Dial the Gate: Gemini
redial_the_gate does Gemini this week, and I am taking the opporunity to finally watch the episode for the first time. Whee! :D
To those of you unfamiliar with my SG-1 backstory, I should explain that when I first discovered SG-1 in late 2005, I had no access to the episodes themselves. I was intrigued by the comments on Daniel in Threads in the off-topic section of a forum for a different fandom and did a little online browsing. I soon discovered the transcripts and mainlined them, falling in love with Daniel Jackson along the way. I still hadn't seen a single ep, but I started reading gen fanfic. And somehow, the stories I discovered were all along a certain slant: a little too heavy on the Saint Daniel, slightly (or not so slightly) hostile to Sam, highly enthusiastic about Jack and Daniel's friendship, highlighting Teal'c more by his absence than his presence, and dismissive (or outright hateful) of Jonas.
Even when I finally started watching the episodes, those first impressions colored my perceptions. It took a while for me to learn to appreciate the glorious whole of the team (teamy goodness, yay!) , the absence of Saint Daniel, and the amazing friendships that the team offered us: Jack and Teal'c, Sam and Teal'c, Teal'c and Daniel (which I LOVE), Sam and Daniel (which I love only slightly less), even Jack and Sam. Appreciation of George, of Janet, or Bra'tac, of Jacob. Appreciating those eps that don't feature Daniel heavily (or at all -- A Matter of Time was barely on my radar when I first started watching, and it's in my top 20 now.) But there was still that lingering effect from my first SG-1 exposure, and some eps never got watched at all. Most notably: Prodigy (Haley is MUCH more of a Mary Sue type from the transcript than she is on-screen, and when I finally watched, I enjoyed it very much), all the non-Daniel eps of S6, Inauguration, both Felger eps, the two non-Daniel eps of S10... and Gemini.
I watched all of S6 when Redial did that season, and learned to appreciate Jonas as a good, interesting character. Now it's time Gemini, which I have not watched until now for three reasons: there's no Daniel (he's off on Prometheus getting beaten up by Vala); any references and/or reviews to the ep that I found give it a most emphatic thumbs-down; and by the time Abyssis finally convinced me that it's an excellent episode, I decided to wait for Redial's cycle and watch it during the appropriate week. So here we are! :)
So, I'll be liveblogging as I watch this for the first time. I know the basic storyline: Replicarter (one of SG-1's best villains ever) shows up at the SGC and asks for help against Fifth, and that Sam and Teal'c deal with her with Jack's approval. It ends pretty disastrously, with Replicarter more powerful than ever. No recapping here -- just reactions. Onwards!
Oh, hi Daniel! I thought we wouldn't be seeing you at all.
Love Sam giving Daniel that knowing little smile - of course he wants to go to Atlantis. And Sam does too, awww. :)
Wait, wait. There's an elevator just outside the control room? Surely that's a security risk?
Walter! (See, this is why it's almost worth it to wait so long to watch these eps - sheer SG-1 glee.)
Oookay, when did the SGC gain the ability to know where a wormhole is coming from? I admire Replicarter's smarts here, I must say.
SILER! (See above comment re Walter, heh.)
Teal'c! (::squishes him on general principles::)
"Chevron seven, locked!" Okay, I'm just getting pathetic now. I don't care, either. :)
Jack bending down to see. Sam eyeing him. Hee hee hee.
My first impluse when Replicarter shows up on the MALP telemetry is, hey, how do we know it's not a robot!Sam? Then -- oh, yeah. They're dead. Also, hair is wrong, heh.
Huh. I never really absorbed that until Replicarter shows up, Earth doesn't know she exists. This suggests all sorts of AU possiblities -- imagine if she'd never announced herself and she walked into a Jaffa rebel camp, for example?
Whoa. "You folks can feel pain?" "...This should be easy for you." She's pushing Jack's buttons before they even meet face-to-face!
It's a bit weird that Daniel isn't at this briefing. Admittedly, he has the least amount of experience with HFRs but surely he hasn't left the galaxy yet?
I think Sam is right here to want to talk to her first. I'm just not sure she's the right choice to talk to her. We've already seen how well she knows how to talk to Jack. Teal'c, at least, should've spotted that.
