Absolute Power (417)

[Jae'a]

I'm not going to the commentary thing anymore, it's a hassle.

Aw, you're no fun anymore! [/monty python]

My LiveJournal post

[Krisz]

Daniel turns into 'Bond villain' in his secret high tech base and blows up Moscow with his fiendish invention. I'm surprised he didn't grow a moustache to twirl.

So begineth the lessons for Daniel's path to enlightenment!

[SG3Marine]

Daniel Jackson:The Big Loser. Stargate, Season 1, Season 2.
Daniel Jacksion:The Archeologist. Season 3, Season 4.
Daniel Jackson:The Evil Goa'uld, the System Lord. Absolute Power, The Light.
Daniel Jackson:The Ascended Being. Season 6.
Daniel Jackson:The Hero. Season 7, Season 8, Season 9, Season 10.
Daniel Jackson:The Bearded Guy. Avalon, Subversion.

Nice comparison. I never thought of it like that.

[hedwig]

Tomorrow, Carter goes crazy.

???

If you're referring to "The Light", it's Daniel and Jack that go crazy, not Carter. Though she does get a bit mouthy when she and Jack and Teal'c are walking on the beach. That doesn't translate to crazy.

[jelgate]

This episode tries to promote that power corrupts and while thier is truth to this statement but I don't buy the concept that just because Daniel gets the knowledge of the Goa'uld that he will become an evil tyrant. It that was true people like Asgard who have even more power then the Goa'uld will be sadastic murderers. Especially with Daniel's heart I don't buy he would turn into a monster. But on the other hand it was a dream so I will get it go.

That said I still find it interesting on a pure enjoyment level to see Daniel go evil and mad with power. It showed a very gradual process. Its a pity we never see Shifu again.

[fems]

This episode tries to promote that power corrupts and while thier is truth to this statement but I don't buy the concept that just because Daniel gets the knowledge of the Goa'uld that he will become an evil tyrant. It that was true people like Asgard who have even more power then the Goa'uld will be sadastic murderers. Especially with Daniel's heart I don't buy he would turn into a monster. But on the other hand it was a dream so I will get it go.

That said I still find it interesting on a pure enjoyment level to see Daniel go evil and mad with power. It showed a very gradual process. Its a pity we never see Shifu again.

It's not that he turns evil because of the knowledge of the Goa'uld; it's that he thinks he knows better than everyone else because of all the knowledge he has and starts to make decisions (which I'm sure started out being for the greater good) based on that conviction, simply because the rest of the people, even his friends, don't know what he does and therefore can't make the important decisions. I think it is very in character for him because there are a lot of times he thinks he knows best and takes it a bit too far until his team/Hammond remind him of what he's actually doing/saying (similar to Sam when she puts science ahead of people's lives in her curiosity/thirst for knowledge). In this dream however he doesn't heed his 'friends''s warnings.

[Lt.Colonel John Sheppard]

I like this episode because seeing daniel evil is just a joy to see.

I have to agree that MS plays crazy/power-crazed roles extremely well. He never ceases to amaze me in such situations. I loved his evilness in Need, but he's even better, even more evil here. I couldn't believe that he actually blew up Moscow. And his 'It's like cutting your enemy's heart out.' line. I know, just an imagined Daniel, but still! And what's scary is, if he really had been capable of developing such a weapons system, I'm sure the government would have given him the means and power to do so, without question.

The ep was well done in the sense that it wasn't immediately obvious that it was a dream sequence -- not until they tell us 'one year later'. I kept wondering what actually happened to Teal'c during that time, as they all kept referring to an incident with him.

Just the technology, and Daniel developing it and commandeering it, was extremely cool. I loved the way the weapons looked, and how powerfully and flawlessly they performed. Everything, especially the launch, was just so perfect (too perfect to be true, obviously).

I was a bit surprised that the Russians immediately responded by threatening to blow up the new satellite weapons. That seemed a bit extreme to me.

Ultimately I don't really agree with the way the episode ended. I don't think they should have just let all the info go (although I guess they didn't have a choice?). I wish Daniel had been able to remember some of the tech -- even if it had just been that heavy naquadah water fuel source stuff. A wasted opportunity to gain new tech just kills me every time!

