Sam Carter/Jack O'Neill Ship Discussion Thread

[Akamaimom]

I guess I don't think about the episodes as deeply as you all do! I like these episodes, and I'm a fan of Season 8. I liked seeing a Russian officer that was sympathetic, and I liked the teamy goodness of this particular episode. All of the ship in 8, though, seemed terribly angsty to me, because I always had it in my mind that Sam was still going out with Pete. Grrrrrr.

I don't see these two as redundant, either. I think that they capture two different aims--to introduce the Anubis thing, and then to capture Jack's issues with taking over the SGC. I'll have to go rewatch them again, but I really don't feel that they could have been combined without making it seem to fast.

I'll have more to say later, if you all haven't already moved on, but I have a bajillion things to do today. Bleah.

[Petra]

Thanks for the review Petra. Of course you won't be surprised that I'm now going to disagree with you.

I'm starting to think that the universe will implode if we start agreeing with each other

The plot makes no sense, and it's boring. They spend a lot of time talking with and about characters we don't know and it's very obvious from the beginning who's going to be the sacrificial lamb.

Well, I obviously disagree that the plot is boring since for me it's one of the most entertaining episodes of the season. But I admit, as I said in my review, that it's not terribly original and yes, it was obvious right from the beginning that Vaselov would sacrifice himself. Which is why I appreciate all the time the writers spent on letting us, the audience and the characters, get to know him and start caring about him. At the end of the episode I genuinely feel sorry for him, something I don't feel for your typical redshirt or guest character of the week.

Although, again the whole Anubis needs a body to go through the gate and somehow a few locked blast doors is going to stop him is just ridiculous. Even more idiotic is Daniel, of all people, suggesting that the Ancients would actually take in interest in their little infestation problem.

See, I think it makes perfect sense. Daniel has always been going on and on about the Ancients taking action if the rules are broken (whether they really do is another discussion altogether) so it's only natural he repeats it. And it's perfectly logical that if Anubis wants to go through the Gate and can't use human body to do so, he'll have to use his powers - so far so good.

I admit that - now that it's been pointed out - sectioning off the base doesn't make much sense given that Anubis can use a body in each section and go through the walls to get from one section to another - but I maintain that I enjoy the episode so much that I don't even notice it, so it doesn't bother me

I'm sure the situation will be reversed once we get to the last 2 seasons, when I'll be the one to complain and point out all the plotholes and lack of logic

Especially since they never gave it a chance to work anyway because as soon as Anubis was on the loose and moving from person to person, which is what they were trying to force him to do in the first place, they step in and try and stop them themselves--exactly contrary to the whole point of the lockdown to begin with.

I honestly don't know what you mean by that. Little help? What's contrary to the whole point?

What Lockdown did was take the space of another neccessary establishing episode that we didn't really get at any point in the season, and that was the team under Sam's command going off without Jack.

I totally disagree. Sam should have had her own episode showing how she was settling in into her command, no doubts about that, but IMO "Icon" would have been a far better episode for that. In fact, IIRC it was supposed to be Sam's ep about being in charge but the writers changed their minds later.

However the episode about Sam airing before the ep about Jack wouldn't have rung true for me, because I don't see Jack sending SG-1 off-world when he doesn't feel comfortable in his own new position to lend them immediate assistance, should they require any. I also wouldn't have been satisfied with just 1 episode showing his transition to base commander, because for him it's a HUGE DEAL. Sam was in command of SG-1 several times before and we saw it. Otoh Jack has never been shown in command of the whole SGC before and so IMO he needed more screentime than Sam.

As far as Dr. Brightman's character goes, they were attempting to replace the irreplaceable and anyone following Janet was inevitably going to come off flat.

See, I can't agree with that either. I don't think they were attempting to replace *Janet*, but the base *CMO*. These are 2 different things. Janet is an irreplaceable character and I think TPTB know that. In fact they made a conscious decision to have all the other doctors totally different from her personality-wise, but the show needed CMO and in that regard Brightman worked well for me. She came off as very different from Janet as a person, but at the same time as equally professional.

She's the only SG1 character that actually came off better on SGU than in the original.

I'm not going to discuss SGU here, so let's just say I disagree *completely*. I loved SG-1 characters' portrayal on SGU.