Silly question: if spinning is so much cooler than not spinning, the Alpha Site Gate shouldn't be spinning. And isn't. So why have it raised like that? Why steps instead of a more practical ramp? (Actually, why DOES a spinning gate need to be raised either? It's not just to avoid the kawhoosh, is it?)
LOVE Teal'c's expression as he aims the Replicator Ghostbuster at the Gate. (And huh, Aby basically wrote the AU where he fired right then, didn't she?)
Oooh, the way they lock gazes. ::shivers::
Okay, so let me understand this. What was Replicarter's plan if Teal'c HAD shot her point-blank?
Also, surely that's not the lone prototype of the Replibuster?
Oh, that's clever - not risking face-to-face quite yet. Why does everyone say they rushed into this blindly and foolishly?
"Is that why you left Fifth?" Heh. Sam trying a little probing back. And in that flashback, Fifth is trying to do to Replicarter what Sam did to him in S6, it seems.
I'm trying to remember if Replicarter is lying about the adjustments for Fifth and the others. More fun this way, I guess. :)
I love Teal'c asking her questions and challenging her ignorance.
"Do what you came here to do." So why doesn't Teal'c do it? And what would Replicarter have done if he did? Is she actually immune?
Sam! GET OUT OF TEAL'C'S LINE OF FIRE. And talk about pushing buttons: "You're lying like you lied to Fifth." Oh, Sam, don't.
Okay, Aby, this is where I'm going to have to go read your recap and try to understand. Because this, this is way too dangerous. Offering to get that agonizing Replicator probe? Not letting Teal'c fire? Saying it doesn't have to end with Replicarter's death when she just assured Jack that yes, they would complete the mission? I'm at a loss here.
I like the echo-y tone of Daniel's voice to show it's a simulation here. Love that Jack shot her without hesitation. And my gen girl glasses will say Replicarter hesitated at shooting Jack because he's her CO, thank you very much. :) And, hm -- why no Teal'c in that simulation? Did Fifth dismiss him? Is that why she reacted as she did when she first meets Teal'c?
"I want you to destroy me." What am I missing here? Why was Replicarter so sure she'd come out of this alive? (Well, sentient, anyway.)
Okay, so Sam is coolly lying here. Hm. How much does Replicarter know that?
Also? I am pleased to see Teal'c accepting her command here. We see precious little of Teal'c and Daniel really treating Sam as their CO in S8 (they were better at it back in S2 in Spirits), so this is good.
So Fifth is out there waiting. I'm guessing this means that he's not immune to the Replibuster after all? Otherwise, why go through the whole rigmarole?
Why is Sam giving Replicarter information here? Why tell her about the Ancient connection and Jack?
Not sure why Teal'c is still holding the Replibuster but not aiming it.
Yay for the Asgard actually answering the phone for a change! :)
Is Replicarter more alarmed at nameless sergeant holding the Replibuster than Teal'c? The latter is more coldly pragmatic; the former has no buttons for her to push. Hm.
I am so charmed that the Asgard like silver and blue. Don't ask me why. :) (And hi Thor's voice!)
If Replicarter has Sam's memories, shouldn't Sam be alarmed that Replicarter claims not to know of Sam's experiences with Fifth?
Wow, yes - if Fifth ever got his hands on Jack it would not be pretty. Interesting to watch Replicarter playing both sides against the middle.
I am torn about that exchange between Teal'c and Jack. On the one hand, it's reasonable. It's honest. On the other hand, it's undermining Sam horribly. Sigh.
On a completely random tangent, I am somewhat amused that Sam is sleeveless to Replicarter's full wear at the beginning, but that Replicarter spends most of her time at the Alpha Site sleeveless while Sam wears a regular T-shirt. I will let someone else analyze this. :)
Aside from into the screen rather than into a hard drive making no sense (although it's a prettier visual), MAN is that security breach or what?
Okay, how did they get that F-302 through the Gate? Would it actually fit? (Then again, they managed it in Homecoming...) And I will just say that I love when SG-1 uses human-built, current-era ships rather than big honkin' space ships. Go Teal'c!
So cannot buy they'd let Replicarter stroll through the base, even with nameless sergeant trailing behind.
On another tangent: Amanda Tapping is fabulous. Compare her acting skills here against herself with the over-emphatic nods she used back in Tin Man (which, I understand, are pretty common for this kind of filming.) Wonderful stuff.
