Stargate SG-1 1012 Line in the Sand
Sooo, SG-1 come waltzing through the Gate, all smiles and gleeful about Sam’s machine. Huh? Am I missing something here? That’s quite a jump from the despair that ended the episode before. When did Sam start working on this machine, much less get it up to specs for field tests? As the ep went on, I understood that this was Merlin’s out-of-dimension thingy from last season. Has Sam been quietly working on this during her breaks in looking for the Sangraal, and they just never bothered to tell us?
Loved the team cheerleading, though. Especially Vala’s encouraging nudge.
Why does Landry fall so flat for me? I loved Hammond. I believed in him as someone who followed the rules, who stood by the oath he swore and the service he followed, but was utterly committed to his people in any circumstance. Landry is just… there. It’s not active dislike, but he hasn’t earned my respect. Has he earned the respect of the SGC? I can’t tell, really. The only emotional connection we ever see with him is the stupidity of making the new doctor his daughter, and I don’t think we’ve even seen Doctor Lam this season at all. (Insert usual “I miss the Little Doc!” here)
But when Reynolds unrolled the specs, my immediate reaction was, “Whoa. Merlin’s weapon. Daniel must have cracked.” It took a second look, and Vala’s comment, to recognize the drawing for what it was. This is definitely a new thing for the Ori - threatening executions instead of illness. Is Daniel’s imprisonment somehow affecting the way they’re doing things?
Thilana (Vilana? That’s how she herself pronounces it later) was wonderful - full of character without any cookie-cutterness to her at all. She wasn’t conventionally pretty, she was tough, she was practical, she was bright and spirited and just fantastic. I wish we met more “villagers” of such wonderful caliber. And her face after Sam’s explanation! Here is someone who has never been technobabbled at before and isn’t quite sure how to take it. Loved it. :)
There was one moment that screamed at me, Daniel! Mention Daniel! Thilana explained the significance of the building they’d chosen for Sam to set up the machine. Sam should have felt that connection with Daniel, in how they were touching the history of these people and helping them continue to shape their own destiny. When she said, “I’m flattered,” I wanted her to add something about a good friend of hers who had taught her how important true history could be.
Mitchell’s joke about “keeping your arms and legs inside the village” may have suited his personality, but it didn’t say much for his intelligence. Muttering it as an aside to his teammates, who can actually understand the allusion, would have been funny. Making an announcement like that to the villagers? He deserved every moment of those blank stares, and Teal’c should have thwapped him.
Reynolds: “We have the craziest job in the world.” I love Reynolds. He’s one of the very, very few semi-regulars at the SGC to actually survive for years. He’s been around since at least S5, possibly even earlier. My favorite scene with him is Reckoning, when he and Jack are shooting at the Replicators. The Replicators stop (thanks, Daniel!), the two of them look at each other, shrug - and go on shooting. :) I’m always pleased to see him. [ETA: Ha!
redbyrd_sgfic points out that he's been around even longer than that: he first showed up in Touchstone, way back in S2.]
Sam and Vala get flowers, but the guys don’t? Even Maybourne’s people were more generous.
I like that things didn’t go perfectly smoothly. That’s what happens with field tests. And I say again that Thilana was great. Determined but recognizing she needs help - and not being afraid to ask for it. Although I do wonder - if that one village was all that was there on the planet (that was the Goa’uld’s modus operandi, although this particular village seemed too small to me to sustain population growth), why not just evacuate through the Gate?
Another Daniel! Mention Daniel! moment - “They packed us decaf by mistake.” I hope there won’t be too many more of those. Or, y’know, they could actually mention him.
Mitchell: What’s up?
Teal’c: Our time.
Teal’c is always, always superb. Although I think that’s also a new Ori maneuver, isn’t it? Have we ever seen small ships before? Wasn’t it always their massive motherships with the crystal ball powering them in the middle? Again - why the change in tactics? Something to do with Daniel? (And who is flying those things? If Tomin and his village were typical of the people from the Ori galaxy, they had absolutely no knowledge of technology.)
Dropping the ring platform was very neat. I do like when we get new twists on stuff we’ve had before.
“Pull this. Aim there. Squeeze that.” Welcome to the Cameron Mitchell School of Advanced Weaponry! I have to admit that, after watching that, the canon vs. fanon discussion on Daniel’s ability to handle firearms is even more ridiculous. But I loved it when Mitchell says, “Pass these out to whoever wants them,” and every single villager in sight went for a weapon. These people may have needed help from the SGC, but I loved that they were willing to defend themselves so strongly.