I liked seeing General Jack in charge! I liked that, when he was annoyed, he went to see his old team to vent his ire, and they, in turned, helped him relax.

Exactly! Yay for teamminess!

Lockdown is about SG1 continuing to support Jack regardless of his new role and his needing their support: it's the message of "this is still going to be about the four of them." Zero Hour, on the other hand, is very much about widening the lens and showing that Jack now has a much larger team supporting him and him needing to be there for; the SGC.

Nicely said, I can agree with this bit I still maintain though that doing both in one episode would be impossible; not if the writers wanted to do justice to the matter.

Namely, because I think Jack, on one level, is in a state of denial about his promotion and how much it will change things with his old team. It's almost as though he's accepted the position and while intellectually knowing this means a huge change professionally, hasn't actually considered that anything will change with SG1. I kind of see him thinking idly in professinal terms that there's no real change; he was their team leader after all so he's still the boss of them as SGC commander. But I don't think he's seriously considered the personal ramifications (something that actually takes the whole of S8 for him to work out).

That's a great observation and yes, I agree.

One of which stares him in the face when Sam jumps up in line with protocol. Because it signals to me that Sam has considered the personal ramifications and one of which is in her eyes that his promotion makes any possibility of a *them* even more unlikely. It ties their COC even more tightly together. And while I think Sam is very consciously proud of him, and very supportive of him in his new position, I think she also subconsciously takes the fact that he's accepted the position and therefore put that distance between them as more evidence that he's not interested in anything other than the really close friendship they have together.

Agreed.

I disagree completely that Lockdown is redundant when we also have Zero Hour to show 'Jack in charge'. Personally I actually feel the two episodes complement each other and show two sides of the picture - taken together they really establish Jack as the base leader. Here we have Jack thrust into a real crisis, with his team on hand, where he is entirely in control and basically taking to the whole thing like a duck to water. In Zero Hour (again not to anticipate too much) he is faced initially with a series of seemingly trivial problems, while his team is away from him - and he is far less comfortable. Then Baal turns up, which never leads to Jack at his best, and he thinks his team are in danger, and he struggles. But I'll come back to all that. Mostly I just wanted to say that I think we see a very different Jack in the two episodes for good reason, and the reasons why he is different show an awful lot about his character and about how he is going to act as the base leader for the rest of the season.

THIS. Exactly. I agree with everything in Josi's post, but especially this part. This is exactly how I see it and why I think 2 episodes were needed at the very least to show post-promotion Jack.

I would also note that the type of threat is slightly different too, as in Lockdown he deals with an internal threat on the base and in ZH it's the "normal" external threat of alien organisms and Goa'ulds.

I think ZH does a better job of showing the changes in his relationship with Sam too.

I'd agree with that. However IMO ZH is supposed to be about the change between Jack and Sam and Lockdown isn't. The latter does poor job in this respect because it isn't suppose to do any job in the first place. As I said, Jack and Sam rarely don't share their scenes with others and Lockdown focuses more on J/D & J/T friendship and, as you noted, lack of change between the guys even after Jack's promotion. I don't treat lack of S/J interaction as a failure because IMO that wasn't what the ep was all about; the writers saved it for ZH. And, again IMO, it was the right decision, because this way Jack's relationship with all 3 members of his former team was properly showed.

[Aveo_amacus]

I don't think having both Lockdown and ZH is redundant, I think it would have been too rushed to have Jack with the back-up of SG1 and then without in the same ep so I did like the episode
(although I agree the sectioning plan was, perhaps, not fool-proof)

I also liked the fact that there were Russian characters speaking Russian, but don't ask me why I though that was effective

Final point was I did like how Jack was firm that Alexi wasn't going through the gate *until* he'd had the proper training, even if he wasn't going on SG1 he still had to know his stuff and be dependable to his other teammates. It showed that even if Jack doesn't want him near SG1 it doesn't mean he isn't thinking about the other personnel on base - he can't stick an untrained man on a lower ranked team just because it's not the flagship team. (just because Daniel didn't appear to have any training before the Chulak mission doesn't mean that they're still sending untrained personnel through the gate 8 years on)

[hlndncr]

I guess I don't think about the episodes as deeply as you all do! I like these episodes, and I'm a fan of Season 8. I liked seeing a Russian officer that was sympathetic, and I liked the teamy goodness of this particular episode. All of the ship in 8, though, seemed terribly angsty to me, because I always had it in my mind that Sam was still going out with Pete. Grrrrrr.

