The Serpent's Lair (201)

[Vagabond Serpent]

Again, nothing much to say about this episode, concluding the ark. Simply brilliant! Again humour, drama, suspension and happy end after all. Bra'tac is awesome alien ally. Skaara tried to fight Klorel and he looked so humiliated in front of Apophis, who was more than pissed. Samuels was brave enough to request permission to gate to Alpha Site and was rewarded with the "the plan was to send the very best"

10/10.

[ChulaksPrincess]

I like Bra'tac's nickname for Jack. "Human."

Jack, annoyed: "Would you place stop calling me Human?"

That was priceless. Applause to Master Bra'tac!

[Lunaeclipse]

Again, nothing much to say about this episode, concluding the ark. Simply brilliant! Again humour, drama, suspension and happy end after all. Bra'tac is awesome alien ally. Skaara tried to fight Klorel and he looked so humiliated in front of Apophis, who was more than pissed. Samuels was brave enough to request permission to gate to Alpha Site and was rewarded with the "the plan was to send the very best"

10/10.

Klorel seemed to prefer going with SG1 than staying behind, but it was too late...

[Vagabond Serpent]

Yup. He seemed startled and frustrated when Teal'C showed him back in Pel'Tac. Guess he figured out that being captured by Terrans is better than handle "dad's" wrath.

[DigiFluid]

Just got done re-watching this and something occurs to me for the first time....god is Daniel ever lucky that the ship's destruction severed the connection between the Hatak's gate and its DHD, or else he would've been gating into orbit when he tried to return back home

[maylet]

An amazing way to start the season this episode is, and of course I was so happy when they hug Daniel at the end of the episode when they thought he was dead

[muziqaz]

Oh, Samuels, what a facepalm
Very good episode, great start for second season.
And Master Bra'tac was well played.

[muziqaz]

An amazing way to start the season this episode is, and of course I was so happy when they hug Daniel at the end of the episode when they thought he was dead

Exactly my feelings as well

[LeftHandedGuitarist]

I'm jumping into season 2 a few days early, don't see the need to wait at the moment. This is the point where SG-1 really kicked off for me, with very few poor episodes from now until the end of season 5 (sort of what I consider the golden age of SG-1).

Great episode, certainly better than the first part. It feels bigger and more epic than what has come before, and it helps. Possibly this was due to the inclusion of Bra'tac, some new sets (prison cell, gliders) and the nice effects for the transport rings and shield generators. Just the illusion of travelling between the two ships helped make it feel larger.

One of my problems with it though is that everything is wrapped up so neatly by the end, and a number of conveniences help SG-1 win the day. Also, Apophis and the Goa'uld in general are made to look very incompetent, severely weakening the fact that we as an audience are meant to take them as a real threat. I was never a fan of Apophis though, and later Goa'uld enemies certainly were much more intimidating (and creative).

- The episode really highlights how much the team - and actors - have bonded and settled into their roles. You get the impression they all trust each other and know what each is capable of (see Jack telling Daniel to watch their backs and Carter handing him a machine gun). Teal'c also is clearly becoming more comfortable with human ways.

- First trip inside a death glider!

- The sarcophagus Daniel uses must be an updated model, it repairs his clothing too! I guess Apophis downloaded the latest software patch.

- Samuels was a character I loved to hate. It's a shame we won't see him again. At least we have lots of Maybourne to look forward to, to carry him on in spirit.

- It was quite lovely to see the space shuttles talked about and then appear, given that they've now been retired from service.

- I used to like the way any guards hit by zat guns would do their little electro-shock dance before falling down. They kind of gave up doing that as the seasons went by. They seemed to even drop the fact that zat guns caused pain, insteaad just having people pass out.

- I didn't mention this much through my season 1 discussions, but the video quality of these early DVDs are really poor at times and they show their age. I would love some nice blu-ray restoration work.

- A whole season gone by, and we're still waiting for Teal'c's first "indeed"!

RATING: 8.5 out of 10

[poundpuppy29]

loved this episode great kick off to a new season

[hlndncr]

This is a great season opener. Right up there with my all time favorites. It's got action, suspense, and awesome character moments.

First of all, this is probably my favorite Bra'tac episode of SG1. I love the back and forth between him and Jack. Two Alpha dogs feeling each other out and trying to mark their territory. It's clear they respect one another as warriors, but still don't fully realize one another's abilities. They just play off of each other so well.

Another thing I enjoy is the whole "bad day" riff that runs through the episode. It's just so understatedly Jack.

Then there is Samuels, who is such a tool. He's such a smarmy know-it-all. Then when he can't be the hero of the day as he wanted to be his first instinct is to turn tail and run through the gate. I just want to cheer when Hammond slams him down. He's not bright enough to be saved and he better man up like the rest of the SGC and help them fight to the end.

There are definitely some things in this episode that move at the speed of plot. The sarchophagus for example, which takes over 20 hours to revive Klorel and less than six minutes to heal Daniel. I guess it is a lot harder to revive the dead than to heal a near fatal wound. And Apophis and Klorel's escape is truly miraculous give they had only one second to ring over to the other ship and activate the gate. Maybe something about the explosion caused a time dilation. But I don't let those things bother me really because I still love this episode so much.

My favorite scene is in the gateroom at the end when SG1 returns from saving the world for the first time. (Teal'c can begin counting. ) At first it is a bitter-sweet moment for the team because they believe they have lost one of their own. And then the crowd parts and their is Daniel there, alive and well. Almost makes me teary as Jack and then Sam hug him in turn, and Teal'c stares incredulously.

And we get one of the most over used and abused Daniel nicknames in the history of Stargate fanfic: "Spacemonkey" Anyone have any clue where they came up with that one? Was that an RDA ad lib, or a Brad Wright inside joke?

Personally, I think Jack was a fan of the cartoon.

If you haven't seen it you really gotta watch. So funny!

[dtheories]

A spacemonkey cartoon? Funny...not so much. I'd not heard of this before, though, so thanks for the link!

I too was puzzled by Apophis' escape mode. Perhaps they ringed to a Tel'tak? And the sarc repaired clothing AND cleaned the blood off one's face! Poor Spacemonkey.

Excellent ep from the 'previously on...and now the conclusion' clip leading to the zoom into the ha'tak window, all of Jack's special moments...Jaffa banging at the door, "Just a minute!" Samual's cumuppance, General Hammond's speech to the Alpha teams, Sam's Matt Mason moment in space, and of course, the heroic interchange between Jack and Daniel.
Damn fine episode.
Indeed.

[hlndncr]

A spacemonkey cartoon? Funny...not so much. I'd not heard of this before, though, so thanks for the link!

You have to watch a couple of episodes. It grows on you.

[Jae'a]

And Master Bra'tac was well played.

As usual!

My LiveJournal post (a bit late in the day, but it wasn't working properly before - wouldn't let me post.. *shrugs* )

Great ep, and I love the hug at the end, of course..

[NowIWillDestroyAbydos]

Pretty good opening to the season. Loved the shuttle line.

Also, that Visual Effect of the Ship's core, really holds up today.

See you tomorrow.