I really, really miss Teal’c’s staff weapon. I never thought I’d consider it elegant (“not as random or clumsy as a blaster”), but it’s so much smoother than a P-90.
Loved the villagers taking their stand. Not sure why the blonde with the hair falling into her eyes appealed so much, but she took me right back to old S1 Sam. The Ori soldiers using Air Force hand signals, though? That was… erm. I suppose we could argue that the concept of hand signals in a noisy fire fight would be universal (in the literal sense), and the ones they used seemed pretty basic, but still. It was silly enough in Icon, but it seemed utterly ridiculous here.
Have we had much Sam and Mitchell before? Because they were fantastic. Really, really good. We’ve had funny moments, we’ve had snarky moments, but no real drama. At least, I don’t think we have. But - and I’m typing this after having seen the whole ep - I feel like Mitchell is finally growing on me as a leader. First in The Quest, now this. It’s a little annoying that it took me a season and a half to happen, with only a handful of episodes left to enjoy it!
Sam! In pain, and blurred, and still fighting.
Mitchell not knowing how to use Sam’s computers, and frantically hitting every macro, was great. With Jack (at least later season Jack), it would have been a stupid joke about dumb!Jack not understanding it. With Mitchell, it made sense - it’s not his field, so he doesn’t know it. (And yes, this is the non-fan of S9-10 writing this. Mitchell is really starting to come alive for me.)
Tomin. Wow. I was not expecting that.
Adria as the face of the Ori doesn’t work very well. Maybe it’s because Adria is a petulant, spoiled brat, or simply because anyone wearing that ridiculous neck-collar can’t be taken seriously. But Tomin as the face of those who truly believe in the Ori? Hoo boy does that work. It has nothing to do with whether or not you like the character (for the record, I didn't until now); it has to do with putting a human face onto a concept, and Tomin does it superbly. Watching the light of the shots reflecting from Tomin’s stoic face was just creepy and very well done. And I can accept Vala as conflict for Tomin so much more easily than I can accept her role in SG-1.
As a total non-sequitur, the Ori’s footsoldiers shouldn’t even bother trying to march ominously. They will never, ever be able to compete with the patented Jaffa crunch-crunch ™.
Mitchell as field medic, and ouch. And Sam panicking at the Ori soldier. Nice. In an ouch sort of way.
The bits between Vala and Tomin didn’t interest me much, except for Tomin’s struggle.
We were supposed to hate the second-in-command guy? (Natar! That’s his name.) Because I didn’t. Thilana was amazing and a true leader. He was, in a way, the other human face - the one of fear, which is not an evil one. But Thilana was awesome. This village’s Bra’tac, really.
Well! When that Prior showed up I suddenly understood why this particular Prior was going the burn-the-infidels-alive route - this was the same guy who was the headman in the village where Daniel and Vala first got transported. He burned Vala alive, and then burned Daniel and Vala/the poor young couple whose bodies they inhabited alive. See! Something of the host does survive! We saw it in a good way (sort of) with Gerak; we see the bad side of it here. The Prior is simply doing what comes naturally to him. (And coming back to this para from later in the ep - Tomin’s right. The Ori would rather have worship out of terror than possibly worshippers blasted out of orbit. This Prior is definitely satisfying his own frustrated agenda, which is a fascinating look at how much of mouthpiece versus how much self-will the Priors really have.)
Teal’c gets whumped again? At this rate, he’s going to turn into the S10 version of S1 Daniel. I find that both highly irritating and vaguely amusing at the same time.
Sam mentioned Cassie! Yes yes yes yes yes! It’s only been three years. But Cassie!!
And then… Oh my. That tremor I thought I felt last week, with the Vala/Daniel squeeing? The Sam/Jack squeeing must have registered on the Richter scale this week. I, however, will insistently don my rosy gen-colored glasses and maintain that “fishing” was a team word. So there.
And anyway, Mitchell’s cheerleading - “Aw, now you’re gonna have to change the password” - was seriously sweet. Keep up this, boyo, and I will start typing “Cameron” instead of “Mitchell.”
FINALLY! A mention of Daniel. Even if Mitchell went back to calling him “Jackson.” I had such hopes after last week, but still! They mentioned him! And so very poignant: “Now we’ve lost… Well, we’ve lost Jackson. I can’t lose you, too.” I’m surprised, though, that Sam didn’t insist that Daniel would be all right. Maybe the morphine had kicked in too strongly.
Sam’s confession about science and faith was very, very Sam.
Jack would have tweaked at the Prior’s nose when the effort to uncloak them didn’t work.