Oh, Sam. This is a mistake. NO WAY would Jack ever ever ever allow Replicarter on Earth. But why to Earth? Why not evacuate to somewhere else? (And why does Replicarter need to brush the keyboard to communicate with Fifth here?)
Aha. She was taking over the satellite. Now I am confused -- was Fifth ever actually immune, or was she just making sure the Replibuster wouldn't work on HER?
I have to say that Replicarter is right: Fifth WAS pathetic. And hoo boy, she is a whole lot scarier.
Wasn't the base supposed to evacuate?
And she doesn't go straight to Earth... Why?
Okay, and so. Can you do that? Get yanked back and forth through the even horizon? And that was actually a good plan of Teal'c's. And Replicarter's expression when she separated her arm... whew.
"Teal'c, what have I done?" Oh, ow.
My problem is that Sam could've remained aloof and alert and they still would've failed. Unless they shot her immediately, in which case... I have no idea what Replicarter was planning. Can anyone explain that?
In many ways, Replicarter is my favorite SG-1 villain. She's personal. She's powerful. She's Sam with all the brakes off, tinged with just that little bit of Replicator-ness to drive her agenda. I adore her ruthlessness and her almost complete lack of hubris. But I still don't know what she would've done if Teal'c had actually fired when she first arrived at Alpha Site.
"Now, how do you know that?" "...Because that's what I would have done." Yeah. Sam with the brakes off. Scary, scary thing.
So did Sam misjudge Replicarter because she doesn't see that ruthlessness in herself? Until that scene when she actually suggested taking Replicarter to Earth, she seemed willing to pull the trigger if she had to. I'm not sure.
(Also? Every single member of SG-1 has made disastrous misjudgments. She owns up to it, too. So why do people condemn Sam here?)
As far as I can tell, Sam is guilty only of too much empathy with Replicarter -- but everyone agreed it was worth the risk, not just Sam, and when Sam did go too far in sympathizing, it was already past the point of no return.
I'd hate to be Jack and reporting to the JCOS, though...
Bottom line: much better than I expected. An interesting character study of Sam all round. Typical Teal'c awesomeness. And now I'm off to read Aby's version on Redial. :)
To those of you unfamiliar with my SG-1 backstory, I should explain that when I first discovered SG-1 in late 2005, I had no access to the episodes themselves. I was intrigued by the comments on Daniel in Threads in the off-topic section of a forum for a different fandom and did a little online browsing. I soon discovered the transcripts and mainlined them, falling in love with Daniel Jackson along the way. I still hadn't seen a single ep, but I started reading gen fanfic. And somehow, the stories I discovered were all along a certain slant: a little too heavy on the Saint Daniel, slightly (or not so slightly) hostile to Sam, highly enthusiastic about Jack and Daniel's friendship, highlighting Teal'c more by his absence than his presence, and dismissive (or outright hateful) of Jonas.
Even when I finally started watching the episodes, those first impressions colored my perceptions. It took a while for me to learn to appreciate the glorious whole of the team (teamy goodness, yay!) , the absence of Saint Daniel, and the amazing friendships that the team offered us: Jack and Teal'c, Sam and Teal'c, Teal'c and Daniel (which I LOVE), Sam and Daniel (which I love only slightly less), even Jack and Sam. Appreciation of George, of Janet, or Bra'tac, of Jacob. Appreciating those eps that don't feature Daniel heavily (or at all -- A Matter of Time was barely on my radar when I first started watching, and it's in my top 20 now.) But there was still that lingering effect from my first SG-1 exposure, and some eps never got watched at all. Most notably: Prodigy (Haley is MUCH more of a Mary Sue type from the transcript than she is on-screen, and when I finally watched, I enjoyed it very much), all the non-Daniel eps of S6, Inauguration, both Felger eps, the two non-Daniel eps of S10... and Gemini.
I watched all of S6 when Redial did that season, and learned to appreciate Jonas as a good, interesting character. Now it's time Gemini, which I have not watched until now for three reasons: there's no Daniel (he's off on Prometheus getting beaten up by Vala); any references and/or reviews to the ep that I found give it a most emphatic thumbs-down; and by the time Abyssis finally convinced me that it's an excellent episode, I decided to wait for Redial's cycle and watch it during the appropriate week. So here we are! :)
So, I'll be liveblogging as I watch this for the first time. I know the basic storyline: Replicarter (one of SG-1's best villains ever) shows up at the SGC and asks for help against Fifth, and that Sam and Teal'c deal with her with Jack's approval. It ends pretty disastrously, with Replicarter more powerful than ever. No recapping here -- just reactions. Onwards!
