Gemini (811)

[Skydiver]

I'm not fussing about how Sam was portrayed. hell, they already mucked up the character with her pining over pete, what's a little more

I think it got more of a picture of sam out of replicarter. Sam is terrified underdeath, afraid of going too far or losing control or doing too much. she uses the rules and regs as reasons not to take risks.

gemini did expose a weakenss though....jack trusts sam, probably too much. she can almost do whatever she wants and he lacks the ability to yank her back.

someone said hammond would have said no. and you're probably right. maybe he would have. but there also would have been a different chain of command. sam would have had to follow jack's orders and proven her theory tohim before he convinced hammond.

that did change things a bit.

now we dont' have that filter. Sam, as we've been shown, can get a bit obsessed adn focussed. Without someone to hold her back, she lets her focus distract her and keep her from seeing the big picture.

What i do think is funny....sam is always criticized for being 'super sam' and never making mistakes.

well she did. big time. So she screwed up...now we get to see how she deals with making that mistake and how/if she fixes it

Other than that, i thought it was a good episode. very dramatic, very twisty. of course RC was betraying someone....you just didn't now exactly WHO she was betraying until the end...and to be truthful, you cant' even be sure how it'll all play out

[Tok'Ra Hostess]

Another really cool thing about this new arc is that RC not only wants to rule the uuniverse, but if she has her way, Sam will be the last person standing when she does conquer it.

I think that's why RC didn't destroy Alpha site and why she left Sam her arm; she will taunt Sam, right down to the end, because lovers of power need an audience, someone to acknowledge their power. RC's brethren aren't capable of doing so, and who better to justify herself to than the very person she was modeled after.

This arc has great potential!

[Skydiver]

it does have great potential.

jack and teal'c have faced their demons. they've dealt with and know their dark side...sam never has. She's never known just how far she will go, how much of a line she'll cross. she has no idea just what she's capable of.

she thinks she knows herself. and because of that, she thought she knew RC. but she doesnt'. she's got the surface picture of her soul and has never looked into it.

this has the potential for sam to face the very anti-thesis of herself and she'll have to conquer it or know that the galaxy will die because of her.

RC knows sam's fatal weakness and if sam has any hope of stopping her, she needs to discover, face and conquer that weakness. or, like you said, she'll be the sole survivor and watch her whole world die

[Dani347]

But, is it Sam's weakness and darkside, or RC's? Is it really her soul she's looking into?

[Tok'Ra Hostess]

But, is it Sam's weakness and darkside, or RC's? Is it really her soul she's looking into?

Let's hope we get the chance to find out.

<invokes TPTB> Please, please, please don't drop the ball on this arc!

[Wyrminarrd]

This show was about as stupid as they get. Right from the start I was saying "Shoot her now! It´s obviously a trick!" but did they do that? No, they instead let a potential enemy have access to the only weapon that could kill her! The level of stupidity required for this is of monumental proportions and clearly outlines that Carter should not be allowed to run SG-1, she simply doesn´t have the needed security concerns to handle the job.

Can any of you imagine that in 1945 if a russian scientist came to the USA and said that Russia had developed a counter measure against nukes but he were allowed to see all the details about the technology he would be able to build a version that could get through the shield? And add to that the USA would know he could still communicate with Russia in a way that they can´t monitor. You´d have to be pretty low on the IQ scale to believe that they would.

Carter and O´Neill should be glad I´m not their CO, I´d have them court marshaled for this and thrown in jail for the rest of their lives. YOU DO NOT GIVE THE ENEMY ACCESS TO YOUR WEAPONS!

[Buzz Lightyear]

Well, Sam did say that they had scanners that would detect replicators (thus preventing them from impersonating base personel), and at a minimum I'm fairly sure they would never let Sam and RC be in a position where RC could impersonate Sam. (not that you would know it from their actions in Gemini )

I think they said they have ways of screening whoever comes through the gate to tell if they're replicators, but I doubt they'd have scanners in every single part of the SGC or the Alpha site.

In any case, the challenge for the writers in this scenario would be to figure out how to have RepliCarter walk in through the front door but somehow manage to manipulate Sam into dropping her guard long enough for RC to briefly assume her identity and secretly access SGC computers. At least in this case, Carter wouldn't be handing over the Ancient technology on a silver platter.

[Aisling]

I absolutely adored Replicarter. The writers have totally trashed Carter's credibility with the whole whining, vacillating teenaged BS over Pete. So it was refreshing to see shades of the Carter we met at the beginning of the series.
So what if Replicarter is a power mad machine, at least she knows what she wants and is willing to go after it.
Carter is so diminished these days I have a hard time watching her. She isn't fit to command a Brownie troup much less a front line unit. Maybe we could trade Carter for Replicarter.