The confrontation with the Prior was creepily good. Pure faith versus perversion of that faith for one’s own satisfaction. I actually hurt for Tomin, and considering that we watched him watch impassively while a bunch of innocents were killed, that’s pretty remarkable. I am, of course, studiously avoiding any heavy-handed comparisons the writers might be making to RL. It’s the only way to enjoy these last two seasons of Stargate, anyway.
Thilana is amazingly amazing. But I didn’t much care for Teal’c hiding behind her skirts, so to speak. It would have been more Teal’cy if he’d stepped forward and then Thilana had shoved him back.
Tomin’s honesty to Vala was incredible. “Innocent people.” “…Yes.” Wow. As I said before, Tomin as the voice of those who follow the Ori is great.
Sam turns MacGuyver! Whoo! It’s not a perfect fit! Double whoo! I would have been seriously annoyed if the crystal had come complete with alligator clips.
“I have not begun to question the will of the Ori. But I have begun to question the interpretation of their words.” Erm. Why didn’t the Prior kill Tomin on the spot? I mean, I’m glad he didn’t. But why not? And he saved Vala, and he stepped back to send her back, and… Tomin. One of the best new characters of these seasons, and when we first met him in Crusade, I never would have dreamed of saying that. I hope he’s not dead, and that we’ll meet him again.
Vala jumping on Teal’c was hilariously delicious. And she just stayed there. Grinning like an idiot, and using his radio, and Teal’c was so utterly calm about it. Really, really fun. I think the writers were hugely mistaken in their insistence in pairing Vala with Daniel all the time, because I adore her interactions with every member of the team except Daniel.
Yay, another SGC medical staff member! I couldn’t read her name tag.
The macaroon scene was adorable even before Sam tried to taste them. I do so like my teamy goodness! (And la la la I can’t hear you to anyone who calls that a shippy moment. I’m good at la la la-ing.)
Does this make two for two for me? Well, let’s call it one and three-quarters. The jump in temperament from last week’s emotional state was too abrupt, and Sam’s application of Merlin’s device came from way out in left field. But the villagers were unique individuals instead of generic-plot-device, Tomin came alive wonderfully, and we got some nice teamy goodness all round. Keep up the good work, writers! And hey, team: remember the guy with glasses? Think about him once in a while, ‘kay?
Expect another meta post tomorrow. Is it a good thing that these episodes are inspiring meta, or bad because the meta isn’t very happy? It’s a matter of continuity again. I know ten years covers a lot of material, but if we can spot the problems, the writers should be able to do the same.
Loved the team cheerleading, though. Especially Vala’s encouraging nudge.
Why does Landry fall so flat for me? I loved Hammond. I believed in him as someone who followed the rules, who stood by the oath he swore and the service he followed, but was utterly committed to his people in any circumstance. Landry is just… there. It’s not active dislike, but he hasn’t earned my respect. Has he earned the respect of the SGC? I can’t tell, really. The only emotional connection we ever see with him is the stupidity of making the new doctor his daughter, and I don’t think we’ve even seen Doctor Lam this season at all. (Insert usual “I miss the Little Doc!” here)
But when Reynolds unrolled the specs, my immediate reaction was, “Whoa. Merlin’s weapon. Daniel must have cracked.” It took a second look, and Vala’s comment, to recognize the drawing for what it was. This is definitely a new thing for the Ori - threatening executions instead of illness. Is Daniel’s imprisonment somehow affecting the way they’re doing things?
Thilana (Vilana? That’s how she herself pronounces it later) was wonderful - full of character without any cookie-cutterness to her at all. She wasn’t conventionally pretty, she was tough, she was practical, she was bright and spirited and just fantastic. I wish we met more “villagers” of such wonderful caliber. And her face after Sam’s explanation! Here is someone who has never been technobabbled at before and isn’t quite sure how to take it. Loved it. :)
There was one moment that screamed at me, Daniel! Mention Daniel! Thilana explained the significance of the building they’d chosen for Sam to set up the machine. Sam should have felt that connection with Daniel, in how they were touching the history of these people and helping them continue to shape their own destiny. When she said, “I’m flattered,” I wanted her to add something about a good friend of hers who had taught her how important true history could be.
Mitchell’s joke about “keeping your arms and legs inside the village” may have suited his personality, but it didn’t say much for his intelligence. Muttering it as an aside to his teammates, who can actually understand the allusion, would have been funny. Making an announcement like that to the villagers? He deserved every moment of those blank stares, and Teal’c should have thwapped him.
