Sam Carter/Jack O'Neill Ship Discussion Thread

[dipsofjazz]

I'm glad they killed him off. He was so annoying and had a really high creep factor when it came to Sam. Personally, going on what we've seen of him, I don't think he would have been satisfied with keeping their relationship strictly professional (although Sam would probably be "friendly") and would have continued to try to worm his way into her life/heart. That's also why I doubt he could have become another Jacob/Selmak and to be perfectly honest, I don't think another one was needed.

I'm glad they killed him off too. He was definitely creepy, plus I was blinded by the sparkly white teeth.

This gives me the excuse to post Mala's Martouf smiley...

[Ikorni]

I'm glad they killed him off. He was so annoying and had a really high creep factor when it came to Sam. Personally, going on what we've seen of him, I don't think he would have been satisfied with keeping their relationship strictly professional (although Sam would probably be "friendly") and would have continued to try to worm his way into her life/heart. That's also why I doubt he could have become another Jacob/Selmak and to be perfectly honest, I don't think another one was needed.

I liked him at first, then later found him a bit pesky to hang around. But, unfortunately, yes to Martouf's death. I thought he'd just finished whatever function he needed to play in the series by that point anyway.

[SGSuzi]

Great review sparky I must admit I always found martouf a little creepy and didn't really want him with Sam (relationship wise) but shame he was killed off though.

Anyway have fun everyone on the thread, I will be AWOL for a few days, as I'm off on a little trip to meet General O'Neill and doctor frasier

[Sparky She-Demon]

Great review sparky I must admit I always found martouf a little creepy and didn't really want him with Sam (relationship wise) but shame he was killed off though.

Anyway have fun everyone on the thread, I will be AWOL for a few days, as I'm off on a little trip to meet General O'Neill and doctor frasier

You lucky girl!

Also selene did the review.

[fems]

Great review sparky I must admit I always found martouf a little creepy and didn't really want him with Sam (relationship wise) but shame he was killed off though.

Anyway have fun everyone on the thread, I will be AWOL for a few days, as I'm off on a little trip to meet General O'Neill and doctor frasier

Have fun!

You lucky girl!

Also selene did the review.

I thought you were supposed to post the next review (part 2) the day after Selene's part one? Is that still coming or has it been postponed or something?

[Sparky She-Demon]

I thought you were supposed to post the next review (part 2) the day after Selene's part one? Is that still coming or has it been postponed or something?

She's posting it tonight. RL caught up with me.

[fems]

She's posting it tonight. RL caught up with me.

Ah, just in time for the next review then!

[Sparky She-Demon]

Ah, just in time for the next review then!

I think it'll be good.

[selene0789]

sig by hlndncr

The Tok'ra (Pt. 2)

Summary
Continuing from Part 1, Tok’ra Part 2 picks up with SG-1 still confined to the secret Tok’ra base. Carter is agitated and distressed by the knowledge that her father is dying, and that she cannot be with him. The Tok’ra will not ally with the Taur’i at their current level of technology and displayed disgust for the concept of blending.

Sam gets the idea that her father, who is dying of cancer, could be a host for Selmak. By blending, Selmak would survive by curing the cancer in Jacob, allowing them both a long life. At the prospect of a new host for Selmak, the Tok’ra allow Carter and O’Neill to return to Earth. Once there, they argue the idea to Hammond, who is quick to voice his doubts. He is concerned that Sam is unduly influenced by her experience with Jolinar, but in the end, the hope of a strong ally and the improved health of Jacob Carter wins out over his doubt.

Hammond escorts Sam to the hospital, where Jacob is quickly fading. They tell him the truth of their work in “deep space radar telemetry”, and while at first he thinks they’re joking, he soon grasps the gravity of the situation, and heavy burden of their secret. He agrees to travel through the Stargate to the Tok’ra planet.

Meanwhile, the Tok’ra planet comes under attack by the Goa’uld. They immediately start an evacuation, and release the SG teams. Instead of immediately returning, however, they help the Tok’ra with their evacuation. Under the looming deadline imposed by the encroaching Goa’uld forces, Jacob must meet the Tok’ra Selmak, and if he agrees, blend before the Tok’ra base is destroyed.

Favorite Lines
Jacob: You don’t look so good.
Selmak: You are no vision of beauty yourself, sir.

I love this line. It immediately breaks the ice, and in a single scene lets us viewers know what Selmak’s character is like. Again, it’s striking to me because as of yet, Selmak is the first symbiote shown to possess a sense of humor. And then Jacob and Selmak break out into fits of hacking, laughing coughs.

Saroosh: Selmak is a wonderful Tok’ra. She is selfless and caring, and she has a wonderful sense of humor.
Sam: That’s great, Dad. You can sit around for hours cracking yourself up.
Jacob: Funny.

This scene, like those in Part 1 and Secrets, is a great indicator of where Sam and Jacob are at in their relationship. It’s tense, and slightly antagonistic. It’s a stark contrast to when Jacob awakens successfully blended, and is so lively and animated. His expression totally opens up, and it’s like he’s a different man (which, technically, he kind of is). His interaction with Sam after blending is immediately softer, and more honestly engaging. Before, there was an invisible barrier between them; after, its absence is nearly tangible.

