Unending (1020)

[Starfox1313]

Im sure some one in the years since this episode aired has brought this up, and really I dont know if its even belongs here. but there is 2 seasons of atlantis after this episode is made, and they have to fight the ori in the movies, but did they not get all the knowledge of the asgaurd. Who should have all the knowledge of the ancients. Due to the asgaurd downloading it from jacks brain. In doing this would there computer that they gave them would it not have the design for IDK a DHD. And couldn't that make whatever the hell they want tool in the ship, to make a ZPM. I mean it is just a container really it derives it energy from else where.

Would this not give them access to more powerful weapons. But then again how the hell have they not figured out a way to make them in 3 years in atlantis.

[garhkal]

Just cause we may know HOW to make a ZPM, does not mean we have the tools, power or resources.

[Starfox1313]

fair enough response, but i mean the have atlantis. there has to be away to make them in there. or the acients would n;t of survived

[garhkal]

Doubt it.. otherwise it would have been discovered by now.

[Snowman37]

Having information and understanding it are two totally separate things.

[fems]

And even the Asgard didn't understand all the knowledge from the repository, therefore they (or their computers) probably wouldn't have been able to use it in the manner suggested.

THOR (New Order, Part Two(8x02))
You cannot even begin to comprehend the extent of what was unfolding in O'Neill's mind. Our scientists, long ago, extracted parts of the Ancient Library of Knowledge, and learned much from it. But we have been studying it for as long as I can remember and we have barely scratched the surface.

[LT. COL. John Sheppard]

A fitting episode for SG-1 end on it's been a pleasure to watch

I loved it for a finale especially the Daniel Vala scene

[Rikaelus]

Just finishing up watching all of the SG-1 episodes in order and... I just can't even finish it off with this episode. There are of course some nice moments, but there's just so much wrong with the episode.

Just to name a few:

There's no way Ori ships could be everywhere the Odyssey would drop out of hyperspace. They aren't capable of intergalactic speeds. Even assuming they had a Supergate in the Ida galaxy to be anywhere near the Asgard homeworld, they simply wouldn't have been able to keep up with the Odyssey once it ran.

Second, the Ori followers have never been that interested in attacking humans outright. They've never even attacked Earth in our dimension. So why would they pursue the Odyssey with such aggression? One could argue they know the value of the technology the Asgard gave them, but if that's true then why didn't the Ori go after the Asgard, themselves, a long time ago? As far as we know the Ancients didn't hide the Ida galaxy from the Ori.

Clones of clones of clones, and so on. This isn't a problem exclusive to this episode but this episode certainly brings it to its conclusion. If their problem is making E from D from C from B from A, why don't they just keep the genetic material from A and continually make clones from that? They'd bypass or seriously lessen the problem of genetic degradation as they defined it. And they'd certainly be able to bypass the genetic disease "recently" entering their genome.

The failure of their clone bodies aside, obviously they can store consciousnesses or have them survive within computers--as Thor had his in the Goa'uld mothership. Just because their bodies die doesn't mean their minds have to, and obviously it's their minds that they value given how quickly they all go through bodies. Add to that their experience with human-form replicators and the fact that some of their technologies rival or supersede the ancient's, I find it hard to believe they couldn't find an alternative means of survival.

And if they really want new bodies... why not make them? Both the Asgard and ancients have been shown to have technology to make something out of nothing; the anti-replicator weapon, the anti-Ori device, etc. A simple tweak to the transport technology allowed Carter to fabricate anything they needed--including tritonin, a chemical substance. If machine and chemical can both be fabricated, why not more complex biological forms?

Next on the list is the strength of the Asgard weaponry. It pretty well slices through both Ori and Asgard (ie, Pegasus Replicator) ships. A single Asgard battleship could have easily eliminated the 4 original Ori ships that entered our galaxy. The Asgard couldn't have sent even one ship to help us out? They had their science ship helping to block the second supergate, so why didn't they follow up on that support? I don't have a problem with the power of the weapons per se, but that situation just doesn't work from a story consistency perspective.

Then we get to the Odyssey being stuck with the Ori energy beam growing ever closer.

First, they know exactly where the beam is going to hit. Couldn't they have simply disconnected everything it would hit that would cause explosions that would destroy the ship? The beam would cut through the hull there but leave the rest of the ship momentarily untouched--long enough for them to escape by 302 or beam to the planet. Not an ideal solution since they'd lose the Asgard core (unless they beamed that, too) but they'd have gotten away.