I don't see these two as redundant, either. I think that they capture two different aims--to introduce the Anubis thing, and then to capture Jack's issues with taking over the SGC. I'll have to go rewatch them again, but I really don't feel that they could have been combined without making it seem to fast.

I'll have more to say later, if you all haven't already moved on, but I have a bajillion things to do today. Bleah.

I totally disagree. Sam should have had her own episode showing how she was settling in into her command, no doubts about that, but IMO "Icon" would have been a far better episode for that. In fact, IIRC it was supposed to be Sam's ep about being in charge but the writers changed their minds later.

However the episode about Sam airing before the ep about Jack wouldn't have rung true for me, because I don't see Jack sending SG-1 off-world when he doesn't feel comfortable in his own new position to lend them immediate assistance, should they require any. I also wouldn't have been satisfied with just 1 episode showing his transition to base commander, because for him it's a HUGE DEAL. Sam was in command of SG-1 several times before and we saw it. Otoh Jack has never been shown in command of the whole SGC before and so IMO he needed more screentime than Sam.

I still maintain though that doing both in one episode would be impossible; not if the writers wanted to do justice to the matter.

I think perhaps my point is being at least partially understood. Let me try to clarify.

I do think that Jack's transition to base commander needed to be demonstrated right at the beginning. And I think it could then be addressed (as it was to a certain extent) as part of the B or C plots throughout the season.

I don't think it required two Jack-centric episodes right in a row to do that.

I do think that Zero Hour is the better episode for Jack.

I don't think that means the plots of Lockdown and Zero Hour should have been combined into one episode.

I do think that Sam needed her own episode at some point in time in the season.

I don't think Lockdown should have been Sam's episode or that Sam's episode should have had the same "slot" as Lockdown.

I would also like to point out that the reintroduction of Anubis doesn't become important again until the very end of the season. They were trying to make Baal their new big baddy (which is what they were setting up New Order 1). In fact, at the end of this episode we are given the impression that Anubis is stuck on a barren ice planet and then he just pops up again out of nowhere in Reckoning IIRC. So I think this Anubis could have been presented much more subtlely throughout the season or much later on and it still would have been fine.

I may stand alone on this one but I am convinced that Lockdown was an unnecessary episode and not strong enough plotwise or characterwise to stand on it's own. Without it, we would they would have freed a slot (somewhere in the season) for a an episode about Sam and the team off-world and little or no Jack. They took Jack out all the time for season 7 with some of the most ridiculous excuses. Now that it actually makes sense plotwise and characterwise to do so they pass up the opportunity, which I consider an error in judgment and a huge disappointment.

I honestly don't know what you mean by that. Little help? What's contrary to the whole point?

The reason I say they defeated the whole purpose of the Lockdown was because the plan was to let Anubis do something to tick off the Ancients. They waited almost a week and Anubis took no action. Then as soon as Anubis does start to do something to get off the base, they don't wait for the Ancients (who I don't think anyone really believed would show up anyway) they immediately start opening up the sections and running around trying to take him out. Pointless!

[josiane]

Sorry guys, RL's been a pain and I'm not going to get the Zero Hour write-up finished tonight... will post tomorrow!

[josiane]

Sorry this is late everyone! And I'm not sure it's quite going to live up to the high expectations you all seemed to be having, but anyway, here it is...!


Zero Hour

Banner by Oma

Synopsis
The one where Jack is settling into his new job, beset from all sides by decorating decisions, out-of-control plants, recalcitrant Goa'ulds, malfunctioning gates, dodgy ZPMs, a missing team, and an imminent Presidential visit.

Favourite scene
Sam and Jack in the corridor at the end, of course

Favourite quote
Gilmore: He's not like other Generals.
Walter: Actually, he's not like other people.

