to believe him, vs. the fear that he can’t be trusted; Jack’s feelings for Daniel, and how much he’s willing to put on the line to save him; the IOC vs. the SGC; Woolsey’s fear that what he learned from the Khalek debacle will lead him to kill the very man who taught him that lesson; worry that the Ori will get their hands on Merlin’s weapon; Daniel’s need to do something about the Ori leading him to more and more desperate behavior. Those are only a few of the opportunities, and every single one was ignored. I never had any doubt about the outcome of the story… Daniel wouldn’t be killed, the team would follow his crazy plan, and in the end nothing would really change.
I should have had doubts. That’s what conflict is all about.
Something needed to change. Seriously, this should have been a turning point, for everyone. Instead, it’s one huge squandered opportunity.
*Jack suddenly appears out of nowhere, with no explanation for why he’s there.
*Woolsey threatens Daniel’s life, but no one seems really worried about it.
*We can’t be sure the Ori were destroyed, and their fighters are still around, so nothing has changed.
*And, the episode was written by RCC and BW, considered the series’ two best writers.
…yeah, that’s what I thought.
::sigh:: Way to ruin what could have been the jewel of the season, guys. You had a marvelous setup -- Daniel as a Prior of the Ori -- and you let it fall flat. The one thing I did enjoy was the Jack/Daniel banter, but even that had a dark, I’m-angry-with-you undercurrent.
The way I see it, "The Shroud" had two major, glaring flaws:
1. The episode needed to be a two-parter. Way too many pieces were missing for things to make real sense. We needed more on the methods Adria used to try to persuade Daniel. (For that matter, we needed the persuasion to take more time to make it believable.) We needed to witness Jack being contacted, and hear his reasons for coming to the SGC. We needed to see more of Merlin’s machine, to have a sense of how powerful it is, rather than see it used as a throwaway device. One hour (minus titles and commercials) simply wasn’t enough time.
2. The episode needed to be full of angst and conflict. Frankly, in capable fannish hands, it would have been. The writers could have created tension in a number of places: Daniel’s new power, and how tempted he might be to use it; living with two personalities in one head (Daniel and Merlin); the team’s desire to believe him, vs. the fear that he can’t be trusted; Jack’s feelings for Daniel, and how much he’s willing to put on the line to save him; the IOC vs. the SGC; Woolsey’s fear that what he learned from the Khalek debacle will lead him to kill the very man who taught him that lesson; worry that the Ori will get their hands on Merlin’s weapon; Daniel’s need to do something about the Ori leading him to more and more desperate behavior. Those are only a few of the opportunities, and every single one was ignored. I never had any doubt about the outcome of the story… Daniel wouldn’t be killed, the team would follow his crazy plan, and in the end nothing would really change.
I should have had doubts. That’s what conflict is all about.
Something needed to change. Seriously, this should have been a turning point, for everyone. Instead, it’s one huge squandered opportunity.