Pretense (315)

[VirtualCLD]

SPOILERS for this Episode




Towards the end of the episode, why did the hidden Ion Cannon not fire?

[Uncle Dick]

SPOILERS for this Episode




Towards the end of the episode, why did the hidden Ion Cannon not fire?

I was under the impression that the cannons had been BOTH marked for destruction and temporarily disabled in a way that the arrogant Tollan overlooked. Note that the cannons did not immediately fire at the mothership even though there was a significant delay between Zippy's signal to the ship and the actual destruction of the cannons. Those devious Gou'ald…

Speaking of cannons, was that device a bit of an homage to the ion cannons that defended the Hoth base in Empire Strikes Back? They looked too similar to be coincidence.

Rewatching this episode, it's amazing how many lines Teal'c used to get, even in episodes focused on other characters. Maybe watching too much Earth television dumbed him down over the years until the present, when he seems incapable of saying anything beyond "Indeed".

[LMichelle]

Did anyone else think it was a conflict of interest that Daniel would be acting as one of Skaara/Klorel's Arcons (sp?)? He is his brother-in-law. Did the Tollan's not know that?

Skaara seemed happy to see Jack, but where was the love for Daniel? Daniel did live on Abydos for a year with him. I'm assuming Daniel told Skaara about his sister.

Lisa Michelle

[Madeleine]

I don't think it would have been a conflict of interest. Those are when a supposedly neutral party has close ties to one side, or when someone nominally on one side has loyalties with the other side as well. Daniel's efforts and his loyalties pointed in the same direction, and the Tolans and Lya pretty much took it for granted that Daniel's biases were in Skaara's favour.

I think the writers often tended to forget that Skaara was related to Daniel, or even that he was related to Sha're or Kasuf. His lack of brotherly regard for Daniel is matched by Kasuf's lack of interest in Skaara's whereabouts in Secrets. Oh well.

[greytop]

SG-1 could use couple of the those things that they had on Skaara/Korel.

[Dead Jawa]

SG-1 could use couple of the those things that they had on Skaara/Korel.

I always thought the Tollan were a little to paranoid with shareing their tech. Afterall, I don't think the nations of Earth are not that greedy enough to blow each other up over a Goa'uld Suppressor. The ion cannons yeah but not that.

[Tauri]

If only the Tollans shared that device.
If they had shared, then next time the SGC had a Goa'uld in custody they can find out useful intel from the host. This would have been a powerful advantage.

Good one Tollans.

[Mr Prophet]

In all fairness, I'm pretty sure that the SGC never asked for one. Anyway, it's not so much about what it is as what it can teach you. In the Dr Who story, Colditz, the Nazis won the war because they got hold of the laser in Ace's CD walkman. What exactly do you think the rogue NID would do with the technology to suppress conscious thought?

[Evil Emperor Zurg]

I didn't really like this epsiode although it does wrap up the Skarra/Klorel story I think it was odd we didn't see how Skarra dealed with going back to Abydos. I mean it wasn't until Full Circle that we saw him again. It was almost a case of ok you've been enslaved and done many terrible things but it's all right now you can go home. That never quite sat right with me

[SmartFox]

Wow nice spamming Anubis and Elwe. You guys combined for almost half of this topic. But back to this ep. Glad we get to see atleast Skaraa back since Sha're was just killed. Still can't believe those selfish and stuck up Tollan still won't share stuff with us even though we saved their butts.

[SilverRider]

I wonder who told Skaraa of Sha'ra's death. Daniel or Jack?

[Albion]

I think the writers often tended to forget that Skaara was related to Daniel,

Yes, that's a lack I've often noticed, not just in this episode. The bond between Skaara and Jack is well documented, but Daniel might as well be almost a stranger half the time. It's not just that they're related either - they've spent a long time living together in close proximity while Daniel was on Abydos, between the events of the movie and the pilot of SG1. That has to count for something. Yet look at the scene in Pretense when Skaara greets Jack and Daniel on Tollana. It's Jack he treats like a brother. With Daniel there's barely a flicker of a connection.

There are couple of things that I always find myself wondering on when I watch this episode. Firstly, the whole triad seems a bit of a waste of time as it's a foregone conclusion that the advocates (sorry can't remember the Tollan word) for each party will vote for their man. Only Lya's vote is at all relevent and capable of making a judgement, so really they should just have cut to the chase at the start and asked her to make the decision.

And I'm always fascinated by how the advocates managed to have private consultations with their clients. <g> I mean Skaara could presumably eavesdrop on any conversation with Klorel and Zapacna and relay their triad strategy to Daniel and O'Neill. And vice versa. How they got anything done is a mystery to me.

But I enjoy this episode when I revisit it. It's perhaps not on my A-list of absolute favourites, but it's certainly a B. It has a lot of nice moments in it. Some nice Daniel/Jack relationship during the trial, I love Teal'c's interactions with Lya - and it was just plain nice to see Lya again. I also really enjoyed watching Travell whenever she appeared in an episode. Zipacna was also fun - he had a nice line in sneering. <g>

In fact, I think much of the enjoyment of this one, for me, comes from Lya, Travell, Zipacna and Skaara/Klorel. I enjoyed all of these characters and their performances. The way they constantly butted heads, sometimes subtly, sometimes more overtly, and the way that the various allegiences and alliances swirled around the episode, fluid and shifting.

Oh one thing which really cracks me up is Daniel declaring to Travell that Narim 'didn't explain the triad too well'. LOL. Bit rude. <g> Especially with Narim standing right there at the time.

Narim: No harm will come to you. The Tollan will guarantee it.
Jack: Is that a money-back-if-you're-not-completely-alive guarantee?

Sam: So, you built that… Stargate?
Narim: Yes.
Daniel: Way smarter then we are…
They start walking away
Jack [whispering]: Ours is bigger…

Jack. You gotta love him.

Albion

[ApophisOfTheStargateRealm]

i have always liked the Tollan and i loved it when the cat went through the Iris... nice touch...

[CatGoddess]

Just saw this episode for the first time.

What Albion pointed out struck me too. How could either Klorel or Skaara have "private" conversations with their respective legal counsels without the other knowing the full content of the conversation?

Also, is it just me? I didn't see anything resembling a DHD by the Tollan gate. Maybe it, like the gate, just had a different design...

I liked the cat too. Don't have a GDO? Send a cat...

[RubyRed]

i like nia's character in this episode i couldn't think of a better person to be anchor than nia. i think sam was very right about nia no crossing a very fine line.