The Changeling (619)

[GateWorld]

DISCUSS ... THE CHANGELING EPISODE NUMBER - 619 A near-death trial causes Teal'c to imagine his life as very different from the one he knows, where he is a normal person living on Earth -- until he can no longer distinguish reality. Visit the Episode Guide >>

[mbouch2]

Just saw this episode. It was brilliant use of AU. I love that it was Christoper Judge that wrote it. It's the most dialogue Teal'c has ever had. Mind you, he wasn't quite himself.... brilliant writing. congrats to Chris. Lovely to see Micheal Shanks again. He and RDA get better looking every year. cheers.

[bcmilco]

Originally Posted by mbouch2

Just saw this episode. It was brilliant use of AU.

It wasn't really an AU it was more of a dream state/ hallucination, but it was very well used.

I love that it was Christoper Judge that wrote it.

CJ is a very talented writer and I can't wait to see what he comes up with in s8.

The only thing that bothers me about this episode is how does Teal'c know about being a firefighter?

[Shipperahoy]

It was one of those episodes that I had to watch a couple of times before I was really sure what I thought of it. The first viewing I just spent the whole time thinking WTF? I'm a pretty linear person and all that jumping around from "dream to dream" made my head kind of hurt. But once I knew what was going on I could sit back and really enjoy it.

[bcmilco]

Yes, I had the same WTF reaction the first time I watched it... fortunately Scifi plays the episode twice so I was able to watch it again and pick up on most of the subtle nuances that I missed the first time around AND I actually understood what was going on After that I was able to apreciate CJs story and his abilities much better.

[Insane]

i missed this episode because Fox was playing nascar....
gotta wait till next sunday

[jenniferhailey]

I love Jonas's apron. I got Corin to sign that picture yesterday, where he's serving Sam and Teal'C.

[Elwe Singollo]

I loved Jonas's apron as well, haha...

[JakeDeuxPointZero]

I thought this episode was pretty darn good. I saw it in 30 meg wmv format a few weeks ago (I only found my local season 6 rotation this weekend... perfectly ready for me to pick up!), but it was still amazing! Quite unique, and quite interesting... I just might watch this one first if I get the season 6 box set.

[dorien]

Originally Posted by bcmilco

The only thing that bothers me about this episode is how does Teal'c know about being a firefighter?

The power of tv. He watched a special on the Discovery Channel.

I love this episode for how different it is. CJ wrote a really good story and Martin Wood directed it really well. Every transition between "realities" is just cool to watch.

I also like how "human" Teal'c represented an inner aspect of jaffa Teal'c's character that has become more outward in season seven.

Good stuff. In fact, among the best that season six has to offer.

[bcmilco]

Originally Posted by dorien

The power of tv. He watched a special on the Discovery Channel.

Ooooohhhhh! But of course.

[Madeleine]

Originally Posted by dorien

Martin Wood directed it really well. Every transition between "realities" is just cool to watch.

I never noticed the directing the first dozen or so times I watched it. I felt that it must have been well-directed cos the story had flowed, and cos there was no obvious showy camerawork to detract from the wonderful story. But I never actively noticed the directing while I watched, I was too lost in the story.

When the DVD came out I watched it with the Director's Commentary, and it was utterly fascinating. There was so much more to it than I had imagined there could be.

I wonder how often I downvalue the directing and camerawork simply because even though it is very skillful and technical, it is also subtle and unobtrusive, and because it supports the story so well that I have no chance to think about any of the 'behind the scenes' stuff cos I'm just so entranced by what I see on the screen.

Anyway, I know DCs aren't everybody's cup of tea, but this is one I'd definitely recommend.

[dorien]

Originally Posted by Madeleine_W

Anyway, I know DCs aren't everybody's cup of tea, but this is one I'd definitely recommend.

I love all the commentaries I've listened to so far and look forward to this one. They give me a greater appreciation for all the work that goes into each episode, all the things I see yet don't consciously notice like lighting, camera angles, blocking. I'm a more educated viewer because of them. DVD's are great.

[Elwe Singollo]

It was extra fun because of CJ, haha.. Also, i think they are proud of what they do with their budget, makes me happy for them

[DanielFan]

I love this episode! I loved how the first time you watched it, you didn't know what was going on until the very end. I happen to know this episode back to front; on of the advantages of scripting it. I also loved that Daniel was back! Yay!

[Elwe Singollo]

I liked the transitions, like when we first see Daniel, the curtain change was kewl.

[Dramaqueen]

This is definitely one of my favourite season 6 episodes. CJ did a great job in writing this ep. I especially like the way he linked all the crazy stuff that's going on in their reality to a normal persons life. Also Martin Wood did a great job in directing this, the transitions from one dream to the other are awesome and I was really wondering how they were able to do that until I watched the ep on DVD with audio commentary.
For me this is one of the ep that I can watch over and over again even though you know what's real and what not.

[Anubis]

Great episode and acting by CJ. Outstanding

[Madeleine]

Originally Posted by Dramaqueen

For me this is one of the ep that I can watch over and over again even though you know what's real and what not.

Me too. Part of it is that there are so many subtleties and layers of meaning, and you can see the symbolism of the dream sequences in more ways than one, so it isn't even exactly the same story each time you see it.

For instance, Daniel. It's canon that Teal'c believes he saw Daniel and Daniel helped him, but how much of it was 'real' Daniel and how much was Teal'c's projection of Daniel is open to question. As is the degree to which Daniel controlled the visions - a lot, a little or not at all. I can watch the episode in each of those ways, assuming a particular level of Daniel-participation and finding clues to support that view.

I can imagine that Bray is just a part of Teal'c's dream, or I can believe that Daniel is givving support to Bra'tac too and that Bra'tac himself is in Teal'c's dream, bringing his own subconscious thoughts to Teal'c's visions. If the latter option is 'real' then it's an interesting window into Bra'tac, seeing that he's got the same sort of attitude to death as he had in Serpents Lair and Maternal instinct - that death is acceptable for him and when it's his time he'll go. And that even as he's dying he's still there to mentor Teal'c, make him think and support him.

Or I can watch for the look of the thing. It's a particularly good-looking ep, and has one of my favourite shots in the whole show - the battlefield covered in water and dead Jaffa, and Teal'c and Bra'tac among them. It's rare that a shot can evoke sadness all on its own, without any dialogue or even motion from the actors, but that one's very powerful, and eerily beautiful too.

I love to watch it with Threshold in mind. Then we learnt that the Life Flashing Before Your Eyes bit really happens for Symbiote-free Jaffa. Here though it's not his life, it's T-Man's. Because of Daniel? Because of the injuries Teal'c had? because of something in Teal'c's deep subconscious that had made him *want* to address his own past in Threshold but wouldn't allow him to in Changeling? Who knows. Whichever way, it brings new shades of meaning to Threshold. (Those two eps are good to watch back-to-back.)

And then it's interesting to try to parallel Teal'c's vision of T's life with past events in his own life as opposed to current fears and hang-ups which are easier to make a connection with.

Or I can just sit back and let it all just flow through me, and enjoy the cracking good story. That works just fine too

[Elwe Singollo]

I think Daniel was a pretty powerful being if he could place himself in other peoples dreams and such, and good thing Daniel was a good person, or else really really bad things could have happened, haha.. It was nice to see some old faces though, i forgot what their names were though Haha... (Although i didn't forget Apophis's name )