Thor's Hammer (109)

[dtheories]

I was still annoyed about Sam being annoyed with Kendra throughout the episode.

Sam was just annoying, period! Stubborn, belligerent, selfish, closed minded. Being an annoying little brat led to the twins' first spat! The journey aspect of this ep for the development of their relationships was epoch! And all the firsts! Acknowledging that someone other than the Gou'ald built the 'gate; learning that the Asgard had little respect for human projectile weapons; the Unas being the first Gou'ald hosts; learning that the host could survive and that not all Gou'ald technology was bad. But Kendra and Daniel definitely make this episode worth while. One of my favs.

[muziqaz]

daniel killed me when Jack said to dial home when Thor's hammer started to build up an energy. Why? kid might behave like that, not a mature person.
Jack: Daniel, dial back home, now!
Daniel: Why?
A little while later:
Daniel: I think this is Thor's hammer.

You THINK???? ))

What about those weather anomalies/signs. Was Asgard monitoring the planet closely? Though I suppose they could If they detect, that someone stepped through the gate or gate was activated) they will send one ship to investigate.

[jlovette]

There used to be an assistant principal at the middle school I teach at who always got frustrated trying to pronounce difficult names. Because of the that, I love Jack's, "Come on, let's go find this Hall of Mo-hair."

Does anyone know if there was a plan from the beginning to bring the Asgard in the way they would later, or was it decided after this episode was made? Either way, I liked this episode a lot. It is one of my favorites of the season.

[juggernaut975]

Favorite episode thus far.

The best way I can describe this episode is to call it Torment of Tantalus Part 0, Thor's Hammer lays that first seed that everything else grows from. There have been bigger episodes and season ending cliff-hangers but I can't think of too many episodes that have been any more significance than this one. The opening five minutes establishes that it wasn't the Goa'uld who built the Stargates, that there may be aliens who were benefactors of mankind and that they should be found and an alliance be made, huge stuff to fit into the first 1/2 of the first season.

[Starmover]

What about those weather anomalies/signs. Was Asgard monitoring the planet closely? Though I suppose they could If they detect, that someone stepped through the gate or gate was activated) they will send one ship to investigate.

I was thinking the Asgard may have had a ship, or station in orbit, working the thunder anytime they needed to push Kendra in the right direction. Maybe SGC using the stargate alerted the Asgardians, and they took notice of us, and they were just observing at the time. It also could've been time for it to rain, and it was all coincidence lol

[NowIWillDestroyAbydos]

Slightly better than average episode. The groundwork for good old Thor is set.

Tomorrow begins Disc 3, and first great SG-1 episode, "The Torment of Tantalus."

[Starscape91]

Loved this episode showed the great relationship between Jack and Teal'c. Plus the beginning of the Asgard and Unas.

[Lieutenant Sparrow]

Not a bad ep. Great teaser at what's to come.

I liked the look on Teal'cs face when he realised what a huge sacrifice Daniel was making for him.

[Jae'a]

My LiveJournal post
"You're a little short for gods." Maybe they should show them an Asgard later!

Seeing an Unas makes me impatient to see The First Ones again, which is my fave ep. Gotta love Chaka.

[Krisz]

This is one of my favourite episodes of the first season. Daniel delving further into Earth's mythology to explain other benevolent aliens and the possibility of meeting them.

Little did we know on first watching this how many of the future events in SG-1 came from the ideas introduced in this one episode, it was really "packed full of jam." as Vala would say! It was great to see again and recall what was to come.

I wondered too if the Asgard were alerted by the 'Hammer' activating. I was wondering when Kendra was hesitating as to why she should help the team rescue Jack and Teal'c she becomes certain that she should,

KENDRA: The Valkyrie ride the wind. They want me to help you. They say you speak the truth. They tell me…that I must take you there.

Did the Asgard note at this time that this was the first time humans had left Earth and started using the Stargate, having studied them as we find out later, and could this have been their first scan of Jack and saw that there was something different about him but not sure what at that time? Perhaps it was this first encounter with their technology that renewed the Asgard interest in Earth and these humans that made the first steps into the galaxy, especially on probably seeing how selflessly they behaved with not leaving Teal'c behind.

It's the early episodes like this that got me hooked and kept me watching, putting so many great possibilities for adventure out there with a team of characters I cared more about what happened to them with every episode that went by!

[majorsal]

Sam was just annoying, period! Stubborn, belligerent, selfish, closed minded. Being an annoying little brat led to the twins' first spat! The journey aspect of this ep for the development of their relationships was epoch! And all the firsts! Acknowledging that someone other than the Gou'ald built the 'gate; learning that the Asgard had little respect for human projectile weapons; the Unas being the first Gou'ald hosts; learning that the host could survive and that not all Gou'ald technology was bad. But Kendra and Daniel definitely make this episode worth while. One of my favs.

WHAT?!

[Brother Freyr]

Little did we know on first watching this how many of the future events in SG-1 came from the ideas introduced in this one episode

You're so right. Thor. The Asgard. Asgard protection of planets. The Unas. Confirmation that goa'uld can be removed and that the host's mind survives. It's a LOT of new, momentous information.