Analysis
We've already touched a little on this, but I really feel Zero Hour is a counterpoint to Lockdown, with the two episodes together showing us how Jack is adapting to being The Man. However, whereas in Lockdown being in charge seems to sit relatively lightly on him, in Zero Hour we see it as much more of a burden. I mentioned in one of my posts about Lockdown that the difference is that in that episode, Jack is facing one crisis, which he is able to focus on and deal with, and also has his team with him - he's not alone in dealing with the specific threat that Anubis is posting to the base. In Zero Hour things are very different. At first, everything is very mundane, and we have Jack being forced to pay attention to all sorts of things that don't interest him and that he would have been able to be blissfully ignorant of before. He also is having to watch his team go offworld without him, presumably for the first time. Then things start to get a little out of hand, and suddenly now he is having to try to keep a lid on the burgeoning chaos, which, it should be noted, is largely coming from areas of the SGC's work that he can't fix himself. This isn't a hostile alien stalking the corridors, this is alien plantlife getting out of control and electrical/computer systems going into meltdown. Top that off with a whole load of bureaucracy and diplomacy and you have pretty much a complete set of all the things which are so completely not Jack's cup of tea. Then his team go missing, and to top everything off with a really juicy cherry, Baal shows up claiming to have them in custody. You'd be hard-pressed to come up with a better list of things to really make Jack feel out of his depth.

I love the way this episode is structured, with the repetition of the start of the day with Jack coming out of the lift to coffee (or not ), and the way that the various different things going on gradually build up throughout - there's a real sense of gathering momentum.

I get very annoyed when I see people saying that RDA was 'phoning it in' in season 8, and this episode is the one I'd cite in particular as an example of just how brilliantly he portrayed General Jack. In many ways, this episode breaks my heart - Jack seems so sad and alone in it, buffeted from all sides and constantly having his attention diverted from one thing to another. He actually comes across as very passive, which I guess is where the accusations could come from, but really it's a very subtle performance. Jack is struggling, and not happy, and out of his depth, and not feeling like he's in control, and we see that in the way his shoulders gradually slump more and more as the episode goes on, the longer pauses before he speaks, the smile that never reaches his eyes (until the scene with Sam at the end, but more on that in a bit). And the scenes where he's in his office writing his letter to General Hammond really get me. I don't think he'd ever have sent the letter, but rather feel this was his outlet, his way of de-stressing and processing what was going on, almost like writing a diary. His respect and affection for Hammond comes across clearly (and btw, I love that he can't bring himself to call him George - he should have sympathy with Sam if she struggles to call him Jack in the future (fanon aside ).

For all that though, it's important to note that Jack is successful. He may not deal with things in the way everyone expects him to, and he may be grouchy and sarcastic, but he gets results. And what is more, he actually shows a real intelligence and strategic flair, which he has demonstrated before as leader of SG1 and here brings seamlessly to his new role - bluffing Camulus and the way he deals with the Amrans, for example. All of this tells us a lot about how Jack is going to command the SGC, as well as demonstrating that, his own misgivings aside, he really is the best man to "fill Hammond's sizeable, yet shiny, shoes".

This episode also shows us a lot about Jack's relationships with others, which I'm going to address in turn before moving on to Sam and Jack.

Jack and the SGC: One of my favourite scenes of this episode is the one where Jack arrives in the gateroom to see Reynolds and a whole lot of other SGC personnel standing there offering their support. Narratively, it's a nice way to show Jack in relation to the rest of the base and to underline that they are all his team now. But it's also a wonderful display of loyalty on the part of the rest of the SGC personnel and again shows that Jack is the right man for the job. He not only knows what he's doing (even if he may seem to be out of his depth), but he also has the support and respect of those he is now leading.

Jack and SG1: As well as showing how Jack is adapting to becoming responsible for the whole SGC, this episode shows us Jack adapting to losing his team - which is the thing he really seems to be struggling with and which comes back as a recurring theme throughout the season (I think Rachel already alluded to the episode with the Goa'uld poison, for example). Jack's command of SG1 from the outside, for want of a better way to put it, suffers from the classic head-versus-heart conflict. No matter how much he may try to treat them like any other SG team, and entirely according to protocol, you can see that every fibre of his being is screaming out with the effort to be objective. We see it here with his insistence that they wait until the next day and take SG3 as back-up, which may be protocol, but seriously, how many times did Hammond let SG1 head off to check out random things Daniel had got excited about without having another team with them to watch their backs? Sam, Daniel (and even Teal'c's) surprise is palpable, much as Daniel and Teal'c try to reassure Sam that it's not because Jack doesn't have confidence in her (again of which more in a minute). We see it again in the scene where he comes to see them off in the gateroom - Jack is clearly finding it hard to see them head off while he stays behind at the SGC. And finally and most crucially, we see it when he has to decide whether to open the iris and let them back through - a decision which foreshadows the one in Endgame. You can see Jack's head and heart fighting it out as he considers what call to make, and the obvious question is what would he have done had it been another team? I think, personally, that he would have let them through as well in the end (as I think he'd figured out that Baal was bluffing him and it all dropped into place once he heard what Sam and Daniel had to say), but you can see him thinking that this is one of his nightmare situations, where he's the one who has to make the call that could either kill his team or potentially compromise the safety of the entire planet.

