The Ultimate Theme of SG-1 or Why Unending was an excellent finale!

[Lord You]

I posted this in another forum too. I liked Unending. It wasn't epic like the other "series finales" but that's one reason why I liked it. It had a message. That message wasn't even depressing. Simply that good things come to those who wait.

That's the theme of the entire series. You can't rush achievement - you have to earn it. The Goa'uld scavenged their technological progress but never learned anything - as a result their empire that lasted thousands of years fell within a decade. The NID because the enemies they tried to defend against because they were impatient to acquire technology. The other nations rushed to become "full partners" without the experience of running a Stargate Program and they lost their first ship and several of their first SG teams. So did the Americans for that matter.

By the end of the show, Unending was intended to show that humanity had grown significantly since season 1. It was rushed, but we finally became the Fifth Race. That was the message of the episode and the entire show if you bothered to pay attention a little. TPTB spelled all of this out at the end of the episode. Sure, it was played as sarcasm, but the message is there if you listen to it.

[P-90_177]

I posted this in another forum too. I liked Unending. It wasn't epic like the other "series finales" but that's one reason why I liked it. It had a message. That message wasn't even depressing. Simply that good things come to those who wait.

That's the theme of the entire series. You can't rush achievement - you have to earn it. The Goa'uld scavenged their technological progress but never learned anything - as a result their empire that lasted thousands of years fell within a decade. The NID because the enemies they tried to defend against because they were impatient to acquire technology. The other nations rushed to become "full partners" without the experience of running a Stargate Program and they lost their first ship and several of their first SG teams. So did the Americans for that matter. By the end of the show, Unending was intended to show that humanity had grown significantly since season 1. It was rushed, but we finally became the Fifth Race. That was the message of the episode and the entire show if you bothered to pay attention a little.

There was still a lot of action. They blew up an entire planet in the episode! I thought that the battle scenes with the Ori ships was cool. If you didn't like those action scenes, I guess you didn't like Yesterday's Enterprise from STTNG or Star Trek TOS's action scenes either. Or even the first few season's battle scenes. Use your imagination for once. You don't need every battle to be uberepic to be well directed action.

Finally the idea of the Asgard's death wasn't rushed at all - it was a long time coming as Thor said and hinted at since season 5. However, they did rush their "goodbye," which was also a plot point. The Ori weren't expected to attack, after all. You never know when the end will come, so you have to make due with each moment that you have. Enjoy the ride and live each day to the fullest.

TPTB spelled all of this out at the end of the episode. Sure, it was played as sarcasm, but the message is there if you listen to it.

inever thought of it like ttaht, and you know what.......You're right. That is exactly what stargate is about. aswell as the friendship of the team of course.

i doubt it's a moral the writers and producers have really thought about but there it is nonetheless.

[Lord You]

Thanks. Stargate has always been a coming of age story IMO. It's a common theme:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Her...Thousand_Faces

The idea of taking shortcuts is also apparent between the Ori's religion and the Ancient's philosophy. As Anubis said, the Ancients believe that if you deserve to be ascended you should be able to get there on your own. But the Ori claim to give people a shortcut - and they prey on people's greed for a quicker path to knowledge and immortality.

[DigiFluid]

If you didn't like those action scenes, I guess you didn't like Yesterday's Enterprise from STTNG or Star Trek TOS's action scenes either.

Uhh, what?

Your post has merit, but bizarre apples/oranges outbursts like that really have a way of killing anything even remotely resembling credibility.

[Lord You]

Sorry, it was originally a reply to someone else that I edited. There were some artificats still in there. In that case, the person said the episode had no action. Thanks for telling me about it.

[the fifth man]

"Unending" was an excellent finale for me because the team was together. Stuck on that ship together, for a very long time. I just enjoyed seeing them all together throughout the last episode, and the ending to me, was just the way I'd always pictured it.

[Jackie]

Is this thread about the over all story arc of the show for ten years or just why you liked "unending"?

There is a major difference between the two topics.

If this is supposed to be a thread about Unending then it should be merged with the Unending thread.

If this is supposed to be a show about the over all story arcs then it should be just about that.

I do not see any connection with Unending being the over all story arc of the show.

The theme of Stargate was not "good things come to those who wait" IMO--it was about good vr evil (as cliche as that is) and the them to Unending was "Life is too short" it was stated in the very last scene when they actually showed the Stargate.

Stargate SG-1 had many smaller stories in that over all theme of good vrs Evil. Good guys won because they use their brains instead of relying on alien technology--something that seasons 9 and 10 forgot.

I can't see Unending as a "team" ep simply because they were all stranded on a ship for 50 years. A team ep to me is an ep where they are all working together towards a common goal. None of that was in the ep. Only Sam worked at a goal.

Overall the show's theme was lost by the writers in season 9 and 10. If they had stayed true to the theme we would not have had Daniel trying to find Merlin's weapon. We would have had the actual Ori and we would have had far more ascended. There would have been much more of Tomin and his relations between the Ori and the quest to concur an innocent galaxy.

The show should would have explain better as to why the Ori needed worshipers, how many ori there were and Adria would have been more thought out. Instead of a rapid growing Ori chatter box she would have been human as well and she should have concluded at some point that she was just a puppet of the Ori. So, to me Adria seems pretty clueless.

The story arcs of SG-1 were about slavery, freedom, what makes a god a god. Enlightenment (though their version of enlightenment is off) carrying baggage of guilt from the past. Learning to change the things you can, accept what you cannot change and know enough to tell the difference.

Arc's also included: The story of Sam's relationship with her father that was strained till he father got a second chance at life. Daniel making a promise to Sha're as she died and trying to carry out that promise even though he couldn't. Jack coming to terms with Charlie's death. The price Teal'c paid for his freedom--which cost him his family and respect. Consequences for you actions. To try to learn about other cultures and not pass judgment on them. The pen is mightier than the sword and Daniel had more power and respect as a man trying to understand an alien culture than Jack as the man who just wanted to shoot all the bad guys. That a miracle and science were different things. That woman can be smart, intelligent and very beautiful at the same time. Beauty all comes from within not on the the outside. Katherine (the old lady) was just loved and not for her looks. People work under restrictions and regulations and are very capable of doing there job.

Stargate had many great arc's for a long time, one of the things I really did enjoy about the show was it's moral meaning. (till it was lost in season 9)