Reynolds: “We have the craziest job in the world.” I love Reynolds. He’s one of the very, very few semi-regulars at the SGC to actually survive for years. He’s been around since at least S5, possibly even earlier. My favorite scene with him is Reckoning, when he and Jack are shooting at the Replicators. The Replicators stop (thanks, Daniel!), the two of them look at each other, shrug - and go on shooting. :) I’m always pleased to see him. [ETA: Ha!
redbyrd_sgfic points out that he's been around even longer than that: he first showed up in Touchstone, way back in S2.]
Sam and Vala get flowers, but the guys don’t? Even Maybourne’s people were more generous.
I like that things didn’t go perfectly smoothly. That’s what happens with field tests. And I say again that Thilana was great. Determined but recognizing she needs help - and not being afraid to ask for it. Although I do wonder - if that one village was all that was there on the planet (that was the Goa’uld’s modus operandi, although this particular village seemed too small to me to sustain population growth), why not just evacuate through the Gate?
Another Daniel! Mention Daniel! moment - “They packed us decaf by mistake.” I hope there won’t be too many more of those. Or, y’know, they could actually mention him.
Mitchell: What’s up?
Teal’c: Our time.
Teal’c is always, always superb. Although I think that’s also a new Ori maneuver, isn’t it? Have we ever seen small ships before? Wasn’t it always their massive motherships with the crystal ball powering them in the middle? Again - why the change in tactics? Something to do with Daniel? (And who is flying those things? If Tomin and his village were typical of the people from the Ori galaxy, they had absolutely no knowledge of technology.)
Dropping the ring platform was very neat. I do like when we get new twists on stuff we’ve had before.
“Pull this. Aim there. Squeeze that.” Welcome to the Cameron Mitchell School of Advanced Weaponry! I have to admit that, after watching that, the canon vs. fanon discussion on Daniel’s ability to handle firearms is even more ridiculous. But I loved it when Mitchell says, “Pass these out to whoever wants them,” and every single villager in sight went for a weapon. These people may have needed help from the SGC, but I loved that they were willing to defend themselves so strongly.
I really, really miss Teal’c’s staff weapon. I never thought I’d consider it elegant (“not as random or clumsy as a blaster”), but it’s so much smoother than a P-90.
Loved the villagers taking their stand. Not sure why the blonde with the hair falling into her eyes appealed so much, but she took me right back to old S1 Sam. The Ori soldiers using Air Force hand signals, though? That was… erm. I suppose we could argue that the concept of hand signals in a noisy fire fight would be universal (in the literal sense), and the ones they used seemed pretty basic, but still. It was silly enough in Icon, but it seemed utterly ridiculous here.
Have we had much Sam and Mitchell before? Because they were fantastic. Really, really good. We’ve had funny moments, we’ve had snarky moments, but no real drama. At least, I don’t think we have. But - and I’m typing this after having seen the whole ep - I feel like Mitchell is finally growing on me as a leader. First in The Quest, now this. It’s a little annoying that it took me a season and a half to happen, with only a handful of episodes left to enjoy it!
Sam! In pain, and blurred, and still fighting.
Mitchell not knowing how to use Sam’s computers, and frantically hitting every macro, was great. With Jack (at least later season Jack), it would have been a stupid joke about dumb!Jack not understanding it. With Mitchell, it made sense - it’s not his field, so he doesn’t know it. (And yes, this is the non-fan of S9-10 writing this. Mitchell is really starting to come alive for me.)
Tomin. Wow. I was not expecting that.
Adria as the face of the Ori doesn’t work very well. Maybe it’s because Adria is a petulant, spoiled brat, or simply because anyone wearing that ridiculous neck-collar can’t be taken seriously. But Tomin as the face of those who truly believe in the Ori? Hoo boy does that work. It has nothing to do with whether or not you like the character (for the record, I didn't until now); it has to do with putting a human face onto a concept, and Tomin does it superbly. Watching the light of the shots reflecting from Tomin’s stoic face was just creepy and very well done. And I can accept Vala as conflict for Tomin so much more easily than I can accept her role in SG-1.
As a total non-sequitur, the Ori’s footsoldiers shouldn’t even bother trying to march ominously. They will never, ever be able to compete with the patented Jaffa crunch-crunch ™.
Mitchell as field medic, and ouch. And Sam panicking at the Ori soldier. Nice. In an ouch sort of way.
The bits between Vala and Tomin didn’t interest me much, except for Tomin’s struggle.
We were supposed to hate the second-in-command guy? (Natar! That’s his name.) Because I didn’t. Thilana was amazing and a true leader. He was, in a way, the other human face - the one of fear, which is not an evil one. But Thilana was awesome. This village’s Bra’tac, really.