SG1 minus Jack: It's not just Jack who has to adapt to the new situation, of course, and on the evidence of this episode I don't think SG1 are finding it particularly easy either (or rather, Sam and Daniel; Teal'c seems to be taking it all much more in his stride, as you'd expect). Holding back on Sam again for now (I will get there eventually!), but Daniel's attitude is interesting, particularly in the briefing room scene. "Snippiness" doesn't really cover it - Daniel is not exactly making it easy for Jack (although admittedly, when does he ever?!). He doesn't even try to hide his impatience when Jack is a bit late for the briefing, and staring out of the window down to the gateroom just radiates impatience, IMO - contrast it with Sam's body language, as she is focused much more on the window through to Jack's office. He's not making it easy for Sam either - he cuts right across Sam to respond to Jack when Jack was talking to Sam and she was about to reply, which feels to me that he's undermining Sam in her new role as SG1 team leader. Daniel is used to being equal to Sam in terms of the team and how they relate to Jack, and he just barrels on with this hierarchy, even though Jack seems to be trying to talk primarily to Sam as team leader in this part of the conversation. If I was Sam (or Jack), I'd have felt like hitting him in that scene! He does make up for it in the scene where he and Teal'c go to see Sam and tell her that it's not about Jack not trusting her, but I do personally think that chances are Teal'c prompted that, on the evidence of the earlier scene! I agree with everyone who said they would have liked to have seen an episode that focused on Sam's adjusting to being SG1 leader, because the glimpses we get here do seem to indicate that it was also not that easy for any of them to adjust to their new team dynamic. Not that I think Sam ever was in charge in the way that Jack was, but I think it might have taken them a good few missions to work out between themselves how Sam's in-charge-ness was going to work.

Jack and Ba'al: This is the first time that Jack has encountered Ba'al since Abyss, and the way he deals with him is very Jack - basically he goes into uber-sarcastic-wise-guy-mode, also known as Jack's natural-defensive-mode. We have seen examples of this before, and will again, but no-one brings it out of him quite like Ba'al does. (Of course, the other major example of this is in Continuum, and Sam's obvious understanding of why he's behaving like he does there is one of the reasons I find their interactions in Continuum so shippy!) Anyway, the idea that SG1 have been captured by Ba'al, of all Goa'uld, must be causing Jack incredible pain, both fearing for what they may be going through and bringing back memories of his own incarceration.

(continued...)

[josiane]

Sam and Jack

The main theme of this episode as far as Sam and Jack are concerned is Jack's confidence in Sam as leader of SG1. It stems from what I was saying above about how Jack is dealing with letting them go, and the caution he then exhibits in his dealing with them, and is made explicit in the subsequent scenes in Sam's lab and in the corridor at the end. As mentioned before, I don't think Daniel helped with his behaviour in the briefing room, but I can understand why Sam's confidence might have wavered. She wouldn't have seen Jack's cautious attitude as stemming from his own uncertainty and difficulty in making the transition to his new position, and so it's understandable that to her it could have felt like he didn't trust that she could take SG1 offworld on a simple recon mission without needing SG3 there to watch their backs. And I think we see this from her in the way she's a little defensive towards Reynolds when telling him to secure the gate. Jack, for his part, is so wrapped up with his own crisis of confidence that I don't think he can see how that is translating down to Sam.

Thankfully this episode is also about overcoming such crises, and Sam and Jack have their moment to put things right so that Sam ends the episode feeling reassured about her own position too. The scene between them in the corridor at the end is one of my favourite scenes between them full stop. It's so warm and affectionate, even the parts where Sam is asking Jack basically whether she's doing a good job where you can see her insecurity - and I love that Jack is so quick to reassure her, and in such a fond way - it's not just 'you're fine, don't worry', he teases her about what Teal'c said etc. It's also a classic example of them having more than one conversation at the same time - their eyes are communicating a whole slew of other stuff over and above what their mouths are saying. I just love it.