I think this has been one of the better episodes this season. A lot more character insights than usual. I just hope the writers follow up on what they started.

[sacme]

Another really cool thing about this new arc is that RC not only wants to rule the uuniverse, but if she has her way, Sam will be the last person standing when she does conquer it.

I think that's why RC didn't destroy Alpha site and why she left Sam her arm; she will taunt Sam, right down to the end, because lovers of power need an audience, someone to acknowledge their power. RC's brethren aren't capable of doing so, and who better to justify herself to than the very person she was modeled after.

This arc has great potential!

coudn't we still have had this if Sam had just been outsmarted by RC, instead of Sam being so, IMO, unprofessional?

[Tok'Ra Hostess]

coudn't we still have had this if Sam had just been outsmarted by RC, instead of Sam being so, IMO, unprofessional?

But it didn't happen that way, as we all know. I was simply commenting on the wealyh of potential for both characters based on what did transpire in Gemini.

[Tok'Ra Hostess]

Can any of you imagine that in 1945 if a russian scientist came to the USA and said that Russia had developed a counter measure against nukes but he were allowed to see all the details about the technology he would be able to build a version that could get through the shield? And add to that the USA would know he could still communicate with Russia in a way that they can´t monitor. You´d have to be pretty low on the IQ scale to believe that they would.

Actually, the circumstanial evidence points to that very scenario repeating itself over and over again. It's not pure innocent coincidence that both superpowers developed essentially the same types of strategic weapons simultaneously. The fact that they were both busily engaged in stockpiling weapons of mass destruction aside, there was a lot of idiocy and incompetance involved.

And if we consider the Manhattan project, we have Albert Einstein, a German national who sent a warning letter to President Truman that the Germans were quite in a position to build the atomic bomb. Einstein went on to become one of the primary four who worked on the Manhattan Project - the project that gave the US the bomb. (Turns out Germany wasn't even working on an A-bomb.)

Now, of course, I've left out a ton of details, like the fact that Einstein was by that time an American, had renounced his German citizenship long before the war broke out, and because of his Jewish heritage, was not even welcome in Germany at that time.

RC kind of made the same convincing arguements, only within the constraints of a 44 minute episode.

No doubt these mitigating factors helped the top brass in the US gov't have more faith in Einstein , and Bohr - another German national refugee (or was he...? ), and other guys with very German sounding names. Of course they watched them like hawks, but let's face it, at the time, who was smart enough, and American enough to watch them?

What happened in Gemini was a disaster, but it hardly set a precedant.

[MajorSam]

I absolutely adored Replicarter. The writers have totally trashed Carter's credibility with the whole whining, vacillating teenaged BS over Pete. So it was refreshing to see shades of the Carter we met at the beginning of the series.
So what if Replicarter is a power mad machine, at least she knows what she wants and is willing to go after it.
Carter is so diminished these days I have a hard time watching her. She isn't fit to command a Brownie troup much less a front line unit. Maybe we could trade Carter for Replicarter.

I think this has been one of the better episodes this season. A lot more character insights than usual. I just hope the writers follow up on what they started.

I agree! Well, not 100% with the vacillating teenaged BS (although it is BS still) But Replicarter is a BRILLIANT character, and one which i've been hoping for since I started watching late season one. I can't wait for the follow-ups to all this. Sam's always been the good little soldier, I love seeing screw-ups and over everything else, EVILNESS!

[Albion]

First time I, too, thought that Rep Carter dispatched of Daniel a little too easily, but now I think that manipulative RC was trying to show that her "memories" of SG-1 came to her only during that shoot-em-up scene. At first she seemed quite prepared to shoot Jack. I think the later (feigned) look of remorse for her actions included Real Carter's feelings for Daniel - oh, and for Siler and that other guy.

You know, you have a very interesting point there, Tok'Ra Hostess. And it made me think of a theory, too.

IIRC, when RepliCarter first arrives at the Alpha Site she says something to the effect of "I know you. You're...Teal'c." So, she has the vaguest memory of Teal'c in that moment. Her manner there is hesitant, a 'Do I know you?' moment rather than something firm and self-confident. It's an indicator that her memories are constantly being added to and aren't complete. That she's remembering more as each minute passes.

IOW, she didn't just get all of Carter's memories handed to her in a clump, right at the start of her existance. It's been an ongoing process, with blanks filled in as she goes.