Second, why are the shields not recharging while they're in the dilation field?

Plenty more along that line but I'll stop there...

These things were occurring to me the first time I saw the episode, too. Usually it takes 3-4 viewings before I get nit-picky, and no other Stargate episode comes even remotely close to this level of logic lapses.

It just feels like they wanted to show us the main characters stuck together for a long time and they were willing to throw all logic (and the best SG race ever) away to make that story happen. That reeks of a lack of creativity and made for a horrible sendoff to the series.

I'm henceforth just going to ignore its existence as much as possible.

[Neomon]

Just on this episode now. The end of the Asgard is so dumb. They had an original Asgard body and cloning technology, which they just handwaved as not being useful, and the fact that they commit mass suicide due to an unnamed disease was also stupid. As was mentioned in the post before this, at the very least the mental whole the Asgard race could have been saved and uploaded into robotic or clone bodies created from a different source. Otherwise, I still really like this episode.

[Trig]

Yeah sucks as an end to the series dont it

As a team building episode its ok, but the whole Asgard thing just sucks on soo many levels, given all the races we have met you would of expected some sort of robotic form Asgard at the very least, they already know that they cant ascend so what would be the harm in them moving to technology based replicated bodies..

[Trig]

Second, why are the shields not recharging while they're in the dilation field?

^^^^this

Never even crossed my mind before but yes, you would of thought that 50 years or whatever it was would of been plenty of time for the shields to recharge or at least for the power from all other shield arrays to be moved to the point where the ship was about to be hit...

Obvious really...

[jelgate]

Because everything besides Teal'c in his little bubble would return to the exact same time that the time dilation field was activated

[mathpiglet]

I think this episode is a great way to end the series. The only part that I didn't like was when Daniel was yelling at Vala.

[NowIWillDestroyAbydos]

I've got to say this Series Finale (Unending) had a more sense of ending than the other "Series finales" (Revelations, Full Circle, Lost City, and Moebius). It was a good episode although I though there should've been a "Best of" Previously On... segment at the beginning (like they did with Farscape and Buffy's first Finale). This wasn't the best SG-1 series finale, Full Circle has that honor.

I hope Teal'c has hair all black again before "Arc of Truth" (or "Reunion") comes along. I give it a ***1/2.

I kind of disagree with the more sensible ending, than those other series finales (excluding Lost City).

Now I'm gonna deconstruct this episode. I think Unending as it aired was the best version under the circumstances, honestly it could've been a much worse series finale. The writers (mainly Rob) had a months notice of the cancellation (they got the word during the filming of Talion, if memory serves). So they had 3 episodes to the end, that's not very much time to wrap up the series. This probably would've meant a rushed version of Arc of Truth (Tomorrow's ep, but more on that later) as the series finale, like I said much (or possibly) worse finale.

I think they knew they were getting movies at the time of the cancellation. So there was that much of a rush to wrap up the series.

I know I've read there was plans for the Ba'al/Ori hybrid arc to continue into Season 11. But because of the cancellation, I think they just put that arc into one episode.

Now to the original version of Unending. The word of the cancellation came during filming of Talion. That gives 2 episodes before the finale (3 to the end). I think the basic structure of what was suppose to be the Season finale was already there. So the main plot of Unending, whether the series got cancelled (which it did) or whether it got an 11th season, was the Asgard committing mass suicide. Although, it would taken most of the episode instead of the first 10 minutes (or so).

So all in all, Unending was the best Series finale would could've gotten, under the circumstances (you know, without wrapping up the entire Ori storyline).

Tomorrow, the first SG-1 movie, which I thought was suppose to be watched during the Atlantis part of our mission.

[Lieutenant Sparrow]

Such a great ep but god I hate it.

Why? Because it's the end of the show. And the end of the Asgard.

It's so awesome that the Asgard gave us all of there best technology. Making us have the most powerful ship. But the mass suicide is so sad and so fast. This fact alone shows that the show needed at least one more season.

I can't imagine how horrible it would have been stuck on that ship for 50 years. A month would be enough to make me go crazy.

Daniel was terrible to Vala. I understand he didn't want to get hurt but he went way too far.

Poor Teal'c having to stay old. Not that he looked any older. Just that strip of grey hair. He looked awesome in that field with the explosion around him.

That ending with them sprouting out all those saying's. Landry saying god speed. Them all saying indeed. And the classic stargate theme playing in the background. It really tugged at the heart strings. :')