[jelgate]

It's not that he turns evil because of the knowledge of the Goa'uld; it's that he thinks he knows better than everyone else because of all the knowledge he has and starts to make decisions (which I'm sure started out being for the greater good) based on that conviction, simply because the rest of the people, even his friends, don't know what he does and therefore can't make the important decisions. I think it is very in character for him because there are a lot of times he thinks he knows best and takes it a bit too far until his team/Hammond remind him of what he's actually doing/saying (similar to Sam when she puts science ahead of people's lives in her curiosity/thirst for knowledge). In this dream however he doesn't heed his 'friends''s warnings.

I could buy that originally but as he goes more crazy just doesn't work. Daniel would never kill those innocent Russians

[Lieutenant Sparrow]

Really fallen behind on typing up my opinions. Easy to forget what happened when you wait so long after watching the ep.

This was a good ep. But it was a bit easy to tell that it wasn't real. Daniel would never act like that.

[SaraBahama]

This episode has some good moments, but I found Daniel to be way to out of character. While I believe he'd use the power with the intentions of good, that would likely go down the wrong path, I do not buy he would be come a power-crazed-egotistic bent on world domination for the greater good. Daniel is the moral good of the group, he'd be the least likely to go down that path. So while I liked the episode, I wish they toned it down.

This episode tries to promote that power corrupts and while thier is truth to this statement but I don't buy the concept that just because Daniel gets the knowledge of the Goa'uld that he will become an evil tyrant. It that was true people like Asgard who have even more power then the Goa'uld will be sadastic murderers. Especially with Daniel's heart I don't buy he would turn into a monster. But on the other hand it was a dream so I will get it go.

That said I still find it interesting on a pure enjoyment level to see Daniel go evil and mad with power. It showed a very gradual process. Its a pity we never see Shifu again.

This is a very finely crafted ep -the title itself 'Absolute Power' sets the tone by invoking the thought of the phrase it's drawn from: "Power corrupts...absolute power corrupts absolutely."

That said, this is not my favorite ep...I HATE seeing Daniel corrupted so badly -it is such a loss of innocence for him, but I believe Daniel was chosen because he is the PERFECT vehicle to explore this concept through. The elements that seem out of character for Daniel only emphasize the corrupting power of the Goa'uld evil. This is what Shifu tried to warn them about from the beginning of the ep:

SHIFU: That the true nature of a man is determined in the battle between his conscious mind and his subconscious and that the evil in my subconscious is too strong to resist.

DANIEL: The only way to win is to deny it battle.

It's not that Daniel is shown to be weak, and that's why he's overcome by the evil. I think that it clear that if Daniel can be corrupted by this...gentle, fair, kind Daniel...then anyone can. Shifu is clear: the evil is too strong -Oma has taught him this.

[fatty.mcninja]

This is actually my favorite SG-1 episode. Not a popular opinion, I guess.

I think the Harcesis is a cool character and I think that the evil Jackson isn't so much out of character when you think about the fact that the whole point of the episode is to point out that the evil in the Goa'uld is so imprinted in their DNA that it becomes an impulse that can't be ignored. If Daniel can't handle it... what chance does a boy have?

[Dimes]

This episode was so cool!! ^^

[Starry Starry Night]

Yeah, it wasn't just the power that corrupted Daniel, I think. The genetic memory of Goa'uld is pure evil and if we want to get a hold of the memory the evil comes with it. And that's why we should be careful about wanting it.. When watching the episode, at first it's not clear that it's a dream. But right from the moment Danielgets the goa'uld genetic memory, wee see a change in him. It's very small at first, but those are the first steps on the road that lead up to him blowing up Moscow..

And like many have said here, for the effect that this story ha, it really needed to be Daniel who did all this..

[jelgate]

Yeah, it wasn't just the power that corrupted Daniel, I think. The genetic memory of Goa'uld is pure evil and if we want to get a hold of the memory the evil comes with it. And that's why we should be careful about wanting it.. When watching the episode, at first it's not clear that it's a dream. But right from the moment Danielgets the goa'uld genetic memory, wee see a change in him. It's very small at first, but those are the first steps on the road that lead up to him blowing up Moscow..

And like many have said here, for the effect that this story ha, it really needed to be Daniel who did all this..

Knowledge isn't evil. Its the people who use it that makes it evil. That is why this episode made little sense to me. Daniel is not the person to be corrupted by power. He had more knowledge and power as an ascended and he didn't abuse it when ascended

[Brother Freyr]

Knowledge isn't evil. Its the people who use it that makes it evil. That is why this episode made little sense to me. Daniel is not the person to be corrupted by power. He had more knowledge and power as an ascended and he didn't abuse it when ascended

Daniel was given more than knowledge. He was given goa'uld memories, too. Change the memories, change the person.