Now...given this to be the case...it's perfectly possible that in the scenario Fifth set up for her she didn't recognise Daniel as anyone important and so had no problem shooting him right off the bat. It is undeniable that Carter's emotions regarding Jack are much stronger than they are for Daniel or Teal'c. Therefore, Jack was the one ReplicCarter remembered first and so she hesitated over shooting him.

Maybe she felt bad about being so trigger happy later, when she remembered who Daniel was.

Albion

[Catysg1]

Mixed reactions about the show.

I was oh so glad, that the pacing was better and the sense of drama and danger was there. To me, the first half of the season was underwhelming and I never felt that anything was really at risk.

I'm also happy Jack seemed more alive, concerned and alert in this ep than he's been all season. I hope we get to see interaction between him and RepliCarter next time, though-- that could be hot!

AT did a very good job with the double role and evil Sam is cool.

It was obvious to me, though, that RC was playing both sides, so you could see the crosses coming. And why did they even bother shooting RC with regular guns? They're nearly indestructable, we have to formulate a whole new weapon to kill them-- and when that doesn't work we use bullets? They might as well have used water pistols or thrown rocks at her.

But I agree with others here that this ep makes Sam look terrible and Jack look like a bad commander. The truly ridiculous risks she took were mind-blowing. First off, why did they even have to meet with RC face-to-face (besides the fact that it's a tv show)? She could have been a bomb, had a bomb, she could have been Fifth in another form or, simply, she could have been like all the rest of the replis and been a consumer/destroyer. Why not keep her at a distance and talk to her over the MALP. Let the MALP shoot her in the end. Replicators are dangerous and difficult to control-- hello!

Allowing RC to put her hand in Sam's head-- excuse me! That is unforgivable. We want RC to trust us-- huh? RC could have compromised Carter and Teal'c would never have known just by talking to her afterwards. T should have stopped her and he should have told Jack that Sam coudn't be objective and was showing a lack of judgement.

Allowing RC to have total access to our only defense-- what, within hours of meeting her-- crazy.

And, personally, the fact that Sam still berates herself over her treatment of Fifth, means she can never be a good leader. If she can't make the tough decisions, protect her own first (unless an important sacrifice had to be made) and put aside her emotions when needed, the good she could do in command is limited. Carter comes off looking so weak in this ep.

I kept asking myself if Gen. Hammond would have let Sam do everything she did, and the answer kept coming back, 'no'. IMO, Hammond was way more cautious and would have never allowed Sam to keep crossing the line and get them in the jam they're in now. Jack's deference to Sam during the ep and then telling her she did nothing wrong at the end was pap. It is her fault (and his for letting her be so trusting), she did really mess up, and she did let her emotions get in the way and endanger Earth. Of course, she's done a tremendous amount of good in the past, so I'm not saying she should be punished or something, but let's not say nothing happened here. In the end, Jack should have done a better job of protecting Carter from herself. He gave her too long a rope and she hung herself.

I didn't hate the episode, it's definitely one of the better ones this season for many reasons, but I feel like the writers have really had it in for the character of Samantha Carter this year.

May be they( tptb and writers) are doing it on purpose so that Sam becomes a doctor scientist in season 9 ..with no going off world ..Jack will be civilian and BB will be head of SG1 ..who knows !!!


Caty

[keshou]

Finally saw this. Well except for the last 4 minutes or so (technical difficulties

I liked it! The episode moved right along, very dramatic. There was some nice twists and if I hadn't been spoiled as to RC's turning the table on Fifth, i don't think I would have guessed that. Loved the scenes between RC and Sam - even though RC kind of ate Sam's lunch in the outwitting department. AT did a nice job playing both roles.

There were certainly flaws - mainly because the aim of the episode was to set up RC as the big bad in the replicator world. So everyone had to look kind of stupid in this one.

Still, I enjoyed the insights Sam's character and hope we get some more meetings between Sam and RC down the road. I like it when Sam screws up once in awhile. She's human and she tends to get obsessed with finding the answers.

I'm not crazy about this new trend of saying "it's all okay, not your fault". I really think they should all be nodding their heads saying "yeah, we all screwed up, now let's figure out how to fix it". They've done that several times in recent years (with all the characters) and it's starting to wear a little thin.

Interesting that they seem to be continuing Jack's personal "I'm too close to the team to do this job" arc. First in New Order he kind of froze and in this episode he really gave Sam a little too much leeway. I really miss Hammond in these kind of situations because there was more of a buffer in the chain of command. Jack trusts SG-1 to pull the rabbit out of the hat - almost too much. Hmm....wonder if they're heading someplace with this. Perhaps Jack's retirement?