And finally... this may be a case of shipper specs, but I do love the way Jack singles Sam out when he's talking to Ba'al - admittedly it is true that when it comes to technical problems with the gate it is Sam that would be the one to fix them, but from a shippy point of view I like to think that it's also an example of how Jack's instant response to any problem is that he needs Sam to fix it Plus, also, with the shipper specs firmly on, could it be Jack desperately trying to get Sam out even if he can't get them all rescued, both because she could help him and to spare her whatever horrors he imagines Ba'al may be inflicting? I like to think so anyway

[hlndncr]

Wow Josi that was such an excellent review! All I can say right now is I agree on all points. Maybe I'll be able to come up with something more interesting or provocative after I've had a chance to rewatch the episode, but you really said it all and so so well!

[Aveo_amacus]

Zero Hour

I get very annoyed when I see people saying that RDA was 'phoning it in' in season 8, and this episode is the one I'd cite in particular as an example of just how brilliantly he portrayed General Jack. In many ways, this episode breaks my heart - Jack seems so sad and alone in it, buffeted from all sides and constantly having his attention diverted from one thing to another. He actually comes across as very passive, which I guess is where the accusations could come from, but really it's a very subtle performance. Jack is struggling, and not happy, and out of his depth, and not feeling like he's in control, and we see that in the way his shoulders gradually slump more and more as the episode goes on, the longer pauses before he speaks, the smile that never reaches his eyes (until the scene with Sam at the end, but more on that in a bit).

Wow great review Twin! I don't have much more to say really, just this one point. I totally agree with you here, RDA's performance is subtle, but subtle is what we want, it wouldn't work with some over-the-top-hit-over-the-head acting.
It's also not Jack, he's struggling, but he doesn't want others to see that, especially not those under his command. They have to trust that he knows what he's doing and it's going to help noone if they know he might be second-guessing himself
*huggles Jack*

[Lilac736]

Great review of one of my favourite episodes in 10 years of SG-1! I’ve been lurking in this thread for the last couple of weeks, desperately waiting for “Zero Hour”.
You covered all the important aspects, so not much to add from me here. This is first and foremost a Jack episode and after season 7 this alone would have made it a good episode for me. But the way Jack is portrayed here is just great. Subtle is the world you used and I think this covers it very well. Jack is often used as the comic relief (especially in the later seasons) and it’s really nice to see the “whole Jack” again!

[Lucycat]

Great review Josie! (It's made me nervous about my up-coming review for Covenant, I know it won't be that detailed!)

This is one of my fav Jack episodes, and I agree with all your points... Jack's struggle with command, from dealing with bunting to bluffing system lords!

As for your comment about Daniel undermining Sam in the briefing room... I honestly didn't see it like that... I just see it as Daniel being his usual self toward Jack. Those two have a relationship like antagonistic brothers, they will always snip at each other, no matter that Jack is in charge now. I don't think Daniel meant to cut Sam off, or take charge, imo.

I also agree that I don't think Jack realized he was putting doubt in Sam's mind when he made them wait an extra day for the recon and SG3 as back-up. It was nice to have it all cleared up in the corridor scene, when Jack was genuinely surprised when Sam brought up her doubts.

And the corridor scene was lovely. Sam looked great in her class A's, and the way she smiled at Jack at the end, when he told her he gave Calumus the dead ZPM was so shippy! No doubt that smile made O'neill's day!

Other stuff:
I LOVED when Walter had the Radar (from MASH) vibe at the beginning. Very funny. His line, "He's not like other people," amusing and true.

"It's a plant" Liked when Dr. Lee said it grows with light, and Jack turned the light switch off. LOL.

Best lines...(of course)
: You should read what Teal'c wrote about your presence under fire
: Can I?
: No
: Damn!

[hlndncr]

OK, I just rewatched Zero Hour and can I just say: I LOVE THE EPISODE!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!

To me it is perfect.