Favorite Scene
Again, I have two favorite scenes for this episode. The first is when Sam and Jack return from the tok’ra and are arguing their case for Jacob to be briefed and approached being a host. Jack is a hesitant supporter, while Sam is more pointedly pro-blending. At one point, she makes a point for the Tok’ra, and Hammond turns to Jack for his opinion, and Jack returns with “Yeah, I didn’t buy that one myself.” And then gives Sam this look that’s so apologetic that it seems almost like it transcends the relationship of Colonel and Captain. It’s informal, and to me indicates that Jack is silently telling Sam that though he doesn’t agree with that point, and still has doubts, he doesn’t think any less of her for it.

My second favorite scene is one I mentioned in the “Favorite Lines” section. When Jacob wakes up agter blending with Selmak, he is excited and rejuvenated. Even his expression opens up, and his suddenly youthful energy is a far cry from the disciplined Air Force General we’ve been shown up until now. And it’s this lively, good-natured personality we mostly get from here on in.

General
Part 2 answers all the questions posed in Part 1.

Jacob and Selmak survive by joining.

Cordesh is revealed to be a Tok’ra traitor, and in outing him, Jack endears himself to Garshaw, the Tok’ra leader.

These two developments spur the Tok’ra into superficially and hesitantly form an alliance with Earth. Nothing is official, and at the end, Earth is left with little more than “don’t call us, we’ll call you.” Which is pretty much as good as it ever gets with them.

Sam and Jack
There’s not as much ship here as there was in Part 1, but then they also don’t share as much screen time.

There’s the scene I describe above, and another when Jack comes in as the rest of the team evacuates, and Sam refuses to leave her father behind while he’s still recovering from the blending. It’s clear in this scene that Jack a) doesn’t trust Martouf, b) worries that the blending will take too long and Sam will be captured or killed by the Goa’uld, and c) that he understands her devotion to her father. He ultimately lets her disobey orders to stay with Jacob.

Overall
Honestly, I’m a little concerned with how quickly and how easily Earth let Jacob go with the Tok’ra. For all the practical necessity of Jacob going with the Tok’ra (to learn more about being one, etc), there’s no mention of the HUGE risk Earth is taking. Firstly, while Hammond mentioned at the start of episode that giving Jacob to the tok’ra would also give them great military insight into Earth’s defenses, it’s not ever spoken aloud that Jacob was automatically expected to stay with the Tok’ra as they planet-hop to their new secret base. There are no preparations made for a rendezvous, which means that when Jacob walks through the Gate with Garshaw at the end of the episode, the SGC has no idea of whether or not they’ll ever see him again.

To compound this issue, Sam doesn’t even say boo about the fact that her father is trotting off to systems unknown with a people who have yet to prove their own trustworthiness. Sure, they let SG-1 and SG-3 go eventually, but only when they were going to up and leave their base anyway. The Tok’ra have their own problems internally, so even if Earth trusts the Tok’ra with Jacob, if there is another Goa’uld spy in their midst, then we just effectively handed over an Air Force General for capture and interrogation. Lovely thought.

But besides all that, it does set up a good premise for new characters and a potentially helpful ally. Of course, we know that later the “helpful” part is open to interpretation, but regardless, we get a few great episodes out of the Tok’ra’s shenanigans, so I guess it’s all worth it in the end.

[Lt.Colonel John Sheppard]

nice review selene really insightful into the relationship between Jake and Sam but he was a Major General not a colonel. as jake said in secrets " What's there to say about an old general waiting to retire?:

[selene0789]

nice review selene really insightful into the relationship between Jake and Sam but he was a Major General not a colonel. as jake said in secrets " What's there to say about an old general waiting to retire?:

Crap. Yeah. Sorry. I've been re-reading my Reaching for Stars fic, and there he's only a Colonel when he retires. My wires got crossed. Gah!

Thanks for the heads up.

[Lt.Colonel John Sheppard]

Crap. Yeah. Sorry. I've been re-reading my Among the Stars fic, and there he's only a Colonel when he retires. My wires got crossed. Gah!

Thanks for the heads up.

anytime. i thought authors never re-read their own fics?

[selene0789]

anytime. i thought authors never re-read their own fics?

O/T

Spoiler:

Some don't. I do.

Sometimes it's to reacquaint myself with an AU I've set up. Other times it's because I've written scenes I wish had been made into scenes for their respective shows, so I re-read those scenes in lieu of watching clips on youtube.

Again, not everyone does it, but I've got everything all loaded up on my Kindle if I ever need it.

Also, I like to see how far I've come, if I ever need a writing pick-me-up and I feel like I'm in a rut.

[Lt.Colonel John Sheppard]

O/T

Spoiler:

Some don't. I do.

Sometimes it's to reacquaint myself with an AU I've set up. Other times it's because I've written scenes I wish had been made into scenes for their respective shows, so I re-read those scenes in lieu of watching clips on youtube.

Again, not everyone does it, but I've got everything all loaded up on my Kindle if I ever need it.

Also, I like to see how far I've come, if I ever need a writing pick-me-up and I feel like I'm in a rut.

and do you need a writing pick-me-up?

[selene0789]

and do you need a writing pick-me-up?

Nope! I'm good, thanks. I've actually been making good progress on the new installment. So this rewatch is actually helpful, as I've gotten a chance to get things fresh in my head on how I want things to be different.

Now, the question is if I want to make the Tok'ra better, or WORSE. Buh buh BUM!

Thoughts, anyone? It's an AU, so anything goes.