Well! When that Prior showed up I suddenly understood why this particular Prior was going the burn-the-infidels-alive route - this was the same guy who was the headman in the village where Daniel and Vala first got transported. He burned Vala alive, and then burned Daniel and Vala/the poor young couple whose bodies they inhabited alive. See! Something of the host does survive! We saw it in a good way (sort of) with Gerak; we see the bad side of it here. The Prior is simply doing what comes naturally to him. (And coming back to this para from later in the ep - Tomin’s right. The Ori would rather have worship out of terror than possibly worshippers blasted out of orbit. This Prior is definitely satisfying his own frustrated agenda, which is a fascinating look at how much of mouthpiece versus how much self-will the Priors really have.)
Teal’c gets whumped again? At this rate, he’s going to turn into the S10 version of S1 Daniel. I find that both highly irritating and vaguely amusing at the same time.
Sam mentioned Cassie! Yes yes yes yes yes! It’s only been three years. But Cassie!!
And then… Oh my. That tremor I thought I felt last week, with the Vala/Daniel squeeing? The Sam/Jack squeeing must have registered on the Richter scale this week. I, however, will insistently don my rosy gen-colored glasses and maintain that “fishing” was a team word. So there.
And anyway, Mitchell’s cheerleading - “Aw, now you’re gonna have to change the password” - was seriously sweet. Keep up this, boyo, and I will start typing “Cameron” instead of “Mitchell.”
FINALLY! A mention of Daniel. Even if Mitchell went back to calling him “Jackson.” I had such hopes after last week, but still! They mentioned him! And so very poignant: “Now we’ve lost… Well, we’ve lost Jackson. I can’t lose you, too.” I’m surprised, though, that Sam didn’t insist that Daniel would be all right. Maybe the morphine had kicked in too strongly.
Sam’s confession about science and faith was very, very Sam.
Jack would have tweaked at the Prior’s nose when the effort to uncloak them didn’t work.
The confrontation with the Prior was creepily good. Pure faith versus perversion of that faith for one’s own satisfaction. I actually hurt for Tomin, and considering that we watched him watch impassively while a bunch of innocents were killed, that’s pretty remarkable. I am, of course, studiously avoiding any heavy-handed comparisons the writers might be making to RL. It’s the only way to enjoy these last two seasons of Stargate, anyway.
Thilana is amazingly amazing. But I didn’t much care for Teal’c hiding behind her skirts, so to speak. It would have been more Teal’cy if he’d stepped forward and then Thilana had shoved him back.
Tomin’s honesty to Vala was incredible. “Innocent people.” “…Yes.” Wow. As I said before, Tomin as the voice of those who follow the Ori is great.
Sam turns MacGuyver! Whoo! It’s not a perfect fit! Double whoo! I would have been seriously annoyed if the crystal had come complete with alligator clips.
“I have not begun to question the will of the Ori. But I have begun to question the interpretation of their words.” Erm. Why didn’t the Prior kill Tomin on the spot? I mean, I’m glad he didn’t. But why not? And he saved Vala, and he stepped back to send her back, and… Tomin. One of the best new characters of these seasons, and when we first met him in Crusade, I never would have dreamed of saying that. I hope he’s not dead, and that we’ll meet him again.
Vala jumping on Teal’c was hilariously delicious. And she just stayed there. Grinning like an idiot, and using his radio, and Teal’c was so utterly calm about it. Really, really fun. I think the writers were hugely mistaken in their insistence in pairing Vala with Daniel all the time, because I adore her interactions with every member of the team except Daniel.
Yay, another SGC medical staff member! I couldn’t read her name tag.
The macaroon scene was adorable even before Sam tried to taste them. I do so like my teamy goodness! (And la la la I can’t hear you to anyone who calls that a shippy moment. I’m good at la la la-ing.)
Does this make two for two for me? Well, let’s call it one and three-quarters. The jump in temperament from last week’s emotional state was too abrupt, and Sam’s application of Merlin’s device came from way out in left field. But the villagers were unique individuals instead of generic-plot-device, Tomin came alive wonderfully, and we got some nice teamy goodness all round. Keep up the good work, writers! And hey, team: remember the guy with glasses? Think about him once in a while, ‘kay?
Expect another meta post tomorrow. Is it a good thing that these episodes are inspiring meta, or bad because the meta isn’t very happy? It’s a matter of continuity again. I know ten years covers a lot of material, but if we can spot the problems, the writers should be able to do the same.