Within the Serpent's Grasp (121)

[muziqaz]

I love this episode, the hardest part is when Daniel tells Jack that he's staying behind, because he knows he's going to die.

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Wasn't this from next episode(season 2 episode 1). Or is it different again and this episode and next one are joined?
As all the last episodes and 1st episodes of seasons are great to watch.

[Lieutenant Sparrow]

*Sigh* That's S1 finished

My favourite ep of this season. Zat guns, Serpent guards, Ha'tak. What more could you ask for. Besides space battles and Anubis of course.

[dtheories]

One of the best ever cliffhangers I've ever seen. No way off the boat, facing a ship full of powerful enemies and Earth literally in the balance. Yeah!
I got some of the elements in this ep confused with Politics as I watched them back to back, but they're both still fine while the lead up in Grace of God was amazing.
But it's the first ship-side ep with hyperspace and some great one liners, like Medical attack and Hey Pops!
Good way to end season 1!

[SF_and_Coffee]

Well, watching Politics and this one back to back makes complete sense, when you think about it, since Politics leads into Serpent's Grasp. It's a continuation of the same storyline.

[Noxbait]

Well, watching Politics and this one back to back makes complete sense, when you think about it, since Politics leads into Serpent's Grasp. It's a continuation of the same storyline.

Yeah, they kind of go together. I wanted to skip Politics when I was watching with my mom, but she's never seen all of it, so it was actually pretty vital to watch Politics for all the info and actions (around the clips). Not a bad episode overall, though the clips could've been skipped.

[Lunaeclipse]

Well, watching Politics and this one back to back makes complete sense, when you think about it, since Politics leads into Serpent's Grasp. It's a continuation of the same storyline.

Agreed. It sets up the duck and run, without 'politics' wanting to shut down the program, they may not have gone through the gate the way they did and would've waited too long. In a clips shows situation I tend to concentrate more on the bits between the clips... and then think about why they may have chosen those particular clips to use... It's all part of the big picture...

[Krisz]

For me this is the best cliff hanger of all the Stargate series' season finales!

That shocking moment when SG-1 see Earth through the window on the bridge! It's as great to watch now after many watches and years, as it was the first time.

Jack's comment with the long range communication device... "Does it get Showtime?!" A blank look from Teal'c, not knowing what it was. A funny dig at the cable channel that showed SG1 at the time! Love these little references Stargate does.

The first time of watching for me, any references like this meant nothing as I lived in the UK up until Season 8 of SG-1 was broadcast first. Now living in Canada, many odd cultural references make sense now and are quite amusing!!!

[poundpuppy29]

loved this episode great team episode great cliff hanger

[hlndncr]

I'm getting little bit ahead, but I just couldn't stop watching. I will wait to watch the second part until next week though. Give myself a little taste of what it must have been like for those who were watch SG1 when it first aired and they had to wait months to find out how the team saves the world (you knew they were going to do it one way or another) and whether Skaara survived.

What a great cliff hanger. This series of four interconnected eps spanning from There But for the Grace of God through The Serpent's Lair are really some of the best SG1 had to offer. I think it demonstrates what a great thing this show really had going right from the very beginning.

I love that it ends with our team making the decision to defy orders and do whatever it takes. They've really come a long way and are so close now. And so awesome seeing Skaara again. Reminds us that this is a big reason Jack and Daniel are going through the gate, to find people they love and bring them home.

So excited for Season 2!

[Lt.Colonel John Sheppard]

I'm getting little bit ahead, but I just couldn't stop watching. I will wait to watch the second part until next week though. Give myself a little taste of what it must have been like for those who were watch SG1 when it first aired and they had to wait months to find out how the team saves the world (you knew they were going to do it one way or another) and whether Skaara survived.

What a great cliff hanger. This series of four interconnected eps spanning from There But for the Grace of God through The Serpent's Lair are really some of the best SG1 had to offer. I think it demonstrates what a great thing this show really had going right from the very beginning.

I love that it ends with our team making the decision to defy orders and do whatever it takes. They've really come a long way and are so close now. And so awesome seeing Skaara again. Reminds us that this is a big reason Jack and Daniel are going through the gate, to find people they love and bring them home.