Oh, hi Daniel! I thought we wouldn't be seeing you at all.
Love Sam giving Daniel that knowing little smile - of course he wants to go to Atlantis. And Sam does too, awww. :)
Wait, wait. There's an elevator just outside the control room? Surely that's a security risk?
Walter! (See, this is why it's almost worth it to wait so long to watch these eps - sheer SG-1 glee.)
Oookay, when did the SGC gain the ability to know where a wormhole is coming from? I admire Replicarter's smarts here, I must say.
SILER! (See above comment re Walter, heh.)
Teal'c! (::squishes him on general principles::)
"Chevron seven, locked!" Okay, I'm just getting pathetic now. I don't care, either. :)
Jack bending down to see. Sam eyeing him. Hee hee hee.
My first impluse when Replicarter shows up on the MALP telemetry is, hey, how do we know it's not a robot!Sam? Then -- oh, yeah. They're dead. Also, hair is wrong, heh.
Huh. I never really absorbed that until Replicarter shows up, Earth doesn't know she exists. This suggests all sorts of AU possiblities -- imagine if she'd never announced herself and she walked into a Jaffa rebel camp, for example?
Whoa. "You folks can feel pain?" "...This should be easy for you." She's pushing Jack's buttons before they even meet face-to-face!
It's a bit weird that Daniel isn't at this briefing. Admittedly, he has the least amount of experience with HFRs but surely he hasn't left the galaxy yet?
I think Sam is right here to want to talk to her first. I'm just not sure she's the right choice to talk to her. We've already seen how well she knows how to talk to Jack. Teal'c, at least, should've spotted that.
Silly question: if spinning is so much cooler than not spinning, the Alpha Site Gate shouldn't be spinning. And isn't. So why have it raised like that? Why steps instead of a more practical ramp? (Actually, why DOES a spinning gate need to be raised either? It's not just to avoid the kawhoosh, is it?)
LOVE Teal'c's expression as he aims the Replicator Ghostbuster at the Gate. (And huh, Aby basically wrote the AU where he fired right then, didn't she?)
Oooh, the way they lock gazes. ::shivers::
Okay, so let me understand this. What was Replicarter's plan if Teal'c HAD shot her point-blank?
Also, surely that's not the lone prototype of the Replibuster?
Oh, that's clever - not risking face-to-face quite yet. Why does everyone say they rushed into this blindly and foolishly?
"Is that why you left Fifth?" Heh. Sam trying a little probing back. And in that flashback, Fifth is trying to do to Replicarter what Sam did to him in S6, it seems.
I'm trying to remember if Replicarter is lying about the adjustments for Fifth and the others. More fun this way, I guess. :)
I love Teal'c asking her questions and challenging her ignorance.
"Do what you came here to do." So why doesn't Teal'c do it? And what would Replicarter have done if he did? Is she actually immune?
Sam! GET OUT OF TEAL'C'S LINE OF FIRE. And talk about pushing buttons: "You're lying like you lied to Fifth." Oh, Sam, don't.
Okay, Aby, this is where I'm going to have to go read your recap and try to understand. Because this, this is way too dangerous. Offering to get that agonizing Replicator probe? Not letting Teal'c fire? Saying it doesn't have to end with Replicarter's death when she just assured Jack that yes, they would complete the mission? I'm at a loss here.
I like the echo-y tone of Daniel's voice to show it's a simulation here. Love that Jack shot her without hesitation. And my gen girl glasses will say Replicarter hesitated at shooting Jack because he's her CO, thank you very much. :) And, hm -- why no Teal'c in that simulation? Did Fifth dismiss him? Is that why she reacted as she did when she first meets Teal'c?
"I want you to destroy me." What am I missing here? Why was Replicarter so sure she'd come out of this alive? (Well, sentient, anyway.)
Okay, so Sam is coolly lying here. Hm. How much does Replicarter know that?
