Stargate: Resolving Sam Carter and Jack O’Neill
I don’t meet too many people who are ambivalent about the science-fiction television series Stargate SG-1 - either you like it or you don’t. And I’ve loved it from the moment it first aired. In those days, I watched it primarily on account of my infatuation with MacGuyver, that is Richard Dean Anderson. Ironically, I wasn’t even too keen on science-fiction as a genre yet; now, I aspire to write it.
It was probably in Season 1’s over the top episode “Hathor,” featuring an alien incarnation of the Egyptian goddess, that I realized there was romantic tension between Colonel Jack O’ Neill and Lieutenant Samantha Carter. The two couldn’t be any more unlike each other - he is rough around the edges with a smug sense of humor, but a heart of gold and she is a brainy, beautiful, unassuming physicist with a natural kindness.
So I watched Stargate. I watched 10 years of Stargate (or rather, I’ve been catching up on everything from Season 3 to 8), hoping that Sam and Jack would get together. Through the years, they would get together in alternate realities, different timelines, and even spoofs; but never in true reality. It was never a major plotline, just a subtle undercurrent that runs through the episodes.
Viewers tend to have favorite episodes of their non-romantic life, such as Season 4’s “Window of Opportunity” or Season 8’s “Moebius.” My personal favorite comes early on in the series: Season 1’s “Solitudes,” where Sam and Jack find themselves on an icy planet, only to discover they have been redirected via a second stargate in Antarctica.
The regular series ended, and even with two movies there’s been little confirmation of Sam and Jack’s relationship. I suspected this choice was made by the producers because of Sam Carter’s role in Stargate Atlantis. There was to be no resolution. Or so I thought. Until I saw the Season 8, Episode 18, “Threads,” which I had prior to, curiously missed.
An unusual deviation from the series, this episode focuses on the personal life of now Colonel Carter. In it, she second guesses her engagement to police officer Pete Shanahan and just about confronts Jack with her feelings. It’s clear that he feels the same way.
I love this episode, because it features a nice gender role reversal. It’s Sam who can’t make the floral shop appointment, and her fiancé Pete who’s frustrated with her for not being into the wedding preparations. It’s Jack’s recent girlfriend who ends their relationship, as it’s quite evident to her that he’s in love with Sam. In fact, she even warns him that it would be a huge mistake to let her go if military protocol was the only thing standing in the way. She tells him to retire.
In my feeling, Stargate is a very feminist series. And in retrospect, I think keeping the romantic elements of the show as a minor sub-plot or gentle undercurrent, served the show well. It avoided most if not all soap operatic elements, and in highlighting the science fiction and military aspects, kept it very grounded. Of course, Battlestar Galactica had quite a lot of romance and remained edgy, but I guess that’s what living through the apocalypse will do to you.
Wikipedia notes:
Asked why the series never confirmed a relationship between Carter and O'Neill, producer Joseph Mallozzi stated in his blog:
"The Sam/Jack relationship was fraught with complications given that he was her commanding officer. Pursuing any sort of relationship would have been inappropriate for both and would only have really been possible late in the series after Jack’s retirement. [...] Jack and Sam could have gotten together after Jack’s retirement, but it was never made canon because, quite frankly, it wasn’t my call. Still, despite the lack of official confirmation, it was only natural that they should get together after the events of Threads and, in my mind, they have been together ever since. An attempt to suggest as much in season 4's Trio unfortunately ended up on the cutting room floor when the episode ran long."
I saw the cutting room tape of Trio on YouTube. It wasn’t very good. It made the romance seem extremely trite. I’m glad they cut it. Yes, there is a Stargate Atlantis movie planned, so perhaps there will be some resolution there. But to be frank, it’s really not needed. That’s the beauty of Sam and Jack. We know they’re in love with each other and that there’s no one else for either; it doesn’t need to be on-screen to be real.
It was probably in Season 1’s over the top episode “Hathor,” featuring an alien incarnation of the Egyptian goddess, that I realized there was romantic tension between Colonel Jack O’ Neill and Lieutenant Samantha Carter. The two couldn’t be any more unlike each other - he is rough around the edges with a smug sense of humor, but a heart of gold and she is a brainy, beautiful, unassuming physicist with a natural kindness.
So I watched Stargate. I watched 10 years of Stargate (or rather, I’ve been catching up on everything from Season 3 to 8), hoping that Sam and Jack would get together. Through the years, they would get together in alternate realities, different timelines, and even spoofs; but never in true reality. It was never a major plotline, just a subtle undercurrent that runs through the episodes.
Viewers tend to have favorite episodes of their non-romantic life, such as Season 4’s “Window of Opportunity” or Season 8’s “Moebius.” My personal favorite comes early on in the series: Season 1’s “Solitudes,” where Sam and Jack find themselves on an icy planet, only to discover they have been redirected via a second stargate in Antarctica.
The regular series ended, and even with two movies there’s been little confirmation of Sam and Jack’s relationship. I suspected this choice was made by the producers because of Sam Carter’s role in Stargate Atlantis. There was to be no resolution. Or so I thought. Until I saw the Season 8, Episode 18, “Threads,” which I had prior to, curiously missed.
An unusual deviation from the series, this episode focuses on the personal life of now Colonel Carter. In it, she second guesses her engagement to police officer Pete Shanahan and just about confronts Jack with her feelings. It’s clear that he feels the same way.
I love this episode, because it features a nice gender role reversal. It’s Sam who can’t make the floral shop appointment, and her fiancé Pete who’s frustrated with her for not being into the wedding preparations. It’s Jack’s recent girlfriend who ends their relationship, as it’s quite evident to her that he’s in love with Sam. In fact, she even warns him that it would be a huge mistake to let her go if military protocol was the only thing standing in the way. She tells him to retire.
Click to viewIn my feeling, Stargate is a very feminist series. And in retrospect, I think keeping the romantic elements of the show as a minor sub-plot or gentle undercurrent, served the show well. It avoided most if not all soap operatic elements, and in highlighting the science fiction and military aspects, kept it very grounded. Of course, Battlestar Galactica had quite a lot of romance and remained edgy, but I guess that’s what living through the apocalypse will do to you.
Wikipedia notes:
Asked why the series never confirmed a relationship between Carter and O'Neill, producer Joseph Mallozzi stated in his blog:
"The Sam/Jack relationship was fraught with complications given that he was her commanding officer. Pursuing any sort of relationship would have been inappropriate for both and would only have really been possible late in the series after Jack’s retirement. [...] Jack and Sam could have gotten together after Jack’s retirement, but it was never made canon because, quite frankly, it wasn’t my call. Still, despite the lack of official confirmation, it was only natural that they should get together after the events of Threads and, in my mind, they have been together ever since. An attempt to suggest as much in season 4's Trio unfortunately ended up on the cutting room floor when the episode ran long."
I saw the cutting room tape of Trio on YouTube. It wasn’t very good. It made the romance seem extremely trite. I’m glad they cut it. Yes, there is a Stargate Atlantis movie planned, so perhaps there will be some resolution there. But to be frank, it’s really not needed. That’s the beauty of Sam and Jack. We know they’re in love with each other and that there’s no one else for either; it doesn’t need to be on-screen to be real.