So excited for Season 2!

http://signavatar.com/7792_s.gif

trust me i started watching when i was 10 years old. (when SG-1 Season 3 started) it was hard coming into the show but i enjoyed it. and the wait between finale and seasons were a pain in the neck.

[LeftHandedGuitarist]

Okay, so there's season 1 done and dusted. For me, it's the weakest season of SG-1, so I'm glad it's out of the way. It ends on a high though, with several good episodes spread throughout the second half of the season, and this is a great way to bring it to a close.

This episode is fun, but what really hit me is how small scale it feels compared to the epic season finales and action episodes SG-1 would do later. The sets look so bare, the fight scenes are pretty dull, there aren't many extras and the special effects look pretty low budget. I'm not knocking it for these things, they are a reflection of the budget and the technology the show had at the time. I'm sure back in 1997/1998 the closing pull-back shot of the Goa'uld mothership wowed me, but watching it today it looked like some Babylon 5 quality effect, with unmatched elements and poor resolution!

Still, the show pushed again in a new direction with this episode and introduced us to elements we would become quite familiar with as time went on. Good to see Skaara back, part of me wishes he had appeared more often because he was always great on screen, and one of the precious few links back to the movie.

- First appearance of the zat guns! First appearance of the Goa'uld ship interior!

- Feretti makes his first appearance since the pilot. I never quite understood why they never really used him more, and I don't recall if he appears again. If he does, it can't have been in a very prominent role.

- Daniel seems VERY handy will weaponry all of a sudden. He's got the crouch down, two-handed pistol thing going on, diving around pillars for cover, jumping out and taking guards down. Yeah, we've seen him in action before but this is a whole new level. Maybe he was doing the advanced Air Force combat training course in between episodes?

- After the team come through the gate, they are trying to stay quiet, but O'Neill orders Daniel to send the MALP back! Surely just hiding it would have made more sense? The sound of the gate dialing up and activating is pretty loud. Add to this the very silly fact that O'Neill keeps whispering even while the gate is being noisy.

- Jack swearing in this episode is really out of the blue. Was this another Showtime interference, along the lines of the nudity in the pilot episode? Just to make it a bit more adult? I've never really heard much discussion on this. For what it's worth, the emotion of the scene certainly makes the swearing feel justified.

- Alexis Cruz gives a great performance when Skaara re-emerges and then Klorel takes over again.

- We get a repeat of the moment from The First Commandment here with Carter being replaced by Jack: why oh why doesn't Jack just shoot Skaara in the shoulder/leg? There was no need to shoot to kill. One thing about this I do like, Jack shows military training kicking in and does a double-shot in quick succession.

- The priest who is ordered to remove Teal'c's larvae produces a big nasty looking knife thing. Is his intention to remove the Goa'uld by force, or cutting it out? Would'nt that harm or kill it?! We've seen how easily they can come out numerous times before.

- The Goa'uld really like to keep their door-opening buttons unobtrusive, don't they!

RATING: 7.5 out of 10

[Jae'a]

My LiveJournal post

I agree with the majority that this is a great eppy, but of course, the next one has Bra'tac, so...

[Nindif]

This was a really great episode. The fact that SG1 defy orders to save the world and risk getting court martialed in Jack and Sams case shows how far they have come since the beginning of the show.

For me this is the best cliff hanger of all the Stargate series' season finales!

That shocking moment when SG-1 see Earth through the window on the bridge! It's as great to watch now after many watches and years, as it was the first time.

Great cliffhanger, could be the best. I agree it is the perfect conclusion to reflect upon the season as a whole and see how far they have come.

As great as the episode is, it couldn't quite reach the top 5 for the season in my reviews compendium. Came in a close 6th place.

[chaddergate]

I love this episode, the hardest part is when Daniel tells Jack that he's staying behind, because he knows he's going to die.

I agree, this was tough. Great episode though, awesome season finale, loved it, especially the final scene.

[NowIWillDestroyAbydos]

Great ending to the first season. And Jack swore, which I thought was kind of forced. Lastly, the Zats (yay) were introduced in this one.

Visual Effects look a little dated (yes, I know it was 1998, and TV Visual Effects were still in it's infancy).

So this ends the first season of the SG-1 section of Stargate Rewatch. So, see you Thursday.