Also? I am pleased to see Teal'c accepting her command here. We see precious little of Teal'c and Daniel really treating Sam as their CO in S8 (they were better at it back in S2 in Spirits), so this is good.
So Fifth is out there waiting. I'm guessing this means that he's not immune to the Replibuster after all? Otherwise, why go through the whole rigmarole?
Why is Sam giving Replicarter information here? Why tell her about the Ancient connection and Jack?
Not sure why Teal'c is still holding the Replibuster but not aiming it.
Yay for the Asgard actually answering the phone for a change! :)
Is Replicarter more alarmed at nameless sergeant holding the Replibuster than Teal'c? The latter is more coldly pragmatic; the former has no buttons for her to push. Hm.
I am so charmed that the Asgard like silver and blue. Don't ask me why. :) (And hi Thor's voice!)
If Replicarter has Sam's memories, shouldn't Sam be alarmed that Replicarter claims not to know of Sam's experiences with Fifth?
Wow, yes - if Fifth ever got his hands on Jack it would not be pretty. Interesting to watch Replicarter playing both sides against the middle.
I am torn about that exchange between Teal'c and Jack. On the one hand, it's reasonable. It's honest. On the other hand, it's undermining Sam horribly. Sigh.
On a completely random tangent, I am somewhat amused that Sam is sleeveless to Replicarter's full wear at the beginning, but that Replicarter spends most of her time at the Alpha Site sleeveless while Sam wears a regular T-shirt. I will let someone else analyze this. :)
Aside from into the screen rather than into a hard drive making no sense (although it's a prettier visual), MAN is that security breach or what?
Okay, how did they get that F-302 through the Gate? Would it actually fit? (Then again, they managed it in Homecoming...) And I will just say that I love when SG-1 uses human-built, current-era ships rather than big honkin' space ships. Go Teal'c!
So cannot buy they'd let Replicarter stroll through the base, even with nameless sergeant trailing behind.
On another tangent: Amanda Tapping is fabulous. Compare her acting skills here against herself with the over-emphatic nods she used back in Tin Man (which, I understand, are pretty common for this kind of filming.) Wonderful stuff.
Oh, Sam. This is a mistake. NO WAY would Jack ever ever ever allow Replicarter on Earth. But why to Earth? Why not evacuate to somewhere else? (And why does Replicarter need to brush the keyboard to communicate with Fifth here?)
Aha. She was taking over the satellite. Now I am confused -- was Fifth ever actually immune, or was she just making sure the Replibuster wouldn't work on HER?
I have to say that Replicarter is right: Fifth WAS pathetic. And hoo boy, she is a whole lot scarier.
Wasn't the base supposed to evacuate?
And she doesn't go straight to Earth... Why?
Okay, and so. Can you do that? Get yanked back and forth through the even horizon? And that was actually a good plan of Teal'c's. And Replicarter's expression when she separated her arm... whew.
"Teal'c, what have I done?" Oh, ow.
My problem is that Sam could've remained aloof and alert and they still would've failed. Unless they shot her immediately, in which case... I have no idea what Replicarter was planning. Can anyone explain that?
In many ways, Replicarter is my favorite SG-1 villain. She's personal. She's powerful. She's Sam with all the brakes off, tinged with just that little bit of Replicator-ness to drive her agenda. I adore her ruthlessness and her almost complete lack of hubris. But I still don't know what she would've done if Teal'c had actually fired when she first arrived at Alpha Site.
"Now, how do you know that?" "...Because that's what I would have done." Yeah. Sam with the brakes off. Scary, scary thing.
So did Sam misjudge Replicarter because she doesn't see that ruthlessness in herself? Until that scene when she actually suggested taking Replicarter to Earth, she seemed willing to pull the trigger if she had to. I'm not sure.
(Also? Every single member of SG-1 has made disastrous misjudgments. She owns up to it, too. So why do people condemn Sam here?)
As far as I can tell, Sam is guilty only of too much empathy with Replicarter -- but everyone agreed it was worth the risk, not just Sam, and when Sam did go too far in sympathizing, it was already past the point of no return.
I'd hate to be Jack and reporting to the JCOS, though...
Bottom line: much better than I expected. An interesting character study of Sam all round. Typical Teal'c awesomeness. And now I'm off to read Aby's version on Redial. :)