It has amazing performances by all the secondary characters like Walter, Reynolds, and Siler. I love how Reynolds takes the aide to task about not giving up on SG1, and then how he gathers everyone into the gateroom to show his support. I also like the subtle tensions we see between him and Sam. I think that is a very interesting dynamic because Reynolds out ranks her, but she has more experience and was in charge of the mission. We also know that Reynolds has a science background (Touchstone and Ascension) and the he a Sam have clashed before (Ascension). I love the depth of characters like Reynolds and you really see that here.

Then we have Jack trying to still be Jack but maybe channel a little bit of Hammond at the same time. I think RDA gives an outstanding performance. I love how this episode conveys that feeling we all recognize when we take over a position or become a parent and we realize what our boss or our own parents must have gone through and we just want to go back and apologize for every stupid thing we've said or done because we just didn't get it then, but now we do.

And you do still see that struggle Jack has to let go of being a part of his team. One thing I noticed is that when everything was starting to fall apart Jack wanted to go to lunch, then in the next scene Daniel and Teal'c come to Sam's lab and ask her to go to lunch. Made me wonder if Jack was anxious to perhaps spend his usual lunch time with his team, but really even the small stuff like that has to change. (And Sam says she isn't sulking but maybe she expected Jack to be at lunch too.)

I agree with Lucy that Daniel's reactions to Jack are very much in line with their on-going sibling type relationship. I don't think Daniel really ever saw Jack as the boss and so making the leap to commander of the base is a little lost on him, except perhaps in the way you sometimes figure you can take advantage or gain a favor if your brother or sister were the one in charge.

And oh the corridor scene. I love it when Jack comes up to Sam and says: "Colonel Carter." Like he just can't get enough of saying it and he's so happy to see her. It's just so darn cute. And she is so much more at ease with him. Like maybe she is adjusting to this shift in their relative positions, perhaps because he is making the effort to show her that he wants her to be at ease with him.

By the way, did I mention I LOVE THIS EPISODE?

[hedwig]

This is a little detour back to "New Order", because something occurred to me about one of the things Fifth (as Pete) said to Sam. In the barnyard, he says something about her seeing a shrink about her dreams and how she feels, and I wondered to myself how Sam would get to see a shrink in the sort of outback of Montana, when she can't talk to anybody about her background who doesn't have a security clearance of a very high level. And I wondered if that was a huge clue to her (besides the fact that she didn't believe the entire illusion) that the whole scenario wasn't real. Why would the SGC or the Pentagon assign a shrink to wherever in Montana she was supposed to be living just to be there to counsel her? Fifth really screwed up there, and I wish something had been commented on about this.

Okay, back to the regularly scheduled "Zero Hour" discussion.

[Aveo_amacus]

I agree that Daniel didn't intend to undermine Sam - that he and Jack have always been this way and as SG1 CO Jack was always his boss (even if Daniel forgot sometimes). But I think the crucial thing here is Sam, Daniel might not have thought that's what he was doing - he just sort of barrelled through like normal, but I think that at least subconciously Sam *did* hence the later scene we get with all of SG1

[josiane]

Wow great review Twin! I don't have much more to say really, just this one point. I totally agree with you here, RDA's performance is subtle, but subtle is what we want, it wouldn't work with some over-the-top-hit-over-the-head acting.
It's also not Jack, he's struggling, but he doesn't want others to see that, especially not those under his command. They have to trust that he knows what he's doing and it's going to help noone if they know he might be second-guessing himself
*huggles Jack*

*huggles Jack too*

Great review Josie! (It's made me nervous about my up-coming review for Covenant, I know it won't be that detailed!)

Oh don't be nervous! I just don't know when to stop...

As for your comment about Daniel undermining Sam in the briefing room... I honestly didn't see it like that... I just see it as Daniel being his usual self toward Jack. Those two have a relationship like antagonistic brothers, they will always snip at each other, no matter that Jack is in charge now. I don't think Daniel meant to cut Sam off, or take charge, imo.

Aveo just explained perfectly what I meant I realised, reading my review back, that I came over rather snippy about Daniel myself - it wasn't meant to be that negative, but I don't think the way Daniel behaved helped either Jack or Sam as they are trying to adjust to the new relationships. Another case of Daniel sometimes being extraordinarily oblivious to things right under his nose, perhaps?

hlndncr, I LOVE your post! Absolutely agree! And I love the way Jack says Colonel Carter too *feels all warm and squishy*