KENDRA: The Valkyrie ride the wind. They want me to help you. They say you speak the truth. They tell me…that I must take you there.

Did the Asgard note at this time that this was the first time humans had left Earth and started using the Stargate, having studied them as we find out later, and could this have been their first scan of Jack and saw that there was something different about him but not sure what at that time? Perhaps it was this first encounter with their technology that renewed the Asgard interest in Earth and these humans that made the first steps into the galaxy, especially on probably seeing how selflessly they behaved with not leaving Teal'c behind.

Hehe. I think you've gotten a little carried away. Seems pretty clear to me that the Asgard aren't in orbit around Sameria and aren't aware of the events that transpire in Thors Hammer. The Asgard would have repaired the hammer, not left the planet open to attack. As for Kendra and her Valkyrie, she's just superstitious (which is a flaw in the script-writing, as she should have learned better during her years as a goa'uld host).

No, the Asgard's interest in Earth is renewed (and their focus turned to Jack) after The Fifth Race.

Spoiler:

Jack saunters into their home galaxy with the Ancients' repository of knowledge in his brain. THAT caught their attention! An Asgard in that episode says they didn't realize until that moment that any human's physiology had evolved to a state capable of receiving the Ancients' repository.

It's easy to get carried away.

[Nindif]

Sam was just annoying, period! Stubborn, belligerent, selfish, closed minded. Being an annoying little brat led to the twins' first spat!

WHAT?!

Not a bad ep. Great teaser at what's to come.

I liked the look on Teal'cs face when he realised what a huge sacrifice Daniel was making for him.

Just an OK ep. If the whole 'Thor' and asgard mythology didn't eventuate to play such a large role in the series this ep as a standalone would be very weak. The ongoing mythology strengthens it.

I agree that Sam seemed a little lost in this Ep. Didn't really have a role to play and so just decided to question the motives of Daniel.

I also loved Tealc's expression at that moment. Very profound what Daniel did.

Pretty standard ep otherwise.

[LeftHandedGuitarist]

The strongest episode of the first season so far, doing what Stargate does best though still a little unsure of itself compared to what the show would become. The Unas is brilliant and anything where James Earl Jones does the voice work immediately steps up a few notches on the coolness scale. The one in this episode did look somewhat different to other Unas, and I assume he was considerably older (and also the design went through revisions later on). I don't know why, but any Unas episode generally ranks amongst my favourites, and I wish we had seen more of them in SG-1. I'm sure shooting the Unas in the head, and then maybe bashing it in with a rock would have killed him a lot quicker, but this is a family show so can't do that!

As someone else mentioned, Carter seemed strangely whiney in this episode, but its clear she feels frustrated at losing O'Neill and having to place trust in someone else's methods to finding him again. I liked the moments between her and Daniel, though, as he makes his impassioned arguments to her.

This is probably the first episode where I felt Teal'c/Christopher Judge really began to settle into the role. I love the way he delivers the "you do not exist" line, and the expression on his face as he realises that Jack won't leave him and Daniel is willing to destroy the device to save him. Still waiting for the first utterance of, "indeed".

That said, realistically they could have left the machine intact, told Teal'c to wait then come back with more help and equipment and dug through the cave walls at the side to release him! Teal'c free, machine still working. Problem solved! I'm also surprised at how easily the machine was destroyed, one little staff blast and it's dead.

- A mysterious aspect to this episode is the thunder rumbling whenever Kendra needed guidance, it goes a bit unexplained and knowing what we know later of the Asgard, it's not really the sort of thing they do
- I'd forgotten how General Hammond pronounces "Guwld" with his heavy accent
- Not the greatest depiction of a Viking community, clearly budget issues again but I loved the water aqueduct

Rating: 8 out of 10

[hlndncr]

I'm not crazy about this episode. I think it's rather slow and boring. It is definitely the best of the Unas episodes, but IMO that's not saying much. I would be happy if, as Jack later pointed out, Unas meant ONE!

I don't have any problem with Sam's attitude and I don't think she was a bratt. She's a young Captain who unexpectedly finds half her team, including her CO, missing. She's anxious to do whatever needs to be done to get them back. Her concern is for the team and the mission. Meanwhile, Daniel's whole focus is on himself, his own loss, and Sha're. Maybe Daniel still would have been patient with and interested in Kendra's experience if he didn't have a personal stake, but that really is what's driving him in this instance.

I also think that the thunder and such has nothing to do with the Asgard. It is how Kendra has chosen to interpret it. I think Sam as a soldier and a scientist is naturally going to be skeptical and impatient with such seeming nonsense. She also thinks it's very possible that Kendra's lost her reason after what she experienced as a goa'uld host. So Sam doesn't entirely trust her.

Spoiler:

Makes future episodes where Sam comes back after being an unwilling host herself, even more provocative. One more reason I wish Kendra had not died. I would have loved to see how she and Sam would interact after Jolinar.

I like that this episode highlights the differences between Sam and Daniel (they aren't just the inseperable science twins). They do have real disagreements on how they view the world.